3 The people sent for Jeroboam. Then he and the people went to Rehoboam. They said to Rehoboam,
4 “Your father forced us to work very hard. Now, make it easier for us. Don’t make us work as hard as your father did. Then we will serve you.”
5 Rehoboam answered, “Come back to me in three days.” So the people left.
6 There were some elders who had helped Solomon make decisions during his lifetime. So King Rehoboam asked them what he should do. He said, “How do you think I should answer these people?”
7 They answered, “Be kind to these people. Please them and give them a kind answer. If you do, they will serve you always.”
8 But Rehoboam did not listen to the advice the elders gave him. He talked with the young men who had grown up with him. They advised him in making decisions.
9 Rehoboam asked them, “What is your advice? How should we answer these people? They said, ‘Don’t make us work as hard as your father did.’”