¹⁶ But he shall not multiply ^(A)horses for himself, nor cause the people ^(B)to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for ^(C)the Lord has said to you, ^(D)‘You shall not return that way again.’

¹⁵ But ^(A)he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt, ^(B)that they might give him horses and many people. ^(C)Will he prosper? Will he who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and still be delivered?

The Folly of Not Trusting God

⁶⁸ “And the Lord ^(A)will take you back to Egypt in ships, by the way of which I said to you, ^(B)‘You shall never see it again.’ And there you shall be offered for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.”

^26 (A)And Solomon ^(B)gathered chariots and horsemen; he had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he ^[a]stationed in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem. ^27 (C)The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar trees as abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland.

^28 (D)Also Solomon had horses imported from Egypt and Keveh; the king’s merchants bought them in Keveh at the current price.

^26 (A)Solomon had ^[a]forty thousand stalls of ^(B)horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.

³ Why has the Lord brought us to this land to ^[a]fall by the sword, that our wives and ^(A)children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” ⁴ So they said to one another, ^(B)“Let us select a leader and ^(C)return to Egypt.”