1 Kings 11
11
Solomon’s Wives
1King Solomon loved many women besides Pharaoh’s daughter. They were from other lands. They were Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. 2The Lord had warned Israel about women from other nations. He had said, “You must not marry them. If you do, you can be sure they will turn your hearts toward their gods.” But Solomon continued to love them anyway. He wouldn’t give them up. 3He had 700 wives who came from royal families. And he had 300 concubines. His wives led him astray. 4As Solomon grew older, his wives turned his heart toward other gods. He didn’t follow the Lord his God with all his heart. So he wasn’t like his father David. 5Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth. Ashtoreth was the female god of the Sidonians. He also worshiped Molek. Molek was the god of the Ammonites. The Lord hated that god. 6Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He didn’t completely obey the Lord. He didn’t do what his father David had done.
7There is a hill east of Jerusalem. Solomon built a high place for worshiping Chemosh there. He built a high place for worshiping Molek there too. Chemosh was the god of Moab. Molek was the god of Ammon. The Lord hated both of those gods. 8Solomon also built high places so that all his wives from other nations could worship their gods. Those women burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.
9The Lord became angry with Solomon. That’s because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel. He had appeared to Solomon twice. 10He had commanded Solomon not to worship other gods. But Solomon didn’t obey the Lord. 11So the Lord said to Solomon, “You have chosen not to keep my covenant. You have decided not to obey my rules. I commanded you to do what I told you. But you did not do it. So you can be absolutely sure I will tear the kingdom away from you. I will give it to one of your officials. 12But I will not do that while you are still living. Because of your father David I will wait. I will tear the kingdom out of your son’s hand. 13But I will not tear the whole kingdom away from him. I will give him one of the tribes because of my servant David. I will also do it because of Jerusalem. That is the city I have chosen.”
Solomon’s Enemies
14Then the Lord brought an enemy against Solomon. The enemy’s name was Hadad. He was from Edom. In fact, he belonged to the royal family of Edom. 15David had fought against Edom. Joab had been the commander of the army. He had gone up to bury the dead bodies of the Israelites who had been killed in battle. At that time he had struck down all the men in Edom. 16In fact, Joab and all the men of Israel stayed there for six months. During that time they destroyed all the men in Edom. 17But when Hadad was only a boy, he ran away to Egypt. Some officials from Edom went with him. They had served Hadad’s father. 18They started out from Midian and went to Paran. They took some people from Paran with them. Then they went to Egypt. They went to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. He gave Hadad a house and some land. He also supplied him with food.
19Pharaoh was very pleased with Hadad. Pharaoh’s wife was Queen Tahpenes. He gave Hadad her sister to be his wife. 20The sister of Tahpenes had a son by Hadad. The baby was named Genubath. Tahpenes brought him up in the royal palace. Genubath lived there with Pharaoh’s own children.
21Hadad heard that David had joined the members of his family who had already died. He also heard that Joab, the commander of the army, was dead. Hadad heard those things while he was in Egypt. He said to Pharaoh, “Let me go. I want to return to my own country.”
22“Why do you want to go back to your own country?” Pharaoh asked. “Don’t you have everything you need right here?”
“Yes,” Hadad replied. “But I want you to let me go anyway!”
23God brought another enemy against Solomon. The enemy’s name was Rezon. He was the son of Eliada. Rezon had run away from his master Hadadezer, the king of Zobah. 24David had destroyed Zobah’s army. Then Rezon gathered together some men to follow him. He became their leader. They went to Damascus where they made their homes. They also took control of Damascus. 25Rezon was Israel’s enemy as long as Solomon was living. Rezon added to the trouble Hadad had caused. So Rezon ruled in Aram. He was Israel’s enemy.
Jeroboam Refuses to Follow Solomon
26Jeroboam refused to follow King Solomon. He was one of Solomon’s officials. He was from Zeredah in the territory of Ephraim. His father was Nebat. His mother was a widow named Zeruah.
27Here is the story of how Jeroboam refused to follow the king. Solomon had filled in the low places near the palace. He had also repaired the wall of the city of his father David. 28Jeroboam was a very important young man. Solomon saw how well he did his work. So he put him in charge of all the workers in northern Israel.
29About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem. Ahijah the prophet met him on the road. Ahijah was from Shiloh. He was wearing a new coat. The two of them were all alone out in the country. 30Ahijah grabbed the new coat he had on. He tore it up into 12 pieces. 31Then he said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself. The Lord is the God of Israel. He says, ‘I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand. I will give you ten of its tribes. 32Solomon will have one of its tribes. I will let him keep it because of my servant David and because of Jerusalem. I have chosen that city out of all the cities in the tribes of Israel. 33I will do these things because the tribes have deserted me. They have worshiped Ashtoreth, the female god of the people of Sidon. They have worshiped Chemosh, the god of the people of Moab. And they have worshiped Molek, the god of the people of Ammon. They have not lived the way I wanted them to. They have not done what is right in my eyes. They have not obeyed my rules and laws as Solomon’s father David did.
34“ ‘But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon’s hand. I have made him ruler all the days of his life. I have done it because of my servant David. I chose him, and he obeyed my commands and rules. 35I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hands. And I will give you ten of the tribes. 36I will give one of the tribes to David’s son. Then my servant David will always have a son on his throne in Jerusalem. The lamp of David’s kingdom will always burn brightly in my sight. Jerusalem is the city I chose for my Name. 37But I will make you king over Israel. You will rule over everything your heart desires. So you will be the king of Israel. 38Do everything I command you to do. Live the way I want you to. Do what is right in my eyes. Obey my rules and commands. That is what my servant David did. If you do those things, I will be with you. I will build you a kingdom. It will last as long as the one I built for David. I will give Israel to you. 39I will punish David’s family because of what Solomon has done. But I will not punish them forever.’ ”
40Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam ran away to Egypt. He went to Shishak, the king of Egypt. He stayed there until Solomon died.
Solomon Dies
41The other events of Solomon’s rule are written down. Everything he did and the wisdom he showed are written down. They are written in the official records of Solomon. 42Solomon ruled in Jerusalem over the whole nation of Israel for 40 years. 43Then he joined the members of his family who had already died. He was buried in the city of his father David. Solomon’s son Rehoboam became the next king after him.
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1 Kings 11: NIrV
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Melaḵim Aleph (1 Kings) 11
11
1And Sovereign Shelomoh loved many foreign women in addition to the daughter of Pharaoh: Mo’aḇite, Ammonite, Eḏomite, Tsiḏonian, and Ḥittite women;
2from the nations of whom יהוה had said to the children of Yisra’ĕl, “You do not go into them, and they do not go into you, for they shall certainly turn away your hearts after their mighty ones.” Shelomoh clung to these in love.
3And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines. And his wives turned away his heart.
4And it came to be, when Shelomoh was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other mighty ones. And his heart was not perfect with יהוה his Elohim, as was the heart of his father Dawiḏ.
5And Shelomoh went after Ashtoreth the mighty one of the Tsiḏonians, and after Milkom the abomination of the Ammonites.
6Thus Shelomoh did evil in the eyes of יהוה, and did not follow יהוה completely, like his father Dawiḏ.
7Then Shelomoh built a high place for Kemosh the abomination of Mo’aḇ, on the hill that is east of Yerushalayim, and for Moleḵ the abomination of the children of Ammon.
8And so he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and slaughtered to their mighty ones.
9Therefore יהוה was enraged with Shelomoh, because his heart had turned away from יהוה Elohim of Yisra’ĕl, who had appeared to him twice,
10and had commanded him concerning this word, not to go after other mighty ones. But he did not guard what יהוה had commanded.
11And יהוה said to Shelomoh, “Because you have done this, and have not guarded My covenant and My laws, which I have commanded you, I shall certainly tear the reign away from you and give it to your servant.
12“Only, I do not do it in your days, for the sake of your father Dawiḏ. Out of the hand of your son I shall tear it.
13“Only, I shall not tear away all the reign but give one tribe to your son for the sake of my servant Dawiḏ, and for the sake of Yerushalayim which I have chosen.”
14And יהוה raised up an adversary against Shelomoh, Haḏaḏ the Eḏomite. He was of the seed of the sovereign in Eḏom.
15And it came to be, when Dawiḏ was in Eḏom, and Yo’aḇ the commander of the army had gone up to bury the slain, after he had struck every male in Eḏom –
16Yo’aḇ remained there with all Yisra’ĕl for six new moons, until every male in Eḏom was cut off –
17that Haḏaḏ fled to go to Mitsrayim, he and certain Eḏomites of his father’s servants with him, while Haḏaḏ was still a little child.
18And they arose from Miḏyan and came to Paran, and took men with them from Paran and came to Mitsrayim, to Pharaoh sovereign of Mitsrayim, who gave him a house, and ordered food for him, and gave him land.
19And Haḏaḏ found much favour in the eyes of Pharaoh, so that he gave him as wife the sister of his own wife, the sister of Sovereigness Taḥpenĕs.
20And the sister of Taḥpenĕs bore him Genuḇath his son, whom Taḥpenĕs weaned in Pharaoh’s house. And Genuḇath was in the house of Pharaoh among the sons of Pharaoh.
21And Haḏaḏ heard in Mitsrayim that Dawiḏ slept with his fathers, and that Yo’aḇ the commander of the army was dead, and Haḏaḏ said to Pharaoh, “Let me go to my land.”
22And Pharaoh said to him, “But what have you lacked with me, that you are now seeking to go to your own land?” And he answered, “No, but please let me go.”
23And Elohim raised up another adversary against him, Rezon son of Elyaḏa who had fled from his master, Haḏaḏezer sovereign of Tsoḇah,
24and gathered men to him and became commander over a raiding band, when Dawiḏ killed those of Tsoḇah. And they went to Dammeseq and dwelt there, and reigned in Dammeseq.
25And he was an adversary of Yisra’ĕl all the days of Shelomoh – besides the trouble that Haḏaḏ caused – and he was hostile to Yisra’ĕl and reigned over Aram.
26And a servant of Shelomoh, Yaroḇ‛am son of Neḇat, an Ephrayimite from Tserĕḏah, whose mother’s name was Tseru‛ah, a widow, also lifted up a hand against the sovereign.
27And this is what caused him to lift up a hand against the sovereign: Shelomoh had built Millo, repairing the breaks in the City of Dawiḏ his father.
28And the man Yaroḇ‛am was a brave man. And Shelomoh, seeing that the young man was doing his work well, made him the officer over all the compulsory labour of the house of Yosĕph.
29And it came to be at that time, when Yaroḇ‛am went out of Yerushalayim, that the prophet Aḥiyah the Shilonite met him on the way. And he was wearing a new garment, and the two were alone in the field.
30And Aḥiyah took hold of the new garment that was on him, and tore it into twelve pieces,
31and said to Yaroḇ‛am, “Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus said יהוה, the Elohim of Yisra’ĕl, ‘See, I am tearing the reign out of the hand of Shelomoh and shall give ten tribes to you,
32but he shall have one tribe for the sake of My servant Dawiḏ, and for the sake of Yerushalayim, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Yisra’ĕl.
33Because they have forsaken Me, and bow themselves to Ashtoreth the mighty one of the Tsiḏonians, to Kemosh the mighty one of the Mo’aḇites, and to Milkom the mighty one of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in My ways – to do what is right in My eyes, and My laws and My right-rulings, as did his father Dawiḏ.
34But I do not take all the reign out of his hand, because I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of My servant Dawiḏ, whom I chose because he guarded My commands and My laws.
35And I shall take the reign out of his son’s hand and give it to you, the ten tribes.
36And to his son I give one tribe, so that My servant Dawiḏ shall always have a lamp before Me in Yerushalayim, the city which I have chosen for Myself, to put My Name there.
37So I take you, and you shall reign over all that your being desires, and you shall be sovereign over Yisra’ĕl.
38And it shall be, if you obey all that I command you, and shall walk in My ways, and do what is right in My eyes, to guard My laws and My commands, as My servant Dawiḏ did, then I shall be with you and build for you a steadfast house, as I built for Dawiḏ, and shall give Yisra’ĕl to you.
39And because of this I humble the seed of Dawiḏ, but not forever.’ ”
40And Shelomoh sought to kill Yaroḇ‛am, but Yaroḇ‛am rose up and fled to Mitsrayim, to Shishaq sovereign of Mitsrayim, and was in Mitsrayim until the death of Shelomoh.
41And the rest of the acts of Shelomoh, all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Shelomoh?
42And the days that Shelomoh reigned in Yerushalayim over all Yisra’ĕl was forty years.
43So Shelomoh slept with his fathers, and was buried in the City of Dawiḏ his father, and Reḥaḇ‛am his son reigned in his place.
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