1 Kings 11:1-22

Tree of Life Version

Decline of Solomon

11 Now King Solomon loved so many foreign women, besides the daughter of Pharaoh—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites— ² from the nations of whom Adonai had said to the children of Israel: “You shall not associate with them nor they associate with you, for surely they would turn your heart away after their gods.” Solomon clung to them for love. ³ So he had 700 wives as princesses and 300 concubines—and his women led his heart astray. ⁴ For it came about, as Solomon grew old, that his wives led his heart away after other gods, so that his heart was no longer wholly devoted to Adonai his God, unlike the heart of his father David. ⁵ For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. ⁶ So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of Adonai and did not fully follow after Adonai, unlike his father David.

⁷ At that time Solomon also built a high place for Chemosh, the detested thing of Moab, on the mountain near Jerusalem, as well as for Molech the detested thing of the children of Ammon. ⁸ Thus he did for all his foreign wives, who were burning incense and offering sacrifices to their gods.

⁹ So Adonai became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from Adonai, the God of Israel—who had appeared to him twice. ¹⁰ He had commanded him about this, that he should not go after other gods, yet he did not keep what Adonai had commanded. ¹¹ So Adonai said to Solomon: “Since you have done this and did not keep My covenant and My statutes that I commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. ¹² Nevertheless, I will not do it in your days for David your father’s sake; but I will tear it away from the hand of your son. ¹³ Yet I will not tear away the whole kingdom, but will give one tribe to your son for My servant David ‘s sake, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.”

¹⁴ Then Adonai raised up an adversary to Solomon, Hadad the Edomite, of the royal line in Edom. ¹⁵ Earlier, when David was at war with Edom, Joab, commander of the army, went up to bury the slain, and had struck down every male in Edom. ¹⁶ Joab and all Israel remained there six months, until he had cut off every male in Edom. ¹⁷ But Hadad and some Edomites, servants of his father, had fled to Egypt, while Hadad was a small boy. ¹⁸ Setting out from Midian they came to Paran and took men from Paran along with them, and went to Egypt—to Pharaoh king of Egypt—who gave him a house, allotted him food and gave him land. ¹⁹ Then Hadad found great favor in Pharaoh’s eyes, so that he gave him his own sister-in-law, the sister of Queen Tahpenes, as wife. ²⁰ The sister of Tahpenes gave birth to his son Genubath. Tahpenes weaned him in Pharaoh’s palace and Genubath remained in Pharaoh’s palace among Pharaoh’s sons.

²¹ Now when Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers and that Joab commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh: “Let me leave so I may go to my own country.”

²² Then Pharaoh replied to him, “What do you lack with me, that all of a sudden, you seek to go back to your own country?”

“Nothing,” he answered. “Nevertheless let me go anyway.”