1 Kings 11:9-25 - Yahweh's Judgment On Solomon

9 The Lord was angry with Solomon because he had shifted his allegiance away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him on two occasions 10 and had warned him about this very thing, so that he would not follow other gods. But he did not obey 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, 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 your son one tribe for my servant David's sake and for the sake of my chosen city Jerusalem."

14 The Lord brought against Solomon an enemy, Hadad the Edomite, a descendant of the Edomite king. 15 During David's campaign against Edom, Joab, the commander of the army, while on a mission to bury the dead, killed every male in Edom. 16 For six months Joab and the entire Israelite army stayed there until they had exterminated every male in Edom. 17 Hadad, who was only a small boy at the time, escaped with some of his father's Edomite servants and headed for Egypt. 18 They went from Midian to Paran; they took some men from Paran and went to Egypt. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, supplied him with a house and food and even assigned him some land. 19 Pharaoh liked Hadad so well he gave him his sister-in-law (Queen Tahpenes' sister) as a wife. 20 Tahpenes' sister gave birth to his son, named Genubath. Tahpenes raised 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 and that Joab, the commander of the army, was dead. So Hadad asked Pharaoh, "Give me permission to leave 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?" Hadad replied, "Nothing, but please give me permission to leave."

23 God also brought against Solomon 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. When David tried to kill them, 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 Israel and ruled over Syria.


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