1 Kings 11:1-8
New English Translation
The Lord Punishes Solomon for Idolatry
11 King Solomon fell in love with many foreign women (besides Pharaoh’s daughter), including Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites. 2 They came from nations about which the Lord had warned the Israelites, “You must not establish friendly relations with them![a] If you do, they will surely shift your allegiance to their gods.”[b] But Solomon was irresistibly attracted to them.[c]
3 He had 700 royal wives[d] and 300 concubines;[e] his wives had a powerful influence over him.[f] 4 When Solomon became old, his wives shifted his allegiance to[g] other gods; he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord his God, as his father David had been.[h] 5 Solomon worshiped[i] the Sidonian goddess Astarte and the detestable Ammonite god Milcom.[j] 6 Solomon did evil in the Lord’s sight;[k] he did not remain loyal to[l] the Lord, as his father David had. 7 Furthermore,[m] on the hill east of Jerusalem[n] Solomon built a high place[o] for the detestable Moabite god Chemosh[p] and for the detestable Ammonite god Milcom.[q] 8 He built high places for all his foreign wives so they could burn incense and make sacrifices to their gods.[r]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Kings 11:2 tn Heb “you must not go into them, and they must not go into you.”
- 1 Kings 11:2 tn Heb “Surely they will bend your heart after their gods.” The words “if you do” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
- 1 Kings 11:2 tn Heb “Solomon clung to them for love.” The pronominal suffix, translated “them,” is masculine here, even though it appears the foreign women are in view. Perhaps this is due to attraction to the masculine forms used of the nations earlier in the verse.
- 1 Kings 11:3 tn Heb “wives, princesses.”
- 1 Kings 11:3 sn Concubines were slave women in ancient Near Eastern societies who were the legal property of their master, but who could have legitimate sexual relations with their master. A concubine’s status was more elevated than a mere servant, but she was not free and did not have the legal rights of a free wife. The children of a concubine could, in some instances, become equal heirs with the children of the free wife. The usage in the present passage suggests that after the period of the Judges concubines may have become more of a royal prerogative (cf. also 2 Sam 21:10-14).
- 1 Kings 11:3 tn Heb “his wives bent his heart.”
- 1 Kings 11:4 tn Heb “bent his heart after.”
- 1 Kings 11:4 tn Heb “his heart was not complete with the Lord his God, like the heart of David his father.”
- 1 Kings 11:5 tn Heb “walked after.”
- 1 Kings 11:5 tn Heb “Milcom, the detestable thing of the Ammonites.”
- 1 Kings 11:6 tn Heb “in the eyes of the Lord.”
- 1 Kings 11:6 tn The idiomatic statement reads in Hebrew, “he did not fill up after.”
- 1 Kings 11:7 tn Heb “then.”
- 1 Kings 11:7 sn The hill east of Jerusalem refers to the Mount of Olives.
- 1 Kings 11:7 sn A high place. The “high places” were places of worship that were naturally or artificially elevated (see 1 Kgs 3:2).
- 1 Kings 11:7 tn Heb “Chemosh, the detestable thing of Moab.”
- 1 Kings 11:7 tc The MT reads “Molech,” but Milcom must be intended (see vv. 5, 33).
- 1 Kings 11:8 tn Heb “and the same thing he did for all his foreign wives, [who] were burning incense and sacrificing to their gods.”
1 Kings 11:1-8
English Standard Version
Solomon Turns from the Lord
11 Now (A)King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, 2 from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, (B)“You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. 3 He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. 4 For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and (C)his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, (D)as was the heart of David his father. 5 For Solomon went after (E)Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after (F)Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done. 7 Then Solomon built a high place for (G)Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for (H)Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. 8 And so he did for all his foreign wives, who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods.
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
