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1 Kings 11:26-40
New American Standard Bible

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.

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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
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1 Kings 11:26-40
New English Translation

26 Jeroboam son of Nebat, one of Solomon’s servants, rebelled against[a] the king. He was an Ephraimite[b] from Zeredah whose mother was a widow named Zeruah. 27 This is what prompted him to rebel against the king:[c] Solomon built a terrace, and he closed up a gap in the wall of the city of his father David.[d] 28 Jeroboam was a talented man;[e] when Solomon saw that the young man was an accomplished worker, he made him the leader of the work crew from the tribe[f] of Joseph. 29 At that time, when Jeroboam had left Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the road; the two of them were alone in the open country. Ahijah[g] was wearing a brand new robe, 30 and he grabbed the robe[h] and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 Then he told Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces, for this is what the Lord God of Israel has said: ‘Look, I am about to tear the kingdom from Solomon’s hand and I will give ten tribes to you. 32 He will retain one tribe, for my servant David’s sake and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. 33 I am taking the kingdom from him[i] because they have[j] abandoned me and worshiped the Sidonian goddess Astarte, the Moabite god Chemosh, and the Ammonite god Milcom. They have not followed my instructions[k] by doing what I approve and obeying my rules and regulations, as Solomon’s father David did.[l] 34 I will not take the whole kingdom from his hand. I will allow him to be ruler for the rest of his life for the sake of my chosen servant David who kept my commandments and rules. 35 I will take the kingdom from the hand of his son and give ten tribes to you.[m] 36 I will leave[n] his son one tribe so my servant David’s dynasty may continue to serve me[o] in Jerusalem, the city I have chosen as my home.[p] 37 I will select[q] you; you will rule over all you desire to have and you will be king over Israel. 38 You must obey[r] all I command you to do, follow my instructions,[s] do what I approve,[t] and keep my rules and commandments, as my servant David did. Then I will be with you and establish for you a lasting dynasty, as I did for David;[u] I will give you Israel. 39 I will humiliate David’s descendants because of this,[v] but not forever.’”[w] 40 Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam escaped to Egypt and found refuge with King Shishak of Egypt.[x] He stayed in Egypt until Solomon died.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 11:26 tn Heb “raised a hand against.”
  2. 1 Kings 11:26 tn Heb “Ephrathite,” which here refers to an Ephraimite (see HALOT 81 s.v. אֶפְרַיִם).
  3. 1 Kings 11:27 tn Heb “this is the matter concerning which he raised a hand against the king.”
  4. 1 Kings 11:27 sn The city of his father David. The phrase refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
  5. 1 Kings 11:28 tn Heb “man of strength.”
  6. 1 Kings 11:28 tn Heb “house.”
  7. 1 Kings 11:29 tn The Hebrew text has simply “he,” making it a bit unclear whether Jeroboam or Ahijah is the subject, but in the Hebrew word order Ahijah is the nearer antecedent, and this is followed by the present translation.
  8. 1 Kings 11:30 tn Heb “and Ahijah grabbed the new robe that was on him.”
  9. 1 Kings 11:33 tn The words “I am taking the kingdom from him” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
  10. 1 Kings 11:33 tc This is the reading of the MT; the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate read “he has.”
  11. 1 Kings 11:33 tn Heb “walked in my ways.”
  12. 1 Kings 11:33 tn Heb “by doing what is right in my eyes, my rules and my regulations, like David his father.”
  13. 1 Kings 11:35 tn Heb “and I will give it to you, ten tribes.”
  14. 1 Kings 11:36 tn Heb “give.”
  15. 1 Kings 11:36 tn Heb “so there might be a lamp for David my servant all the days before me in Jerusalem.” The metaphorical “lamp” symbolizes the Davidic dynasty. Because this imagery is unfamiliar to the modern reader, the translation “so my servant David’s dynasty may continue to serve me” has been used.
  16. 1 Kings 11:36 tn Heb “so there might be a lamp for David my servant all the days before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for myself to put my name there.”
  17. 1 Kings 11:37 tn Heb “take.”
  18. 1 Kings 11:38 tn Heb “If you obey.” In the Hebrew text v. 38 is actually one long conditional sentence, which has been broken into two parts in the translation for stylistic purposes.
  19. 1 Kings 11:38 tn Heb “walk in my ways.”
  20. 1 Kings 11:38 tn Heb “do what is right in my eyes.”
  21. 1 Kings 11:38 tn Heb “I will build for you a permanent house, like I built for David.”
  22. 1 Kings 11:39 sn Because of this. Reference is made to the idolatry mentioned earlier.
  23. 1 Kings 11:39 tn Heb “but not all the days.”
  24. 1 Kings 11:40 tn Heb “but Jeroboam arose and ran away to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt.”
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