| New Living Translation | NET Bible |
| 1Now King Solomon loved many foreign women. Besides Pharaoh’s daughter, he married women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and from among the Hittites. | 1King Solomon fell in love with many foreign women (besides Pharaoh's daughter), including Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites. |
| 2The 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. | 2They came from nations about which the LORD had warned the Israelites, "You must not establish friendly relations with them! If you do, they will surely shift your allegiance to their gods." But Solomon was irresistibly attracted to them. |
| 3He had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines. And in fact, they did turn his heart away from the LORD. | 3He had 700 royal wives and 300 concubines; his wives had a powerful influence over him. |
| 4In 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. | 4When Solomon became old, his wives shifted his allegiance to other gods; he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD his God, as his father David had been. |
| 5Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. | 5Solomon worshiped the Sidonian goddess Astarte and the detestable Ammonite god Milcom. |
| 6In 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. | 6Solomon did evil in the LORD's sight; he did not remain loyal to the LORD, like his father David had. |
| 7On the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, he even built a pagan shrine for Chemosh, the detestable god of Moab, and another for Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. | 7Furthermore, on the hill east of Jerusalem Solomon built a high place for the detestable Moabite god Chemosh and for the detestable Ammonite god Milcom. |
| 8Solomon built such shrines for all his foreign wives to use for burning incense and sacrificing to their gods. | 8He built high places for all his foreign wives so they could burn incense and make sacrifices to their gods. |
| 9The 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. | 9The LORD was angry with Solomon because he had shifted his allegiance away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him on two occasions |
| 10He had warned Solomon specifically about worshiping other gods, but Solomon did not listen to the LORD’s command. | 10and had warned him about this very thing, so that he would not follow other gods. But he did not obey the LORD's command. |
| 11So 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. | 11So the LORD said to Solomon, "Because you insist on doing these things and have not kept the covenantal rules I gave you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. |
| 12But 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. | 12However, 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. |
| 13And 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 | 13But I will not tear away the entire kingdom; I will leave your son one tribe for my servant David's sake and for the sake of my chosen city Jerusalem." |
| 14Then the LORD raised up Hadad the Edomite, a member of Edom’s royal family, to be Solomon’s adversary. | 14The LORD brought against Solomon an enemy, Hadad the Edomite, a descendant of the Edomite king. |
| 15Years 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. | 15During David's campaign against Edom, Joab, the commander of the army, while on a mission to bury the dead, killed every male in Edom. |
| 16Joab and the army of Israel had stayed there for six months, killing them. | 16For six months Joab and the entire Israelite army stayed there until they had exterminated every male in Edom. |
| 17But Hadad and a few of his father’s royal officials escaped and headed for Egypt. (Hadad was just a boy at the time.) | 17Hadad, who was only a small boy at the time, escaped with some of his father's Edomite servants and headed for Egypt. |
| 18They 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. | 18They 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. |
| 19Pharaoh grew very fond of Hadad, and he gave him his wife’s sister in marriage—the sister of Queen Tahpenes. | 19Pharaoh liked Hadad so well he gave him his sister-in-law (Queen Tahpenes' sister) as a wife. |
| 20She bore him a son named Genubath. Tahpenes raised him in Pharaoh’s palace among Pharaoh’s own sons. | 20Tahpenes' sister gave birth to his son, named Genubath. Tahpenes raised him in Pharaoh's palace; Genubath grew up in Pharaoh's palace among Pharaoh's sons. |
| 21When 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.” | 21While in Egypt Hadad heard that David had passed away and that Joab, the commander of the army, was dead. So Hadad asked Pharaoh, "Give me permission to leave so I can return to my homeland." |
| 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.” | 22Pharaoh said to him, "What do you lack here that makes you want to go to your homeland?" Hadad replied, "Nothing, but please give me permission to leave." |
| 23God also raised up Rezon son of Eliada as Solomon’s adversary. Rezon had fled from his master, King Hadadezer of Zobah, | 23God also brought against Solomon another enemy, Rezon son of Eliada who had run away from his master, King Hadadezer of Zobah. |
| 24and had become the leader of a gang of rebels. After David conquered Hadadezer, Rezon and his men fled to Damascus, where he became king. | 24He gathered some men and organized a raiding band. When David tried to kill them, they went to Damascus, where they settled down and gained control of the city. |
| 25Rezon 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 | 25He was Israel's enemy throughout Solomon's reign and, like Hadad, caused trouble. He loathed Israel and ruled over Syria. |
| 26Another 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. | 26Jeroboam son of Nebat, one of Solomon's servants, rebelled against the king. He was an Ephraimite from Zeredah whose mother was a widow named Zeruah. |
| 27This is the story behind his rebellion. Solomon was rebuilding the supporting terraces and repairing the walls of the city of his father, David. | 27This is what prompted him to rebel against the king: Solomon built a terrace and he closed up a gap in the wall of the city of his father David. |
| 28Jeroboam 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. | 28Jeroboam was a talented man; 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. |
| 29One 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, | 29At 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. Ahijah was wearing a brand new robe, |
| 30and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces. | 30and he grabbed the robe and tore it into twelve pieces. |
| 31Then 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! | 31Then 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. |
| 32But 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. | 32He 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. |
| 33For Solomon has 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. | 33I am taking the kingdom from him 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 instructions by doing what I approve and obeying my rules and regulations, like Solomon's father David did. |
| 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. | 34I 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. |
| 35But I will take the kingdom away from his son and give ten of the tribes to you. | 35I will take the kingdom from the hand of his son and give ten tribes to you. |
| 36His 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. | 36I will leave his son one tribe so my servant David's dynasty may continue to serve me in Jerusalem, the city I have chosen as my home. |
| 37And I will place you on the throne of Israel, and you will rule over all that your heart desires. | 37I will select you; you will rule over all you desire to have and you will be king over Israel. |
| 38If 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. | 38You must obey all I command you to do, follow my instructions, do what I approve, 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; I will give you Israel. |
| 39Because of Solomon’s sin I will punish the descendants of David—though not forever.’” | 39I will humiliate David's descendants because of this, but not forever." |
| 40Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but he fled to King Shishak of Egypt and stayed there until Solomon died. Summary of Solomon’s Reign | 40Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam escaped to Egypt and found refuge with King Shishak of Egypt. He stayed in Egypt until Solomon died. |
| 41The 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. | 41The 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. |
| 42Solomon ruled in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years. | 42Solomon ruled over all Israel from Jerusalem for forty years. |
| 43When he died, he was buried in the City of David, named for his father. Then his son Rehoboam became the next king. | 43Then Solomon passed away and was buried in the city of his father David. His son Rehoboam replaced him as king. |
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