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

26And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now will the kingdom return to the house of David: 27if this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of Jehovah at Jerusalem, then will the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me, and return to Rehoboam king of Judah. Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold; and he 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. 29And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other put he in Dan. 30And this thing became a sin; for the people went to worship before the one, even unto 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

• kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• counselיָעַץyâ‛ats · to adviseH3289
• madeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• twoשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147
• calvesעֵ֫גֶל‛êgel · calfH5695
• goldזָהָבzâhâb · goldH2091
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• tooרַבrab · manyH7227
• muchרַבrab · manyH7227
• goעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: riseH5927
• Jerusalemיְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵםyerûshâlaim yerûshâlayim · JerusalemH3389
• godsאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• Egyptמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714

Cross-references for 1 Kings 12:28

• 1 Kings 12:8But he forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him, and took counsel with the young men that were grown up with him, that stood before him.
• Exodus 1:10come, let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they also join themselves unto our enemies, and fight against us, and get them up out of the land.
• Isaiah 30:1Woe to the rebellious children, saith Jehovah, that take counsel, but not of me; and that make a league, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin,
• Exodus 20:4Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
• Deuteronomy 4:14And Jehovah commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and ordinances, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it.
• 2 Kings 10:29Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Beth-el, and that were in Dan.
• 2 Kings 17:16And they forsook all the commandments of Jehovah their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made an Asherah, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.
• 2 Chronicles 11:15and he appointed him priests for the high places, and for the he-goats, and for the calves which he had made.
• Hosea 8:4They have set up kings, but not by me; they have made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off.
• Hosea 10:5The inhabitants of Samaria shall be in terror for the calves of Beth-aven; for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and the priests thereof that rejoiced over it, for the glory thereof, because it is departed from it.
• Isaiah 30:10that say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits,
• 2 Peter 2:19promising them liberty, while they themselves are bondservants of corruption; for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he also brought into bondage.
• Exodus 32:4And he received it at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, and made it a molten calf: and they said, These are thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of 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