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11 Forsooth king Solomon loved burningly many alien women, and the daughter of Pharaoh, and women of Moab, and Ammonites, and Idumeans, and Sidonians, and Hittites; (And King Solomon burningly loved many foreign women, including the daughter of Pharaoh, and women of Moab, and of the Ammonites, and Edomites, and Sidonians, and Hittites;)

of the folks of which the Lord said to the sons of Israel, Ye shall not enter to those folks, neither any of them shall enter to you; for most certainly they shall turn away your hearts, that ye follow the gods of them. And so king Solomon was coupled to these women, by most burning love (But King Solomon was coupled to these women with a most burning love).

And wives as queens were seven hundred to him, and three hundred secondary wives; and the women turned away his heart.

And when he was then eld, his heart was depraved by women, that he followed alien gods (And then when he was old, his heart was so depraved by these women, that he followed other gods); and his heart was not perfect with his Lord God, as the heart of David, his father, was perfect.

But Solomon worshipped Astarte, the goddess of Sidonians, and Chemosh, the god of Moabites, and Moloch, the idol of Ammonites; (For Solomon worshipped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Chemosh, the god of the Moabites, and Milcom, the god of the Ammonites;)

and Solomon did that, that pleased not before the Lord, and he full-filled not that he followed the Lord, as David, his father. (and Solomon did what did not please the Lord, and he did not follow fully after the Lord, as his father David did.)

Then Solomon builded a temple to Chemosh, the idol of Moab, in the hill which is (over) against Jerusalem, and to Moloch, the idol of the sons of Ammon. (Then on the hill that is east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a temple for Chemosh, the false god of Moab, and for Moloch, the false god of the Ammonites.)

And by this manner he did to all his alien wives, the which burnt incenses, and offered to their gods. (And so in this manner he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense, and offered to their gods.)

Therefore the Lord was wroth to Solomon, for his soul was turned away from the Lord God of Israel; that appeared to him the second time, (And so the Lord was angry with Solomon; for his soul was turned away from the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice,)

10 and [had] commanded of this word, that he should not follow alien gods; and he kept not those things, which the Lord commanded to him. (and had commanded this thing, that he should not follow other gods; but he did not obey those things, which the Lord had commanded to him.)

11 Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, For thou haddest this thing with thee, and keptest not my covenant, and my behests, which I commanded to thee, I shall break, and I shall part thy realm, and I shall give it to thy servant. (And so the Lord said to Solomon, For thou hast done this thing, and did not keep my covenant, and obey my commands, which I commanded to thee, I shall break up, and I shall divide thy kingdom, and I shall give it to thy servant.)

12 Nevertheless I shall not do (it) in thy days, for David, thy father (for the sake of thy father David); I shall cut it (off) from the hand of thy son;

13 neither I shall do away all the realm, but I shall give one lineage to thy son, for David, my servant, and for Jerusalem, which I chose. (nor shall I take away all the kingdom, but I shall give one tribe to thy son, for the sake of my servant David, and for Jerusalem, which I have chosen.)

14 Forsooth the Lord raised to Solomon an adversary, Hadad (the) Idumean, of the king’s seed, that was in Edom. (And the Lord raised up an adversary to Solomon, Hadad the Edomite, of the king’s descendants, who was in Edom, or Idumea.)

15 For when David was in Idumea, and Joab, the prince of his chivalry, had gone up to bury them that were slain, and he had slain each male kind in Idumea; (For when David was in Edom, Joab, the leader of his cavalry, or of his army, had gone to bury those who were killed, after that he had killed each male in Edom;)

16 for Joab, and all Israel, dwelled there by six months, till they had killed each male kind in Idumea; (for Joab, and all Israel, stayed there for six months, until they had killed each male in Edom;)

17 Hadad himself fled, and (some) men of Idumea, of the servants of his father, with him, that he should enter into Egypt; soothly Hadad was a little child. (and Hadad himself had fled, with some Edomites, some of his father’s servants, so that he could escape to Egypt; for Hadad was still a young boy.)

18 And when they had risen from Midian, they came into Paran; and they took with them men of Paran, and entered into Egypt, to Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and Pharaoh gave an house to him, and ordained to him meats, and assigned to him land. (And after they had left Midian, they came to Paran; and they took with them men from Paran, and then went to Egypt, unto Pharaoh, the king of Egypt; and Pharaoh gave him a house, and ordained him sustenance, and assigned him some land.)

19 And Hadad found grace before Pharaoh greatly, in so much that Pharaoh gave to him a wife, the sister of his wife, (that is,) the sister of the queen, (the sister) of Tahpenes. (And Hadad found much favour before Pharaoh, so much so that Pharaoh eventually gave him a wife, his own wife’s sister, that is, the sister of Queen Tahpenes.)

20 And the sister of Tahpenes engendered to him a son, Genubath; and Tahpenes nursed him in the house of Pharaoh; and Genubath dwelled before Pharaoh (and Genubath lived with Pharaoh), with the sons of Pharaoh.

21 And when Hadad had heard in Egypt, that David slept with his fathers, and that Joab, the prince of (the) chivalry, was dead, he said to Pharaoh, Suffer thou me, that I go into my land. (And when Hadad had heard in Egypt, that David slept with his forefathers, that is, that he had died, and that Joab, the leader of the cavalry, or of the army, had also died, he said to Pharaoh, Allow me to go back to my own land.)

22 And Pharaoh said to him, And of what thing hast thou need with me, that thou seekest to go to thy land? And he answered, Of nothing; but I beseech thee, that thou deliver me/that thou let me go. (And Pharaoh said to him, And what thing hast thou still need of from me, that thou now seekest to go back to thy own land to get? And he answered, Nothing; but I beseech thee, that thou let me go.)

23 And God raised (up) another adversary to Solomon, Rezon, the son of Eliadah, that fled Hadadezer, king of Zobah, his lord (who fled from Hadadezer, the king of Zobah, his lord);

24 and [he] gathered men against him, and was made the prince of thieves, when David killed them (of Zobah); and they went to Damascus, and dwelled there (and stayed there); and they made him king in Damascus.

25 And he was [an] adversary of Israel in all the days of Solomon; and this is (besides) the evil of Hadad, and his hatred against Israel; and he reigned in Syria. (And he was an adversary of Israel in all the days of Solomon, besides the evil that Hadad did; and he hated Israel, and he reigned upon Syria.)

26 (And) Also Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, of Ephraim of Zereda, the servant of Solomon, of which Jeroboam, a woman widow (a widow woman), Zeruah by name, was (his) mother, he (also) raised (up) his hand against the king.

27 And this was [the] cause of (his) rebelty against the king; for Solomon builded Millo, and made even the swallow of the city of David, his father. (And this was the story of his rebellion against the king; it happened when Solomon had built the Millo, and closed the breach in the wall of the City of David, his father.)

28 Forsooth Jeroboam was a mighty man and strong; and Solomon saw the young waxing man (to be) of good kindred, and witting in things to be done, and Solomon made him prefect, either sovereign, upon the tributes of all the house of Joseph. (And Jeroboam was a strong and mighty man; and Solomon saw that the young man was from a good family, and knowing how to do things, and so Solomon made him prefect, or the ruler, over all the taxes, or all the levies, in the house, or the territory, of the tribe of Joseph.)

29 Therefore it was done in that time, that Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem; and Ahijah of Shiloh, a prophet, covered with a new mantle, found him in the way (met him on the way); and they twain were alone in the field.

30 And Ahijah took his new mantle, with which he was covered, and he cut it into twelve parts;

31 and said to Jeroboam, Take to thee ten cuttings of the mantle; for the Lord God of Israel saith these things, Lo! I shall cut (off) the realm from the hand of Solomon, and I shall give to thee ten lineages (and I shall give ten tribes to thee);

32 but one lineage shall dwell to him, for David, my servant, and for Jerusalem, the city which I chose of all the lineages of Israel; (but one tribe shall stay with him, 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;)

33 this cutting of the realm shall be; for Solomon forsook me, and worshipped Astarte, the goddess of Sidonians, and Chemosh, the god of Moab, and Moloch, the god of the sons of Ammon; and [he] went not in my ways, that he did rightwiseness before me, and my behests, and my dooms, as David, his father, did. (this breaking of his kingdom shall be because Solomon deserted me, and worshipped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Chemosh, the god of the Moabites, and Milcom, the god of the Ammonites; and he went not in my ways, so that he did what was right before me, and followed my laws, and my judgements, like his father David did.)

34 And I shall not take away all the realm from his hand, but I shall put him duke in all the days of his life, for David, my servant, whom I chose, which kept my behests, and my commandments. (And I shall not take away the whole kingdom from him, but I shall keep him as the leader in all the days of his life, for the sake of my servant David, whom I chose, who obeyed my laws, and my commandments.)

35 Soothly I shall take away the realm from the hand of his son, and I shall give [the] ten lineages to thee;

36 forsooth I shall give one lineage to his son, that a lantern dwell to David, my servant (so that a light, or a flame, shall remain for my servant David), in all days before me in Jerusalem, the city which I chose, that my name should be there.

37 Forsooth I shall take thee, and thou shalt reign on all things which thy soul desireth, and thou shalt be king upon Israel.

38 Therefore if thou shalt hear all things which I shall command to thee, and if thou shalt go in my ways, and if thou shalt do that, that is rightful before me, and if thou shalt keep my commandments, and my behests, as David, my servant, did, I shall be with thee, and I shall build a faithful house to thee, as I builded an house to David, and I shall give Israel to thee; (And so if thou shalt obey all the things which I shall command to thee, and if thou shalt go in my ways, and if thou shalt do what is right before me, and if thou shalt obey my commandments, and my laws, as my servant David did, I shall be with thee, and I shall build thee a steadfast house, like I built a house for David, and I shall give Israel to thee;)

39 and I shall torment the seed of David on this thing, nevertheless not in all days. (and I shall torment David’s descendants because of this, but not forever.)

40 Therefore Solomon would slay Jeroboam, which rose (who rose up), and fled into Egypt, to Shishak, king of Egypt; and he was in Egypt unto the death of Solomon.

41 Forsooth the residue of the words of Solomon, and all things which he did, and his wisdom, lo! all those things be written in the book of [the] words of [the] days of Solomon.

42 And the days in which Solomon reigned in Jerusalem upon all Israel, be forty years.

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

Solomon’s Wives

11 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women(A) besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites,(B) Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry(C) with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines,(D) and his wives led him astray.(E) As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods,(F) and his heart was not fully devoted(G) to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. He followed Ashtoreth(H) the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek(I) the detestable god of the Ammonites. So Solomon did evil(J) in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done.

On a hill east(K) of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh(L) the detestable god of Moab, and for Molek(M) the detestable god of the Ammonites. He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.

The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared(N) to him twice. 10 Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods,(O) Solomon did not keep the Lord’s command.(P) 11 So the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees,(Q) which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear(R) the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. 12 Nevertheless, for the sake of David(S) your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe(T) for the sake(U) of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”(V)

Solomon’s Adversaries

14 Then the Lord raised up against Solomon an adversary,(W) Hadad the Edomite, from the royal line of Edom. 15 Earlier when David was fighting with Edom, Joab the commander of the army, who had gone up to bury the dead, had struck down all the men in Edom.(X) 16 Joab and all the Israelites stayed there for six months, until they had destroyed all the men in Edom. 17 But Hadad, still only a boy, fled to Egypt with some Edomite officials who had served his father. 18 They set out from Midian and went to Paran.(Y) Then taking people from Paran with them, they went to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave Hadad a house and land and provided him with food.

19 Pharaoh was so pleased with Hadad that he gave him a sister of his own wife, Queen Tahpenes, in marriage. 20 The sister of Tahpenes bore him a son named Genubath, whom Tahpenes brought up in the royal palace. There Genubath lived with Pharaoh’s own children.

21 While he was in Egypt, Hadad heard that David rested with his ancestors and that Joab the commander of the army was also dead. Then Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me go, that I may return to my own country.”

22 “What have you lacked here that you want to go back to your own country?” Pharaoh asked.

“Nothing,” Hadad replied, “but do let me go!”

23 And God raised up against Solomon another adversary,(Z) Rezon son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer(AA) king of Zobah. 24 When David destroyed Zobah’s army, Rezon gathered a band of men around him and became their leader; they went to Damascus,(AB) where they settled and took control. 25 Rezon was Israel’s adversary as long as Solomon lived, adding to the trouble caused by Hadad. So Rezon ruled in Aram(AC) and was hostile toward Israel.

Jeroboam Rebels Against Solomon

26 Also, Jeroboam son of Nebat rebelled(AD) against the king. He was one of Solomon’s officials, an Ephraimite from Zeredah, and his mother was a widow named Zeruah.

27 Here is the account of how he rebelled against the king: Solomon had built the terraces[a](AE) and had filled in the gap in the wall of the city of David his father. 28 Now Jeroboam was a man of standing,(AF) and when Solomon saw how well(AG) the young man did his work, he put him in charge of the whole labor force of the tribes of Joseph.

29 About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and Ahijah(AH) the prophet of Shiloh met him on the way, wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone out in the country, 30 and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore(AI) it into twelve pieces. 31 Then he said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘See, I am going to tear(AJ) the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand and give you ten tribes. 32 But for the sake(AK) of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe. 33 I will do this because they have[b] forsaken me and worshiped(AL) Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molek the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked(AM) in obedience to me, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my decrees(AN) and laws as David, Solomon’s father, did.

34 “‘But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon’s hand; I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose and who obeyed my commands and decrees. 35 I will take the kingdom from his son’s hands and give you ten tribes. 36 I will give one tribe(AO) to his son so that David my servant may always have a lamp(AP) before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name. 37 However, as for you, I will take you, and you will rule(AQ) over all that your heart desires;(AR) you will be king over Israel. 38 If you do whatever I command you and walk in obedience to me and do what is right(AS) in my eyes by obeying my decrees(AT) and commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty(AU) as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you. 39 I will humble David’s descendants because of this, but not forever.’”

40 Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam fled(AV) to Egypt, to Shishak(AW) the king, and stayed there until Solomon’s death.

Solomon’s Death(AX)

41 As for the other events of Solomon’s reign—all he did and the wisdom he displayed—are they not written in the book of the annals of Solomon? 42 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. 43 Then he rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam(AY) his son succeeded him as king.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 11:27 Or the Millo
  2. 1 Kings 11:33 Hebrew; Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac because he has