111 And king Solomon hath loved many strange women, and the daughter of Pharaoh, females of Moab, Ammon, Edom, Zidon, 'and' of the Hittites, 2 of the nations of which Jehovah said unto the sons of Israel, 'Ye do not go in to them, and they do not go in to you; surely they turn aside your heart after their gods;' to them hath Solomon cleaved for love. 3 And he hath women, princesses, seven hundred, and concubines three hundred; and his wives turn aside his heart. 4 And it cometh to pass, at the time of the old age of Solomon, his wives have turned aside his heart after other gods, and his heart hath not been perfect with Jehovah his God, like the heart of David his father. 5 And Solomon goeth after Ashtoreth god'dess' of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites; 6 and Solomon doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and hath not been fully after Jehovah, like David his father. 7 Then doth Solomon build a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, in the hill that 'is' on the front of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the sons of Ammon; 8 and so he hath done for all his strange women, who are perfuming and sacrificing to their gods.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Kings 11:1-8
Commentary on 1 Kings 11:1-8
(Read 1 Kings 11:1-8)
There is not a more melancholy and astonishing instance of human depravity in the sacred Scriptures, than that here recorded. Solomon became a public worshipper of abominable idols! Probably he by degrees gave way to pride and luxury, and thus lost his relish for true wisdom. Nothing forms in itself a security against the deceitfulness and depravity of the human heart. Nor will old age cure the heart of any evil propensity. If our sinful passions are not crucified and mortified by the grace of God, they never will die of themselves, but will last even when opportunities to gratify them are taken away. Let him that thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall. We see how weak we are of ourselves, without the grace of God; let us therefore live in constant dependence on that grace. Let us watch and be sober: ours is a dangerous warfare, and in an enemy's country, while our worst foes are the traitors in our own hearts.