1 Kings 12:8-9

12:8 But Rehoboam rejected their advice and consulted the young advisers who served him, with whom he had grown up. ¹  12:9 He asked them, “How do you advise me ²  to respond to these people who said to me, ‘Lessen the demands your father placed on us’?” ³ 

Exodus 1:10

1:10 Come, let’s deal wisely ⁴  with them. Otherwise ⁵  they will continue to multiply, ⁶  and if ⁷  a war breaks out, they will ally themselves with ⁸  our enemies and fight against us and leave ⁹  the country.”

Isaiah 30:1

Egypt Will Prove Unreliable

30:1 “The rebellious ¹⁰  children are as good as dead,” ¹¹  says the Lord,

“those who make plans without consulting me, ¹² 

who form alliances without consulting my Spirit, ¹³ 

and thereby compound their sin. ¹⁴ 

[12:8]  ¹ tn Heb “He rejected the advice of the elders which they advised and he consulted the young men with whom he had grown up, who stood before him.” The referent (Rehoboam) of the initial pronoun (“he”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:9]  ² tn In the Hebrew text the verb “we will respond” is plural, although it can be understood as an editorial “we.” The ancient versions have the singular here.

[12:9]  ³ tn Heb “Lighten the yoke which your father placed on us.”

[1:10]  ⁴ tn The verb is the Hitpael cohortative of חָכַם (khakam, “to be wise”). This verb has the idea of acting shrewdly, dealing wisely. The basic idea in the word group is that of skill. So a skillful decision is required to prevent the Israelites from multiplying any more.

[1:10]  ⁵ tn The word פֶּן (pen) expresses fear or precaution and can also be translated “lest” or “else” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 75-76, §461).

[1:10]  ⁶ tn The verb can be translated simply “will multiply,” but since Pharaoh has already indicated that he is aware they were doing that, the nuance here must mean to multiply all the more, or to continue to multiply. Cf. NIV “will become even more numerous.”

[1:10]  ⁷ tn The words וְהָיָה כִּי (vÿhayah ki) introduce a conditional clause – “if” (see GKC 335 §112.y).

[1:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “and [lest] he [Israel] also be joined to.”

[1:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “and go up from.” All the verbs coming after the particle פֶּן (pen, “otherwise, lest” in v. 10) have the same force and are therefore parallel. These are the fears of the Egyptians. This explains why a shrewd policy of population control was required. They wanted to keep Israel enslaved; they did not want them to become too numerous and escape.

[30:1]  ¹⁰ tn Or “stubborn” (NCV); cf. NIV “obstinate.”

[30:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Woe [to] rebellious children.”

[30:1]  ¹² tn Heb “making a plan, but not from me.”

[30:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “and pouring out a libation, but not [from] my spirit.” This translation assumes that the verb נָסַךְ (nasakh) means “pour out,” and that the cognate noun מַסֵּכָה (massekhah) means “libation.” In this case “pouring out a libation” alludes to a ceremony that formally ratifies an alliance. Another option is to understand the verb נָסַךְ as a homonym meaning “weave,” and the cognate noun מַסֵּכָה as a homonym meaning “covering.” In this case forming an alliance is likened to weaving a garment.

[30:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “consequently adding sin to sin.”