1 Kings 11:4

1 Kings 11:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.
• New International Version (NIV)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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David.

Context of 1 Kings 11:4

2The Lord had warned the Israelites about these nations. He said, ‘You must not marry people from these nations. If you do, they will cause you to worship their own gods.’ But Solomon did love these foreign women and he married them. 3Solomon had 700 royal wives. He also had 300 slave wives. His wives caused him to turn away from the Lord. When Solomon became old, his wives caused him to serve other gods. Solomon no longer completely loved the Lord his God as his father David had done. 5Solomon worshipped Ashtoreth, the female god of the Sidonian people. He also worshipped Molech, the wicked god of the Ammonite people. 6As a result, Solomon did things that the Lord said were evil. He did not serve the Lord faithfully as his father David had done.

1 Kings 11:4 word by word

וַיְהִ֗י לְעֵת֙ זִקְנַ֣ת שְׁלֹמֹ֔ה נָשָׁיו֙ הִטּ֣וּ אֶת־לְבָב֔וֹ אַחֲרֵ֖י אֱלֹהִ֣ים אֲחֵרִ֑ים וְלֹא־הָיָ֨ה לְבָב֤וֹ שָׁלֵם֙ עִם־יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהָ֔יו כִּלְבַ֖ב דָּוִ֥יד אָבִֽיו׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• For it came to pass, whenעֵת‛êth · timeH6256
• Solomonשְׁלֹמֹהshelômôh · SolomonH8010
• was oldזִקְנָהziqnâh · old ageH2209
• his wivesאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · woman: wifeH802
• turned awayנָטָהnâţâh · to stretchH5186
• his heartלֵבָבlêbâb · heartH3824
• afterאַחַר'achar · afterH310
• otherאַחֵר'achêr · anotherH312
• godsאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• was not perfectשָׁלֵםshâlêm · completeH8003
• with the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• of Davidדָּוִדdâvid dâvîyd · DavidH1732
• his fatherאָב'âb · fatherH1

Cross-references for 1 Kings 11:4

• 1 Kings 11:42Solomon ruled over all Israel for 40 years while he lived in Jerusalem.
• 1 Kings 6:1Solomon began to build the Lord's temple 480 years after the Israelites had left Egypt. It was in the fourth year that he had ruled Israel as king. He started the work in the month called Ziv, the second month of the year.
• 1 Kings 9:10Solomon was building the Lord's temple and the king's palace for 20 years.
• 1 Kings 14:21King Solomon's son, Rehoboam, ruled Judah as king. He was 41 years old when he became king. He ruled for 17 years in Jerusalem. That was the city that the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. He chose it as the place where people would give honour to his name. Rehoboam's mother was an Ammonite woman. Her name was Naamah.
• 1 Kings 11:2The Lord had warned the Israelites about these nations. He said, ‘You must not marry people from these nations. If you do, they will cause you to worship their own gods.’ But Solomon did love these foreign women and he married them.
• Deuteronomy 7:4If that happens, your children may turn away from the Lord. They will start to worship other gods. Then the Lord will be very angry with you. He will immediately destroy you.
• Deuteronomy 17:17A king must not marry many wives. They may turn his thoughts away from the Lord. He must not store a lot of silver and gold for himself.
• Nehemiah 13:26Solomon, king of Israel, did a bad thing when he married foreign women. There was no other king as great as him in any other nation. God loved him. God chose him to be king over all Israel. But Solomon's foreign wives caused him to do bad things, even though he was so great.
• 1 Kings 11:6As a result, Solomon did things that the Lord said were evil. He did not serve the Lord faithfully as his father David had done.
• 1 Kings 6:12‘I will make my home in this temple that you are building. I will do everything for you that I promised to your father David. But you must obey my laws, rules and commands.
• 1 Kings 8:61I pray that you will continue to serve the Lord our God faithfully. You must continue to obey his rules and his commands, as you do now.’
• 1 Kings 9:4You must continue to serve me honestly and obey me, as your father David did. Do everything that I have commanded you to do. Obey my rules and my laws.
• 1 Kings 15:3Abijah did the same bad things that his father had done before him. He did not serve the Lord his God faithfully, as his ancestor King David had done.
• 2 Kings 20:3He said, ‘Lord, please remember that I have served you well. I have always obeyed you. You could trust me to do the things that you told me to do.’ Hezekiah wept very much.
• 1 Chronicles 28:9As for you, Solomon, my son, keep near to your father's God. Be happy to serve him faithfully in every way. The Lord knows what you are thinking. He understands all your thoughts. If you turn to him, you will find him. But if you turn away from him, he will leave you alone for ever.
• 1 Chronicles 29:19Please help my son Solomon to want to obey you. Help him to obey all your commands, rules and laws. Help him to work well to build your temple. I have prepared the things that he will need to do that.’

Commentaries on 1 Kings 11:4

• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-8he did not follow the LORD completely: David committed a serious sin, but he truly repented when God's prophet confronted him (2 Samuel 11:1–12:23; Psalm 51:1–4). However, Solomon ignored God's warnings (1 Kings 3:14; 6:12–13; 9:4–9) and did not learn from Israel's history. Instead, he repeated their sins.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. when Solomon was old--He could not have been more than fifty. his wives turned away his heart after other gods--Some, considering the lapse of Solomon into idolatry as a thing incredible, regard him as merely humoring his wives in the practice of their superstition; and, in countenancing their respective rites by his presence, as giving only an outward homage--a sensible worship, in which neither his understanding nor his heart was engaged. The apology…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Kings 11:4

• Backsliders
• Character
• Fellowship
• Influence
• Instability
• Molech
• Perfection
• Polygamy
• Rulers
• Solomon
• Temptation
• Wife
• Women

In the dictionaries

• David
• God
• Solomon
• Clad
• Notwithstanding
• Rend
• Agriculture
• Gods
• Jeroboam
• Kings, Books of

Commentaries on 1 Kings 11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings