Bible in Basic English
"So after taking thought the king made two oxen of gold; and he said to the people, You have been going up to Jerusalem long enough; see! these are your gods, O Israel, who took you out of the land of Egypt."
— 1 Kings 12:28, Bible in Basic English
Then Jeroboam made the town of Shechem in the hill-country of Ephraim a strong place, and was living there; and from there he went out and did the same to Penuel.
And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now the kingdom will go back to the family of David:
If the people go up to make offerings in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, their heart will be turned again to their lord, to Rehoboam, king of Judah; and they will put me to death and go back to Rehoboam, king of Judah.
So after taking thought the king made two oxen of gold; and he said to the people, You have been going up to Jerusalem long enough; see! these are your gods, O Israel, who took you out of the land of Egypt.
And he put one in Beth-el and the other in Dan.
And this became a sin in Israel; for the people went to give worship to the one at Beth-el, and to the other at Dan.
And he made places for worship at the high places, and made priests, who were not Levites, from among all the people.