14Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hun- dred threescore and six talents of gold, 15beside that which came of the merchants, and of the traffic of the traders, and of all the kings of the mingled people and of the governors of FIRST KINGS the country. 16And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of gold went to one target. 17And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold: three pounds of gold went to one shield; and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.
18Moreoyer the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the finest gold. 19There were six steps to the throne, and the top of the throne was round behind; and there were arms on either side by the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the arms. 20And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps; there was not the like made in any kingdom.
^And 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 nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon. /^For the king had at sea a navy of Tarshish with the navy of Hiram; once every three years came the navy of Tarshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.
^So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. ^And all the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. 25And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and raiment, and armour, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.
26And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen; and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, ^that he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem. 27And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycomore-trees that are in the Lowland, for abundance. 28And the horses which Solomon had were brought out of Egypt; also out _ of Keveh, the king's merchants buying them of the men of Keveh at a price. 29And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty; and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Aram, did they bring them out by their means. 1 "j Kow king Solomon loved many foreign women, besides the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zi- donians, and Hittites; 2of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel: 'Ye shall not go among them, neither shall they come among you; for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods'; Solomon did cleave unto these in love. 3And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. 4For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods; and his heart was not whole with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. 6For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the detestation of the Ammonites. 6And Solomon did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father. 7Then did Solomon build a high place for Chemosh the detesta- tion of Moab, in the mount that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech the detestation of the children of Ammon. 8And so did he for all his foreign wives, who offered and sacri- ficed unto their gods.
FIRST KINGS 9And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared unto hhn twice, i°and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he kept not that which the LORD com- manded. "Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon: 'Forasmuch as this hath been in thy mind, and thou hast not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant. ^Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it, for David thy father's sake; but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. 13Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but I will give one tribe to thy son, for David My servant's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen.'
14And the LORD raised up an ad- versary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was of the king's seed in Edom. 15For it came to pass, when David was in Edom, and Joab the captain of the host was^gone up to bury the slain, and had smitten every male in Edom — 16for Joab and all Israel remained there six months, until he had cut off every male in Edom — 17that aHadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father's servants with him, to go into Egypt; Hadad being yet a little child. 18And they arose out of Midian, and came to Paran; and they took men with them out of Paran, and they came to Egypt, unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house, and appointed him victuals, and gave him land. 19And Hadad found great favour in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave Him to wife the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen.
20And the sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh's house; and Genubath was in Pharaoh's house among the sons of Pharaoh. 21And when Hadad ^ heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers, and that Joab the captain of the host was dead, Hadad ^said to Pharaoh: 'Let me depart, 'that I may go to mine own country.' ^Then Pharaoh said unto him: 'But what hast thou lacked with me, that, behold, thou seekest to go to thine own country?' And he answered: 'Nothing; howbeit let me depart in any wise.'
23 And God raised up another ad- versary unto him, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah. 24And he gathered men unto him, and be- came captain over a troop, when David slew them [of Zobah]; and they went to Damascus, and dwelt therein, and reigned in Damascus. 25And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, beside the mischief that Hadad did; and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Aram.
26And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite of Zeredah, a servant of Solomon, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow, he also lifted up his hand against the king. ^ 27And this was the cause that he lifted up his hand against the king: Solomon built Millo, and repaired the breach of the city of David his father. 28And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour; and Solomon saw the young man that he was industrious, and he gave him charge over all the labour of the house of Joseph. 29And it came to pass at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite foumj him in the way; now Ahijah * Heb. Adad.
FIRST KINGS had clad.himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field. 30And Ahijah laid hold of the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces. 31And he said to Jeroboam: 'Take thee ten pieces; for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel: Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee—- 32but he shall have one tribe, for My servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel — ^because that they have forsaken Me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zi- donians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon; and they have not walked in My ways, to do that which is right in Mine eyes, 'and to keep My statutes and Mine ordinances, as did David his father. ^Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand; but I will make him prince all the days of his life, for David My servant's sake, whom I chose, because he kept My commandments and My statutes; 35but I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes. 3?And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David My servant may have a lamp alway before Me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen Me to put My name there. 37And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign over all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel. 38And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in My ways, and do that which is right in Mine eyes, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as David My servant did, that I will be with thee, and will build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee. 39And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not for ever/ 40Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam; but Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, unto Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.
^Now the rest of the acts of Sol- omon, and all that he did, and his wis- dom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon? ^And the time that Solomon reigned in Jeru- salem over all Israel was forty years. ^And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father; and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead. 1 O And Rehoboam went to She- chem; for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king. 2And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it— for he was yet in Egypt, whither he had fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt, 3and they sent and called him — that Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spoke unto Reho- boam, saying: 4'Thy father made our yoke grievous; now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, ^and we will serve thee.' 5And he said unto them: 'Depart yet for three days, then come again to me.' And the people de- parted.
6And Mng Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, that had stood be- fore Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying: 'What counsel give ye me to return answer to this people?' 7And they spoke unto him, saying: 'If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good FIRST KINGS words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever.' 8But he forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him, and took counsel with the young men that were grownup with him, that stood before him. 9And he said unto them: 'What coun- sel give ye, that we may return answer to this people, who have spoken to me, saying: Make the yoke that thy father did put upon us fighter?' 10And the young men that were grown up with him spoke unto him, saying: 'Thus shalt thou say unto this people that spoke unto thee, saying: Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou speak unto them: My little finger is thicker than my father's loins. uAnd now whereas my father did burden you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.'
12So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king bade, saying: 'Come to me again the third day.' 13And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him; 14and spoke to them after 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.' 15So the king hearkened not unto the people; for it was a thing brought about of the LORD, that He might establish His word, which the LORD spoke by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
16And when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying 'What portion have we in David?
neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse; to your tents, 0 Israel; now see to thine own house, David.' So Is- rael departed unto their tents. 17But as for the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. 18Then king Re- hoboam sent Adoram, who was over the levy; and all Israel stoned him with stones, so that he died. And king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jeru- salem. 19So Israel rebelled against the house of David, unto this day. ^And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was returned, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel; there was none that fol- lowed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.
aAnd when Rehobeam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, and the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men that were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom back to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. 22But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying: ffl' Speak unto Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, saying: ^Thus saith the LORD: Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel; return every man to his house; for this thing is of Me.' So they hearkened unto the word of the LORD, and returned and went their way, according to the word of the LORD.
25Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill-country of Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and he went out from thence, and built Penuel. 25And Jeroboam FIRST KINGS said in his heart: 'Now will the king- dom return to the house of David. 27If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then will the heart of this people turn back unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me, and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.' 28Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of goldj and he said unto them: 'Ye have gone up long enough to Jerusalem; behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.' 29And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other put he in Dan. 30And this thing became a sin; for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. 31And he made houses of high places, and made priests from among all the people, that were not of the sons of Levi. ^And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, ^and he went up unto the altar; so did he in Beth-el, to sacrifice unto the calves that he had made; and he placed in Beth-el the priests of the high places that he had made. ^And he went up unto the altar which he had made in Beth-el on the fifteenth, day in the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and he ordained a feast for the chil- dren of Israel, and went up unto the altar, to offer.
I O And, behold, there came a man x ° of God out of Judah by the word of the LOBI> unto Beth-el; and Jero- boam was standing by the altar to offer. 2And he cried against the altar by the word of the LORD, and said: '0 altar, altar, thus saith the LORD: Behold, a son shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah. by I name; and upon thee shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places that offer upon thee, and men's bones shall they burn upon thee.' 3And he gave a sign the same day, saying: 'This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken: Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.' ^ 4And it came to pass, when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Beth-el, that Jeroboam put forth his hand from the altar, saying: 'Lay hold on him.' And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back to him. 5The altar also was rent, 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. 6And the king answered and said unto the man of God: 'Entreat now the favour of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be re- stored me.' And the man of God entreated the LORD, and the king's hand was restored him, and became as it was before. 7And the king said unto the man of God: 'Come Lome with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.' 8And the man of God said unto the king: 'If thou wilt give me half thy house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place. 9For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying: Thou shalt eat no bread, nor drink water, neither return by the way that thou earnest.' 10So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Beth-el.
uNow there dwelt an old prophet in Beth-el; and one of his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in FIEST KINGS FIEST KINGS Beth-el, and the words which he had spoken unto the king, and they told them unto their father. 12And their father said unto them: 'What way went he?7 For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, that came from Judah. 13And he said unto his sons: ' Saddle me the ass.' So they saddled him the ass; and he rode thereon. MAnd he went after the man of God, and found him sitting under a terebinth; and he said unto him: 'Art thou the man of God that earnest from Judah?' And he said: 'I am.; 15Then he said unto him* 'Come home with me, and eat bread/ 16And he said: 'I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee; neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place. 17For it was said to me by the word of the LORD: Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn back to go by the way that thou earnest.' 18And he said unto him: 'I also am a prophet as thou art; and an angel spoke unto me by the word of the LORD, saying: Bring him back with thee into thy house, that he may eat bread and drink water.' — He lied unto him. — 19So he went back with him, and did eat bre,ad in his house, and drank water.
20And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD ' came unto the prophet that brought him back. 21And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah) saying: 'Thus saith the LORD: Forasmuch as thou hast rebelled against the word of the LORD, and hast not kept the com- mandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee, ^but earnest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which He said to thee: Eat no t^ead, and drink no water; thy carcass shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.' ^And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, namely, for the prophet whom he had brought back. ^And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him; and his carcass was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it; the lion also stood by the carcass. 25And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcass cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcass; and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.
26And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said: 'It is the man of God, who rebelled against the word of the LORD; therefore the LORD hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, accord- ing to the word of the LORD, which He spoke unto him.' 27And he spoke to his sons, saying: 'Saddle me the ass.' And they saddled it. 28And he went and found his carcass cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcass; the lion had not eaten the carcass, nor torn the ass. 29And the prophet took up the carcass of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back; and he came to the city of the old prophet, to lament, and to bury him. s°And he laid his carcass in his own grave; and they made lamentation for him: 'Alas, my brother!' 3lAnd it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spoke to his sons, saying: ' When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones. 32For the saying which^ he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in Beth-el, and against all FIRST KINGS the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samana, shall surely come to pass.7 33 After this thing Jeroboam re- turned not from his evil way, but made again from among all the people priests of the high places; who- soever would, he consecrated him, that he might be one of the priests of the high places. 34And by this thing there was sin unto the house of Jero- boam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth. -j A At that time Abijah the son of •L's- Jeroboam fell sick. 2And Jero- boam said to his wife: 'Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jero- boam; and get thee to Shiloh; behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, who spoke concerning me that I should be king over this people. 3And take with thee ten loaves, and biscuits, and a cruse of honey, and go to him; he will tell thee what shall become of the child/ 4And Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age. 6Now the LORD had said unto Ahijah: 'Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to inquire of thee concerning her son; for he is sick; thus and thus shalt thou say unto her; for it will be, when she cometh in, that she will feign herself to be another woman/ 6And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said: 'Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings. 7Go, tell Jeroboam: Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel: Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over My people Israel, 8and rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee; and yet thou hast not been as My servant David, who kept My commandments, and who followed Me with all his heart, to^do that only which was right in Mine eyes; 9but hast done evil above all that were before thee, and hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke Me, and hast cast Me behind thy back; 10therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam every man-child, and him that is shut up and him that is left at large in Israel, and will utterly sweep away the house of Jeroboam, as a man sweepeth away dung, till it be all gone. "Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat; for the LORD hath spoken it. ^Arise thou therefore, get thee to thy house; "and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die. ^ 13And all Israel shall make lamentation for him, and bury him; for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave; because in him there is found some good* thing toward the LORD, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam. "Moreover the LORP will raise Him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day. But what is it even then? 15for the LORD will smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water* and He will root up Israel out of this good land, which He gave to their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the River ^because they have made their Asherim, provoking the LORD. 16And He will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he hath sinned, and wherewith he hath made Israel to sin/ FIRST KINGS 17And Jeroboam's wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah; and as she came to the threshold of the house, the child died. 18And all Israel buried him, and made lamentation for him; according to the word of the LORD, which He spoke by the hand of His servant Ahijah the prophet.
19And the rest of the acts of Jero- boam, how he warred, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. 20And the days which Jero- boam reigned were two and twenty years; and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his stead.
^And Rehpboam the son of Sol- omon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put His name there; and his 'mother's name was Naamah the Ammonitess. ^And Judah did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD; and they moved Hun to jeal- ousy with their sins which they com- mitted, above all that their fathers had done. ^For they also built them high places, and pillars, and Asherim, on every high hill, and under every leafy tree; ^and there were also sodom- ites in the land; they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD drove out before the children of Israel.
26And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jeru- salem; 26and he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house; he even took away all; and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made. 27And king Rehoboam