26 Then (A)Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite of Zeredah, Solomon’s servant, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow, (B)also [a]rebelled against the king. 27 Now this was the reason why he [b]rebelled against the king: (C)Solomon built the [c]Millo, and closed up the breach of the city of his father David. 28 Now the man Jeroboam was a valiant warrior, and when (D)Solomon saw that the young man was [d]industrious, he appointed him over all the [e]forced labor of the house of Joseph. 29 And it came about at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that (E)the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. Now [f]Ahijah had clothed himself with a new cloak; and both of them were alone in the field. 30 Then (F)Ahijah took hold of the new cloak which was on him and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Behold, (G)I am going to tear the kingdom away from the hand of Solomon and give you ten tribes 32 ((H)but he shall have one tribe, for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, (I)the city which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel), 33 because they have abandoned Me, and (J)have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, (K)Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the sons of Ammon; and they have not walked in My ways, doing what is right in My sight and keeping My statutes and My ordinances, as his father David did. 34 Nevertheless I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him ruler all the days of his life, for the sake of My servant David whom I chose, who kept My commandments and My statutes; 35 but (L)I will take the kingdom from his son’s hand and give it to you; that is, ten tribes. 36 But (M)to his son I will give one tribe, (N)so that My servant David may always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, (O)the city where I have chosen for Myself to put My name. 37 However I will take you, and you shall reign over all that [g]you desire, and you shall be king over Israel. 38 Then it shall be, that if you listen to all that I command you and walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight by keeping My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then (P)I will be with you and (Q)build you an enduring house as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you. 39 So I will oppress the [h]descendants of David for this, but not always.’” 40 Solomon sought therefore to put Jeroboam to death; but Jeroboam set out and fled to Egypt to (R)Shishak king of Egypt, and he was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 11:26 Lit lifted up a hand
  2. 1 Kings 11:27 Lit lifted up a hand
  3. 1 Kings 11:27 I.e., terraced structure
  4. 1 Kings 11:28 Lit a performer of work
  5. 1 Kings 11:28 Lit burden of
  6. 1 Kings 11:29 Lit he
  7. 1 Kings 11:37 Lit your soul desires
  8. 1 Kings 11:39 Lit seed

Jeroboam Rebels against Solomon

26 Solomon had a servant, Nebat’s son Jeroboam, who was an Ephraimite from Zeredah. His widowed mother was named Zeruah. Jeroboam rebelled against Solomon, 27 and this is why he rose in rebellion against the king: Solomon had built up the terrace ramparts[a] in the city of his father David in order to repair a weakness. 28 Jeroboam was a valiant soldier, and because Solomon observed that the young man was able to get things done, he set him in charge over all of the conscripted labor from the household of Joseph. 29 During that time, Jeroboam left Jerusalem and the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the road. Ahijah had wrapped himself up in a new cloak, and both of them were alone on the open road. 30 Ahijah grabbed the new cloak that he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces! 31 Then he told Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, because this is what the Lord God of Israel says:

‘Pay attention! I’m going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s control[b] and give you ten tribes. 32 I’ll leave him one tribe for the sake of my servant David and one tribe[c] for the sake of Jerusalem, the city that I chose from all of the tribes of Israel. 33 I’m doing this[d] because they have abandoned me and worshipped that Sidonian goddess Astarte, the Moabite god Chemosh, and the Ammonite god Milcom. They haven’t lived my way by doing what I consider to be right and observing my statutes and my ordinances, like his father David did.

34 ‘Nevertheless, I won’t take the entire kingdom away from him, but I’ll let him reign for the rest of his life, because of my servant David, whom I chose, who obeyed my commandments and statutes, 35 but I will take the kingdom away from his son’s control[e] and give ten tribes to you. 36 I’ll give one tribe to his son, so my servant David will always have a light shining in my presence in Jerusalem, the city that I chose for myself and where I have placed my name. 37 I’m going to take you and have you reign over whatever you desire. You will be king over Israel. 38 If you listen to everything that I command you to do, and if you live your life my way,[f] and if you do what I consider to be right by observing my statutes and my commandments, just like my servant David did, then I will be with you, I will build an enduring dynasty for you,[g] just like I did for David, and I’ll give Israel to you. 39 This is how I’m going to afflict David’s descendants because of what they have done, though I won’t do it continuously.’”

40 That’s why Solomon tried to execute Jeroboam, but Jeroboam got up and fled to Egypt, where he lived as a guest of King Shishak and remained until Solomon had died.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 11:27 Lit. the Millo, fortified areas of ancient Jerusalem with terraces and retaining walls
  2. 1 Kings 11:31 Lit. hand
  3. 1 Kings 11:32 The Heb. lacks one tribe
  4. 1 Kings 11:33 The Heb. lacks I’m doing this
  5. 1 Kings 11:35 Lit. hand
  6. 1 Kings 11:38 Lit. you walk in my ways
  7. 1 Kings 11:38 Lit. enduring house