1 Kings 9:9

9:9 Others will then answer, ¹  ‘Because they abandoned the Lord their God, who led their ancestors ²  out of Egypt. They embraced other gods whom they worshiped and served. ³  That is why the Lord has brought all this disaster down on them.’”

1 Kings 11:33

11:33 I am taking the kingdom from him ⁴  because they have ⁵  abandoned me and worshiped the Sidonian goddess Astarte, the Moabite god Chemosh, and the Ammonite god Milcom. They have not followed my instructions ⁶  by doing what I approve and obeying my rules and regulations, like Solomon’s father David did. ⁷ 

1 Kings 14:10

14:10 So I am ready to bring disaster ⁸  on the dynasty ⁹  of Jeroboam. I will cut off every last male belonging to Jeroboam in Israel, including even the weak and incapacitated. ¹⁰  I will burn up the dynasty of Jeroboam, just as one burns manure until it is completely consumed. ¹¹ 

1 Kings 19:10

19:10 He answered, “I have been absolutely loyal ¹²  to the Lord, the sovereign God, ¹³  even though the Israelites have abandoned the agreement they made with you, ¹⁴  torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left and now they want to take my life.” ¹⁵ 

1 Kings 19:14

19:14 He answered, “I have been absolutely loyal ¹⁶  to the Lord, the sovereign God, ¹⁷  even though the Israelites have abandoned the agreement they made with you, ¹⁸  torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left and now they want to take my life.” ¹⁹ 

1 Kings 19:20

19:20 He left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Please let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, then I will follow you.” Elijah ²⁰  said to him, “Go back! Indeed, what have I done to you?”

¹ tn Heb “and they will say.”

² tn Heb “fathers.”

³ tn Heb “and they took hold of other gods and bowed down to them and served them.”

⁴ tn The words “I am taking the kingdom from him” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

⁵ tc This is the reading of the MT; the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate read “he has.”

⁶ tn Heb “walked in my ways.”

⁷ tn Heb “by doing what is right in my eyes, my rules and my regulations, like David his father.”

⁷ sn Disaster. There is a wordplay in the Hebrew text. The word translated “disaster” (רָעָה, ra’ah) is from the same root as the expression “you have sinned” in v. 9 (וַתָּרַע [vattara’], from רָעַע, [ra’a’]). Jeroboam’s sins would receive an appropriate punishment.

⁸ tn Heb “house.”

⁹ 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 vÿ’azuv) 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.

¹⁰ tn The traditional view understands the verb בָּעַר (ba’ar) 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.

¹⁰ tn Or “very zealous.” The infinitive absolute preceding the finite verb emphasizes the degree of his zeal and allegiance.

¹¹ tn Traditionally, “the God of hosts.”

¹² tn Heb “abandoned your covenant.”

¹³ tn Heb “and they are seeking my life to take it.”

¹³ tn Or “very zealous.” The infinitive absolute preceding the finite verb emphasizes the degree of his zeal and allegiance.

¹⁴ tn Traditionally, “the God of hosts.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “abandoned your covenant.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “and they are seeking my life to take it.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.