Add parallel Print Page Options

And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the place of his father; for Hiram always loved David.

And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying,

Thou knowest that David my father could not build a house unto the name of Jehovah his God, because of the wars which were about him on every side, until Jehovah put them under the soles of his feet.

But now Jehovah my God has given me rest on every side: there is neither adversary nor evil event.

And behold, I purpose to build a house unto the name of Jehovah my God, as Jehovah spoke to David my father saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy stead, he shall build a house unto my name.

And now command that they hew me cedar-trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants; and I will give thee hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt say; for thou knowest that there is not among us any that are experienced in cutting timber like to the Zidonians.

And it came to pass when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be Jehovah this day, who has given to David a wise son over this great people.

And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have heard the things which thou sentest to me for: I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of cypress.

My servants shall bring [them] down from Lebanon to the sea; and I will convey them by sea [in] rafts to the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be broken up there, and thou shalt receive them. And thou shalt accomplish my desire in giving food for my household.

10 So Hiram gave Solomon cedar-trees and cypress-trees [according to] all his desire.

11 And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat as food for his household, and twenty measures of beaten oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year.

12 And Jehovah gave Solomon wisdom as he promised him. And there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league.

13 And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men.

14 And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses; a month they were in Lebanon, two months at home; and Adoniram was over the levy.

15 And Solomon had seventy thousand that bore burdens, and eighty thousand stone-masons in the mountains;

16 besides the overseers whom Solomon had set over the work, three thousand three hundred, who ruled over the people that wrought in the work.

17 And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, hewn stones, to lay the foundation of the house.

18 And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders and the Giblites hewed them, and prepared timber and stones to build the house.

And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of Jehovah.

And the house that king Solomon built for Jehovah was sixty cubits in length, and twenty in breadth, and thirty cubits in height.

And the porch, in front of the temple of the house, was twenty cubits in length, in front of the house broadways, [and] ten cubits was its breadth, in front of the house.

And for the house he made closed windows with fixed lattices.

And against the wall of the house he built floors round about, [against] the walls of the house, round about the temple and the oracle; and he made side-chambers round about.

The lowest floor was five cubits broad, and the middle one was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad; for in the [thickness of the wall of] the house he made resets round about outside, that nothing should be fastened in the walls of the house.

And the house, when it was being built, was built of stone entirely made ready before it was brought thither; so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house while it was being built.

The entrance to the side-chambers of the middle [floor] was in the right side of the house; and they went up by winding stairs into the middle [floor], and out of the middle into the third.

And he built the house, and finished it; and covered the house with beams and boards of cedar.

10 And he built the floors against all the house, five cubits high; and they held to the house by the timbers of cedar.

11 And the word of Jehovah came to Solomon saying,

12 As to this house which thou art building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and practise mine ordinances, and keep all my commandments to walk in them, then will I perform my word as to thee which I spoke unto David thy father;

13 and I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel.

14 And Solomon built the house and finished it.

15 And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar, from the floor of the house to the walls of the roof; he overlaid [them] on the inside with wood, and overlaid the floor of the house with boards of cypress.

16 And he built twenty cubits of the innermost part of the house, both floor and walls, with boards of cedar; and he built [them] for it within, to [be] the oracle, the most holy place.

17 And the house, that is, the temple before it, was forty cubits [long].

18 And the cedar of the house within was carved with colocynths and half-open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen.

19 And he prepared the oracle in the midst of the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of Jehovah.

20 And the oracle within was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof; and he overlaid it with pure gold; and he overlaid the cedar-wood altar—

21 and Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold, and shut off the oracle in front with chains of gold, and overlaid it with gold.

22 And the whole house he overlaid with gold, the whole house entirely; also the whole altar that was by the oracle he overlaid with gold.

23 And he made in the oracle two cherubim of olive-wood, ten cubits high;

24 and one wing of the cherub was five cubits, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub, ten cubits from the end of one wing to the end of the other wing;

25 and the other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubim were of one measure and one form.

26 The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so of the other cherub.

27 And he set the cherubim in the midst of the inner house; and the wings of the cherubim were stretched forth, so that the wing of the one touched the wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched, wing to wing, in the midst of the house.

28 And he overlaid the cherubim with gold.

29 And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved sculptures of cherubim, and palm-trees, and half-open flowers, within and without.

30 And the floor of the house he overlaid with gold, within and without.

31 And for the entrance of the oracle he made doors of olive-wood: the lintel [and] side posts were the fifth part [of the breadth of the house].

32 The two doors were of olive-wood; and he carved on them carvings of cherubim, and palm-trees and half-open flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm-trees.

33 And he also made for the doorway of the temple posts of olive-wood, of the fourth part [of the breadth of the house].

34 And the two folding-doors were of cypress-wood: the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding.

35 And he carved on them cherubim, and palm-trees, and half-open flowers; and overlaid them with gold fitted on the carved work.

36 And he built the inner court of three rows of hewn stone, and a row of cedar-beams.

37 In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of Jehovah laid, in the month Zif;

38 and in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished in all its parts, and according to all the fashion of it. So he was seven years in building it.

And Solomon was thirteen years building his own house; and he finished all his house.

And he built the house of the forest of Lebanon; its length was a hundred cubits, and its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar-pillars, with cedar-beams upon the pillars;

and it was covered with cedar above upon the side-chambers, which were on forty-five pillars, fifteen in a row.

And there were cross-beams in three rows, and window was against window in three ranks.

And all the doors and posts were square, with an architrave; and window was against window in three ranks.

And he made the porch of pillars; its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth thirty cubits; and there was a porch in front of them; and there were pillars, and steps in front of them.

And he made the porch for the throne where he judged, the porch of judgment; and it was covered with cedar from floor to floor.

And his house where he dwelt had another court within the porch, which was of the like work. And he made, like to this porch, a house for Pharaoh's daughter, whom Solomon had taken.

All these [buildings] were of costly stones, hewn stones, according to the measures, sawed with saws, within and without, even from the foundation to the coping, and on the outside as far as the great court.

10 And the foundations were of costly stones, great stones, stones of ten cubits and stones of eight cubits.

11 And above were costly stones, hewn stones, according to the measures, and cedar.

12 And the great court round about had three rows of hewn stones, and a row of cedar-beams; and so it was for the inner court of the house of Jehovah, and the porch of the house.

13 And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre.

14 He was a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass; and he was full of wisdom and understanding and knowledge, to do all kinds of works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and made all his work.

15 And he formed the two pillars of brass; the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits, and a line of twelve cubits encompassed the second pillar.

16 And he made two capitals of molten brass, to set upon the tops of the pillars; the height of the one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits;

17 [and] nets of checker-work, wreaths of chain-work, for the capitals which were upon the top of the pillars; seven for the one capital and seven for the other capital.

18 And he made pomegranates, namely two rows round about upon the one network, to cover the capitals that were upon the top of the pillars; and so he did for the other capital.

19 And the capitals that were upon the top of the pillars were of lily-work [as] in the porch, four cubits.

20 And the capitals upon the two pillars, above also, close to the enlargement which was behind the network, had two hundred pomegranates in rows round about, [also] on the other capital.

21 And he set up the pillars for the porch of the temple; and he set up the right pillar, and called its name Jachin; and he set up the left pillar, and called its name Boaz.

22 And upon the top of the pillars was lily-work; and the work of the pillars was finished.

23 And he made the sea, molten, ten cubits from brim to brim, round all about; and its height was five cubits; and a line of thirty cubits encompassed it round about.

24 And under the brim of it round about there were colocynths, encompassing it, ten in a cubit enclosing the sea round about; two rows of colocynths, cast when it was cast.

25 It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east; and the sea was above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward.

26 And its thickness was a hand-breadth, and its brim was like the work of the brim of a cup, with lily-blossoms; it held two thousand baths.

27 And he made ten bases of brass: four cubits was the length of one base, and the breadth four cubits, and the height three cubits.

28 And the work of the bases was this: they had panels, and the panels were between the fillets.

29 And on the panels that were between the fillets were lions, oxen and cherubim; and over the fillets there was a base above; and beneath the lions and oxen were garlands of festoon-work.

30 And every base had four wheels of brass, and axles of brass; and on its four corners were shoulder-pieces: under the laver were shoulder-pieces molten, behind every garland.

31 And the mouth of it within the crown and above was a cubit; and its mouth was rounded, [as] the work of the base, a cubit and a half; and also upon its mouth was sculpture; but their panels were square, not round.

32 And the four wheels were under the panels; and the supports of the wheels were in the base; and the height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit.

33 And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel: their supports, and their rims, and their spokes and their naves were all molten.

34 And there were four shoulder-pieces to the four corners of one base; of the base itself were its shoulder-pieces.

35 And in the top of the base there was a circular elevation of half a cubit round about; and on the top of the base its stays and its panels were of the same.

36 And he engraved on the plates of its stays and on its panels cherubim, lions and palm-trees, according to the space upon each; and garlands were round about.

37 After this [manner] he made the ten bases: all of them had one casting, one measure, one form.

38 And he made ten lavers of brass: one laver contained forty baths; every laver was four cubits; upon every one of the ten bases one laver.

39 And he put the bases, five on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house; and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward, over against the south.

40 And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the bowls. So Hiram ended doing all the work that he made for king Solomon [for] the house of Jehovah:

41 two pillars, and the globes of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars, two; and the two networks, to cover the two globes of the capitals which were on the top of the pillars;

42 and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, two rows of pomegranates for one network, to cover the two globes of the capitals which were upon the pillars;

43 and the ten bases, and the ten lavers on the bases;

44 and one sea, and the twelve oxen under the sea;

45 and the pots, and the shovels, and the bowls. And all these things, which Hiram made king Solomon for the house of Jehovah, were of bright brass.

46 In the plain of the Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay-ground between Succoth and Zaretan.

47 And Solomon left all the vessels [unweighed] from their exceeding number; the weight of the brass was not ascertained.

48 And Solomon made all the vessels that were [in] the house of Jehovah: the golden altar; and the table of gold, whereon was the shewbread;

49 and the candlesticks of pure gold, five on the right, and five on the left, before the oracle; and the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs of gold,

50 and the basons, and the knives, and the bowls, and the cups, and the censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, for the folding-doors of the inner house, the most holy place, [and] for the doors of the house, of the temple.

51 And all the work was finished that king Solomon made for the house of Jehovah. And Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated; the silver and the gold and the vessels he put among the treasures of the house of Jehovah.

Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the princes of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of Jehovah out of the city of David, which is Zion.

And all the men of Israel assembled themselves to king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, that is, the seventh month.

And all the elders of Israel came; and the priests took up the ark.

And they brought up the ark of Jehovah, and the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent: the priests and the Levites brought them up.

And king Solomon, and all the assembly of Israel that were assembled to him, [who were] with him before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen, which could not be counted nor numbered for multitude.

And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of Jehovah to its place, into the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, under the wings of the cherubim;

for the cherubim stretched forth [their] wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and its staves above.

And the staves were long, so that the ends of the staves were seen from the holy place before the oracle, but they were not seen without. And there they are to this day.

There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone which Moses placed there at Horeb, when Jehovah made [a covenant] with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.

10 And it came to pass when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of Jehovah,

11 and the priests could not stand to do their service because of the cloud; for the glory of Jehovah had filled the house of Jehovah.

12 Then said Solomon: Jehovah said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

13 I have indeed built a house of habitation for thee, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever.

14 And the king turned his face, and blessed the whole congregation of Israel; and the whole congregation of Israel stood.

15 And he said: Blessed be Jehovah the God of Israel, who spoke with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying,

16 Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house in, that my name might be there; but I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.

17 And it was in the heart of David my father to build a house unto the name of Jehovah the God of Israel.

18 But Jehovah said to David my father, Whereas it was in thy heart to build a house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thy heart;

19 nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name.

20 And Jehovah has performed his word which he spoke; and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as Jehovah promised, and I have built the house unto the name of Jehovah the God of Israel.

21 And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of Jehovah, which he made with our fathers when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.

22 And Solomon stood before the altar of Jehovah in the presence of the whole congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward the heavens.

23 And he said, Jehovah, God of Israel! there is no God like thee, in the heavens above, or on the earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart;

24 who hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou didst promise him; thou spokest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled [it] with thy hand, as at this day.

25 And now, Jehovah, God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel, if only thy sons take heed to their way, to walk before me as thou hast walked before me.

26 And now, O God of Israel, let thy words, I pray thee, be verified, which thou hast spoken unto thy servant David my father.

27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heavens, and the heaven of heavens, cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!

28 Yet have respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, Jehovah, my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee this day;

29 that thine eyes may be open upon this house night and day, upon the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant prayeth toward this place.

30 And hearken unto the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place, and hear thou in thy dwelling-place, in the heavens, and when thou hearest, forgive.

31 If a man have sinned against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to adjure him, and the oath come before thine altar in this house;

32 then hear thou in the heavens, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his own head; and justifying the righteous, giving him according to his righteousness.

33 When thy people Israel are put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house;

34 then hear thou in the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land that thou gavest unto their fathers.

35 When the heavens are shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, because thou hast afflicted them;

36 then hear thou in the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou teachest them the good way wherein they should walk; and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance.

37 If there be famine in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blight, mildew, locust, caterpillar; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their gates; whatever plague, whatever sickness there be:

38 what prayer, what supplication soever be made by any man, of all thy people Israel, when they shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and shall spread forth his hands toward this house;

39 then hear thou in the heavens, the settled place of thy dwelling, and forgive, and do, and render unto every man according to all his ways, whose heart thou knowest (for thou, thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men),

40 that they may fear thee all the days that they live upon the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.

41 And as to the stranger also, who is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name's sake

42 (for they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy mighty hand, and of thy stretched-out arm); when he shall come and pray toward this house,

43 hear thou in the heavens thy dwelling-place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; in order that all peoples of the earth may know thy name, [and] that they may fear thee as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name.

44 If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray to Jehovah toward the city that thou hast chosen, and the house that I have built unto thy name;

45 then hear thou in the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their right.

46 If they have sinned against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and give them up to the enemy, and they have carried them away captives unto the enemy's land, far or near;

47 and if they shall take it to heart in the land whither they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captive, saying, We have sinned, and have done iniquity, we have dealt perversely;

48 and if they return unto thee with all their heart and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies who led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city that thou hast chosen, and the house that I have built unto thy name;

49 then hear thou in the heavens, the settled place of thy dwelling, their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their right;

50 and forgive thy people their sin against thee, and all their transgressions whereby they have transgressed against thee, and give them to find compassion with those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them

51 (for they are thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron)—

52 thine eyes being open unto the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in all that they call for unto thee.

53 For thou hast separated them from among all peoples of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spokest through Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord Jehovah.

54 And it was so, that when Solomon had ended praying all this prayer and supplication to Jehovah, he arose from before the altar of Jehovah, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread forth to the heavens,

55 and he stood and blessed the whole congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying,

56 Blessed be Jehovah, who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there has not failed one word of all his good promises which he spoke through Moses his servant!

57 Jehovah our God be with us, as he was with our fathers; let him not forsake us nor cast us off:

58 that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his ordinances, which he commanded our fathers.

59 And let these my words, with which I have made supplication before Jehovah, be nigh to Jehovah our God day and night, that he maintain the right of his servant, and the right of his people Israel, as the matter of each day shall require;

60 that all peoples of the earth may know that Jehovah is God, that there is none else;

61 and that your heart may be perfect with Jehovah our God, to walk in his statutes and to keep his commandments, as at this day.

62 And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifices before Jehovah.

63 And Solomon sacrificed a sacrifice of peace-offerings, which he sacrificed to Jehovah, twenty-two thousand oxen and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of Jehovah.

64 The same day the king hallowed the middle of the court that was before the house of Jehovah; for there he offered the burnt-offerings, and the oblations, and the fat of the peace-offerings, because the brazen altar that was before Jehovah was too small to receive the burnt-offerings, and the oblations, and the fat of the peace-offerings.

65 And at that time Solomon held the feast, and all Israel with him, a great congregation, from the entrance of Hamath unto the torrent of Egypt, before Jehovah our God, seven days and seven days, fourteen days.

66 On the eighth day he sent the people away; and they blessed the king, and went to their tents, joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that Jehovah had done to David his servant, and to Israel his people.

And it came to pass when Solomon had completed the building of the house of Jehovah, and the king's house, and all Solomon's desire which he was pleased to do,

that Jehovah appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon.

And Jehovah said to him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication which thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually.

And [as for] thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, [and] wilt keep my statutes and mine ordinances;

then will I establish the throne of thy kingdom over Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.

[But] if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments, my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them;

then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and the house, which I have hallowed to my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a by word among all peoples;

and this house, [which] is high, every one that passes by it shall be astonished at, and shall hiss, and they shall say, Why has Jehovah done thus to this land and to this house?

And they shall say, Because they forsook Jehovah their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have attached themselves to other gods, and have worshipped them and served them; therefore has Jehovah brought upon them all this evil.

10 And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of Jehovah and the king's house,

11 Hiram the king of Tyre having furnished Solomon with cedar-trees and cypress-trees, and with gold, according to all his desire,—that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.

12 And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities that Solomon had given him; and they did not please him.

13 And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul to this day.

14 And Hiram had sent to the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold.

15 And this is the account of the levy which king Solomon raised, to build the house of Jehovah, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer.

16 —Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and taken Gezer, and burned it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon's wife.

17 —And Solomon built Gezer, and lower Beth-horon,

18 and Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land,

19 and all the store-cities that Solomon had, and cities for chariots, and cities for the horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and on Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.

20 All the people that were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the children of Israel,

21 their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel were not able utterly to destroy, upon them did Solomon impose a tribute of bondservice until this day.

22 But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen; but they were men of war, and his servants, and his chiefs, and his captains, and captains of his chariots, and his horsemen.

23 These were the chief superintendents that were over Solomon's work, five hundred and fifty, that ruled over the people that wrought in the work.

24 But Pharaoh's daughter came up out of the city of David to her house which he had built for her: then he built Millo.

25 And three times in the year did Solomon offer up burnt-offerings and peace-offerings upon the altar that he had built to Jehovah, and he burned incense upon that which was before Jehovah. So he finished the house.

26 And king Solomon made a fleet of ships in Ezion-Geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom.

27 And Hiram sent in the fleet his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon;

28 and they went to Ophir, and fetched thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.

10 And the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon in connection with the name of Jehovah, and came to prove him with enigmas.

And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bore spices and gold in very great abundance, and precious stones; and she came to Solomon, and spoke to him of all that was in her heart.

And Solomon explained to her all she spoke of: there was not a thing hidden from the king that he did not explain to her.

And when the queen of Sheba saw all Solomon's wisdom, and the house that he had built,

and the food of his table, and the deportment of his servants, and the order of service of his attendants, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up to the house of Jehovah, there was no more spirit in her.

And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thine affairs, and of thy wisdom;

but I gave no credit to the words, until I came and mine eyes had seen; and behold, the half was not told me: in wisdom and prosperity thou exceedest the report that I heard.

Happy are thy men! happy are these thy servants, who stand continually before thee, who hear thy wisdom!

Blessed be Jehovah thy God, who delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel! Because Jehovah loves Israel for ever, therefore did he make thee king, to do judgment and justice.

10 And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and spices in very great abundance, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as those which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.

11 (And the fleet also of Hiram, which carried gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir sandal-wood in very great abundance, and precious stones.

12 And the king made of the sandal-wood a balustrade for the house of Jehovah, and for the king's house, and harps and lutes for the singers. There came no such sandal-wood, nor was there seen to this day.)

13 And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she asked, besides what he gave her of the bounty of king Solomon. And she turned and went to her own land, she and her servants.

14 And the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold,

15 besides what [came] by the dealers, and by the traffic of the merchants, and by all the kings of Arabia, and by the governors of the country.

16 And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold,—he applied six hundred [shekels] of gold to one target;

17 and three hundred shields of beaten gold,—he applied three minas of gold to one shield; and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.

18 And the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with refined gold:

19 the throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was rounded behind; and there were arms on each side at the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the arms;

20 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.

21 And all king Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of precious gold: none were of silver, [which] was not of the least account in the days of Solomon.

22 For the king had on the sea a Tarshish-fleet, with the fleet of Hiram: once in three years came the Tarshish-fleet, bringing gold and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.

23 And king Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom.

24 And all the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.

25 And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and clothing, and armour, and spices, horses and mules, a rate year by year.

26 And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; and he had a thousand four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; and he placed them in the chariot-cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.

27 And the king made silver in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he as the sycamores that are in the lowland for abundance.

28 And the exportation of horses that Solomon had was from Egypt: a caravan of the king's merchants fetched a drove [of horses], at a price.

29 And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred [shekels] of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty; and so they brought [them] by their means, for all the kings of the Hittites and for the kings of Syria.

11 But king Solomon loved many foreign women, besides the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, Hittites;

of the nations of which Jehovah had said to the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in to you; they would certainly turn away your heart after their gods: to these Solomon was attached in love.

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

And 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 Jehovah his God, as the heart of David his father.

And Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.

And Solomon did evil in the sight of Jehovah, and followed not fully Jehovah, as David his father.

Then did Solomon build a high place for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, on the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the children of Ammon.

And so he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

And Jehovah was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned away from Jehovah the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice,

10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, not to go after other gods; but he kept not what Jehovah had commanded.

11 And Jehovah said to Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done by thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes which I commanded thee, I will certainly rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant:

12 notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it, for David thy father's sake; I will rend it out of the hand of thy son;

13 only, I will not rend away all the kingdom: I will give one tribe to thy son, for David my servant's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen.

14 And Jehovah stirred up an adversary to Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was of the king's seed in Edom.

15 Now it came to pass when David was in Edom, when Joab the captain of the host had gone up to bury the slain, after he had smitten every male in Edom

16 (for Joab abode there six months with all Israel, until he had cut off every male in Edom),

17 that Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father's servants with him, to go into Egypt, Hadad being yet a little child.

18 And they arose out of Midian, and came to Paran, and took men with them out of Paran, and they came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt; who gave him a house, and appointed him victuals, and gave him land.

19 And Hadad found great favour in the sight of Pharaoh, and he gave him as wife the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen.

20 And the sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son; and Tahpenes brought him up in Pharaoh's house; and Genubath was in Pharaoh's household, among the sons of Pharaoh.

21 And Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers, and that Joab the captain of the host was dead; and Hadad said to Pharaoh, Let me depart, that I may go to mine own country.

22 And Pharaoh said to him, What then dost thou lack with me, that behold, thou desirest to go to thine own country? And he said, Nothing; but in any case let me depart.

23 God stirred him up yet an adversary, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from Hadadezer king of Zobah, his lord.

24 And he collected men to him, and became captain of a band, when David slew them [of Zobah]; and they went to Damascus, and dwelt there, and reigned in Damascus.

25 And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, besides the mischief that Hadad [did]; and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria.

26 And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zeredah, Solomon's servant (whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow woman), even he lifted up his hand against the king.

27 And this was the cause that he lifted up his hand against the king: Solomon was building Millo, and closing the breach of the city of David his father;

28 and the man Jeroboam was strong and valiant; and Solomon saw the young man that he was industrious, and he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph.

29 And it came to pass at that time that Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, and 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.

30 Then Ahijah seized the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces;

31 and said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces; for thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel: Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee;

32 but one tribe shall he have for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:

33 because 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 my sight, and my statutes and mine ordinances, as David his father.

34 But I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand; for I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant's sake, whom I chose, who kept my commandments and my statutes;

35 but I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give it unto thee,—the ten tribes.

36 And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a lamp always before me in Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen for myself to put my name there.

37 And I will take thee, that thou mayest reign over all that thy soul desireth, and thou shalt be king over Israel.

38 And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that which is right in my sight, in keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, that I will be with thee, and build thee a lasting house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee.

39 And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not for ever.

40 And Solomon sought to kill Jeroboam; and Jeroboam arose and fled into Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt; and he was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

41 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?

42 And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.

43 And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father; and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.

12 And Rehoboam went to Shechem; for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.

And it came to pass when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard it (now he was yet in Egypt, whither he had fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;

and they sent and called him), that Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying,

Thy father made our yoke grievous; and now lighten thou the grievous servitude of thy father and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve thee.

And he said to them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed.

And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, How do ye advise to return answer to this people?

And they spoke to him saying, If this day thou wilt be a servant to this people, and wilt serve them and answer them and speak good words to them, they will be thy servants for ever.

But he forsook the advice of the old men which they had given him, and consulted with the young men, who had grown up with him, that stood before him.

And he said to them, What advice give ye that we may return answer to this people who have spoken to me saying, Lighten the yoke which thy father put upon us?

10 And the young men that had grown up with him spoke to him saying, Thus shalt thou say to this people that have spoken to thee saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, and lighten thou it for us,—thus shalt thou say to them: My little [finger] is thicker than my father's loins;

11 and whereas my father laid a heavy yoke upon you, *I* will add to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but *I* will chastise you with scorpions.

12 And Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed saying, Come again to me on the third day.

13 And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the advice of the old men which they had given him;

14 and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but *I* will add to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but *I* will chastise you with scorpions.

15 So the king hearkened not to the people; for it was brought about by Jehovah, that he might give effect to his word, which Jehovah spoke through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

16 And all Israel saw that the king hearkened not to them; and the people answered the king saying, What portion have we in David? And [we have] no inheritance in the son of Jesse: To your tents, O Israel! Now see to thine own house, David! And Israel went to their tents.

17 But as for the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.

18 And king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the levy; but all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. And king Rehoboam hastened to mount his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.

19 And Israel rebelled against the house of David, unto this day.

20 And it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come back, that they sent and called him to the assembly, and made him king over all Israel: none followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.

21 And Rehoboam came to Jerusalem; and he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand chosen men apt for war, to fight against the house of Israel, that he might bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.

22 But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,

23 Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remainder of the people, saying,

24 Thus saith Jehovah: Go not up, nor fight with your brethren, the children of Israel; return every man to his house, for this thing is from me. And they hearkened to the word of Jehovah, and returned to depart, according to the word of Jehovah.

25 And Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel.

26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David.

27 If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of Jehovah at Jerusalem, the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me, and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.

28 And the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold. And he said to them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt!

29 And he set the one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.

30 And this thing became a sin; and the people went [to worship] before the one, as far as Dan.

31 And he made a house of high places, and made priests from all classes of the people, who were not of the sons of Levi.

32 And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made; and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places that he had made.

33 And he offered upon the altar that he had made in Bethel, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and he made a feast for the children of Israel, and he offered upon the altar, burning incense.

13 And behold, there came a man of God from Judah, by the word of Jehovah, to Bethel; and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.

And he cried against the altar by the word of Jehovah, and said, O altar, altar! thus saith Jehovah: Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burned upon thee.

And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign that Jehovah hath spoken: Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.

And it came to pass when the king heard the word of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Bethel, that Jeroboam stretched forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand which he stretched out against him dried up, so that he could not bring it back again to him.

And the altar was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of Jehovah.

And the king answered and said to the man of God, Intreat now Jehovah thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me again. And the man of God intreated Jehovah, and the king's hand was restored to him again, and became as before.

And the king said to the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a present.

And the man of God said to the king, If thou wilt give me half thy house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place;

for so was it charged me by the word of Jehovah, saying, Thou shalt eat no bread, nor drink water, nor return by the way that thou shalt go.

10 So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he had come to Bethel.

11 Now there dwelt a certain old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel; the words that he had spoken to the king, them they told also to their father.

12 And their father said to them, Which way went he? for his sons had seen which way the man of God went, who came from Judah.

13 And he said to his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass; and he rode thereon,

14 and went after the man of God, and found him sitting under a terebinth; and he said to him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am.

15 And he said to him, Come home with me, and eat bread.

16 And he said, I cannot return with thee, nor go in with thee; neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place.

17 For it was said to me by the word of Jehovah, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou wentest.

18 And he said to him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spoke to me by the word of Jehovah saying, Bring him back with thee into thy house, that he may eat bread and drink water. He lied unto him.

19 Then he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water.

20 And it came to pass as they sat at the table, that the word of Jehovah came to the prophet that brought him back;

21 and he cried to the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith Jehovah: Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the word of Jehovah, and hast not kept the commandment that Jehovah thy God commanded thee,

22 but camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to thee, Eat no bread and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come to the sepulchre of thy fathers.

23 And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled the ass for him, for the prophet that he had brought back;

24 and he departed. And a lion met him by the way and slew him; and his corpse was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it; the lion also stood by the corpse.

25 And behold, men passed by, and saw the corpse cast in the way and the lion standing by the corpse; and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.

26 And the prophet that brought him back from the way heard [of it] and said, It is the man of God who was disobedient to the word of Jehovah; therefore Jehovah has delivered him to the lion, which has torn him and slain him, according to the word of Jehovah which he spoke to him.

27 And he spoke to his sons saying, Saddle me the ass; and they saddled it.

28 And he went and found his corpse cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the corpse: the lion had not eaten the corpse, nor torn the ass.

29 And the prophet took up the corpse of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back; and the old prophet came into the city, to mourn and to bury him.

30 And he laid his corpse in his own sepulchre; and they mourned over him [saying], Alas, my brother!

31 And it came to pass after he had buried him, that he spoke to his sons saying, When I am dead, bury me in the sepulchre in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones.

32 For the word that he cried by the word of Jehovah against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places that are in the cities of Samaria, shall certainly come to pass.

33 After this thing Jeroboam turned not from his evil way, but made again from all classes of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became [one] of the priests of the high places.

34 And by this thing there was sin on the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off and to destroy it from off the face of the earth.

14 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam was sick.

And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and go to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, who told me that [I should be] king over this people.

And take with thee ten loaves, and cakes, and a cruse of honey, and go to him: he will tell thee what shall become of the lad.

And Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. And Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.

And Jehovah said to Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee about her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shalt thou say unto her; for it shall be, when she cometh in, that she shall feign to be another.

And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou to be another? But I am sent to thee with a hard [message].

Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel: Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel,

and rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee; and thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do only that which is right in my sight;

but thou hast done evil above all that were before thee, and hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back:

10 therefore behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam every male, him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone.

11 Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat, and him that dieth in the field shall the fowl of the heavens eat; for Jehovah hath spoken.

12 And thou, arise, go to thine own house; when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die.

13 And all Israel shall mourn for him, and they shall bury him; for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found something good toward Jehovah the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam.

14 And Jehovah shall raise up for himself a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day; and what? … even now.

15 And Jehovah will smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he will root up Israel out of this good land which he gave to their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their Asherahs, provoking Jehovah to anger.

16 And he will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, wherewith he has sinned, and made Israel to sin.

17 And Jeroboam's wife arose and departed, and came to Tirzah; when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died.

18 And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of Jehovah, which he spoke through his servant Ahijah the prophet.

19 And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.

20 And the days that Jeroboam reigned were twenty-two years; and he slept with his fathers. And Nadab his son reigned in his stead.

21 And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that Jehovah had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel to put his name there; and his mother's name was Naamah, an Ammonitess.

22 And Judah did evil in the sight of Jehovah, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they committed more than all that their fathers had done.

23 And they also built for themselves high places, and columns, and Asherahs on every high hill and under every green tree;

24 and there were also sodomites in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations that Jehovah had dispossessed before the children of Israel.

25 And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, [that] Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem.

26 And he took away the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and the treasures of the king's house; he even took away all; and he took away all the shields of gold that Solomon had made.

27 And king Rehoboam made in their stead brazen shields, and committed them to the hands of the chief of the couriers who kept the entrance of the king's house.

28 And it was so, that as often as the king entered into the house of Jehovah, the couriers bore them, and brought them again into the chamber of the couriers.

29 And the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

30 And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all [their] days.

31 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And his mother's name was Naamah, an Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead.

Preparations for Building the Temple(A)

[a]When Hiram(B) king of Tyre heard that Solomon had been anointed king to succeed his father David, he sent his envoys to Solomon, because he had always been on friendly terms with David. Solomon sent back this message to Hiram:

“You know that because of the wars(C) waged against my father David from all sides, he could not build(D) a temple for the Name of the Lord his God until the Lord put his enemies under his feet.(E) But now the Lord my God has given me rest(F) on every side, and there is no adversary(G) or disaster. I intend, therefore, to build a temple(H) for the Name of the Lord my God, as the Lord told my father David, when he said, ‘Your son whom I will put on the throne in your place will build the temple for my Name.’(I)

“So give orders that cedars(J) of Lebanon be cut for me. My men will work with yours, and I will pay you for your men whatever wages you set. You know that we have no one so skilled in felling timber as the Sidonians.”

When Hiram heard Solomon’s message, he was greatly pleased and said, “Praise be to the Lord(K) today, for he has given David a wise son to rule over this great nation.”

So Hiram sent word to Solomon:

“I have received the message you sent me and will do all you want in providing the cedar and juniper logs. My men will haul them down from Lebanon to the Mediterranean Sea(L), and I will float them as rafts by sea to the place you specify. There I will separate them and you can take them away. And you are to grant my wish by providing food(M) for my royal household.”

10 In this way Hiram kept Solomon supplied with all the cedar and juniper logs he wanted, 11 and Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand cors[b] of wheat as food(N) for his household, in addition to twenty thousand baths[c][d] of pressed olive oil. Solomon continued to do this for Hiram year after year. 12 The Lord gave Solomon wisdom,(O) just as he had promised him. There were peaceful relations between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.(P)

13 King Solomon conscripted laborers(Q) from all Israel—thirty thousand men. 14 He sent them off to Lebanon in shifts of ten thousand a month, so that they spent one month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram(R) was in charge of the forced labor. 15 Solomon had seventy thousand carriers and eighty thousand stonecutters in the hills, 16 as well as thirty-three hundred[e] foremen(S) who supervised the project and directed the workers. 17 At the king’s command they removed from the quarry(T) large blocks of high-grade stone(U) to provide a foundation of dressed stone for the temple. 18 The craftsmen of Solomon and Hiram(V) and workers from Byblos(W) cut and prepared the timber and stone for the building of the temple.

Solomon Builds the Temple(X)

In the four hundred and eightieth[f] year after the Israelites came out of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the second month,(Y) he began to build the temple of the Lord.(Z)

The temple(AA) that King Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits long, twenty wide and thirty high.[g] The portico(AB) at the front of the main hall of the temple extended the width of the temple, that is twenty cubits,[h] and projected ten cubits[i] from the front of the temple. He made narrow windows(AC) high up in the temple walls. Against the walls of the main hall and inner sanctuary he built a structure around the building, in which there were side rooms.(AD) The lowest floor was five cubits[j] wide, the middle floor six cubits[k] and the third floor seven.[l] He made offset ledges around the outside of the temple so that nothing would be inserted into the temple walls.

In building the temple, only blocks dressed(AE) at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool(AF) was heard at the temple site while it was being built.

The entrance to the lowest[m] floor was on the south side of the temple; a stairway led up to the middle level and from there to the third. So he built the temple and completed it, roofing it with beams and cedar(AG) planks. 10 And he built the side rooms all along the temple. The height of each was five cubits, and they were attached to the temple by beams of cedar.

11 The word of the Lord came(AH) to Solomon: 12 “As for this temple you are building, if you follow my decrees, observe my laws and keep all my commands(AI) and obey them, I will fulfill through you the promise(AJ) I gave to David your father. 13 And I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon(AK) my people Israel.”

14 So Solomon(AL) built the temple and completed(AM) it. 15 He lined its interior walls with cedar boards, paneling them from the floor of the temple to the ceiling,(AN) and covered the floor of the temple with planks of juniper.(AO) 16 He partitioned off twenty cubits at the rear of the temple with cedar boards from floor to ceiling to form within the temple an inner sanctuary, the Most Holy Place.(AP) 17 The main hall in front of this room was forty cubits[n] long. 18 The inside of the temple was cedar,(AQ) carved with gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; no stone was to be seen.

19 He prepared the inner sanctuary(AR) within the temple to set the ark of the covenant(AS) of the Lord there. 20 The inner sanctuary(AT) was twenty cubits long, twenty wide and twenty high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold, and he also overlaid the altar of cedar.(AU) 21 Solomon covered the inside of the temple with pure gold, and he extended gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, which was overlaid with gold. 22 So he overlaid the whole interior with gold. He also overlaid with gold the altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary.

23 For the inner sanctuary he made a pair of cherubim(AV) out of olive wood, each ten cubits high. 24 One wing of the first cherub was five cubits long, and the other wing five cubits—ten cubits from wing tip to wing tip. 25 The second cherub also measured ten cubits, for the two cherubim were identical in size and shape. 26 The height of each cherub was ten cubits. 27 He placed the cherubim(AW) inside the innermost room of the temple, with their wings spread out. The wing of one cherub touched one wall, while the wing of the other touched the other wall, and their wings touched each other in the middle of the room. 28 He overlaid the cherubim with gold.

29 On the walls(AX) all around the temple, in both the inner and outer rooms, he carved cherubim,(AY) palm trees and open flowers. 30 He also covered the floors of both the inner and outer rooms of the temple with gold.

31 For the entrance to the inner sanctuary he made doors out of olive wood that were one fifth of the width of the sanctuary. 32 And on the two olive-wood doors(AZ) he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid the cherubim and palm trees with hammered gold. 33 In the same way, for the entrance to the main hall he made doorframes out of olive wood that were one fourth of the width of the hall. 34 He also made two doors out of juniper wood, each having two leaves that turned in sockets. 35 He carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers on them and overlaid them with gold hammered evenly over the carvings.

36 And he built the inner courtyard(BA) of three courses(BB) of dressed stone and one course of trimmed cedar beams.

37 The foundation of the temple of the Lord was laid in the fourth year, in the month of Ziv. 38 In the eleventh year in the month of Bul, the eighth month, the temple was finished in all its details(BC) according to its specifications.(BD) He had spent seven years building it.

Solomon Builds His Palace

It took Solomon thirteen years, however, to complete the construction of his palace.(BE) He built the Palace(BF) of the Forest of Lebanon(BG) a hundred cubits long, fifty wide and thirty high,[o] with four rows of cedar columns supporting trimmed cedar beams. It was roofed with cedar above the beams that rested on the columns—forty-five beams, fifteen to a row. Its windows were placed high in sets of three, facing each other. All the doorways had rectangular frames; they were in the front part in sets of three, facing each other.[p]

He made a colonnade fifty cubits long and thirty wide.[q] In front of it was a portico, and in front of that were pillars and an overhanging roof.

He built the throne hall, the Hall of Justice, where he was to judge,(BH) and he covered it with cedar from floor to ceiling.[r](BI) And the palace in which he was to live, set farther back, was similar in design. Solomon also made a palace like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had married.(BJ)

All these structures, from the outside to the great courtyard and from foundation to eaves, were made of blocks of high-grade stone cut to size and smoothed on their inner and outer faces. 10 The foundations were laid with large stones of good quality, some measuring ten cubits[s] and some eight.[t] 11 Above were high-grade stones, cut to size, and cedar beams. 12 The great courtyard was surrounded by a wall of three courses(BK) of dressed stone and one course of trimmed cedar beams, as was the inner courtyard of the temple of the Lord with its portico.

The Temple’s Furnishings(BL)(BM)

13 King Solomon sent to Tyre and brought Huram,[u](BN) 14 whose mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali and whose father was from Tyre and a skilled craftsman in bronze. Huram was filled with wisdom,(BO) with understanding and with knowledge to do all kinds of bronze work. He came to King Solomon and did all(BP) the work assigned to him.

15 He cast two bronze pillars,(BQ) each eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference.[v] 16 He also made two capitals(BR) of cast bronze to set on the tops of the pillars; each capital was five cubits[w] high. 17 A network of interwoven chains adorned the capitals on top of the pillars, seven for each capital. 18 He made pomegranates in two rows[x] encircling each network to decorate the capitals on top of the pillars.[y] He did the same for each capital. 19 The capitals on top of the pillars in the portico were in the shape of lilies, four cubits[z] high. 20 On the capitals of both pillars, above the bowl-shaped part next to the network, were the two hundred pomegranates(BS) in rows all around. 21 He erected the pillars at the portico of the temple. The pillar to the south he named Jakin[aa] and the one to the north Boaz.[ab](BT) 22 The capitals on top were in the shape of lilies. And so the work on the pillars(BU) was completed.

23 He made the Sea(BV) of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits high. It took a line(BW) of thirty cubits[ac] to measure around it. 24 Below the rim, gourds encircled it—ten to a cubit. The gourds were cast in two rows in one piece with the Sea.

25 The Sea stood on twelve bulls,(BX) three facing north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east. The Sea rested on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center. 26 It was a handbreadth[ad] in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held two thousand baths.[ae]

27 He also made ten movable stands(BY) of bronze; each was four cubits long, four wide and three high.[af] 28 This is how the stands were made: They had side panels attached to uprights. 29 On the panels between the uprights were lions, bulls and cherubim—and on the uprights as well. Above and below the lions and bulls were wreaths of hammered work. 30 Each stand(BZ) had four bronze wheels with bronze axles, and each had a basin resting on four supports, cast with wreaths on each side. 31 On the inside of the stand there was an opening that had a circular frame one cubit[ag] deep. This opening was round, and with its basework it measured a cubit and a half.[ah] Around its opening there was engraving. The panels of the stands were square, not round. 32 The four wheels were under the panels, and the axles of the wheels were attached to the stand. The diameter of each wheel was a cubit and a half. 33 The wheels were made like chariot wheels; the axles, rims, spokes and hubs were all of cast metal.

34 Each stand had four handles, one on each corner, projecting from the stand. 35 At the top of the stand there was a circular band half a cubit[ai] deep. The supports and panels were attached to the top of the stand. 36 He engraved cherubim, lions and palm trees on the surfaces of the supports and on the panels, in every available space, with wreaths all around. 37 This is the way he made the ten stands. They were all cast in the same molds and were identical in size and shape.

38 He then made ten bronze basins,(CA) each holding forty baths[aj] and measuring four cubits across, one basin to go on each of the ten stands. 39 He placed five of the stands on the south side of the temple and five on the north. He placed the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner of the temple. 40 He also made the pots[ak] and shovels and sprinkling bowls.(CB)

So Huram finished all the work he had undertaken for King Solomon in the temple of the Lord:

41 the two pillars;

the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars;

the two sets of network decorating the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars;

42 the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network decorating the bowl-shaped capitals(CC) on top of the pillars);

43 the ten stands with their ten basins;

44 the Sea and the twelve bulls under it;

45 the pots, shovels and sprinkling bowls.(CD)

All these objects that Huram(CE) made for King Solomon for the temple of the Lord were of burnished bronze. 46 The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain(CF) of the Jordan between Sukkoth(CG) and Zarethan.(CH) 47 Solomon left all these things unweighed,(CI) because there were so many;(CJ) the weight of the bronze(CK) was not determined.

48 Solomon also made all(CL) the furnishings that were in the Lord’s temple:

the golden altar;

the golden table(CM) on which was the bread of the Presence;(CN)

49 the lampstands(CO) of pure gold (five on the right and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary);

the gold floral work and lamps and tongs;

50 the pure gold basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes(CP) and censers;(CQ)

and the gold sockets for the doors of the innermost room, the Most Holy Place, and also for the doors of the main hall of the temple.

51 When all the work King Solomon had done for the temple of the Lord was finished, he brought in the things his father David had dedicated(CR)—the silver and gold and the furnishings(CS)—and he placed them in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple.

The Ark Brought to the Temple(CT)

Then King Solomon summoned into his presence at Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs(CU) of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark(CV) of the Lord’s covenant from Zion, the City of David.(CW) All the Israelites came together to King Solomon at the time of the festival(CX) in the month of Ethanim, the seventh month.(CY)

When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests(CZ) took up the ark, and they brought up the ark of the Lord and the tent of meeting(DA) and all the sacred furnishings in it. The priests and Levites(DB) carried them up, and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing(DC) so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted.

The priests then brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant(DD) to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place,(DE) and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim.(DF) The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed(DG) the ark and its carrying poles. These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today.(DH) There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets(DI) that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt.

10 When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud(DJ) filled the temple of the Lord. 11 And the priests could not perform their service(DK) because of the cloud, for the glory(DL) of the Lord filled his temple.

12 Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud;(DM) 13 I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell(DN) forever.”

14 While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around and blessed(DO) them. 15 Then he said:

“Praise be to the Lord,(DP) the God of Israel, who with his own hand has fulfilled what he promised with his own mouth to my father David. For he said, 16 ‘Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt,(DQ) I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built so that my Name(DR) might be there, but I have chosen(DS) David(DT) to rule my people Israel.’

17 “My father David had it in his heart(DU) to build a temple(DV) for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 18 But the Lord said to my father David, ‘You did well to have it in your heart to build a temple for my Name. 19 Nevertheless, you(DW) are not the one to build the temple, but your son, your own flesh and blood—he is the one who will build the temple for my Name.’(DX)

20 “The Lord has kept the promise he made: I have succeeded(DY) David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised, and I have built(DZ) the temple for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 21 I have provided a place there for the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord that he made with our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt.”

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication(EA)

22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands(EB) toward heaven 23 and said:

Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like(EC) you in heaven above or on earth below—you who keep your covenant of love(ED) with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. 24 You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it—as it is today.

25 “Now Lord, the God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises(EE) you made to him when you said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants are careful in all they do to walk before me faithfully as you have done.’ 26 And now, God of Israel, let your word that you promised(EF) your servant David my father come true.

27 “But will God really dwell(EG) on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven,(EH) cannot contain(EI) you. How much less this temple I have built! 28 Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day. 29 May your eyes be open(EJ) toward(EK) this temple night and day, this place of which you said, ‘My Name(EL) shall be there,’ so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. 30 Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray(EM) toward this place. Hear(EN) from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.(EO)

31 “When anyone wrongs their neighbor and is required to take an oath and they come and swear the oath(EP) before your altar in this temple, 32 then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, condemning the guilty by bringing down on their heads what they have done, and vindicating the innocent by treating them in accordance with their innocence.(EQ)

33 “When your people Israel have been defeated(ER) by an enemy because they have sinned(ES) against you, and when they turn back to you and give praise to your name, praying and making supplication to you in this temple,(ET) 34 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to their ancestors.

35 “When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain(EU) because your people have sinned(EV) against you, and when they pray toward this place and give praise to your name and turn from their sin because you have afflicted them, 36 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach(EW) them the right way(EX) to live, and send rain(EY) on the land you gave your people for an inheritance.

37 “When famine(EZ) or plague(FA) comes to the land, or blight(FB) or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers,(FC) or when an enemy besieges them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come, 38 and when a prayer or plea is made by anyone among your people Israel—being aware of the afflictions of their own hearts, and spreading out their hands(FD) toward this temple— 39 then hear(FE) from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive(FF) and act; deal with everyone according to all they do, since you know(FG) their hearts (for you alone know every human heart), 40 so that they will fear(FH) you all the time they live in the land(FI) you gave our ancestors.

41 “As for the foreigner(FJ) who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name— 42 for they will hear(FK) of your great name and your mighty hand(FL) and your outstretched arm—when they come and pray toward this temple, 43 then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know(FM) your name and fear(FN) you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.(FO)

44 “When your people go to war against their enemies, wherever you send them, and when they pray(FP) to the Lord toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name, 45 then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.(FQ)

46 “When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin(FR)—and you become angry with them and give them over to their enemies, who take them captive(FS) to their own lands, far away or near; 47 and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead(FT) with you in the land of their captors and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly’;(FU) 48 and if they turn back(FV) to you with all their heart(FW) and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray(FX) to you toward the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you have chosen and the temple(FY) I have built for your Name;(FZ) 49 then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause. 50 And forgive your people, who have sinned against you; forgive all the offenses they have committed against you, and cause their captors to show them mercy;(GA) 51 for they are your people and your inheritance,(GB) whom you brought out of Egypt, out of that iron-smelting furnace.(GC)

52 “May your eyes be open(GD) to your servant’s plea and to the plea of your people Israel, and may you listen to them whenever they cry out to you.(GE) 53 For you singled them out from all the nations of the world to be your own inheritance,(GF) just as you declared through your servant Moses when you, Sovereign Lord, brought our ancestors out of Egypt.”

54 When Solomon had finished all these prayers and supplications to the Lord, he rose from before the altar of the Lord, where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven. 55 He stood and blessed(GG) the whole assembly of Israel in a loud voice, saying:

56 “Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest(GH) to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises(GI) he gave through his servant Moses. 57 May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us nor forsake(GJ) us. 58 May he turn our hearts(GK) to him, to walk in obedience to him and keep the commands, decrees and laws he gave our ancestors. 59 And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day’s need, 60 so that all the peoples(GL) of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other.(GM) 61 And may your hearts(GN) be fully committed(GO) to the Lord our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time.”

The Dedication of the Temple(GP)

62 Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices(GQ) before the Lord. 63 Solomon offered a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to the Lord: twenty-two thousand cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated(GR) the temple of the Lord.

64 On that same day the king consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the Lord, and there he offered burnt offerings, grain offerings and the fat(GS) of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar(GT) that stood before the Lord was too small to hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings.(GU)

65 So Solomon observed the festival(GV) at that time, and all Israel with him—a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath(GW) to the Wadi of Egypt.(GX) They celebrated it before the Lord our God for seven days and seven days more, fourteen days in all. 66 On the following day he sent the people away. They blessed the king and then went home, joyful and glad in heart for all the good(GY) things the Lord had done for his servant David and his people Israel.

The Lord Appears to Solomon(GZ)

When Solomon had finished(HA) building the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had achieved all he had desired to do, the Lord appeared(HB) to him a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. The Lord said to him:

“I have heard(HC) the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name(HD) there forever. My eyes(HE) and my heart will always be there.

“As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with integrity of heart(HF) and uprightness, as David(HG) your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws,(HH) I will establish(HI) your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail(HJ) to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’

“But if you[al] or your descendants turn away(HK) from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you[am] and go off to serve other gods(HL) and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land(HM) I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name.(HN) Israel will then become a byword(HO) and an object of ridicule(HP) among all peoples. This temple will become a heap of rubble. All[an] who pass by will be appalled(HQ) and will scoff and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’(HR) People will answer,(HS) ‘Because they have forsaken(HT) the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why the Lord brought all this disaster(HU) on them.’”

Solomon’s Other Activities(HV)

10 At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built these two buildings—the temple of the Lord and the royal palace— 11 King Solomon gave twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, because Hiram had supplied him with all the cedar and juniper and gold(HW) he wanted. 12 But when Hiram went from Tyre to see the towns that Solomon had given him, he was not pleased with them. 13 “What kind of towns are these you have given me, my brother?” he asked. And he called them the Land of Kabul,[ao](HX) a name they have to this day. 14 Now Hiram had sent to the king 120 talents[ap] of gold.(HY)

15 Here is the account of the forced labor King Solomon conscripted(HZ) to build the Lord’s temple, his own palace, the terraces,[aq](IA) the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor,(IB) Megiddo and Gezer.(IC) 16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it on fire. He killed its Canaanite inhabitants and then gave it as a wedding gift to his daughter,(ID) Solomon’s wife. 17 And Solomon rebuilt Gezer.) He built up Lower Beth Horon,(IE) 18 Baalath,(IF) and Tadmor[ar] in the desert, within his land, 19 as well as all his store cities(IG) and the towns for his chariots(IH) and for his horses[as]—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled.

20 There were still people left from the Amorites, Hittites,(II) Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites(IJ) (these peoples were not Israelites). 21 Solomon conscripted the descendants(IK) of all these peoples remaining in the land—whom the Israelites could not exterminate[at](IL)—to serve as slave labor,(IM) as it is to this day. 22 But Solomon did not make slaves(IN) of any of the Israelites; they were his fighting men, his government officials, his officers, his captains, and the commanders of his chariots and charioteers. 23 They were also the chief officials(IO) in charge of Solomon’s projects—550 officials supervising those who did the work.

24 After Pharaoh’s daughter(IP) had come up from the City of David to the palace Solomon had built for her, he constructed the terraces.(IQ)

25 Three(IR) times a year Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar he had built for the Lord, burning incense before the Lord along with them, and so fulfilled the temple obligations.

26 King Solomon also built ships(IS) at Ezion Geber,(IT) which is near Elath(IU) in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea.[au] 27 And Hiram sent his men—sailors(IV) who knew the sea—to serve in the fleet with Solomon’s men. 28 They sailed to Ophir(IW) and brought back 420 talents[av] of gold,(IX) which they delivered to King Solomon.

The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon(IY)

10 When the queen of Sheba(IZ) heard about the fame(JA) of Solomon and his relationship to the Lord, she came to test Solomon with hard questions.(JB) Arriving at Jerusalem with a very great caravan(JC)—with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with him about all that she had on her mind. Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had built, the food on his table,(JD) the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he made at[aw] the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed.

She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. But I did not believe(JE) these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth(JF) you have far exceeded the report I heard. How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear(JG) your wisdom! Praise(JH) be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the Lord’s eternal love(JI) for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice(JJ) and righteousness.”

10 And she gave the king 120 talents[ax] of gold,(JK) large quantities of spices, and precious stones. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

11 (Hiram’s ships brought gold from Ophir;(JL) and from there they brought great cargoes of almugwood[ay] and precious stones. 12 The king used the almugwood to make supports[az] for the temple of the Lord and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. So much almugwood has never been imported or seen since that day.)

13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.

Solomon’s Splendor(JM)

14 The weight of the gold(JN) that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents,[ba] 15 not including the revenues from merchants and traders and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of the territories.

16 King Solomon made two hundred large shields(JO) of hammered gold; six hundred shekels[bb] of gold went into each shield. 17 He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three minas[bc] of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.(JP)

18 Then the king made a great throne covered with ivory and overlaid with fine gold. 19 The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. 20 Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom. 21 All King Solomon’s goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold.(JQ) Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s days. 22 The king had a fleet of trading ships[bd](JR) at sea along with the ships(JS) of Hiram. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.

23 King Solomon was greater in riches(JT) and wisdom(JU) than all the other kings of the earth. 24 The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom(JV) God had put in his heart. 25 Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift(JW)—articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.

26 Solomon accumulated chariots and horses;(JX) he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses,[be] which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. 27 The king made silver as common(JY) in Jerusalem as stones,(JZ) and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig(KA) trees in the foothills. 28 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue[bf]—the royal merchants purchased them from Kue at the current price. 29 They imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty.[bg] They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites(KB) and of the Arameans.

Solomon’s Wives

11 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women(KC) besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites,(KD) Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry(KE) with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines,(KF) and his wives led him astray.(KG) As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods,(KH) and his heart was not fully devoted(KI) to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. He followed Ashtoreth(KJ) the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek(KK) the detestable god of the Ammonites. So Solomon did evil(KL) in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done.

On a hill east(KM) of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh(KN) the detestable god of Moab, and for Molek(KO) the detestable god of the Ammonites. He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.

The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared(KP) to him twice. 10 Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods,(KQ) Solomon did not keep the Lord’s command.(KR) 11 So the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees,(KS) which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear(KT) the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. 12 Nevertheless, for the sake of David(KU) your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe(KV) for the sake(KW) of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”(KX)

Solomon’s Adversaries

14 Then the Lord raised up against Solomon an adversary,(KY) Hadad the Edomite, from the royal line of Edom. 15 Earlier when David was fighting with Edom, Joab the commander of the army, who had gone up to bury the dead, had struck down all the men in Edom.(KZ) 16 Joab and all the Israelites stayed there for six months, until they had destroyed all the men in Edom. 17 But Hadad, still only a boy, fled to Egypt with some Edomite officials who had served his father. 18 They set out from Midian and went to Paran.(LA) Then taking people from Paran with them, they went to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave Hadad a house and land and provided him with food.

19 Pharaoh was so pleased with Hadad that he gave him a sister of his own wife, Queen Tahpenes, in marriage. 20 The sister of Tahpenes bore him a son named Genubath, whom Tahpenes brought up in the royal palace. There Genubath lived with Pharaoh’s own children.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 5:1 In Hebrew texts 5:1-18 is numbered 5:15-32.
  2. 1 Kings 5:11 That is, probably about 3,600 tons or about 3,250 metric tons
  3. 1 Kings 5:11 Septuagint (see also 2 Chron. 2:10); Hebrew twenty cors
  4. 1 Kings 5:11 That is, about 120,000 gallons or about 440,000 liters
  5. 1 Kings 5:16 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 2 Chron. 2:2,18) thirty-six hundred
  6. 1 Kings 6:1 Hebrew; Septuagint four hundred and fortieth
  7. 1 Kings 6:2 That is, about 90 feet long, 30 feet wide and 45 feet high or about 27 meters long, 9 meters wide and 14 meters high
  8. 1 Kings 6:3 That is, about 30 feet or about 9 meters; also in verses 16 and 20
  9. 1 Kings 6:3 That is, about 15 feet or about 4.5 meters; also in verses 23-26
  10. 1 Kings 6:6 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters; also in verses 10 and 24
  11. 1 Kings 6:6 That is, about 9 feet or about 2.7 meters
  12. 1 Kings 6:6 That is, about 11 feet or about 3.2 meters
  13. 1 Kings 6:8 Septuagint; Hebrew middle
  14. 1 Kings 6:17 That is, about 60 feet or about 18 meters
  15. 1 Kings 7:2 That is, about 150 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high or about 45 meters long, 23 meters wide and 14 meters high
  16. 1 Kings 7:5 The meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.
  17. 1 Kings 7:6 That is, about 75 feet long and 45 feet wide or about 23 meters long and 14 meters wide
  18. 1 Kings 7:7 Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew floor
  19. 1 Kings 7:10 That is, about 15 feet or about 4.5 meters; also in verse 23
  20. 1 Kings 7:10 That is, about 12 feet or about 3.6 meters
  21. 1 Kings 7:13 Hebrew Hiram, a variant of Huram; also in verses 40 and 45
  22. 1 Kings 7:15 That is, about 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference or about 8.1 meters high and 5.4 meters in circumference
  23. 1 Kings 7:16 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters; also in verse 23
  24. 1 Kings 7:18 Two Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts made the pillars, and there were two rows
  25. 1 Kings 7:18 Many Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts pomegranates
  26. 1 Kings 7:19 That is, about 6 feet or about 1.8 meters; also in verse 38
  27. 1 Kings 7:21 Jakin probably means he establishes.
  28. 1 Kings 7:21 Boaz probably means in him is strength.
  29. 1 Kings 7:23 That is, about 45 feet or about 14 meters
  30. 1 Kings 7:26 That is, about 3 inches or about 7.5 centimeters
  31. 1 Kings 7:26 That is, about 12,000 gallons or about 44,000 liters; the Septuagint does not have this sentence.
  32. 1 Kings 7:27 That is, about 6 feet long and wide and about 4 1/2 feet high or about 1.8 meters long and wide and 1.4 meters high
  33. 1 Kings 7:31 That is, about 18 inches or about 45 centimeters
  34. 1 Kings 7:31 That is, about 2 1/4 feet or about 68 centimeters; also in verse 32
  35. 1 Kings 7:35 That is, about 9 inches or about 23 centimeters
  36. 1 Kings 7:38 That is, about 240 gallons or about 880 liters
  37. 1 Kings 7:40 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac and Vulgate (see also verse 45 and 2 Chron. 4:11); many other Hebrew manuscripts basins
  38. 1 Kings 9:6 The Hebrew is plural.
  39. 1 Kings 9:6 The Hebrew is plural.
  40. 1 Kings 9:8 See some Septuagint manuscripts, Old Latin, Syriac, Arabic and Targum; Hebrew And though this temple is now imposing, all
  41. 1 Kings 9:13 Kabul sounds like the Hebrew for good-for-nothing.
  42. 1 Kings 9:14 That is, about 4 1/2 tons or about 4 metric tons
  43. 1 Kings 9:15 Or the Millo; also in verse 24
  44. 1 Kings 9:18 The Hebrew may also be read Tamar.
  45. 1 Kings 9:19 Or charioteers
  46. 1 Kings 9:21 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  47. 1 Kings 9:26 Or the Sea of Reeds
  48. 1 Kings 9:28 That is, about 16 tons or about 14 metric tons
  49. 1 Kings 10:5 Or the ascent by which he went up to
  50. 1 Kings 10:10 That is, about 4 1/2 tons or about 4 metric tons
  51. 1 Kings 10:11 Probably a variant of algumwood; also in verse 12
  52. 1 Kings 10:12 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  53. 1 Kings 10:14 That is, about 25 tons or about 23 metric tons
  54. 1 Kings 10:16 That is, about 15 pounds or about 6.9 kilograms; also in verse 29
  55. 1 Kings 10:17 That is, about 3 3/4 pounds or about 1.7 kilograms; or perhaps reference is to double minas, that is, about 7 1/2 pounds or about 3.5 kilograms.
  56. 1 Kings 10:22 Hebrew of ships of Tarshish
  57. 1 Kings 10:26 Or charioteers
  58. 1 Kings 10:28 Probably Cilicia
  59. 1 Kings 10:29 That is, about 3 3/4 pounds or about 1.7 kilograms