Verse Lens · Concise explanation
1 Kings 11:34 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 34. 34Howbeit 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:
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence: “Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “Jeroboam rises and receives Ahijah's torn-garment oracle.”
Jeroboam is an industrious servant over forced labor
This verse is one part of that explanation in 1 Kings 11:26–40. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- 1 Kings 11:26–40
Read 1 Kings 11:34 with 11:26–40. The selected wording supplies one step in the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: Introduces the capable Ephraimite official Jeroboam and names his widowed mother Zeruah; reports Solomon's attempt to kill Jeroboam and Jeroboam's flight to Shishak in Egypt.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “Jeroboam rises and receives Ahijah's torn-garment oracle,” 1 Kings 11:34 advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence through the wording “Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: 1 Kings 11:23–25 establishes this prior movement: Introduces Rezon, a fugitive from Hadadezer, as another divinely raised adversary; summarizes Rezon's persistent hostility and Hadad's harm during Solomon's reign. 1 Kings 11:26–40 responds to the pressure, request, or claim already established; that demonstrated relationship, rather than database adjacency alone, explains its placement.
Read 1 Kings 11:26–40 together
Why these verses belong together: Jeroboam rises and receives Ahijah's torn-garment oracle is the complete reviewed scene, prayer, oracle, list, or regnal notice bounded at 11:26–11:40.
Verse 26. 26 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.
Verse 27. 27 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.
Verse 28. 28 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.
Verse 29. 29 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:
Verse 30. 30 And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces:
Verse 31. 31 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:
Verse 32. 32 (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:)
Verse 33. 33 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.
Verse 34. 34 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:
Verse 35. 35 But I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand, and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes.
Verse 36. 36 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.
Verse 37. 37 And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel.
Verse 38. 38 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.
Verse 39. 39 And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not for ever.
Verse 40. 40 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.
What Remains True
Truthful witness may confront power without making every messenger, method, or claimed revelation morally infallible. This unit tests that truth through introduces the capable Ephraimite official Jeroboam and names his widowed mother Zeruah; reports Solomon's attempt to kill Jeroboam and Jeroboam's flight to Shishak in Egypt. In 1 Kings 11:34, the concrete line “Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince…” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read 1 Kings 11:26–40 — Jeroboam rises and receives Ahijah's torn-garment oracleSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: 1 Kings 11:26–40, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 1 Kings
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording and morphology used for lexical, grammatical, name, clause, and older-English checks; this is not a critical apparatus or historical proof.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Kgs.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 11:26–40
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: 1 Kings with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Only printed unit-level translation, lexical, grammatical, textual, historical, and verse-numbering notes; silence is not evidence.
Exact location: NET Bible 1 Kings PDF, printed pp. 605–608, translation and translator notes for 11:26–40
Open source ↗