1 Kings 11:29-39
Amplified Bible
29 It came about at that time, when Jeroboam left Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the road. Now Ahijah had covered himself with a new cloak; and the two of them were alone in the field. 30 Then Ahijah took hold of the new cloak which he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 He said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself; for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am going to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon and give you ten tribes— 32 but he [and his descendants] shall have [a]one tribe (Benjamin was annexed to Judah), 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 because [b]they have abandoned Me and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the sons of Ammon; and they have not walked in My ways and followed My commandments, doing what is right in My sight and keeping My statutes and My ordinances as did his father David. 34 However, I will not take the entire kingdom out of his hand; but I will make him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of My servant David, whom I chose because he kept My commandments and My statutes. 35 But I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand and give it to you: ten tribes. 36 Yet to his son I will give [c]one tribe, so that My servant David may have a [d]lamp always before Me in Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen to put My Name and Presence. 37 I will take you [Jeroboam], and you shall reign over whatever your soul desires; and you shall be king over Israel (the ten northern tribes). 38 Then it shall be, that if you listen to all that I command you and walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight, keeping and observing My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then I will be with you and build you an enduring house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you. 39 And in this way I will afflict the descendants of David for this (their sin), but not forever.’”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Kings 11:32 It is evident from v 30 and later from 12:21 that two tribes are in view here: Judah and Benjamin. The Greek OT (the LXX) actually reads “two” here and in v 36, indicating that its translators rejected the Hebrew reading in both verses as an error. Other explanations are possible, however. Some have suggested that the tribe of Benjamin was often regarded as one with Judah. Another possibility is that Benjamin is not counted or mentioned because of the despicable sin committed by certain men of Gibeah (Judg 19:21 ff; Gibeah was a city in Benjamin), and the refusal by the tribe of Benjamin to turn the offenders over to justice (Judg 20:13). In fact, the tribe almost faced extinction as a result of their refusal and the war that followed between Israel and Benjamin (Judg 20:14-21:24).
- 1 Kings 11:33 I.e. the people of Israel under the leadership of Solomon.
- 1 Kings 11:36 See note v 32.
- 1 Kings 11:36 I.e. a descendant on the throne.
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