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1 Kings 12:10-11
New English Translation
1 Kings 12:10-11
New English Translation
10 The young advisers with whom Rehoboam[a] had grown up said to him, “Say this to these people who have said to you, ‘Your father made us work hard, but now lighten our burden.’[b] Say this to them: ‘I am a lot harsher than my father![c] 11 My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier.[d] My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh.’”[e]
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- 1 Kings 12:10 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Rehoboam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 1 Kings 12:10 tn Heb “Your father made our yoke heavy, but make it lighter upon us.”
- 1 Kings 12:10 tn Heb “My little one is thicker than my father’s hips.” The referent of “my little one” is not clear. The traditional view is that it refers to the little finger. As the following statement makes clear, Rehoboam’s point is that he is more harsh and demanding than his father.
- 1 Kings 12:11 tn Heb “and now my father placed upon you a heavy yoke, but I will add to your yoke.”
- 1 Kings 12:11 tn Heb “My father punished you with whips, but I will punish you with scorpions.” “Scorpions” might allude to some type of torture using poisonous insects, but more likely it refers to a type of whip that inflicts an especially biting, painful wound. Cf. CEV “whips with pieces of sharp metal.”
New English Translation (NET)
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