Solomon’s Foreign Wives 1 Brenton And king Solomon was a lover of women. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines. And he took strange women, as well as the daughter of Pharao, Moabitish, Ammanitish women, Syrians and Idumeans, Chettites, and Amorites; BSB BSB: King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh—women of Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Sidon, as well as Hittite women.
2 Brenton of the nations concerning whom the Lord forbade the children of Israel, saying , Ye shall not go in to them, and they shall not come in to you, lest they turn away your hearts after their idols: Solomon clave to these in love. BSB BSB: These women were from the nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, for surely they will turn your hearts after their gods.” Yet Solomon clung to these women in love.
4 Brenton And it came to pass in the time of the old age of Solomon, that his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. And the strange women turned away his heart after their gods. BSB BSB: For when Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD his God, as his father David had been.
5 Brenton Then Solomon built a high place to Chamos the idol of Moab, and to their king the idol of the children of Ammon, BSB BSB: Solomon followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
6 Brenton and to Astarte the abomination of the Sidonians. BSB BSB: So Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD; unlike his father David, he did not follow the LORD completely.
7 Brenton And thus he acted towards all his strange wives, who burnt incense and sacrificed to their idols. BSB BSB: At that time on a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites.
8 Brenton And Solomon did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord: he went not after the Lord, as David his father. BSB BSB: He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
God’s Anger against Solomon 9 Brenton And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because he turned away his heart from the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared twice to him, BSB BSB: Now the LORD grew angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.
10 Brenton and charged him concerning this matter, by no means to go after other gods, but to take heed to do what the Lord God commanded him; neither was his heart perfect with the Lord, according to the heart of David his father. BSB BSB: Although He had warned Solomon explicitly not to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the LORD’s command.
11 Brenton And the Lord said to Solomon, Because it has been thus with thee, and thou hast not kept my commandments and my ordinances which I commanded thee, I will surely rend thy kingdom out of thy hand, and give it to thy servant. BSB BSB: Then the LORD said to Solomon, “Because you have done this and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant.
12 Brenton Only in thy days I will not do it for David thy father's sake: but I will take it out of the hand of thy son. BSB BSB: Nevertheless, for the sake of your father David, I will not do it during your lifetime; I will tear it out of the hand of your son.
13 Brenton Only I will not take away the whole kingdom: I will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant's sake, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen. BSB BSB: Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom away from him. 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.”
Hadad’s Return 14 Brenton And the Lord raised up an enemy to Solomon, Ader the Idumæan, and Esrom son of Eliadaë who dwelt in Raama, and Adadezer king of Suba his master; (and men gathered to him, and he was head of the conspiracy, and he seized on Damasec,) and they were adversaries to Israel all the days of Solomon: and Ader the Idumæan was of the seed royal in Idumæa. BSB BSB: Then the LORD raised up against Solomon an adversary, Hadad the Edomite, from the royal line of Edom.
15 Brenton And it happened, that while David was utterly destroying Edom, while Joab captain of the host was going to bury the dead, when they slew every male in Idumæa; BSB BSB: Earlier, when David was in Edom, Joab the commander of the army had gone to bury the dead and had struck down every male in Edom.
16 Brenton (for Joab and all Israel abode there six months in Idumæa, until he utterly destroyed every male in Idumæa;) BSB BSB: Joab and all Israel had stayed there six months, until he had killed every male in Edom.
17 Brenton that Ader ran away, he and all the Idumæans of the servants of his father with him; and they went into Egypt; and Ader was then a little child. BSB BSB: But Hadad, still just a young boy, had fled to Egypt, along with some Edomites who were servants of his father.
18 Brenton And there rise up men out of the city of Madiam, and they come to Pharan, and take men with them, and come to Pharao king of Egypt: and Ader went in to Pharao, and he gave him a house, and appointed him provision. BSB BSB: Hadad and his men set out from Midian and went to Paran. They took men from Paran with them and went to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave Hadad a house and land and provided him with food.
19 Brenton And Ader found great favour in the sight of Pharao, and he gave him his wife's sister in marriage, the elder sister of Thekemina. BSB BSB: There Hadad found such great favor in the sight of Pharaoh that he gave to him in marriage the sister of Queen Tahpenes, his own wife.
20 Brenton And the sister of Thekemina bore to him, even to Ader, Ganebath her son; and Thekemina brought him up in the midst of the sons of Pharao, and Ganebath was in the midst of the sons of Pharao. BSB BSB: And the sister of Tahpenes bore Hadad a son named Genubath. Tahpenes herself weaned him in Pharaoh’s palace, and Genubath lived there among the sons of Pharaoh.
21 Brenton And Ader heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers, and that Joab the captain of the host was dead; and Ader said to Pharao, Let me go, and I will return to my country. BSB BSB: When Hadad heard in Egypt that David had rested with his fathers and that Joab, the commander of the army, was dead, he said to Pharaoh, “Let me go, that I may return to my own country.”
22 Brenton And Pharao said to Ader, What lackest thou with me? that lo! thou seekest to depart to thy country? and Ader said to him, By all means let me go. So Ader returned to his country; BSB BSB: But Pharaoh asked him, “What have you lacked here with me that you suddenly want to go back to your own country?” “Nothing,” Hadad replied, “but please let me go.”
Rezon’s Hostility 25 Brenton this is the mischief which Ader did, and he was a bitter enemy of Israel, and he reigned in the land of Edom. BSB BSB: Rezon was Israel’s enemy throughout the days of Solomon, adding to the trouble caused by Hadad. So Rezon ruled over Aram with hostility toward Israel.
Jeroboam’s Rebellion 26 Brenton And Jeroboam the son of Nabat, the Ephrathite of Sarira, the son of a widow, was servant of Solomon. BSB BSB: Now Jeroboam son of Nebat was an Ephraimite from Zeredah whose mother was a widow named Zeruah. Jeroboam was a servant of Solomon, but he rebelled against the king,
27 Brenton And this was the occasion of his lifting up his hands against king Solomon: now king Solomon built the citadel, he completed the fortification of the city of David his father. BSB BSB: and this is the account of his rebellion against the king. Solomon had built the supporting terraces and repaired the gap in the wall of the city of his father David.
28 Brenton And the man Jeroboam was very strong; and Solomon saw the young man that he was active, and he set him over the levies of the house of Joseph. BSB BSB: Now Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor. So when Solomon noticed that the young man was industrious, he put him in charge of the whole labor force of the house of Joseph.
29 Brenton And it came to pass at that time, that Jeroboam went forth from Jerusalem, and Achia the Selonite the prophet found him in the way, and caused him to turn aside out of the way: and Achia was clad with a new garment, and they two were alone in the field. BSB BSB: During that time, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met Jeroboam on the road as he was going out of Jerusalem. Now Ahijah had wrapped himself in a new cloak, and the two of them were alone in the open field.
30 Brenton And Achia laid hold of his new garment that was upon him, and tore it into twelve pieces: BSB BSB: And Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing, tore it into twelve pieces,
31 Brenton and he said to Jeroboam, Take to thyself ten pieces, for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Behold, I rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give thee ten tribes. BSB BSB: and said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and I will give you ten tribes.
32 Brenton Yet he shall have two tribes, for my servant David's sake, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. BSB BSB: But one tribe will remain for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.
33 Brenton Because he forsook me, and sacrificed to Astarte the abomination of the Sidonians, and to Chamos, and to the idols of Moab, and to their king the abomination of the children of Ammon, and he walked not in my ways, to do that which was right before me, as David his father did . BSB BSB: For they have forsaken Me to worship Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites. They have not walked in My ways, nor done what is right in My eyes, nor kept My statutes and judgments, as Solomon’s father David did.
34 Brenton Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, (for I will certainly resist him all the days of his life,) for David my servant's sake, whom I have chosen. BSB BSB: Nevertheless, I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon’s hand, because I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David My servant, whom I chose because he kept My commandments and statutes.
35 Brenton But I will take the kingdom out of the hand of his son, and give thee ten tribes. BSB BSB: But I will take ten tribes of the kingdom from the hand of his son and give them to you.
36 Brenton But to his son I will give the two remaining tribes, that my servant David may have an establishment continually before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for myself to put my name there. BSB BSB: I will give one tribe to his son, so that My servant David will always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put My Name.
37 Brenton And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign as thy soul desires, and thou shalt be king over Israel. BSB BSB: But as for you, I will take you, and you shall reign over all that your heart desires, and you will be king over Israel.
38 Brenton And it shall come to pass, if thou wilt keep all the commandments that I shall give thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that which is right before me, to keep my ordinances and my commandments, as David my servant did, that I will be with thee, and will build thee a sure house, as I built to David. BSB BSB: If you listen to all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight in order to keep My statutes and commandments as My servant David did, then I will be with you. I will build you a lasting dynasty just as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you.
40 Brenton And Solomon sought to slay Jeroboam: but he arose and fled into Egypt, to Susakim king of Egypt, and he was in Egypt until Solomon died. BSB BSB: Solomon therefore sought to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, where he remained until the death of Solomon.
The Death of Solomon (2 Chronicles 9:29–31)
41 Brenton And the rest of the history of Solomon, and all that he did, and all his wisdom, behold are not these things written in the book of the life of Solomon? BSB BSB: As for the rest of the acts of Solomon—all that he did, as well as his wisdom—are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon?
42 Brenton And the days during which Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel were forty years. BSB BSB: Thus the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.
43 Brenton And Solomon slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David his father. And it came to pass when Jeroboam son of Nabat heard of it , even while he was yet in Egypt as he fled from the face of Solomon and dwelt in Egypt, he straightway comes into his own city, into the land of Sarira in the mount of Ephraim. And king Solomon slept with his fathers, and Roboam his son reigned in his stead. BSB BSB: And Solomon rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David. And his son Rehoboam reigned in his place.
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