11:1 King Solomon fell in love with many foreign women (besides Pharoah’s daughter), including Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites. 11:2 They came from nations about which the LORD had warned the Israelites, “You must not establish friendly relations with them!¹ If you do, they will surely shift your allegiance to their gods.”² Solomon was irresistibly attracted to them.³ 11:3 He had 700 royal wives⁴ and 300 secondary wives⁵; his wives had a powerful influence over him.⁶ 11:4 When Solomon became old, his wives shifted his allegiance to⁷ other gods; he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD his God, as his father David had been.⁸ 11:5 Solomon worshiped⁹ the Sidonian goddess Astarte and the detestable Ammonite god Milcom.¹⁰ 11:6 Solomon did evil before¹¹ the LORD; he did not remain loyal to¹² the LORD, like his father David had. 11:7 To top it off¹³ on the hill east of Jerusalem¹⁴ Solomon built a high place¹⁵ for the detestable Moabite god Chemosh¹⁶ and for the detestable Ammonite god Milcom.¹⁷ 11:8 He built high places for all his foreign wives so they could burn incense and make sacrifices to their gods.¹⁸

11:9 The LORD was mad at Solomon because he had shifted his allegiance¹⁹ away from the LORD God of Israel, who had appeared to him on two occasions²⁰ 11:10 and had warned him about this very thing so that he would not follow other gods.²¹ But he did not obey²² the LORD’s command. 11:11 So the LORD said to Solomon, “Because you insist on doing these things and have not kept the covenantal rules I gave you,²³ I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. 11:12 However, for your father David’s sake I will not do this while you are alive. I will tear it away from your son’s hand instead. 11:13 But I will not tear away the entire kingdom; I will leave²⁴ your son one tribe for my servant David’s sake and for the sake of my chosen city Jerusalem.”

11:14 The LORD brought²⁵ against Solomon an enemy, Hadad the Edomite, a descendent of the Edomite king. 11:15 During David’s campaign against Edom,²⁶ Joab, the commander of the army, while on a mission to bury the dead, killed every male in Edom. 11:16 For six months Joab and the entire Israelite army²⁷ stayed there and exterminated every male in Edom.²⁸ 11:17 Hadad,²⁹ who was only a small boy at the time, escaped with some of his father’s Edomite servants and headed for Egypt.³⁰ 11:18 They went from Midian to Paran; they took some men from Paran and went to Egypt. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, supplied him with a house and food and even assigned him some land.³¹ 11:19 Pharaoh liked Hadad so well³² he gave him his sister-in-law (Queen Tahpenes’ sister) as a wife.³³ 11:20 Tahpenes’ sister gave³⁴ him a son named Genubath. Tahpenes raised³⁵ him in the middle of Pharaoh’s palace; Genubath grew up in Pharaoh’s palace among Pharaoh’s sons. 11:21 While in Egypt Hadad heard that David had passed away³⁶ and that Joab, the commander of the army, was dead. So Hadad asked Pharaoh, “Give me permission to leave³⁷ so I can return to my homeland.” 11:22 Pharaoh said to him, “What do you lack here that makes you want to go to your homeland?”³⁸ Hadad replied,³⁹ “Nothing, but please give me permission to leave.”⁴⁰

11:23 God also brought against Solomon⁴¹ another enemy, Rezon son of Eliada who had run away from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah. 11:24 He gathered some men and organized a raiding band.⁴² When David tried to kill them,⁴³ they went to Damascus, where they settled down and gained control of the city. 11:25 He was Israel’s enemy throughout Solomon’s reign and, like Hadad, caused trouble. He loathed⁴⁴ Israel and ruled over Syria.

11:26 Jeroboam son of Nebat, one of Solomon’s servants, rebelled against⁴⁵ the king. He was an Ephraimite⁴⁶ from Zeredah whose mother was a widow named Zeruah. 11:27 Here’s what prompted him to rebel against the king.⁴⁷ Solomon built a terrace and he closed up a gap in the wall of the city of his father David.⁴⁸ 11:28 Jeroboam was a talented man;⁴⁹ when Solomon saw that the young man was an accomplished worker, he made him the leader of the work crew from the tribe of Joseph. 11:29 At that time, when Jeroboam had left Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the road; the two of them were alone in the open country. Ahijah⁵⁰ was wearing a brand new robe, 11:30 and he grabbed the robe⁵¹ and tore it into 12 pieces. 11:31 Then he told Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces, for this is what the LORD God of Israel says, ‘Look, I am about to tear the kingdom from Solomon’s hand and I will give ten tribes to you. 11:32 He will retain one tribe, for my servant David’s sake and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. 11:33 I am taking the kingdom from him⁵² because they have abandoned me and worshiped the Sidonian goddess Astarte, the Moabite god Chemosh, and the Ammonite god Milcom. They have not followed my instructions⁵³ by doing what I approve and obeying my rules and regulations, like Solomon’s father David did.⁵⁴ 11:34 I will not take the whole kingdom from his hand. I will allow him to be ruler for the rest of his life for the sake of my chosen servant David who kept my commandments and rules. 11:35 I will take the kingdom from the hand of his son and give ten tribes to you.⁵⁵ 11:36 I will leave⁵⁶ your son one tribe so my servant David’s dynasty might continue to serve me⁵⁷ in Jerusalem, the city I have chosen as my home.⁵⁸ 11:37 I will select⁵⁹ you; you will rule over all you desire to have and you will be king over Israel. 11:38 You must obey⁶⁰ all I command you to do, follow my instructions,⁶¹ do what I approve,⁶² and keep my rules and commandments, like my servant David did. Then I will be with you and establish for you a lasting dynasty, as I did for David;⁶³ I will give you Israel. 11:39 I will humiliate David’s descendents because of this,⁶⁴ but not forever.”⁶⁵ 11:40 Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam escaped to Egypt and found refuge with Shishak king of Egypt.⁶⁶ He stayed in Egypt until Solomon died.

11:41 The rest of the events of Solomon’s reign, including all his accomplishments and his wise decisions, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of Solomon.⁶⁷ 11:42 Solomon ruled over all Israel from Jerusalem for 40 years. 11:43 Then Solomon passed away⁶⁸ and was buried in the city of his father David.⁶⁹ His son Rehoboam replaced him as king.