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 clearly instructed the people of Israel, “You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods.” Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway. 3He had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines. And in fact, they did turn his heart away from the Lord. In Solomon’s old age, they turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the Lord his God, as his father, David, had been. 5Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. 6In this way, Solomon did what was evil in the Lord’s sight; he refused to follow the Lord completely, 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 in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years.
• 1 Kings 6:1It was in midspring, in the month of Ziv, during the fourth year of Solomon’s reign, that he began to construct the Temple of the Lord. This was 480 years after the people of Israel were rescued from their slavery in the land of Egypt.
• 1 Kings 9:10It took Solomon twenty years to build the Lord’s Temple and his own royal palace. At the end of that time,
• 1 Kings 14:21Meanwhile, Rehoboam son of Solomon was king in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord had chosen from among all the tribes of Israel as the place to honor his name. Rehoboam’s mother was Naamah, an Ammonite woman.
• 1 Kings 11:2The Lord had clearly instructed the people of Israel, “You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods.” Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway.
• Deuteronomy 7:4for they will lead your children away from me to worship other gods. Then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and he will quickly destroy you.
• Deuteronomy 17:17The king must not take many wives for himself, because they will turn his heart away from the Lord. And he must not accumulate large amounts of wealth in silver and gold for himself.
• Nehemiah 13:26“Wasn’t this exactly what led King Solomon of Israel into sin?” I demanded. “There was no king from any nation who could compare to him, and God loved him and made him king over all Israel. But even he was led into sin by his foreign wives.
• 1 Kings 11:6In this way, Solomon did what was evil in the Lord’s sight; he refused to follow the Lord completely, as his father, David, had done.
• 1 Kings 6:12“Concerning this Temple you are building, if you keep all my decrees and regulations and obey all my commands, I will fulfill through you the promise I made to your father, David.
• 1 Kings 8:61And may you be completely faithful to the Lord our God. May you always obey his decrees and commands, just as you are doing today.”
• 1 Kings 9:4“As for you, if you will follow me with integrity and godliness, as David your father did, obeying all my commands, decrees, and regulations,
• 1 Kings 15:3He committed the same sins as his father before him, and he was not faithful to the Lord his God, as his ancestor David had been.
• 2 Kings 20:3“Remember, O Lord, how I have always been faithful to you and have served you single-mindedly, always doing what pleases you.” Then he broke down and wept bitterly.
• 1 Chronicles 28:9“And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.
• 1 Chronicles 29:19Give my son Solomon the wholehearted desire to obey all your commands, laws, and decrees, and to do everything necessary to build this Temple, for which I have made these preparations.”

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