God’s Word Translation
1 Kings 12:11
11If my father put a heavy burden on you, I will add to it. If my father punished you with whips, I will punish you with scorpions.’ ”
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 is your advice? How should we respond to these people who are asking me to lighten the burden my father put on them?” 10The young men who had grown up with him answered, “This is what you should tell them: ‘My little finger is heavier than my father’s whole body. If my father put a heavy burden on you, I will add to it. If my father punished you with whips, I will punish you with scorpions.’ ” 12So Jeroboam and all the people came back to Rehoboam two days later, as the king had instructed them. 13The king answered the people harshly. He ignored the advice the older leaders gave him.
Read all of 1 Kings 121 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 they forced the Israelites to work hard as slaves.
- Exodus 5:5Then Pharaoh added, “Look how many people there are in the land! Do you want them to quit working?”
- 1 Samuel 8:18“When that day comes, you will cry out because of the king whom you have chosen for yourselves. The Lord will not answer you when that day comes.”
- 2 Chronicles 16:10Asa was furious at the seer. He was so angry with Hanani that he put Hanani in prison. Asa also oppressed some of the people at that time in his reign.
- Isaiah 58:6This is the kind of fasting I have chosen: Loosen the chains of wickedness, untie the straps of the yoke, let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke.
- Jeremiah 27:11But suppose a nation surrenders to the king of Babylon and serves him. I will let it stay in its own land. People will farm the land and live on it,’ ” declares the Lord.
- Jeremiah 28:13“Tell Hananiah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You have broken the wooden yoke, but I will replace it with an iron yoke.
- 1 Kings 12:14He spoke to them as the young men advised. He said, “If my father made your burden heavy, I will add to it. If my father punished you with whips, I will punish you with scorpions.”
- Ezekiel 2:6Son of man, don’t be afraid of them or the things they say. Don’t be afraid, even though thorns and thistles are around you and you live among scorpions. Don’t let the things they say frighten you. Don’t be terrified in their presence, even though they are rebellious people.
- Revelation 9:3Locusts came out of the smoke onto the earth, and they were given power like the power of earthly 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
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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