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1 Kings 11:1-12:19

The Lord Punishes Solomon for Idolatry

11 King Solomon fell in love with many foreign women (besides Pharaoh’s daughter), including Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites. They came from nations about which the Lord had warned the Israelites, “You must not establish friendly relations with them![a] If you do, they will surely shift your allegiance to their gods.”[b] But Solomon was irresistibly attracted to them.[c]

He had 700 royal wives[d] and 300 concubines;[e] his wives had a powerful influence over him.[f] When Solomon became old, his wives shifted his allegiance to[g] other gods; he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord his God, as his father David had been.[h] Solomon worshiped[i] the Sidonian goddess Astarte and the detestable Ammonite god Milcom.[j] Solomon did evil in the Lord’s sight;[k] he did not remain loyal to[l] the Lord, as his father David had. Furthermore,[m] on the hill east of Jerusalem[n] Solomon built a high place[o] for the detestable Moabite god Chemosh[p] and for the detestable Ammonite god Milcom.[q] He built high places for all his foreign wives so they could burn incense and make sacrifices to their gods.[r]

The Lord was angry with Solomon because he had shifted his allegiance[s] away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him on two occasions[t] 10 and had warned him about this very thing, so that he would not follow other gods.[u] But he did not obey[v] the Lord’s command. 11 So the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you insist on doing these things and have not kept the covenantal rules I gave you,[w] I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. 12 However, for your father David’s sake I will not do this while you are alive. I will tear it away from your son’s hand instead. 13 But I will not tear away the entire kingdom; I will leave[x] your son one tribe for my servant David’s sake and for the sake of my chosen city Jerusalem.”

14 The Lord brought[y] against Solomon an enemy, Hadad the Edomite, a descendant of the Edomite king. 15 During David’s campaign against Edom,[z] Joab, the commander of the army, while on a mission to bury the dead, killed every male in Edom. 16 For Joab and the entire Israelite army[aa] stayed there six months until they had exterminated every male in Edom.[ab] 17 Hadad,[ac] who was only a small boy at the time, escaped with some of his father’s Edomite servants and headed for Egypt.[ad] 18 They went from Midian to Paran; they took some men from Paran and went to Egypt. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, gave him a house and some land and supplied him with food.[ae] 19 Pharaoh liked Hadad so well[af] he gave him his sister-in-law (Queen Tahpenes’ sister) as a wife.[ag] 20 Tahpenes’ sister gave birth to his son,[ah] named Genubath. Tahpenes raised[ai] him in Pharaoh’s palace; Genubath grew up in Pharaoh’s palace among Pharaoh’s sons. 21 While in Egypt Hadad heard that David had passed away[aj] and that Joab, the commander of the army, was dead. So Hadad asked Pharaoh, “Give me permission to leave[ak] so I can return to my homeland.” 22 Pharaoh said to him, “What do you lack here that makes you want to go to your homeland?”[al] Hadad replied,[am] “Nothing, but please give me permission to leave.”[an]

23 God also brought against Solomon[ao] another enemy, Rezon son of Eliada who had run away from his master, King Hadadezer of Zobah. 24 He gathered some men and organized a raiding band.[ap] When David tried to kill them,[aq] they went to Damascus, where they settled down and gained control of the city. 25 He was Israel’s enemy throughout Solomon’s reign and, like Hadad, caused trouble. He loathed[ar] Israel and ruled over Syria.

26 Jeroboam son of Nebat, one of Solomon’s servants, rebelled against[as] the king. He was an Ephraimite[at] from Zeredah whose mother was a widow named Zeruah. 27 This is what prompted him to rebel against the king:[au] Solomon built a terrace, and he closed up a gap in the wall of the city of his father David.[av] 28 Jeroboam was a talented man;[aw] when Solomon saw that the young man was an accomplished worker, he made him the leader of the work crew from the tribe[ax] of Joseph. 29 At that time, when Jeroboam had left Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the road; the two of them were alone in the open country. Ahijah[ay] was wearing a brand new robe, 30 and he grabbed the robe[az] and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 Then he told Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces, for this is what the Lord God of Israel has said: ‘Look, I am about to tear the kingdom from Solomon’s hand and I will give ten tribes to you. 32 He will retain one tribe, for my servant David’s sake and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. 33 I am taking the kingdom from him[ba] because they have[bb] abandoned me and worshiped the Sidonian goddess Astarte, the Moabite god Chemosh, and the Ammonite god Milcom. They have not followed my instructions[bc] by doing what I approve and obeying my rules and regulations, as Solomon’s father David did.[bd] 34 I will not take the whole kingdom from his hand. I will allow him to be ruler for the rest of his life for the sake of my chosen servant David who kept my commandments and rules. 35 I will take the kingdom from the hand of his son and give ten tribes to you.[be] 36 I will leave[bf] his son one tribe so my servant David’s dynasty may continue to serve me[bg] in Jerusalem, the city I have chosen as my home.[bh] 37 I will select[bi] you; you will rule over all you desire to have and you will be king over Israel. 38 You must obey[bj] all I command you to do, follow my instructions,[bk] do what I approve,[bl] and keep my rules and commandments, as my servant David did. Then I will be with you and establish for you a lasting dynasty, as I did for David;[bm] I will give you Israel. 39 I will humiliate David’s descendants because of this,[bn] but not forever.’”[bo] 40 Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam escaped to Egypt and found refuge with King Shishak of Egypt.[bp] He stayed in Egypt until Solomon died.

Solomon’s Reign Ends

41 The rest of the events of Solomon’s reign, including all his accomplishments and his wise decisions, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of Solomon.[bq] 42 Solomon ruled over all Israel from Jerusalem for forty years. 43 Then Solomon passed away[br] and was buried in the city of his father David.[bs] His son Rehoboam replaced him as king.[bt]

Rehoboam Loses His Kingdom

12 Rehoboam traveled to Shechem, for all Israel had gathered in[bu] Shechem to make Rehoboam[bv] king. [bw] When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard the news, he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon and had been living ever since.[bx] They sent for him,[by] and Jeroboam and the whole Israelite assembly came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, “Your father made us work too hard.[bz] Now if you lighten the demands he made and don’t make us work as hard, we will serve you.”[ca] He said to them, “Go away for three days, then return to me.” So the people went away.

King Rehoboam consulted with the older advisers who had served[cb] his father Solomon when he had been alive. He asked them,[cc] “How do you advise me to answer these people?” They said to him, “Today if you will be a servant to these people and grant their request,[cd] speaking kind words to them,[ce] they will be your servants from this time forward.”[cf] But Rehoboam rejected their advice and consulted the young advisers who served him, with whom he had grown up.[cg] He asked them, “How do you advise me[ch] to respond to these people who said to me, ‘Lessen the demands your father placed on us’?”[ci] 10 The young advisers with whom Rehoboam[cj] had grown up said to him, “Say this to these people who have said to you, ‘Your father made us work hard, but now lighten our burden.’[ck] Say this to them: ‘I am a lot harsher than my father![cl] 11 My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier.[cm] My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh.’”[cn]

12 Jeroboam and all the people reported[co] to Rehoboam on the third day, just as the king had ordered when he said, “Return to me on the third day.” 13 The king responded to the people harshly. He rejected the advice of the older men 14 and followed[cp] the advice of the younger ones. He said, “My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier.[cq] My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh.”[cr] 15 The king refused to listen to the people, because the Lord was instigating this turn of events[cs] so that he might bring to pass the prophetic announcement he had made[ct] through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.

16 When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, the people answered the king, “We have no portion in David, no share in the son of Jesse![cu] Return to your homes, O Israel![cv] Now, look after your own dynasty, O David!”[cw] So Israel returned to their homes.[cx] 17 (Rehoboam continued to rule over the Israelites who lived in the cities of Judah.) 18 King Rehoboam sent Adoniram,[cy] the supervisor of the work crews,[cz] out after them, but all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam managed to jump into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the Davidic dynasty to this very day.

Acts 9:1-25

The Conversion of Saul

Meanwhile Saul, still breathing out threats[a] to murder[b] the Lord’s disciples, went to the high priest and requested letters from him to the synagogues[c] in Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way,[d] either men or women, he could bring them as prisoners[e] to Jerusalem.[f] As he was going along, approaching[g] Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed[h] around him. He[i] fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul,[j] why are you persecuting me?”[k] So he said, “Who are you, Lord?” He replied, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting! But stand up[l] and enter the city and you will be told[m] what you must do.” (Now the men[n] who were traveling with him stood there speechless,[o] because they heard the voice but saw no one.)[p] So Saul got up from the ground, but although his eyes were open,[q] he could see nothing.[r] Leading him by the hand, his companions[s] brought him into Damascus. For[t] three days he could not see, and he neither ate nor drank anything.[u]

10 Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The[v] Lord[w] said to him in a vision, “Ananias,” and he replied, “Here I am,[x] Lord.” 11 Then the Lord told him, “Get up and go to the street called ‘Straight,’[y] and at Judas’ house look for a man from Tarsus named Saul. For he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision[z] a man named Ananias come in and place his hands on him so that he may see again.” 13 But Ananias replied,[aa] “Lord, I have heard from many people[ab] about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem, 14 and here he has authority from the chief priests to imprison[ac] all who call on your name!”[ad] 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, because this man is my chosen instrument[ae] to carry my name before Gentiles and kings and the people of Israel.[af] 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”[ag] 17 So Ananias departed and entered the house, placed[ah] his hands on Saul[ai] and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came here,[aj] has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”[ak] 18 Immediately[al] something like scales[am] fell from his eyes, and he could see again. He[an] got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, his strength returned.

For several days[ao] he was with the disciples in Damascus, 20 and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues,[ap] saying, “This man is the Son of God.”[aq] 21 All[ar] who heard him were amazed and were saying, “Is this not[as] the man who in Jerusalem was ravaging[at] those who call on this name, and who had come here to bring them as prisoners[au] to the chief priests?” 22 But Saul became more and more capable,[av] and was causing consternation[aw] among the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving[ax] that Jesus[ay] is the Christ.[az]

Saul’s Escape from Damascus

23 Now after some days had passed, the Jews plotted[ba] together to kill him, 24 but Saul learned of their plot against him.[bb] They were also watching[bc] the city gates[bd] day and night so that they could kill him. 25 But his disciples took him at night and let him down through an opening[be] in the wall by lowering him in a basket.[bf]

Psalm 131

Psalm 131[a]

A song of ascents,[b] by David.

131 O Lord, my heart is not proud,
nor do I have a haughty look.[c]
I do not have great aspirations,
or concern myself with things that are beyond me.[d]
Indeed,[e] I have calmed and quieted myself[f]
like a weaned child with its mother;[g]
I am content like a young child.[h]
O Israel, hope in the Lord
now and forevermore!

Proverbs 17:4-5

One who acts wickedly[a] pays attention to evil counsel;[b]
a liar listens[c] to a malicious tongue.[d]
The one who mocks the poor[e] has insulted[f] his Creator;
whoever rejoices over disaster will not go unpunished.

New English Translation (NET)

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