Now the LORD grew angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned away from Yahweh, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice,
- KJV And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice,
- NKJV So the Lord became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice,
- NASB Now the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice,
- NLT The Lord was very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The LORD was angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away, though God had appeared to him twice. The personal nature of God's prior revelation made the sin graver.
Overview
God's anger is just, intensified by the fact that He had graciously appeared to Solomon twice (at Gibeon and after the temple's dedication) with promises and warnings. Solomon had received more than most yet turned away. To whom much is given, much is required, and this verse shows that great privilege and revelation make later unfaithfulness all the more serious in God's sight.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- 1 Kgs 3:5One night at Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “Ask, and I will give it to you!”
- 1 Kgs 9:2the LORD appeared to him a second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon.
- Deut 3:26But the LORD was angry with me on account of you, and He would not listen to me. “That is enough,” the LORD said to me. “Do not speak to Me again about this matter.
- 2 Sam 6:7And the anger of the LORD burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down on the spot for his irreverence, and he died there beside the ark of God.
- Deut 9:8At Horeb you provoked the LORD, and He was angry enough to destroy you.
- Num 12:9So the anger of the LORD burned against them, and He departed.
- Deut 7:4because they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods. Then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and He will swiftly destroy you.
- Exod 4:14Then the anger of the LORD burned against Moses, and He said, “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well, and he is now on his way to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart.
- Deut 9:20The LORD was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him, but at that time I also prayed for Aaron.
- Ps 90:7–8For we are consumed by Your anger and terrified by Your wrath.
- Ps 78:58–60They enraged Him with their high places and provoked His jealousy with their idols.
- Hos 4:11Promiscuity, wine, and new wine take away understanding.
- 1 Kgs 11:2–4These women were from the nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, for surely they will turn your hearts after their gods.” Yet Solomon clung to these women in love.
- 2 Tim 4:10because Demas, in his love of this world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.
- 1 Chr 21:7This command was also evil in the sight of God; so He struck Israel.
- Prov 4:23Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life.
- 2 Sam 11:27And when the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the LORD.
- Isa 29:13–14Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught by men.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.
How 1 Kings 11:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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