NET Bible
"They said to him,“Today if you will be a servant to these people and grant their request, speaking kind words to them, they will be your servants from this time forward.”"
— 1 Kings 12:7, NET Bible
“And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever.”
“And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever. ”
“They spoke to him, saying, "If you will be a servant to this people this day, and will serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever."”
“They said to him: If thou wilt yield to this people to day, and condescend to them, and grant their petition, and wilt speak gentle words to them, they will be thy servants always.”
“And they said to him, If you will be a servant to this people today, caring for them and giving them a gentle answer, then they will be your servants for ever.”
“And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever.”
“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.”
He said to them,“Go away for three days, then return to me.” So the people went away.
King Rehoboam consulted with the older advisers who had served his father Solomon when he had been alive. He asked them,“How do you advise me to answer these people?”
They said to him,“Today if you will be a servant to these people and grant their request, speaking kind words to them, they will be your servants from this time forward.”
But Rehoboam rejected their advice and consulted the young advisers who served him, with whom he had grown up.
He asked them,“How do you advise me to respond to these people who said to me,‘Lessen the demands your father placed on us’?”
The young advisers with whom Rehoboam 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.’ Say this to them:‘I am a lot harsher than my father!