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1 Kings 10

1

Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions.

2

She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices, and very much gold, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind.

3

And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king which he could not explain to her.

4

And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built,

5

the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings which he offered at the house of the LORD, there was no more spirit in her.

6

And she said to the king, "The report was true which I heard in my own land of your affairs and of your wisdom,

7

but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it; and, behold, the half was not told me; your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report which I heard.

8

Happy are your wives! Happy are these your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!

9

Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! Because the LORD loved Israel for ever, he has made you king, that you may execute justice and righteousness."

10

Then she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and a very great quantity of spices, and precious stones; never again came such an abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

11

Moreover the fleet of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir a very great amount of almug wood and precious stones.

12

And the king made of the almug wood supports for the house of the LORD, and for the king's house, lyres also and harps for the singers; no such almug wood has come or been seen, to this day.

13

And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked besides what was given her by the bounty of King Solomon. So she turned and went back to her own land, with her servants.

14

Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold,

15

besides that which came from the traders and from the traffic of the merchants, and from all the kings of Arabia and from the governors of the land.

16

King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield.

17

And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three minas of gold went into each shield; and the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.

18

The king also made a great ivory throne, and overlaid it with the finest gold.

19

The throne had six steps, and at the back of the throne was a calf's head, and on each side of the seat were arm rests and two lions standing beside the arm rests,

20

while twelve lions stood there, one on each end of a step on the six steps. The like of it was never made in any kingdom.

21

All King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; none were of silver, it was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon.

22

For the king had a fleet of ships of Tarshish at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the fleet of ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

23

Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom.

24

And the whole earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind.

25

Every one of them brought his present, articles of silver and gold, garments, myrrh, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year.

26

And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.

27

And the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the Shephe'lah.

28

And Solomon's import of horses was from Egypt and Ku'e, and the king's traders received them from Ku'e at a price.

29

A chariot could be imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty; and so through the king's traders they were exported to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.

1 Kings 11

1

Now King Solomon loved many foreign women: the daughter of Pharaoh, and Moabite, Ammonite, E'domite, Sido'nian, and Hittite women,

2

from the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the people of Israel, "You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods"; Solomon clung to these in love.

3

He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart.

4

For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods; and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.

5

For Solomon went after Ash'toreth the goddess of the Sido'nians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.

6

So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and did not wholly follow the LORD, as David his father had done.

7

Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem.

8

And so he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

9

And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart had 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 keep what the LORD commanded.

11

Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, "Since this has been your mind 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

Yet for the sake of David your father I will not do it in your days, 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 David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen."

14

And the LORD raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the E'domite; he was of the royal house in Edom.

15

For when David was in Edom, and Jo'ab the commander of the army went up to bury the slain, he slew every male in Edom

16

(for Jo'ab and all Israel remained there six months, until he had cut off every male in Edom);

17

but Hadad fled to Egypt, together with certain E'domites of his father's servants, Hadad being yet a little child.

18

They set out from Mid'ian and came to Paran, and took men with them from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house, and assigned him an allowance of food, and gave him land.

19

And Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him in marriage the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tah'penes the queen.

20

And the sister of Tah'penes bore him Genu'bath his son, whom Tah'penes weaned in Pharaoh's house; and Genu'bath 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 Jo'ab 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 you are now seeking to go to your own country?" And he said to him, "Only let me go."

23

God also raised up as an adversary to him, Rezon the son of Eli'ada, who had fled from his master Hadade'zer king of Zobah.

24

And he gathered men about him and became leader of a marauding band, after the slaughter by David; and they went to Damascus, and dwelt there, and made him king in Damascus.

25

He was an adversary of Israel all the days of Solomon, doing mischief as Hadad did; and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria.

26

Jerobo'am the son of Nebat, an E'phraimite of Zer'edah, a servant of Solomon, whose mother's name was Zeru'ah, a widow, also lifted up his hand against the king.

27

And this was the reason why he lifted up his hand against the king. Solomon built the Millo, and closed up the breach of the city of David his father.

28

The man Jerobo'am was very able, and when Solomon saw that the young man was industrious he gave him charge over all the forced labor of the house of Joseph.

29

And at that time, when Jerobo'am went out of Jerusalem, the prophet Ahi'jah the Shi'lonite found him on the road. Now Ahi'jah had clad himself with a new garment; and the two of them were alone in the open country.

30

Then Ahi'jah laid hold of the new garment that was on him, and tore it into twelve pieces.

31

And he said to Jerobo'am, "Take for yourself ten pieces; for thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Behold, I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon, and will give you ten tribes

32

(but he shall have one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel),

33

because he has forsaken me, and worshiped Ash'toreth the goddess of the Sido'nians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites, and has not walked in my ways, doing what is right in my sight and keeping my statutes and my ordinances, as David his father 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 David my servant whom I chose, who kept my commandments and my statutes;

35

but I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give it to you, ten tribes.

36

Yet to his son I will give one tribe, that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen to put my name.

37

And I will take you, and you shall reign over all that your soul desires, and you shall be king over Israel.

38

And if you will hearken to all that I command you, and will walk in my ways, and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, I will be with you, and will build you a sure house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you.

39

And I will for this afflict the descendants of David, but not for ever.'"

40

Solomon sought therefore to kill Jerobo'am; but Jerobo'am arose, and fled into Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

41

Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not 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 Rehobo'am his son reigned in his stead.

1 Kings 12

1

Rehobo'am went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.

2

And when Jerobo'am the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was still in Egypt, whither he had fled from King Solomon), then Jerobo'am returned from Egypt.

3

And they sent and called him; and Jerobo'am and all the assembly of Israel came and said to Rehobo'am,

4

"Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke upon us, and we will serve you."

5

He said to them, "Depart for three days, then come again to me." So the people went away.

6

Then King Rehobo'am took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, "How do you advise me to answer this people?"

7

And they said to him, "If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants for ever."

8

But he forsook the counsel which the old men gave him, and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him.

9

And he said to them, "What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, 'Lighten the yoke that your father put upon us'?"

10

And the young men who had grown up with him said to him, "Thus shall you speak to this people who said to you, 'Your father made our yoke heavy, but do you lighten it for us'; thus shall you say to them, 'My little finger is thicker than my father's loins.

11

And now, whereas my father laid upon you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.'"

12

So Jerobo'am and all the people came to Rehobo'am the third day, as the king said, "Come to me again the third day."

13

And the king answered the people harshly, and forsaking the counsel which the old men had given him,

14

he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, "My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions."

15

So the king did not hearken to the people; for it was a turn of affairs brought about by the LORD that he might fulfil his word, which the LORD spoke by Ahi'jah the Shi'lonite to Jerobo'am the son of Nebat.

16

And when all Israel saw that the king did not hearken to them, the people answered the king, "What portion have we in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David." So Israel departed to their tents.

17

But Rehobo'am reigned over the people of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah.

18

Then King Rehobo'am sent Ador'am, who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Rehobo'am made haste to mount his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.

19

So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

20

And when all Israel heard that Jerobo'am had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. There was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.

21

When Rehobo'am came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, and the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand chosen warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehobo'am the son of Solomon.

22

But the word of God came to Shemai'ah the man of God:

23

"Say to Rehobo'am the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people,

24

'Thus says the LORD, You shall not go up or fight against your kinsmen the people of Israel. Return every man to his home, for this thing is from me.'" So they hearkened to the word of the LORD, and went home again, according to the word of the LORD.

25

Then Jerobo'am built Shechem in the hill country of E'phraim, and dwelt there; and he went out from there and built Penu'el.

26

And Jerobo'am said in his heart, "Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David;

27

if this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehobo'am king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehobo'am king of Judah."

28

So the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, "You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt."

29

And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.

30

And this thing became a sin, for the people went to the one at Bethel and to the other as far as Dan.

31

He also made houses on high places, and appointed priests from among all the people, who were not of the Levites.

32

And Jerobo'am appointed a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices upon the altar; so he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made. And he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places that he had made.

33

He went up to the altar which he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and he ordained a feast for the people of Israel, and went up to the altar to burn incense.

1 Kings 13

1

And behold, a man of God came out of Judah by the word of the LORD to Bethel. Jerobo'am was standing by the altar to burn incense.

2

And the man cried against the altar by the word of the LORD, and said, "O altar, altar, thus says the LORD: 'Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josi'ah by name; and he shall sacrifice upon you the priests of the high places who burn incense upon you, and men's bones shall be burned upon you.'"

3

And he gave a sign the same day, saying, "This is the sign that the LORD has spoken: 'Behold, the altar shall be torn down, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.'"

4

And when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar at Bethel, Jerobo'am stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, "Lay hold of him." And his hand, which he stretched out against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself.

5

The altar also was torn down, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.

6

And the king said to the man of God, "Entreat now the favor of the LORD your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me." And the man of God entreated the LORD; and the king's hand was restored to him, and became as it was before.

7

And the king said to the man of God, "Come home with me, and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward."

8

And the man of God said to the king, "If you give me half your house, I will not go in with you. And I will not eat bread or drink water in this place;

9

for so was it commanded me by the word of the LORD, saying, 'You shall neither eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the way that you came.'"

10

So he went another way, and did not return by the way that he came to Bethel.

11

Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel. And his sons came and told him all that the man of God had done that day in Bethel; the words also which he had spoken to the king, they told to their father.

12

And their father said to them, "Which way did he go?" And his sons showed him the way which the man of God who came from Judah had gone.

13

And he said to his sons, "Saddle the ass for me." So they saddled the ass for him and he mounted it.

14

And he went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak; and he said to him, "Are you the man of God who came from Judah?" And he said, "I am."

15

Then he said to him, "Come home with me and eat bread."

16

And he said, "I may not return with you, or go in with you; neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place;

17

for it was said to me by the word of the LORD, 'You shall neither eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by the way that you came.'"

18

And he said to him, "I also am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, saying, 'Bring him back with you into your house that he may eat bread and drink water.'" But he lied to him.

19

So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water.

20

And as they sat at the table, the word of the LORD came to the prophet who had brought him back;

21

and he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, "Thus says the LORD, 'Because you have disobeyed the word of the LORD, and have not kept the commandment which the LORD your God commanded you,

22

but have come back, and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to you, "Eat no bread, and drink no water"; your body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.'"

23

And after he had eaten bread and drunk, he saddled the ass for the prophet whom he had brought back.

24

And as he went away a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his body was thrown in the road, and the ass stood beside it; the lion also stood beside the body.

25

And behold, men passed by, and saw the body thrown in the road, and the lion standing by the body. And they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.

26

And when the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard of it, he said, "It is the man of God, who disobeyed the word of the LORD; therefore the LORD has given him to the lion, which has torn him and slain him, according to the word which the LORD spoke to him."

27

And he said to his sons, "Saddle the ass for me." And they saddled it.

28

And he went and found his body thrown in the road, and the ass and the lion standing beside the body. The lion had not eaten the body or torn the ass.

29

And the prophet took up the body of the man of God and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back to the city, to mourn and to bury him.

30

And he laid the body in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, "Alas, my brother!"

31

And after he had buried him, he said to his sons, "When I die, bury me in the grave in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones.

32

For the saying which he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Sama'ria, shall surely come to pass."

33

After this thing Jerobo'am did not turn from his evil way, but made priests for the high places again from among all the people; any who would, he consecrated to be priests of the high places.

34

And this thing became sin to the house of Jerobo'am, so as to cut it off and to destroy it from the face of the earth.

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