The Lord Appears to Solomon

9 ^(A)As soon as Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord ^(B)and the king's house and ^(C)all that Solomon desired to build, ^2 (D)the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. ³ And the Lord said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your plea, which you have made before me. I have consecrated this house that you have built, ^(E)by putting my name there forever. ^(F)My eyes and my heart will be there for all time. ⁴ And as for you, if you will ^(G)walk before me, ^(H)as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my rules, ^5 (I)then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’ ^6 (J)But if you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, ^7 (K)then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, ^(L)and the house that I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight, ^(M)and Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples. ⁸ And this house will become a heap of ruins.^[a] Everyone passing by it will be astonished and will hiss, and they will say, ^(N)‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ ⁹ Then they will say, ‘Because ^(O)they abandoned the Lord their God who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore the Lord has brought all this disaster on them.’”

Solomon's Other Acts

^10 (P)At the end of ^(Q)twenty years, in which Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the Lord and the king's house, ¹¹ and Hiram king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and cypress timber and gold, as much as he desired, King Solomon gave to Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. ¹² But when Hiram came from Tyre to see the cities that Solomon had given him, they did not please him. ¹³ Therefore he said, “What kind of cities are these that you have given me, my brother?” So they are called the land of ^(R)Cabul to this day. ¹⁴ Hiram had sent to the king 120 talents^[b] of gold.

¹⁵ And this is the account of ^(S)the forced labor that King Solomon drafted to build the house of the Lord and his own house and ^(T)the Millo and the wall of Jerusalem and ^(U)Hazor and ^(V)Megiddo and Gezer ¹⁶ (Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and captured Gezer and burned it with fire, and had killed ^(W)the Canaanites who lived in the city, and had given it as dowry to ^(X)his daughter, Solomon's wife; ¹⁷ so Solomon rebuilt Gezer) and ^(Y)Lower Beth-horon ¹⁸ and Baalath and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land of Judah,^{[c] 19} and all the store cities that Solomon had, and ^(Z)the cities for his chariots, and the cities for ^(AA)his horsemen, and whatever Solomon ^(AB)desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. ²⁰ All the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the people of Israel— ^21 (AC)their descendants who were left after them in the land, ^(AD)whom the people of Israel were unable to devote to destruction^[d]—^(AE)these Solomon drafted to be ^(AF)slaves, and so they are to this day. ²² But ^(AG)of the people of Israel Solomon made no slaves. They were the soldiers, they were his officials, his commanders, his captains, his chariot commanders and his horsemen.

²³ These were the chief officers who were over Solomon's work: ^(AH)550 ^(AI)who had charge of the people who carried on the work.

²⁴ But ^(AJ)Pharaoh's daughter went up from the city of David to ^(AK)her own house that Solomon had built for her. ^(AL)Then he built ^(AM)the Millo.

²⁵ Three times a year Solomon used to offer up burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar that he built to the Lord, making offerings with it^[e] before the Lord. So he finished the house.

²⁶ King Solomon built a fleet of ships at ^(AN)Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. ²⁷ And Hiram sent ^(AO)with the fleet his servants, seamen who were familiar with the sea, together with the servants of Solomon. ²⁸ And they went to ^(AP)Ophir and brought from there gold, 420 talents, and they brought it to King Solomon.

^10 (A)Then she gave the king 120 talents^[a] of gold, and a very great quantity of spices and precious stones. Never again came such an abundance of spices as these that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

Prophecy Against Jeroboam

14 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. ² And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Arise, and disguise yourself, that it not be known that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to ^(A)Shiloh. Behold, Ahijah the prophet is there, ^(B)who said of me that I should be king over this people. ^3 (C)Take with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what shall happen to the child.”

⁴ Jeroboam's wife did so. She arose and went to ^(D)Shiloh and came to the house of ^(E)Ahijah. Now ^(F)Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were dim because of his age. ⁵ And the Lord said to ^(G)Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to inquire of you concerning her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus shall you say to her.”

When she came, she pretended to be another woman. ⁶ But when ^(H)Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another? For I am charged with unbearable news for you. ⁷ Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ^(I)“Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over my people Israel ⁸ and ^(J)tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, and yet you have not been ^(K)like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me with all his heart, doing only that which was right in my eyes, ⁹ but you have done evil above all who were before you and have gone and ^(L)made for yourself other gods and ^(M)metal images, provoking me to anger, and ^(N)have cast me behind your back, ¹⁰ therefore behold, I will bring harm upon the house of Jeroboam and ^(O)will cut off from Jeroboam every male, ^(P)both bond and free in Israel, and ^(Q)will burn up the house of Jeroboam, as a man burns up dung until it is all gone. ^11 (R)Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat, for the Lord has spoken it.”’ ¹² Arise therefore, go to your house. ^(S)When your feet enter the city, the child shall die. ¹³ And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him ^(T)there is found something pleasing to the Lord, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam. ^14 (U)Moreover, the Lord will raise up for himself a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam today. And henceforth, ¹⁵ the Lord will strike Israel as a reed is shaken in the water, and ^(V)root up Israel out of ^(W)this good land that he gave to their fathers and scatter them ^(X)beyond the Euphrates,^[a] because they have made their ^(Y)Asherim, provoking the Lord to anger. ¹⁶ And he will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned and made Israel to sin.”

¹⁷ Then Jeroboam's wife arose and departed and came to ^(Z)Tirzah. And ^(AA)as she came to the threshold of the house, the child died. ¹⁸ And all Israel buried him and mourned for him, ^(AB)according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Ahijah the prophet.

The Death of Jeroboam

¹⁹ Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, ^(AC)how he warred and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. ²⁰ And the time that Jeroboam reigned was twenty-two years. And he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his place.

Rehoboam Reigns in Judah

^21 (AD)Now Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, ^(AE)the city that the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. ^(AF)His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite. ^22 (AG)And Judah did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and they ^(AH)provoked him to jealousy with their sins that they committed, more than all that their fathers had done. ²³ For they also built for themselves ^(AI)high places ^(AJ)and pillars and ^(AK)Asherim on every high hill and ^(AL)under every green tree, ²⁴ and there were also ^(AM)male cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations that the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.

^25 (AN)In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. ²⁶ He took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king's house. ^(AO)He took away everything. He also took away all the shields of gold ^(AP)that Solomon had made, ²⁷ and King Rehoboam made in their place shields of bronze, and committed them to the hands of the officers of the guard, who kept the door of the king's house. ²⁸ And as often as the king went into the house of the Lord, the guard carried them and brought them back to the guardroom.

^29 (AQ)Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ^30 (AR)And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. ³¹ And Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. ^(AS)His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite. And ^(AT)Abijam his son reigned in his place.

Abijam Reigns in Judah

15 ^(A)Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam began to reign over Judah. ² He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. ³ And he walked in all the sins that his father did before him, and ^(B)his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father. ⁴ Nevertheless, for David's sake the Lord his God gave him ^(C)a lamp in Jerusalem, setting up his son after him, and establishing Jerusalem, ⁵ because ^(D)David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, ^(E)except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. ^6 (F)Now there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. ^7 (G)The rest of the acts of Abijam and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ^(H)And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam. ^8 (I)And Abijam slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son reigned in his place.

Asa Reigns in Judah

⁹ In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa began to reign over Judah, ¹⁰ and he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. ^11 (J)And Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as David his father had done. ¹² He put away the ^(K)male cult prostitutes out of the land and removed ^(L)all the idols that his fathers had made. ^13 (M)He also removed Maacah his mother from being queen mother because she had made an abominable image for Asherah. And Asa cut down her image and ^(N)burned it at the brook Kidron. ^14 (O)But the high places were not taken away. Nevertheless, ^(P)the heart of Asa was wholly true to the Lord all his days. ¹⁵ And ^(Q)he brought into the house of the Lord the sacred gifts of his father and his own sacred gifts, silver, and gold, and vessels.

^16 (R)And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. ^17 (S)Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and ^(T)built Ramah, ^(U)that he might permit no one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. ¹⁸ Then Asa took all the silver and the gold ^(V)that were left in the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king's house and gave them into the hands of his servants. ^(W)And King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, ^(X)who lived in Damascus, saying, ¹⁹ “Let there be ^(Y)a covenant^[a] between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I am sending to you a present of silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me.” ²⁰ And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel and conquered ^(Z)Ijon, ^(AA)Dan, ^(AB)Abel-beth-maacah, and all ^(AC)Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. ²¹ And when Baasha heard of it, ^(AD)he stopped building Ramah, and he lived in ^(AE)Tirzah. ²² Then King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah, none was exempt, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber, with which Baasha had been building, and with them King Asa built ^(AF)Geba of Benjamin and ^(AG)Mizpah. ^23 (AH)Now the rest of all the acts of Asa, all his might, and all that he did, and the cities that he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? But in his old age he was diseased in his feet. ²⁴ And Asa slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father, and ^(AI)Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place.

Nadab Reigns in Israel

^25 (AJ)Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. ²⁶ He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord ^(AK)and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin ^(AL)which he made Israel to sin.

^27 (AM)Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him. And Baasha struck him down at ^(AN)Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, for Nadab and all Israel were laying siege to Gibbethon. ²⁸ So Baasha killed him in the third year of Asa king of Judah and reigned in his place. ²⁹ And as soon as he was king, he killed all the house of Jeroboam. He left to the house of Jeroboam not one that breathed, until he had destroyed it, ^(AO)according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite. ³⁰ It was for the sins of Jeroboam that he sinned and ^(AP)that he made Israel to sin, and because of the anger to which he provoked the Lord, the God of Israel.

³¹ Now the rest of the acts of Nadab and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ^32 (AQ)And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

Baasha Reigns in Israel

³³ In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha the son of Ahijah began to reign over all Israel at Tirzah, and he reigned twenty-four years. ³⁴ He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord ^(AR)and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin which he made Israel to sin.

¹⁵ And the king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the Shephelah.

The Queen of Sheba

9 ^(A)Now when ^(B)the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions, having a very great retinue and camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind.

⁹ Then she gave the king 120 talents^[a] of gold, and a very great quantity of spices, and precious stones. There were no spices such as those that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

Solomon's Wealth

^13 (A)Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold,