Bible in a Year.

On day 153, we witness Solomon's downfall in 1 Kings 11, his transgressions, and the foreshadowing of the kingdom's division. Ecclesiastes 10-12 concludes the reflection on life and wisdom, reminding us of the inevitability of death and the importance of fearing God. Psalm 9 reinforces our trust in divine justice and invites us to praise His faithfulness.

1. And king Solomon loved many strange women besides the daughter of Pharao, and women of Moab, and of Ammon, and of Edom, and of Sidon, and of the Hethites:

2. 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 in to 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.

3. And he had seven hundred wives as queens, and three hundred concubines: and the women turned away his heart.

4. 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.

5. But Solomon worshipped Astarthe the goddess of the Sidonians, and Moloch the idol of the ammonites.

6. And Solomon did that which was net pleasing before the Lord, and did not fully follow the Lord, as David his father.

7. 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.

8. And he did in this manner for all his wives that were strangers, who burnt incense, and offered sacrifice to their gods.

9. 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,

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.

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

15. For when David was in Edom, and Joab the general of the army was gone up to bury them that were slain, and had killed every male in Edom,

16. (For Joab remained there six months with all Israel, till he had slain every male in Edom,)

17. Then Adad fled, he and certain Edomites, of his father's servants with him, to go into Egypt: and Adad was then a little boy.

18. And they arose out of Madian, and came into Pharan, and they took men with them from Pharan, and went into Egypt to Pharao the king of Egypt: who gave him a house, and appointed him victuals, and assigned him land.

19. And Adad found great favour before Pharao, insomuch that he gave him to wife, the own sister of his wife Taphnes the queen.

20. And the sister of Taphnes bore him his son Genubath, and Taphnes brought him up in the house of Pharao: and Genubath dwelt with Pharao among his children.

21. And when Adad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers, and that Joab the general of the army was dead, he add to Pharao: Let me depart, that I may go to my own country.

22. And Pharao said to him: Why, what is wanting to thee with me, that thou seekest to go to thy own country? But he answered: Nothing: yet I beseech thee to let me go.

23. God also raised up against him an adversary, Razon the son of Eliada, 'who had fled from his master Adarezer the king of Soba:

24. And he gathered men against him, and he became a captain of robbers, when David slew them of Soba: and they went to Damascus, and dwelt there, and they made him king in Damascus.

25. And he was an adversary to Israel, all the days of Solomon: and this is the evil of Adad, and his hatred against Israel, and he reigned in Syria.

26. 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.

27. And this is the cause of his rebellion against him, for Solomon built Mello, and filled up the breach of the city of David his father.

28. 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.

29. So it came to paste 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 held.

30. And Ahias taking his new garment, wherewith he was clad, divided it into twelve parts:

31. 31And 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.

32. 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:

33. 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.

34. 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.

35. But I will take away the kingdom out of his son's hand and will give thee ten tribes:

36. 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.

37. And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign over all that thy soul desireth, and thou shalt be king over Israel.

38. 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:

39. And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but yet not for ever.

40. 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.

41. 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.

42. And the days that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel, were forty years.

43. And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father, and Roboam his son reigned in his stead.

Chapter 10

1. Dying flies spoil the sweetness of the ointment. Wisdom and glory is more precious than a small and shortlived folly.

2. The heart of a wise man is in his right hand, and the heart of a fool is in his left hand.

3. Yea, and the fool when he walketh in the way, whereas be himself is a fool, esteemeth all men fools.

4. If the spirit of him that hath power, ascend upon thee, leave not thy place: because care will make the greatest sins to cease.

5. There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as it were by an error proceeding from the face of the prince:

6. A fool set in high dignity, and the rich sitting beneath.

7. I have seen servants upon horses: and princes walking on the ground as servants.

8. He that diggeth a pit, shall fall into it: and he that breaketh a hedge, a serpent shall bite him.

9. He that removeth stones, shall be hurt by them: and he that cutteth trees, shall be wounded by them.

10. If the iron be blunt, and be not as before, but be made blunt, with much labour it shall be sharpened: and after industry shall follow wisdom.

11. If a serpent bite in silence, he is nothing better that backbiteth secretly.

12. The words of the mouth of a wise man are grace: but the lips of a fool shall throw him down headlong.

13. The beginning of his words is folly, and the end of his talk is a mischievous error.

14. A fool multiplieth words. A man cannot tell what hath been before him: and what shall be after him, who can tell him?

15. The labour of fools shall afflict them that know not bow to go to the city.

16. Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and when the princes eat in the morning.

17. Blessed is the land, whose king is noble, and whose princes eat in due season for refreshment, and not for riotousness.

18. By slothfulness a building shall be brought down, and through the weakness of hands, the house shall drop through.

19. For laughter they make bread, and wine that the living may feast: and all things obey money.

20. Detract not the king, no not in thy thought; and speak not evil of the rich man in thy private chamber: because even the birds of the air will carry thy voice, and he that hath wings will tell what thou hast said.

Chapter 11

1. Cast thy bread upon the running waters: for after a long time thou shalt find it again.

2. Give a portion to seven, and also to eight: for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.

3. If the clouds be full, they will pour out rain upon the earth. If the tree fall to the south, or to the north, in what place soever it shall fall, there shall it be.

4. He that observeth the wind, shall not sow: and he that considereth the clouds, shall never reap.

5. As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones are joined together in the womb of her that is with child: so thou knowest not the works of God, who is the maker of all.

6. In the morning sow thy seed, and In the evening let not thy hand cease: for thou knowest not which may rather spring up, this or that: and if both together, it shall be the better.

7. The light is sweet, and it is delightful for the eyes to see the sun.

8. If a man live many years, and have rejoiced in them all, he must remember the darksome time, and the many days: which when they shall come, the things past shall be accused of vanity.

9. Rejoice therefore, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart be in that which is good in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thy eyes: and know that for all these God will bring thee into judgment.

10. Remove anger from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh. For youth and pleasure are vain.

Chapter 12

1. Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before the time of affliction come, and the years draw nigh of which thou shalt say: They please me not:

2. Before the sun, and the light, and the moon, and the stars be darkened, and the clouds return after the rain:

3. When the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall stagger, and the grinders shall be idle in a small number, and they that look through the holes shall be darkened:

4. And they shall shut the doors in the street, when the grinder's voice shall be low, and they shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of music shall grow deaf.

5. And they shall fear high things, and they shall be afraid in the way, the almond tree shall flourish, the locust shall be made fat, and the caper tree shall be destroyed: because man shall go into the house of his eternity, and the mourners shall go round about in the street.

6. Before the silver cord be broken, and the golden fillet shrink back, and the pitcher be crushed at the fountain, and the wheel be broken upon the cistern,

7. And the dust return into its earth, from whence it was, and the spirit return to God, who gave it.

8. Vanity of vanities, said Ecclesiastes, and all things are vanity.

9. And whereas Ecclesiastes was very wise, he taught the people, and declared the things that he had done: and seeking out, he set forth many parables.

10. He sought profitable words, and wrote words most right, and full of truth.

11. The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails deeply fastened in, which by the counsel of masters are given from one shepherd.

12. More than these, my son, require not. Of making many books there is no end: and much study is an affliction of the flesh.

13. Let us all hear together the conclusion of the discourse. Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is all man:

14. And all things that are done, God will bring into judgment for every error, whether it be good or evil.

1. Unto the end, for the presses: a psalm of David.

2. O Lord our Lord, how admirable is thy name in the whole earth! For thy magnificence is elevated above the heavens.

3. Out of the mouth of infants and of sucklings thou hast perfected praise, because of thy enemies, that thou mayst destroy the enemy and the avenger.

4. For I will behold thy heavens, the works of thy fingers: the moon and the stars which thou hast founded.

5. What is man that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that thou visitest hi?

6. Thou hast made him a little less than the angels, thou hast crowned him with glory and honour:

7. and hast set him over the works of thy hands.

8. Thou hast subjected all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen: moreover the beasts also of the fields.

9. The birds of the air, and the fishes of the sea, that pass through the paths of the sea.

10. O Lord our Lord, how admirable is thy name in all the earth!