1 Kings 12:11

1 Kings 12:11 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
• New International Version (NIV)My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.’ ”
• English Standard Version (ESV)And now, whereas my 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.'"
• New King James Version (NKJV)And now, whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!’ ”

Context of 1 Kings 12:11

9He asked them, ‘What do you think that I should say to these people? They want me to make their work easier.’ 10Rehoboam's young advisors said, ‘Those people said to you, “Your father made us work too hard. Please make our work easier.” You should tell them, “Even my little finger is thicker than my father's whole body! My father made you work hard. I will make you work even harder! My father punished you with little whips. I will punish you with whips that bite your skin!” ’ 12Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam after three days. That was because the king had said, ‘Return to me in three days.’ 13King Rehoboam spoke cruel words to the people. He did not agree to say what the older men had told him to say.

1 Kings 12:11 word by word

וְעַתָּ֗ה אָבִי֙ הֶעְמִ֤יס עֲלֵיכֶם֙ עֹ֣ל כָּבֵ֔ד וַאֲנִ֖י אוֹסִ֣יף עַֽל־עֻלְּכֶ֑ם אָבִ֗י יִסַּ֤ר אֶתְכֶם֙ בַּשּׁוֹטִ֔ים וַאֲנִ֕י אֲיַסֵּ֥ר אֶתְכֶ֖ם בָּעַקְרַבִּֽים׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And now whereas my fatherאָב'âb · fatherH1
• did ladeעָמַס‛âmas ‛âmaώ · loadH6006
• you with a heavyכָּבֵדkâbêd · heavyH3515
• yokeעֹל‛ôl ‛ôl · yokeH5923
• I will addיָסַףyâsaph · to addH3254
• hath chastisedיָסַרyâsar · to disciplineH3256
• you with whipsשׁוֹטshôţ · whipH7752
• you with scorpionsעַקְרָב‛aqrâb · scorpionH6137

Cross-references for 1 Kings 12:11

• Exodus 1:13So the Egyptians made the Israelites work without any rest.
• Exodus 5:5Pharaoh said, ‘Look, there are now many of your people who live in my country. But you are taking them away from their work.’
• 1 Samuel 8:18Then you will complain loudly to the Lord about your king that you have chosen to lead you. But the Lord will not answer you when you do that.’
• 2 Chronicles 16:10Asa was angry with the prophet, so he put him in prison. At that time Asa also started to do cruel things to some people.
• Isaiah 58:6This is the way that I want you to fast: You must remove the chains from prisoners who should not be in prison. You must stop being cruel to the people who work for you. You must let people who are in pain go free. You must break the yoke of work that is too hard for weak people.
• Jeremiah 27:11But if the people of any nation agree to serve the king of Babylon, I will let them stay in their own land. If they work for him, with his yoke around their necks, they can continue to grow crops and live in their own land.’ That is what the Lord says.” ’
• Jeremiah 28:13He said, ‘Go to Hananiah and tell him that the Lord says, “It is true that you have broken a wooden yoke. But instead of that you will get a yoke that is made from iron!
• 1 Kings 12:14Instead, he did what the young men had suggested. He said to the people, ‘My father gave you work that was too hard for you. I will make it even worse! My father punished you with little whips. I will punish you with whips that bite!’
• Ezekiel 2:6You must not be afraid of them, son of man. Do not be afraid of their words either. It may seem that you are living with thorn bushes all around you. You may think that they can hurt you like dangerous scorpions. But do not be afraid of what they say to you, or how they look at you. Remember that they refuse to obey me.
• Revelation 9:3Then locusts came out of the smoke and they came down on the earth. They received power to cause great pain, like the power of scorpions.

Commentaries on 1 Kings 12:11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11Chastise you with scorpions - Should you rebel, or become disaffected, my father's whip shall be a scorpion in my hand. His was chastisement, mine shall be punishment. St. Isidore, and after him Calmet and others, assert that the scorpion was a sort of severe whip, the lashes of which were armed with iron points, that sunk into and tore the flesh. We know that the scorpion was a military engine among the Romans for shooting arrows, which, being poisoned…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11Scorpions - By this word some understand whips having leaden balls at the ends of their lashes with hooks projecting from them; others the thorny stem of the eggplant, or “the scorpion plant.” But it seems best to regard the expression as a figure of speech.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11scorpions: This was likely a type of whip with barbs or nails. The wounds from this weapon felt like a scorpion's sting.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1111. whips ... scorpions--The latter [instruments], as contrasted with the former, are supposed to mean thongs thickly set with sharp iron points, used in the castigation of slaves.Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Kings 12:11

• Counsel
• Government
• Jeroboam
• Petition
• Rashness
• Rehoboam
• Revolt
• Rulers
• Scorpion
• Scourging
• Whip
• Young Men

In the dictionaries

• Add
• Consult
• Ephraim, The tribe of
• Heavy
• Israel, Kingdom of
• Jeroboam
• Ordain
• Scorpion
• Scorpions
• Scourging

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