English Standard Version
1 Kings 12:4
4"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."
1 Kings 12:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.
- New International Version (NIV)“Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Your father made our yoke heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)“Your father was a hard master,” they said. “Lighten the harsh labor demands and heavy taxes that your father imposed on us. Then we will be your loyal subjects.”
Context of 1 Kings 12:4
2And as soon as Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from Egypt. 3And they sent and called him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and said to Rehoboam, "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." 5He said to them, "Go away for three days, then come again to me." So the people went away. 6Then 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?"
Read all of 1 Kings 121 Kings 12:4 word by word
אָבִ֖יךָ הִקְשָׁ֣ה אֶת־עֻלֵּ֑נוּ וְאַתָּ֡ה עַתָּ֣ה הָקֵל֩ מֵעֲבֹדַ֨ת אָבִ֜יךָ הַקָּשָׁ֗ה וּמֵעֻלּ֧וֹ הַכָּבֵ֛ד אֲשֶׁר־נָתַ֥ן עָלֵ֖ינוּ וְנַעַבְדֶֽךָּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Thy fatherאָב'âb · fatherH1
- madeקָשָׁהqâshâh · to hardenH7185
- our yokeעֹל‛ôl ‛ôl · yokeH5923
- now therefore make thou the grievousקָשֶׁהqâsheh · severeH7186
- serviceעֲבֹדָה‛ăbôdâh ‛ăbôdâh · serviceH5656
- and his heavyכָּבֵדkâbêd · heavyH3515
- which he putנָתַןnâthan · to give: putH5414
- upon us, lighterקָלַלqâlal · to lightenH7043
- and we will serveעָבַד‛âbad · to serveH5647
Cross-references for 1 Kings 12:4
- 1 Kings 4:7Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household. Each man had to make provision for one month in the year.
- 1 Kings 9:15And this is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon drafted to build the house of the Lord and his own house and the Millo and the wall of Jerusalem and Hazor and Megiddo and Gezer
- 1 Samuel 8:11He said, "These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots.
- 2 Chronicles 10:4"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."
- Matthew 11:29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
- Matthew 23:4They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.
- 1 John 5:3For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
Commentaries on 1 Kings 12:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4The grievous service - and - heavy yoke - They seem here to complain of two things - excessively laborious service, and a heavy taxation. At first it is supposed Solomon employed no Israelite in drudgery: afterwards, when he forsook the God of compassion, he seems to have used them as slaves, and to have revived the Egyptian bondage.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4The complaint was probably twofold. The Israelites no doubt complained in part of the heavy weight of taxation laid upon them for the maintenance of the monarch and his court 1 Kings 4:19-23. But their chief grievance was the forced labor to which they had been subjected 1 Kings 5:13-14; 1 Kings 11:28. Forced labor has been among the causes leading to insurrection in many ages and countries. It helped to bring about the French Revolution, and it was for…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4the burden of your father’s service and the heavy yoke: See 1 Kings 4:7, 22–23; 5:13–18; 9:20–23; 11:27–28.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. Thy father made our yoke grievous--The splendor of Solomon's court and the magnitude of his undertakings being such, that neither the tribute of dependent states, nor the presents of foreign princes, nor the profits of his commercial enterprises, were adequate to carry them on, he had been obliged, for obtaining the necessary revenue, to begin a system of heavy taxation. The people looked only to the burdens, not to the benefits they derived from…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Kings 12:4
In the dictionaries
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
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