1Ki 12:1-19, Pro 15:22, 16:22, 24:6, Isa 19:11-14, Act 15:6-21 | ESV | STEP | Rehoboam went to Shechem , for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king .

1 ^aRehoboam went to ^bShechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. 2 And as soon as ^cJeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for ^dhe was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from ^{▼▼Septuagint, Vulgate (compare 2 Chronicles 10:2); Hebrew lived in} Egypt. 3 And they sent and called him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and said to Rehoboam, 4 ^f“Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you.” 5 He said to them, ^g“Go away for three days, then come again to me.” So the people went away.

6 Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?” 7 And they said to him, “If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever.” 8 But he abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him. 9 And he said to them, “What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke that your father put on us’?” 10 And the young men who had grown up with him said to him, “Thus shall you speak to this people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you lighten it for us,’ thus shall you say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s thighs. 11 And now, whereas ^hmy father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’”

12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king said, ⁱ“Come to me again the third day.” 13 And the king answered the people harshly, and forsaking the counsel that the old men had given him, 14 he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, ^j“My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” 15 So the king did not listen to the people, for ^kit was a turn of affairs brought about by the Lord that he might fulfill his word, which ^lthe Lord spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

The Kingdom Divided

16 And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, “What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. ^mTo your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David.” So Israel went to their tents. 17 But Rehoboam reigned over ⁿthe people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah. 18 Then King Rehoboam sent ^oAdoram, who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. 19 ^pSo Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

Proverbs 15:22

22 ^qWithout counsel plans fail,
but with many advisers they succeed.

Proverbs 16:22

22 Good sense is ^ra fountain of life to him who has it,
but the instruction of fools is folly.

Proverbs 24:6

6 for by ^swise guidance you can wage your war,
and in ^tabundance of counselors there is victory.

Isaiah 19:11-14

11 The princes of ^uZoan are utterly foolish;
the wisest counselors of Pharaoh give stupid counsel.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I am a son of the wise,
a son of ancient kings”?
12 Where then are your ^vwise men?
Let them tell you
that they might know what the Lord of hosts has purposed against Egypt.
13 The princes of ^wZoan have become fools,
and the princes of ^xMemphis are deluded;
those who are the ^ycornerstones of her tribes
have made Egypt stagger.
14 The Lord has mingled within her ^za spirit of confusion,
and they will make Egypt stagger in all its deeds,
^aaas a drunken man staggers in his vomit.

Acts 15:6-21

6 ^abThe ^acapostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. 7 And after there had been much ^addebate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, ^aethat by my mouth the Gentiles should hear ^afthe word of ^agthe gospel and believe. 8 And God, ^ahwho knows the heart, ^aibore witness to them, ^ajby giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, 9 and ^akhe made no distinction between us and them, ^alhaving cleansed their hearts ^amby faith. 10 Now, therefore, why ^anare you putting God to the test ^aoby placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples ^apthat neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we ^aqbelieve that we will be ^arsaved through ^asthe grace of the Lord Jesus, ^atjust as they will.”

12 And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul ^auas they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. 13 After they finished speaking, ^avJames replied, “Brothers, listen to me. 14 ^awSimeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them ^axa people for his name. 15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written,

16 ^ay“‘After this I will return,
and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen;
I will rebuild its ruins,
and I will restore it,
17 that the remnant ^{▼▼Or rest} of mankind ^bamay seek the Lord,
and all the Gentiles ^bbwho are called by my name,
says the Lord, who makes these things 18 ^bcknown from of old.’
19 Therefore ^bdmy judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who ^beturn to God, 20 but should write to them ^bfto abstain from ^bgthe things polluted by idols, and from ^bhsexual immorality, and from ^biwhat has been strangled, and from ^bjblood. 21 For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, ^bkfor he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”