1 Kings 11:1-8
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 11
Solomon’s Wives and Idolatry.[a] 1 But King Solomon loved many foreign wives. In addition to Pharaoh’s daughter, there were Moabite women, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites. 2 These were from the nations about which the Lord had said to the Israelites, “You are not to go to them, nor are they to come to you, for they will surely turn your heart away to follow their gods.” Solomon clung to them in love. 3 He had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines, and his wives perverted his heart.
4 When Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart to serve other gods. His heart did not rest in peace with the Lord, his God, as the heart of David, his father, had. 5 He followed Ashtaroth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Moloch, the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not follow after the Lord completely as his father David had. 7 Solomon built a high place to Chemosh, the abomination of the Moabites, and to Moloch, the abomination of the Ammonites, on a hillside that lies to the east of Jerusalem. 8 He did the same thing for all of his foreign wives. He burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
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- 1 Kings 11:1 For all his wisdom, Solomon’s weakness for women is his downfall. He disregards God’s command not to marry foreign women, and by aligning himself with so many heathen women, he eventually turns away from the true God.
