1 Kings 11:14-25

Modern English Version

Solomon’s Adversaries

¹⁴ The Lord stirred up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite. He was a prince of Edom. ¹⁵ For when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of the army had gone to bury the slain, he had killed every male in Edom ¹⁶ (for six months Joab stayed there with his men until he had killed every male in Edom). ¹⁷ But Hadad fled to Egypt, he and some Edomites who served his father, Hadad still being a small child. ¹⁸ They set out from Midian and went to Paran, and they gathered men from Paran and then arrived in Egypt and presented him before Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house and provisions and land.

¹⁹ Pharaoh had great affection for Hadad, so much so that he gave him his sister-in-law, the sister of Tahpenes the queen, as a wife. ²⁰ Tahpenes’ sister gave birth to his son, Genubath, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh’s house. Genubath lived in Pharaoh’s house among the sons of Pharaoh.

²¹ When Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers and that Joab, the commander of the army, was dead, he said to Pharaoh, “Allow me to depart and go to my own country.”

²² Then Pharaoh said to him, “But what have you lacked with me that you want to go to your own country?”

And he answered, “Nothing, however let me go anyway.”

²³ God stirred up another adversary against him, Rezon the son of Eliada, who fled from his lord Hadadezer, king of Zobah. ²⁴ He gathered a group of men and became leader over a band when David killed the men of Zobah, and they fled to Damascus and lived and reigned there. ²⁵ He was an enemy of Israel all the days of Solomon in addition to the troubles caused by Hadad, and he hated Israel and reigned over Aram.