The Meaning of 1 Kings 12:13 Explained

1 Kings 12:13

KJV: And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men's counsel that they gave him;

YLT: And the king answereth the people sharply, and forsaketh the counsel of the elders which they counselled him,

Darby: And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the advice of the old men which they had given him;

ASV: And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him,

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And the king  answered  the people  roughly,  and forsook  the old men's  counsel  that they gave  him; 

What does 1 Kings 12:13 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Kings 12:12-24 - The Kingdom Rent In Twain
Rehoboam richly deserved his fate. He was forty-one years old, 2 Chronicles 12:13, and ought to have known better. His speech betrayed the despot. He had no right to speak with such arrogant insolence to a great and liberty-loving people. It is only a weak man who boasts of deeds he cannot perform, and there was a rasping flavor in his comparison which indicated the malice of an unregenerate heart. We have heard people speak like this to those whom they counted their inferiors, but all such words are the scattering of thistledown, which will spoil the harvests of their own fields. Learn to speak civilly, or not at all. Insist that young lads and girls keep a civil tongue in their heads. Curses are like boomerangs; they come back on the man that utters them.
Twice over we are told that it was a thing brought about by God- 1 Kings 12:15; 1 Kings 12:24. Beneath all political changes and revolutions you will find the slow evolving of a divine purpose. God does not instigate sin. This arises from man's abuse of his own free-will. But God will so control the warring wills of men that the plan of His eternal counsel and foreknowledge shall not be interfered with but furthered.
1 Kings 12:1-33 - Breaking Three Commandments
From a worldly point of view Naboth might have done a good stroke of business by selling his estate to. Ahab. A royal price and assured favor might have been his-but he had a conscience! Above the persuasive tones of the monarch's offer sounded the voice of God: "The land shall not be sold for ever, for the land is mine." See Leviticus 25:23; Numbers 36:7; Ezekiel 46:18.
Ahab knew perfectly well that Jezebel could not give him the property of another except by foul means, but he took pains not to inquire. Though the direct orders for Naboth's death did not come from him, yet, by his silence, he was an accomplice and an accessory; and divine justice penetrates all such specious excuses. God holds us responsible for wrongs which we do not arrest, though we have the power. The crime was blacker because of the pretext of religion, as suggested by a fast. See also 2 Kings 9:26. The blood of murdered innocence cries to God, and his requital, though delayed, is inevitable. See Revelation 6:9-10. [source]

Chapter Summary: 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

What do the individual words in 1 Kings 12:13 mean?

And answered the king - the people roughly and rejected the advice the elders which had given him
וַיַּ֧עַן הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ אֶת־ הָעָ֖ם קָשָׁ֑ה וַֽיַּעֲזֹ֛ב עֲצַ֥ת הַזְּקֵנִ֖ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר יְעָצֻֽהוּ

וַיַּ֧עַן  And  answered 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: לְעַנּׄות 
Sense: to answer, respond, testify, speak, shout.
הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ  the  king 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
הָעָ֖ם  the  people 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
קָשָׁ֑ה  roughly 
Parse: Adjective, feminine singular
Root: קָשֶׁה  
Sense: hard, cruel, severe, obstinate.
וַֽיַּעֲזֹ֛ב  and  rejected 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עָזַב 
Sense: to leave, loose, forsake.
עֲצַ֥ת  the  advice 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: עֵצָה 
Sense: counsel, advice, purpose.
הַזְּקֵנִ֖ים  the  elders 
Parse: Article, Adjective, masculine plural
Root: זָקֵן  
Sense: old.
יְעָצֻֽהוּ  had  given  him 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural, third person masculine singular
Root: יׄועֵץ 
Sense: to advise, consult, give counsel, counsel, purpose, devise, plan.