Decline of Solomon

11 Now King Solomon loved so many foreign women, besides the daughter of Pharaoh—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites— ² from the nations of whom Adonai had said to the children of Israel: “You shall not associate with them nor they associate with you, for surely they would turn your heart away after their gods.” Solomon clung to them for love. ³ So he had 700 wives as princesses and 300 concubines—and his women led his heart astray. ⁴ For it came about, as Solomon grew old, that his wives led his heart away after other gods, so that his heart was no longer wholly devoted to Adonai his God, unlike the heart of his father David. ⁵ For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. ⁶ So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of Adonai and did not fully follow after Adonai, unlike his father David.

⁷ At that time Solomon also built a high place for Chemosh, the detested thing of Moab, on the mountain near Jerusalem, as well as for Molech the detested thing of the children of Ammon. ⁸ Thus he did for all his foreign wives, who were burning incense and offering sacrifices to their gods.

⁹ So Adonai became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from Adonai, the God of Israel—who had appeared to him twice. ¹⁰ He had commanded him about this, that he should not go after other gods, yet he did not keep what Adonai had commanded. ¹¹ So Adonai said to Solomon: “Since you have done this and did not keep My covenant and My statutes that I commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. ¹² Nevertheless, I will not do it in your days for David your father’s sake; but I will tear it away from the hand of your son. ¹³ Yet I will not tear away the whole kingdom, but will give one tribe to your son for My servant David ‘s sake, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.”

¹⁴ Then Adonai raised up an adversary to Solomon, Hadad the Edomite, of the royal line in Edom. ¹⁵ Earlier, when David was at war with Edom, Joab, commander of the army, went up to bury the slain, and had struck down every male in Edom. ¹⁶ Joab and all Israel remained there six months, until he had cut off every male in Edom. ¹⁷ But Hadad and some Edomites, servants of his father, had fled to Egypt, while Hadad was a small boy. ¹⁸ Setting out from Midian they came to Paran and took men from Paran along with them, and went to Egypt—to Pharaoh king of Egypt—who gave him a house, allotted him food and gave him land. ¹⁹ Then Hadad found great favor in Pharaoh’s eyes, so that he gave him his own sister-in-law, the sister of Queen Tahpenes, as wife. ²⁰ The sister of Tahpenes gave birth to his son Genubath. Tahpenes weaned him in Pharaoh’s palace and Genubath remained in Pharaoh’s palace among Pharaoh’s sons.

²¹ Now when Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers and that Joab commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh: “Let me leave so I may go to my own country.”

²² Then Pharaoh replied to him, “What do you lack with me, that all of a sudden, you seek to go back to your own country?”

“Nothing,” he answered. “Nevertheless let me go anyway.”

²³ Then God raised up another adversary against him, Rezon son of Eliada, who had fled from his lord King Hadad-ezer of Zobah, ²⁴ when David killed them. He then gathered men to himself and became the leader of a marauding band that went to Damascus and dwelt there and gained control in Damascus. ²⁵ Rezon was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, adding to the trouble that was Hadad. He despised Israel, while he reigned over Aram.

Prophecy to Jeroboam

²⁶ Then there was Jeroboam son of Nebat (the name of his mother, a widow, was Zeruah), an Ephraimite of Zereda. Though he was Solomon’s servant, he also raised a hand against the king. ²⁷ Now the reason that he raised a hand against the king was this: Solomon built the Millo and closed the breach of the city of his father David. ²⁸ Now the man Jeroboam was mighty of strength, and when Solomon saw that the young man was industrious, he appointed him over the entire labor force of the house of Joseph.

²⁹ It was around that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. Now Ahijah had covered himself in a new cloak, and the two of them were alone in the field. ³⁰ Then Ahijah seized the new cloak that was on him, tore it into twelve pieces, ³¹ and said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for thus says Adonai, God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand and will give ten tribes to you. ³² But he will have one tribe, for My servant David’s sake, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.

³³ “‘For they have abandoned Me and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon. They have not walked in My ways, nor done what is right in My eyes, nor kept My statutes and My ordinances, as his father David did. ³⁴ Nevertheless, I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will keep him as a ruler all the days of his life for the sake of My servant David whom I chose, because he kept My mitzvot and My statutes. ³⁵ Yet I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand, and I will give it to you—the ten tribes. ³⁶ To his son I will give one tribe so that My servant David may have a lamp every day before Me in Jerusalem, the city that I chose for Myself to put My Name there.

³⁷ “So I will take you and you will reign over all that your soul desires—you will be king over Israel. ³⁸ Then it will be, if you obey everything I command you and walk in My ways, and do what is right in My eyes, keeping My statutes and My mitzvot as My servant David did, then I will be with you, and will establish for you a lasting dynasty, as I did for David—I will give Israel to you. ³⁹ So I will for this afflict David’s seed, but not for all days.”^[a]

⁴⁰ Therefore Solomon sought to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam got up and fled to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt. He remained in Egypt until the death of Solomon. ⁴¹ Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom—are they not recorded in the Book of the Acts of Solomon? ⁴² So the days of Solomon’s kingship in Jerusalem over all Israel was 40 years. ⁴³ Then Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David; and his son Rehoboam was king in his place.