On Denying the Incarnation

4 Dear friends,^(A) do not believe every spirit,^(B) but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.^{(C) 2} This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh^(D) is from God,^{(E) 3} but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist,^(F) which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.^(G)

⁴ You, dear children,^(H) are from God and have overcome them,^(I) because the one who is in you^(J) is greater than the one who is in the world.^{(K) 5} They are from the world^(L) and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. ⁶ We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us.^(M) This is how we recognize the Spirit^[a] of truth^(N) and the spirit of falsehood.^(O)

God’s Love and Ours

⁷ Dear friends, let us love one another,^(P) for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God^(Q) and knows God.^{(R) 8} Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.^{(S) 9} This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son^(T) into the world that we might live through him.^{(U) 10} This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us^(V) and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.^{(W) 11} Dear friends,^(X) since God so loved us,^(Y) we also ought to love one another.^{(Z) 12} No one has ever seen God;^(AA) but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.^(AB)

¹³ This is how we know^(AC) that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit.^{(AD) 14} And we have seen and testify^(AE) that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.^{(AF) 15} If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,^(AG) God lives in them and they in God.^{(AH) 16} And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love.^(AI) Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.^{(AJ) 17} This is how love is made complete^(AK) among us so that we will have confidence^(AL) on the day of judgment:^(AM) In this world we are like Jesus. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear,^(AN) because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

¹⁹ We love because he first loved us.^{(AO) 20} Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister^(AP) is a liar.^(AQ) For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen,^(AR) cannot love God, whom they have not seen.^{(AS) 21} And he has given us this command:^(AT) Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.^(AU)

Solomon’s Wives

11 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women^(A) besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites,^(B) Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. ² They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry^(C) with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. ³ He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines,^(D) and his wives led him astray.^{(E) 4} As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods,^(F) and his heart was not fully devoted^(G) to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. ⁵ He followed Ashtoreth^(H) the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek^(I) the detestable god of the Ammonites. ⁶ So Solomon did evil^(J) in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done.

⁷ On a hill east^(K) of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh^(L) the detestable god of Moab, and for Molek^(M) the detestable god of the Ammonites. ⁸ He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.

⁹ The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared^(N) to him twice. ¹⁰ Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods,^(O) Solomon did not keep the Lord’s command.^{(P) 11} So the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees,^(Q) which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear^(R) the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. ¹² Nevertheless, for the sake of David^(S) your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. ¹³ Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe^(T) for the sake^(U) of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”^(V)

Solomon’s Adversaries

¹⁴ Then the Lord raised up against Solomon an adversary,^(W) Hadad the Edomite, from the royal line of Edom. ¹⁵ Earlier when David was fighting with Edom, Joab the commander of the army, who had gone up to bury the dead, had struck down all the men in Edom.^{(X) 16} Joab and all the Israelites stayed there for six months, until they had destroyed all the men in Edom. ¹⁷ But Hadad, still only a boy, fled to Egypt with some Edomite officials who had served his father. ¹⁸ They set out from Midian and went to Paran.^(Y) Then taking people from Paran with them, they went to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave Hadad a house and land and provided him with food.

¹⁹ Pharaoh was so pleased with Hadad that he gave him a sister of his own wife, Queen Tahpenes, in marriage. ²⁰ The sister of Tahpenes bore him a son named Genubath, whom Tahpenes brought up in the royal palace. There Genubath lived with Pharaoh’s own children.

²¹ While he was in Egypt, Hadad heard that David rested with his ancestors and that Joab the commander of the army was also dead. Then Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me go, that I may return to my own country.”

²² “What have you lacked here that you want to go back to your own country?” Pharaoh asked.

“Nothing,” Hadad replied, “but do let me go!”

²³ And God raised up against Solomon another adversary,^(Z) Rezon son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer^(AA) king of Zobah. ²⁴ When David destroyed Zobah’s army, Rezon gathered a band of men around him and became their leader; they went to Damascus,^(AB) where they settled and took control. ²⁵ Rezon was Israel’s adversary as long as Solomon lived, adding to the trouble caused by Hadad. So Rezon ruled in Aram^(AC) and was hostile toward Israel.

Jeroboam Rebels Against Solomon

²⁶ Also, Jeroboam son of Nebat rebelled^(AD) against the king. He was one of Solomon’s officials, an Ephraimite from Zeredah, and his mother was a widow named Zeruah.

²⁷ Here is the account of how he rebelled against the king: Solomon had built the terraces^[a](AE) and had filled in the gap in the wall of the city of David his father. ²⁸ Now Jeroboam was a man of standing,^(AF) and when Solomon saw how well^(AG) the young man did his work, he put him in charge of the whole labor force of the tribes of Joseph.

²⁹ About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and Ahijah^(AH) the prophet of Shiloh met him on the way, wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone out in the country, ³⁰ and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore^(AI) it into twelve pieces. ³¹ Then he said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘See, I am going to tear^(AJ) the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand and give you ten tribes. ³² But for the sake^(AK) of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe. ³³ I will do this because they have^[b] forsaken me and worshiped^(AL) Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molek the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked^(AM) in obedience to me, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my decrees^(AN) and laws as David, Solomon’s father, 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 for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose and who obeyed my commands and decrees. ³⁵ I will take the kingdom from his son’s hands and give you ten tribes. ³⁶ I will give one tribe^(AO) to his son so that David my servant may always have a lamp^(AP) before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name. ³⁷ However, as for you, I will take you, and you will rule^(AQ) over all that your heart desires;^(AR) you will be king over Israel. ³⁸ If you do whatever I command you and walk in obedience to me and do what is right^(AS) in my eyes by obeying my decrees^(AT) and commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty^(AU) as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you. ³⁹ I will humble David’s descendants because of this, but not forever.’”

⁴⁰ Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam fled^(AV) to Egypt, to Shishak^(AW) the king, and stayed there until Solomon’s death.

Solomon’s Death^(AX)

⁴¹ As for the other events of Solomon’s reign—all he did and the wisdom he displayed—are they not written in the book of the annals of Solomon? ⁴² Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. ⁴³ Then he rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam^(AY) his son succeeded him as king.

Israel Rebels Against Rehoboam^(AZ)

12 Rehoboam went to Shechem,^(BA) for all Israel had gone there to make him king. ² When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was still in Egypt, where he had fled^(BB) from King Solomon), he returned from^[c] Egypt. ³ So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him: ⁴ “Your father put a heavy yoke^(BC) on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”

⁵ Rehoboam answered, “Go away for three days and then come back to me.” So the people went away.

⁶ Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders^(BD) who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. “How would you advise me to answer these people?” he asked.

⁷ They replied, “If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer,^(BE) they will always be your servants.”

⁸ But Rehoboam rejected^(BF) the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. ⁹ He asked them, “What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?”

¹⁰ The young men who had grown up with him replied, “These people have said to you, ‘Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter.’ Now tell them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist. ¹¹ My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.’”

¹² Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, “Come back to me in three days.” ¹³ The king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the elders, ¹⁴ he followed the advice of the young men and said, “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged^(BG) you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.” ¹⁵ So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from the Lord,^(BH) to fulfill the word the Lord had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah^(BI) the Shilonite.

¹⁶ When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king:

So the Israelites went home.^{(BL) 17} But as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah,^(BM) Rehoboam still ruled over them.

¹⁸ King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram,^[d](BN) who was in charge of forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death.^(BO) King Rehoboam, however, managed to get into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. ¹⁹ So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David^(BP) to this day.

²⁰ When all the Israelites heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the house of David.^(BQ)

²¹ When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered all Judah and the tribe of Benjamin—a hundred and eighty thousand able young men—to go to war^(BR) against Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam son of Solomon.

²² But this word of God came to Shemaiah^(BS) the man of God:^{(BT) 23} “Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, to all Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, ²⁴ ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.’” So they obeyed the word of the Lord and went home again, as the Lord had ordered.

Golden Calves at Bethel and Dan

²⁵ Then Jeroboam fortified Shechem^(BU) in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. From there he went out and built up Peniel.^[e](BV)

²⁶ Jeroboam thought to himself, “The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. ²⁷ If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem,^(BW) they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam.”

²⁸ After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves.^(BX) He said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”^{(BY) 29} One he set up in Bethel,^(BZ) and the other in Dan.^{(CA) 30} And this thing became a sin;^(CB) the people came to worship the one at Bethel and went as far as Dan to worship the other.^[f]

³¹ Jeroboam built shrines^(CC) on high places and appointed priests^(CD) from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. ³² He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth^(CE) month, like the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. This he did in Bethel,^(CF) sacrificing to the calves he had made. And at Bethel he also installed priests at the high places he had made. ³³ On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, he offered sacrifices on the altar he had built at Bethel.^(CG) So he instituted the festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to make offerings.

The Man of God From Judah

13 By the word of the Lord a man of God^(CH) came from Judah to Bethel,^(CI) as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering. ² By the word of the Lord he cried out against the altar: “Altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: ‘A son named Josiah^(CJ) will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places^(CK) who make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.’” ³ That same day the man of God gave a sign:^(CL) “This is the sign the Lord has declared: The altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out.”

⁴ When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar and said, “Seize him!” But the hand he stretched out toward the man shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back. ⁵ Also, the altar was split apart and its ashes poured out according to the sign given by the man of God by the word of the Lord.

⁶ Then the king said to the man of God, “Intercede^(CM) with the Lord your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored.” So the man of God interceded with the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored and became as it was before.

⁷ The king said to the man of God, “Come home with me for a meal, and I will give you a gift.”^(CN)

⁸ But the man of God answered the king, “Even if you were to give me half your possessions,^(CO) I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread^(CP) or drink water here. ⁹ For I was commanded by the word of the Lord: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.’” ¹⁰ So he took another road and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.

¹¹ Now there was a certain old prophet living in Bethel, whose sons came and told him all that the man of God had done there that day. They also told their father what he had said to the king. ¹² Their father asked them, “Which way did he go?” And his sons showed him which road the man of God from Judah had taken. ¹³ So he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And when they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it ¹⁴ and rode after the man of God. He found him sitting under an oak tree and asked, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?”

“I am,” he replied.

¹⁵ So the prophet said to him, “Come home with me and eat.”

¹⁶ The man of God said, “I cannot turn back and go with you, nor can I eat bread^(CQ) or drink water with you in this place. ¹⁷ I have been told by the word of the Lord: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water there or return by the way you came.’”

¹⁸ The old prophet answered, “I too am a prophet, as you are. And an angel said to me by the word of the Lord:^(CR) ‘Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water.’” (But he was lying^(CS) to him.) ¹⁹ So the man of God returned with him and ate and drank in his house.

²⁰ While they were sitting at the table, the word of the Lord came to the old prophet who had brought him back. ²¹ He cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You have defied^(CT) the word of the Lord and have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. ²² You came back and ate bread and drank water in the place where he told you not to eat or drink. Therefore your body will not be buried in the tomb of your ancestors.’”

²³ When the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the prophet who had brought him back saddled his donkey for him. ²⁴ As he went on his way, a lion^(CU) met him on the road and killed him, and his body was left lying on the road, with both the donkey and the lion standing beside it. ²⁵ Some people who passed by saw the body lying there, with the lion standing beside the body, and they went and reported it in the city where the old prophet lived.

²⁶ When the prophet who had brought him back from his journey heard of it, he said, “It is the man of God who defied^(CV) the word of the Lord. The Lord has given him over to the lion, which has mauled him and killed him, as the word of the Lord had warned him.”

²⁷ The prophet said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me,” and they did so. ²⁸ Then he went out and found the body lying on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. The lion had neither eaten the body nor mauled the donkey. ²⁹ So the prophet picked up the body of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back to his own city to mourn for him and bury him. ³⁰ Then he laid the body in his own tomb,^(CW) and they mourned over him and said, “Alas, my brother!”^(CX)

³¹ After burying him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is buried; lay my bones^(CY) beside his bones. ³² For the message he declared by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel and against all the shrines on the high places^(CZ) in the towns of Samaria^(DA) will certainly come true.”^(DB)

³³ Even after this, Jeroboam did not change his evil ways,^(DC) but once more appointed priests for the high places from all sorts^(DD) of people. Anyone who wanted to become a priest he consecrated for the high places. ³⁴ This was the sin^(DE) of the house of Jeroboam that led to its downfall and to its destruction^(DF) from the face of the earth.