1 Kings 11:4

4 When Solomon was old, his wives seduced him [to follow] other gods. His heart was not completely with the Lord his God, as his father David's heart had been.^[a]

1 Kings 11:4 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 11:4

And it came to pass, when Solomon was old
Toward the latter end of his reign, when he might be near sixty years of age; for Rehoboam his son and successor was forty one when he began to reign, ( 1 Kings 14:21 ) which is observed either as an aggravation of the sin of Solomon, that in his old age, when by long experience he might have been thought to be still wiser, and less lustful: and yet

that his wives turned away his heart after other gods;
or as pointing at the advantage his wives took of his age:

and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart
of David his father;
who, though guilty of many sins, never inclined to idolatry; his heart was always right in that point, and sincere in his worship, see ( Psalms 18:20-24 ) .

1 Kings 11:4 In-Context

2 from the nations that the Lord had told the Israelites about, "Do not intermarry with them, and they must not intermarry with you, because they will turn you away [from Me] to their gods." Solomon was deeply attached to these women and loved [them].

3 He had 700 wives who were princesses and 300 concubines, and they turned his heart away [from the Lord].

4 When Solomon was old, his wives seduced him [to follow] other gods. His heart was not completely with the Lord his God, as his father David's heart had been.

5 Solomon followed Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom, the detestable idol of the Ammonites.

6 Solomon did what was evil in the Lord's sight, and unlike his father David, he did not completely follow the Lord.

Footnotes

• [a]. 1 Ch 29:19