God's New Bible

The First Book of the Kings

Catholic Public Domain :: World English Bible Catholic

- Chapter 11 -

1
But king Solomon loved many foreign women, including the daughter of Pharaoh, and women of Moab, and of Ammon, and of Idumea, and of Sidon, and of the Hittites.
2
These were of the nations about whom the Lord said to the sons of Israel: “You shall not enter to them, and none of them shall enter to anyone of yours. For they will most certainly turn aside your hearts, so that you follow their gods.” And yet, to these Solomon was joined with a greatly enflamed love.
3
And for him, there were seven hundred wives, as if they were queens, and three hundred concubines. And the women turned aside his heart.
4
And when now he was old, his heart was perverted by the women, so that he followed strange gods. And his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David.
5
For Solomon worshipped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom, the idol of the Ammonites.
6
And Solomon did what was not pleasing in the sight of the Lord. And he did not continue to follow the Lord, as his father David did.
7
Then Solomon built a shrine for Chemosh, the idol of Moab, on the mount that is opposite Jerusalem, and for Milcom, the idol of the sons of Ammon.(a)
8
And he acted in this manner for all his foreign wives, who were burning incense and immolating to their gods.

God’s Anger against Solomon

9
And so, the Lord became angry with Solomon, because his mind had been turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice,
10
and who had instructed him about this matter, lest he follow strange gods. But he did not observe what the Lord commanded to him.
11
And so, the Lord said to Solomon: “Because you have this with you, and because you have not kept my covenant and my precepts, which I commanded to you, I will tear apart your kingdom, and I will give it to your servant.
12
Yet truly, I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David. From the hand of your son, I will tear it away.
13
Neither will I take away the whole kingdom. Instead, I will grant one tribe to your son, for the sake of David, my servant, and Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”(b)

Hadad’s Return

14
Then the Lord raised up an adversary to Solomon, Hadad of Idumea, from an offspring of the king who was in Idumea.
15
For when David was in Idumea, Joab, the leader of the military, had ascended to bury those who had been killed, and he had killed every male in Idumea.
16
And Joab remained in that place for six months, with all of Israel, until he had put to death every male in Idumea.
17
Then Hadad fled, he and some men of Idumea from among the servants of his father with him, so that he might enter into Egypt. But Hadad was then a little boy.
18
And when they had risen up from Midian, they went into Paran, and they took with them some men from Paran. And they went into Egypt, to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. And he gave him a house, and he appointed food for him, and he assigned land to him.
19
And Hadad found great favor before Pharaoh, so much so that he gave to him as wife, the sister of his own wife, queen Tahpenes.
20
And the sister of Tahpenes bore to him a son, Genubath. And Tahpenes raised him in the house of Pharaoh. And Genubath was living with Pharaoh and his sons.
21
And when Hadad had heard in Egypt that David had slept with his fathers, and that Joab, the leader of the military, had died, he said to Pharaoh, “Release me, so that I may go to my own land.”
22
And Pharaoh said to him, “But what is lacking to you with me, so that you would seek to go to your own land?” But he responded: “Nothing. Yet I beg you that you may release me.”

Rezon’s Hostility

23
Also, God raised up against him an adversary, Rezon, the son of Eliada, who had fled from his lord, Hadad-Ezer, the king of Zobah.
24
And he gathered together men against him. And when David put those of Zobah to death, he became a leader of robbers. And they went away to Damascus, and they lived there. And they appointed him to be king of Damascus.
25
And he was an adversary to Israel during all the days of Solomon. And such is the evil of Hadad and of his hatred against Israel. And he reigned in Syria.

Jeroboam’s Rebellion

26
Also, there was Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite from Zeredah, a servant of Solomon, whose mother was named Zeruah, a widowed woman. He lifted up his hand against the king.
27
And this is the reason for his rebellion against him: that Solomon built up Millo, and that he filled in a deep hole in the city of David, his father.
28
Now Jeroboam was a valiant and powerful man. And perceiving the young man to be ingenious and industrious, Solomon appointed him as first ruler over the tributes of the entire house of Joseph.
29
And it happened, in that time, that Jeroboam departed from Jerusalem. And the prophet Ahijah, the Shilonite, wearing a new cloak, found him on the way. And the two were alone in the field.
30
And taking his new cloak, with which he was covered, Ahijah tore it into twelve parts.
31
And he said to Jeroboam: “Take ten pieces for yourself. For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon, and I will give to you ten tribes.
32
Yet one tribe shall remain with him, for the sake of my servant, David, as well as Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.
33
For he has abandoned me, and he has adored Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Chemosh, the god of Moab, and Milcom, the god of the sons of Ammon. And he has not walked in my ways, so that he would do justice before me, and so that he would carry out my precepts and judgments, as his father David did.
34
But I will not take the entire kingdom from his hand. Instead, I will establish him as the ruler during all the days of his life, for the sake of my servant David, whom I chose, who kept my commandments and my precepts.
35
But I will take away the kingdom from the hand of his son, and I will give to you ten tribes.
36
Then, to his son, I will give one tribe, so that there may remain a lamp for my servant David before me, for all days, in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen, so that my name would be there.
37
And I will take you up, and you shall reign over all that your soul desires. And you shall be king over Israel.
38
Therefore, if you will listen to all that I will command you, and if you will walk in my ways, and do what is right in my sight, keeping my commandments and my precepts, just as my servant David did, then I will be with you, and I will build for you a faithful house, in the way that I built a house for David, and I will deliver Israel to you.
39
And I will afflict the offspring of David over this, but truly not for all days.’ ”
40
Therefore, Solomon wanted to kill Jeroboam. But he rose up and fled away to Egypt, to Shishak, the king of Egypt. And he was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

The Death of Solomon

(2 Chronicles 9:29–31)
41
Now the rest of the words of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom: behold, these are all written in the book of the words of the days of Solomon.(c)
42
And the days that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem, over all of Israel, were forty years.
43
And Solomon slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the city of David, his father. And Rehoboam, his son, reigned in his place.(d)

Footnotes

(a)11:7 This building of shrines to false gods prefigures the building of churches and shrines dedicated to false claims of private revelation in the present age.(Conte)
(b)11:13 One tribe:Besides that of Juda, his own native tribe.(Challoner)
(c)11:41 The book of the words, etc:This book is lost, with divers others mentioned in holy writ.(Challoner)
(d)11:43 Solomon slept, etc:That is, died. He was then about fifty-eight years of age, having reigned forty years.(Challoner)
1
Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites,
2
of 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.
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 the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father was.
5
For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
6
Solomon did that which was evil in the LORD’s sight, and didn’t go fully after the LORD, 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.

God’s Anger against Solomon

9
The LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned away from the LORD, 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 the LORD commanded.
11
Therefore 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.
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.”

Hadad’s Return

14
The LORD raised up an adversary to Solomon: Hadad the Edomite. He was one of the king’s offspring in Edom.
15
For when David was in Edom, and Joab 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.”

Rezon’s Hostility

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.

Jeroboam’s Rebellion

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 breach of his 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 of them were alone in the field.
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 the LORD, 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.

The Death of Solomon

(2 Chronicles 9:29–31)
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.