2 Chronicles 10:1-4

The Northern Tribes Rebel

10:1 Rehoboam traveled to Shechem, for all Israel had gathered in ¹  Shechem to make Rehoboam ²  king. 10:2 When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard the news, he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon. Jeroboam returned from Egypt. 10:3 They sent for him ³  and Jeroboam and all Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, 10:4 “Your father made us work too hard! ⁴  Now if you lighten the demands he made and don’t make us work as hard, we will serve you.” ⁵ 

[10:1]  ¹ tn Heb “come [to].”

[10:1]  ² tn Heb “him”; the referent (Rehoboam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:3]  ³ tn Heb “They sent and called for him.”

[10:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “made our yoke burdensome.”

[10:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “but you, now, lighten the burdensome work of your father and the heavy yoke which he placed on us, and we will serve you.” In the Hebrew text the prefixed verbal form with vav (וְנַעַבְדֶךָ, vÿna’avdekha, “and we will serve you”) following the imperative (הָקֵל, haqel, “lighten”) indicates purpose/result. The conditional sentence used in the present translation is an attempt to bring out the logical relationship between these forms.