1. But King Solomon loved many women who were not from Israel. He loved the daughter of the king of Egypt. He also loved women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites.
2. The Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not marry people of other nations. If you do, they will cause you to follow their gods.” But Solomon fell in love with these women.
3. He had 700 wives who were from royal families. He also had 300 slave women who gave birth to his children. His wives caused him to turn away from God.
4. As Solomon grew old, his wives caused him to follow other gods. He did not follow the Lord completely as his father David had done.
5. Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the people of Sidon. And he worshiped Molech, the hated god of the Ammonites.
6. So Solomon did what the Lord said was wrong. He did not follow the Lord completely as his father David had done.
7. On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built two places for worship. He built a place to worship Chemosh, the hated god of the Moabites. And he built a place to worship Molech, the hated god of the Ammonites.
8. Solomon did the same thing for all of his foreign wives. So they burned incense and gave sacrifices to their gods.
9. The Lord had appeared to Solomon twice. But Solomon turned away from following the Lord, the God of Israel. So the Lord was angry with him.
10. The Lord had commanded Solomon not to follow other gods. But Solomon did not obey the Lord’s command.
11. So the Lord said to Solomon, “You have chosen to break your agreement with me. You have not obeyed my commands. So I promise I will tear your kingdom away from you. I will give it to one of your officers.