⁴ For it was so, when Solomon was old, ^(A)that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his ^(B)heart was not ^[a]loyal to the Lord his God, ^(C)as was the heart of his father David.

⁴ Now if you ^(A)walk before Me ^(B)as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you ^(C)keep My statutes and My judgments,

⁶¹ Let your ^(A)heart therefore be ^[a]loyal to the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, as at this day.”

⁹ “As for you, my son Solomon, ^(A)know the God of your father, and serve Him ^(B)with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for ^(C)the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. ^(D)If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will ^(E)cast you off forever.

⁶ Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not fully follow the Lord, as did his father David.

² And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

³ Now the Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the former ways of his father David; he did not seek the Baals,

² from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, ^(A)“You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love.

¹⁷ Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and ^(A)gold for himself.

^26 (A)Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? Yet among many nations there was no king like him, ^(B)who was beloved of his God; and God made him king over all Israel. ^(C)Nevertheless pagan women caused even him to sin. ²⁷ Should we then hear of your doing all this great evil, ^(D)transgressing against our God by marrying pagan women?”