1 KingsChapter 11

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¹But King Solomon loved many women from other nations. Besides Pharaoh's daughter, he loved women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Sidon. He also loved Hittite women. ²The LORD had told the Israelites about these nations. He said, "You must not marry them. They will surely turn your hearts to follow their gods." But Solomon held on to these women and loved them. ³He had seven hundred wives who were princesses. He also had three hundred concubines. And his wives turned his heart away. ⁴For when Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart to follow other gods. His heart was not fully true to the LORD his God, as his father David's heart had been. ⁵Solomon followed Ashtoreth, the goddess of the people of Sidon. He followed Milcom, the hateful god of the Ammonites. ⁶So Solomon did what was evil in the LORD's eyes. He did not follow the LORD completely, as his father David had. ⁷At that time Solomon built a high place on a hill east of Jerusalem. It was for Chemosh, the hateful god of Moab. He also built one for Molech, the hateful god of the Ammonites. ⁸He did the same for all his foreign wives. They burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods. ⁹The LORD became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel. The LORD had appeared to him two times. ¹⁰The LORD had clearly warned Solomon not to follow other gods. But Solomon did not obey the LORD's command. ¹¹So the LORD said to Solomon, "You have done this. You have not kept my covenant and my rules, which I commanded you. So I will tear the kingdom away from you. I will give it to your servant. ¹²But I will not do it while you are alive. I will hold back for the sake of your father David. I will tear it out of your son's hand. ¹³But I will not tear the whole kingdom away from him. I will give your son one tribe. I will do this for the sake of my servant David. I will also do it for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen." ¹⁴Then the LORD raised up an enemy against Solomon. It was Hadad the Edomite, from the royal family of Edom. ¹⁵Years before, David was in Edom. Joab, the commander of the army, went there to bury the dead. He killed every male in Edom. ¹⁶Joab and all the Israelites stayed there six months. They stayed until he had killed every male in Edom. ¹⁷But Hadad ran away to Egypt. He was only a young boy then. Some Edomites who had served his father went with him. ¹⁸Hadad and his men left Midian and went to Paran. They took men from Paran with them. Then they went to Egypt, to Pharaoh the king of Egypt. Pharaoh gave Hadad a house and land. He also gave him food. ¹⁹Pharaoh liked Hadad very much. So he gave Hadad a wife. She was the sister of Pharaoh's own wife, Queen Tahpenes. ²⁰The sister of Tahpenes had a son with Hadad. His name was Genubath. Tahpenes herself raised him in Pharaoh's palace until he no longer nursed. Genubath lived there with Pharaoh's sons. ²¹While Hadad was in Egypt, he heard that David had died and rested with his fathers. He also heard that Joab, the commander of the army, was dead. Then Hadad said to Pharaoh, "Let me go. I want to go back to my own country." ²²Pharaoh asked him, "What don't you have here with me? Why do you suddenly want to go back to your own country?" Hadad answered, "Nothing. But please let me go." ²³God raised up another enemy against Solomon. It was Rezon son of Eliada. He had run away from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah. ²⁴Rezon gathered a group of men around him. When David killed the men of Zobah, Rezon became the leader of a gang of raiders. They went to Damascus. They settled there and took control of it. ²⁵Rezon was Israel's enemy as long as Solomon lived. He added to the trouble Hadad caused. So Rezon ruled over Aram, and he hated Israel. ²⁶Jeroboam son of Nebat was from the tribe of Ephraim. He came from Zeredah. His mother was a widow named Zeruah. Jeroboam was one of Solomon's officials. But he rebelled against the king. ²⁷This is the story of how he rebelled against the king. Solomon had built the terraces. He had fixed the gap in the wall of the city of his father David. ²⁸Jeroboam was a strong and able man. Solomon saw that the young man was a hard worker. So he put him in charge of all the workers from the tribes of Joseph. ²⁹At that time Jeroboam was leaving Jerusalem. The prophet Ahijah from Shiloh met him on the road. Ahijah was wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone out in the open field. ³⁰Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing. He tore it into twelve pieces. ³¹Then he said to Jeroboam, "Take ten pieces for yourself. This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Look! I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon's hand. I will give you ten tribes. ³²But Solomon will keep one tribe. This is for the sake of my servant David. It is also for the sake of Jerusalem. I chose that city out of all the tribes of Israel. ³³I will do this because they have left me. They worship Ashtoreth, the goddess of the people of Sidon. They worship Chemosh, the god of the Moabites, and Milcom, the god of the Ammonites. They have not lived in my ways. They have not done what is right in my eyes. They have not kept my rules and laws as Solomon's father David did. ³⁴But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon's hand, because I have made him ruler for as long as he lives. I am doing this for the sake of my servant David. I chose David because he kept my commands and rules. ³⁵But I will take ten tribes of the kingdom out of his son's hand. I will give them to you. ³⁶I will give one tribe to his son. Then my servant David will always have a lamp burning before me in Jerusalem. That is the city where I chose to put my Name. ³⁷But as for you, I will take you. You will rule over everything your heart wants. You will be king over Israel. ³⁸If you listen to everything I command you, walk in my ways, and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my rules and commands as my servant David did, then I will be with you. I will give you a family of kings that will last, as I did for David. I will give Israel to you. ³⁹Because of this, I will bring David's children down low. But it will not be forever.'" ⁴⁰So Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam got up and ran away to Egypt. He went to Shishak king of Egypt. He stayed there until Solomon died. ⁴¹The rest of what Solomon did is written down. Everything he did and his wisdom are written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon. ⁴²Solomon ruled in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years. ⁴³Then Solomon died and rested with his fathers. He was buried in the city of his father David. And his son Rehoboam became king in his place.