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 said to himself, “The kingdom might now return to the house of David. 27If these people regularly go to offer sacrifices in the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem, the heart of these people will return to their lord, King Rehoboam of Judah. They will kill me and go back to the king of Judah.” So the king sought advice. Then he made two golden calves, and he said to the people, “Going to Jerusalem is too difficult for you. Israel, here are your gods who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” 29He set up one in Bethel, and put the other in Dan. 30This led to sin; the people walked in procession before one of the calves all the way to 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 rejected the advice of the elders who had advised him and consulted with the young men who had grown up with him and attended him.
• Exodus 1:10Come, let’s deal shrewdly with them; otherwise they will multiply further, and when war breaks out, they will join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.”
• Isaiah 30:1Woe to the rebellious children! This is the Lord’s declaration. They carry out a plan, but not mine; they make an alliance, but against my will, piling sin on top of sin.
• Exodus 20:4Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth.
• Deuteronomy 4:14At that time the Lord commanded me to teach you statutes and ordinances for you to follow in the land you are about to cross into and possess.
• 2 Kings 10:29but he did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit — worshiping the gold calves that were in Bethel and Dan.
• 2 Kings 17:16They abandoned all the commands of the Lord their God. They made cast images for themselves, two calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed in worship to all the stars in the sky and served Baal.
• 2 Chronicles 11:15Jeroboam appointed his own priests for the high places, the goat-demons, and the golden calves he had made.
• Hosea 8:4They have installed kings, but not through me. They have appointed leaders, but without my approval. They make their silver and gold into idols for themselves for their own destruction.
• Hosea 10:5The residents of Samaria will have anxiety over the calf of Beth-aven. Indeed, its idolatrous priests rejoiced over it; the people will mourn over it, over its glory. It will certainly go into exile.
• Isaiah 30:10They say to the seers, “Do not see,” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy the truth to us. Tell us flattering things. Prophesy illusions.
• 2 Peter 2:19They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption, since people are enslaved to whatever defeats them.
• Exodus 32:4He took the gold from them, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it into an image of a calf. Then they said, “Israel, these are your gods, 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