Solomon Turns from God

11 Now ^(A)King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, ² from the nations of which the Lord had said to the sons of Israel, “^(B)You shall not ^[a]associate with them, nor shall they ^[b]associate with you; they will certainly turn your heart away ^[c]to follow their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. ^3 (C)He had seven hundred wives, who were ^[d]princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned his heart away. ⁴ For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away ^[e]to follow other gods; and ^(D)his heart was not ^[f]wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of his father David had been. ⁵ For Solomon became a follower of ^(E)Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and of ^[g](F)Milcom the abhorrent idol of the Ammonites. ⁶ So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not follow the Lord fully, as his father David had done. ⁷ Then Solomon built a high place for ^(G)Chemosh, the abhorrent idol of Moab, on the mountain that is ^[h]east of Jerusalem, and for ^(H)Molech, the abhorrent idol of the sons of Ammon. ⁸ He also did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

⁹ Now ^(I)the Lord was angry with Solomon ^(J)because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, ^(K)who had appeared to him twice, ¹⁰ and ^(L)had commanded him regarding this thing, that he was not to follow other gods; but he did not comply with what the Lord had commanded. ¹¹ So the Lord said to Solomon, “Since ^[i]you have done this, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, ^(M)I will certainly tear the kingdom away from you, and will give it to your servant. ¹² However, I will not do it in your days, only for the sake of your father David; but I will tear it away from the hand of your son. ¹³ Yet ^(N)I will not tear away all the kingdom, but ^(O)I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David, and ^(P)for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”

God Raises Adversaries

¹⁴ Then the Lord raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was of the ^[j]royal line in Edom. ¹⁵ For it came about, ^(Q)when David was in Edom and Joab the commander of the army had gone up to bury those killed in battle, and had ^(R)struck and killed every male in Edom ¹⁶ (for Joab and all Israel stayed there for six months, until he had eliminated every male in Edom), ¹⁷ that Hadad fled ^[k]to Egypt, he and certain Edomites of his father’s servants with him, while Hadad was a young boy. ¹⁸ They set out from Midian and came to ^(S)Paran; and they took men with them from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house and assigned him food and gave him land. ¹⁹ Now Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him in marriage the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen. ²⁰ And the sister of Tahpenes gave birth to his son Genubath, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh’s house; and Genubath was in Pharaoh’s house among the sons of Pharaoh. ²¹ But ^(T)when Hadad heard in Egypt that David ^[l]lay down with his fathers and that Joab the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me go, so that I may go to my own country.” ²² However, Pharaoh said to him, “But what have you lacked with me that you are here, requesting to go to your own country?” And he answered, “Nothing; nevertheless you must let me go.”

^23 (U)God also raised up another adversary against him, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his master ^(V)Hadadezer, king of Zobah. ²⁴ And he gathered men to himself and became leader of a marauding band, ^(W)after David killed those of Zobah; and they went to Damascus and stayed ^[m]there, and reigned in Damascus. ²⁵ So he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, along with the harm that Hadad inflicted; and he felt disgust for Israel and reigned over Aram.

²⁶ Then ^(X)Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite of Zeredah, Solomon’s servant, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow, ^(Y)also ^[n]rebelled against the king. ²⁷ Now this was the reason why he ^[o]rebelled against the king: ^(Z)Solomon built the ^[p]Millo, and closed up the breach of the city of his father David. ²⁸ Now the man Jeroboam was a valiant warrior, and when ^(AA)Solomon saw that the young man was ^[q]industrious, he appointed him over all the ^[r]forced labor of the house of Joseph. ²⁹ And it came about at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that ^(AB)the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. Now ^[s]Ahijah had clothed himself with a new cloak; and both of them were alone in the field. ³⁰ Then ^(AC)Ahijah took hold of the new cloak which was on him and tore it into twelve pieces. ³¹ And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Behold, ^(AD)I am going to tear the kingdom away from the hand of Solomon and give you ten tribes ³² (^(AE)but he shall have one tribe, for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, ^(AF)the city which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel), ³³ because they have abandoned Me, and ^(AG)have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, ^(AH)Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the sons of Ammon; and they have not walked in My ways, doing what is right in My sight and keeping My statutes and My ordinances, as his father David did. ³⁴ Nevertheless I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him ruler all the days of his life, for the sake of My servant David whom I chose, who kept My commandments and My statutes; ³⁵ but ^(AI)I will take the kingdom from his son’s hand and give it to you; that is, ten tribes. ³⁶ But ^(AJ)to his son I will give one tribe, ^(AK)so that My servant David may always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, ^(AL)the city where I have chosen for Myself to put My name. ³⁷ However I will take you, and you shall reign over all that ^[t]you desire, and you shall be king over Israel. ³⁸ Then it shall be, that if you listen to all that I command you and walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight by keeping My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then ^(AM)I will be with you and ^(AN)build you an enduring house as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you. ³⁹ So I will oppress the ^[u]descendants of David for this, but not always.’” ⁴⁰ Solomon sought therefore to put Jeroboam to death; but Jeroboam set out and fled to Egypt to ^(AO)Shishak king of Egypt, and he was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

The Death of Solomon

^41 (AP)Now the rest of the acts of Solomon and whatever he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon? ⁴² So ^(AQ)the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. ⁴³ Then Solomon ^[v](AR)lay down with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David, and his son ^(AS)Rehoboam reigned in his place.

The King’s Golden Image

3 Nebuchadnezzar the king made a ^(A)statue of gold, the height of which was ^[a]sixty cubits, and its width six cubits; he set it up on the plain of Dura in the ^(B)province of Babylon. ² Nebuchadnezzar the king also sent word to assemble the ^(C)satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the chief treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the administrators of the provinces to come to the dedication of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. ³ Then the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the chief treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the administrators of the provinces were assembled for the dedication of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the statue that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. ⁴ Then the herald loudly proclaimed: “To you ^[b]the command is given, you ^(D)peoples, nations, and populations of all ^[c]languages, ⁵ that at the moment you ^(E)hear the sound of the horn, flute, ^[d]lyre, ^[e]trigon, ^[f]psaltery, bagpipe, and all kinds of musical instruments, you are to fall down and worship the golden statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. ⁶ But whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be ^(F)thrown into the middle of a ^(G)furnace of blazing fire.” ⁷ Therefore as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, ^[g]lyre, trigon, psaltery, ^[h]bagpipe, and all kinds of musical instruments, all the peoples, nations, and populations of all ^[i]languages fell down and worshiped the golden statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

Worship of the Image Refused

⁸ For this reason at that time certain ^(H)Chaldeans came forward and ^[j](I)brought charges against the Jews. ⁹ They began to speak and said to Nebuchadnezzar the king: “^(J)O king, live forever! ¹⁰ You, O king, have ^(K)made a decree that every person who hears the sound of the horn, flute, ^[k]lyre, trigon, psaltery, and bagpipe, and all kinds of musical instruments, is to ^(L)fall down and worship the golden statue. ¹¹ But whoever does not fall down and worship shall be thrown into the middle of a furnace of blazing fire. ¹² There are certain Jews whom you have ^(M)appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon, namely Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. These men, O king, have disregarded you; they do not serve your gods, nor do they worship the golden statue which you have set up.”

¹³ Then Nebuchadnezzar in ^(N)rage and anger gave orders to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; then these men were brought before the king. ¹⁴ Nebuchadnezzar began speaking and said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, that you do not serve ^(O)my gods, nor worship the golden statue that I have set up? ¹⁵ Now if you are ready, ^(P)at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, ^[l]lyre, trigon, psaltery and bagpipe, and all kinds of musical instruments, to fall down and worship the statue that I have made, very well. But if you do not worship, you will ^[m]immediately be ^(Q)thrown into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and ^(R)what god is there who can rescue you from my hands?”

^16 (S)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego replied to the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we are not in need of an answer to give you concerning this matter. ¹⁷ If it be so, our ^(T)God whom we serve is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire; ^[n]and ^(U)He will rescue us from your hand, O king. ^18 (V)But even if He does not, ^(W)let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods nor worship the golden statue that you have set up.”

Daniel’s Friends Protected

¹⁹ Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with ^(X)wrath, and his facial expression was changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. He answered ^[o]by giving orders to heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. ²⁰ And he ordered certain valiant warriors who were in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego in order to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire. ²¹ Then these men were tied up in their ^(Y)trousers, their ^[p]coats, their caps, and their other clothes, and were thrown into the middle of the furnace of blazing fire. ²² For this reason, because the king’s ^[q]command was ^(Z)harsh and the furnace had been made extremely hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. ²³ But these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ^(AA)fell into the middle of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up.

²⁴ Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up quickly; he said to his counselors, “Was it not three men that we threw bound into the middle of the fire?” They replied to the king, “Absolutely, O king.” ²⁵ He responded, “Look! I see four men untied and ^(AB)walking about in the middle of the fire ^[r]unharmed, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the ^(AC)gods!” ²⁶ Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, come out, you servants of the ^(AD)Most High God, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego ^(AE)came out of the middle of the fire. ²⁷ The ^(AF)satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the ^(AG)fire had no ^[s]effect on ^[t]the bodies of these men, nor was the hair of their heads singed, nor were their ^[u](AH)trousers ^[v]damaged, nor had even the smell of fire touched them.

²⁸ Nebuchadnezzar responded and said, “Blessed be the ^(AI)God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who has ^(AJ)sent His angel and rescued His servants who put their ^(AK)trust in Him, ^[w]violating the king’s command, and surrendered their bodies ^(AL)rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. ²⁹ Therefore I ^(AM)make a decree that any people, nation, or population of any language that speaks anything offensive against the God of ^(AN)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego shall be torn limb from limb and their ^(AO)houses made a rubbish heap, because there is ^(AP)no other god who is able to save in this way.” ³⁰ Then the king ^(AQ)made Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego prosperous in the province of Babylon.

Timothy Charged to Guard His Trust

1 Paul, ^(A)an apostle of ^(B)Christ Jesus ^[a](C)by the will of God, according to the promise of ^(D)life in Christ Jesus,

² To ^(E)Timothy, my beloved ^[b](F)son: ^(G)Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

^3 (H)I thank God, whom I ^(I)serve with a ^(J)clear conscience ^[c]the way my forefathers did, ^(K)as I constantly remember you in my ^[d]prayers night and day, ^4 (L)longing to see you, ^(M)even as I recall your tears, so that I may be filled with joy. ^5 [e]For I am mindful of the ^(N)sincere faith within you, which first dwelled in your grandmother Lois and ^(O)your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well. ⁶ For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh ^(P)the gift of God which is in you through ^(Q)the laying on of my hands. ⁷ For God has not given us a ^(R)spirit of ^[f]timidity, but of power and love and ^[g]discipline.

⁸ Therefore ^(S)do not be ashamed of the ^(T)testimony of our Lord or of me ^(U)His prisoner, but join with me in ^(V)suffering for the ^(W)gospel according to the power of God, ⁹ who ^(X)saved us and ^(Y)called us with a holy ^(Z)calling, ^(AA)not according to our works, but according to His own ^(AB)purpose and grace, which was granted to us in ^(AC)Christ Jesus from ^(AD)all eternity, ¹⁰ but has ^(AE)now been revealed by the ^(AF)appearing of our Savior ^(AG)Christ Jesus, who ^(AH)abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, ^11 (AI)for which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher. ¹² For this reason I also suffer these things; but ^(AJ)I am not ashamed, for I know ^(AK)whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to ^(AL)protect what I have entrusted to Him ^[h]until ^(AM)that day. ^13 (AN)Hold on to the ^(AO)example of ^(AP)sound words ^(AQ)which you have heard from me, in the ^(AR)faith and love which are in ^(AS)Christ Jesus. ¹⁴ Protect, through the Holy Spirit who ^(AT)dwells in us, the ^[i](AU)treasure which has been entrusted to you.

¹⁵ You are aware of the fact that all who are in ^[j](AV)Asia ^(AW)turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. ¹⁶ The Lord grant mercy to ^(AX)the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and ^(AY)was not ashamed of my ^[k](AZ)chains; ¹⁷ but when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me— ¹⁸ the Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on ^(BA)that day—and you know very well what services he rendered at ^(BB)Ephesus.

The Lord Rescues People from Many Troubles.