1 Kings 11:26-35
New English Translation
26 Jeroboam son of Nebat, one of Solomon’s servants, rebelled against[a] the king. He was an Ephraimite[b] from Zeredah whose mother was a widow named Zeruah. 27 This is what prompted him to rebel against the king:[c] Solomon built a terrace, and he closed up a gap in the wall of the city of his father David.[d] 28 Jeroboam was a talented man;[e] when Solomon saw that the young man was an accomplished worker, he made him the leader of the work crew from the tribe[f] of Joseph. 29 At that time, when Jeroboam had left Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the road; the two of them were alone in the open country. Ahijah[g] was wearing a brand new robe, 30 and he grabbed the robe[h] and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 Then he told Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces, for this is what the Lord God of Israel has said: ‘Look, I am about to tear the kingdom from Solomon’s hand and I will give ten tribes to you. 32 He will retain one tribe, for my servant David’s sake and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. 33 I am taking the kingdom from him[i] because they have[j] abandoned me and worshiped the Sidonian goddess Astarte, the Moabite god Chemosh, and the Ammonite god Milcom. They have not followed my instructions[k] by doing what I approve and obeying my rules and regulations, as Solomon’s father David did.[l] 34 I will not take the whole kingdom from his hand. I will allow him to be ruler for the rest of his life for the sake of my chosen servant David who kept my commandments and rules. 35 I will take the kingdom from the hand of his son and give ten tribes to you.[m]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Kings 11:26 tn Heb “raised a hand against.”
- 1 Kings 11:26 tn Heb “Ephrathite,” which here refers to an Ephraimite (see HALOT 81 s.v. אֶפְרַיִם).
- 1 Kings 11:27 tn Heb “this is the matter concerning which he raised a hand against the king.”
- 1 Kings 11:27 sn The city of his father David. The phrase refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
- 1 Kings 11:28 tn Heb “man of strength.”
- 1 Kings 11:28 tn Heb “house.”
- 1 Kings 11:29 tn The Hebrew text has simply “he,” making it a bit unclear whether Jeroboam or Ahijah is the subject, but in the Hebrew word order Ahijah is the nearer antecedent, and this is followed by the present translation.
- 1 Kings 11:30 tn Heb “and Ahijah grabbed the new robe that was on him.”
- 1 Kings 11:33 tn The words “I am taking the kingdom from him” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
- 1 Kings 11:33 tc This is the reading of the MT; the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate read “he has.”
- 1 Kings 11:33 tn Heb “walked in my ways.”
- 1 Kings 11:33 tn Heb “by doing what is right in my eyes, my rules and my regulations, like David his father.”
- 1 Kings 11:35 tn Heb “and I will give it to you, ten tribes.”
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