1 Kings 12:28

1 Kings 12:28 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
• New International Version (NIV)After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, "You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!”

Context of 1 Kings 12:28

26Jeroboam [doubted God’s promise to him and] said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will return to the house of David. 27If these people go up to the house of the Lord in Jerusalem to offer sacrifices, then their heart will turn to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” So the king took counsel [and followed bad advice] and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “It is too much for you to go [all the way] up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” 29He set the one [golden calf] in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. 30Now this thing became a sin [for Israel]; because the people went to worship before the one [or the other of them] as far as Dan.

1 Kings 12:28 word by word

וַיִּוָּעַ֣ץ הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ וַיַּ֕עַשׂ שְׁנֵ֖י עֶגְלֵ֣י זָהָ֑ב וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֲלֵהֶ֗ם רַב־לָכֶם֙ מֵעֲל֣וֹת יְרוּשָׁלִַ֔ם הִנֵּ֤ה אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר הֶעֱל֖וּךָ מֵאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Whereupon the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• took counselיָעַץyâ‛ats · to adviseH3289
• and madeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
• twoשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147
• calvesעֵ֫גֶל‛êgel · calfH5695
• goldזָהָבzâhâb · goldH2091
• and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto them, It is too muchרַבrab · manyH7227
• for you to go upעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: riseH5927
• to Jerusalemיְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵםyerûshâlaim yerûshâlayim · JerusalemH3389
• behold thy godsאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• O Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• which brought thee upעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: establishH5927
• out of the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• of Egyptמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714

Cross-references for 1 Kings 12:28

• 1 Kings 12:8But he ignored the advice which the elders gave him and consulted the young men who grew up with him and served him.
• Exodus 1:10Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, so that they will not multiply and in the event of war, join our enemies, and fight against us and escape from the land.”
• Isaiah 30:1“Woe (judgment is coming) to the rebellious children,” declares the Lord, “Who carry out a plan, but not Mine, And make an alliance [by pouring out a libation], but not of My Spirit, In order to add sin to sin;
• Exodus 20:4“You shall not make for yourself any idol, or any likeness (form, manifestation) of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth [as an object to worship].
• Deuteronomy 4:14The Lord commanded me at that time to teach you the statutes and judgments, so that you might do them in the land which you are going over to possess.
• 2 Kings 10:29However, Jehu did not turn from the [idolatrous] sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, that is, [led them to worship] the golden calves which were at Bethel and Dan.
• 2 Kings 17:16They abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God and made for themselves cast images of two calves; and they made an Asherah [idol] and worshiped all the [starry] host of heaven and served Baal.
• 2 Chronicles 11:15Jeroboam appointed his own priests for the high places, for the satyrs (goat demons) and calves (idols) which he had made.
• Hosea 8:4They set up kings, but not from Me [therefore without My blessing]; They have appointed princes, but I did not know it. With their silver and their gold they made idols for themselves, That they might be cut off.
• Hosea 10:5The people of Samaria will fear and tremble For the [idolatrous] calf of Beth-aven (House of Wickedness). Indeed, its people will mourn over it And its idolatrous priests will cry out and wail over it, Over its glory, because the glory [of their calf god] has departed from it.
• Isaiah 30:10Who say to the seers, “You must not see visions from God”; And to the prophets, “You must not prophesy to us what is right! Speak to us pleasant things and smooth words, Prophesy [deceitful] illusions [that we will enjoy].
• 2 Peter 2:19They promise them liberty, when they themselves are the slaves of depravity—for by whatever anyone is defeated and overcome, to that [person, thing, philosophy, or concept] he is continually enslaved.
• Exodus 32:4And he took the gold from their hands, and fashioned it with an engraving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”

Commentaries on 1 Kings 12:28

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 28Made two calves of gold - He invented a political religion, instituted feasts in his own times different from those appointed by the Lord, gave the people certain objects of devotion, and pretended to think it would be both inconvenient and oppressive to them to have to go up to Jerusalem to worship. This was not the last time that religion was made a state engine to serve political purposes. It is strange that in pointing out his calves to the people, he…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 28The “calves of gold” were probably representations of the cherubic form, imitations of the two cherubim which guarded the ark of the covenant in the holy of holies. But being unauthorized copies, set up in places which God had not chosen, and without any divine sanction, the sacred writers call them “calves.” They were not mere human figures with wings, but had at any rate the head of a calf or ox. (Hence, some attribute this calf-worship entirely to…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 25-33Verses 25-33 Jeroboam distrusted the providence of God; he would contrive ways and means, and sinful ones too, for his own safety. A practical disbelief of God's all-sufficiency is at the bottom of all our departures from him. Though it is probable he meant his worship for Jehovah the God of Israel, it was contrary to the Divine law, and dishonourable to the Divine majesty to be thus represented. The people might be less shocked at worshipping the God of…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 28Two gold calves would resonate with Israel's history (see Exodus 32; especially 32:4). Similar religious practices linked to the Canaanite god Baal-Hadad also attracted the remaining Canaanite people in the northern kingdom. Jeroboam's actions undermined true worship and led to religious confusion (see 1 Kings 14:9; Hosea 8:6).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 26-3226-32. Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David--Having received the kingdom from God, he should have relied on the divine protection. But he did not. With a view to withdraw the people from the temple and destroy the sacred associations connected with Jerusalem, he made serious and unwarranted innovations on the religious observances of the country, on pretext of saving the people the trouble and expense of a distant…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Kings 12:28

• Beth-El
• Calf
• Church and State
• Dan
• Jeroboam
• Religion
• Rulers
• Statecraft

In the dictionaries

• Egypt
• Israel
• Jerusalem
• Add
• Aholah
• Aven
• Bethel
• Bullock
• Consult
• Ephraim, The tribe of

Commentaries on 1 Kings 12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings