1 Raja-raja 11:1

The Lord Punishes Solomon for Idolatry

11:1 King Solomon fell in love with many foreign women (besides Pharaoh’s daughter), including Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites.

Ulangan 17:17

17:17 Furthermore, he must not marry many ¹  wives lest his affections turn aside, and he must not accumulate much silver and gold.

Nehemia 13:26

13:26 Was it not because of things like these that King Solomon of Israel sinned? Among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his God, and God made ²  him king over all Israel. But the foreign wives made even him sin!

Amsal 31:3

31:3 Do not give your strength ³  to women,

nor your ways ⁴  to that which ruins ⁵  kings.

[17:17]  ¹ tn Heb “must not multiply” (cf. KJV, NASB); NLT “must not take many.”

[13:26]  ² tn Heb “gave.”

[31:3]  ³ sn The word translated “strength” refers to physical powers here, i.e., “vigor” (so NAB) or “stamina.” It is therefore a metonymy of cause; the effect would be what spending this strength meant – sexual involvement with women. It would be easy for a king to spend his energy enjoying women, but that would be unwise.

[31:3]  ⁴ sn The word “ways” may in general refer to the heart’s affection for or attention to, or it may more specifically refer to sexual intercourse. While in the book of Proverbs the term is an idiom for the course of life, in this context it must refer to the energy spent in this activity.

[31:3]  ⁵ tn The construction uses Qal infinitive construct לַמְחוֹת (lamkhot, “to wipe out; to blot out; to destroy”). The construction is somewhat strange, and so some interpreters suggest changing it to מֹחוֹת (mokhot, “destroyers of kings”); cf. BDB 562 s.v. מָחָה Qal.3. Commentators note that the form is close to an Aramaic word that means “concubine,” and an Arabic word that is an indelicate description for women.