Beginning
9 ¶ And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with enigmas at Jerusalem, with a very great host and camels that bore spices and gold in abundance and precious stones. And when she was come to Solomon, she spoke with him of all that was in her heart.
2 But Solomon told her all her questions, and nothing remained that Solomon did not declare unto her.
3 And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon and the house that he had built
4 and the food of his table and the seat of his slaves and the attendance of his ministers and their apparel, his butlers also and their apparel, and his sacrifices which he sacrificed in the house of the LORD, there was no more spirit in her.
5 And she said to the king, It was a true report which I heard in my own land of thy word and of thy wisdom,
6 but I did not believe their words until I came, and my eyes had seen it, and, behold, not even the half of the greatness of thy wisdom was told me, for thou dost exceed the fame that I heard.
7 Blessed are thy men and blessed are these thy slaves, who stand continually before thee and hear thy wisdom.
8 The LORD thy God be blessed, who delighted in thee to set thee on his throne, to be king for the LORD thy God because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever, therefore, he made thee king over them, to do judgment and righteousness.
9 And she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold and of spices great abundance and precious stones; never had there been any such spice as the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.
10 Also the slaves of Hiram and the slaves of Solomon, who had brought gold from Ophir, brought brazil wood and precious stones.
11 And the king made of the brazil wood stairs to the house of the LORD and to the king’s palace and harps and psalteries for the singers, and such wood had never been seen before in the land of Judah.
12 And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she asked, more than what she had brought unto the king. Then she turned and went away to her own land with her slaves.
13 ¶ Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold,
14 besides that which the traders and merchants brought. And all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land brought gold and silver to Solomon.
15 And King Solomon made two hundred bucklers of beaten gold; six hundred shekels of beaten gold went to each buckler.
16 And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three hundred shekels of gold went to each shield. And the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.
17 Moreover, the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with pure gold.
18 And there were six steps to the throne, with a footstool of gold, which were fastened to the throne, and stays on each side of the seat, and two lions standing by the stays.
19 There were also twelve lions standing on one side and on the other upon the six steps. There was not the like made in any kingdom.
20 And all the drinking vessels of King Solomon were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. In the days of Solomon silver was not esteemed.
21 For the king’s ships went to Tarshish with the slaves of Hiram, and every three years the ships came from Tarshish bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
22 And King Solomon passed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.
23 And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, that God had put in his heart.
24 And of these, each his present, vessels of silver and vessels of gold and raiment, arms, spices, horses, and mules, every year.
25 And Solomon also had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.
26 And he reigned over all the kings from the river even unto the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt.
27 And the king made silver in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar trees as the sycamore trees that are in the low plains in abundance.
28 And they brought unto Solomon horses out of Egypt and out of all lands.
29 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the books of Nathan, the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah, the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo, the seer against Jeroboam, the son of Nebat?
30 And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.
31 And Solomon slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the city of David, his father; and Rehoboam, his son, reigned in his stead.
10 ¶ And Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come together in Shechem to make him king.
2 And when Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, heard it, who was in Egypt, where he had fled from the presence of Solomon, the king, Jeroboam returned out of Egypt.
3 And they sent and called him. So Jeroboam and all Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying,
4 Thy father made our yoke grievous; now, therefore, ease thou somewhat the grievous servitude of thy father and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve thee.
5 And he said unto them, Come again unto me after three days. And the people departed.
6 Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men that had stood before Solomon, his father, while he yet lived, saying, What do you counsel to reply to this people?
7 And they spoke unto him, saying, If thou wilt seek the good of this people and please them and speak good words to them, they will be thy slaves for ever.
8 But he forsook the counsel which the old men gave him and took counsel with the young men that were brought up with him, that stood before him.
9 And he said unto them, What do you counsel us to reply to this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Ease somewhat the yoke that thy father did put upon us?
10 Then the young men that were brought up with him spoke unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou answer the people that spoke unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make it somewhat lighter for us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins.
11 For whereas my father put a heavy yoke upon you, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
12 ¶ So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king had commanded, saying, Come again to me on the third day.
13 And the king answered them roughly, for King Rehoboam forsook the counsel of the old men
14 and answered them after the advice of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
15 So the king did not hearken unto the people, for the cause was of God, that the LORD might perform his word, which he spoke by the hand of Ahijah, the Shilonite, unto Jeroboam, the son of Nebat.
16 And when all Israel saw that the king would not hearken unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David or inheritance in the son of Jesse? Every man to your tents, O Israel! Now, David, see to thine own house! So all Israel went to their tents.
17 But Rehoboam reigned over the sons of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Judah.
18 Then King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was over the tribute and the sons of Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. So King Rehoboam made speed to get into a chariot and fled to Jerusalem.
19 Thus Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day.
11 ¶ And when Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he gathered of the house of Judah and Benjamin one hundred and eighty thousand chosen men, who were warriors, to fight against Israel, that he might bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam.
2 But the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, the man of God, saying,
3 Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying,
4 Thus hath the LORD said, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren; return each man to his house; for this thing is done of me. And they heard the word of the LORD and returned and did not go against Jeroboam.
5 And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem and built cities for defence in Judah.
6 He built Bethlehem and Etam and Tekoa
7 and Bethzur and Shoco and Adullam
8 and Gath and Mareshah and Ziph
9 and Adoraim and Lachish and Azekah
10 and Zorah and Aijalon and Hebron which are in Judah and in Benjamin, fenced cities.
11 And he fortified the strong holds, and put captains in them and provisions and wine and oil;
12 and in all the cities he put shields and spears. He fortified them greatly, having Judah and Benjamin on his side.
13 ¶ And the priests and the Levites that were in all Israel gathered unto him out of all their borders.
14 For the Levites left their suburbs and their possessions and came to Judah and Jerusalem, for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest’s office unto the LORD.
15 And he ordained himself priests for the high places and for the demons and for the calves which he had made.
16 And from after them out of all the tribes of Israel such as set their hearts to seek the LORD God of Israel came to Jerusalem to sacrifice unto the LORD God of their fathers.
17 So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah and made Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, strong for three years because they walked three years in the way of David and of Solomon.
18 And Rehoboam took Mahalath, the daughter of Jerimoth, the son of David, to wife, and Abihail, the daughter of Eliab, the son of Jesse;
19 who bore him sons: Jeush and Shamariah and Zaham.
20 And after her he took Maachah, the daughter of Absalom, who bore him Abijah and Attai and Ziza and Shelomith.
21 But Rehoboam loved Maachah, the daughter of Absalom, above all his wives and his concubines (for he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines and begat twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.)
22 And Rehoboam made Abijah, the son of Maachah, as head and prince among his brethren, for he thought to make him king.
23 And he caused him to be instructed and dispersed of all his sons throughout all the lands of Judah and Benjamin, unto every fenced city; and he gave them provisions in abundance. And he desired many wives.
12 ¶ And it came to pass, when Rehoboam had confirmed the kingdom and had strengthened himself, he forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him.
2 And it came to pass that in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak, king of Egypt, came up against Jerusalem, because they had rebelled against the LORD,
3 with twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen; and the people were without number that came with him out of Egypt: the Lubims, the Sukkiims, and the Ethiopians.
4 And he took the fenced cities which pertained to Judah and came to Jerusalem.
5 Then Shemaiah, the prophet, went to Rehoboam and to the princes of Judah, that were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said unto them, Thus hath the LORD said, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore, I have also left you in the hand of Shishak.
6 And the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The LORD is righteous.
7 And when the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves; therefore, I will not destroy them, but I will deliver them shortly; and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.
8 Nevertheless, they shall be his slaves that they may know what it is to serve me and to serve the kingdoms of the nations.
9 So Shishak, king of Egypt, came up against Jerusalem and took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house; he took it all; he also carried away the shields of gold which Solomon had made.
10 And in their place King Rehoboam made shields of brass and committed them to the hands of the princes of the guard that kept the entrance of the king’s house.
11 And when the king entered into the house of the LORD, the guard came and brought them, and afterward they returned them again into the guard chamber.
12 And when he humbled himself, the wrath of the LORD turned from him that he would not destroy him altogether; and also in Judah things went well.
13 ¶ So King Rehoboam was strengthened and reigned in Jerusalem; and Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah, an Ammonitess.
14 And he did evil because he did not prepare his heart to seek the LORD.
15 Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah, the prophet, and of Iddo, the seer concerning genealogies? And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.
16 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David, and Abijah, his son, reigned in his stead.
Copyright © 2013, 2020 by Ransom Press International