Solomon’s Errors

11 King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women,^{(A) 2} from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the Israelites, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for they will surely incline your heart to follow their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love.^{(B) 3} Among his wives were seven hundred princesses and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned away his heart. ⁴ For when Solomon was old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David.^{(C) 5} For Solomon followed Astarte the goddess of the Sidonians and Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.^{(D) 6} So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not completely follow the Lord, as his father David had done. ⁷ Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites on the mountain east of Jerusalem.^{(E) 8} He did the same for all his foreign wives who offered incense and sacrificed to their gods.

⁹ Then the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice^{(F) 10} and had commanded him concerning this matter, that he should not follow other gods, but he did not observe what the Lord had commanded.^{(G) 11} Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this has been your mind and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and give it to your servant.^{(H) 12} Yet for the sake of your father David I will not do it in your lifetime; I will tear it out of the hand of your son. ¹³ I will not, however, tear away the entire kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”^(I)

Adversaries of Solomon

¹⁴ Then the Lord raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was of the royal house in Edom. ¹⁵ For when David was destroying^[a] Edom and Joab the commander of the army went up to bury the dead, he killed every male in Edom^{(J) 16} (for Joab and all Israel remained there six months until he had eliminated every male in Edom), ¹⁷ but Hadad fled to Egypt with some Edomites who were servants of his father. He was a young boy at that time. ¹⁸ They set out from Midian and came to Paran; they took people with them from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house, assigned him an allowance of food, and gave him land. ¹⁹ Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him his sister-in-law for a wife, the sister of Queen Tahpenes. ²⁰ The sister of Tahpenes gave birth by him to his son Genubath, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh’s house; Genubath was in Pharaoh’s house among the children of Pharaoh. ²¹ When Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his ancestors and that Joab the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me depart, that I may go to my own country.”^{(K) 22} But Pharaoh said to him, “What do you lack with me that you now seek to go to your own country?” And he said, “No, do let me go.”

²³ God raised up another adversary against Solomon,^[b] Rezon son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, King Hadadezer of Zobah.^{(L) 24} He gathered followers around him and became leader of a marauding band, after the killing by David; they went to Damascus, settled there, and made him king in Damascus.^{(M) 25} He was an adversary of Israel all the days of Solomon, making trouble as Hadad did; he despised Israel and reigned over Aram.

Jeroboam’s Rebellion

²⁶ Jeroboam son of Nebat, an Ephraimite of Zeredah, a servant of Solomon, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow, rebelled against the king.^{(N) 27} The following was the reason he rebelled against the king. Solomon built the Millo and closed up the gap in the wall^[c] of the city of his father David.^{(O) 28} The man Jeroboam was very able, and when Solomon saw that the young man was industrious, he gave him charge over all the forced labor of the house of Joseph. ²⁹ About that time, when Jeroboam was leaving Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. Ahijah had clothed himself with a new garment. The two of them were alone in the open country^{(P) 30} when Ahijah laid hold of the new garment he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces.^{(Q) 31} He then said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: See, I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon and will give you ten tribes.^{(R) 32} One tribe will remain his, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. ³³ This is because he has^[d] forsaken me, worshiped Astarte the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites, and has^[e] not walked in my ways, doing what is right in my sight and keeping my statutes and my ordinances, as his father David did.^{(S) 34} Nevertheless, I will not take the whole kingdom away from him but will make him ruler all the days of his life, for the sake of my servant David whom I chose and who did keep my commandments and my statutes, ³⁵ but I will take the kingdom away from his son and give it to you—that is, the ten tribes.^{(T) 36} Yet to his son I will give one tribe, so that my servant David may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen to put my name.^{(U) 37} I will take you, and you shall reign over all that your soul desires; you shall be king over Israel. ³⁸ If you will listen to all that I command you, walk in my ways, and do what is right in my sight by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, I will be with you and will build you an enduring house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you.^{(V) 39} For this reason I will punish the descendants of David, but not forever.” ⁴⁰ Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam promptly fled to Egypt, to King Shishak of Egypt, and remained in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

Death of Solomon

⁴¹ Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, all that he did as well as his wisdom, are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon?^{(W) 42} The time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.^{(X) 43} Solomon slept with his ancestors and was buried in the city of his father David, and his son Rehoboam succeeded him.^(Y)

The Northern Tribes Secede

12 Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.^{(Z) 2} When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard of it (for he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam remained in Egypt.^{(AA) 3} And they sent and called him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and said to Rehoboam, ⁴ “Your father made our yoke heavy. Now, therefore, lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke that he placed on us, and we will serve you.”^{(AB) 5} He said to them, “Go away for three days, then come again to me.” So the people went away.^(AC)

⁶ Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the older men who had attended his father Solomon while he was still alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?” ⁷ They answered him, “If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever.”^{(AD) 8} But he disregarded the advice that the older men gave him and consulted with the young men who had grown up with him and now attended him.^{(AE) 9} He said to them, “What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke that your father put on us’?” ¹⁰ The young men who had grown up with him said to him, “Thus you should say to this people who spoke to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you must lighten it for us’; thus you should say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins. ¹¹ Now, whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’ ”

¹² So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had said, “Come to me again the third day.”^{(AF) 13} The king answered the people harshly. He disregarded the advice that the older men had given him ¹⁴ and spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.”^{(AG) 15} So the king did not listen to the people because it was a turn of affairs brought about by the Lord to fulfill his word that the Lord had spoken by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.^(AH)

¹⁶ When all Israel saw that the king would not listen to them, the people answered the king,

So Israel went away to their tents.^{(AI) 17} But Rehoboam reigned over the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah.^{(AJ) 18} When King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was taskmaster over the forced labor, all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam then hurriedly mounted his chariot to flee to Jerusalem.^{(AK) 19} So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.^(AL)

The Conversion of Saul

9 Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest^{(A) 2} and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. ³ Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.^{(B) 4} He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”^{(C) 5} He asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. ⁶ But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” ⁷ The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one.^{(D) 8} Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing;^[a] so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. ⁹ For three days he was without sight and neither ate nor drank.

¹⁰ Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” He answered, “Here I am, Lord.”^{(E) 11} The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying,^{(F) 12} and he has seen in a vision^[b] a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” ¹³ But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem, ¹⁴ and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.”^{(G) 15} But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel;^{(H) 16} I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”^{(I) 17} So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul^[c] and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”^{(J) 18} And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, ¹⁹ and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

Saul Preaches in Damascus

For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus,^{(K) 20} and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” ²¹ All who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem among those who invoked this name? And has he not come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?”^{(L) 22} Saul became increasingly more powerful and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus^[d] was the Messiah.^[e](M)

Saul Escapes from the Jews

²³ After some time had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him,^{(N) 24} but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night so that they might kill him,^{(O) 25} but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall,^[f] lowering him in a basket.

Psalm 131

Song of Quiet Trust

A Song of Ascents. Of David.