Solomon’s Apostasy
11 But King Solomon loved many foreign women in addition to the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites, 2 from the nations which the Lord warned the children of Israel about, saying, “You shall not go in to them, nor shall they come in to you, for they will surely turn your heart away toward their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. 3 He had seven hundred wives who were princesses and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away. 4 For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods, and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God as the heart of David his father had been. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Molek, the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not fully follow the Lord as his father David had done.
7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is close to Jerusalem, and for Molek, the abomination of the children of Ammon. 8 He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
9 The Lord was angry with Solomon because he turned his heart away from the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, 10 and had warned him about this, that he should not follow other gods, but he was disobedient to the Lord’s command. 11 Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Since you have done this and have not kept My covenant and statutes, which I commanded you, I will surely take the kingdom from you and give it to your servant. 12 I will not do this in your lifetime for your father David’s sake, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 However, I will not take the whole kingdom away, but will preserve one tribe for your son for David My servant’s sake and for the sake of Jerusalem which I chose.”
Solomon’s Adversaries
14 The Lord stirred up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite. He was a prince of Edom. 15 For when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of the army had gone to bury the slain, he had killed every male in Edom 16 (for six months Joab stayed there with his men until he had killed every male in Edom). 17 But Hadad fled to Egypt, he and some Edomites who served his father, Hadad still being a small child. 18 They set out from Midian and went to Paran, and they gathered men from Paran and then arrived in Egypt and presented him before Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house and provisions and land.
19 Pharaoh had great affection for Hadad, so much so that he gave him his sister-in-law, the sister of Tahpenes the queen, as a wife. 20 Tahpenes’ sister gave birth to his son, Genubath, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh’s house. Genubath lived in Pharaoh’s house among the sons of Pharaoh.
21 When Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers and that Joab, the commander of the army, was dead, he said to Pharaoh, “Allow me to depart and go to my own country.”
22 Then Pharaoh said to him, “But what have you lacked with me that you want to go to your own country?”
And he answered, “Nothing, however let me go anyway.”
23 God stirred up another adversary against him, Rezon the son of Eliada, who fled from his lord Hadadezer, king of Zobah. 24 He gathered a group of men and became leader over a band when David killed the men of Zobah, and they fled to Damascus and lived and reigned there. 25 He was an enemy of Israel all the days of Solomon in addition to the troubles caused by Hadad, and he hated Israel and reigned over Aram.
Jeroboam’s Rebellion
26 Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite of Zeredah, who was Solomon’s servant and whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow woman, even he lifted up his hand against the king.
27 This is what led to his rebellion against the king. Solomon built Millo and repaired the wall of the City of David his father. 28 Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor, and when Solomon saw that the young man was industrious, he made him ruler over all the labor force of the house of Joseph.
29 At that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him along the way, and he had dressed himself in a new garment, and the two of them were alone in the field. 30 Ahijah took off the new garment that he wore and tore it into twelve pieces, 31 and he said to Jeroboam: Take ten pieces, for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “See, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to you 32 (but he shall have one tribe for My servant David’s sake and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel), 33 because they have forsaken Me and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molek the god of the children of Ammon and have not walked in My ways and have not done that which is right in My eyes, to keep My statutes and judgments, as his father David had done.
34 “However, I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David My servant’s sake, whom I chose, because he kept My commandments and My statutes. 35 But I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand and will give ten tribes to you. 36 To his son will I give one tribe, so that My servant David will always have a light before Me in Jerusalem, the city in which I have chosen to put My name. 37 I will take you, and you shall reign according to all that your soul desires and shall be king over Israel. 38 It shall be, if you will listen to all that I command you and will walk in My ways and do what is right in My sight to keep My statutes and My commandments, as David My servant did, I will be with you and build you a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to you. 39 I will thus afflict the seed of David, but not forever.”
40 Solomon therefore sought to kill Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose and fled to Egypt to Shishak, king of Egypt, and he stayed in Egypt until the death of Solomon.
The Death of Solomon(A)
41 The rest of the acts of Solomon and all that he did and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon? 42 And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. 43 Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the City of David his father, and his son Rehoboam reigned after him.
Cross references
- 1 Kings 11:41 : 2Ch 9:29–31
