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The Blue Letter Bible

1 Kings 11 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

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Solomon’s Many Wives

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:1

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:1 - Now King Solomon loved many foreign women. Besides Pharaoh’s daughter, he married women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and from among the Hittites.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:2

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:2 - The LORD had clearly instructed the people of Israel, ‘You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods.’ Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:3

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:3 - He had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines. And in fact, they did turn his heart away from the LORD.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:4

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:4 - In Solomon’s old age, they turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the LORD his God, as his father, David, had been.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:5

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:5 - Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech,[fn] the detestable god of the Ammonites.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:6

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:6 - In this way, Solomon did what was evil in the LORD’s sight; he refused to follow the LORD completely, as his father, David, had done.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:7

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:7 - On the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem,[fn] he even built a pagan shrine for Chemosh, the detestable god of Moab, and another for Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:8

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:8 - Solomon built such shrines for all his foreign wives to use for burning incense and sacrificing to their gods.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:9

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:9 - The LORD was very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:10

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:10 - He had warned Solomon specifically about worshiping other gods, but Solomon did not listen to the LORD’s command.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:11

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:11 - So now the LORD said to him, “Since you have not kept my covenant and have disobeyed my decrees, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:12

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:12 - But for the sake of your father, David, I will not do this while you are still alive. I will take the kingdom away from your son.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:13

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:13 - And even so, I will not take away the entire kingdom; I will let him be king of one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, my chosen city.”
Solomon’s Adversaries

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:14

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:14 - Then the LORD raised up Hadad the Edomite, a member of Edom’s royal family, to be Solomon’s adversary.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:15

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:15 - Years before, David had defeated Edom. Joab, his army commander, had stayed to bury some of the Israelite soldiers who had died in battle. While there, they killed every male in Edom.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:16

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:16 - Joab and the army of Israel had stayed there for six months, killing them.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:17

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:17 - But Hadad and a few of his father’s royal officials escaped and headed for Egypt. (Hadad was just a boy at the time.)

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:18

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:18 - They set out from Midian and went to Paran, where others joined them. Then they traveled to Egypt and went to Pharaoh, who gave them a home, food, and some land.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:19

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:19 - Pharaoh grew very fond of Hadad, and he gave him his wife’s sister in marriage—the sister of Queen Tahpenes.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:20

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:20 - She bore him a son named Genubath. Tahpenes raised him[fn] in Pharaoh’s palace among Pharaoh’s own sons.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:21

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:21 - When the news reached Hadad in Egypt that David and his commander Joab were both dead, he said to Pharaoh, “Let me return to my own country.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:22

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:22 - “Why?” Pharaoh asked him. “What do you lack here that makes you want to go home?”
“Nothing,” he replied. “But even so, please let me return home.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:23

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:23 - God also raised up Rezon son of Eliada as Solomon’s adversary. Rezon had fled from his master, King Hadadezer of Zobah,

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:24

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:24 - and had become the leader of a gang of rebels. After David conquered Hadadezer, Rezon and his men fled to Damascus, where he became king.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:25

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:25 - Rezon was Israel’s bitter adversary for the rest of Solomon’s reign, and he made trouble, just as Hadad did. Rezon hated Israel intensely and continued to reign in Aram.
Jeroboam Rebels against Solomon

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:26

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:26 - Another rebel leader was Jeroboam son of Nebat, one of Solomon’s own officials. He came from the town of Zeredah in Ephraim, and his mother was Zeruah, a widow.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:27

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:27 - This is the story behind his rebellion. Solomon was rebuilding the supporting terraces[fn] and repairing the walls of the city of his father, David.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:28

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:28 - Jeroboam was a very capable young man, and when Solomon saw how industrious he was, he put him in charge of the labor force from the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, the descendants of Joseph.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:29

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:29 - One day as Jeroboam was leaving Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh met him along the way. Ahijah was wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone in a field,

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:30

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:30 - and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:31

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:31 - Then he said to Jeroboam, “Take ten of these pieces, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon, and I will give ten of the tribes to you!

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:32

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:32 - But I will leave him one tribe for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:33

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:33 - For Solomon has[fn] abandoned me and worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians; Chemosh, the god of Moab; and Molech, the god of the Ammonites. He has not followed my ways and done what is pleasing in my sight. He has not obeyed my decrees and regulations as David his father did.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:34

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:34 - “‘But I will not take the entire kingdom from Solomon at this time. For the sake of my servant David, the one whom I chose and who obeyed my commands and decrees, I will keep Solomon as leader for the rest of his life.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:35

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:35 - But I will take the kingdom away from his son and give ten of the tribes to you.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:36

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:36 - His son will have one tribe so that the descendants of David my servant will continue to reign, shining like a lamp in Jerusalem, the city I have chosen to be the place for my name.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:37

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:37 - And I will place you on the throne of Israel, and you will rule over all that your heart desires.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:38

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:38 - If you listen to what I tell you and follow my ways and do whatever I consider to be right, and if you obey my decrees and commands, as my servant David did, then I will always be with you. I will establish an enduring dynasty for you as I did for David, and I will give Israel to you.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:39

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:39 - Because of Solomon’s sin I will punish the descendants of David—though not forever.’”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:40

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:40 - Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but he fled to King Shishak of Egypt and stayed there until Solomon died.
Summary of Solomon’s Reign
(2Ch 9:29–31 )

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:41

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:41 - The rest of the events in Solomon’s reign, including all his deeds and his wisdom, are recorded in The Book of the Acts of Solomon.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:42

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:42 - Solomon ruled in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 11:43

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 11:43 - When he died, he was buried in the City of David, named for his father. Then his son Rehoboam became the next king.
See the NLT Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
NLT Footnotes
Hebrew Milcom, a variant spelling of Molech; also in 11:33.
Hebrew On the mountain east of Jerusalem.
As in Greek version; Hebrew reads weaned him.
Hebrew the millo. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
As in Greek, Syriac, and Latin Vulgate; Hebrew reads For they have.
NLT

Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Full copyright information is provided here. Visit the New Living Translation website.

For more information on this translation, see the NLT Preface.

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1 Kings Chapter 11 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New International Version English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Westminster Leningrad Codex Septuagint Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Brenton's English Septuagint Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras