列王紀上11:1-43

 

11:1 所羅門王在法老的女兒之外，又寵愛許多外邦女子，就是摩押女子、亞捫女子、以東女子、西頓女子、赫人女子。
11:2 論到這些國的人，耶和華曾曉諭以色列人說：「你們不可與她們往來相通，因為她們必誘惑你們的心去隨從她們的神。」所羅門卻戀愛這些女子。
11:3 所羅門有妃七百，都是公主；還有嬪三百。這些妃嬪誘惑他的心。
11:4 所羅門年老的時候，他的妃嬪誘惑他的心去隨從別神，不效法他父親大衛誠誠實實地順服耶和華─他的上帝。
11:5 因為所羅門隨從西頓人的女神亞斯她錄和亞捫人可憎的神米勒公。
11:6 所羅門行耶和華眼中看為惡的事，不效法他父親大衛專心順從耶和華。
11:7 所羅門為摩押可憎的神基抹和亞捫人可憎的神摩洛，在耶路撒冷對面的山上建築邱壇。
11:8 他為那些向自己的神燒香獻祭的外邦女子，就是他娶來的妃嬪也是這樣行。
11:9 耶和華向所羅門發怒，因為他的心偏離向他兩次顯現的耶和華─以色列的上帝。
11:10 耶和華曾吩咐他不可隨從別神，他卻沒有遵守耶和華所吩咐的。
11:11 所以耶和華對他說：「你既行了這事，不遵守我所吩咐你守的約和律例，我必將你的國奪回，賜給你的臣子。
11:12 然而，因你父親大衛的緣故，我不在你活著的日子行這事，必從你兒子的手中將國奪回。
11:13 只是我不將全國奪回，要因我僕人大衛和我所選擇的耶路撒冷，還留一支派給你的兒子。」
11:14 耶和華使以東人哈達興起，作所羅門的敵人；他是以東王的後裔。
11:15 先前大衛攻擊以東，元帥約押上去葬埋陣亡的人，將以東的男丁都殺了。
11:16 約押和以色列眾人在以東住了六個月，直到將以東的男丁盡都剪除。
11:17 那時哈達還是幼童；他和他父親的臣僕，幾個以東人逃往埃及。
11:18 他們從米甸起行，到了巴蘭；從巴蘭帶著幾個人來到埃及見埃及王法老；法老為他派定糧食，又給他房屋田地。
11:19 哈達在法老面前大蒙恩惠，以致法老將王后答比匿的妹子賜他為妻。
11:20 答比匿的妹子給哈達生了一個兒子，名叫基努拔。答比匿使基努拔在法老的宮裡斷奶，基努拔就與法老的眾子一同住在法老的宮裡。
11:21 哈達在埃及聽見大衛與他列祖同睡，元帥約押也死了，就對法老說：「求王容我回本國去。」
11:22 法老對他說：「你在我這裡有甚麼缺乏，你竟要回你本國去呢？」他回答說：「我沒有缺乏甚麼，只是求王容我回去。」
11:23 上帝又使以利亞大的兒子利遜興起，作所羅門的敵人。他先前逃避主人瑣巴王哈大底謝。
11:24 大衛擊殺瑣巴人的時候，利遜招聚了一群人，自己作他們的頭目，往大馬士革居住，在那裡作王。
11:25 所羅門活著的時候，哈達為患之外，利遜也作以色列的敵人。他恨惡以色列人，且作了亞蘭人的王。
11:26 所羅門的臣僕、尼八的兒子耶羅波安也舉手攻擊王。他是以法蓮支派的洗利達人，他母親是寡婦，名叫洗魯阿。
11:27 他舉手攻擊王的緣故，乃由先前所羅門建造米羅，修補他父親大衛城的破口。
11:28 耶羅波安是大有才能的人。所羅門見這少年人殷勤，就派他監管約瑟家的一切工程。
11:29 一日，耶羅波安出了耶路撒冷，示羅人先知亞希雅在路上遇見他；亞希雅身上穿著一件新衣。他們二人在田野，以外並無別人。
11:30 亞希雅將自己穿的那件新衣撕成十二片，
11:31 對耶羅波安說：「你可以拿十片。耶和華─以色列的上帝如此說：『我必將國從所羅門手裡奪回，將十個支派賜給你。
11:32 （我因僕人大衛和我在以色列眾支派中所選擇的耶路撒冷城的緣故，仍給所羅門留一個支派。）
11:33 因為他離棄我，敬拜西頓人的女神亞斯她錄、摩押的神基抹，和亞捫人的神米勒公，沒有遵從我的道，行我眼中看為正的事，守我的律例典章，像他父親大衛一樣。
11:34 但我不從他手裡將全國奪回；使他終身為君，是因我所揀選的僕人大衛謹守我的誡命律例。
11:35 我必從他兒子的手裡將國奪回，以十個支派賜給你，
11:36 還留一個支派給他的兒子，使我僕人大衛在我所選擇立我名的耶路撒冷城裡，在我面前長有燈光。
11:37 我必揀選你，使你照心裡一切所願的，作王治理以色列。
11:38 你若聽從我一切所吩咐你的，遵行我的道，行我眼中看為正的事，謹守我的律例誡命，像我僕人大衛所行的，我就與你同在，為你立堅固的家，像我為大衛所立的一樣，將以色列人賜給你。
11:39 我必因所羅門所行的使大衛後裔受患難，但不至於永遠。』」
11:40 所羅門因此想要殺耶羅波安。耶羅波安卻起身逃往埃及；到了埃及王示撒那裡，就住在埃及，直到所羅門死了。
11:41 所羅門其餘的事，凡他所行的和他的智慧都寫在所羅門記上。
11:42 所羅門在耶路撒冷作以色列眾人的王共四十年。
11:43 所羅門與他列祖同睡，葬在他父親大衛的城裡。他兒子羅波安接續他作王。

 

King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. ² They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. ³ He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. ⁴ As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. ⁵ He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. ⁶ So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done.

⁷ On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. ⁸ He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.

⁹ The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. ¹⁰ Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord’s command. ¹¹ So the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. ¹² Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. ¹³ Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”

¹⁴ Then the Lord raised up against Solomon an adversary, Hadad the Edomite, from the royal line of Edom. ¹⁵ Earlier when David was fighting with Edom, Joab the commander of the army, who had gone up to bury the dead, had struck down all the men in Edom. ¹⁶ Joab and all the Israelites stayed there for six months, until they had destroyed all the men in Edom. ¹⁷ But Hadad, still only a boy, fled to Egypt with some Edomite officials who had served his father. ¹⁸ They set out from Midian and went to Paran. Then taking people from Paran with them, they went to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave Hadad a house and land and provided him with food.

¹⁹ Pharaoh was so pleased with Hadad that he gave him a sister of his own wife, Queen Tahpenes, in marriage. ²⁰ The sister of Tahpenes bore him a son named Genubath, whom Tahpenes brought up in the royal palace. There Genubath lived with Pharaoh’s own children.

²¹ While he was in Egypt, Hadad heard that David rested with his ancestors and that Joab the commander of the army was also dead. Then Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me go, that I may return to my own country.”

²² “What have you lacked here that you want to go back to your own country?” Pharaoh asked.

“Nothing,” Hadad replied, “but do let me go!”

²³ And God raised up against Solomon another adversary, Rezon son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah. ²⁴ When David destroyed Zobah’s army, Rezon gathered a band of men around him and became their leader; they went to Damascus, where they settled and took control. ²⁵ Rezon was Israel’s adversary as long as Solomon lived, adding to the trouble caused by Hadad. So Rezon ruled in Aram and was hostile toward Israel.

²⁶ Also, Jeroboam son of Nebat rebelled against the king. He was one of Solomon’s officials, an Ephraimite from Zeredah, and his mother was a widow named Zeruah.

²⁷ Here is the account of how he rebelled against the king: Solomon had built the terraces^[a] and had filled in the gap in the wall of the city of David his father. ²⁸ Now Jeroboam was a man of standing, and when Solomon saw how well the young man did his work, he put him in charge of the whole labor force of the tribes of Joseph.

²⁹ About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh met him on the way, wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone out in the country, ³⁰ and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces. ³¹ Then he said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand and give you ten tribes. ³² But for the sake of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe. ³³ I will do this because they have^[b] forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molek the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked in obedience to me, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my decrees and laws as David, Solomon’s father, did.

³⁴ “‘But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon’s hand; I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose and who obeyed my commands and decrees. ³⁵ I will take the kingdom from his son’s hands and give you ten tribes. ³⁶ I will give one tribe to his son so that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name. ³⁷ However, as for you, I will take you, and you will rule over all that your heart desires; you will be king over Israel. ³⁸ If you do whatever I command you and walk in obedience to me and do what is right in my eyes by obeying my decrees and commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you. ³⁹ I will humble David’s descendants because of this, but not forever.’”

⁴⁰ Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam fled to Egypt, to Shishak the king, and stayed there until Solomon’s death.

⁴¹ As for the other events of Solomon’s reign—all he did and the wisdom he displayed—are they not written in the book of the annals of Solomon? ⁴² Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. ⁴³ Then he rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son succeeded him as king.

 

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    所羅門的晚年值得我們引以為戒，因為他偏離了對上帝的信仰，隨從他的嬪妃去敬拜別神並為別神築壇，使上帝對他發出怒氣，也為他興起了許多敵人，其中最有威脅的是耶羅波安。

 

    而耶羅波安遇見示羅人先知亞希雅，亞希雅身上穿著一件新衣，他們二人在田野，以外並無別人。亞希雅將自己穿的那件新衣撕成十二片，並且傳達上帝的信息給耶羅波安，告訴他將來要統治10個支派，也囑咐他要遵行上帝的律法！而這是迫使所羅門因此想要殺耶羅波安，耶羅波安卻起身逃往埃及，到了埃及王示撒那裡，就住在埃及，直到所羅門死了。

 

    這也告訴我們上帝是公義的，人若得罪了上帝，上帝必定會追討的！即使所羅門有大衛的蔭庇，但是得罪了上帝，該受的懲罰是永遠逃不掉的！因為上帝不已有最為無罪的，也因此我們要儆醒，不可以犯罪！「因為我們的上帝乃是烈火。」（希伯來書12:29）