AB - I Kings - 11

11:1  And King Solomon was a lover of women. And he took strange women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh, Moabite and Ammonite women, Syrians and Edomites, Hittites and Amorites;

11:2  of the nations concerning whom the Lord forbade the children of Israel, saying, You shall not go in to them, and they shall not come in to you, lest they turn away your hearts after their idols; Solomon clung to these in love.

11:3  And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines. And the strange women turned away his heart after their gods.

11:4  And it came to pass in the time of Solomon's old age, that his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.

11:5  For Solomon went after Ashtoreth, the abomination of the Sidonians.

11:6  And Solomon did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord: he went not after the Lord, as David his father.

11:7  Then Solomon built a high place to Chemosh the idol of Moab, and to their king the idol of the children of Ammon.

11:8  And thus he acted towards all his strange wives, who burnt incense and sacrificed to their idols.

11:9  And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because he turned away his heart from the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared twice to him,

11:10  and charged him concerning this matter, by no means to go after other gods, but to take heed to do what the Lord God commanded him; neither was his heart perfect with the Lord, according to the heart of David his father.

11:11  And the Lord said to Solomon, Because it has been thus with you, and you has not kept My commandments and My ordinances which I commanded you, I will surely tear your kingdom out of your hand, and give it to your servant.

11:12  Only in your days I will not do it for the sake of David your father; but I will take it out of the hand of your son.

11:13  Only I will not take away the whole kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son for David My servant's sake, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen.

11:14  And the Lord raised up and enemy to Solomon, Hadad the Edomite, and Esrom son of Eliadae who dwelt in Ramah, and Hadadezer, king of Zobah his master (and men gathered to him, and he was head of the conspiracy, and he seized on Damasec), and they were adversaries to Israel all the days of Solomon: and Hadad the Edomite was of the royal seed in Edom.

11:15  And it happened, that while David was utterly destroying Edom, while Joab captain of the army was going to bury the dead, when they slew every male in Edom;

11:16  (for Joab and all Israel abode there six months in Edom, until he utterly destroyed every male in Edom)

11:17  that Hadad ran away, he and all the Edomites of the servants of his father with him; and they went into Egypt; and Hadad was then a little child.

11:18  And there rose up men out of the city of Midian, and they come to Paran, and they took men with them, and came to Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Hadad went in to Pharaoh, and he gave him a house, and appointed him provisions.

11:19  And Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, and he gave him his wife's sister in marriage, the elder sister of Tahpenes.

11:20  And the sister of Tahpenes bore to him, even to Hadad, Genubath her son; and Tahpenes brought him up in the midst of the sons of Pharaoh, and Genubath was in the midst of the sons of Pharaoh.

11:21  And Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers, and that Joab the captain of the army was dead; and Hadad said to Pharaoh, Let me go, and I will return to my country.

11:22  And Pharaoh said to Hadad, What do you lack here with me, that behold, you seek to depart to your country? And Hadad said to him, By all means let me go.

11:25  So Hadad returned to his country. This is the mischief which Hadad did, and he was a bitter enemy of Israel, and he reigned in the land of Edom.

11:26  And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the Ephrathite of Zereda, the son of a widow, was servant of Solomon.

11:27  And this was the occasion of his lifting up his hands against King Solomon. Now King Solomon built the citadel, and he completed the fortification of the City of David his father.

11:28  And the man Jeroboam was very strong; and Solomon saw the young man, that he was active, and he set him over the levies of the house of Joseph.

11:29  And it came to pass at that time, that Jeroboam went forth from Jerusalem, and Ahijah the Shilonite, the prophet, found him in the road, and caused him to turn aside out of the way. And Ahijah was clothed with a new garment, and those two were alone in the field.

11:30  And Ahijah laid hold of his new garment that was upon him, and tore it into twelve pieces.

11:31  And he said to Jeroboam, Take to yourself ten pieces, for thus says the Lord God of Israel: Behold, I tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give you ten tribes.

11:32  Yet he shall have two tribes, for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.

11:33  Because he forsook Me, and sacrificed to Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and to Chemosh, and to the idols of Moab, and to their king the abomination of the children of Ammon, and he walked not in My ways, to do that which was right before Me, as David his father did.

11:34  However, I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, (for I will certainly resist him all the days of his life,) for the sake of My servant David, whom I have chosen.

11:35  But I will take the kingdom out of the hand of his son, and give you ten tribes.

11:36  But to his son I will give the two remaining tribes, that My servant David may have an establishment continually before Me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for Myself, to put My name there.

11:37  And I will take you, and you shall reign as your soul desires, and you shall be king over Israel.

11:38  And it shall come to pass, if you will keep all the commandments that I shall give you, and will walk in My ways, and do that which is right before Me, to keep My ordinances and My commandments, as David My servant did, that I will be with you, and will build you a sure house, as I built to David.

11:40  And Solomon sought to slay Jeroboam; but he arose and fled into Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and he was in Egypt until Solomon died.

11:41  And the rest of the history of Solomon, and all that he did, and all his wisdom, behold, are not these things written in the book of the life of Solomon?

11:42  And the days during which Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel were forty years.

11:43  And Solomon slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David his father. And it came to pass when Jeroboam son of Nebat heard of it, even while he was yet in Egypt as he fled from the face of Solomon and dwelt in Egypt, he straightway came into his own city, into the land of Sarira in the mount of Ephraim. And King Solomon slept with his fathers, and Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.