So the five men departed and came to (A)Laish, and saw the people who were in it living in security, in the way of the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting; for there was no [a]oppressive ruler humiliating them for anything in the land, and they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone.

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Footnotes

  1. Judges 18:7 Or oppressive conqueror; lit possessor of oppression

So the five men(A) left and came to Laish,(B) where they saw that the people were living in safety, like the Sidonians, at peace and secure.(C) And since their land lacked nothing, they were prosperous.[a] Also, they lived a long way from the Sidonians(D) and had no relationship with anyone else.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. Judges 18:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
  2. Judges 18:7 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts with the Arameans

Solomon Turns from God

11 Now (A)King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations of which the Lord had said to the sons of Israel, “(B)You shall not [a]associate with them, nor shall they [b]associate with you; they will certainly turn your heart away [c]to follow their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. (C)He had seven hundred wives, who were [d]princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned his heart away. For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away [e]to follow other gods; and (D)his heart was not [f]wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of his father David had been. For Solomon became a follower of (E)Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and of [g](F)Milcom the abhorrent idol of the Ammonites.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 11:2 Lit go among
  2. 1 Kings 11:2 Lit go among
  3. 1 Kings 11:2 Lit after their
  4. 1 Kings 11:3 Or women of rank
  5. 1 Kings 11:4 Lit after other
  6. 1 Kings 11:4 Lit complete with
  7. 1 Kings 11:5 In Jer 49:1, 3, Malcam

Solomon’s Wives

11 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women(A) besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites,(B) Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry(C) with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines,(D) and his wives led him astray.(E) As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods,(F) and his heart was not fully devoted(G) to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. He followed Ashtoreth(H) the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek(I) the detestable god of the Ammonites.

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Jehu Destroys Baal Worshipers

18 Then Jehu gathered all the people and said to them, “(A)Ahab served Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much.

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Servants of Baal Killed

18 Then Jehu brought all the people together and said to them, “Ahab served(A) Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much.

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16 And they abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God and made for themselves cast metal images: (A)two calves. And they (B)made an [a]Asherah, and (C)worshiped all the heavenly [b]lights, and (D)served Baal.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 17:16 I.e., a wooden symbol of a female deity
  2. 2 Kings 17:16 Lit host

16 They forsook all the commands of the Lord their God and made for themselves two idols cast in the shape of calves,(A) and an Asherah(B) pole. They bowed down to all the starry hosts,(C) and they worshiped Baal.(D)

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