1 Kings 12:4
New International Version
“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 Living Translation
“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.”

English Standard Version
“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.”

Berean Standard Bible
“Your father put a heavy yoke on us. But now you should lighten the burden of your father’s service and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”

King James Bible
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 King James Version
“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 American Standard Bible
“Your father made our yoke hard; but now, lighten the hard labor imposed by your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.”

NASB 1995
“Your father made our yoke hard; now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.”

NASB 1977
“Your father made our yoke hard; now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.”

Legacy Standard Bible
“Your father made our yoke harsh; but you, now, lighten the harsh service of your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.”

Amplified Bible
“Your father made our yoke (burden) heavy; so now lighten the hard labor and the heavy yoke your father imposed on us, and we will serve you.”

Christian Standard Bible
“Your father made our yoke harsh. You, therefore, lighten your father’s harsh service and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Your father made our yoke difficult. You, therefore, lighten your father’s harsh service and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”

American Standard Version
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.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
“Your father hardened our yoke. Now, take away from the hard oppression of your father and from his severe yoke that he put upon us, and we will work for you.”

Brenton Septuagint Translation
but do thou now lighten somewhat of the hard service of thy father, and of his heavy yoke which he put upon us, and we will serve thee.

Contemporary English Version
"Your father Solomon forced us to work very hard. But if you make our work easier, we will serve you and do whatever you ask."

Douay-Rheims Bible
Thy father laid a grievous yoke upon us: now therefore do thou take off a little of the grievous service of thy father, and of his most heavy yoke, which he put upon us, and we will serve thee.

English Revised Version
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.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"Your father made us carry a heavy burden. Reduce the hard work and lighten the heavy burden he put on us, and we will serve you."

Good News Translation
"Your father Solomon treated us harshly and placed heavy burdens on us. If you make these burdens lighter and make life easier for us, we will be your loyal subjects."

International Standard Version
"Your father made our burdens unbearable. Therefore lighten your father's requirements and his heavy burdens that he placed on us, and we'll serve you."

JPS Tanakh 1917
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.'

Literal Standard Version
“Your father hardened our yoke, and you, now, lighten [some] of the hard service of your father, and his heavy yoke that he put on us, and we serve you.”

Majority Standard Bible
“Your father put a heavy yoke on us. But now you should lighten the burden of your father’s service and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”

New American Bible
“Your father put a heavy yoke on us. If you now lighten the harsh servitude and the heavy yoke your father imposed on us, we will be your servants.”

NET Bible
"Your father made us work too hard. Now if you lighten the demands he made and don't make us work as hard, we will serve you."

New Revised Standard Version
“Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke that he placed on us, and we will serve you.”

New Heart English Bible
"Your father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make you the grievous service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, lighter, and we will serve you."

Webster's Bible Translation
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.

World English Bible
“Your father made our yoke difficult. Now therefore make the hard service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, lighter, and we will serve you.”

Young's Literal Translation
Thy father made hard our yoke, and thou, now, make light some of the hard service of thy father, and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we serve thee.'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Rebellion Against Rehoboam
3So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel came to Rehoboam and said, 4“Your father put a heavy yoke on us. But now you should lighten the burden of your father’s service and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.” 5Rehoboam answered, “Go away for three days and then return to me.” So the people departed.…

Cross References
1 Samuel 8:11
He said, "This will be the manner of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them to his own chariots and horses, to run in front of his chariots.

1 Kings 4:7
Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel to provide food for the king and his household. Each one would arrange provisions for one month of the year,

1 Kings 4:21
And Solomon reigned over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These kingdoms offered tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.

1 Kings 9:15
This is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon imposed to build the house of the LORD, his own palace, the supporting terraces, and the wall of Jerusalem, as well as Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.

1 Kings 12:3
So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel came to Rehoboam and said,


Treasury of Scripture

Your father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make you the grievous service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, lighter, and we will serve you.

our yoke

1 Kings 4:7,20,22,23,25
And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, which provided victuals for the king and his household: each man his month in a year made provision…

1 Kings 9:15,22,23
And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised; for to build the house of the LORD, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer…

1 Samuel 8:11-18
And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots…

Jump to Previous
Conditions Cruel Grievous Hard Harsh Heavy Kept Less Lighter Servants Serve Service Servitude Weight Yoke
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Conditions Cruel Grievous Hard Harsh Heavy Kept Less Lighter Servants Serve Service Servitude Weight Yoke
1 Kings 12
1. The Israelites, assembled at Shechem to crown Rehoboam,
4. by Jeroboam make a suit of relaxation unto him
6. Rehoboam, refusing the old men's counsel, answers them roughly
16. Ten tribes revolting, kill Adoram, and make Rehoboam flee
21. Rehoboam, raising an army, is forbidden by Shemaiah
25. Jeroboam strengthens himself by cities
26. and by idolatry of the two calves














(4) We will serve thee.--It seems evident from the tone of the narrative, and especially from the absence of all resentment on the part of the king on the presentation of these conditions, that they were acting within their right; and whatever Jeroboam's designs may have been, there is no sign of any general predetermination of rebellion. The imposition of the burdens of heavy taxation and forced labour on the people was against old traditions, and even against the practice of Solomon's earlier years. (See 1Kings 4:20; 1Kings 9:20-22.) To demand a removal, or alleviation of these was perfectly compatible with a loyal willingness to "serve" the new king. The demand might naturally be suggested by Jeroboam, who, by his official position, knew well the severity of the burden.

Verse 4. - Thy father made our yoke [see for the literal sense of the word, Numbers 19:2; Deuteronomy 21:3, etc.; for its tropical use, Leviticus 26:13; Deuteronomy 28:48, etc.] grievous [Heb. heavy. Was this complaint a just one? It is one which occasions us some surprise, as the reign of Solomon had not only been glorious, but the people had apparently enjoyed the greatest plenty and prosperity (1 Kings 4:20, 25; cf. 8:66). Bishop Hall, Bahr, and other writers, consequently, who see in the fact that the ten tribes had chosen Jeroboam for their mouthpiece a settled determination on their part to revolt, affirm that their grievances were purely factitious. But we must not forget that, despite the unbroken peace (see Hall, "Contempl." 2:136) and general prosperity and affluence, the people had had one burden at least to bear which is always galling and vexatious, the burden of a conscription. It is by no means certain, though it is constantly assumed, and is not in itself improbable, that the taxes and imposts had been heavy, the passages alleged in support of that view (1 Kings 10:15, 25; 1 Kings 12:4, LXX.) being quite inconclusive. But while we have no right to speak of the, enormous exactions of the late king" (Stanley), we may be perfectly sure that such an establishment as his (1 Kings 4:22, 26) and such undertakings (1 Kings 6:14, 22; 1 Kings 3:1; 1 Kings 7; 1 Kings 9:26, 17, 18) would be extremely costly, and that their cost was not altogether defrayed by the presents of subject princes (1 Kings 4:21; cf. 10:10, 14), the profits of the king's merchants (1 Kings 10:28), or the imports of the fleet (1 Kings 5:21 [1 Kings 5:7]). But the people had certainly had to pay a more odious tribute, that of forced labour, of servile work (1 Kings 4:6, Hebr.; 5:14 [1 Kings 4:34]; cf. 1 Kings 9:21. מַס is almost always used of a tribute rendered by labour, Gesen.) It is quite true that Solomon was not the first to institute this; that David had exacted it before him (2 Samuel 20:24); that the burden was one with which all subjects of the old-world monarchies, especially in the East, were familiar; and that in this case it had been imposed with peculiar considerateness (1 Kings 5:14). But it is none the less certain, when we consider the magnitude of Solomon's undertakings, and the number of men necessarily employed in executing them, that it must have involved some hardships and created much dissatisfaction; such results are inevitable in all conscriptions. "Forced labour has been amongst the causes leading to insurrection in many ages and countries. It alienated the people of Rome from the last Tarquin; it helped to bring about the French Revolution; and it was for many years one of the principal grievances of the Russian serfs" (Rawlinson). But we may find instances of its working perhaps as more Eastern, more closely illustrative of the text amongst the Fellahin of Egypt. "According to Pliny, 360,000 men had to work 20 years long at one pyramid" (Bahr). In the construction of the great Mahmoudieh canal, by Mehemet All, over 300,000 labourers were employed. They worked under the lash, and such were the fatigues and hardships of their life that many thousands died in the space of a few months (cf., too, Exodus 1:11 sqq.; Exodus 2:23]: now therefore make thou the grievous [Heb. hard, heavy] service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter [lit., "lighten somewhat from," etc.], and we will serve thee. [Their stipulations seem reasonable enough. Bahr, who says, "We cannot admit the complaint of too hard tribute work to be well founded," and Keil, who maintains that "there cannot have been any well-grounded occasion for complaint," surely forget that both the aged counsellors (ver. 7) and also the writer of this book (vers. 13-15) manifest some degree of sympathy with the complainants.]

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
“Your father
אָבִ֖יךָ (’ā·ḇî·ḵā)
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 1: Father

put a heavy
הִקְשָׁ֣ה (hiq·šāh)
Verb - Hifil - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7185: To be hard, severe or fierce

yoke
עֻלֵּ֑נוּ (‘ul·lê·nū)
Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common plural
Strong's 5923: A yoke

on us.
אֶת־ (’eṯ-)
Direct object marker
Strong's 853: Untranslatable mark of the accusative case

But now
עַתָּ֣ה (‘at·tāh)
Adverb
Strong's 6258: At this time

you
וְאַתָּ֡ה (wə·’at·tāh)
Conjunctive waw | Pronoun - second person masculine singular
Strong's 859: Thou and thee, ye and you

should lighten
הָקֵל֩ (hā·qêl)
Verb - Hifil - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 7043: To be slight, swift or trifling

the burden
הַקָּשָׁ֗ה (haq·qā·šāh)
Article | Adjective - feminine singular
Strong's 7186: Hard, severe

of your father’s
אָבִ֜יךָ (’ā·ḇî·ḵā)
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 1: Father

service
מֵעֲבֹדַ֨ת (mê·‘ă·ḇō·ḏaṯ)
Preposition-m | Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 5656: Work of any kind

and the heavy
הַכָּבֵ֛ד (hak·kā·ḇêḏ)
Article | Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 3515: Heavy

yoke
וּמֵעֻלּ֧וֹ (ū·mê·‘ul·lōw)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5923: A yoke

he put
נָתַ֥ן (nā·ṯan)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5414: To give, put, set

on us,
עָלֵ֖ינוּ (‘ā·lê·nū)
Preposition | first person common plural
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

and we will serve you.”
וְנַעַבְדֶֽךָּ׃ (wə·na·‘aḇ·ḏe·kā)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect Cohortative if contextual - first person common plural | second person masculine singular
Strong's 5647: To work, to serve, till, enslave


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OT History: 1 Kings 12:4 Your father made our yoke grievous: now (1Ki iKi i Ki 1 Kg 1kg)
1 Kings 12:3
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