1Kings:10-12
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And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD ,
she came to prove him with hard questions .
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And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train ,
with camels that bare spices ,
and very much gold ,
and precious stones :
and when she was come to Solomon ,
she communed with him of all that was in her heart .
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And Solomon told her all her questions :
there was not any thing hid from the king ,
which he told her not .
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And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon '
s wisdom ,
and the house that he had built ,
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And the meat of his table ,
and the sitting of his servants ,
and the attendance of his ministers ,
and their apparel ,
and his cupbearers ,
and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the LORD ;
there was no more spirit in her .
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And she said to the king ,
It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom .
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Howbeit I believed not the words ,
until I came ,
and mine eyes had seen it :
and ,
behold ,
the half was not told me :
thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard .
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Happy are thy men ,
happy are these thy servants ,
which stand continually before thee ,
and that hear thy wisdom .
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Blessed be the LORD thy God ,
which delighted in thee ,
to set thee on the throne of Israel :
because the LORD loved Israel for ever ,
therefore made he thee king ,
to do judgment and justice .
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And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold ,
and of spices very great store ,
and precious stones :
there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon .
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And the navy also of Hiram ,
that brought gold from Ophir ,
brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees ,
and precious stones .
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And the king made of the almug trees pillars for the house of the LORD ,
and for the king '
s house ,
harps also and psalteries for singers :
there came no such almug trees ,
nor were seen unto this day .
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And king Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her desire ,
whatsoever she asked ,
beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty .
So she turned and went to her own country ,
she and her servants .
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Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold ,
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Beside that he had of the merchantmen ,
and of the traffick of the spice merchants ,
and of all the kings of Arabia ,
and of the governors of the country .
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And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold :
six hundred shekels of gold went to one target .
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And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold ;
three pound of gold went to one shield :
and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon .
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Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory ,
and overlaid it with the best gold .
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The throne had six steps ,
and the top of the throne was round behind :
and there were stays on either side on the place of the seat ,
and two lions stood beside the stays .
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And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps :
there was not the like made in any kingdom .
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And all king Solomon '
s drinking vessels were of gold ,
and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold ;
none were of silver :
it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon .
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For the king had at sea a navy of Tharshish with the navy of Hiram :
once in three years came the navy of Tharshish ,
bringing gold ,
and silver ,
ivory ,
and apes ,
and peacocks .
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So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom .
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And all the earth sought to Solomon ,
to hear his wisdom ,
which God had put in his heart .
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And they brought every man his present ,
vessels of silver ,
and vessels of gold ,
and garments ,
and armour ,
and spices ,
horses ,
and mules ,
a rate year by year .
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And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen :
and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots ,
and twelve thousand horsemen ,
whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots ,
and with the king at Jerusalem .
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And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones ,
and cedars made he to be as the sycomore trees that are in the vale ,
for abundance .
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And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt ,
and linen yarn :
the king '
s merchants received the linen yarn at a price .
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And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver ,
and an horse for an hundred and fifty :
and so for all the kings of the Hittites ,
and for the kings of Syria ,
did they bring them out by their means .
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But king Solomon loved many strange women ,
together with the daughter of Pharaoh ,
women of the Moabites ,
Ammonites ,
Edomites ,
Zidonians ,
and Hittites ;
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Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel ,
Ye shall not go in to them ,
neither shall they come in unto you :
for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods :
Solomon clave unto these in love .
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And he had seven hundred wives ,
princesses ,
and three hundred concubines :
and his wives turned away his heart .
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For it came to pass ,
when Solomon was old ,
that his wives turned away his heart after other gods :
and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God ,
as was the heart of David his father .
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For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians ,
and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites .
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And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD ,
and went not fully after the LORD ,
as did David his father .
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Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh ,
the abomination of Moab ,
in the hill that is before Jerusalem ,
and for Molech ,
the abomination of the children of Ammon .
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And likewise did he for all his strange wives ,
which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods .
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And the LORD was angry with Solomon ,
because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel ,
which had appeared unto him twice ,
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And had commanded him concerning this thing ,
that he should not go after other gods :
but he kept not that which the LORD commanded .
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Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon ,
Forasmuch as this is done of thee ,
and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes ,
which I have commanded thee ,
I will surely rend the kingdom from thee ,
and will give it to thy servant .
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Notwithstanding 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 .
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Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom ;
but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant '
s sake ,
and for Jerusalem '
s sake which I have chosen .
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And the LORD stirred up an adversary unto Solomon ,
Hadad the Edomite :
he was of the king '
s seed in Edom .
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For it came to pass ,
when David was in Edom ,
and Joab the captain of the host was gone up to bury the slain ,
after he had smitten every male in Edom ;
* (
For six months did Joab remain there with all Israel ,
until he had cut off every male in Edom :)
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That Hadad fled ,
he and certain Edomites of his father '
s servants with him ,
to go into Egypt ;
Hadad being yet a little child .
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And they arose out of Midian ,
and came to Paran :
and they took men with them out of Paran ,
and they came to Egypt ,
unto Pharaoh king of Egypt ;
which gave him an house ,
and appointed him victuals ,
and gave him land .
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And Hadad found great favour in the sight of Pharaoh ,
so that he gave him to wife the sister of his own wife ,
the sister of Tahpenes the queen .
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And the sister of Tahpenes bare him Genubath his son ,
whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh '
s house :
and Genubath was in Pharaoh '
s household among the sons of Pharaoh .
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And when Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers ,
and that Joab the captain of the host was dead ,
Hadad said to Pharaoh ,
Let me depart ,
that I may go to mine own country .
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Then Pharaoh said unto him ,
But what hast thou lacked with me ,
that ,
behold ,
thou seekest to go to thine own country ?
And he answered ,
Nothing :
howbeit let me go in any wise .
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And God stirred him up another adversary ,
Rezon the son of Eliadah ,
which fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah :
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And he gathered men unto him ,
and became captain over a band ,
when David slew them of Zobah :
and they went to Damascus ,
and dwelt therein ,
and reigned in Damascus .
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And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon ,
beside the mischief that Hadad did :
and he abhorred Israel ,
and reigned over Syria .
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And Jeroboam the son of Nebat ,
an Ephrathite of Zereda ,
Solomon '
s servant ,
whose mother '
s name was Zeruah ,
a widow woman ,
even he lifted up his hand against the king .
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And this was the cause that he lifted up his hand against the king :
Solomon built Millo ,
and repaired the breaches of the city of David his father .
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And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour :
and Solomon seeing the young man that he was industrious ,
he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph .
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And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem ,
that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way ;
and he had clad himself with a new garment ;
and they two were alone in the field :
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And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him ,
and rent it in twelve pieces :
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And he said to Jeroboam ,
Take 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 ten tribes to thee :
* (
But he shall have one tribe for my servant David '
s sake ,
and for Jerusalem '
s sake ,
the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel :)
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Because that they have forsaken me ,
and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians ,
Chemosh the god of the Moabites ,
and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon ,
and have not walked in my ways ,
to do that which is right in mine eyes ,
and to keep my statutes and my judgments ,
as did David his father .
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Howbeit I will not take the whole 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 ,
because he kept my commandments and my statutes :
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But I will take the kingdom out of his son '
s hand ,
and will give it unto thee ,
even ten tribes .
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And unto his son will I give one tribe ,
that David my servant may have a light alway before me in Jerusalem ,
the city which I have chosen me to put my name there .
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And I will take thee ,
and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth ,
and shalt be king over Israel .
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And it shall be ,
if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee ,
and wilt walk in my ways ,
and do that is right in my sight ,
to keep my statutes and my commandments ,
as David my servant did ;
that I will be with thee ,
and build thee a sure house ,
as I built for David ,
and will give Israel unto thee .
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And I will for this afflict the seed of David ,
but not for ever .
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Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam .
And Jeroboam arose ,
and fled into Egypt ,
unto Shishak king of Egypt ,
and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon .
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And the rest of the acts of Solomon ,
and all that he did ,
and his wisdom ,
are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon ?
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And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years .
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And Solomon slept with his fathers ,
and was buried in the city of David his father :
and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead .
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And Rehoboam went to Shechem :
for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king .
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And it came to pass ,
when Jeroboam the son of Nebat ,
who was yet in Egypt ,
heard of it , (
for he was fled from the presence of king Solomon ,
and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt ;)
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That they sent and called him .
And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came ,
and spake unto Rehoboam ,
saying ,
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Thy father made our yoke grievous :
now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father ,
and his heavy yoke which he put upon us ,
lighter ,
and we will serve thee .
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And he said unto them ,
Depart yet for three days ,
then come again to me .
And the people departed .
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And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men ,
that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived ,
and said ,
How do ye advise that I may answer this people ?
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And they spake unto him ,
saying ,
If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day ,
and wilt serve them ,
and answer them ,
and speak good words to them ,
then they will be thy servants for ever .
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But he forsook the counsel of the old men ,
which they had given him ,
and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him ,
and which stood before him :
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And he said unto them ,
What counsel give ye that we may answer this people ,
who have spoken to me ,
saying ,
Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us lighter ?
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And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him ,
saying ,
Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee ,
saying ,
Thy father made our yoke heavy ,
but make thou it lighter unto us ;
thus shalt thou say unto them ,
My little finger shall be thicker than my father '
s loins .
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And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke ,
I will add to your yoke :
my father hath chastised you with whips ,
but I will chastise you with scorpions .
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So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day ,
as the king had appointed ,
saying ,
Come to me again the third day .
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And the king answered the people roughly ,
and forsook the old men '
s counsel that they gave him ;
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And spake to them after the counsel of the young men ,
saying ,
My father made your yoke heavy ,
and I will add to your yoke :
my father also chastised you with whips ,
but I will chastise you with scorpions .
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Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the people ;
for the cause was from the LORD ,
that he might perform his saying ,
which the LORD spake by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat .
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So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them ,
the people answered the king ,
saying ,
What portion have we in David ?
neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse :
to your tents ,
O Israel :
now see to thine own house ,
David .
So Israel departed unto their tents .
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But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah ,
Rehoboam reigned over them .
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Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram ,
who was over the tribute ;
and all Israel stoned him with stones ,
that he died .
Therefore king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot ,
to flee to Jerusalem .
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So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day .
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And it came to pass ,
when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again ,
that they sent and called him unto the congregation ,
and made him king over all Israel :
there was none that followed the house of David ,
but the tribe of Judah only .
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And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem ,
he assembled all the house of Judah ,
with the tribe of Benjamin ,
an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men ,
which were warriors ,
to fight against the house of Israel ,
to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon .
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But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God ,
saying ,
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Speak unto Rehoboam ,
the son of Solomon ,
king of Judah ,
and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin ,
and to the remnant of the people ,
saying ,
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Thus saith the LORD ,
Ye shall not go up ,
nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel :
return every man to his house ;
for this thing is from me .
They hearkened therefore to the word of the LORD ,
and returned to depart ,
according to the word of the LORD .
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Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim ,
and dwelt therein ;
and went out from thence ,
and built Penuel .
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And Jeroboam said in his heart ,
Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David :
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If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem ,
then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord ,
even unto Rehoboam king of Judah ,
and they shall kill me ,
and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah .
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Whereupon the king took counsel ,
and made two calves of gold ,
and said unto them ,
It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem :
behold thy gods ,
O Israel ,
which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt .
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And he set the one in Bethel ,
and the other put he in Dan .
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And this thing became a sin :
for the people went to worship before the one ,
even unto Dan .
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And he made an house of high places ,
and made priests of the lowest of the people ,
which were not of the sons of Levi .
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And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month ,
on the fifteenth day of the month ,
like unto the feast that is in Judah ,
and he offered upon the altar .
So did he in Bethel ,
sacrificing unto the calves that he had made :
and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made .
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So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month ,
even in the month which he had devised of his own heart ;
and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel :
and he offered upon the altar ,
and burnt incense .
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And ,
behold ,
there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel :
and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense .