Solomon Turns from God

11 Now ^(A)King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, ² from the nations of which the Lord had said to the sons of Israel, “^(B)You shall not ^[a]associate with them, nor shall they ^[b]associate with you; they will certainly turn your heart away ^[c]to follow their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. ^3 (C)He had seven hundred wives, who were ^[d]princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned his heart away. ⁴ For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away ^[e]to follow other gods; and ^(D)his heart was not ^[f]wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of his father David had been. ⁵ For Solomon became a follower of ^(E)Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and of ^[g](F)Milcom the abhorrent idol of the Ammonites. ⁶ So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not follow the Lord fully, as his father David had done. ⁷ Then Solomon built a high place for ^(G)Chemosh, the abhorrent idol of Moab, on the mountain that is ^[h]east of Jerusalem, and for ^(H)Molech, the abhorrent idol of the sons of Ammon. ⁸ He also did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

⁹ Now ^(I)the Lord was angry with Solomon ^(J)because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, ^(K)who had appeared to him twice, ¹⁰ and ^(L)had commanded him regarding this thing, that he was not to follow other gods; but he did not comply with what the Lord had commanded. ¹¹ So the Lord said to Solomon, “Since ^[i]you have done this, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, ^(M)I will certainly tear the kingdom away from you, and will give it to your servant. ¹² However, I will not do it in your days, only for the sake of your father David; but I will tear it away from the hand of your son. ¹³ Yet ^(N)I will not tear away all the kingdom, but ^(O)I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David, and ^(P)for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”

God Raises Adversaries

¹⁴ Then the Lord raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was of the ^[j]royal line in Edom. ¹⁵ For it came about, ^(Q)when David was in Edom and Joab the commander of the army had gone up to bury those killed in battle, and had ^(R)struck and killed every male in Edom ¹⁶ (for Joab and all Israel stayed there for six months, until he had eliminated every male in Edom), ¹⁷ that Hadad fled ^[k]to Egypt, he and certain Edomites of his father’s servants with him, while Hadad was a young boy. ¹⁸ They set out from Midian and came to ^(S)Paran; and they took men with them from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house and assigned him food and gave him land. ¹⁹ Now Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him in marriage the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen. ²⁰ And the sister of Tahpenes gave birth to his son Genubath, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh’s house; and Genubath was in Pharaoh’s house among the sons of Pharaoh. ²¹ But ^(T)when Hadad heard in Egypt that David ^[l]lay down with his fathers and that Joab the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me go, so that I may go to my own country.” ²² However, Pharaoh said to him, “But what have you lacked with me that you are here, requesting to go to your own country?” And he answered, “Nothing; nevertheless you must let me go.”

^23 (U)God also raised up another adversary against him, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his master ^(V)Hadadezer, king of Zobah. ²⁴ And he gathered men to himself and became leader of a marauding band, ^(W)after David killed those of Zobah; and they went to Damascus and stayed ^[m]there, and reigned in Damascus. ²⁵ So he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, along with the harm that Hadad inflicted; and he felt disgust for Israel and reigned over Aram.

²⁶ Then ^(X)Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite of Zeredah, Solomon’s servant, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow, ^(Y)also ^[n]rebelled against the king. ²⁷ Now this was the reason why he ^[o]rebelled against the king: ^(Z)Solomon built the ^[p]Millo, and closed up the breach of the city of his father David. ²⁸ Now the man Jeroboam was a valiant warrior, and when ^(AA)Solomon saw that the young man was ^[q]industrious, he appointed him over all the ^[r]forced labor of the house of Joseph. ²⁹ And it came about at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that ^(AB)the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. Now ^[s]Ahijah had clothed himself with a new cloak; and both of them were alone in the field. ³⁰ Then ^(AC)Ahijah took hold of the new cloak which was on him and tore it into twelve pieces. ³¹ And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Behold, ^(AD)I am going to tear the kingdom away from the hand of Solomon and give you ten tribes ³² (^(AE)but he shall have one tribe, for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, ^(AF)the city which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel), ³³ because they have abandoned Me, and ^(AG)have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, ^(AH)Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the sons of Ammon; and they have not walked in My ways, doing what is right in My sight and keeping My statutes and My ordinances, as his father David did. ³⁴ Nevertheless I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him ruler all the days of his life, for the sake of My servant David whom I chose, who kept My commandments and My statutes; ³⁵ but ^(AI)I will take the kingdom from his son’s hand and give it to you; that is, ten tribes. ³⁶ But ^(AJ)to his son I will give one tribe, ^(AK)so that My servant David may always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, ^(AL)the city where I have chosen for Myself to put My name. ³⁷ However I will take you, and you shall reign over all that ^[t]you desire, and you shall be king over Israel. ³⁸ Then it shall be, that if you listen to all that I command you and walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight by keeping My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then ^(AM)I will be with you and ^(AN)build you an enduring house as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you. ³⁹ So I will oppress the ^[u]descendants of David for this, but not always.’” ⁴⁰ Solomon sought therefore to put Jeroboam to death; but Jeroboam set out and fled to Egypt to ^(AO)Shishak king of Egypt, and he was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

The Death of Solomon

^41 (AP)Now the rest of the acts of Solomon and whatever he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon? ⁴² So ^(AQ)the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. ⁴³ Then Solomon ^[v](AR)lay down with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David, and his son ^(AS)Rehoboam reigned in his place.

Be like Christ

2 Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any ^(A)fellowship of the Spirit, if any ^[a](B)affection and compassion, ^2 (C)make my joy complete ^[b]by ^(D)being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. ³ Do nothing ^[c]from ^[d](E)selfishness or ^(F)empty conceit, but with humility ^(G)consider one another as more important than yourselves; ^4 (H)do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. ^5 (I)Have this attitude ^[e]in yourselves which was also in ^(J)Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, as He already ^(K)existed in the ^(L)form of God, ^(M)did not consider equality with God something to be ^[f]grasped, ⁷ but ^[g](N)emptied Himself by taking the form of a ^(O)bond-servant and ^[h](P)being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, ^(Q)He humbled Himself by becoming ^(R)obedient to the point of death: ^(S)death ^[i]on a cross. ^9 (T)For this reason also God ^(U)highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him ^(V)the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus ^(W)every knee will bow, of ^(X)those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is ^(Y)Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

¹² So then, my beloved, ^(Z)just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own ^(AA)salvation with ^(AB)fear and trembling; ¹³ for it is ^(AC)God who is at work in you, both to ^[j]desire and to work ^(AD)for His good pleasure.

¹⁴ Do all things without ^(AE)complaining or arguments; ¹⁵ so that you will ^[k]prove yourselves to be ^(AF)blameless and innocent, ^(AG)children of God above reproach in the midst of a ^(AH)crooked and perverse generation, among whom you ^[l](AI)appear as ^[m]lights in the world, ¹⁶ holding firmly the word of life, so that on ^(AJ)the day of Christ I can take pride because I did not ^(AK)run in vain nor ^(AL)labor in vain. ¹⁷ But even if I am being ^(AM)poured out as a drink offering upon ^(AN)the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. ¹⁸ You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.

Timothy and Epaphroditus

¹⁹ But I hope, ^[n]in the Lord Jesus, to ^(AO)send ^(AP)Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition. ²⁰ For I have no one else ^(AQ)of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. ²¹ For they all ^(AR)seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. ²² But you know ^(AS)of his proven character, that ^(AT)he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel ^(AU)like a child serving his father. ^23 (AV)Therefore I hope to send him immediately, as soon as I see how things go with me; ²⁴ and ^(AW)I trust in the Lord that I myself will also be coming shortly. ²⁵ But I thought it necessary to send to you ^(AX)Epaphroditus, my brother and ^(AY)fellow worker and ^(AZ)fellow soldier, who is also your ^[o](BA)messenger and ^(BB)minister to my need, ²⁶ because he was longing ^[p]for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. ²⁷ For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. ²⁸ Therefore I have sent him all the more eagerly, so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned about you. ^29 (BC)Receive him then in the Lord with all joy, and ^(BD)hold people like him in high regard, ³⁰ because he came close to death ^[q](BE)for the work of Christ, risking his life to ^(BF)compensate ^[r]for your absence in your service to me.

The Inner Temple

41 Then he ^(A)brought me to the ^(B)sanctuary, and he measured the ^(C)side pillars: six ^[a]cubits wide on each side was the width of the ^[b]side pillar. ² The width of the entrance was ten cubits and the ^[c]sides of the entrance were five cubits on each side. He also measured ^[d]the length of the sanctuary, ^(D)forty cubits, and the width, ^(E)twenty cubits. ³ Then he went ^[e](F)inside and measured each ^(G)side pillar of the doorway, two cubits, and the doorway, six cubits high; and the width of the doorway, seven cubits. ⁴ And he measured its length, ^(H)twenty cubits, and the width, twenty cubits, before the ^(I)sanctuary; and he said to me, “This is the ^(J)Most Holy Place.”

⁵ Then he measured the wall of the ^[f]temple, six cubits; and the width of the ^(K)side chambers, four cubits, all around the house on every side. ^6 (L)The side chambers were in three stories, ^[g]one above another, and ^[h]thirty in each story; and ^[i]the side chambers ^(M)extended to the wall which stood on ^[j]their inward side all around, so that they could be attached, but not be attached to the wall of the temple itself. ⁷ And the side chambers surrounding the temple were wider at each successive story. Because the ^(N)structure surrounding the temple went upward by stages on all sides of the temple, for that reason the width of the temple increased as it went higher; and so one went up from the lowest story to the highest by way of the ^[k]second story. ⁸ I saw also that the house had a raised ^[l]platform all around; the foundations of the side chambers were a full ^[m]rod of ^(O)six ^[n]long cubits in height. ⁹ The ^[o]thickness of the outer wall of the side chambers was five cubits. But the ^(P)free space between the side chambers belonging to the temple ¹⁰ and the outer ^(Q)chambers was twenty cubits in width around the temple on every side. ¹¹ The ^[p]doorways of the side ^[q]chambers toward the ^(R)free space consisted of one doorway toward the north, and another doorway toward the south; and the width of the ^(S)free space was five cubits all around.

¹² The ^(T)building that was in front of the ^(U)separate area at the side toward the west was seventy cubits wide; and the wall of the building was five cubits ^[r]thick all around, and its length was ninety cubits.

¹³ Then he measured the temple, a ^(V)hundred cubits long; the ^(W)separate area with the ^(X)building and its walls were also a ^(Y)hundred cubits long. ¹⁴ Also the width of the front of the temple and that of the separate ^[s]areas along the east side totaled a hundred cubits.

¹⁵ And he measured the length of the ^(Z)building ^[t]along the front of the ^(AA)separate area behind it, with a ^[u](AB)gallery on each side, a hundred cubits; he also measured the inner sanctuary and the porches of the courtyard. ¹⁶ The ^(AC)thresholds, the ^[v](AD)latticed windows, and the ^[w](AE)galleries all around their ^(AF)three stories, opposite the threshold, were ^(AG)paneled with wood all around, and from the ground to the windows (but the windows were covered), ¹⁷ over the entrance, and to the inner house, and on the outside, and on all the wall all around inside and outside, by measurement. ¹⁸ It was ^[x]carved with ^(AH)cherubim and ^(AI)palm trees; and a palm tree was between cherub and cherub, and every cherub had two faces: ¹⁹ a ^(AJ)human face toward the palm tree on one side and a young ^(AK)lion’s face toward the palm tree on the other side; they were ^[y]carved on all the house all around. ²⁰ From the ground to above the entrance ^(AL)cherubim and ^(AM)palm trees were ^[z]carved, as well as on the wall of the sanctuary.

²¹ The ^(AN)doorposts of the ^(AO)sanctuary were square; as for the front of the inner ^[aa]sanctuary, the appearance of one doorpost was like that of the other. ²² The ^(AP)altar was of wood, three cubits high, and its length two cubits; its corners, its ^[ab]base, and its ^[ac]sides were of wood. And he said to me, “This is the ^(AQ)table that is before the Lord.” ²³ The ^(AR)sanctuary and the inner ^[ad](AS)sanctuary each had a double ^(AT)door. ²⁴ Each of the doors had two leaves, two ^[ae](AU)swinging leaves; two leaves for one door and two leaves for the other. ²⁵ Also there were ^[af]carved on them, on the doors of the main room, ^(AV)cherubim and ^(AW)palm trees like those ^[ag]carved on the walls; and there was a ^[ah](AX)threshold of wood on the front of the porch outside. ²⁶ And there were ^[ai](AY)latticed windows and ^(AZ)palm trees on one side and on the other, on the sides of the ^(BA)porch; the same were on the ^(BB)side chambers of the house and the ^[aj]thresholds.