1 Kings 14:7-14

14:7 Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘This is what the Lord God of Israel says: “I raised you up from among the people and made you ruler over my people Israel. 14:8 I tore the kingdom away from the Davidic dynasty and gave it to you. But you are not like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me wholeheartedly by doing only what I approve. 14:9 You have sinned more than all who came before you. You went and angered me by making other gods, formed out of metal; you have completely disregarded me. 14:10 So I am ready to bring disaster on the dynasty of Jeroboam. I will cut off every last male belonging to Jeroboam in Israel, including even the weak and incapacitated. I will burn up the dynasty of Jeroboam, just as one burns manure until it is completely consumed. 14:11 Dogs will eat the members of your family who die in the city, and the birds of the sky will eat the ones who die in the country.”’ Indeed, the Lord has announced it!

14:12 “As for you, get up and go home. When you set foot in the city, the boy will die. 14:13 All Israel will mourn him and bury him. He is the only one in Jeroboam’s family who will receive a decent burial, for he is the only one in whom the Lord God of Israel found anything good. 14:14 The Lord will raise up a king over Israel who will cut off Jeroboam’s dynasty. 10  It is ready to happen! 11 

1 Kings 14:2

14:2 Jeroboam told his wife, “Disguise 12  yourself so that people cannot recognize you are Jeroboam’s wife. Then go to Shiloh; Ahijah the prophet, who told me I would rule over this nation, lives there. 13 

1 Kings 7:11

7:11 Above the foundation 14  the best 15  stones, chiseled to the right size, 16  were used along with cedar.

1 Kings 7:16

7:16 He made two bronze tops for the pillars; each was seven-and-a-half feet high. 17 

1 Kings 7:26-29

7:26 It was four fingers thick and its rim was like that of a cup shaped like a lily blossom. It could hold about 12,000 gallons. 18 

7:27 He also made ten bronze movable stands. Each stand was six feet 19  long, six feet 20  wide, and four-and-a-half feet 21  high. 7:28 The stands were constructed with frames between the joints. 7:29 On these frames and joints were ornamental lions, bulls, and cherubs. Under the lions and bulls were decorative wreaths. 22 

1 Kings 7:1

The Building of the Royal Palace

7:1 Solomon took thirteen years to build his palace. 23 

1 Kings 17:10

17:10 So he got up and went to Zarephath. When he went through the city gate, there was a widow gathering wood. He called out to her, “Please give me a cup 24  of water, so I can take a drink.”

1 Kings 17:24

17:24 The woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a prophet and that the Lord really does speak through you.” 25 


tn The Hebrew text has “because” at the beginning of the sentence. In the Hebrew text vv. 7-11 are one long sentence comprised of a causal clause giving the reason for divine punishment (vv. 7-9) and the main clause announcing the punishment (vv. 10-11). The translation divides this lengthy sentence for stylistic reasons.

tn Heb “what was right in my eyes.”

tn Heb “you went and you made for yourself other gods, metal [ones], angering me, and you threw me behind your back.”

sn Disaster. There is a wordplay in the Hebrew text. The word translated “disaster” (רָעָה, raah) is from the same root as the expression “you have sinned” in v. 9 (וַתָּרַע [vattara’], from רָעַע, [raa’]). Jeroboam’s sins would receive an appropriate punishment.

tn Heb “house.”

tn Heb “and I will cut off from Jeroboam those who urinate against a wall (including both those who are) restrained and let free (or “abandoned”) in Israel.” The precise meaning of the idiomatic phrase עָצוּר וְעָזוּב (’atsur vÿazuv) is uncertain. For various options see HALOT 871 s.v. עצר 6 and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 107. The two terms are usually taken as polar opposites (“slaves and freemen” or “minors and adults”), but Cogan and Tadmor, on the basis of contextual considerations (note the usage with אֶפֶס [’efes], “nothing but”) in Deut 32:36 and 2 Kgs 14:26, argue convincingly that the terms are synonyms, meaning “restrained and abandoned,” and refer to incapable or incapacitated individuals.

tn The traditional view understands the verb בָּעַר (baar) to mean “burn.” Manure was sometimes used as fuel (see Ezek 4:12, 15). However, an alternate view takes בָּעַר as a homonym meaning “sweep away” (HALOT 146 s.v. II בער). In this case one might translate, “I will sweep away the dynasty of Jeroboam, just as one sweeps away manure it is gone” (cf. ASV, NASB, TEV). Either metaphor emphasizes the thorough and destructive nature of the coming judgment.

tn The Hebrew text has “belonging to Jeroboam” here.

tn Heb “house.”

10 tn Heb “house.”

11 tn Heb “This is the day. What also now?” The precise meaning of the second half of the statement is uncertain.

12 tn Heb “Get up, change yourself.”

13 tn Heb “look, Ahijah the prophet is there, he told me [I would be] king over this nation.”

14 tn Heb “on top,” or “above.”

15 tn Or “valuable” (see 5:17).

16 tn Heb “according to the measurement of chiseled [stone].”

17 tn Heb “two capitals he made to place on the tops of the pillars, cast in bronze; five cubits was the height of the first capital, and five cubits was the height of the second capital.”

18 tn Heb “two thousand baths” (a bath was a liquid measure roughly equivalent to six gallons).

19 tn Heb “four cubits.”

20 tn Heb “four cubits.”

21 tn Heb “three cubits.”

22 tn The precise meaning of these final words is uncertain. A possible literal translation would be, “wreaths, the work of descent.”

23 tn Heb “His house Solomon built in thirteen years and he completed all his house.”

24 tn Heb “a little.”

25 tn Heb “you are a man of God and the word of the Lord is truly in your mouth.”