What Does 1 Kings 12:12 Mean in the King James?
So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the third day.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The word translated “again” means “return”: the people come back into the king’s presence with their unresolved demand.
THE MEANING
The verse holds the space between a summons and an answer: the people return together at the time set, and their request is back in the room. Being present before power does not yet mean the matter is resolved.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
An appointed hearing is not the same as an answered request; the verse records the people’s return while the king’s answer remains open.
THE ROOT
שׁוּבוּ
shuvu
GROWS FROM
שוב
shuv
turn back; return
The word translated “again” is the plural command “return.” The same root can also name restoration, so the people’s arrival is a return into the king’s presence while the matter that brought them there remains unresolved.
ALSO GROWS
teshuvah: return; turning back
תְּשׁוּבָה
This branch makes the movement in “come to me again” a return toward the king, not merely another scheduled visit.
yeshovev: brings back; restores
יְשׁוֹבֵב
The shared root links returning with restoration, though this gathering has not yet resolved what brought the people back.
THE PATTERN
A summons to return gathers people into another’s presence, where the unresolved matter can meet its answer.
Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.THE THREAD
Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?Both verses use שוב (shuv), “return,” for movement back toward someone. Malachi makes the return mutual, while 1 Kings holds the moment before the king’s response.
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