God’s Promise and Warning

9 ^(A)Now it came about when Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord, and ^(B)the king’s house, and ^(C)all ^[a]that Solomon desired to do, ² that ^(D)the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. ³ The Lord said to him, “^(E)I have heard your prayer and your supplication, which you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built ^(F)by putting My name there forever, and ^(G)My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. ⁴ As for you, ^(H)if you will walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you and will keep My statutes and My ordinances, ⁵ then ^(I)I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, just as I ^[b]promised to your father David, saying, ‘^[c]You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’

⁶ “^(J)But if you or your sons indeed turn away from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, ^7 (K)then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them, and ^(L)the house which I have consecrated for My name, I will ^[d]cast out of My sight. So ^(M)Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples. ⁸ And this house will become ^[e](N)a heap of ruins; everyone who passes by will be astonished and hiss and say, ‘^(O)Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ ⁹ And they will say, ‘^(P)Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and adopted other gods and worshiped them and served them, therefore the Lord has brought all this adversity on them.’”

Cities Given to Hiram

^10 (Q)It came about ^(R)at the end of twenty years in which Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the Lord and the king’s house ¹¹ (Hiram king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and cypress timber and gold according to all his desire), then King Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. ¹² So Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him, and they ^[f]did not please him. ¹³ He said, “What are these cities which you have given me, my brother?” So ^[g]they were called the land of ^[h](S)Cabul to this day. ^14 (T)And Hiram sent to the king 120 talents of gold.

¹⁵ Now this is the account of the forced labor which King Solomon ^(U)levied to build the house of the Lord, his own house, the ^[i](V)Millo, the wall of Jerusalem, ^(W)Hazor, ^(X)Megiddo, and ^(Y)Gezer. ¹⁶ For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and captured Gezer and burned it with fire, and killed the ^(Z)Canaanites who lived in the city, and had ^(AA)given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife. ¹⁷ So Solomon rebuilt Gezer and the lower ^(AB)Beth-horon ¹⁸ and ^(AC)Baalath and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land of Judah, ¹⁹ and all the storage cities which Solomon had, even ^(AD)the cities for ^[j]his chariots and the cities for ^[k](AE)his horsemen, and ^[l](AF)all that it pleased Solomon to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land ^[m]under his rule. ²⁰ As for all the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, who were not of the sons of Israel, ^21 (AG)their descendants who were left after them in the land ^(AH)whom the sons of Israel were unable to destroy utterly, ^(AI)from them Solomon levied ^(AJ)forced laborers, even to this day. ²² But Solomon ^(AK)did not make slaves of the sons of Israel; for they were men of war, his servants, his princes, his captains, his chariot commanders, and his horsemen.

²³ These were the ^[n](AL)chief officers who were over Solomon’s work, five hundred and fifty, ^(AM)who ruled over the people doing the work.

²⁴ As soon as ^(AN)Pharaoh’s daughter came up from the city of David to her house which Solomon had built for her, ^(AO)then he built the Millo.

²⁵ Now ^(AP)three times in a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he built to the Lord, burning incense with them on the altar which was before the Lord. So he finished the house.

²⁶ King Solomon also built a ^(AQ)fleet of ships in ^(AR)Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the ^[o]Red Sea, in the land of Edom. ^27 (AS)And Hiram sent his servants with the fleet, sailors who knew the sea, along with the servants of Solomon. ²⁸ They went to ^(AT)Ophir and took four hundred and twenty talents of gold from there, and brought it to King Solomon.

^10 (A)She gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and a very great amount of spices and precious stones. Never again did such abundance of spices come in as that which the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.

Ahijah Prophesies against the King

14 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick. ² Jeroboam said to his wife, “Arise now, and ^(A)disguise yourself so that they will not know that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to ^(B)Shiloh; behold, Ahijah the prophet is there, who ^(C)spoke concerning me that I would be king over this people. ^3 (D)Take ten loaves with you, some cakes and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy.”

⁴ Jeroboam’s wife did so, and arose and went to ^(E)Shiloh, and came to the house of ^(F)Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see, ^(G)for his eyes were ^[a]dim because of his age. ⁵ Now the Lord had said to Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to ^[b]inquire of you concerning her son, for he is sick. You shall say thus and thus to her, for it will be when she arrives that ^(H)she will pretend to be another woman.”

⁶ When Ahijah heard the sound of her feet coming in the doorway, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam, why do you pretend to be another woman? For I am sent to you with a harsh message. ⁷ Go, say to Jeroboam, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel, “^(I)Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over My people Israel, ⁸ and ^(J)tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you—^(K)yet you have not been like My servant David, who kept My commandments and who followed Me with all his heart, ^(L)to do only that which was right in My sight; ⁹ you also have done more evil than all who were before you, and ^(M)have gone and made for yourself other gods and ^(N)molten images to provoke Me to anger, and have ^(O)cast Me behind your back— ¹⁰ therefore behold, I am bringing calamity on the house of Jeroboam, and ^(P)will cut off from Jeroboam ^[c]every male person, ^(Q)both bond and free in Israel, and I ^(R)will make a clean sweep of the house of Jeroboam, as one sweeps away dung until it is all gone. ^11 (S)Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city the dogs will eat. And he who dies in the field the birds of the heavens will eat; for the Lord has spoken it.”’ ¹² Now you, arise, go to your house. ^(T)When your feet enter the city the child will die. ¹³ All Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for ^[d]he alone of Jeroboam’s family will come to the grave, because in him ^(U)something good was found toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam. ¹⁴ Moreover, ^(V)the Lord will raise up for Himself a king over Israel who will cut off the house of Jeroboam this day ^[e]and from now on.

¹⁵ “For the Lord will strike Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water; and ^(W)He will uproot Israel from ^(X)this good land which He gave to their fathers, and ^(Y)will scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, ^(Z)because they have made their ^[f]Asherim, provoking the Lord to anger. ¹⁶ He will give up Israel ^(AA)on account of the sins of Jeroboam, which he ^[g]committed and with which he made Israel to sin.”

¹⁷ Then Jeroboam’s wife arose and departed and came to ^(AB)Tirzah. ^(AC)As she was entering the threshold of the house, the child died. ^18 (AD)All Israel buried him and mourned for him, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke through His servant Ahijah the prophet.

¹⁹ Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, ^(AE)how he made war and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. ²⁰ The time that Jeroboam reigned was twenty-two years; and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his place.

Rehoboam Misleads Judah

^21 (AF)Now Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, ^(AG)the city which the Lord had chosen from all the tribes of Israel to put His name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess. ^22 (AH)Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they ^(AI)provoked Him to jealousy more than all that their fathers had done, with ^[h]the sins which they ^[i]committed. ²³ For they also built for themselves ^(AJ)high places and sacred ^(AK)pillars and ^[j](AL)Asherim on every high hill and ^(AM)beneath every luxuriant tree. ²⁴ There were also ^(AN)male cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations which the Lord dispossessed before the sons of Israel.

^25 (AO)Now it happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, that Shishak the king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. ²⁶ He took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house, and ^(AP)he took everything, ^[k](AQ)even taking all the shields of gold which Solomon had made. ²⁷ So King Rehoboam made shields of bronze in their place, and ^(AR)committed them to the ^[l]care of the commanders of the ^[m]guard who guarded the doorway of the king’s house. ²⁸ Then it happened as often as the king entered the house of the Lord, that the ^[n]guards would carry them and would bring them back into the ^[o]guards’ room.

^29 (AS)Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ^30 (AT)There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. ³¹ And Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and ^(AU)his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess. And Abijam his son became king in his place.

Abijam Reigns over Judah

15 ^(A)Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, Abijam became king over Judah. ² He reigned three years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was ^[a](B)Maacah the daughter of ^[b](C)Abishalom. ³ He walked in all the sins of his father which he had committed before him; and ^(D)his heart was not ^[c]wholly devoted to the Lord his God, like the heart of his father David. ⁴ But for David’s sake the Lord his God gave him a ^(E)lamp in Jerusalem, to raise up his son after him and to establish Jerusalem; ^5 (F)because David did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, ^(G)except in the case of Uriah the Hittite. ^6 (H)There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life.

⁷ Now ^(I)the rest of the acts of Abijam and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ^(J)And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.

Asa Succeeds Abijam

^8 (K)And Abijam slept with his fathers and they buried him in the city of David; and Asa his son became king in his place.

⁹ So in the twentieth year of Jeroboam the king of Israel, Asa began to reign as king of Judah. ¹⁰ He reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem; and ^(L)his mother’s name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. ^11 (M)Asa did what was right in the sight of the Lord, like David his father. ^12 (N)He also put away the male cult prostitutes from the land and ^(O)removed all the idols which his fathers had made. ^13 [d](P)He also removed Maacah his mother from being queen mother, because she had made a horrid image ^[e]as an Asherah; and Asa cut down her horrid image and ^(Q)burned it at the brook Kidron. ^14 (R)But the high places were not taken away; nevertheless ^(S)the heart of Asa was ^[f]wholly devoted to the Lord all his days. ^15 (T)He brought into the house of the Lord the dedicated things of his father and his own dedicated things: silver and gold and utensils.

^16 (U)Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. ^17 (V)Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and ^[g](W)fortified Ramah ^(X)in order to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah. ¹⁸ Then ^(Y)Asa took all the silver and the gold which were left in the treasuries of the house of the Lord and the treasuries of the king’s house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants. And ^(Z)King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Aram, who lived in ^(AA)Damascus, saying, ¹⁹ “Let there be a ^(AB)treaty between ^[h]you and me, as between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you a present of silver and gold; go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so that he will withdraw from me.” ²⁰ So Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and ^[i]conquered ^(AC)Ijon, ^(AD)Dan, ^(AE)Abel-beth-maacah and all ^(AF)Chinneroth, besides all the land of Naphtali. ²¹ When Baasha heard of it, ^(AG)he ceased ^[j]fortifying Ramah and remained in ^(AH)Tirzah. ²² Then King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah—none was exempt—and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber with which Baasha had built. And King Asa built with them ^(AI)Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah.

Jehoshaphat Succeeds Asa

^23 (AJ)Now the rest of all the acts of Asa and all his might and all that he did and the cities which he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? But in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet. ²⁴ And Asa slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father; and ^(AK)Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place.

Nadab, then Baasha, Rules over Israel

²⁵ Now ^(AL)Nadab the son of Jeroboam became king over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. ²⁶ He did evil in the sight of the Lord, and ^(AM)walked in the way of his father and ^(AN)in his sin which he made Israel sin. ²⁷ Then ^(AO)Baasha the son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar conspired against him, and Baasha struck him down at ^(AP)Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, while Nadab and all Israel were laying siege to Gibbethon.

²⁸ So Baasha killed him in the third year of Asa king of Judah and reigned in his place. ²⁹ It came about as soon as he was king, he struck down all the household of Jeroboam. He did not leave to Jeroboam ^[k]any persons alive, until he had destroyed them, ^(AQ)according to the word of the Lord, which He spoke by His servant Ahijah the Shilonite, ³⁰ and because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and ^(AR)which he made Israel sin, because of his provocation with which he provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger.

^31 (AS)Now the rest of the acts of Nadab and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

War with Judah

^32 (AT)There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

³³ In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha the son of Ahijah became king over all Israel at Tirzah, and reigned twenty-four years. ³⁴ He did evil in the sight of the Lord, and ^(AU)walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin which he made Israel sin.

^15 (A)The king made ^(B)silver and gold as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamores in the ^[a]lowland.

Visit of the Queen of Sheba

9 ^(A)Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with difficult questions. She had a very large retinue, with camels carrying spices and a large amount of gold and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was on her heart.

⁹ Then she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold and a very great amount of spices and precious stones; there had never been spice like that which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

Solomon’s Wealth and Power

^13 (A)Now the weight of gold which came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold,