Solomon’s Foreign Wives

1But king Solomon loved many foreign women, including the daughter of Pharaoh, and women of Moab, and of Ammon, and of Idumea, and of Sidon, and of the Hittites. 2These were of the nations about whom the Lord said to the sons of Israel: “You shall not enter to them, and none of them shall enter to anyone of yours. For they will most certainly turn aside your hearts, so that you follow their gods.” And yet, to these Solomon was joined with a greatly enflamed love. 3And for him, there were seven hundred wives, as if they were queens, and three hundred concubines. And the women turned aside his heart. 4And when now he was old, his heart was perverted by the women, so that he followed strange gods. And his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David. 5For Solomon worshipped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom, the idol of the Ammonites. 6And Solomon did what was not pleasing in the sight of the Lord. And he did not continue to follow the Lord, as his father David did. 7Then Solomon built a shrine for Chemosh, the idol of Moab, on the mount that is opposite Jerusalem, and for Milcom, the idol of the sons of Ammon. 8And he acted in this manner for all his foreign wives, who were burning incense and immolating to their gods.

God’s Anger against Solomon

9And so, the Lord became angry with Solomon, because his mind had been turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, 10and who had instructed him about this matter, lest he follow strange gods. But he did not observe what the Lord commanded to him. 11And so, the Lord said to Solomon: “Because you have this with you, and because you have not kept my covenant and my precepts, which I commanded to you, I will tear apart your kingdom, and I will give it to your servant. 12Yet truly, I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David. From the hand of your son, I will tear it away. 13Neither will I take away the whole kingdom. Instead, I will grant one tribe to your son, for the sake of David, my servant, and Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”

Hadad’s Return

14Then the Lord raised up an adversary to Solomon, Hadad of Idumea, from an offspring of the king who was in Idumea. 15For when David was in Idumea, Joab, the leader of the military, had ascended to bury those who had been killed, and he had killed every male in Idumea. 16And Joab remained in that place for six months, with all of Israel, until he had put to death every male in Idumea. 17Then Hadad fled, he and some men of Idumea from among the servants of his father with him, so that he might enter into Egypt. But Hadad was then a little boy. 18And when they had risen up from Midian, they went into Paran, and they took with them some men from Paran. And they went into Egypt, to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. And he gave him a house, and he appointed food for him, and he assigned land to him. 19And Hadad found great favor before Pharaoh, so much so that he gave to him as wife, the sister of his own wife, queen Tahpenes. 20And the sister of Tahpenes bore to him a son, Genubath. And Tahpenes raised him in the house of Pharaoh. And Genubath was living with Pharaoh and his sons. 21And when Hadad had heard in Egypt that David had slept with his fathers, and that Joab, the leader of the military, had died, he said to Pharaoh, “Release me, so that I may go to my own land.” 22And Pharaoh said to him, “But what is lacking to you with me, so that you would seek to go to your own land?” But he responded: “Nothing. Yet I beg you that you may release me.”

Rezon’s Hostility

23Also, God raised up against him an adversary, Rezon, the son of Eliada, who had fled from his lord, Hadad-Ezer, the king of Zobah. 24And he gathered together men against him. And when David put those of Zobah to death, he became a leader of robbers. And they went away to Damascus, and they lived there. And they appointed him to be king of Damascus. 25And he was an adversary to Israel during all the days of Solomon. And such is the evil of Hadad and of his hatred against Israel. And he reigned in Syria.

Jeroboam’s Rebellion

26Also, there was Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite from Zeredah, a servant of Solomon, whose mother was named Zeruah, a widowed woman. He lifted up his hand against the king. 27And this is the reason for his rebellion against him: that Solomon built up Millo, and that he filled in a deep hole in the city of David, his father. 28Now Jeroboam was a valiant and powerful man. And perceiving the young man to be ingenious and industrious, Solomon appointed him as first ruler over the tributes of the entire house of Joseph. 29And it happened, in that time, that Jeroboam departed from Jerusalem. And the prophet Ahijah, the Shilonite, wearing with a new cloak, found him on the way. And the two were alone in the field. 30And taking his new cloak, with which he was covered, Ahijah tore it into twelve parts. 31And he said to Jeroboam: “Take ten pieces for yourself. For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon, and I will give to you ten tribes. 32Yet one tribe shall remain with him, for the sake of my servant, David, as well as Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. 33For he has abandoned me, and he has adored Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Chemosh, the god of Moab, and Milcom, the god of the sons of Ammon. And he has not walked in my ways, so that he would do justice before me, and so that he would carry out my precepts and judgments, as his father David did. 34But I will not take the entire kingdom from his hand. Instead, I will establish him as the ruler during all the days of his life, for the sake of my servant David, whom I chose, who kept my commandments and my precepts. 35But I will take away the kingdom from the hand of his son, and I will give to you ten tribes. 36Then, to his son, I will give one tribe, so that there may remain a lamp for my servant David before me, for all days, in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen, so that my name would be there. 37And I will take you up, and you shall reign over all that your soul desires. And you shall be king over Israel. 38Therefore, if you will listen to all that I will command you, and if you will walk in my ways, and do what is right in my sight, keeping my commandments and my precepts, just as my servant David did, then I will be with you, and I will build for you a faithful house, in the way that I built a house for David, and I will deliver Israel to you. 39And I will afflict the offspring of David over this, but truly not for all days.’ ” 40Therefore, Solomon wanted to kill Jeroboam. But he rose up and fled away to Egypt, to Shishak, the king of Egypt. And he was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

The Death of Solomon
(2 Chronicles 9:29–31)

41Now the rest of the words of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom: behold, these are all written in the book of the words of the days of Solomon. 42And the days that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem, over all of Israel, were forty years. 43And Solomon slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the city of David, his father. And Rehoboam, his son, reigned in his place.