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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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1 Kings 11:26-40
Common English Bible

Solomon and Jeroboam

26 Now Nebat’s son Jeroboam was an Ephraimite from Zeredah. His mother’s name was Zeruah; she was a widow. Although he was one of Solomon’s own officials, Jeroboam fought against the king. 27 This is the story of why Jeroboam fought against the king:

Solomon had built the stepped structure and repaired the broken wall in his father David’s City. 28 Now Jeroboam was a strong and honorable man. Solomon saw how well this youth did his work. So he appointed him over all the work gang of Joseph’s house.

29 At that time, when Jeroboam left Jerusalem, Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh met him along the way. Ahijah was wearing a new garment. The two of them were alone in the country. 30 Ahijah tore his new garment into twelve pieces. 31 He said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces, because Israel’s God, the Lord, has said, ‘Look, I am about to tear the kingdom from Solomon’s hand. I will give you ten tribes. 32 But I will leave him one tribe on account of my servant David and on account of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel. 33 I am doing this because they have abandoned me[a] and worshipped the Sidonian goddess Astarte, the Moabite god Chemosh, and the Ammonite god Milcom. They haven’t walked in my ways by doing what is right in my eyes—keeping my laws and judgments—as Solomon’s father David did. 34 But I won’t take the whole kingdom from his hand. I will keep him as ruler throughout his lifetime on account of my servant David, who did keep my commands and my laws. 35 I will take the kingdom from the hand of Solomon’s son, and I will give you ten tribes. 36 I will give his son a single tribe so that my servant David will always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city that I chose for myself to place my name. 37 But I will accept you, and you will rule over all that you could desire. You will be king of Israel. 38 If you listen to all that I command and walk in my ways, if you do what is right in my eyes, keeping my laws and my commands just as my servant David did, then I will be with you and I will build you a lasting dynasty just as I did for David. I will give you Israel. 39 I will humble David’s descendants by means of all this, though not forever.’”

40 Then Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam fled to Egypt and its king Shishak. Jeroboam remained in Egypt until Solomon died.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 11:33 LXX, Syr, Vulg he has abandoned me
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