Beginning

The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon

9 The queen of Sheba heard about Solomon’s fame. So she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. She had a very large group of people with her. She had camels that carried spices, much gold and many gems. She came to Solomon and talked with him about all her questions. ² And Solomon answered all her questions. Nothing was too hard for him to explain to her. ³ The queen of Sheba saw that Solomon was very wise. She also saw the palace he had built. ⁴ She saw the food on his table and his many officers. She saw the palace servants and their good clothes. She saw the servants who served Solomon his wine. And she saw their good clothes. She saw the burnt offerings he made in the Temple of the Lord. All these things amazed her. ⁵ So she said to King Solomon, “I heard in my own country about your achievements and wisdom. And all of it is true. ⁶ I did not believe it then. But now I have come and seen it with my own eyes. Not even half of your great wisdom was told to me! You are much greater than I had heard. ⁷ Your men and officers are very lucky! Since they are always serving you, they are able to hear your wisdom! ⁸ Praise the Lord your God! He was pleased to make you king. He has put you on his throne to rule for the Lord your God. Your God loves Israel and supports Israel forever. So the Lord has made you king of Israel to keep law and order and to rule fairly.”

⁹ Then the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon about 9,000 pounds of gold. She also gave him many spices and gems. No one had ever given such fine spices as she gave to King Solomon.

¹⁰ Hiram’s men and Solomon’s men brought in gold from Ophir. They also brought in juniper wood and gems. ¹¹ King Solomon used the juniper wood to make steps for the Temple of the Lord and the palace. He also used it to make lyres and harps for the singers. No one in Judah had ever seen such beautiful things as these.

¹² King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she wanted and asked for. He gave her more than she had brought to him. Then she and her servants left and returned to their own country.

Solomon’s Great Wealth

¹³ The amount of gold that Solomon received in one year weighed about 50,000 pounds. ¹⁴ Besides that, he also received gold from merchants and traders. All the kings of Arabia and the rulers of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon.

¹⁵ King Solomon made 200 large shields from hammered gold. Each shield contained about 7½ pounds of hammered gold. ¹⁶ Solomon also made 300 small shields of hammered gold. Each shield contained about 4 pounds of gold. King Solomon put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.

¹⁷ Then he built a large throne of ivory. And he covered it with pure gold. ¹⁸ The throne had six steps on it. And it had a gold footstool on it. There were armrests on both sides of the chair. And beside each armrest was a statue of a lion. ¹⁹ Twelve lions stood on the six steps. There was one lion at each end of each step. Nothing like this had ever been made for any other kingdom. ²⁰ All King Solomon’s drinking cups were made of gold. All of the dishes in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. In Solomon’s time people did not think silver was valuable. So nothing was made of silver. ²¹ King Solomon had many ships that he sent out to trade. Hiram’s men sailed Solomon’s ships. Every three years the ships returned. They brought back gold, silver, ivory, apes and baboons.

²² King Solomon had more riches and wisdom than all the other kings on earth. ²³ All the kings of the earth came to see Solomon. They wanted to hear the wisdom God had given him. ²⁴ Every year everyone who came brought a gift. They brought things made of silver and gold, clothes, weapons, spices, horses and mules.

²⁵ Solomon had 4,000 stalls to hold his horses and chariots. He had 12,000 horses. He kept them in special cities for the chariots. And he kept some with him in Jerusalem. ²⁶ Solomon was king over all the kings from the Euphrates River to the Philistine country to the border of Egypt. ²⁷ In Jerusalem silver was as common as stones while Solomon was king. Cedar trees were as common as the fig trees growing on the western mountain slopes. ²⁸ Solomon imported horses from Egypt and all other countries.

Solomon’s Death

²⁹ The other things Solomon did as king, from the beginning to the end, are written down. They are in the writings of Nathan the prophet. And they are in the prophecy of Ahijah and the visions of Iddo. Ahijah was from Shiloh. Iddo was a seer who wrote about Jeroboam, Nebat’s son. ³⁰ Solomon was king in Jerusalem over all Israel for 40 years. ³¹ Then Solomon died and was buried in Jerusalem. This was the city of his father David. And Solomon’s son Rehoboam became king in his place.

Rehoboam Acts Foolishly

10 Rehoboam went to Shechem because all the Israelites had gone there to make him king. ² Jeroboam son of Nebat was in Egypt. He had gone there to run away from King Solomon. Jeroboam heard that Rehoboam was going to be the new king. So he returned from Egypt. ³ The people sent for Jeroboam. Then he and the people went to Rehoboam. They said to Rehoboam, ⁴ “Your father forced us to work very hard. Now, make it easier for us. Don’t make us work as hard as your father did. Then we will serve you.”

⁵ Rehoboam answered, “Come back to me in three days.” So the people left.

⁶ There were some elders who had helped Solomon make decisions during his lifetime. So King Rehoboam asked them what he should do. He said, “How do you think I should answer these people?”

⁷ They answered, “Be kind to these people. Please them and give them a kind answer. If you do, they will serve you always.”

⁸ But Rehoboam did not listen to the advice the elders gave him. He talked with the young men who had grown up with him. They advised him in making decisions. ⁹ Rehoboam asked them, “What is your advice? How should we answer these people? They said, ‘Don’t make us work as hard as your father did.’”

¹⁰ Then the young men who had grown up with him said, “The people said to you, ‘Your father forced us to work very hard. Now make our work easier.’ But you should tell those people, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist. ¹¹ My father forced you to work hard. But I will make you work even harder. My father beat you with whips. But I will beat you with whips that have sharp points.’”

¹² King Rehoboam had told the people, “Come back to me in three days.” So three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam. ¹³ Then King Rehoboam spoke to them in a cruel way. He did not take the advice of the elders. ¹⁴ He followed the advice of the young men. He said, “My father forced you to work hard. But I will give you even more work. My father beat you with whips. But I will beat you with whips that have sharp points.” ¹⁵ So King Rehoboam did not do what the people wanted. God caused this to happen. He did this so the Lord could keep his promise to Jeroboam son of Nebat. The Lord had made this promise through Ahijah, a prophet from Shiloh.

¹⁶ The people of Israel saw that King Rehoboam did not listen to them. So they said to the king,

So all the Israelites went home. ¹⁷ But Rehoboam still ruled over the Israelites who lived in the towns of Judah.

¹⁸ Adoniram was in charge of the people who were forced to work. Rehoboam sent him to the people. But they threw stones at Adoniram until he died. But King Rehoboam was able to run to his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. ¹⁹ Since then, Israel has always turned against the family of David.

11 When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he gathered 180,000 of the best soldiers. They were from the people of Judah and Benjamin. He gathered them to fight Israel. He wanted to bring the kingdom back under his control. ² But the Lord spoke his word to Shemaiah, the man of God. The Lord said, ³ “Shemaiah, talk to Solomon’s son Rehoboam, the king of Judah. Talk also to all the Israelites living in Judah and Benjamin. Say to them, ⁴ ‘The Lord says you must not go to war against your brothers. Every one of you should go home. I made all these things happen.’” So King Rehoboam and his army obeyed the Lord’s command. They turned back and did not attack Jeroboam.

Rehoboam Makes Judah Strong

⁵ Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem. He built strong cities in Judah to defend it against attacks. ⁶ He built up the cities of Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, ⁷ Beth Zur, Soco, Adullam, ⁸ Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, ⁹ Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, ¹⁰ Zorah, Aijalon and Hebron. These were strong, walled cities in Judah and Benjamin. ¹¹ When Rehoboam made those cities strong, he put commanders in them. He also put supplies of food, oil and wine in them. ¹² Also, Rehoboam put shields and spears in all the cities. So he made them very strong. Rehoboam kept the peoples and cities of Judah and Benjamin under his control.

¹³ The priests and the Levites from all over Israel joined Rehoboam. ¹⁴ The Levites even left their pasturelands and fields and came to Judah and Jerusalem. They did this because Jeroboam and his sons refused to let them serve as priests to the Lord. ¹⁵ Jeroboam chose his own priests to serve in the places of worship. He chose his own priests for the goat and calf idols he had made. ¹⁶ There were people from all the tribes of Israel who wanted to obey the Lord, the God of Israel. They went to Jerusalem with the Levites. They went to sacrifice to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. ¹⁷ These people made the kingdom of Judah strong. And they supported Solomon’s son Rehoboam for three years. During this time they lived the way David and Solomon had lived.

Rehoboam’s Family

¹⁸ Rehoboam married Mahalath. She was the daughter of Jerimoth and Abihail. Jerimoth was David’s son. Abihail was Eliab’s daughter, and Eliab was Jesse’s son. ¹⁹ Mahalath gave Rehoboam these sons: Jeush, Shemariah and Zaham. ²⁰ Then Rehoboam married Absalom’s daughter Maacah. And she gave Rehoboam these children: Abijah, Attai, Ziza and Shelomith. ²¹ Rehoboam loved Maacah more than his other wives and slave women. Rehoboam had 18 wives and 60 slave women. He was the father of 28 sons and 60 daughters.

²² Rehoboam chose Abijah to be the leader of his own brothers. He did this because he planned to make Abijah king. ²³ Rehoboam acted wisely. He spread his sons through all the areas of Judah and Benjamin. He sent them to every strong, walled city. And he gave plenty of supplies to his sons. He also found wives for them.

Shishak Attacks Jerusalem

12 Rehoboam became a strong king. He also made his kingdom strong. Then he and the people of Judah stopped obeying the teachings of the Lord. ² Shishak was the king of Egypt. He attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year Rehoboam was king. This happened because Rehoboam and the people were unfaithful to the Lord. ³ Shishak had 1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen. He brought troops of Libyans, Sukkites and Cushites from Egypt with him. There were so many they couldn’t be counted. ⁴ Shishak captured the strong, walled cities of Judah. And he came as far as Jerusalem.

⁵ Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah. They had gathered in Jerusalem because they were afraid of Shishak. Shemaiah said to them, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You have left me. So now I will leave you to face Shishak alone.’”

⁶ Then the leaders of Judah and King Rehoboam were sorry for what they had done. They said, “The Lord does what is right.”

⁷ The Lord saw that they were sorry for what they had done. So the Lord spoke his word to Shemaiah. The Lord said, “The king and the leaders are sorry. So I will not destroy them but will save them soon. I will not use Shishak to punish Jerusalem in my anger. ⁸ But the people of Jerusalem will become Shishak’s servants. Then they may learn that serving me is different than serving the kings of other nations.”

⁹ Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. He took the treasures from the Temple of the Lord and from the king’s palace. He took everything, even the gold shields Solomon had made. ¹⁰ So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to take their place. He gave them to the commanders of the guards for the entrance to the king’s palace. ¹¹ Whenever the king entered the Temple of the Lord, the guards went with him. They would carry the shields. Later, they would put them back in the guard room.

¹² When Rehoboam was sorry for what he had done, the Lord held his anger back. So the Lord did not fully destroy Rehoboam. There was some good in Judah.

¹³ King Rehoboam made himself a strong king in Jerusalem. He was 41 years old when he became king. And he was king in Jerusalem for 17 years. Jerusalem is the city that the Lord chose from all the tribes of Israel. He chose to be worshiped in Jerusalem. Rehoboam’s mother was Naamah from the country of Ammon. ¹⁴ Rehoboam did evil things because he did not want to ask the Lord for help.

¹⁵ The things Rehoboam did as king, from the beginning to the end, are written down. They are in the records of Shemaiah the prophet. And they are in the records of Iddo the seer. These men wrote family histories. There were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the time they ruled. ¹⁶ Rehoboam died and was buried in Jerusalem. Then Rehoboam’s son Abijah became king.