1 Kings 11
1 King Solomon loved many foreign women, besides Pharaoh’s daughter: Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites.
2 They were from the nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “Do not join yourselves to them, and do not let them join themselves to you, for they would surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Solomon clung to these women in love.
3 He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away.
4 When Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.
5 Solomon followed Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites.
6 Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and did not follow the LORD wholeheartedly, as David his father had done.
7 Then Solomon built a shrine on the hill for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, on the mountain opposite Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the Ammonites.
8 He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.
9 The LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.
10 He had commanded him about this, that he should not follow other gods, but Solomon did not keep what the LORD had commanded.
11 The LORD said to Solomon, “Since this has happened with you, and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees that I commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant.
12 “But I will not do this during your lifetime, for the sake of your father David. I will tear it from the hand of your son.
13 Still, I will not tear away the whole kingdom. I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”
14 The LORD raised up an adversary against Solomon: Hadad the Edomite, who was of the royal line in Edom.
15 When David was in Edom and Joab, the commander of the army, had gone up to bury the dead, Joab killed every male in Edom.
16 For Joab and all Israel had stayed there six months, until they had cut down every male in Edom.
17 But Hadad fled to Egypt, along with some Edomites among his father’s servants. Hadad was still a very young boy.
18 They set out from Midian and went to Paran. They took some men with them from Paran and went to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave Hadad a house, provided him with food, and gave him land.
19 Hadad found great favor in Pharaoh’s eyes, and Pharaoh gave him in marriage the sister of his own wife, the sister of Queen Tahpenes.
20 Tahpenes’ sister bore him a son, Genubath, and Tahpenes weaned him in Pharaoh’s household. Genubath remained in Pharaoh’s household among Pharaoh’s sons.
21 When Hadad heard in Egypt that David had died and been laid with his ancestors, and that Joab, the commander of the army, had died, he said to Pharaoh, “Let me go to my own country.”
22 Pharaoh asked him, “What do you lack here with me, that you want to go to your own country?” He answered, “Nothing, but please let me go anyway.”
23 God also raised up another adversary against him: Rezon son of Eliada, who had fled from his master Hadadezer king of Zobah.
24 He gathered men around himself and became the leader of a band after David killed them. They went to Damascus, settled there, and ruled in Damascus.
25 He was an adversary of Israel throughout Solomon’s days, in addition to the trouble Hadad caused. He loathed Israel and ruled over Aram.
26 Jeroboam son of Nebat, an Ephraimite from Zereda, a servant of Solomon, also rebelled against the king. His mother’s name was Zeruah; she was a widow.
27 This is why he rebelled against the king: Solomon had built the Millo and closed the breach in the city of David his father.
28 Jeroboam was a capable man, and Solomon saw that the young man was good at his work, so he put him in charge of all the forced labor of the house of Joseph.
29 At that time, when Jeroboam had gone out of Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the road. Ahijah was wearing a new cloak, and the two of them were alone in the open country.
30 Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces.
31 He said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I am about to tear the kingdom from Solomon’s hand and give you ten tribes.
32 But one tribe will remain with him, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I chose from among all the tribes of Israel.’”
33 “‘They have abandoned me and bowed down to Ashtoreth, goddess of the Sidonians, to Chemosh, god of Moab, and to Milcom, god of the Ammonites. They have not walked in my ways, doing what is right in my eyes, or kept my decrees and rules, as David his father did.
34 Still, I will not take the whole kingdom from his hand. I will keep him as ruler all the days of his life, for the sake of my servant David, whom I chose, who kept my commandments and decrees.
35 But I will take the kingship from his son’s hand and give it to you: the ten tribes.
36 I will give one tribe to his son, so that my servant David may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city I chose for myself, to place my name there.
37 I will take you, and you will reign over all that you desire; you will be king over Israel.
38 If you listen to everything I command you, walk in my ways, and do what is right in my eyes, keeping my decrees and commandments as my servant David did, then I will be with you. I will establish a lasting house for you, as I established one for David, and I will give Israel to you.
39 Because of this, I will humble David’s descendants, but not forever.’”
40 Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam got up and fled to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt. He remained in Egypt until Solomon’s death.
41 The rest of Solomon’s acts, all that he did and his wisdom, are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon?
42 The time Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.
43 Solomon died and was buried in the city of David his father, and his son Rehoboam reigned in his place.
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