1 Kings 11:4

4 For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David.

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 of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, "You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods." Solomon clung to these in love.

3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart.

4 For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David.

5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.

6 Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not fully follow the Lord, as did his father David.