Solomon’s Officials

4 Now King Solomon was king over all Israel. ² These were his officials: Azariah the son of Zadok was ^(A)the priest; ³ Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha were scribes; ^(B)Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the secretary; ⁴ and ^(C)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the army; and Zadok and ^(D)Abiathar were priests; ⁵ and Azariah the son of Nathan was over ^(E)the deputies; and Zabud the son of Nathan, a priest, was the king’s confidant; ⁶ and Ahishar was over the household; and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the forced labor.

⁷ Solomon had twelve deputies over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household; each deputy had to provide food for a month in the year. ⁸ And these were their names: Ben-hur, in the ^(F)hill country of Ephraim; ⁹ Ben-deker in Makaz and ^(G)Shaalbim, and ^(H)Beth-shemesh, and Elonbeth-hanan; ¹⁰ Ben-hesed in Arubboth (^(I)Socoh was his and all the land of ^(J)Hepher); ¹¹ Ben-abinadab in all ^[a]the ^(K)hills of Dor (Taphath the daughter of Solomon was his wife); ¹² Baana the son of Ahilud in ^(L)Taanach and Megiddo, and all ^(M)Beth-shean which is beside ^(N)Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to ^(O)Abel-meholah as far as the other side of ^(P)Jokmeam; ¹³ Ben-geber in ^(Q)Ramoth-gilead (^(R)the villages of Jair, the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead were his: ^(S)the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars were his); ¹⁴ Ahinadab the son of Iddo in ^(T)Mahanaim; ^15 (U)Ahimaaz in Naphtali (he also married Basemath the daughter of Solomon); ¹⁶ Baana the son of ^(V)Hushai in Asher and ^[b]Bealoth; ¹⁷ Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah in Issachar; ^18 (W)Shimei the son of Ela in Benjamin; ¹⁹ Geber the son of Uri in the land of Gilead, ^(X)the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only deputy who was in the land.

Solomon’s Power, Wealth, and Wisdom

^20 (Y)Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand that is on the ^[c]seashore in abundance; they were eating, drinking, and rejoicing.

^21 [d](Z)Now Solomon was ruling over all the kingdoms ^(AA)from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt; ^(AB)they brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.

²² Solomon’s ^[e]provision for one day was ^[f]thirty kors of fine flour and ^[g]sixty kors of meal, ²³ ten fat oxen, twenty ^[h]pasture-fed oxen, and a hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened geese. ²⁴ For he was ruling over everything ^[i]west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah even to ^(AC)Gaza, ^(AD)over all the kings ^[j]west of the River; and ^(AE)he had peace on all sides surrounding him. ^25 (AF)So Judah and Israel lived securely, everyone under his vine and his fig tree, ^(AG)from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon. ^26 (AH)Solomon had ^[k]forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. ²⁷ And those deputies provided food for King Solomon and all who came to King Solomon’s table, each in his month; they allowed nothing to be lacking. ²⁸ They also brought barley and straw for the war horses and ^(AI)baggage horses to the place where it was required, each deputy according to his duty.

²⁹ Now ^(AJ)God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment and breadth of ^[l]mind, ^(AK)like the sand that is on the seashore. ³⁰ Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all ^(AL)the ^[m]people of the east and ^(AM)all the wisdom of Egypt. ³¹ For ^(AN)he was wiser than all other people, more than ^(AO)Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, ^(AP)Calcol, and ^[n]Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his ^[o]fame was known in all the surrounding nations. ^32 (AQ)He also told three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered 1,005. ³³ He told of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that grows on the wall; he told also of animals, birds, crawling things, and fish. ³⁴ People ^(AR)came from all the ^[p]nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.

Alliance with King Hiram

5 ^[q](AS)Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for ^(AT)Hiram had ^[r]always been a friend of David. ² Then ^(AU)Solomon sent word to Hiram, saying, ³ “You know that ^(AV)David my father was unable to build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the wars which surrounded him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. ⁴ But now ^(AW)the Lord my God has secured me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor ^[s]misfortune. ⁵ So behold, ^(AX)I ^[t]intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, just as the Lord spoke to David my father, saying, ‘Your son, whom I will put on your throne in your place, he will build the house for My name.’ ⁶ Now then, issue orders that they cut ^(AY)cedars from Lebanon for me, and my servants will be with your servants; and I will give you wages for your servants in accordance with all that you say, for you yourself know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”

⁷ When Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he greatly rejoiced; and he said, “Blessed be the Lord today, who has given to David a wise son over this great people.” ⁸ So Hiram sent word to Solomon, saying, “I have heard the message which you sent me; I will do everything you wish concerning the cedar and juniper timber. ⁹ My servants will bring the timbers down from Lebanon to the sea; and I will have them made into rafts to go by sea ^(AZ)to the place where you ^[u]direct me, and I will have them broken up there, and you will carry them away. Then ^(BA)you shall do what I wish, by giving food to my household.” ¹⁰ So ^[v]Hiram ^[w]gave Solomon all that he wished of the cedar and juniper timber. ^11 (BB)Solomon then gave ^[x]Hiram ^[y]twenty thousand kors of wheat as food for his household, and ^[z]twenty kors of pure oil; this is what Solomon would give Hiram year by year. ¹² And ^(BC)the Lord gave wisdom to Solomon, just as He ^[aa]promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a covenant.

Conscription of Laborers

¹³ Now ^(BD)King Solomon ^[ab]conscripted forced laborers from all Israel; and the forced laborers numbered thirty thousand men. ¹⁴ Then he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month in shifts; they were in Lebanon for a month, and two months at home. And ^(BE)Adoniram was in charge of the forced laborers. ¹⁵ Now ^(BF)Solomon had seventy thousand porters, and eighty thousand stonemasons in the mountains, ^16 (BG)besides Solomon’s 3,300 chief deputies who were in charge of the ^[ac]project and ruled over the people who were doing the work. ¹⁷ Then ^(BH)the king issued orders, and they quarried large stones, valuable stones, to lay the foundation of the house with cut stones. ¹⁸ So Solomon’s builders and ^[ad]Hiram’s builders and ^(BI)the Gebalites ^[ae]cut the stones, and they prepared the timbers and the stones to build the house.

The Building of the Temple

6 ^(BJ)Now it came about in the four hundred and eightieth year after the sons of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, that is, the second month, that he ^[af]began to build the house of the Lord. ² And the house which King Solomon built for the Lord was ^[ag]sixty cubits in its length, and twenty cubits in its width, and its height was thirty cubits. ³ The porch in front of the main room of the house was ^[ah]twenty cubits in ^[ai]length, ^[aj]corresponding to the width of the house, and its width along the front of the house was ten cubits. ⁴ Also for the house ^(BK)he made windows with artistic frames. ^5 (BL)Against the wall of the house he built stories encompassing the walls of the house around both the main room and the ^[ak](BM)inner sanctuary; so he made ^(BN)side chambers all around. ⁶ The lowest story was ^[al]five cubits wide, the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for on the outside he ^[am]made offsets in the wall of the house all around so that the beams would not ^[an]be inserted into the walls of the house.

^7 (BO)The house, while it was being built, was built of stone finished at the quarry, and neither hammer, nor axe, nor any iron tool was heard in the house while it was being built.

⁸ The doorway for the ^[ao]lowest side chamber was on the right side of the house; and they would go up by a winding staircase to the middle story, and from the middle to the third. ⁹ So ^(BP)he built the house and finished it; and he covered the house with beams and ^[ap]planks of cedar. ¹⁰ He also built the stories against the whole house, each ^[aq]five cubits high; and they ^[ar]were attached to the house with timbers of cedar.

¹¹ Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying, ¹² “As for this house which you are building, ^(BQ)if you will walk in My statutes and execute My ordinances and keep all My commandments by walking in them, then I will fulfill My word with you which I spoke to David your father. ¹³ And ^(BR)I will dwell among the sons of Israel, and ^(BS)will not abandon My people Israel.”

^14 (BT)So Solomon built the house and finished it. ¹⁵ He ^(BU)built the walls of the house on the inside with boards of cedar; from the floor of the house to the ^[as]ceiling he paneled the walls on the inside with wood, and he paneled the floor of the house with boards of juniper. ^16 (BV)He also built ^[at]twenty cubits on the rear part of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the ^[au]ceiling; he built them for it on the inside as an inner sanctuary, as ^(BW)the Most Holy Place. ¹⁷ The house, that is, the main room in front of the inner sanctuary, was ^[av]forty cubits long. ¹⁸ There was cedar inside the house, carved in the shape of ^(BX)gourds and open flowers; everything was cedar, there was no stone visible. ¹⁹ Then he prepared an inner sanctuary inside the house in order to place there the ark of the covenant of the Lord. ^20 [aw]The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits in length, twenty cubits in width, and twenty cubits in height; and he overlaid it with pure gold. He also paneled the altar with cedar. ²¹ So Solomon overlaid the inside of the house with pure gold. And he extended chains of gold across the front of the inner sanctuary, and he overlaid it with gold. ²² He overlaid the entire house with gold, until all the house was finished. Also ^(BY)the entire altar which was by the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold.

^23 (BZ)And in the inner sanctuary he made two ^[ax]cherubim of olive wood, each ^[ay]ten cubits high. ²⁴ The one wing of the first cherub was five cubits, and the other wing of the first cherub was five cubits; from the end of one wing to the end of the other wing were ten cubits. ²⁵ The second cherub was ten cubits; both of the cherubim were of the same measurement and the same form. ²⁶ The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was that of the other cherub. ²⁷ He placed the cherubim in the midst of the inner house, and ^(CA)the wings of the cherubim spread out so that the wing of the one was touching the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub was touching the other wall. And their wings were touching ^[az]end to ^[ba]end in the center of the house. ²⁸ He also overlaid the cherubim with gold.

²⁹ Then he carved all the surrounding walls of the house with engravings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, for the inner and outer sanctuaries. ³⁰ And he overlaid the floor of the house with gold, for the inner and outer sanctuaries.

³¹ And for the entrance of the inner sanctuary he made doors of olive wood, the lintel, and five-sided doorposts. ³² So he made two doors of olive wood, and he carved on them carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold; and he overlaid the cherubim and the palm trees with gold.

³³ So too he made for the entrance of the main room four-sided doorposts of olive wood, ³⁴ and ^(CB)two doors of juniper wood; the two leaves of the one door turned on pivots, and the two ^[bb]leaves of the other door turned on pivots. ³⁵ He carved on it cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers; and he overlaid them with gold plated on the carved work. ³⁶ And ^(CC)he built the inner courtyard with three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams.

^37 (CD)In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid, in the month of Ziv. ³⁸ And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, that is, the eighth month, the house was finished in all its parts and in accordance with all its plans. So he was seven years in building it.

Solomon’s Palace

7 Now ^(CE)Solomon built his own house over the course of thirteen years, and he finished all of his house. ^2 (CF)He built the house of the timber from Lebanon; its length was ^[bc]a hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits, on four rows of cedar pillars with cedar beams on the pillars. ³ And it was paneled with cedar above the side chambers which were on the forty-five pillars, fifteen in each row. ⁴ There were artistic window frames in three rows, and window was opposite window at three ^[bd]intervals. ⁵ And all the doorways and doorposts had squared artistic frames, and window was opposite window at three ^[be]intervals.

⁶ Then he made ^(CG)the hall of pillars; its length was ^[bf]fifty cubits and its width thirty cubits, and a porch was in front of them and pillars and a ^(CH)threshold in front of them.

⁷ And he made the hall of the ^(CI)throne where he was to judge, the hall of judgment, and ^(CJ)it was paneled with cedar from floor to floor.

⁸ And his house where he was to live, the other courtyard inward from the hall, was of this same workmanship. ^(CK)He also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, ^(CL)whom Solomon had married.

⁹ All of these were made of valuable stones, of stone cut according to measure, sawed with saws, inside and outside; even from the foundation to the ^[bg]coping, and from the outside to the large courtyard.

¹⁰ And the foundation was of valuable stones, large stones, stones of ^[bh]ten cubits and stones of eight cubits. ¹¹ And above were valuable stones, cut according to measure, and cedar. ¹² So ^(CM)the large courtyard all around had three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams as well as the inner courtyard of the house of the Lord, and ^(CN)the porch of the house.

Hiram’s Work in the Temple

¹³ Now ^(CO)King Solomon sent word and had Hiram brought from Tyre. ^14 (CP)He was a widow’s son from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, an artisan in bronze; and ^(CQ)he was filled with wisdom, skill, and knowledge for doing any work in bronze. So he came to King Solomon and ^(CR)performed all his work.

¹⁵ He fashioned ^(CS)the two pillars of bronze; ^[bi](CT)eighteen cubits was the height of ^[bj]each pillar, and a line of ^[bk]twelve cubits ^[bl]measured the circumference of both. ¹⁶ He also made two capitals of cast bronze to put on the tops of the pillars; the height of the one capital was ^[bm]five cubits and the height of the other capital was ^[bn]five cubits. ¹⁷ There were lattices of latticework and wreaths of chainwork for the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; seven for the one capital and seven for the other capital. ¹⁸ So he made the pillars, and two rows around on the one lattice to cover the capitals which were on the top of the pomegranates; and so he did for the other capital. ¹⁹ The capitals which were on the tops of the pillars in the porch were of lily design, four cubits. ²⁰ So there were capitals on the two pillars, also above and close to the ^[bo]rounded projection which was beside the lattice; and ^(CU)the pomegranates totaled two hundred in rows around ^[bp]both capitals. ^21 (CV)And he set up the pillars at the ^(CW)porch of the ^[bq]main room: he set up the right pillar and named it ^[br]Jachin, and he set up the left pillar and named it ^[bs]Boaz. ²² On the top of the pillars was the lily design. So the work of the pillars was finished.

^23 (CX)He also he made the ^[bt]Sea of ^(CY)cast metal ^[bu]ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in shape, and its height was five cubits, and ^[bv]it was ^[bw]thirty cubits in circumference. ²⁴ Under its brim ^(CZ)gourds went around encircling it ten to a cubit, ^(DA)completely surrounding the Sea; the gourds were in two rows, cast ^[bx]with the rest. ^25 (DB)It was standing on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east; and the Sea was set on top of them, and all their rear parts turned inward. ²⁶ And it was a ^[by]hand width thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom; it could hold ^[bz]two thousand baths.

²⁷ Then ^(DC)he made the ten stands of bronze; the length of each stand was ^[ca]four cubits, its width four cubits, and its height was three cubits. ²⁸ This was the design of the stands: they had borders, that is, borders between the crossbars, ²⁹ and on the borders which were between the crossbars were lions, oxen, and cherubim; and on the crossbars there was a pedestal above, and beneath the lions and oxen were wreaths of hanging work. ³⁰ Now each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles, and its four feet had supports; beneath the basin were cast supports with wreaths at each side. ³¹ And its opening inside the crown at the top was a ^[cb]cubit, and its opening was round like the design of a pedestal, a cubit and a half; and on its opening also there were engravings, and their borders were square, not round. ³² The four wheels were underneath the borders, and the axles of the wheels were on the stand. And the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half. ³³ The workmanship of the wheels was like the workmanship of a chariot wheel. Their axles, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all cast. ³⁴ Now there were four supports at the four corners of each stand; its supports were part of the stand itself. ³⁵ And on the top of the stand there was a circular form ^[cc]half a cubit high, and on the top of the stand its ^[cd]stays and its borders were part of it. ³⁶ And he engraved on the plates of its stays and on its borders cherubim, lions, and palm trees, as there was clear space on each, with wreaths all around. ^37 (DD)He made the ten stands like this: all of them had the ^[ce]same casting, ^[cf]same measure, and ^[cg]same form.

^38 (DE)And he made ten basins of bronze, ^[ch]each holding ^[ci]forty baths; each basin was ^[cj]four cubits, and on each of the ten stands was one basin. ³⁹ Then he placed the stands, five on the right side of the house and five on the left side of the house; and he set the ^[ck]Sea of cast metal on the right side of the house eastward toward the south.

⁴⁰ Now Hiram made the basins and the shovels and the bowls. So Hiram finished doing all the work which he performed for King Solomon in the house of the Lord: ⁴¹ the two pillars and the two bowls of the capitals which were on the top of the ^(DF)two pillars, and the two lattices to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; ⁴² and the ^(DG)four hundred pomegranates for the two lattices, two rows of pomegranates for each lattice to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the tops of the pillars; ⁴³ and the ten stands with the ten basins on the stands; ⁴⁴ and ^(DH)the one ^[cl]Sea and the twelve oxen under the Sea; ⁴⁵ and ^(DI)the buckets, the shovels, and the bowls; indeed, all these utensils which Hiram made for King Solomon in the house of the Lord were of polished bronze. ^46 (DJ)The king had them cast in the plain of the Jordan, in the clay ground between ^(DK)Succoth and ^(DL)Zarethan. ⁴⁷ However, Solomon left all the utensils unweighed, because they were too many; ^(DM)the weight of the bronze could not be determined.

⁴⁸ Solomon also made all the furniture that was in the house of the Lord: ^(DN)the golden altar and the golden table on which was set the ^(DO)bread of the Presence; ⁴⁹ and the lampstands of pure gold, five on the right side and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary; and ^(DP)the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of gold; ⁵⁰ also the cups, the ^[cm]shears, the bowls, the ladles, and the ^(DQ)firepans, of pure gold; and the hinges both for the doors of the inner house, the Most Holy Place, and for the doors of the house, that is, for the main room, of gold.

^51 (DR)So all the work that King Solomon performed in the house of the Lord was finished. And ^(DS)Solomon brought in the offerings vowed by his father David, the silver and the gold and the utensils, and he put them in the treasuries of the house of the Lord.

The Ark Brought into the Temple

8 ^(DT)Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all ^(DU)the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ households of the sons of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, ^(DV)to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from ^(DW)the city of David, that is, Zion. ² So all the men of Israel assembled themselves before King Solomon at ^(DX)the feast, in the month Ethanim, that is, the seventh month. ³ Then all the elders of Israel came, and ^(DY)the priests took up the ark. ⁴ And they brought up the ark of the Lord, ^(DZ)the tent of meeting, and all the holy utensils which were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up. ⁵ And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who were gathered together to him, ^(EA)were with him before the ark, sacrificing ^[cn]so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. ⁶ Then ^(EB)the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord ^(EC)to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the Most Holy Place, ^(ED)under the wings of the cherubim. ⁷ For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim made a covering over the ark and its carrying poles from above. ⁸ But ^(EE)the poles were so long that the ends of the poles could be seen from the holy place in front of the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen outside; they are there to this day. ^9 (EF)There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, where ^(EG)the Lord made a covenant with the sons of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. ¹⁰ And it happened that when the priests came from the holy place, ^(EH)the cloud filled the house of the Lord, ¹¹ so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

Solomon Addresses the People

^12 (EI)Then Solomon said,

¹⁴ Then the king ^[co]turned around and ^(EM)blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing. ¹⁵ He said, “^(EN)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, ^(EO)who spoke with His mouth to my father David, and fulfilled it with His hands, saying, ¹⁶ ‘^(EP)Since the day that I brought My people Israel from Egypt, I did not choose a city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house so that ^(EQ)My name would be there, but ^(ER)I chose David to be over My people Israel.’ ^17 (ES)Now it was ^[cp]in the heart of my father David to build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁸ But the Lord said to my father David, ‘Because it was ^[cq]in your heart to build a house for My name, you did well that it was ^[cr]in your heart. ^19 (ET)Nevertheless you shall not build the house, but your son who ^[cs]will be born to you, he will build the house for My name.’ ²⁰ Now the Lord has fulfilled His word which He spoke; for ^(EU)I have risen in place of my father David and I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord ^[ct]promised, and I have built the house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. ²¹ And there I have set a place for the ark, ^(EV)in which is the covenant of the Lord, which He made with our fathers when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.”

The Prayer of Dedication

²² Then ^(EW)Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and he ^(EX)spread out his hands toward heaven. ²³ And he said, “Lord, God of Israel, ^(EY)there is no God like You in heaven above or on earth beneath, ^(EZ)keeping the covenant and showing faithfulness to Your servants who walk before You with all their heart, ²⁴ You who have kept with Your servant, my father David, that which You ^[cu]promised him; You have spoken with Your mouth and have fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day. ²⁵ Now then, Lord, God of Israel, keep with Your servant David my father that which You have ^[cv]promised him, saying, ‘^[cw](FA)You shall not be deprived of a man to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your sons are careful about their way, to walk before Me as you have walked.’ ²⁶ Now then, God of Israel, let Your words, please, be confirmed, ^(FB)which You have spoken to Your servant, my father David.

²⁷ “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, ^(FC)heaven and the ^[cx]highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built! ²⁸ Nevertheless, turn Your attention to the ^(FD)prayer of Your servant and to his plea, Lord, my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which Your servant prays before You today, ^29 (FE)so that Your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, toward ^(FF)the place of which You have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ to listen to the prayer which Your servant will pray toward this place. ³⁰ And ^(FG)listen to the plea of Your servant and of Your people Israel, ^(FH)when they pray toward this place; hear in heaven Your dwelling place; hear and ^(FI)forgive!

³¹ “^(FJ)If a person sins against his neighbor and is compelled to take an oath of innocence, and he comes and takes an oath before Your altar in this house, ³² then hear in heaven and act and judge Your servants, ^(FK)condemning the wicked by ^[cy]bringing his way on his own head, and acquitting the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness.

³³ “^(FL)When Your people Israel are ^[cz]defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, ^(FM)if they turn to You again and confess Your name and pray and implore Your ^[da]favor in this house, ³⁴ then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave their fathers.

³⁵ “^(FN)When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and praise Your name, and turn from their sin when You afflict them, ³⁶ then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants and Your people Israel; ^(FO)indeed, teach them the good way in which they are to walk. And ^(FP)provide rain on Your land, which You have given to Your people as an inheritance.

³⁷ “^(FQ)If there is a famine in the land, if there is a plague, if there is ^[db]blight or mildew, locust or grasshopper, if their enemy harasses them in the land of their ^[dc]cities, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, ³⁸ whatever prayer or plea ^[dd]is offered by any person or by all Your people Israel, ^[de]each knowing the affliction of his own heart, and spreading his ^[df]hands toward this house; ³⁹ then hear in heaven, Your dwelling place, and forgive and act, and give to each in accordance with all his ways, ^(FR)whose heart You know—for ^(FS)You alone know the hearts of all ^[dg]mankind— ⁴⁰ so that they will ^[dh]fear You all the days that they live on the ^[di]land which You have given to our fathers.

⁴¹ “Also regarding the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel, when he comes from a far country on account of Your name ⁴² (for they will hear of Your great name ^(FT)and Your mighty hand, and of Your outstretched arm); when he comes and prays toward this house, ⁴³ hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and act in accordance with all for which the foreigner calls to You, in order ^(FU)that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name, to ^[dj]fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that ^[dk]this house which I have built is called by Your name.

⁴⁴ “When Your people go out to battle against ^[dl]their enemy, by whatever way You send them, and ^(FV)they pray to the Lord ^[dm]toward the city which You have chosen and the house which I have built for Your name, ⁴⁵ then hear in heaven their prayer and their pleading, and maintain their cause.

⁴⁶ “When they sin against You (for ^(FW)there is no person who does not sin) and You are angry with them and turn them over to an enemy, so that ^[dn]they take them away captive ^(FX)to the land of the enemy, distant or near; ^47 (FY)if they ^[do]take it to heart in the land where they have been taken captive, and repent and implore Your ^[dp]favor in the land of those who have taken them captive, saying, ‘^(FZ)We have sinned and done wrong, we have acted wickedly’; ^48 (GA)if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who have taken them captive, and ^(GB)pray to You toward their land which You have given to their fathers, the city which You have chosen, and the house which I have built for Your name; ⁴⁹ then hear their prayer and their pleading in heaven, Your dwelling place, and maintain their cause, ⁵⁰ and forgive Your people who have sinned against You and all their wrongdoings which they have committed against You, and ^(GC)make them objects of compassion before those who have taken them captive, so that they will have compassion on them ⁵¹ (^(GD)for they are Your people and Your inheritance which You have brought out of Egypt, ^(GE)from the midst of the iron furnace), ^52 (GF)so that Your eyes may be open to the pleading of Your servant and to the pleading of Your people Israel, to listen to them whenever they call to You. ⁵³ For You have singled them out from all the peoples of the earth as Your inheritance, ^(GG)just as You spoke through Moses Your servant, when You brought our fathers out of Egypt, Lord ^[dq]God.”

Solomon’s Benediction

^54 (GH)When Solomon had finished praying this entire prayer and plea to the Lord, ^(GI)he stood up from the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his ^[dr]hands spread toward heaven. ⁵⁵ And he stood and ^(GJ)blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying:

⁵⁶ “Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel ^(GK)in accordance with everything that He ^[ds]promised; ^(GL)not one word has ^[dt]failed of all His good ^[du]promise, which He ^[dv]promised through Moses His servant. ⁵⁷ May the Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers; ^(GM)may He not leave us nor forsake us, ⁵⁸ so that ^(GN)He may guide our hearts toward Himself, to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His ordinances, which He commanded our fathers. ⁵⁹ And may these words of mine, with which I have implored the ^[dw]favor of the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, so that He will maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, ^[dx]as each day requires, ⁶⁰ so ^(GO)that all the peoples of the earth may know that ^(GP)the Lord is God; there is no one else. ^61 (GQ)Your hearts therefore shall be ^[dy]wholly devoted to the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments, as at this day.”

Dedicatory Sacrifices

^62 (GR)Then the king and all Israel with him ^(GS)offered sacrifice before the Lord. ⁶³ And Solomon offered for the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered to the Lord, twenty-two thousand oxen and 120,000 sheep. ^(GT)So the king and all the sons of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord. ⁶⁴ On the same day the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard that was in front of the house of the Lord, because there he ^[dz]offered the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the fat of the peace offerings; for ^(GU)the bronze altar that was before the Lord was too small to hold the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the fat of the peace offerings.

⁶⁵ So ^(GV)Solomon held the ^[ea]feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly ^(GW)from the entrance of Hamath ^(GX)to the brook of Egypt, before the Lord our God, for seven days and seven more days, that is, fourteen days. ⁶⁶ On the eighth day he dismissed the people, and they blessed the king. Then they went to their tents joyful and with happy hearts for all the goodness that the Lord had ^[eb]shown to David His servant, and to Israel His people.

God’s Promise and Warning

9 ^(GY)Now it came about when Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord and ^(GZ)the king’s house, and ^(HA)all ^[ec]that Solomon desired to do, ² that ^(HB)the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. ³ And the Lord said to him, “^(HC)I have heard your prayer and your plea which you have offered before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built, ^(HD)by putting My name there forever, and ^(HE)My eyes and My heart will be there ^[ed]always. ⁴ As for you, ^(HF)if you walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and honesty, acting in accordance with everything that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My ordinances, ⁵ then ^(HG)I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, just as I ^[ee]promised to your father David, saying, ‘^[ef]You shall not be deprived of a man on the throne of Israel.’

⁶ “^(HH)But if you or your sons indeed turn away from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have placed before you, but you go and serve other gods and worship them, ^7 (HI)then I will cut Israel off from the land which I have given them, and ^(HJ)the house which I have consecrated for My name, I will ^[eg]expel from My sight. So ^(HK)Israel will become a saying and an object of derision among all peoples. ⁸ And this house will become ^(HL)a heap of ruins; everyone who passes by it will be appalled and ^[eh]hiss and say, ‘^(HM)Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and this house?’ ⁹ And they will say, ‘^(HN)Because they abandoned the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and they ^[ei]adopted other gods and worshiped and served them, for that reason the Lord has brought all this adversity on them.’”

Cities Given to Hiram

^10 (HO)Now it came about ^(HP)at the end of twenty years in which Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the Lord and the king’s house ¹¹ (Hiram king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and juniper timber and gold, ^[ej]satisfying all his desire), that King Solomon then gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. ¹² So Hiram left Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him, and they ^[ek]did not please him. ¹³ And he said, “What are these cities which you have given me, my brother?” So ^[el]they have been called the land of ^[em](HQ)Cabul to this day. ^14 (HR)And Hiram sent to the king ^[en]120 talents of gold.

¹⁵ Now this is the account of the forced labor which King Solomon ^(HS)conscripted to build the house of the Lord, his own house, the ^[eo](HT)Millo, the wall of Jerusalem, ^(HU)Hazor, ^(HV)Megiddo, and ^(HW)Gezer. ¹⁶ For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and overthrown Gezer and burned it with fire, and killed the ^(HX)Canaanites who lived in the city; and he had ^(HY)given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife. ¹⁷ So Solomon rebuilt Gezer and the lower ^(HZ)Beth-horon, ¹⁸ and ^(IA)Baalath and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land of Judah, ¹⁹ and all the storage cities which Solomon had, that is, ^(IB)the cities for ^[ep]his chariots and the cities for ^[eq](IC)his horsemen, and ^[er](ID)everything that it pleased Solomon to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land ^[es]under his rule. ²⁰ As for all the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the sons of Israel, ^21 (IE)their descendants who were left after them in the land, ^(IF)whom the sons of Israel were unable to completely eliminate, ^(IG)from them Solomon conscripted ^(IH)forced laborers, as they are to this day. ²² But Solomon ^(II)did not make slaves of the sons of Israel; for they were men of war, his servants, his commanders, his charioteers, his chariot commanders, and his horsemen.

²³ These were the ^[et](IJ)chief officers who were in charge of Solomon’s work, 550, ^(IK)who ruled over the people doing the work.

²⁴ As soon as ^(IL)Pharaoh’s daughter came up from the city of David to her house which Solomon had built for her, ^(IM)he then built the Millo.

²⁵ Now ^(IN)three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he had built for the Lord, burning incense with them on the altar which was before the Lord. So he finished the house.

²⁶ King Solomon also built a ^(IO)fleet of ships in ^(IP)Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the ^[eu]Red Sea, in the land of Edom. ^27 (IQ)And Hiram sent his servants with the fleet, sailors who knew the sea, along with the servants of Solomon. ²⁸ And they went to ^(IR)Ophir and received ^[ev]420 talents of gold from there, and brought it to King Solomon.

The Queen of Sheba

10 ^(IS)Now when the ^(IT)queen of ^(IU)Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon in relation to the name of the Lord, she came ^(IV)to test him with riddles. ² So she came to Jerusalem with a very large entourage, with camels ^(IW)carrying balsam oil and a very large quantity of gold and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she spoke to him about everything that was in her heart. ³ And Solomon ^[ew]answered all her questions; nothing was concealed from the king which he did not explain to her. ⁴ When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, ⁵ and the food of his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their attire, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings which he offered at the house of the Lord, ^[ex]she was breathless. ⁶ Then she said to the king, “It was a true ^[ey]story that I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. ⁷ But I did not believe the ^[ez]stories until I came and my own eyes saw it all. And behold, the half of it was not reported to me. You have exceeded in wisdom and prosperity the report which I heard. ^8 (IX)Blessed are your men, and blessed are these servants of yours who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom! ^9 (IY)Blessed be the Lord your God who delighted in you to put you on the throne of Israel; ^(IZ)because the Lord loves Israel forever, He made you king, ^(JA)to do justice and righteousness.” ¹⁰ Then ^(JB)she gave the king ^[fa]120 talents of gold, and a very large amount of balsam oil and precious stones. Never again did such a large quantity of balsam oil come in as that which the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.

^11 (JC)And the ships of Hiram as well, which brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir a very great number of almug trees and precious stones. ^12 (JD)The king made from the almug trees supports for the house of the Lord and for the king’s house, and lyres and harps for the singers; such almug trees have not come in again, nor have they been seen to this day.

¹³ And King Solomon granted the queen of Sheba everything she desired, whatever she requested, besides what he gave her in proportion to ^[fb]his royal bounty. Then she ^[fc]departed and went to her own land ^[fd]together with her servants.

Wealth, Splendor, and Wisdom

^14 (JE)Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was ^[fe]666 talents of gold, ¹⁵ besides that from the traders, and the ^[ff]wares of the merchants and all the kings of the ^(JF)Arabs and the governors of the country. ^16 (JG)King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold, ^[fg]using six hundred shekels of gold on each large shield. ¹⁷ And he made ^(JH)three hundred small shields of beaten gold, ^[fh]using ^[fi]three minas of gold on each shield; and ^(JI)the king put them in the house of the timber of Lebanon. ¹⁸ Moreover, the king made a large throne of ^(JJ)ivory and overlaid it with fine gold. ¹⁹ There were six steps to the throne and a round top to the throne at its back, and ^[fj]armrests ^[fk]on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the ^[fl]armrests. ²⁰ Twelve lions were standing there on the six steps on the one side and on the other; nothing like it was made for ^[fm]any other kingdom. ²¹ Now all King Solomon’s drinking utensils were of gold, and all the utensils of the house of the timber of Lebanon were of pure gold. None was of silver; it was not considered as amounting to anything in the days of Solomon. ²² For ^(JK)the king had the ships of Tarshish at sea with Hiram’s ships; once every three years the ships of Tarshish would come carrying gold and silver, ivory, monkeys, and peacocks.

^23 (JL)So King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in wealth and wisdom. ²⁴ And all the earth was seeking the ^[fn]attention of Solomon, ^(JM)to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. ²⁵ And ^(JN)they were bringing, everyone, ^[fo]a gift: articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, balsam oil, horses, and mules, so much year by year.

^26 (JO)Now Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; and he had 1,400 chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, and he ^[fp]stationed them in the ^(JP)chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. ^27 (JQ)And the king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees that are in the ^[fq]lowland. ^28 (JR)Also Solomon’s import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king’s merchants acquired them from Kue for a price. ²⁹ A chariot ^[fr]was imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for 150; and ^[fs]by the same means they exported them ^(JS)to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of the Arameans.

Ahab’s Third Campaign against Aram

22 Now ^[a]three years passed without war between Aram and Israel. ^2 (A)In the third year, ^(B)Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel. ³ Now the king of Israel said to his servants, “Are you aware that ^(C)Ramoth-gilead belongs to us, yet we are hesitant to take it out of the hand of the king of Aram?” ⁴ So he said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go to battle with me at Ramoth-gilead?” And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “^[b](D)Consider me yours, my people yours, and my horses yours!”

⁵ However, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please request the word of the Lord ^[c]first.” ⁶ So ^(E)the king of Israel assembled the ^[d]prophets, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Should I go to battle against Ramoth-gilead or should I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for the Lord will hand it over to the king.” ⁷ But ^(F)Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no longer a prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of him?” ⁸ And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, but I hate him, because he does not prophesy anything good regarding me, but only bad. He is Micaiah the son of Imlah.” But Jehoshaphat said, “May the king not say so.” ⁹ Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Bring Micaiah son of Imlah quickly.” ¹⁰ Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting, each on his throne, dressed in their robes, at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and ^(G)all the prophets were prophesying before them. ¹¹ Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made ^(H)horns of iron for himself and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘^(I)With these you will gore the Arameans until they are destroyed!’” ¹² All the prophets were prophesying this as well, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and succeed, for the Lord will hand it over to the king.”

Micaiah Predicts Defeat

¹³ Then the messenger who went to summon Micaiah spoke to him saying, “Behold now, the words of the prophets are ^[e]unanimously favorable to the king. Please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.” ¹⁴ But Micaiah said, “^(J)As the Lord lives, whatever ^(K)the Lord says to me, I shall speak it.”

¹⁵ When he came to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, should we go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or should we refrain?” And he said, “^(L)Go up and succeed, for the Lord will hand it over to the king!” ¹⁶ Then the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear that you will tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” ¹⁷ So he said,

¹⁸ Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “^(N)Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy anything good regarding me, but only bad?”

¹⁹ And Micaiah said, “Therefore, hear the word of the Lord. ^(O)I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and ^(P)all the ^[f]angels of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left. ²⁰ And the Lord said, ‘Who will ^[g]entice Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one spirit said this, while another said that. ²¹ Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, and said, ‘I will ^[h]entice him.’ ²² And the Lord said to him, ‘How?’ And he said, ‘I will go out and ^(Q)be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ Then He said, ‘You shall ^[i]entice him, and you will also prevail. Go and do so.’ ²³ Now then, behold, ^(R)the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours; and the Lord has declared disaster against you.”

²⁴ Then ^(S)Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah approached and struck Micaiah on the cheek; and he said, “^(T)How did the Spirit of the Lord pass from me to speak to you?” ²⁵ And Micaiah said, “Behold, you are going to see how on that day when you ^(U)go from one inner room to ^[j]another trying to hide yourself.” ²⁶ Then the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son; ²⁷ and say, ‘This is what the king says: “^(V)Put this man in prison, and feed him enough bread and water to survive until I ^[k]return safely.”’” ²⁸ But Micaiah said, “^(W)If you actually return ^[l]safely, the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, “^(X)Listen, all you people!”

Defeat and Death of Ahab

²⁹ So ^(Y)the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up against Ramoth-gilead. ³⁰ And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “^(Z)I will disguise myself and go into the battle, but you put on your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into the battle. ³¹ Now ^(AA)the king of Aram had commanded the thirty-two commanders of his chariots, saying, “Do not fight with the small or great, but only with the king of Israel.” ³² So when the commanders of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “Surely he is the king of Israel!” And they turned aside to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out. ³³ Then, when the commanders of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.

³⁴ Now one man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel ^[m]in a joint of the armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn ^[n]around and take me out of the battle, ^(AB)for I am severely wounded.” ³⁵ The battle ^[o]raged on that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot in front of the Arameans, and he died at evening, and the blood from the wound ran into the bottom of the chariot. ^36 (AC)Then the word passed throughout the army close to sunset, saying, “Every man to his city, and every man to his ^[p]country!”

³⁷ So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria. ³⁸ They washed out the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood (it was there that the prostitutes bathed themselves) ^(AD)in accordance with the word of the Lord which He had spoken. ³⁹ Now as for the rest of the acts of Ahab and everything that he did, and ^(AE)the ivory house which he built and all the cities which he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ⁴⁰ So Ahab ^[q]lay down with his fathers, and his son Ahaziah became king in his place.

The New Rulers

^41 (AF)Now Jehoshaphat the son of Asa became king over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. ⁴² Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for twenty-five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. ^43 (AG)He walked ^[r]entirely in the way of his father Asa; he did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the Lord. ^(AH)However, the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. ^44 (AI)Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel.

⁴⁵ Now as for the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might which he showed and how he made war, are they not written ^(AJ)in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ⁴⁶ And the remnant of ^(AK)the cult prostitutes who remained in the days of his father Asa, he eliminated from the land.

⁴⁷ Now ^(AL)there was no king in Edom; a governor served as king. ⁴⁸ Jehoshaphat built ^(AM)ships of Tarshish to go to ^(AN)Ophir for gold, but ^(AO)they did not go, because the ships were destroyed at ^(AP)Ezion-geber. ⁴⁹ Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants go with your servants in the ships.” But Jehoshaphat was not willing. ^50 (AQ)And Jehoshaphat ^[s]lay down with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of his father David, and his son Jehoram became king in his place.

⁵¹ Ahaziah the son of Ahab ^(AR)became king over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel for two years. ⁵² He did evil in the sight of the Lord and ^(AS)walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who misled Israel into sin. ^53 (AT)So he served Baal and worshiped him, and provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger, according to all that his father had done.