Solomon's Apostasy and Adversaries

111 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh : Moabite , Ammonite , Edomite , Sidonian , and Hittite women , 2 from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the sons of Israel , " You shall not associate with them, nor shall they associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after their gods ." Solomon held fast to these in love . 3 He had seven hundred wives , princesses , and three hundred concubines , and his wives turned his heart away . 4 For when Solomon was old , his wives turned his heart away after other gods ; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God , as the heart of David his father had been. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and after Milcom the detestable idol of the Ammonites . 6 Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord , and did not follow the Lord fully , as David his father had done. 7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable idol of Moab , on the mountain which is east e of Jerusalem , and for Molech the detestable idol of the sons of Ammon . 8 Thus also he did for all his foreign wives , who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods .

9 Now the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned away from the Lord , the 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 did not observe what the Lord had commanded . 11 So the Lord said to Solomon , "Because e you have done e this , and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes , which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant . 12 "Nevertheless I will not do it in your days for the sake of your father David , but I will tear it out of the hand of your son . 13 "However , I will not tear away all the kingdom , but I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen ."

14 Then the Lord raised up an adversary to Solomon , Hadad the Edomite ; he was of the royal line in Edom . 15 For it came about, when David was in Edom , and Joab the commander of the army had gone up to bury the slain , and had struck down every male in Edom 16 (for Joab and all Israel stayed there six months , until he had cut off every male in Edom ), 17 that Hadad fled to Egypt , he and certain Edomites of his father's servants with him, while Hadad was a young boy . 18 They arose from Midian and came to Paran ; and they took men with them from Paran and came to Egypt , to Pharaoh king of Egypt , who gave him a house and assigned him food and gave him land . 19 Now Hadad found great favor before Pharaoh , so that he gave him in marriage the sister of his own wife , the sister of Tahpenes the queen . 20 The sister of Tahpenes bore his son Genubath , whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh's house ; and Genubath was in Pharaoh's house among the sons of Pharaoh . 21 But 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 , "Send me away , that I may go to my own country ." 22 Then Pharaoh said to him, "But what have you lacked with me, that behold , you are seeking to go to your own country ?" And he answered , "Nothing ; nevertheless you must surely let me go ." 23 God also raised up another adversary to him, Rezon the son of Eliada , who had fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah . 24 He gathered men to himself and became leader of a marauding band , after David slew them of Zobah; and they went to Damascus and stayed there, and reigned in Damascus . 25 So he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon , along with the evil that Hadad did; and he abhorred Israel and reigned over Aram .

26 Then Jeroboam the son of Nebat , an Ephraimite of Zeredah , Solomon's servant , whose mother's name was Zeruah , a widow , also rebelled e against the king . 27 Now this was the reason why he rebelled e against the king : Solomon built the Millo , and closed up the breach of the city of his father David . 28 Now the man Jeroboam was a valiant warrior , and when Solomon saw that the young man was industrious , he appointed him over all the forced labor of the house of Joseph . 29 It came about at that time , when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem , that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road . Now Ahijah had clothed himself with a new cloak ; and both of them were alone in the field . 30 Then Ahijah took hold of the new cloak which was on him and tore it into twelve e pieces . 31 He said to Jeroboam , "Take for yourself ten pieces ; for thus says the Lord , the God of Israel , 'Behold , I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and give you ten tribes 32 ( but he will have one tribe , for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem , the city which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel ), 33 because e they have forsaken Me, and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians , Chemosh the god of Moab , and Milcom the god of the sons of Ammon ; and they have not walked in My ways , doing what is right in My sight and observing My statutes and My ordinances , as his father David did. 34 'Nevertheless I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand , but I will make him ruler all the days of his life , for the sake of My servant David whom I chose , who observed My commandments and My statutes ; 35 but I will take the kingdom from his son's hand and give it to you, even ten tribes . 36 'But to his son I will give one tribe , that My servant David may have a lamp always e before Me in Jerusalem , the city where e I have chosen for Myself to put My name . 37 'I will take you, and you shall reign over whatever e you desire , and you shall be king over Israel . 38 'Then it will be, that if you listen to all that I command you and walk in My ways , and do what is right in My sight by observing My statutes and My commandments , as My servant David did , then I will be with you and build you an enduring house as I built for David , and I will give Israel to you. 39 'Thus I will afflict the descendants of David for this , but not always e .' " 40 Solomon sought therefore to put Jeroboam to death ; but Jeroboam arose and fled to Egypt to Shishak king of Egypt , and he was in Egypt until the death of Solomon .

The Death of Solomon

41 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon and whatever e he did , and his wisdom , are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon ? 42 Thus 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 his father David , and his son Rehoboam reigned in his place .

Solomon Marries Pharaoh's Daughter

31 Then Solomon formed a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt , and took Pharaoh's daughter and brought her to the city of David until he had finished building his own house and the house of the Lord and the wall around Jerusalem . 2 The people were still sacrificing on the high places , because there was no house built for the name of the Lord until those days .

Solomon's Prayer for Wisdom

3 Now Solomon loved the Lord , walking in the statutes of his father David , except he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places . 4 The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there , for that was the great high place ; Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar .

5 In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night ; and God said , " Ask what you wish me to give you." 6 Then Solomon said , " You have shown great lovingkindness to Your servant David my father , according as he walked before You in truth and righteousness and uprightness of heart toward You; and You have reserved for him this great lovingkindness , that You have given him a son to sit on his throne , as it is this day . 7 "Now , O Lord my God , You have made Your servant king in place of my father David , yet I am but a little child ; I do not know how to go out or come in. 8 " Your servant is in the midst of Your people which You have chosen , a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted . 9 "So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil . For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?" 10 It was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing . 11 God said to him, "Because e you have asked this thing and have not asked for yourself long life , nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies , but have asked for yourself discernment to understand justice , 12 behold , I have done according to your words . Behold , I have given you a wise and discerning heart , so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you. 13 " I have also given you what you have not asked , both riches and honor , so that there will not be any among the kings like you all your days . 14 " If you walk in My ways , keeping My statutes and commandments , as your father David walked , then I will prolong your days ." 15 Then Solomon awoke , and behold , it was a dream . And he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord , and offered burnt offerings and made peace offerings , and made a feast for all his servants .

Solomon's Wisdom and Prosperity

16 Then two women who were harlots came to the king and stood before him. 17 The one woman said , "Oh , my lord , this woman and I live in the same house ; and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house . 18 "It happened on the third day after I gave birth , that this woman also gave birth to a child , and we were together . There was no stranger with us in the house , only the two of us in the house . 19 "This woman's son died in the night , because she lay on it. 20 "So she arose in the middle of the night and took my son from beside me while your maidservant slept , and laid him in her bosom , and laid her dead son in my bosom . 21 "When I rose in the morning to nurse my son , behold , he was dead ; but when I looked at him carefully in the morning , behold , he was not my son , whom I had borne ." 22 Then the other woman said , "No ! For the living one is my son , and the dead one is your son ." But the first woman said , "No ! For the dead one is your son , and the living one is my son ." Thus they spoke before the king . 23 Then the king said , "The one says , 'This is my son who is living , and your son is the dead one'; and the other says , 'No ! For your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one .' " 24 The king said , "Get me a sword ." So they brought a sword before the king . 25 The king said , "Divide the living child in two , and give half to the one and half to the other ." 26 Then the woman whose child was the living one spoke to the king , for she was deeply e stirred over her son and said , "Oh , my lord , give her the living child , and by no means kill him." But the other said , "He shall be neither e mine nor yours; divide him!" 27 Then the king said , "Give the first woman the living child , and by no means kill him. She is his mother ." 28 When all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had handed down , they feared the king , for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice .