1 Kings 3:26

3:26 The real mother ¹  spoke up to the king, for her motherly instincts were aroused. ²  She said, “My master, give her the living child! Whatever you do, don’t kill him!” ³  But the other woman said, “Neither one of us will have him! Let them cut him in two!”

1 Kings 5:6

5:6 So now order some cedars of Lebanon to be cut for me. My servants will work with your servants. I will pay your servants whatever you say is appropriate, for you know that we have no one among us who knows how to cut down trees like the Sidonians.”

1 Kings 12:10

12:10 The young advisers with whom Rehoboam ⁴  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.’ ⁵  Say this to them: ‘I am a lot harsher than my father! ⁶ 

1 Kings 18:23

18:23 Let them bring us two bulls. Let them choose one of the bulls for themselves, cut it up into pieces, and place it on the wood. But they must not set it on fire. I will do the same to the other bull and place it on the wood. But I will not set it on fire.

1 Kings 18:26

18:26 So they took a bull, as he had suggested, ⁷  and prepared it. They invoked the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “Baal, answer us.” But there was no sound and no answer. They jumped ⁸  around on the altar they had made. ⁹ 

1 Kings 20:31

20:31 His advisers ¹⁰  said to him, “Look, we have heard that the kings of the Israelite dynasty are kind. ¹¹  Allow us to put sackcloth around our waists and ropes on our heads ¹²  and surrender ¹³  to the king of Israel. Maybe he will spare our lives.”

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¹ tn Heb “the woman whose son was alive.”

² tn Heb “for her compassions grew warm for her son.”

³ tn The infinitive absolute before the negated jussive emphasizes the main verb.

⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Rehoboam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ tn Heb “Your father made our yoke heavy, but make it lighter upon us.”

⁶ 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.

⁷ tn Heb “and they took the bull which he allowed them.”

⁸ tn Heb “limped” (the same verb is used in v. 21).

⁹ tc The MT has “which he made,” but some medieval Hebrew mss and the ancient versions have the plural form of the verb.

¹⁰ tn Or “servants.”

¹¹ tn Or “merciful.” The word used here often means “devoted” or “loyal.” Perhaps the idea is that the Israelite kings are willing to make treaties with other kings.

¹² sn Sackcloth was worn as a sign of sorrow and repentance. The precise significance of the ropes on the head is uncertain, but it probably was a sign of submission. These actions were comparable to raising a white flag on the battlefield or throwing in the towel in a boxing match.

¹³ tn Heb “go out.”