1 Kings 11
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 11
Solomon’s Wives and Idolatry.[a] 1 But King Solomon loved many foreign wives. In addition to Pharaoh’s daughter, there were Moabite women, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites. 2 These were from the nations about which the Lord had said to the Israelites, “You are not to go to them, nor are they to come to you, for they will surely turn your heart away to follow their gods.” Solomon clung to them in love. 3 He had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines, and his wives perverted his heart.
4 When Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart to serve other gods. His heart did not rest in peace with the Lord, his God, as the heart of David, his father, had. 5 He followed Ashtaroth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Moloch, the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not follow after the Lord completely as his father David had. 7 Solomon built a high place to Chemosh, the abomination of the Moabites, and to Moloch, the abomination of the Ammonites, on a hillside that lies to the east of Jerusalem. 8 He did the same thing for all of his foreign wives. He burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
9 [b]The Lord therefore became angry with Solomon for he had turned his heart away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, 10 and who had given him a command concerning this very thing, that he not follow after other gods, but he did not observe what the Lord had commanded. 11 Therefore, the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you have done this and you have not observed my covenant and my statutes that I had given to you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant.
12 “Nevertheless, I will not do this during your days, for the sake of David, your father. I will tear it out of the hands of your son. 13 I will not tear the entire kingdom away. I will give your son one tribe for the sake of David, my servant, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.”
14 Solomon’s Adversaries. The Lord raised up an adversary to Solomon: Hadad, the Edomite, who was a descendant of the kings in Edom. 15 When David had been in Edom, and Joab, the commander of the army, had gone up to bury those who had been killed, for every male had been killed in Edom 16 (for Joab and all of Israel had remained there for six months until they had killed every male in Edom), 17 Hadad had fled into Egypt along with certain Edomites who had been his father’s servants. Hadad was only a little child. 18 They came up out of Midian to Paran, and they took men with them from Paran and went to Egypt, to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, who gave him a house and provided him with provisions and gave him some land.
19 Pharaoh liked Hadad so much that he gave him the sister of his own wife to marry, the sister of Queen Tahpenes. 20 The sister of Tahpenes bore him a son named Genubath. Tahpenes raised him in Pharaoh’s household. Genubath belonged to Pharaoh’s household, as if he were one of Pharaoh’s sons.
21 While he was in Egypt, he heard that David was now sleeping with his fathers and that Joab, the commander of the army, was dead. Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me leave so that I might return to my own land.” 22 Pharaoh said to him, “What have you ever been without that you seek to return to your own land?” He answered, “Nothing, but let me go anyway.”
23 God also stirred up another adversary against him, Rezon, the son of Eliada. He had fled from his lord, Hadadezer, the king of Zobah. 24 He gathered some men to himself and became the leader of a band of them when David conquered the forces of Zobah. They traveled to Damascus and dwelt there, reigning in Damascus. 25 He was an adversary of Israel all through Solomon’s time, adding to the difficulties caused by Hadad. He ruled in Aram and despised Israel.
26 Jeroboam’s Kingship Predicted. There was a certain Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who was an Ephraimite from Zeredah. His mother was a widow whose name was Zeruah. He rebelled against the king. 27 This is how he rebelled against the king: Solomon built Millo and repaired the breaches in the wall of the City of David, his father. 28 Jeroboam was an impressive man, and when Solomon saw that the young man was capable, he placed him in charge of the whole component of forced labor of the house of Joseph.
29 [c]When Jeroboam went out from Jerusalem, he was met along the way by Ahijah, the Shilonite, who was a prophet. He was wearing a new garment, and the two of them were alone in the field. 30 Ahijah grabbed the new garment that he was wearing and he tore it into twelve pieces. 31 He then said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hands of Solomon and I will give you ten tribes. 32 One tribe will remain for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen from out of the tribes of Israel.
33 “ ‘This is because he has abandoned me and he has worshiped Ashtaroth, the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh, the god of the Moabites, and Moloch, the god of the Ammonites. He has not walked in my paths, doing what was right in my sight by observing my statutes and ordinances as David, his father, did. 34 But I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hands. I will keep him as ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David, my servant, whom I chose, for he observed my commandments and my statutes, 35 but I will take it out of his son’s hands. I will then give you ten of the tribes. 36 I will give one tribe to his son so that David, my servant, might have a light before me always in Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen for my name.
37 “ ‘I will take you, and you will reign over all that your heart desires. You will be the king over Israel. 38 If you listen to all that I have commanded you and you walk in my ways and you do what is right in my sight, observing my statutes and my commandments, as David, my servant, did, then I will be with you and I will build a secure dynasty for you just as I built one for David. I will give you Israel. 39 I will humble the descendants of David because of this, but not forever.’ ”
40 Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, so Jeroboam rose and fled into Egypt, to Shishak, the king of Egypt. He stayed in Egypt until Solomon had died.
41 Solomon’s Death. As for the rest of Solomon’s deeds and the wisdom that he demonstrated, are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon? 42 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all of Israel for forty years. 43 Solomon then slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the City of David, his father. Rehoboam, his son, then ruled in his stead.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 11:1 For all his wisdom, Solomon’s weakness for women is his downfall. He disregards God’s command not to marry foreign women, and by aligning himself with so many heathen women, he eventually turns away from the true God.
- 1 Kings 11:9 The slippery slope for Solomon into idolatry and sin took some time and several outright acts of disobedience on his part. Despite the warnings and threats from the Lord, he continued his downward spiral, losing God and everything he had been given in abundance.
- 1 Kings 11:29 Jeroboam is given the heads up by the prophet Ahijah that he will inherit 10 of Israel’s 12 tribes. Benjamin and Judah—often referred to as one tribe—would remain loyal to David—King Solomon’s father.
1 Kings 11
Names of God Bible
Solomon’s Idolatry
11 King Solomon loved many foreign women in addition to Pharaoh’s daughter. He loved Hittite women and women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Sidon. 2 They came from the nations about which Yahweh had said to the people of Israel, “Never intermarry with them. They will surely tempt you to follow their gods.” But Solomon was obsessed with their love. 3 He had 700 wives who were princesses and 300 wives who were concubines.[a] 4 In his old age, his wives tempted him to follow other gods. He was no longer committed to Yahweh his Elohim as his father David had been. 5 Solomon followed Astarte (the goddess of the Sidonians) and Milcom (the disgusting idol of the Ammonites). 6 So Solomon did what Yahweh considered evil. He did not wholeheartedly follow Yahweh as his father David had done. 7 Then Solomon built an illegal worship site on the hill east of Jerusalem for Chemosh (the disgusting idol of Moab) and for Molech (the disgusting idol of the Ammonites). 8 He did these things for each of his foreign wives who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
God Pronounces Judgment on Solomon
9 So Yahweh became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned from Yahweh Elohim of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. 10 God had given him commands about this. He told him not to follow other gods. But Solomon did not obey Yahweh’s command. 11 Yahweh told Solomon, “Because this is your attitude and you have no respect for my promises[b] or my laws that I commanded you to keep, I will certainly tear the kingdom away from you. I will give it to one of your servants. 12 But I will not do it in your lifetime because of your father David. I will tear it away from the hands of your son. 13 However, I will not tear the whole kingdom away from you. I will give your son one tribe for my servant David’s sake and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city that I chose.”
Rebellions against Solomon
14 Yahweh raised up Hadad the Edomite as a rival to Solomon. Hadad was from the Edomite royal family. 15 When David had conquered Edom, Joab, the commander of the army, went to bury those killed in battle and killed every male in Edom. 16 (Joab and all Israel stayed there six months until they had destroyed every male in Edom.) 17 Hadad was a young boy at the time. He and some of his father’s Edomite servants fled to Egypt. 18 They left Midian and went to Paran. Taking some men from Paran with them, they went to Pharaoh (the king of Egypt). Pharaoh gave Hadad a home, a food allowance, and land.
19 Pharaoh approved of Hadad. So he gave Hadad his sister-in-law, the sister of Queen Tahpenes, to be Hadad’s wife. 20 Tahpenes’ sister had a son named Genubath. Tahpenes presented the boy to Pharaoh in the palace, and Genubath lived in the palace among Pharaoh’s children.
21 When Hadad heard in Egypt that David had lain down in death with his ancestors and that Joab, the commander of the army, had died, he said to Pharaoh, “Let me go to my own country.”
22 Pharaoh asked him, “What don’t you have here that makes you eager to go home?”
“Nothing,” he said. “But let me leave anyway.”
23 Elohim also raised up Rezon, son of Eliada, as a rival to Solomon. Rezon fled from his master, King Hadadezer of Zobah, 24 after David killed the men of Zobah. Rezon gathered men and became the leader of a troop of warriors. They went to Damascus, settled there, and ruled a kingdom in Damascus. 25 In addition to the trouble that Hadad caused, Rezon was Israel’s rival as long as Solomon lived. He ruled Aram and despised Israel.
26 There was also Jeroboam, who was the son of Nebat and an Ephrathite from Zeredah. His mother Zeruah was a widow. He was one of Solomon’s officers, but he rebelled against the king.
27 This was the situation when he rebelled against the king: Solomon was building the Millo[c] and repairing a break in the wall of the City of David. 28 Solomon saw that Jeroboam was a very able and hardworking man. So he put Jeroboam in charge of all forced labor from the tribes of Joseph.
29 At that time Jeroboam left Jerusalem. The prophet Ahijah from Shiloh met him on the road. The two of them were alone in the open country, and Ahijah had on new clothes. 30 Ahijah took his new garment and tore it into 12 pieces.
31 He told Jeroboam, “Take 10 pieces because this is what Yahweh Elohim of Israel says: I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hands and give ten tribes to you. 32 He will have one tribe left because of my servant David and Jerusalem, the city I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel. 33 I will do this because he has abandoned me and worshiped Astarte (the goddess of the Sidonians), Chemosh (the god of Moab), and Milcom (the god of Ammon). He has not followed my ways. He did not do what I consider right or keep my laws and decrees as his father David did.
34 “I will not take the whole kingdom from him. Instead, I will allow him to be ruler as long as he lives because of my servant David whom I chose, who obeyed my commands and laws. 35 But I will take the kingdom away from his son and give you ten tribes. 36 I will give his son one tribe so that my servant David will always have a lamp in my presence in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to place my name.
37 “I will choose you so that you can rule everything you desire. You will be king of Israel. 38 If you will do all I command you, follow my ways, and do what I consider right by obeying my laws and commands as my servant David did, then I will be with you. I will build a permanent dynasty for you as I did for David. And I will give you Israel. 39 I will make David’s descendants suffer for this, but not always.”
40 Then Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam fled to King Shishak of Egypt. He stayed in Egypt until Solomon died.
Solomon’s Death(A)
41 Aren’t the rest of Solomon’s acts—everything he did—and his wisdom written in the records of Solomon? 42 The length of Solomon’s reign in Jerusalem over all Israel was 40 years. 43 Solomon lay down in death with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. His son Rehoboam succeeded him as king.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 11:3 A concubine is considered a wife except she has fewer rights under the law.
- 1 Kings 11:11 Or “covenant.”
- 1 Kings 11:27 The exact place referred to as “the Millo” is unknown.
1 Kings 11
New King James Version
Solomon’s Heart Turns from the Lord
11 But (A)King Solomon loved (B)many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites— 2 from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, (C)“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. 3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. 4 For it was so, when Solomon was old, (D)that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his (E)heart was not [a]loyal to the Lord his God, (F)as was the heart of his father David. 5 For Solomon went after (G)Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after (H)Milcom[b] the abomination of the (I)Ammonites. 6 Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not fully follow the Lord, as did his father David. 7 (J)Then Solomon built a [c]high place for (K)Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on (L)the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon. 8 And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
9 So the Lord became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the Lord God of Israel, (M)who had appeared to him twice, 10 and (N)had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep what the Lord had commanded. 11 Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, (O)I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your (P)servant. 12 Nevertheless I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David; I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 (Q)However I will not tear away the whole kingdom; I will give (R)one tribe to your son (S)for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem (T)which I have chosen.”
Adversaries of Solomon
14 Now the Lord (U)raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was a descendant of the king in Edom. 15 (V)For it happened, when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of the army had gone up to bury the slain, (W)after he had killed every male in Edom 16 (because for six months Joab remained there with all Israel, until he had cut down every male in Edom), 17 that Hadad fled to go to Egypt, he and certain Edomites of his father’s servants with him. Hadad was still a little child. 18 Then they arose from Midian and came to Paran; and they took men with them from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house, apportioned food for him, and gave him land. 19 And Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him as wife the sister of his own wife, that is, the sister of Queen Tahpenes. 20 Then the sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh’s house. And Genubath was in Pharaoh’s household among the sons of Pharaoh.
21 (X)So when Hadad heard in Egypt that David [d]rested with his fathers, and that Joab the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, [e]“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 suddenly you seek to go to your own country?”
So he answered, “Nothing, but do let me go anyway.”
23 And God raised up another adversary against him, Rezon the son of Eliadah, who had fled from his lord, (Y)Hadadezer king of Zobah. 24 So he gathered men to him and became captain over a band of raiders, (Z)when David killed those of Zobah. And they went to Damascus and dwelt there, and reigned in Damascus. 25 He was an adversary of Israel all the days of Solomon (besides the trouble that Hadad caused); and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria.
Jeroboam’s Rebellion
26 Then Solomon’s servant, (AA)Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite from Zereda, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow, (AB)also (AC)rebelled against the king.
27 And this is what caused him to rebel against the king: (AD)Solomon had built the Millo and [f]repaired the damages to the City of David his father. 28 The man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor; and Solomon, seeing that the young man was (AE)industrious, made him the officer over all the labor force of the house of Joseph.
29 Now it happened at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet (AF)Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the way; and he had clothed himself with a new garment, and the two were alone in the field. 30 Then Ahijah took hold of the new garment that was on him, and (AG)tore it into twelve pieces. 31 And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces, for (AH)thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to you 32 (but he shall have one tribe for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel), 33 (AI)because [g]they have forsaken Me, and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the people of Ammon, and have not walked in My ways to do what is right in My eyes and keep My statutes and My judgments, as did his father David. 34 However I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, because I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of My servant David, whom I chose because he kept My commandments and My statutes. 35 But (AJ)I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand and give it to you—ten tribes. 36 And to his son I will give one tribe, that (AK)My servant David may always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for Myself, to put My name there. 37 So I will take you, and you shall reign over all your heart desires, and you shall be king over Israel. 38 Then it shall be, if you heed all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then (AL)I will be with you and (AM)build for you an enduring house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to you. 39 And I will afflict the descendants of David because of this, but not forever.’ ”
40 Solomon therefore sought to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled to Egypt, to (AN)Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.
Death of Solomon(AO)
41 Now (AP)the rest of the acts of Solomon, all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon? 42 (AQ)And the period that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. 43 (AR)Then Solomon [h]rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his (AS)place.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 11:4 Lit. at peace with
- 1 Kings 11:5 Or Molech
- 1 Kings 11:7 A place for pagan worship
- 1 Kings 11:21 Died and joined his ancestors
- 1 Kings 11:21 Lit. Send me away
- 1 Kings 11:27 Lit. closed up the breaches
- 1 Kings 11:33 So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Syr., Vg. he has
- 1 Kings 11:43 Died and joined his ancestors
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
