2 Chronicles 5-10

New International Version

5 When all the work Solomon had done for the temple of the Lord was finished,^(A) he brought in the things his father David had dedicated^(B)—the silver and gold and all the furnishings—and he placed them in the treasuries of God’s temple.

The Ark Brought to the Temple^(C)

²Then Solomon summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark^(D) of the Lord’s covenant from Zion, the City of David. ³And all the Israelites^(E) came together to the king at the time of the festival in the seventh month.

⁴When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the Levites took up the ark, ⁵and they brought up the ark and the tent of meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it. The Levitical priests^(F) carried them up; ⁶and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted.

⁷The priests then brought the ark^(G) of the Lord’s covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. ⁸The cherubim^(H) spread their wings over the place of the ark and covered the ark and its carrying poles. ⁹These poles were so long that their ends, extending from the ark, could be seen from in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today. ¹⁰There was nothing in the ark except^(I) the two tablets^(J) that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt.

¹¹The priests then withdrew from the Holy Place. All the priests who were there had consecrated themselves, regardless of their divisions.^(K) ¹²All the Levites who were musicians^(L)—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives—stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets.^(M) ¹³The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang:

“He is good;
his love endures forever.”^(N)

Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud,^(O) ¹⁴and the priests could not perform^(P) their service because of the cloud,^(Q) for the glory^(R) of the Lord filled the temple of God.

6 Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud;^(S) ²I have built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever.^(T)”

³While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around and blessed them. ⁴Then he said:

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his hands has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to my father David. For he said, ⁵‘Since the day I brought my people out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built so that my Name might be there, nor have I chosen anyone to be ruler over my people Israel. ⁶But now I have chosen Jerusalem^(U) for my Name^(V) to be there, and I have chosen David^(W) to rule my people Israel.’

⁷“My father David had it in his heart^(X) to build a temple for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel. ⁸But the Lord said to my father David, ‘You did well to have it in your heart to build a temple for my Name. ⁹Nevertheless, you 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.’

¹⁰“The Lord has kept the promise he made. I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹¹There I have placed the ark, in which is the covenant^(Y) of the Lord that he made with the people of Israel.”

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication^(Z)^(AA)

¹²Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands. ¹³Now he had made a bronze platform,^(AB) five cubits long, five cubits wide and three cubits high,^[a] and had placed it in the center of the outer court. He stood on the platform and then knelt down^(AC) before the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven. ¹⁴He said:

“Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like you^(AD) in heaven or on earth—you who keep your covenant of love^(AE) with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. ¹⁵You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised^(AF) and with your hand you have fulfilled it—as it is today.

¹⁶“Now, Lord, the God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, ‘You shall never fail^(AG) 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 according to my law,^(AH) as you have done.’ ¹⁷And now, Lord, the God of Israel, let your word that you promised your servant David come true.

¹⁸“But will God really dwell^(AI) on earth with humans? The heavens,^(AJ) even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! ¹⁹Yet, Lord my God, give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence. ²⁰May your eyes^(AK) be open toward this temple day and night, this place of which you said you would put your Name^(AL) there. May you hear^(AM) the prayer your servant prays toward this place. ²¹Hear the supplications of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place; and when you hear, forgive.^(AN)

²²“When anyone wrongs their neighbor and is required to take an oath^(AO) and they come and swear the oath before your altar in this temple, ²³then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, condemning^(AP) the guilty and bringing down on their heads what they have done, and vindicating the innocent by treating them in accordance with their innocence.

²⁴“When your people Israel have been defeated^(AQ) by an enemy because they have sinned against you and when they turn back and give praise to your name, praying and making supplication before you in this temple, ²⁵then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to them and their ancestors.

²⁶“When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain^(AR) because your people have sinned 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, ²⁷then hear from heaven and forgive^(AS) the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land you gave your people for an inheritance.

²⁸“When famine^(AT) or plague comes to the land, or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when enemies besiege them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come, ²⁹and when a prayer or plea is made by anyone among your people Israel—being aware of their afflictions and pains, and spreading out their hands toward this temple— ³⁰then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive,^(AU) and deal with everyone according to all they do, since you know their hearts (for you alone know the human heart),^(AV) ³¹so that they will fear you^(AW) and walk in obedience to you all the time they live in the land you gave our ancestors.

³²“As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come^(AX) from a distant land because of your great name and your mighty hand^(AY) and your outstretched arm—when they come and pray toward this temple, ³³then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Do whatever the foreigner^(AZ) asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.

³⁴“When your people go to war against their enemies,^(BA) wherever you send them, and when they pray^(BB) to you toward this city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name, ³⁵then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.

³⁶“When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin^(BC)—and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive^(BD) to a land far away or near; ³⁷and if they have a change of heart^(BE) in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong and acted wickedly’; ³⁸and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their captivity where they were taken, and pray toward the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you have chosen and toward the temple I have built for your Name; ³⁹then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their pleas, and uphold their cause. And forgive^(BF) your people, who have sinned against you.

⁴⁰“Now, my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive^(BG) to the prayers offered in this place.

⁴¹“Now arise,^(BH) Lord God, and come to your resting place,^(BI)
    you and the ark of your might.
May your priests,^(BJ) Lord God, be clothed with salvation,
    may your faithful people rejoice in your goodness.^(BK)
⁴²Lord God, do not reject your anointed one.^(BL)
    Remember the great love^(BM) promised to David your servant.”

The Dedication of the Temple^(BN)

7 When Solomon finished praying, fire^(BO) came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled^(BP) the temple.^(BQ) ²The priests could not enter^(BR) the temple of the Lord because the glory^(BS) of the Lord filled it. ³When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying,

“He is good;
his love endures forever.”^(BT)

⁴Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the Lord. ⁵And King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand head of cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the people dedicated the temple of God. ⁶The priests took their positions, as did the Levites^(BU) with the Lord’s musical instruments,^(BV) which King David had made for praising the Lord and which were used when he gave thanks, saying, “His love endures forever.” Opposite the Levites, the priests blew their trumpets, and all the Israelites were standing.

⁷Solomon consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the Lord, and there he offered burnt offerings and the fat^(BW) of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar he had made could not hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat portions.

⁸So Solomon observed the festival^(BX) at that time for seven days, and all Israel^(BY) with him—a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath^(BZ) to the Wadi of Egypt.^(CA) ⁹On the eighth day they held an assembly, for they had celebrated^(CB) the dedication of the altar for seven days and the festival^(CC) for seven days more. ¹⁰On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people to their homes, joyful and glad in heart for the good things the Lord had done for David and Solomon and for his people Israel.

The Lord Appears to Solomon^(CD)

¹¹When Solomon had finished^(CE) the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the Lord and in his own palace, ¹²the Lord appeared^(CF) to him at night and said:

“I have heard your prayer and have chosen^(CG) this place for myself^(CH) as a temple for sacrifices.

¹³“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain,^(CI) or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, ¹⁴if my people, who are called by my name,^(CJ) will humble^(CK) themselves and pray and seek my face^(CL) and turn^(CM) from their wicked ways, then I will hear^(CN) from heaven, and I will forgive^(CO) their sin and will heal^(CP) their land. ¹⁵Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.^(CQ) ¹⁶I have chosen^(CR) and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.

¹⁷“As for you, if you walk before me faithfully^(CS) as David your father did, and do all I command, and observe my decrees^(CT) and laws, ¹⁸I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted^(CU) with David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor^(CV) to rule over Israel.’^(CW)

¹⁹“But if you^[b] turn away^(CX) and forsake^(CY) the decrees and commands I have given you^[c] and go off to serve other gods and worship them, ²⁰then I will uproot^(CZ) Israel from my land,^(DA) which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule^(DB) among all peoples. ²¹This temple will become a heap of rubble. All^[d] who pass by will be appalled^(DC) and say,^(DD) ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ ²²People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them^(DE)—that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’”

Solomon’s Other Activities^(DF)

8 At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built the temple of the Lord and his own palace,^(DG) ²Solomon rebuilt the villages that Hiram^[e] had given him, and settled Israelites in them. ³Solomon then went to Hamath Zobah and captured it. ⁴He also built up Tadmor in the desert and all the store cities he had built in Hamath.^(DH) ⁵He rebuilt Upper Beth Horon^(DI) and Lower Beth Horon as fortified cities, with walls and with gates and bars, ⁶as well as Baalath^(DJ) and all his store cities, and all the cities for his chariots and for his horses^[f]—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled.

⁷There were still people left from the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites^(DK) (these people were not Israelites). ⁸Solomon conscripted^(DL) the descendants of all these people remaining in the land—whom the Israelites had not destroyed—to serve as slave labor, as it is to this day. ⁹But Solomon did not make slaves of the Israelites for his work; they were his fighting men, commanders of his captains, and commanders of his chariots and charioteers. ¹⁰They were also King Solomon’s chief officials—two hundred and fifty officials supervising the men.

¹¹Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter^(DM) up from the City of David to the palace he had built for her, for he said, “My wife must not live in the palace of David king of Israel, because the places the ark of the Lord has entered are holy.”

¹²On the altar^(DN) of the Lord that he had built in front of the portico, Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings to the Lord, ¹³according to the daily requirement^(DO) for offerings commanded by Moses for the Sabbaths,^(DP) the New Moons^(DQ) and the three^(DR) annual festivals—the Festival of Unleavened Bread,^(DS) the Festival of Weeks^(DT) and the Festival of Tabernacles.^(DU) ¹⁴In keeping with the ordinance of his father David, he appointed the divisions^(DV) of the priests for their duties, and the Levites^(DW) to lead the praise and to assist the priests according to each day’s requirement. He also appointed the gatekeepers^(DX) by divisions for the various gates, because this was what David the man of God^(DY) had ordered.^(DZ) ¹⁵They did not deviate from the king’s commands to the priests or to the Levites in any matter, including that of the treasuries.

¹⁶All Solomon’s work was carried out, from the day the foundation of the temple of the Lord was laid until its completion. So the temple of the Lord was finished.

¹⁷Then Solomon went to Ezion Geber and Elath on the coast of Edom. ¹⁸And Hiram sent him ships commanded by his own men, sailors who knew the sea. These, with Solomon’s men, sailed to Ophir and brought back four hundred and fifty talents^[g] of gold,^(EA) which they delivered to King Solomon.

The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon^(EB)

9 When the queen of Sheba^(EC) heard of Solomon’s fame, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. Arriving with a very great caravan—with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with him about all she had on her mind. ²Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for him to explain to her. ³When the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon,^(ED) as well as the palace he had built, ⁴the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, the cupbearers in their robes and the burnt offerings he made at^[h] the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed.

⁵She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. ⁶But I did not believe what they said until I came^(EE) and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half the greatness of your wisdom was told me; you have far exceeded the report I heard. ⁷How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! ⁸Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on his throne^(EF) as king to rule for the Lord your God. Because of the love of your God for Israel and his desire to uphold them forever, he has made you king^(EG) over them, to maintain justice and righteousness.”

⁹Then she gave the king 120 talents^[i] of gold,^(EH) large quantities of spices, and precious stones. There had never been such spices as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

¹⁰(The servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon brought gold from Ophir;^(EI) they also brought algumwood^[j] and precious stones. ¹¹The king used the algumwood to make steps for the temple of the Lord and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. Nothing like them had ever been seen in Judah.)

¹²King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for; he gave her more than she had brought to him. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.

Solomon’s Splendor^(EJ)

¹³The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents,^[k] ¹⁴not including the revenues brought in by merchants and traders. Also all the kings of Arabia^(EK) and the governors of the territories brought gold and silver to Solomon.

¹⁵King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels^[l] of hammered gold went into each shield. ¹⁶He also made three hundred small shields^(EL) of hammered gold, with three hundred shekels^[m] of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.^(EM)

¹⁷Then the king made a great throne covered with ivory^(EN) and overlaid with pure gold. ¹⁸The throne had six steps, and a footstool of gold was attached to it. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. ¹⁹Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom. ²⁰All King Solomon’s goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s day. ²¹The king had a fleet of trading ships^[n] manned by Hiram’s^[o] servants. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.

²²King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth.^(EO) ²³All the kings^(EP) of the earth sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. ²⁴Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift^(EQ)—articles of silver and gold, and robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.

²⁵Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots,^(ER) and twelve thousand horses,^[p] which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. ²⁶He ruled^(ES) over all the kings from the Euphrates River^(ET) to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt.^(EU) ²⁷The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills. ²⁸Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from all other countries.

Solomon’s Death^(EV)

²⁹As for the other events of Solomon’s reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the records of Nathan^(EW) the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah^(EX) the Shilonite and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam^(EY) son of Nebat? ³⁰Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. ³¹Then he rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David^(EZ) his father. And Rehoboam his son succeeded him as king.

Israel Rebels Against Rehoboam^(FA)

10 Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone there to make him king. ²When Jeroboam^(FB) son of Nebat heard this (he was in Egypt, where he had fled^(FC) from King Solomon), he returned from Egypt. ³So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and all Israel^(FD) went to Rehoboam and said to him: ⁴“Your father put a heavy yoke on us,^(FE) but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”

⁵Rehoboam answered, “Come back to me in three days.” So the people went away.

⁶Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders^(FF) who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. “How would you advise me to answer these people?” he asked.

⁷They replied, “If you will be kind to these people and please them and give them a favorable answer,^(FG) they will always be your servants.”

⁸But Rehoboam rejected^(FH) the advice the elders^(FI) gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. ⁹He asked them, “What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?”

¹⁰The young men who had grown up with him replied, “The people have said to you, ‘Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter.’ Now tell them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist. ¹¹My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.’”

¹²Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, “Come back to me in three days.” ¹³The king answered them harshly. Rejecting the advice of the elders, ¹⁴he followed the advice of the young men and said, “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.” ¹⁵So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from God,^(FJ) to fulfill the word the Lord had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.^(FK)

¹⁶When all Israel^(FL) saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king:

“What share do we have in David,^(FM)
what part in Jesse’s son?
To your tents, Israel!
Look after your own house, David!”

So all the Israelites went home. ¹⁷But as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah, Rehoboam still ruled over them.

¹⁸King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram,^[q]^(FN) who was in charge of forced labor, but the Israelites stoned him to death. King Rehoboam, however, managed to get into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. ¹⁹So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

Footnotes

2 Chronicles 6:13 That is, about 7 1/2 feet long and wide and 4 1/2 feet high or about 2.3 meters long and wide and 1.4 meters high
2 Chronicles 7:19 The Hebrew is plural.
2 Chronicles 7:19 The Hebrew is plural.
2 Chronicles 7:21 See some Septuagint manuscripts, Old Latin, Syriac, Arabic and Targum; Hebrew And though this temple is now so imposing, all
2 Chronicles 8:2 Hebrew Huram, a variant of Hiram; also in verse 18
2 Chronicles 8:6 Or charioteers
2 Chronicles 8:18 That is, about 17 tons or about 15 metric tons
2 Chronicles 9:4 Or and the ascent by which he went up to
2 Chronicles 9:9 That is, about 4 1/2 tons or about 4 metric tons
2 Chronicles 9:10 Probably a variant of almugwood
2 Chronicles 9:13 That is, about 25 tons or about 23 metric tons
2 Chronicles 9:15 That is, about 15 pounds or about 6.9 kilograms
2 Chronicles 9:16 That is, about 7 1/2 pounds or about 3.5 kilograms
2 Chronicles 9:21 Hebrew of ships that could go to Tarshish
2 Chronicles 9:21 Hebrew Huram, a variant of Hiram
2 Chronicles 9:25 Or charioteers
2 Chronicles 10:18 Hebrew Hadoram, a variant of Adoniram