mon, and the house which he had built, and the meat of his table, and the apartments of his servants, and the order of his ministers, and their apparel, and the cup-bearers, and the holocausts which he offered in the house of the Lord, she had no longer any spirit in her, and she said to the king: The report is true, which I heard in my own country, concerning thy words, and concerning thy wisdom. And I did not believe them that told me, till I came myself, and saw with my own eyes, and have found that the half hath not been told me: thy wisdom and thy works exceed the fame which I heard. Blessed are thy men, and blessed are thy servants, who stand before thee always, and hear thy wisdom. Blessed be the Lord thy God, whom thou hast pleased, and who hath set thee upon the throne of Israel, because the Lord hath loved Israel for ever, and hath appointed thee king, to do judgment and justice.

And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices a very great store, and precious stones: there was brought no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Saba gave to king Solomon. The navy also of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir,* brought from Ophir great plenty of thyine-trees and precious stones. And the king made of the thyine-trees the rails of the house of the Lord, and of the king's house, and citterns and harps for singers: there was no such thyine-trees as these brought, nor seen unto this day. And king Solomon gave the queen of Saba all that she desired, and asked of him: besides what he offered her of himself of his royal bounty. And she returned, and went to her own country with her servants.

Solomon's Riches.-And the weight of the gold that was brought to Solomon every year was six hundred sixty-six talents of gold: besides that which the men brought him that were over the tributes, and the merchants, and they that sold by retail, and all the kings of Arabia, and the governors of the country.

And Solomon made two hundred shields of the purest gold: he allowed six hundred shekels of gold for the plates of one shield: and three hundred targets of fine gold: three hundred pounds of gold covered one target: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Libanus.

King Solomon also made a great throne of ivory: and overlaid it with the finest gold. It had six steps: and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were two hands on

*Ophir is thought to have been a place on the coast of Arabia or perhaps the island of Ceylon.

either side holding the seat and two lions stood, one at each hand. And twelve little lions stood upon the six steps on the one side and on the other: there was no such work made in any kingdom.

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Moreover all the vessels out of which king Solomon drank were of gold and all the furniture of the house of the forest of Libanus was of most pure gold: there was no silver, nor was any account made of it in the days of Solomon: for the king's navy, once in three years, went with the navy of Hiram by sea to Tharsis, and brought from thence gold, and silver, and elephants' teeth, and apes, and peacocks. And king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. And all the earth desired to see Solomon's face, to hear his wisdom, which God had given in his heart. And every one brought him presents, vessels of silver and of gold, garments and armour, and spices, and horses and mules every year.

And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen, and he had a thousand four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen and he bestowed them in fenced cities, and with the king in Jerusalem. And he made silver to be as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones and cedars to be as common as sycamores which grow in the plains. And horses were brought for Solomon out of Egpyt and Coa: for the king's merchants brought them out of Coa, and bought them at a set price. And a chariot of four horses came out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. And after this manner did all the kings of the Hethites and of Syria sell horses.

His many Wives. And king Solomon loved many strange 3 Kings XI women besides the daughter of Pharao, and women of Moab, and 1-14. of Ammon, and of Edom, and of Sidon, and of the Hethites; of the nations concerning which the Lord said to the children of Israel: You shall not go in unto them, neither shall any of them come into yours: for they will most certainly turn away your heart to follow their gods. And to these was Solomon joined with a most ardent love. And he had seven hundred wives as queens, and three hundred concubines: and the women turned away his heart.

And when he was now old, his heart was turned away by women to follow strange gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. But Solomon worshipped Astarthe the goddess of the Sidonians, and Moloch the idol of the Ammonites. And Solomon did that

* Tharsis, or Tharshish, is considered to be the same as Tartessus, a port în the south coast of Spain.

T

3 Kings XI. 26-43.

which was not pleasing before the Lord, and did not fully follow the Lord, as David his father. Then Solomon built a temple for Chamos the idol of Moab, on the hill that is over-against Jerusalem, and for Moloch the idol of the children of Ammon. And he did in this manner for all his wives that were strangers, who burnt incense, and offered sacrifice to their gods.

And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his mind was turned away from the Lord the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not follow strange gods: but he kept not the things which the Lord commanded him. The Lord therefore said to Solomon: Because thou hast done this, and hast not kept My covenant and My precepts, which I have commanded thee, I will divide and rend thy kingdom, and will give it to thy servant. Nevertheless in thy days I will not do it, for David thy father's sake but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. Neither will I take away the whole kingdom, but I will give one tribe to thy son for the sake of David My servant, and Jerusalem which I have chosen.

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And the Lord raised up an adversary to Solomon, Adad the Edomite of the king's seed, in Edom.

Jeroboam also the son of Nabat an Ephrathite of Sareda, a servant of Solomon, whose mother was named Sarua, a widow woman, lifted up his hand against the king. And this is the cause of his rebellion against him, that Solomon built Mello, and filled up the breach of the city of David his father. And Jeroboam was a valiant and mighty man: and Solomon seeing him a young man ingenious and industrious, made him chief over the tributes of all the house of Joseph.

Jeroboam and Ahias.-So it came to pass at that time, that Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, and the prophet Ahias the Silonite, clad with a new garment, found him in the way: and they two were alone in the field. And Ahias taking his new garment, wherewith he was clad, divided it into twelve parts: and he said to Jeroboam: Take to thee ten pieces: for thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: Behold I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give thee ten tribes. But one tribe shall remain to him for the sake of My servant David, and Jerusalem the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel: because he hath forsaken Me, and hath adored Astarthe the goddess of the Sidonians, and Chamos the god of Moab, and Moloch the god of the children of Ammon: and hath not walked in My ways, to do justice before Me, and to keep My precepts and judgments as did David his father. Yet I will

not take away all the kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him prince all the days of his life, for David My servant's sake, whom I chose, who kept My commandments and My precepts. But I will take away the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give thee ten tribes and to his son I will give one tribe, that there may remain a lamp for My servant David before Me always in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen, that My name might be there. And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign over all that thy soul desireth, and thou shalt be king over Israel. If then thou wilt hearken to all that I shall command thee, and wilt walk in My ways, and do what is right before Me, keeping My commandments and My precepts, as David My servant did, I will be with thee, and will build thee up a faithful house, as I built a house for David, and I will deliver Israel to thee and I will for this afflict the seed of David, but yet not for ever.

Solomon therefore sought to kill Jeroboam: but he arose, and fled into Egypt to Sesac the king of Egypt, and was in Egypt till the death of Solomon.

And the rest of the words of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom; behold they are all written in the book of the words of the days of Solomon.* And the days that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel were forty years. And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father, and Roboam his son reigned in his stead.

SECT. LXXV. ROBOAM SUCCEEDS HIS FATHER SOLOMON. TEN TRIBES
REVOLT FROM HIM AND FOLLOW JEROBOAM.

Roboam.-And Roboam went to Sichem for thither were 3 Kings

all Israel come together to make him king.

B.C: 975.

But Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who was yet in Egypt, a fugitive from the face of king Solomon, hearing of his death, returned out of Egypt. And they sent and called him: and Jeroboam came, and all the multitude of Israel, and they spoke to Roboam, saying: Thy father laid a grievous yoke upon us; now therefore do thou take off a little of the grievous service of thy father, and of his most heavy yoke, which he put upon us, and we will serve thee. And he said to them: Go till the third day, and come to me again.

And when the people was gone, king Roboam took counsel with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and he said: What counsel do you give me, that I may

* Solomon is believed to have repented of his sins before his death, and in

his repentance to have written the Book of Ecclesiastes.

XII, 1-33.

answer this people? They said to him: If thou wilt yield to this people to-day, and condescend to them, and grant their petition, and wilt speak gentle words to them, they will be thy servants always. But he left the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men, that had been brought up with him, and stood before him. And he said to them: What counsel do you give me, that I may answer this people, who have said to me: Make the yoke which thy father put upon us lighter? And the young men that had been brought up with him said: Thus shalt thou speak to this people, who have spoken to thee, saying: Thy father made our yoke heavy, do thou ease us. Thou shalt say to them: My little finger is thicker than the back of my father. And now my father put a heavy yoke upon you, but I will add to your yoke: my father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions.

So Jeroboam and all the people came to Roboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying: Come to me again the third day. And the king answered the people roughly, leaving the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying: My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke my father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions. And the king condescended not to the people: for the Lord was turned away from him, to make good His word, which He had spoken in the hand of Ahias the Silonite, to Jeroboam the son of Nabat. Then the people, seeing that the king would not hearken to them, answered him, saying: What portion have we in David? or what inheritance in the son of Jesse Go home to thy dwellings, O Israel; now, David, look to thy own house. So Israel departed to their dwellings. But as for all the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Juda, Roboam reigned over them.

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The Revolt of the Ten Tribes.-Then king Roboam sent Aduram, who was over the tribute: and all Israel stoned him, and he died. Wherefore king Roboam made haste to get him up into his chariot, and he fled to Jerusalem and Israel revolted from the house of David, unto this day. And it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they gathered an assembly, and sent and called him, and made him king over all Israel, and there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Juda only.*

* Benjamin was a small tribe, and so intermixed with the tribe of Juda (the very city of Jerusalem being partly in Juda, partly in Benjamin), that they are here counted but as one tribe. DOUAY BIBLE.