King James Version

1 Kings 12:4

Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.

Study

Hebrew

Tap a word to see its meaning. Words run left to right in English reading order.

אָבִ֖יךָavikhafatherאָבnoun, common, masculine, singular, construct, suffix, pronominal, 2nd person, masculine, singular — “father”, the of-form, joined to the next wordH1father, in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote applicationchief, (fore-) father(-less), [idiom] patrimony, principal. Compare names in 'Abi-'.הִקְשָׁ֣הhiqshahbe cruelקָשָׁהverb, hiphil, perfect, 3rd person, masculine, singular — “be cruel”, a completed actionH7185properly, to be dense, i.e. tough or severe (in various applications)be cruel, be fiercer, make grievous, be ((ask a), be in, have, seem, would) hard(-en, (labour), -ly, thing), be sore, (be, make) stiff(-en, (-necked)).אֶתetobject markerאֵתparticle, direct object marker — “object marker”H853properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)(as such unrepresented in English).עֻלֵּ֑נוּulenvyokeעֹלnoun, common, masculine, singular, construct, suffix, pronominal, 1st person, common, plural — “yoke”, the of-form, joined to the next wordH5923a yoke (as imposed on the neck), literally or figurativelyyoke.וְאַתָּ֡הveatahand theeאַתָּהconjunction, pronoun, personal, 2nd person, masculine, singular — “and thee”H859thou and thee, or (plural) ye and youthee, thou, ye, you.עַתָּ֣הatahthis timeעַתָּהadverb — “this time”H6258at this time, whether adverb, conjunction or expletivehenceforth, now, straightway, this time, whereas.הָקֵל֩haqelmake brightקָלַלverb, hiphil, imperative, 2nd person, masculine, singular — “make bright”, a commandH7043to be (causatively, make) light, literally (swift, small, sharp, etc.) or figuratively (easy, trifling, vile, etc.)abate, make bright, bring into contempt, (ac-) curse, despise, (be) ease(-y, -ier), (be a, make, make somewhat, move, seem a, set) light(-en, -er, -ly, -ly afflict, -ly esteem, thing), [idiom] slight(-ly), be swift(-er), (be, be more, make…מֵעֲבֹדַ֨תmeavodatfrom workעֲבֹדָהpreposition, noun, common, feminine, singular, construct — “from work”, the of-form, joined to the next wordH5656work of any kindact, bondage, [phrase] bondservant, effect, labour, ministering(-try), office, service(-ile, -itude), tillage, use, work, [idiom] wrought.אָבִ֜יךָavikhafatherאָבnoun, common, masculine, singular, construct, suffix, pronominal, 2nd person, masculine, singular — “father”, the of-form, joined to the next wordH1father, in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote applicationchief, (fore-) father(-less), [idiom] patrimony, principal. Compare names in 'Abi-'.הַקָּשָׁ֗הhaqashahthe churlishקָשֶׁהdefinite article, adjective, adjective, feminine, singular, absolute — “the churlish”, the ordinary formH7186severe (in various applications)churlish, cruel, grievous, hard((-hearted), thing), heavy, [phrase] impudent, obstinate, prevailed, rough(-ly), sore, sorrowful, stiff(necked), stubborn, [phrase] in trouble.וּמֵעֻלּ֧וֹumeulvoand from yokeעֹלconjunction, preposition, noun, common, masculine, singular, construct, suffix, pronominal, 3rd person, masculine, singular — “and from yoke”, the of-form, joined to the next wordH5923a yoke (as imposed on the neck), literally or figurativelyyoke.הַכָּבֵ֛דhakavedthe heavyכָּבֵדdefinite article, adjective, adjective, masculine, singular, absolute — “the heavy”, the ordinary formH3515heavy; figuratively in a good sense (numerous) or in a bad sense (severe, difficult, stupid)(so) great, grievous, hard(-ened), (too) heavy(-ier), laden, much, slow, sore, thick.אֲשֶׁרasherbecauseאֲשֶׁרparticle, relative — “because”H834who, which, what, that; also (as an adverb and a conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.[idiom] after, [idiom] alike, as (soon as), because, [idiom] every, for, [phrase] forasmuch, [phrase] from whence, [phrase] how(-soever), [idiom] if, (so) that ((thing) which, wherein), [idiom] though, [phrase] until, [phrase] whatsoever,…נָתַ֥ןnatangiveנָתַןverb, qal, perfect, 3rd person, masculine, singular — “give”, a completed actionH5414to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etc.)add, apply, appoint, ascribe, assign, [idiom] avenge, [idiom] be (healed), bestow, bring (forth, hither), cast, cause, charge, come, commit, consider, count, [phrase] cry, deliver (up), direct, distribute, do, [idiom] doubtless, [idiom] wi…עָלֵ֖ינוּaleynvaboveעַלpreposition, suffix, pronominal, 1st person, common, plural — “above”H5921above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsabove, according to(-ly), after, (as) against, among, and, [idiom] as, at, because of, beside (the rest of), between, beyond the time, [idiom] both and, by (reason of), [idiom] had the charge of, concerning for, in (that), (forth, out) of,…וְנַעַבְדֶֽךָּvenaavdekaand keep in bondageעָבַדconjunction, verb, qal, imperfect, 1st person, common, plural, suffix, pronominal, 2nd person, masculine, singular — “and keep in bondage”, an unfinished actionH5647to work (in any sense); by implication, to serve, till, (causatively) enslave, etc.[idiom] be, keep in bondage, be bondmen, bond-service, compel, do, dress, ear, execute, [phrase] husbandman, keep, labour(-ing man, bring to pass, (cause to, make to) serve(-ing, self), (be, become) servant(-s), do (use) service, till(-er)…

Jewish translation (JPS 1917)

'Thy father made our yoke grievous; now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.'

Compare Public-Domain Translations

The King James Version remains the text of this page and the canonical URL.

American Standard Version (1901)

Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.

Young’s Literal Translation

'Thy father made hard our yoke, and thou, now, make light [some] of the hard service of thy father, and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we serve thee.'

World English Bible

“Your father made our yoke difficult. Now therefore make the hard service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, lighter, and we will serve you.”

Darby Translation

Thy father made our yoke grievous; and now lighten thou the grievous servitude of thy father and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve thee.

Douay-Rheims

Thy father laid a grievous yoke upon us: now therefore do thou take off a little of the grievous service of thy father, and of his most heavy yoke, which he put upon us, and we will serve thee.

Jewish Publication Society (1917)

'Thy father made our yoke grievous; now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.'

Brenton’s Septuagint (1851), English

but do thou now lighten somewhat of the hard service of thy father, and of his heavy yoke which he put upon us, and we will serve thee.

Septuagint (Brenton’s Greek, 1851)

Ὁ πατήρ σου ἐβάρυνε τὸν κλοιὸν ἡμῶν, καὶ σὺ νῦν κούφισον ἀπὸ τῆς δουλείας τοῦ πατρός σου τῆς σκληρᾶς, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ κλοιοῦ αὐτοῦ τοῦ βαρέως, οὗ ἔδωκεν ἐφʼ ἡμᾶς, καὶ δουλεύσομέν σοι.