1 Kings 11

1King Solomon loved many foreign women, including Pharaoh’s daughter: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women.

2from the nations about which Yahweh had said to the sons of Israel, “You shall not go in among them, and they shall not come in among you; surely they will turn your heart after their gods”—to these Solomon clung in love.

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

4And when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to Yahweh his God, like the heart of David his father.

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

6So Solomon did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and he did not fully follow Yahweh, as David his father had done.

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

8And so he did for all his foreign wives, who were burning incense and sacrificing to their gods.

9And Yahweh became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from Yahweh, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.

10and had commanded him concerning this matter, not to go after other gods, but he did not keep what Yahweh had commanded.

11So Yahweh said to Solomon, “Because this has been with you, and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant.”

12Nevertheless, in your days I will not do it, for the sake of David your father; from the hand of your son I will tear it away.

13Yet I will not tear away the whole kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.

14Then Yahweh raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was of the royal line in Edom.

15And it happened, when David was in Edom, when Joab the commander of the army had gone up to bury the slain, that he struck down every male in Edom—

16For Joab and all Israel had remained there six months, until he had cut off every male in Edom.

17Hadad fled to Egypt, he and some Edomite men from among his father's servants with him; and Hadad was a young boy.

18They arose from Midian and came to Paran, and they took men with them from Paran, and they came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he gave him a house and assigned him food, and gave him land.

19Hadad found great favor in Pharaoh’s eyes, and he gave him as a wife the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen mother.

20And the sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son, and Tahpenes weaned him within Pharaoh’s house; and Genubath was in Pharaoh’s house among the sons of Pharaoh.

21When Hadad heard in Egypt that David had lain down with his fathers and that Joab, the commander of the army, was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Send me away, so that I may go to my own land.”

22Then Pharaoh said to him, “But what do you lack with me, that you are seeking to go to your own land?” And he said, “Nothing, but please let me go.”

23And God raised up for him an adversary, Rezon son of Eliada, who had fled from Hadadezer king of Zobah, his master.

24He gathered men to himself and became commander of a band when David killed them. They went to Damascus, settled there, and reigned in Damascus.

25And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, along with the harm that Hadad caused. And he loathed Israel and reigned over Aram.

26Jeroboam son of Nebat, an Ephraimite from Zeredah—his mother's name was Zeruah, a widow—was a servant of Solomon, and he raised his hand against the king.

27And this was the reason why he raised his hand against the king: Solomon had built the Millo and closed up the breach of the city of David his father.

28The man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor, and Solomon saw that the young man was industrious, so he appointed him over all the labor force of the house of Joseph.

29And at that time, when Jeroboam went out from Jerusalem, Ahijah the Shilonite, the prophet, found him on the road. Now he had wrapped himself in a new cloak, and the two of them were alone in the open field.

30Then Ahijah took hold of the new cloak that was on him and tore it into twelve pieces.

31And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces, for this is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: ‘Look, I am tearing the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and I will give you ten tribes.’”

32But one tribe will remain his, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel.

33because they have forsaken me and bowed down to Ashtoreth, the god of the Sidonians, to Chemosh, the god of Moab, and to Milcom, the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked in my ways, to do what is right in my eyes and my statutes and my judgments, like David his father.

34But I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, because I will make him ruler all the days of his life, for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose, who kept my commandments and my statutes.

35But I will take the kingdom from the hand of his son and give it to you, the ten tribes.

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

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

38And it shall be, if you listen to all that I command you, and walk in my ways, and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, then I will be with you and build for you a faithful house, just as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you.

39And I will afflict the offspring of David because of this, but not forever.

40Then Solomon sought to put Jeroboam to death, but Jeroboam arose and fled to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and he was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

41The rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom—are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon?

42And the days that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel were forty years.

43And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David his father, and Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.