1 Kings 10-12

Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

10 When the queen of Sheba heard of [the constant connection of] the fame of Solomon with the name of the Lord, she came to prove him with hard questions (problems and riddles).

² She came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels bearing spices, very much gold, and precious stones. When she had come to Solomon, she communed with him about all that was in her mind.

³ Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king which he failed to explain to her.

⁴ When the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon’s wisdom and skill, the house he had built,

⁵ The food of his table, the seating of his officials, the standing at attention of his servants, their apparel, his cupbearers, his ascent by which he went up to the house of the Lord [or the burnt offerings he sacrificed], she was breathless and overcome.

⁶ She said to the king, It was a true report I heard in my own land of your acts and sayings and wisdom.

⁷ I did not believe it until I came and my eyes had seen. Behold, the half was not told me. You have added wisdom and goodness exceeding the fame I heard.

⁸ Happy are your men! Happy are these your servants who stand continually before you, hearing your wisdom!

⁹ Blessed be the Lord your God, Who delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! Because the Lord loved Israel forever, He made you king to execute justice and righteousness.

¹⁰ And she gave the king 120 talents of gold and of spices a very great store and precious stones. Never again came such abundance of spices as these the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.

¹¹ The navy also of Hiram brought from Ophir gold and a great plenty of almug (algum) wood and precious stones.

¹² Of the almug wood the king made pillars for the house of the Lord and for the king’s house, and lyres also and harps for the singers. No such almug wood came again or has been seen to this day.

¹³ King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all she wanted, whatever she asked, besides his gifts to her from his royal bounty. So she returned to her own country, she and her servants.

¹⁴ Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one [particular] year was 666 talents of gold,

¹⁵ Besides what the traders brought and the traffic of the merchants and from all the [tributary] kings and governors of the land of Arabia.

¹⁶ King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold; 600 shekels of gold went into each shield.

¹⁷ And he made 300 shields of beaten gold; three minas of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.

¹⁸ Also the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with the finest gold.

¹⁹ The throne had six steps, and attached at the rear of the top of the throne was a round covering or canopy. On either side of the seat were armrests, and two lions stood beside the armrests.

²⁰ Twelve lions stood there, one on either end of each of the six steps; there was nothing like it ever made in any kingdom.

²¹ All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were of silver; it was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon.

²² For the king had a fleet of ships of Tarshish at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the fleet of ships of Tarshish came bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

²³ So King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom (skill).

²⁴ And all the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom which God had put in his mind.

²⁵ Every man brought tribute: vessels of silver and gold, garments, equipment, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year.

²⁶ Solomon collected chariots and horsemen; he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, which he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.

²⁷ The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars as plentiful as the sycamore trees in the lowlands.

²⁸ Solomon’s horses were brought out of Egypt, and the king’s merchants received them in droves, each at a price.^(A)

²⁹ A chariot could be brought out of Egypt for 600 shekels of silver, and a horse for 150. And so to all the kings of the Hittites and of Syria they were exported by the king’s merchants.

11 But King Solomon [defiantly] loved many foreign women—the ^[a]daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites.

² They were of the very nations of whom the Lord said to the Israelites, You shall not mingle with them, neither shall they mingle with you, for surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods. Yet Solomon clung to these in love.^(B)

³ He had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines, and his wives turned away his heart from God.

⁴ For when Solomon was old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not perfect (complete and whole) with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.

⁵ For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abominable idol of the Ammonites!^(C)

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

⁷ Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abominable idol of Moab, on the hill opposite Jerusalem, and for Molech the abominable idol of the Ammonites.

⁸ And he did so ^[b]for all of his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

⁹ And the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned from the Lord, the God of Israel, Who had appeared to him twice,

¹⁰ And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods, but he did not do what the Lord commanded.

¹¹ Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, Because you are doing this and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely rend the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant!

¹² However, in your days I will not do it, for David your father’s sake. But I will rend it out of the hand of your son!

¹³ However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but will give one tribe to your son for David My servant’s sake and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.

¹⁴ The Lord stirred up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was of royal descent in Edom.

¹⁵ For when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of Israel’s army went up to bury the slain, he slew every male in Edom.

¹⁶ For Joab and all Israel remained there for six months, until he had cut off every male in Edom.

¹⁷ But Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father’s servants, to Egypt, Hadad being yet a little child.

¹⁸ They set out from Midian and came to Paran, and took men with them out of Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave [young] Hadad a house and land and ordered provisions for him.

¹⁹ Hadad found great favor with Pharaoh, so that he gave him in marriage the sister of his own wife Tahpenes the queen.

²⁰ The sister of Tahpenes bore Hadad Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh’s house; and Genubath was in Pharaoh’s household among the sons of Pharaoh.

²¹ But when Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers and that Joab the commander of Israel’s army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, Let me depart, that I may go to my own country.

²² Then Pharaoh said to him, But what have you lacked with me that now you want to go to your own country? He replied, Nothing. However, let me go anyhow.

²³ God raised up for [Hadad] another adversary, Rezon son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah.

²⁴ Rezon gathered men about him and became leader of a marauding band after the slaughter by David. They went to Damascus and dwelt and made [Rezon] king in Damascus.

²⁵ And Rezon was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, besides the mischief that Hadad did. Rezon abhorred Israel and reigned over Syria.

²⁶ Jeroboam son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomon’s servant, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow woman, rebelled against the king—

²⁷ And for this reason: Solomon built the Millo and repaired the breaches of the city of David his father.

²⁸ The man Jeroboam was a mighty man of courage. Solomon, seeing that the young man was industrious, put him in charge over all the [forced] labor of the house of Joseph.

²⁹ At that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the way. Ahijah had clad himself with a new garment; and they were alone in the field.

³⁰ Ahijah caught the new garment he wore and tore it into twelve pieces.

³¹ He said to Jeroboam, You take ten pieces, for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, Behold, I will tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon and will give you ten tribes.

³² But he shall have one tribe, for My servant David’s sake and for Jerusalem’s sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel,

³³ Because they have forsaken Me and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked in My ways, to do what is right in My sight, keeping My statutes and My ordinances as did David his father.

³⁴ However, I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand; but I will make him ruler all the days of his life for David My servant’s sake, whom I chose because he kept My commandments and My statutes.

³⁵ But I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand and give it to you, ten tribes.

³⁶ Yet to his son I will give one tribe, that David My servant may always have a light before Me in Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen to put My Name.

³⁷ And I will take you, and you shall reign according to all that your soul desires; and you shall be king over Israel.

³⁸ And if you will hearken to all I command you and will walk in My ways and do right in My sight, keeping My statutes and My commandments, as David My servant did, I will be with you and build you a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to you.

³⁹ And I will for this afflict the descendants of David, but not forever.

⁴⁰ Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled into Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until Solomon died.

⁴¹ The rest of the acts of Solomon—and all that he did, and his wisdom (skill)—are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon?

⁴² The time Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.

⁴³ And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David his father. Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.

12 Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.

² And when Jeroboam son of Nebat heard of it—for he still dwelt in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon—[he] returned from Egypt.

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 and the heavy yoke your father put upon us, and we will serve you.

⁵ He replied, Go away for three days and then return to me. So the people departed.

⁶ And King Rehoboam consulted with the old men who stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived and said, How do you advise me to answer this people?

⁷ And they said to him, If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them and answer them with good words, they will be your servants forever.

⁸ But he forsook the counsel the old men gave him and consulted the young men who grew up with him and stood before him.

⁹ He said to them, What do you advise that we answer this people who have said, Make the yoke your father put on us lighter?

¹⁰ The young men who grew up with him answered, To the people who told you, Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter for us—say this, My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins.

¹¹ And now whereas my father loaded you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.

¹² So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king had appointed.

¹³ And the king answered the people roughly and forsook the counsel the old men had given him,

¹⁴ And spoke to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; he chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.

¹⁵ So the king did not hearken to the people, for the situation was from the Lord, that He might fulfill His word which He spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.^(D)

¹⁶ So when all Israel saw that the king did not heed them, they answered the king, What portion have we in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David! So Israel went to their tents.

¹⁷ But Rehoboam reigned over the Israelites who dwelt in the cities of Judah.

¹⁸ Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the tribute [taskmaster over the forced labor], and all Israel stoned him to death with stones. So King Rehoboam hastened to get into his chariot to flee to Jerusalem.

¹⁹ So Israel has rebelled against the house of David to this day.

²⁰ When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. None followed the house of David except the tribe of Judah only.

²¹ And when Rehoboam had come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against the house of Israel to bring the kingdom back to Rehoboam son of Solomon.

²² But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,

²³ Tell Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah and all the house of Judah and Benjamin and the remnant of the people,

²⁴ Thus says the Lord, You shall not go up or fight against your brethren, the Israelites. Return every man to his house, for this thing is from Me. So they hearkened to the Lord’s word and returned home, according to the Lord’s word.

²⁵ Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. He went out from there and built Penuel.

²⁶ Jeroboam said in his heart, Now the kingdom will return to the house of David.

²⁷ If this people goes up to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem to sacrifice, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me and go back to Rehoboam king of Judah.

²⁸ So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, It is too much for you to go [all the way] up to Jerusalem. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

²⁹ And he set the one golden calf in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.

³⁰ And this thing became a sin; for the people went to worship each of them even as far as Dan.

³¹ Jeroboam also made houses on high places and made priests of people who were not Levites.

³² And Jeroboam appointed a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast kept in Judah, and he offered sacrifices upon the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made. And he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places he had made.

³³ So he offered upon the altar he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a date which he chose individually; and he appointed a feast for the Israelites and he went up to the altar to burn incense [in defiance of God’s law.]