⁷ They replied, “Be kind to them. Please them. Give them what they are asking for. Then they’ll always serve you.”

⁸ But Rehoboam didn’t accept the advice the elders gave him. He asked for advice from the young men who had grown up with him and were now serving him. ⁹ He asked them, “What’s your advice? How should I answer these people? They said to me, ‘Make the load your father put on our shoulders lighter.’ ”