2 Chronicles 1-9

Christian Standard Bible

Solomon’s Request for Wisdom

1 Solomon son of David strengthened his hold on his kingdom.^(A) The Lord his God was with him and highly exalted him.^{(B) 2} Then Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, to the judges, and to every leader in all Israel—the family heads.^{(C) 3} Solomon and the whole assembly with him went to the high place that was in Gibeon^(D) because God’s tent of meeting, which the Lord’s servant Moses had made^(E) in the wilderness, was there. ⁴ Now David had brought the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim to the place^[a] he had set up for it, because he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem,^{(F) 5} but he put^[b] the bronze altar, which Bezalel son of Uri, son of Hur, had made,^(G) in front of the Lord’s tabernacle. Solomon and the assembly inquired of him^[c] there. ⁶ Solomon offered sacrifices there in the Lord’s presence on the bronze altar at the tent of meeting; he offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.^(H)

⁷ That night^(I) God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask. What should I give you?”

⁸ And Solomon said to God, “You have shown great and faithful love to my father David, and you have made me king in his place.^{(J) 9} Lord God, let your promise to my father David now come true.^(K) For you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth.^{(L) 10} Now grant me wisdom and knowledge so that I may lead these people,^(M) for who can judge this great people of yours?”

¹¹ God said to Solomon, “Since this was in your heart, and you have not requested riches, wealth, or glory, or for the life of those who hate you, and you have not even requested long life, but you have requested for yourself wisdom and knowledge that you may judge my people over whom I have made you king, ¹² wisdom and knowledge are given to you. I will also give you riches, wealth, and glory, unlike what was given to the kings who were before you, or will be given to those after you.”^{(N) 13} So Solomon went to Jerusalem from^[d] the high place that was in Gibeon in front of the tent of meeting, and he reigned over Israel.

Solomon’s Horses and Wealth

¹⁴ Solomon^(O) accumulated 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen,^(P) which he stationed in the chariot cities^(Q) and with the king in Jerusalem. ¹⁵ The king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar as abundant as sycamore in the Judean foothills. ¹⁶ Solomon’s horses came from Egypt and Kue.^[e] The king’s traders would get them from Kue at the going price. ¹⁷ A chariot could be imported from Egypt for fifteen pounds^[f] of silver and a horse for nearly four pounds.^[g] In the same way, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram through their agents.

Solomon’s Letter to Hiram

2 Solomon decided to build a temple for the name of the Lord and a royal palace for himself,^{(R) 2} so he assigned 70,000 men as porters, 80,000 men as stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 as supervisors over them.^(S)

³ Then Solomon sent word to King Hiram^[h](T) of Tyre:^(U)

Do for me what you did for my father David. You sent him cedars to build him a house to live in.^{(V) 4} Now I am building a temple for the name of the Lord my God in order to dedicate it to him for burning fragrant incense before him,^(W) for displaying the rows of the Bread of the Presence continuously,^(X) and for sacrificing burnt offerings for the morning and the evening,^(Y) the Sabbaths^(Z) and the New Moons, and the appointed festivals of the Lord our God. This is ordained for Israel permanently. ⁵ The temple that I am building will be great, for our God is greater than any of the gods.^{(AA) 6} But who is able to build a temple for him, since even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain him?^(AB) Who am I then that I should build a temple for him except as a place to burn incense before him? ⁷ Therefore, send me an artisan who is skilled in engraving to work with gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and with purple, crimson, and blue yarn. He will work with the artisans who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem,^(AC) appointed by my father David.^{(AD) 8} Also, send me cedar, cypress, and algum^[i](AE) logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants know how to cut the trees of Lebanon. Note that my servants will be with your servants^{(AF) 9} to prepare logs for me in abundance because the temple I am building will be great and wondrous. ¹⁰ I will give your servants, the woodcutters who cut the trees, one hundred twenty thousand bushels^[j] of wheat flour, one hundred twenty thousand bushels of barley, one hundred twenty thousand gallons^[k] of wine, and one hundred twenty thousand gallons of oil.

Hiram’s Reply

¹¹ Then King Hiram of Tyre wrote a letter^[l] and sent it to Solomon:

Because the Lord loves his people, he set you over them as king.^(AG)

¹² Hiram also said:

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who made the heavens and the earth!^(AH) He gave King David a wise son with insight and understanding,^(AI) who will build a temple for the Lord and a royal palace for himself.^{(AJ) 13} I have now sent Huram-abi,^[m] a skillful man who has understanding.^{(AK) 14} He is the son of a woman from the daughters of Dan. His father is a man of Tyre. He knows how to work with gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, with purple, blue, crimson yarn, and fine linen. He knows how to do all kinds of engraving and to execute any design that may be given him. I have sent him to be with your artisans and the artisans of my lord, your father David. ¹⁵ Now, let my lord send the wheat, barley, oil, and wine to his servants as promised.^{(AL) 16} We will cut logs from Lebanon, as many as you need, and bring them to you as rafts by sea to Joppa. You can then take them up to Jerusalem.^(AM)

Solomon’s Workforce

¹⁷ Solomon took a census of all the resident alien men in the land of Israel, after the census that his father David had conducted,^(AN) and the total was 153,600. ¹⁸ Solomon made 70,000 of them porters, 80,000 stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 supervisors to make the people work.^(AO)

Building the Temple

3 Then Solomon began^(AP) to build the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah^(AQ) where the Lord^[n] had appeared to his father David, at the site David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan^[o] the Jebusite. ² He began to build on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign. ³ These are Solomon’s foundations^[p] for building God’s temple: the length^[q] was ninety feet,^[r] and the width thirty feet.^{[s] 4} The portico, which was across the front extending across the width of the temple, was thirty feet wide; its height was thirty feet;^[t] he overlaid its inner surface with pure gold. ⁵ The larger room^[u] he paneled with cypress wood, overlaid with fine gold, and decorated with palm trees and chains. ⁶ He adorned the temple with precious stones for beauty, and the gold was the gold of Parvaim. ⁷ He overlaid the temple—the beams, the thresholds, its walls and doors—with gold,^(AR) and he carved cherubim on the walls.^(AS)

The Most Holy Place

⁸ Then he made the most holy place; its length corresponded to the width of the temple, 30 feet, and its width was 30 feet.^(AT) He overlaid it with forty-five thousand pounds^[v] of fine gold. ⁹ The weight of the nails was twenty ounces^[w] of gold, and he overlaid the ceiling with gold.

¹⁰ He made^(AU) two cherubim of sculptured work, for the most holy place, and he overlaid them with gold. ¹¹ The overall length of the wings of the cherubim was 30 feet: the wing of one was 7½ feet,^[x] touching the wall of the room; its other wing was 7½ feet, touching the wing of the other cherub. ¹² The wing of the other^[y] cherub was 7½ feet, touching the wall of the room; its other wing was 7½ feet, reaching the wing of the other cherub. ¹³ The wingspan of these cherubim was 30 feet. They stood on their feet and faced the larger room.^[z]

¹⁴ He made the curtain of blue, purple, and crimson yarn and fine linen, and he wove cherubim into it.^(AV)

The Bronze Pillars

¹⁵ In front of the temple^(AW) he made two pillars, each 27 feet^[aa] high. The capital on top of each was 7½ feet high. ¹⁶ He had made chainwork in the inner sanctuary and also put it on top of the pillars.^(AX) He made a hundred pomegranates and fastened them into the chainwork. ¹⁷ Then he set up the pillars in front of the sanctuary, one on the right and one on the left. He named the one on the right Jachin^[ab] and the one on the left Boaz.^[ac]

The Altar and Basins

4 He made a bronze altar^(AY) 30 feet^[ad] long, 30 feet wide, and 15 feet^[ae] high.

² Then he made the cast metal basin,^[af](AZ) 15 feet from brim to brim, perfectly round. It was 7½ feet^[ag] high and 45 feet^[ah] in circumference. ³ The likeness of oxen^[ai] was below it, completely encircling it, ten every half yard,^[aj] completely surrounding the basin. The oxen were cast in two rows when the basin was cast. ⁴ It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The basin was on top of them and all their hindquarters were toward the center. ⁵ The basin was three inches^[ak] thick, and its rim was fashioned like the brim of a cup or a lily blossom. It could hold eleven thousand gallons.^[al]

⁶ He made ten basins for washing and he put five on the right and five on the left.^(BA) The parts of the burnt offering were rinsed in them,^(BB) but the basin was used by the priests for washing.

The Lampstands, Tables, and Courts

⁷ He made the ten gold lampstands according to their specifications and put them in the sanctuary, five on the right and five on the left.^{(BC) 8} He made ten tables and placed them in the sanctuary, five on the right and five on the left.^(BD) He also made a hundred gold bowls.

⁹ He made the courtyard^(BE) of the priests and the large court, and doors for the court. He overlaid the doors with bronze. ¹⁰ He put the basin on the right side, toward the southeast.^{(BF) 11} Then Huram^[am](BG) made^(BH) the pots, the shovels, and the bowls.

Completion of the Bronze Furnishings

So Huram finished doing the work that he was doing for King Solomon in God’s temple: ¹² two pillars; the bowls and the capitals on top of the two pillars; the two gratings for covering both bowls of the capitals that were on top of the pillars; ¹³ the four hundred pomegranates for the two gratings (two rows of pomegranates for each grating covering both capitals’ bowls on top of the pillars^(BI)). ¹⁴ He also made the water carts^[an](BJ) and the basins on the water carts. ¹⁵ The one basin and the twelve oxen underneath it, ¹⁶ the pots, the shovels, the forks, and all their utensils—Huram-abi^[ao](BK) made them for King Solomon for the Lord’s temple. All these were made of polished bronze. ¹⁷ The king had them cast in clay molds in the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zeredah. ¹⁸ Solomon made all these utensils in such great abundance that the weight of the bronze was not determined.

Completion of the Gold Furnishings

¹⁹ Solomon also made all the equipment in God’s temple: the gold altar; the tables on which to put the Bread of the Presence;^{(BL) 20} the lampstands and their lamps of pure gold to burn in front of the inner sanctuary according to specifications;^{(BM) 21} the flowers, lamps, and gold tongs—of purest gold; ²² the wick trimmers, sprinkling basins, ladles,^[ap] and firepans—of purest gold; and the entryway to the temple, its inner doors to the most holy place, and the doors of the temple sanctuary—of gold.

5 So all the work Solomon did for the Lord’s temple was completed. Then Solomon brought the consecrated things of his father David—the silver, the gold, and all the utensils—and put them in the treasuries of God’s temple.

Preparations for the Temple Dedication

² At that time^(BN) Solomon assembled at Jerusalem the elders of Israel—all the tribal heads, the ancestral chiefs of the Israelites—in order to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord up from the city of David,^(BO) that is, Zion. ³ So all the men of Israel were assembled in the king’s presence at the festival; this was in the seventh month.^[aq]

⁴ All the elders of Israel came, and the Levites picked up the ark. ⁵ They brought up the ark, the tent of meeting, and the holy utensils that were in the tent. The priests and the Levites brought them up. ⁶ King Solomon and the entire congregation of Israel who had gathered around him were in front of the ark sacrificing sheep, goats, and cattle that could not be counted or numbered because there were so many. ⁷ The priests brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the most holy place, beneath the wings of the cherubim.^{(BP) 8} And the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark so that the cherubim formed a cover above the ark and its poles. ⁹ The poles were so long that their ends were seen from the holy place^[ar](BQ) in front of the inner sanctuary, but they were not seen from outside; they are still there today. ¹⁰ Nothing was in the ark except the two tablets that Moses had put in it at Horeb,^[as](BR) where the Lord had made a covenant with the Israelites when they came out of Egypt.

¹¹ Now all the priests who were present had consecrated themselves regardless of their divisions.^(BS) When the priests came out of the holy place, ¹² the Levitical singers dressed in fine linen and carrying cymbals, harps, and lyres^(BT) were standing east of the altar, and with them were 120 priests blowing trumpets.^(BU) The Levitical singers were descendants of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun and their sons^(BV) and relatives. ¹³ The trumpeters and singers joined together to praise and thank the Lord with one voice. They raised their voices, accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and musical instruments,^(BW) in praise to the Lord:

The temple, the Lord’s temple, was filled with a cloud.^{(BY) 14} And because of the cloud, the priests were not able to continue ministering, for the glory of the Lord filled God’s temple.^(BZ)

Solomon’s Dedication of the Temple

6 Then Solomon said:^(CA)

³ Then the king turned and blessed the entire congregation of Israel while they were standing. ⁴ He said:

Solomon’s Prayer

¹² Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the entire congregation of Israel and spread out his hands. ¹³ For Solomon had made a bronze platform 7½ feet^[at] long, 7½ feet wide, and 4½ feet^[au] high and put it in the court. He stood on it,^(CH) knelt down in front of the entire congregation of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven.^{(CI) 14} He said:

The Dedication Ceremonies

7 When Solomon finished praying,^(CZ) fire descended from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices,^(DA) and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. ² The priests were not able to enter the Lord’s temple because the glory of the Lord filled the temple of the Lord. ³ All the Israelites were watching when the fire descended and the glory of the Lord came on the temple. They bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground. They worshiped and praised the Lord:

⁴ The king and all the people were offering sacrifices in the Lord’s presence.^{(DC) 5} King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand cattle and one hundred twenty thousand sheep and goats. In this manner the king and all the people dedicated God’s temple. ⁶ The priests and the Levites were standing at their stations. The Levites had the musical instruments of the Lord, which King David had made to give thanks to the Lord—“for his faithful love endures forever”—when he offered praise with them.^(DD) Across from the Levites, the priests were blowing trumpets, and all the people were standing. ⁷ Since the bronze altar that Solomon had made^(DE) could not accommodate the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the fat of the fellowship offerings, Solomon first consecrated the middle of the courtyard^(DF) that was in front of the Lord’s temple and then offered the burnt offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings there.^(DG)

⁸ So Solomon and all Israel with him—a very great assembly, from the entrance to Hamath^[be] to the Brook of Egypt—observed the festival at that time for seven days. ⁹ On the eighth day^[bf] they held a solemn assembly,^(DH) for the dedication of the altar lasted seven days and the festival seven days. ¹⁰ On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people home,^[bg] rejoicing and with happy hearts for the goodness the Lord had done for David, for Solomon, and for his people Israel.

¹¹ So Solomon finished the Lord’s temple and the royal palace. Everything that had entered Solomon’s heart to do for the Lord’s temple and for his own palace succeeded.^(DI)

The Lord’s Response

¹² Then the Lord appeared to Solomon at night and said to him:

I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple of sacrifice.^{(DJ) 13} If I shut the sky so there is no rain, or if I command the grasshopper to consume the land, or if I send pestilence on my people,^{(DK) 14} and my people, who bear my name, humble themselves, pray and seek my face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.^{(DL) 15} My eyes will now be open and my ears attentive to prayer from this place.^{(DM) 16} And I have now chosen and consecrated this temple so that my name may be there forever; my eyes and my heart will be there at all times.^(DN)

¹⁷ As for you, if you walk before me as your father David walked, doing everything I have commanded you, and if you keep my statutes and ordinances, ¹⁸ I will establish your royal throne, as I promised your father David: You will never fail to have a man ruling in Israel.^(DO)

¹⁹ However, if you turn away and abandon my statutes and my commands that I have set before you and if you go and serve other gods and bow in worship to them,^{(DP) 20} then I will uproot Israel from the soil that I gave them, and this temple that I have sanctified for my name I will banish from my presence;^(DQ) I will make it an object of scorn and ridicule among all the peoples.^{(DR) 21} As for this temple, which was exalted, everyone who passes by will be appalled and will say,^(DS) “Why did the Lord do this to this land and this temple?” ²² Then they will say, “Because they abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors who brought them out of the land of Egypt. They clung to other gods and bowed in worship to them and served them. Because of this, he brought all this ruin on them.”

Solomon’s Later Building Projects

8 At the end of twenty years^(DT) during which Solomon had built the Lord’s temple and his own palace— ² Solomon had rebuilt the cities Hiram^[bh] gave him and settled Israelites there— ³ Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and seized it. ⁴ He built Tadmor in the wilderness along with all the storage cities that he built in Hamath. ⁵ He built Upper Beth-horon and Lower Beth-horon^(DU)—fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars^(DV)— ⁶ Baalath, all the storage cities that belonged to Solomon, all the chariot cities, the cavalry cities, and everything Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, or anywhere else in the land of his dominion.

⁷ As for all the peoples who remained of the Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not from Israel^(DW)— ⁸ their descendants who remained in the land after them, those the Israelites had not completely destroyed—Solomon imposed forced labor on them; it is this way today.^{(DX) 9} But Solomon did not consign the Israelites to be slaves for his work; they were soldiers, commanders of his captains, and commanders of his chariots and his cavalry. ¹⁰ These were King Solomon’s deputies: 250 who supervised the people.

¹¹ Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh from the city of David to the house he had built for her,^(DY) for he said, “My wife must not live in the house^[bi] of King David of Israel because the places the ark of the Lord has come into are holy.”

Public Worship Established at the Temple

¹² At that time^(DZ) Solomon offered burnt offerings to the Lord on the Lord’s altar he had made in front of the portico.^{(EA) 13} He followed the daily requirement^(EB) for offerings according to the commandment of Moses^(EC) for Sabbaths, New Moons, and the three annual appointed festivals: the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Shelters.^{(ED) 14} According to the ordinances of his father David, he appointed the divisions of the priests over their service,^(EE) of the Levites over their responsibilities to offer praise and to minister before the priests following the daily requirement,^(EF) and of the gatekeepers by their divisions with respect to each temple gate,^(EG) for this had been the command of David, the man of God.^{(EH) 15} They did not turn aside from the king’s command regarding the priests and the Levites concerning any matter or concerning the treasuries.^{(EI) 16} All of Solomon’s work was carried out from the day the foundation was laid for the Lord’s temple until it was finished. So the Lord’s temple was completed.

Solomon’s Fleet

¹⁷ At that time^(EJ) Solomon went to Ezion-geber and to Eloth^(EK) on the seashore in the land of Edom. ¹⁸ So Hiram^[bj] sent ships to him by his servants along with crews of experienced seamen. They went with Solomon’s servants to Ophir, took from there seventeen tons^[bk] of gold, and delivered it to King Solomon.^(EL)

The Queen of Sheba

9 The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame,^(EM) so she came to test Solomon with difficult questions at Jerusalem with a very large entourage, with camels bearing spices, gold in abundance, and precious stones. She came to Solomon and spoke with him about everything that was on her mind. ² So Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too difficult for Solomon to explain to her. ³ When the queen of Sheba observed Solomon’s wisdom, the palace he had built, ⁴ the food at his table, his servants’ residence, his attendants’ service and their attire, his cupbearers and their attire, and the burnt offerings he offered at the Lord’s temple, it took her breath away.

⁵ She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your words and about your wisdom is true. ⁶ But I didn’t believe their reports until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, I was not even told half of your great wisdom! You far exceed the report I heard. ⁷ How happy are your men.^[bl](EN) How happy are these servants of yours, who always stand in your presence hearing your wisdom. ⁸ Blessed be the Lord your God! He delighted in you and put you on his throne as king for the Lord your God.^(EO) Because your God loved Israel enough to establish them forever, he has set you over them as king to carry out justice and righteousness.”^(EP)

⁹ Then she gave the king four and a half tons^[bm] of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. There never were such spices as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. ¹⁰ In addition, Hiram’s servants and Solomon’s servants who brought gold from Ophir^(EQ) also brought algum wood and precious stones. ¹¹ The king made the algum wood into walkways for the Lord’s temple and for the king’s palace and into lyres and harps for the singers. Never before had anything like them been seen in the land of Judah.

¹² King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba her every desire, whatever she asked—far more than she had brought the king. Then she, along with her servants, returned to her own country.

Solomon’s Wealth

¹³ The weight of gold that came to Solomon^(ER) annually was twenty-five tons,^{[bn] 14} besides what was brought by the merchants and traders. All the Arabian kings and governors of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon.

¹⁵ King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; 15 pounds^[bo] of hammered gold went into each shield. ¹⁶ He made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; 7½ pounds^[bp] of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.^(ES)

¹⁷ The king also made a large ivory throne and overlaid it with pure gold. ¹⁸ The throne had six steps; there was a footstool covered in gold for the throne, armrests on either side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests. ¹⁹ Twelve lions were standing there on the six steps, one at each end. Nothing like it had ever been made in any other kingdom.

²⁰ All of King Solomon’s drinking cups were gold, and all the utensils of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver, since it was considered as nothing in Solomon’s time, ²¹ for the king’s ships kept going to Tarshish^(ET) with Hiram’s servants, and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.^[bq]

²² King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the world in riches and wisdom.^{(EU) 23} All the kings of the world wanted an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. ²⁴ Each of them would bring his own gift—items^[br] of silver and gold, clothing, weapons,^[bs][bt] spices, and horses and mules—as an annual tribute.

²⁵ Solomon^(EV) had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.^(EW) He stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. ²⁶ He ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines and as far as the border of Egypt.^{(EX) 27} The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar as abundant as sycamore in the Judean foothills. ²⁸ They were bringing horses for Solomon from Egypt and from all the countries.

Solomon’s Death

²⁹ The remaining events^(EY) of Solomon’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the Events of the Prophet Nathan, the Prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and the Visions of the Seer Iddo concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat.^{(EZ) 30} Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years. ³¹ Solomon rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of his father David.^(FA) His son Rehoboam became king in his place.