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¹ BUT King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites;² Of the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the children of Israel, You shall not mix with them, neither shall they mix with you, lest they turn away your heart after their gods; Solomon clung to these in love.³ And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart.⁴ For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods; and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.⁵ For Solomon went after Ashtaroth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and after Malcom the god of the Ammonites.⁶ And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father.⁷ Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the god of Moab, on the mountain that is before Jerusalem, and for Malcom the god of the Ammonites.⁸ And likewise did he for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

⁹ And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice,¹⁰ And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he kept not that which the LORD commanded him.¹¹ Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, Forasmuch as you have done this, and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes and my commandments, which I have commanded you, I will surely rend the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant.¹² Nevertheless, in your days I will not do it for David my servants sake; but I will rend it out of the hand of your son.¹³ However I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to your son for David my servants sake and for Jerusalems sake, the city which I have chosen.

¹⁴ And the LORD stirred up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was of the royal family in Edom.¹⁵ For when David destroyed Edom, and Joab the commander of the army went up to bury the slain, he slew every male in Edom¹⁶ (For Joab and all Israel with him remained there six months, until he had slain every male in Edom);¹⁷ But Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites from among his fathers servants into Egypt, Hadad being yet a little boy.¹⁸ They set out from Midian and came to Paran; and they took men with them out of Paran and went into Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house and food, and said to him, Dwell with me; and gave him land.¹⁹ And Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him to wife the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen.²⁰ And the sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaohs house; and Genubath was in Pharaohs household among the sons of Pharaoh.²¹ And when Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers and that Joab the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh. Let me depart that I may go to my own country.²² But Pharaoh said to him, What have you lacked with me that, behold, you seek to go to your own country? And he answered, Nothing; but do let me go.²³ God also stirred up against Solomon another adversary, Hidron the son of Eliadah, who had fled from his lord Hadarezer king of Zobah;²⁴ And he gathered men to him, and became captain over a band, when David slew the people of Zobah; and they went to Damascus and dwelt in it, and Hadad reigned in Damascus.²⁵ And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, because of the evil which he did; and Hadad oppressed the children of Israel and reigned over Aram (Syria).

²⁶ And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zedda, Solomons servant, whose mothers name was Zoriah, a widow, even he lifted up his hand against King Solomon.²⁷ And this was the reason why he lifted up his hand against King Solomon. When Solomon built Millo and repaired the breaches of the city of David,²⁸ The man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour; and Solomon, seeing that the young man was valiant, made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph.²⁹ And it came to pass at the time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite encountered him on the road; and Ahijah had clad himself with a new garment; and the two of them were alone in a field;³⁰ And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and tore it into twelve pieces;³¹ And he said to Jeroboam, Take for yourself ten pieces; for thus says the LORD God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to you³² (But he shall have one tribe for my servant Davids sake and for Jerusalems sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel);³³ Because he has forsaken me and has worshipped Ashtaroth the goddess of the Zidonians, and Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Malcom the god of the Ammonites, and has not walked in my ways and has not done that which is right in my eyes and has not kept my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father.³⁴ Nevertheless I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand; but I will make him a ruler all the days of his life for David my servants sake, whom I chose because he kept my commandments and my statutes;³⁵ But I will take the kingdom out of his sons hand and will give it to you, ten tribes.³⁶ And to his son I will give one tribe, that David my servant may have an heir always before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for myself to put my name there.³⁷ And I will give it to you, and you shall reign according to all that your soul desires, and you shall be king over Israel.³⁸ And if you shall hearken to all that I command you and will walk in my ways and do what is right in my sight and keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did. I will be with you, and build you a sure house, as I built for David my servant, and will give Israel to you.³⁹ And for this I will afflict the descendants of David, but not for ever.⁴⁰ Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose and fled to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

⁴¹ And the rest of the acts of Solomon and all that he did and his wisdom, behold, they are written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon.⁴² And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.⁴³ And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David his father; and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.