1 Kings 11
1 King Solomon married many foreign women. First he married the daughter of the king of Egypt. He also married women from the Heth people-group and from the Moab, Ammon, and Edom people-groups, and from Sidon [city].
King Solomon loved many foreign women. Besides Pharaoh's daughter, there were women from the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites.
2 He married them even though Yahweh had commanded the Israeli people, “Do not marry people from those areas, because if you do that, they will surely persuade you [IDM] to worship the gods that they worship!”
They were from the nations that the Lord had warned the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, for they will undoubtedly convince you to worship their gods.” Yet Solomon because of his love for women held on to them.
3 Solomon married 700 women who were kings’ daughters. He also had 300 wives who were his slaves/servants. And his wives caused him to turn away [from worshiping God].
He had seven hundred wives of noble birth and three hundred concubines. His wives did convince him to turn away from the Lord.
4 By the time that Solomon became old, they had persuaded him to worship the gods from their countries. He was not completely dedicated/committed to Yahweh his God like his father [SYN] David had been.
As Solomon grew old, his wives led him to follow other gods, and he did not commit himself wholeheartedly to the Lord as his father David had done.
5 Solomon worshiped Astarte, the goddess that the people of Sidon [worshiped], and he worshiped Molech, the disgusting god that the Ammon people-group [worshiped].
Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth, goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech, vile god of the Ammonites.
6 That’s how Solomon did things that Yahweh said were evil. He did not conduct his life like his father David had done; he did not conduct his life as Yahweh wanted him to.
This was how Solomon did evil in the Lord's sight, and was not completely dedicated to the Lord as his father David was.
7 On the hill to the east of Jerusalem he built a place to worship Chemosh, the disgusting god that the Moab people-group [worshiped], and a place to worship Molech, the disgusting god that the Ammon people-group [worshiped].
It was then that Solomon built a high place of worship for Chemosh, the vile god of the people of Moab, and for Molech, the vile god of the Ammonites, on a hill east of Jerusalem.
8 He also built places where all his foreign wives could burn incense and offer sacrifices to the gods from their own countries.
He built places of worship for all his foreign wives where they burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
9 Even though Yahweh, the God whom the Israelis [worshiped], had appeared to Solomon two times, and had commanded him to not worship foreign gods, Solomon refused to obey Yahweh. So Yahweh was angry with Solomon,
The Lord became angry with Solomon because he had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.
The Lord had warned Solomon about this—that he should not worship other gods. But Solomon did not listen to the Lord's warning.
11 and said to him, “You have chosen to break the agreement that I made with you and to disobey what I commanded you. So I am surely not going to allow you to rule all of your kingdom. I am going to allow one of your officials to rule it.
So the Lord told him, “Since this is what you have done, and since you have not kept my agreement and my laws that I commanded, I will definitely take the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant.
12 But, because of [what I promised] your father David, I will allow you to rule all your kingdom while you are still [living]. [After you die], I will not allow your son to rule the whole kingdom [MTY].
However, for the sake of your father David, I will not do this in your lifetime—I will take it away from your son.
13 But I will not take all the kingdom away from him. Instead, I will allow him to rule one tribe [besides the tribe of Judah], because of what I promised to David, who served me [well], and because [I want David’s descendants to rule in] Jerusalem, [where my temple is located].”
Even then I will not take away the whole kingdom. I will leave your son with one tribe for the sake of my servant David, and for the sake of my chosen city Jerusalem.”
14 Yahweh caused Hadad, from the family of the kings in the Edom people-group, to rebel against Solomon.
Then the Lord encouraged Hadad the Edomite of Edom's royal family to oppose Solomon.
15 What happened was that previously, when David’s [army] had conquered the Edom people-group, his army commander Joab had gone there to [help] bury the [Israeli soldiers] who had been killed [in the battle]. Joab and his army remained in the Edom area for six months, and during that time they killed all the males of that area.
Previously, when David was in Edom, Joab the commander of the Israelite army had gone to bury some of his soldiers who had been killed, and had slaughtered every male in Edom.
Joab and the whole Israelite army had spent six months there destroying them all.
17 Hadad was a young child [at that time], and he had escaped to Egypt, along with some of his father’s servants from the Edom area.
But Hadad and some Edomites who had been his father's officials had run away to Egypt—Hadad was just a boy at the time.
18 They [went to the] Midian [region], and then they went to [the desert area at] Paran. Some other men joined them there. Then they all traveled to Egypt and went to see the king of Egypt. The king gave Hadad some land and ordered his servants to give him some food regularly.
They left Midian and went to Paran. Then, along with some people from Paran, they went to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt. He provided Hadad with a house and food, and also assigned him land as a gift.
19 The king liked Hadad. As a result he gave him the sister of his own wife, Queen Tahpenes, to be Hadad’s wife.
Pharaoh became very friendly with Hadad, and he gave him the sister of his own wife to marry, Queen Tahpenes' sister.
20 Later Hadad’s wife gave birth to a son named Genubath. The sister of Tahpenes (raised him/brought him up) in the palace, where he lived with the king’s sons.
She gave birth to his son called Genubath. Tahpenes brought him up in Pharaoh's palace with Pharaoh's own children.
21 While Hadad was in Egypt, he heard that David had died [EUP], and that Joab, the commander of David’s army, was also dead. So he said to the king of Egypt, “Please allow me to return to my own country.”
However, when news reached Hadad in Egypt that both David and Joab, the commander of the army, had died, Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me leave and return to my own country.”
22 But the king said to him, “Why do you want to go back to your country? Is there something that you lack that you want me to give to you?” Hadad replied, “No, but please just allow me to go.” [So the king allowed him to leave, and he returned to his own country and became the king of Edom].
Pharaoh asked him, “Is there anything that you have lacked here with me that now you want to go back to your own country?” “No, there's nothing,” Hadad replied, “but please just let me go home.”
23 God also caused another man named Rezon, the son of Eliada, to rebel against Solomon. Rezon had run away from his master, King Hadadezer of [the] Zobah [area north of Damascus].
God also encouraged Rezon, son of Eliada, to oppose Solomon. He had run away from his master Hadadezer, king of Zobah. After David had destroyed Zobah's army,
24 Rezon then became the leader of a group of outlaws. That happened after David’s [army had defeated Hadadezer and] had [also] killed all [his soldiers]. Rezon and his men went to Damascus and started to live there, and [the people there] appointed him to be their king.
Rezon gathered around him a rebel band, and became their leader. They went and settled in Damascus, where they took over.
25 All during the time that Solomon was alive, while Rezon was ruling [not only Damascus but all of] Syria, he was an enemy of Israel and caused trouble for Israel like Hadad did.
Rezon was Israel's enemy throughout Solomon's lifetime which added to the trouble Hadad caused. Rezon really hated Israel, and was the ruler of Aram.
26 Another man who rebelled against [IDM] Solomon was one of his officials named Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. He was from Zeredah [town] in [the region where the tribe of] Ephraim [lives]. His mother was a widow named Zeruah.
In addition, Jeroboam, son of Nebat, rebelled against the king. One of Solomon's officials, he was an Ephraimite from Zeredah. His mother was a widow called Zeruah.
27 This is what happened. Solomon’s workers were filling in the land/ground on the east side of Jerusalem and repairing the walls [around the city].
This is why he rebelled against the king: Solomon had built the terraces and had closed the gap in the wall of the city of his father David.
28 Jeroboam was a very capable young man. So, when Solomon saw that he worked very hard, he appointed him to supervise all the men who were forced to work in the areas where the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim live.
Jeroboam was a man of ability, and when Solomon realized how successful he was in what he did, he placed him command of all the forced labor of the tribes of Joseph.
29 One day when Jeroboam was walking alone along the road outside of Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh [city] met him. Ahijah was wearing a new robe,
Around that time the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met Jeroboam on the road as he was leaving Jerusalem.
30 which he took off and tore into twelve pieces.
Ahijah had wrapped himself in a new cloak, and the two of them were by themselves in the countryside. Ahijah took the new cloak he was wearing and ripped it up into twelve pieces.
31 He said to Jeroboam, “Take ten of these pieces for yourself, because Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis [worship], says to you, ‘I am going to tear the kingdom from Solomon, and I am going to enable you to become the ruler of ten of the tribes [of Israel].
He said, “Jeroboam, take ten pieces. This is what the Lord God of Israel says. ‘Jeroboam, I am the Lord, the God of Israel, and I am going to take Solomon's kingdom from him and give you ten of the tribes.
32 Solomon’s [descendants] will still rule one tribe (OR, two tribes), because of [what I promised] David, a man who served me [very well], and because of Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen from all the cities in Israel [to be the city where my people will worship me].
One tribe will be left for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I chose from among all the tribes of Israel.
33 I am going to do this because Solomon has rejected me and has been worshiping Astarte, the goddess that the people of Sidon worship, Chemosh, the god that the Moab people-group worship, and Milcom, the god that the Ammon people-group worship. He has not conducted his life as I wanted him to. He has not obeyed my statutes and laws, like his father David did.
This is because they have abandoned me and bowed down in worship of Ashtoreth, goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh, god of the Moabites, and Molech, god of the Ammonites. They have not followed my ways; they have not done what is right in my sight; they have not kept my commandments and laws as David, Solomon's father, did.
34 ‘But I will not take the entire kingdom away from him. I will enable him to rule [Judah] all during the years that he is alive. I will do that because of [what I promised to do for] David, whom I chose [to be the king], and who served me [well], and who always obeyed my commandments and laws.
Even so, I'm not going to take the whole kingdom from Solomon, because I made him ruler for his lifetime for the sake of my servant David. I chose him because he kept my commandments and laws.
35 But I will take the [other] ten tribes of his kingdom and give them to you [to rule].
But I will take from his son's kingdom ten tribes and give them to you.
36 I will allow Solomon’s son to rule one tribe, in order that descendants [MET] of David will always rule in Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen to be the place where [my people worship] me [MTY].
I will give his son one tribe, so that my servant David will always have a descendant like a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to be honored.
37 I will enable you to become the king of Israel, and you will rule over all the territory that you want to.
I will take you, and you shall reign over everything that you want. You will be king over Israel.
38 If you obey all that I command you to do, and conduct your life as I want you to, and if you do what I say is right by obeying my laws and commandments like David did, I will help you. I will make sure that your descendants will rule after you [die], like I [promised to] do for David.
If you accept everything that I command you, if you follow my ways, if you do what is right in my sight, keeping my laws and commandments as my servant David did, then I will be with you. I will set up for you a dynasty that lasts, just as I did for David, and I will give Israel to you.
39 Because of [Solomon’s sins], I will punish David’s descendants, but I will not continue to punish them forever.’”
I will punish David's descendants because of this, but not forever.”
40 Solomon [found out what Ahijah told Jeroboam], so he tried to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam escaped and went to Egypt. He went to Shishak, the king of Egypt, and stayed with him until after Solomon died.
So Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam ran away to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt. He remained there until Solomon's death.
41 [A record of] all the other things that Solomon did, and all the wise things that he [said and wrote], was written in the Book Telling what Solomon Did.
The record of the rest of the acts of Solomon, including everything he did, and his wisdom, are written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon.
42 He was the king in Jerusalem who ruled over all of Israel for 40 years.
Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all of Israel for a total of forty years.
43 Then Solomon died [EUP], and was buried in the [part of Jerusalem called] ‘The City of David’. And his son Rehoboam became the king.
Solomon died and was buried in the city of his father David. His son Rehoboam succeeded him as king.
