I Kings 11

¹Now a number of strange women were loved by Solomon, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites:

²The nations of which the Lord had said to the children of Israel, You are not to take wives from them and they are not to take wives from you; or they will certainly make you go after their gods: to these Solomon was united in love.

³He had seven hundred wives, daughters of kings, and three hundred other wives; and through his wives his heart was turned away.

⁴For it came about that when Solomon was old, his heart was turned away to other gods by his wives; and his heart was no longer true to the Lord his God as the heart of his father David had been.

⁵For Solomon went after Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Zidonians, and Milcom, the disgusting god of the Ammonites.

⁶And Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord, not walking in the Lord's ways with all his heart as David his father did.

⁷Then Solomon put up a high place for Chemosh, the disgusting god of Moab, in the mountain before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the disgusting god worshipped by the children of Ammon.

⁸And so he did for all his strange wives, who made offerings with burning of perfumes to their gods.

⁹And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had twice come to him in a vision;

¹⁰And had given him orders about this very thing, that he was not to go after other gods; but he did not keep the orders of the Lord.

¹¹So the Lord said to Solomon, Because you have done this, and have not kept my agreement and my laws, which I gave you, I will take the kingdom away from you by force and will give it to your servant.

¹²I will not do it in your life-time, because of your father David, but I will take it from your son.

¹³Still I will not take all the kingdom from him; but I will give one tribe to your son, because of my servant David, and because of Jerusalem, the town of my selection.

¹⁴So the Lord sent Hadad the Edomite to make trouble for Solomon: he was of the king's seed in Edom.

¹⁵And when David had sent destruction on Edom, and Joab, the captain of the army, had gone to put the dead into the earth, and had put to death every male in Edom;

¹⁶(For Joab and all Israel were there six months till every male in Edom had been cut off;)

¹⁷Hadad, being still a young boy, went in flight to Egypt, with certain Edomites, servants of his father;

¹⁸And they went on from Midian and came to Paran; and, taking men from Paran with them, they came to Egypt, to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who gave him a house and gave orders for his food and gave him land.

¹⁹Now Hadad was very pleasing to Pharaoh, so that he gave him the sister of his wife, Tahpenes the queen, for his wife.

²⁰And the sister of Tahpenes had a son by him, Genubath, whom Tahpenes took care of in Pharaoh's house; and Genubath was living in Pharaoh's house among Pharaoh's sons.

²¹Now when Hadad had news in Egypt that David had been put to rest with his fathers, and that Joab, the captain of the army, was dead, he said to Pharaoh, Send me back to my country.

²²But Pharaoh said to him, What have you been short of while you have been with me, that you are desiring to go back to your country? And he said, Nothing; but even so, send me back.

²³And God sent another trouble-maker, Rezon, the son of Eliada, who had gone in flight from his lord, Hadadezer, king of Zobah:

²⁴He got some men together and made himself captain of a band of outlaws; and went to Damascus and became king there.

²⁵He was a trouble to Israel all through the days of Solomon. And this is the damage Hadad did: he was cruel to Israel while he was ruler over Edom.

²⁶And there was Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite from Zeredah, a servant of Solomon, whose mother was Zeruah, a widow; and his hand was lifted up against the king.

²⁷The way in which his hand came to be lifted up against the king was this: Solomon was building the Millo and making good the damaged parts of the town of his father David;

²⁸And Jeroboam was an able and responsible man; and Solomon saw that he was a good worker and made him overseer of all the work given to the sons of Joseph.

²⁹Now at that time, when Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite came across him on the road; now Ahijah had put on a new robe; and the two of them were by themselves in the open country.

³⁰And Ahijah took his new robe in his hands, parting it violently into twelve.

³¹And he said to Jeroboam, Take ten of the parts, for this is what the Lord has said: See, I will take the kingdom away from Solomon by force, and will give ten tribes to you;

³²(But one tribe will be his, because of my servant David, and because of Jerusalem, the town which, out of all the tribes of Israel, I have made mine,)

³³Because they are turned away from me to the worship of Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Zidonians, and Chemosh, the god of Moab, and Milcom, the god of the Ammonites; they have not been walking in my ways or doing what is right in my eyes or keeping my laws and my decisions as his father David did.

³⁴But I will not take the kingdom from him; I will let him be king all the days of his life, because of David my servant, in whom I took delight because he kept my orders and my laws.

³⁵But I will take the kingdom from his son, and give it to you.

³⁶And one tribe I will give to his son, so that David my servant may have a light for ever burning before me in Jerusalem, the town which I have made mine to put my name there.

³⁷And you I will take, and you will be king over Israel, ruling over whatever is the desire of your soul.

³⁸And if you give attention to the orders I give you, walking in my ways and doing what is right in my eyes and keeping my laws and my orders as David my servant did; then I will be with you, building up for you a safe house, as I did for David, and I will give Israel to you.

³⁹(So that I may send trouble for this on the seed of David, but not for ever.)

⁴⁰And Solomon was looking for a chance to put Jeroboam to death; but he went in flight to Egypt, to Shishak, king of Egypt, and was in Egypt till the death of Solomon.

⁴¹Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all he did, and his wisdom, are they not recorded in the book of the acts of Solomon?

⁴²And the time Solomon was king in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.

⁴³And Solomon went to rest with his fathers, and was put into the earth in the town of David his father: and Solomon went to rest with his fathers and Rehoboam his son became king in his place.

I Kings 11

¹Now king Solomon loved many foreign women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites;

²of the nations concerning which the Lord 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.

³He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart.

⁴For it happened, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods; and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.

⁵For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.

⁶Solomon did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not go fully after the Lord, as did David his father.

⁷Then 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.

⁸So he did for all his foreign wives, who burnt incense and sacrificed to their gods.

⁹The Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice,

¹⁰and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he did not keep that which the Lord commanded.

¹¹Therefore the Lord 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.

¹²Notwithstanding I will not do it in your days, for David your father's sake; but I will tear it out of the hand of your son.

¹³However 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."

¹⁴The Lord raised up an adversary to Solomon, Hadad the Edomite: he was of the king's seed in Edom.

¹⁵For it happened, when David was in Edom, and Joab the captain of the army was 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);

¹⁷that Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father's servants with him, to go into Egypt, Hadad being yet a little child.

¹⁸They 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.

¹⁹Hadad 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.

²⁰The 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.

²¹When 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."

²²Then 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."

²³God raised up an adversary to him, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah.

²⁴He gathered men to him, and became captain over a troop, when David killed them of Zobah: and they went to Damascus, and lived therein, and reigned in Damascus.

²⁵He was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, besides the mischief of Hadad: and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria.

²⁶Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite of Zeredah, a servant of Solomon, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow, he also lifted up his hand against the king.

²⁷This was the reason why he lifted up his hand against the king: Solomon built Millo, and repaired the breach of the city of David his father.

²⁸The 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.

²⁹It happened at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; now Ahijah had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field.

³⁰Ahijah laid hold of the new garment that was on him, and tore it in twelve pieces.

³¹He said to Jeroboam, "Take ten pieces; for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, '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);

³³because that 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;

³⁵but I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give it to you, even ten tribes.

³⁶To his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a lamp always before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there.

³⁷I will take you, and you shall reign according to all that your soul desires, and shall be king over Israel.

³⁸It 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.

³⁹I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not forever.'"

⁴⁰Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam; but Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

⁴¹Now 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?

⁴²The time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.

⁴³Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.