And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.

And now my father put a, heavy yoke upon you, but I will add to your yoke: my father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions.

and whereas my father laid a heavy yoke upon you, I will add to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.

and now, my father laid on you a heavy yoke, and I add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, and I, I chastise you with scorpions.'

If my father put a hard yoke on you, I will make it harder: my father gave you punishment with whips, but I will give you blows with snakes.

And now whereas my father did burden you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.'

And now, my father placed a heavy yoke upon you, but I will add more upon your yoke. My father cut you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions.' "

Scorpions - By this word some understand whips having leaden balls at the ends of their lashes with hooks projecting from them; others the thorny stem of the eggplant, or "the scorpion plant." But it seems best to regard the expression as a figure of speech.

Chastise you with scorpions - Should you rebel, or become disaffected, my father's whip shall be a scorpion in my hand. His was chastisement, mine shall be punishment. St. Isidore, and after him Calmet and others, assert that the scorpion was a sort of severe whip, the lashes of which were armed with iron points, that sunk into and tore the flesh. We know that the scorpion was a military engine among the Romans for shooting arrows, which, being poisoned, were likened to the scorpion's sting, and the wound it inflicted.

And now, whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke,.... Which was putting words into his mouth, owning the charge and accusation brought against his father, as he did, 1-Kings 12:14, which was very unbecoming, if true; unless this is said according to the sense of the people:
I will add to your yoke; make it heavier, lay more taxes on them:
my father hath chastised you with whips; which was putting a lie into his mouth, and which he uttered, 1-Kings 12:14 for no instance of severity exercised on the people in general can be given during the whole reign of Solomon:
but I will chastise you with scorpions; treat them more roughly, and with greater rigour: whips may mean smaller ones, these horse whips, as in the Targum; which gave an acute pain, like the sting of scorpions, or made a wound like one. Ben Gersom says, these were rods with thorns on them, which pierced and gave much pain. Weemse (h) thinks these are alluded to by thorns in the sides, Numbers 33:55, for whipping with them was about the sides, and not along the back. Abarbinel calls them iron thorns, rods that had iron prongs or rowels to them, which tore the flesh extremely. Isidore (i) says, a rod that is smooth is called a rod, but, if knotty and prickled, it is rightly called a scorpion, because it makes a wound in the body arched or crooked. Pliny (k) ascribes the invention of this sort of scorpions to the Cretians.
(h) Christian Synagogue, paragraph 6. diatrib. 2. p. 190. (i) Origin. l. 5. c. 27. p. 39. (k) Nat. Hist. l. 7. c. 56.

whips . . . scorpions--The latter [instruments], as contrasted with the former, are supposed to mean thongs thickly set with sharp iron points, used in the castigation of slaves.