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.

41 Then the man brought me to the main hall^(A) and measured the jambs; the width of the jambs was six cubits^[a] on each side.^{[b] 2} The entrance was ten cubits^[c] wide, and the projecting walls on each side of it were five cubits^[d] wide. He also measured the main hall; it was forty cubits long and twenty cubits wide.^[e](B)

³ Then he went into the inner sanctuary and measured the jambs of the entrance; each was two cubits^[f] wide. The entrance was six cubits wide, and the projecting walls on each side of it were seven cubits^[g] wide. ⁴ And he measured the length of the inner sanctuary; it was twenty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits across the end of the main hall.^(C) He said to me, “This is the Most Holy Place.^(D)”

⁵ Then he measured the wall of the temple; it was six cubits thick, and each side room around the temple was four cubits^[h] wide. ⁶ The side rooms were on three levels, one above another, thirty^(E) on each level. There were ledges all around the wall of the temple to serve as supports for the side rooms, so that the supports were not inserted into the wall of the temple.^{(F) 7} The side rooms all around the temple were wider at each successive level. The structure surrounding the temple was built in ascending stages, so that the rooms widened as one went upward. A stairway^(G) went up from the lowest floor to the top floor through the middle floor.

⁸ I saw that the temple had a raised base all around it, forming the foundation of the side rooms. It was the length of the rod, six long cubits. ⁹ The outer wall of the side rooms was five cubits thick. The open area between the side rooms of the temple ¹⁰ and the priests’ rooms was twenty cubits wide all around the temple. ¹¹ There were entrances to the side rooms from the open area, one on the north and another on the south; and the base adjoining the open area was five cubits wide all around.

¹² The building facing the temple courtyard on the west side was seventy cubits^[i] wide. The wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length was ninety cubits.^[j]

¹³ Then he measured the temple; it was a hundred cubits^[k] long, and the temple courtyard and the building with its walls were also a hundred cubits long. ¹⁴ The width of the temple courtyard on the east, including the front of the temple, was a hundred cubits.^(H)

¹⁵ Then he measured the length of the building facing the courtyard at the rear of the temple, including its galleries^(I) on each side; it was a hundred cubits.

The main hall, the inner sanctuary and the portico facing the court, ¹⁶ as well as the thresholds and the narrow windows^(J) and galleries around the three of them—everything beyond and including the threshold was covered with wood. The floor, the wall up to the windows, and the windows were covered.^{(K) 17} In the space above the outside of the entrance to the inner sanctuary and on the walls at regular intervals all around the inner and outer sanctuary ¹⁸ were carved^(L) cherubim^(M) and palm trees.^(N) Palm trees alternated with cherubim. Each cherub had two faces:^{(O) 19} the face of a human being toward the palm tree on one side and the face of a lion toward the palm tree on the other. They were carved all around the whole temple.^{(P) 20} From the floor to the area above the entrance, cherubim and palm trees were carved on the wall of the main hall.

²¹ The main hall^(Q) had a rectangular doorframe, and the one at the front of the Most Holy Place was similar. ²² There was a wooden altar^(R) three cubits^[l] high and two cubits square^[m]; its corners, its base^[n] and its sides were of wood. The man said to me, “This is the table^(S) that is before the Lord.” ²³ Both the main hall^(T) and the Most Holy Place had double doors.^{(U) 24} Each door had two leaves—two hinged leaves^(V) for each door. ²⁵ And on the doors of the main hall were carved cherubim and palm trees like those carved on the walls, and there was a wooden overhang on the front of the portico. ²⁶ On the sidewalls of the portico were narrow windows with palm trees carved on each side. The side rooms of the temple also had overhangs.^(W)