1 Kings 11

1 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites,

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].

2 of the nations concerning which the LORD said to the children of Israel, “You shall not go amongst them, neither shall they come amongst you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon joined to these in love.

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!”

3 He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines. His wives turned his heart away.

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].

4 When Solomon was old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods; and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father was.

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.

5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.

Solomon worshiped Astarte, the goddess that the people of Sidon [worshiped], and he worshiped Molech, the disgusting god that the Ammon people-group [worshiped].

6 Solomon did that which was evil in the LORD’s sight, and didn’t go fully after the LORD, as David his father did.

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.

7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the mountain that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the children of Ammon.

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].

8 So he did for all his foreign wives, who burnt incense and sacrificed to their gods.

He also built places where all his foreign wives could burn incense and offer sacrifices to the gods from their own countries.

9 The LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice,

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,

10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he didn’t keep that which the LORD commanded.

11 Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, “Because this is done by you, and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant.

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.

12 Nevertheless, I will not do it in your days, for David your father’s sake; but I will tear it out of your son’s hand.

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].

13 However, I will not tear away all the kingdom; but I will give one tribe to your son, for David my servant’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake which I have chosen.”

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].”

14 The LORD raised up an adversary to Solomon: Hadad the Edomite. He was one of the king’s offspring in Edom.

Yahweh caused Hadad, from the family of the kings in the Edom people-group, to rebel against Solomon.

15 For when David was in Edom, and Joab the captain of the army had gone up to bury the slain, and had struck every male in Edom

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.

16 (for Joab and all Israel remained there six months, until he had cut off every male in Edom),

17 Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father’s servants with him, to go into Egypt, when Hadad was still a little child.

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.

18 They arose out of Midian and came to Paran; and they took men with them out of Paran, and they came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house, and appointed him food, and gave him land.

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.

19 Hadad found great favour in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him as wife the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen.

The king liked Hadad. As a result he gave him the sister of his own wife, Queen Tahpenes, to be Hadad’s wife.

20 The sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh’s house; and Genubath was in Pharaoh’s house amongst the sons of Pharaoh.

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.

21 When Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers, and that Joab the captain of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me depart, that I may go to my own country.”

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.”

22 Then Pharaoh said to him, “But what have you lacked with me, that behold, you seek to go to your own country?” He answered, “Nothing, however only let me depart.”

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].

23 God raised up an adversary to him, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his lord, Hadadezer king of Zobah.

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].

24 He gathered men to himself, and became captain over a troop, when David killed them of Zobah. They went to Damascus and lived there, and reigned in Damascus.

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.

25 He was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, in addition to the mischief of Hadad. He abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria.

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.

26 Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite of Zeredah, a servant of Solomon, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow, also lifted up his hand against the king.

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.

27 This was the reason why he lifted up his hand against the king: Solomon built Millo, and repaired the breach of his father David’s city.

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].

28 The man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour; and Solomon saw the young man that he was industrious, and he put him in charge of all the labour of the house of Joseph.

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.

29 At that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the way. Now Ahijah had clad himself with a new garment; and the two of them were alone in the field.

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,

30 Ahijah took the new garment that was on him, and tore it in twelve pieces.

which he took off and tore into twelve pieces.

31 He said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces; for the LORD, the God of Israel, says, ‘Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to you

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].

32 (but he shall have one tribe, for my servant David’s sake and for Jerusalem’s sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel),

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].

33 because they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon. They have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in my eyes, and to keep my statutes and my ordinances, as David his father did.

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.

34 “‘However, I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant’s sake whom I chose, who kept my commandments and my statutes,

‘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.

35 but I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand and will give it to you, even ten tribes.

But I will take the [other] ten tribes of his kingdom and give them to you [to rule].

36 I will give one tribe to his son, that David my servant may have a lamp always before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for myself to put my name there.

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].

37 I will take you, and you shall reign according to all that your soul desires, and shall be king over Israel.

I will enable you to become the king of Israel, and you will rule over all the territory that you want to.

38 It shall be, if you will listen to all that I command you, and will walk in my ways, and do that which is right in my eyes, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, that I will be with you, and will build you a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to you.

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.

39 I will afflict the offspring of David for this, but not forever.’”

Because of [Solomon’s sins], I will punish David’s descendants, but I will not continue to punish them forever.’”

40 Therefore Solomon sought to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam arose and fled into Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

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.

41 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, aren’t they written in the book of the acts of Solomon?

[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.

42 The time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.

He was the king in Jerusalem who ruled over all of Israel for 40 years.

43 Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in his father David’s city; and Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.

Then Solomon died [EUP], and was buried in the [part of Jerusalem called] ‘The City of David’. And his son Rehoboam became the king.