1 Kings 11

1 And king Solomon hath loved many strange women, and the daughter of Pharaoh, females of Moab, Ammon, Edom, Zidon, [and] of the Hittites,

King Solomon loved many foreign women. Besides Pharaoh's daughter, there were women from the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites.

2 of the nations of which Jehovah said unto the sons of Israel, 'Ye do not go in to them, and they do not go in to you; surely they turn aside your heart after their gods;' to them hath Solomon cleaved for love.

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 And he hath women, princesses, seven hundred, and concubines three hundred; and his wives turn aside his heart.

He had seven hundred wives of noble birth and three hundred concubines. His wives did convince him to turn away from the Lord.

4 And it cometh to pass, at the time of the old age of Solomon, his wives have turned aside his heart after other gods, and his heart hath not been perfect with Jehovah his God, like the heart of David his father.

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 And Solomon goeth after Ashtoreth god[dess] of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites;

Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth, goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech, vile god of the Ammonites.

6 and Solomon doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and hath not been fully after Jehovah, like David his father.

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 Then doth Solomon build a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, in the hill that [is] on the front of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the sons of Ammon;

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 and so he hath done for all his strange women, who are perfuming and sacrificing to their gods.

He built places of worship for all his foreign wives where they burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

9 And Jehovah sheweth Himself angry with Solomon, for his heart hath turned aside from Jehovah, God of Israel, who had appeared unto him twice,

The Lord became angry with Solomon because he had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.

10 and given a charge unto him concerning this thing, not to go after other gods; and he hath not kept that which Jehovah commanded,

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 Jehovah saith to Solomon, 'Because that this hath been with thee, and thou hast not kept My covenant and My statutes that I charged upon thee, I surely rend the kingdom from thee, and have given it to thy servant.

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 'Only, in thy days I do it not, for the sake of David thy father; out of the hand of thy son I rend it;

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 only all the kingdom I do not rend away; one tribe I give to thy son, for the sake of David My servant, and for the sake of Jerusalem, that I have chosen.'

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 And Jehovah raiseth up an adversary to Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; of the seed of the king [is] he in Edom;

Then the Lord encouraged Hadad the Edomite of Edom's royal family to oppose Solomon.

15 and it cometh to pass, in David's being with Edom, in the going up of Joab head of the host to bury the slain, that he smiteth every male in Edom —

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.

16 for six months did Joab abide there, and all Israel, till the cutting off of every male in Edom —

Joab and the whole Israelite army had spent six months there destroying them all.

17 and Hadad fleeth, he and certain Edomites, of the servants of his father, with him, to go in to Egypt, and Hadad [is] a little youth,

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 and they rise out of Midian, and come into Paran, and take men with them out of Paran, and come in to Egypt, unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he giveth to him a house, and bread hath commanded for him, and land hath given to him.

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 And Hadad findeth grace in the eyes of Pharaoh exceedingly, and he giveth to him a wife, the sister of his own wife, sister of Tahpenes the mistress;

Pharaoh became very friendly with Hadad, and he gave him the sister of his own wife to marry, Queen Tahpenes' sister.

20 and the sister of Tahpenes beareth to him Genubath his son, and Tahpenes weaneth him within the house of Pharaoh, and Genubath is in the house of Pharaoh in the midst of the sons of Pharaoh.

She gave birth to his son called Genubath. Tahpenes brought him up in Pharaoh's palace with Pharaoh's own children.

21 And Hadad hath heard in Egypt that David hath lain with his fathers, and that Joab head of the host is dead, and Hadad saith unto Pharaoh, 'Send me away, and I go unto my land.'

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 And Pharaoh saith to him, 'But, what art thou lacking with me, that lo, thou art seeking to go unto thine own land?' and he saith, 'Nay, but thou dost certainly send me away.'

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 And God raiseth to him an adversary, Rezon son of Eliadah, who hath fled from Hadadezer king of Zobah, his lord,

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 and gathereth unto himself men, and is head of a troop in David's slaying them, and they go to Damascus, and dwell in it, and reign in Damascus;

Rezon gathered around him a rebel band, and became their leader. They went and settled in Damascus, where they took over.

25 and he is an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, (besides the evil that Hadad [did]), and he cutteth off in Israel, and reigneth over Aram.

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 And Jeroboam son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zereda — the name of whose mother [is] Zeruah, a widow woman — servant to Solomon, he also lifteth up a hand against the king;

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 and this [is] the thing [for] which he lifted up a hand against the king: Solomon built Millo — he shut up the breach of the city of David his father,

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 and the man Jeroboam [is] mighty in valour, and Solomon seeth the young man that he is doing business, and appointeth him over all the burden of the house of Joseph.

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 And it cometh to pass, at that time, that Jeroboam hath gone out from Jerusalem, and Ahijah the Shilonite, the prophet, findeth him in the way, and he is covering himself with a new garment; and both of them [are] by themselves in a field,

Around that time the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met Jeroboam on the road as he was leaving Jerusalem.

30 and Ahijah layeth hold on the new garment that [is] on him, and rendeth it — 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 and saith to Jeroboam, 'Take to thee ten pieces, for thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, lo, I am rending the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and have given to thee the ten tribes,

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 and the one tribe he hath for My servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have fixed on, out of all the tribes of Israel.

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 'Because they have forsaken Me, and bow themselves to Ashtoreth, god[dess] of the Zidonians, to Chemosh god of Moab, and to Milcom god of the sons of Ammon, and have not walked in My ways, to do that which [is] right in Mine eyes, and My statutes and My judgments, like David his father.

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 'And I do not take the whole of the kingdom out of his hand, for prince I make him all days of his life, for the sake of David My servant whom I chose, who kept My commands and My statutes;

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 and I have taken the kingdom out of the hand of his son, and given it to thee — the ten tribes;

But I will take from his son's kingdom ten tribes and give them to you.

36 and to his son I give one tribe, for there being a lamp to David My servant all the days before Me in Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen to Myself to put My name there.

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 'And thee I take, and thou hast reigned over all that thy soul desireth, and thou hast been king over Israel;

I will take you, and you shall reign over everything that you want. You will be king over Israel.

38 and it hath been, if thou dost hear all that I command thee, and hast walked in My ways, and done that which is right in Mine eyes, to keep My statutes and My commands, as did David My servant, that I have been with thee, and have built for thee a stedfast house, as I built for David, and have given to thee Israel,

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 and I humble the seed of David for this; only, not all the days.'

I will punish David's descendants because of this, but not forever.”

40 And Solomon seeketh to put Jeroboam to death, and Jeroboam riseth and fleeth to Egypt, unto Shishak king of Egypt, and he is in Egypt till the death of Solomon.

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 And the rest of the matters of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written on the book of the matters of Solomon?

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 And the days that Solomon hath reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel [are] forty years,

Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all of Israel for a total of forty years.

43 and Solomon lieth with his fathers, and is buried in the city of David his father, and reign doth Rehoboam his son in his stead.

Solomon died and was buried in the city of his father David. His son Rehoboam succeeded him as king.