1 Kings 4:20-7:12

Contemporary English Version

The Size of Solomon's Kingdom

²⁰ There were so many people living in Judah and Israel while Solomon was king that they seemed like grains of sand on a beach. Everyone had enough to eat and drink, and they were happy.

^21 (A) Solomon ruled every kingdom between the Euphrates River and the land of the Philistines down to Egypt. These kingdoms paid him taxes as long as he lived.

²² Every day, Solomon needed 5,000 liters of fine flour, 10,000 liters of coarsely-ground flour, ²³ 10 grain-fed cattle, 20 pasture-fed cattle, 100 sheep, as well as deer, gazelles, and geese.

²⁴ Solomon ruled the whole region west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, and he was at peace with all of the countries around him. ²⁵ Everyone living in Israel, from the town of Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, was safe as long as Solomon lived. Each family sat undisturbed beneath its own grape vines and fig trees.

^26 (B) Solomon had 40,000 stalls of chariot horses and 12,000 chariot soldiers.

²⁷ Each of the twelve regional officers brought food to Solomon and his household for one month of the year. They provided everything he needed, ²⁸ as well as barley and straw for the horses.

Solomon's Wisdom

²⁹ Solomon was brilliant. God had blessed him with insight and understanding. ^30-31 (C) He was wiser than anyone else in the world, including the wisest people of the east and of Egypt. He was even wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Mahol's three sons, Heman, Calcol, and Darda. Solomon became famous in every country around Judah and Israel. ^32 (D) Solomon wrote 3,000 wise sayings and composed more than 1,000 songs. ³³ He could talk about all kinds of plants, from large trees to small bushes, and he taught about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish. ³⁴ Kings all over the world heard about Solomon's wisdom and sent people to listen to him teach.

Solomon Asks Hiram To Help Build the Temple

(2 Chronicles 2.1-16)

5 King Hiram of Tyre^[a] had always been friends with Solomon's father David. When Hiram learned that Solomon was king, he sent some of his officials to meet with Solomon.

² Solomon sent a message back to Hiram:

³ Remember how my father David wanted to build a temple where the Lord his God could be worshiped? But enemies kept attacking my father's kingdom, and he never had the chance. ⁴ Now, thanks to the Lord God, there is peace in my kingdom and no trouble or threat of war anywhere.

^5 (E) The Lord God promised my father that when his son became king, he would build a temple for worshiping the Lord. So I've decided to do that.

⁶ I'd like you to send your workers to cut down cedar trees in Lebanon for me. I will pay them whatever you say and will even have my workers help them. We both know that your workers are more experienced than anyone else at cutting lumber.

⁷ Hiram was so happy when he heard Solomon's request that he said, “I am grateful that the Lord gave David such a wise son to be king of that great nation!” ⁸ Then he sent back his answer:

I received your message and will give you all the cedar and pine logs you need. ⁹ My workers will carry them down from Lebanon to the Mediterranean Sea. They will tie the logs together and float them along the coast to wherever you want them. Then they will untie the logs, and your workers can take them from there.

To pay for the logs, you can provide the grain I need for my household.

¹⁰ Hiram gave Solomon all the cedar and pine logs he needed. ¹¹ In return, Solomon gave Hiram over 2,000 tons of wheat and almost 4,000 liters of pure olive oil each year.

¹² The Lord kept his promise and made Solomon wise. Hiram and Solomon signed a treaty and never went to war against each other.

Solomon's Workers

¹³ Solomon ordered 30,000 people from all over Israel to cut logs for the temple, ^14 (F) and he put Adoniram in charge of these workers. Solomon divided them into three groups of 10,000. Each group worked one month in Lebanon and had two months off at home.

¹⁵ He also had 80,000 workers to cut stone in the hill country of Israel, 70,000 workers to carry the stones, ¹⁶ and over 3,000 assistants to keep track of the work and to supervise the workers. ¹⁷ He ordered the workers to cut and shape large blocks of good stone for the foundation of the temple.

¹⁸ Solomon's and Hiram's men worked with men from the city of Gebal,^[b] and together they got the stones and logs ready for the temple.

The Outside of the Temple Is Completed

6 Solomon's workers started building the temple during Ziv,^[c] the second month of the year. It had been 4 years since Solomon became king of Israel, and 480 years since the people of Israel left Egypt.

² The inside of the Lord's temple was 27 meters long, 9 meters wide, and 13.5 meters high. ³ A four-and-a-half-meter porch went all the way across the front of the temple. ⁴ The windows were narrow on the outside but wide on the inside.

^5-6 Along the sides and back of the temple, there were three levels of storage rooms. The rooms on the bottom level were just over two meters wide, the rooms on the middle level were over two and a half meters wide, and those on the top level were just over three meters wide. There were ledges on the outside of the temple that supported the beams of the storage rooms, so that nothing was built into the temple walls.

⁷ Solomon did not want the noise of hammers and axes to be heard at the place where the temple was being built. So he gave orders for the workers to shape the blocks of stone at the quarry.

⁸ The entrance to the bottom storage rooms was on the south side of the building, and stairs to the other rooms were also there. ⁹ The roof of the temple was made out of beams and cedar boards.

The workers finished building the outside of the temple. ¹⁰ Storage rooms just over two meters high were all around the temple, and they were attached to the temple by cedar beams.

¹¹ The Lord told Solomon:

^12-13 If you obey my commands and do what I say, I will keep the promise I made to your father David. I will live among my people Israel in this temple you are building, and I will not desert them.

¹⁴ So Solomon's workers finished building the temple.

The Inside of the Temple Is Furnished

(2 Chronicles 3.8-14)

¹⁵ The floor of the temple was made out of pine, and the walls were lined with cedar from floor to ceiling.^[d]

^16 (G) The most holy place was in the back of the temple, and it was nine meters square. Cedar boards standing from floor to ceiling^[e] separated it from the rest of the temple. ¹⁷ The temple's main room was 18 meters long, and it was in front of the most holy place.

¹⁸ The inside walls were lined with cedar to hide the stones, and the cedar was decorated with carvings of gourds and flowers.

¹⁹ The sacred chest was kept in the most holy place. ^20-22 (H) This room was nine meters long, nine meters wide, and nine meters high, and it was lined with pure gold. There were also gold chains across the front of the most holy place. The inside of the temple, as well as the cedar altar in the most holy place, was covered with gold.

^23 (I) Solomon had two statues of winged creatures^[f] made from olive wood to put in the most holy place. Each creature was four and a half meters tall ^24-26 and four and a half meters across. They had two wings, and the wings were just over two meters long. ²⁷ Solomon put them next to each other in the most holy place. Their wings were spread out and reached across the room. ²⁸ The creatures were also covered with gold.

²⁹ The walls of the two rooms were decorated with carvings of palm trees, flowers, and winged creatures. ³⁰ Even the floor was covered with gold.

^31-32 The two doors to the most holy place were made out of olive wood and were decorated with carvings of palm trees, flowers, and winged creatures. The doors and the carvings were covered with gold. The door frame came to a point at the top.

^33-34 The two doors to the main room of the temple were made out of pine, and each one had two sections^[g] so they could fold open. The door frame was shaped like a rectangle and was made out of olive wood. ³⁵ The doors were covered with gold and were decorated with carvings of palm trees, flowers, and winged creatures.

³⁶ The inner courtyard of the temple had walls made out of three layers of cut stones with one layer of cedar beams.

³⁷ Work began on the temple during Ziv,^[h] the second month of the year, four years after Solomon became king of Israel. ³⁸ Seven years later the workers finished building it during Bul,^[i] the eighth month of the year. It was built exactly as it had been planned.

Solomon's Palace Is Built

7 Solomon's palace took 13 years to build.

^2-3 Forest Hall was the largest room in the palace. It was 44 meters long, 22 meters wide, and 13.5 meters high, and was lined with cedar from Lebanon. It had 4 rows of cedar pillars, 15 in a row, and they held up 45 cedar beams. The ceiling was covered with cedar. ⁴ Three rows of windows on each side faced each other, ⁵ and there were three doors on each side near the front of the hall.

⁶ Pillar Hall was 22 meters long and 13.5 meters wide. A covered porch supported by pillars went all the way across the front of the hall.

⁷ Solomon's throne was in Justice Hall, where he judged cases. This hall was completely lined with cedar.

^8 (J) The section of the palace where Solomon lived was behind Justice Hall and looked exactly like it. He had a similar place built for his wife, the daughter of the king of Egypt.

⁹ From the foundation all the way to the top, these buildings and the courtyard were made out of the best stones^[j] carefully cut to size, then smoothed on every side with saws. ¹⁰ The foundation stones were huge, good stones—some of them four and a half meters long and others three and a half meters long. ¹¹ The cedar beams and other stones that had been cut to size were on top of these foundation stones. ¹² The walls around the palace courtyard were made out of three layers of cut stones with one layer of cedar beams, just like the front porch and the inner courtyard of the temple.