1 Kings 11
A Thousand Wives, and a Kingdom Torn in Two
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The Foreign Wives of Solomon
11:1King Solomon was a lover of women. He had seven hundred princesses and three hundred concubines. He took foreign wives, as well as Pharaoh’s daughter: Moabite, Ammonite, Syrian, Edomite, Hittite, and Amorite women,
11:2from the nations about which the Lord had forbidden the sons of Israel, “You shall not go in among them, and they shall not come in among you, lest they turn your hearts after their idols.” Solomon clung to these in love.
11:4When Solomon was old, his heart was not whole with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father; the foreign wives turned his heart after their gods.
11:5–8[5] Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, Moab’s idol, and for their king, the idol of the sons of Ammon, [6] and for Astarte, the abomination of the Sidonians. [7] He did the same for all his foreign wives; they burned incense and offered sacrifices to their idols. [8] Solomon did evil before the Lord; he did not walk after the Lord as David his father did.
The Kingdom to Be Torn Away
11:9The Lord became angry with Solomon because he had turned his heart away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice
11:10and had commanded him about this matter, absolutely not to follow other gods, and to take care to do what the Lord God had commanded him.
11:11The Lord said to Solomon, “Because these things have been your conduct, and you have not kept My commandments and My ordinances which I commanded you, I will surely tear your kingdom from your hand and give it to your servant.
11:12Yet I will not do these things in your days, because of David your father. I will take it from your son’s hand.
11:13But I will certainly not take the whole kingdom. I will give your son one scepter, because of David My servant and because of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen.”
Ader the Idumean
11:14The Lord raised up an adversary against Solomon: Ader the Idumean, and Esrom son of Eliada, who was in Rhaemmath with Hadadezer king of Zobah, his lord. Men gathered to him, and he became leader of a band and seized Damascus. They were adversaries to Israel all Solomon’s days. Ader the Idumean was of the royal line in Idumea.
11:15When David was destroying Edom, and Joab the army commander went to bury those struck down, they killed every male in Idumea—
11:16for Joab and all Israel remained there in Idumea six months, until he had destroyed every male from Idumea—
11:17Ader escaped, with all the Idumean men from his father’s attendants accompanying him, and they entered Egypt. Ader was a little boy.
11:18Men set out from the city of Midian, came to Paran, took men with them, and came to Pharaoh king of Egypt. Ader went in to Pharaoh, and he gave him a house and assigned him bread.
11:19Ader found great favor before Pharaoh, and Pharaoh gave him as wife the sister of his own wife, the older sister of Thekemina.
11:20Thekemina’s sister bore Ader Genubath her son. Thekemina brought him up among Pharaoh’s sons, and Genubath was among Pharaoh’s sons.
11:21Ader heard in Egypt that David had slept with his fathers and that Joab the army commander was dead. Ader said to Pharaoh, “Send me away, so I may return to my land.”
11:22Pharaoh said to Ader, “What do you lack with me? Look, you are seeking to go to your land.” Ader said to him, “Indeed, you must send me away.” Then Ader returned to his land.
11:25This was the harm Ader did. He became resentful in Israel and reigned in the land of Edom.
Jeroboam Son of Nebat
11:26Jeroboam son of Nebat, an Ephraimite from Sarira, the son of a widow, was Solomon’s servant.
11:27This was the matter concerning how he raised his hands against King Solomon: he built the citadel and closed the enclosure of the City of David his father.
11:28The man Jeroboam was strong in ability. Solomon saw that the young man was a man of work and appointed him over the burdens of the house of Joseph.
The Torn Garment of Ahijah
11:29At that time Jeroboam went out from Jerusalem, and the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road and took him aside from the road. Ahijah was clothed in a new garment, and both were in the plain.
11:30Ahijah took hold of his new garment which he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces.
11:31He said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, because thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Look, I am tearing the kingdom from Solomon’s hand and will give you ten scepters.
11:32But two scepters shall remain his, because of My servant David and because of Jerusalem, the city I chose from all Israel’s tribes,
11:33because he abandoned Me and made provision for Astarte, the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh and Moab’s idols, and for their king, the offense of the sons of Ammon. He did not walk in My ways to do what is right before Me as David his father did.
11:34Yet I will certainly not take the whole kingdom from his hand, because I will surely oppose him all the days of his life, because of David My servant, whom I chose.
11:35I will take the kingdom from his son’s hand and give you the ten scepters.
11:36I will give his son the two scepters, so that My servant David may have a place before Me always in Jerusalem, the city I chose for Myself to place My name there.
11:37I will take you, and you shall reign over what your soul desires; you shall be king over Israel.
11:38If you keep all I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right before Me, keeping My commandments and ordinances as David My servant did, then I will be with you and build you a faithful house as I built for David.’”
The Death of Solomon
11:40Solomon sought to put Jeroboam to death. He arose and escaped to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and remained in Egypt until Solomon died.
11:41The rest of Solomon’s acts, all he did, and all his discernment—look, are these not written in the Book of Solomon’s Acts?
11:42Solomon’s reign in Jerusalem lasted forty years.
11:43Solomon slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David his father. When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard—he was still in Egypt, having fled from Solomon’s presence and remained in Egypt—he made his way and came to his city, to the land of Sarira in the hill country of Ephraim. King Solomon slept with his fathers, and Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.
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Saints Translation · Liturgical reading edition · V1 · working draft awaiting specialist review.