The In-Dept Study of the Bible
Kings 11
1 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, together with the daughter
of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, andHittites,
2 of the nations concerning which Yahweh said to the children of Israel, “You
shall not go among them, neither shall
they come among you, for surely they will
turn away your heart after their gods.”
Solomon joined to these in love.
3 He had seven hundred wives,
princesses, and three hundred concubines. His wives turned his heart away.
4 When Solomon was old, his wives
turned away his heart after other gods;
and his heart was not perfect with Yahweh
his God, as the heart of David his father
was.
5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the
goddess ofthe Sidonians, and after Milcom
the abomination of the Ammonites.
6 Solomon did that which was evil in
Yahweh’s sight, and didn’t go fully after
Yahweh, as David his father did.
7 Then Solomon built a high place for
Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the
mountain that is before Jerusalem, and for
Molech the abomination of the children of
Ammon.
8 So he did for all his foreign wives,
who burned incense and sacrificed to their
gods.
9 Yahweh was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned away from Yahweh,
the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice,
10 and had commanded him concerning
this thing, that he should not go after other
gods; but he didn’t keep that which Yahweh commanded.
11 Therefore Yahweh said to Solomon,
“Because this is done by you, and you have
not kept my covenant and my statutes,
which I have commanded you,I will surely
tear the kingdom from you, and will give it
to your servant.
12 Nevertheless, I will not do it in your
days, for David your father’s sake; but I
will tear it out of your son’s hand.
13 However, I will not tear away all the
kingdom; but I will give one tribe to your
son, for David my servant’s sake, and for
Jerusalem’s sake which I have chosen.”
14 Yahweh raised up an adversary to
Solomon: Hadad the Edomite. He was one
of the king’s offspring in Edom.
15 For when David was inEdom, andJoab
the captain of the army had gone up to
bury the slain, and had struck every male
in Edom
16 (for Joab and all Israel remained there
six months, until he had cut off every male
in Edom),
17 Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites
of his father’s servants with him, to go into
Egypt, when Hadad was still a little child.
18 They arose out of Midian and came to
Paran; and they took men with them out of
Paran, and they came to Egypt, to Pharaoh
king of Egypt, who gave him a house, and
appointed him food, and gave him land.
19 Hadad found great favor in the sight
of Pharaoh, so that he gave him as wife
the sister of his own wife, the sister of
Tahpenes the queen.
20 The sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned
in Pharaoh’s house; and Genubath was
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 captain of the army was dead, Hadad
said to Pharaoh, “Let me depart, that I may
go to my own country.”
22 Then Pharaoh said to him, “But what
have you lacked with me, that behold, you
seek to go to your own country?”
He answered, “Nothing, however only
let me depart.”
23 God raised up an adversary to him,
Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from
his lord, Hadadezer king of Zobah.
24 He gathered men to himself, and became captain over a troop, when David
killed them of Zobah. They went to Damascus and lived there, and reigned in Damascus.
25 He was an adversary to Israel all the
days of Solomon, in addition to the mischief of Hadad. He abhorred Israel, and
reigned over Syria.
26 Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an
Ephraimite of Zeredah, a servant of
Solomon, whose mother’s name was
Zeruah, a widow, also lifted up his hand
against the king.
27 This was the reason why he lifted up
his hand against the king: Solomon built
Millo, and repaired the breachofhis father
David’s city.
28 The man Jeroboam was a mighty man
of valor; and Solomon saw the young man
that he was industrious, and he put him
in charge of all the labor of the house of
Joseph.
29 At that time, when Jeroboam went
out of Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the
Shilonite found him on the way. Now Ahijah had clad himself with a new garment;
and the two ofthem were alone inthefield.
30 Ahijah took the new garment that was
on him, and tore it in twelve pieces.
31 He said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces;
for Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, ‘Behold, 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 Jerusalem’s
sake, the city which I have chosen out of all
the tribes of Israel),
33 because they have forsaken me, and
have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of
the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab,
and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon. They have not walked in my ways,
to do that which is right in my eyes, and
to keep my statutes and my ordinances, as
David his father did.
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, who kept
my commandments and my statutes,
35 but I will take the kingdom out of his
son’s hand and will give it to you, even ten
tribes.
36 I will give one tribe to his son, that
David my servant may have a lamp always
before me in Jerusalem, the city which I
have chosen for myself to put my name
there.
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 that which is right in my eyes, to
keep my statutes and my commandments,
as David my servant did, that I will be with
you, and will build you a sure house, as I
built for David, and will give Israel to you.
39 I will afflict the offspring of David for
this, but not forever.’ ”
40 Therefore Solomon sought to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam arose and fled into
Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and was in
Egypt until the death of Solomon.
41 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon,
and all that he did, and his wisdom, aren’t
they written in the book of the acts of
Solomon?
42 The time that Solomon reigned in
Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.
43 Solomon slept with his fathers, and
was buried in his father David’s city; and
Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.