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)

² Then 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. ³ And all the Israelites^(E) came together to the king at the time of the festival in the seventh month.

⁴ When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the Levites took up the ark, ⁵ and they brought up the ark and the tent of meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it. The Levitical priests^(F) carried them up; ⁶ and 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.

⁷ The 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. ⁸ The cherubim^(H) spread their wings over the place of the ark and covered the ark and its carrying poles. ⁹ These 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. ¹⁰ There 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.

¹¹ The priests then withdrew from the Holy Place. All the priests who were there had consecrated themselves, regardless of their divisions.^{(K) 12} All 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) 13} The 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:

Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud,^{(O) 14} and 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) 2} I have built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever.^(T)”

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

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

¹² Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands. ¹³ Now 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. ¹⁴ He said:

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) 2} The priests could not enter^(BR) the temple of the Lord because the glory^(BS) of the Lord filled it. ³ When 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,

⁴ Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the Lord. ⁵ And 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. ⁶ The 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.

⁷ Solomon 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.

⁸ So 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) 9} On 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. ¹⁰ On 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)

¹¹ When 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, ¹² the Lord appeared^(CF) to him at night and said:

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) 2} Solomon rebuilt the villages that Hiram^[e] had given him, and settled Israelites in them. ³ Solomon then went to Hamath Zobah and captured it. ⁴ He also built up Tadmor in the desert and all the store cities he had built in Hamath.^{(DH) 5} He rebuilt Upper Beth Horon^(DI) and Lower Beth Horon as fortified cities, with walls and with gates and bars, ⁶ as 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.

⁷ There were still people left from the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites^(DK) (these people were not Israelites). ⁸ Solomon 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. ⁹ But 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. ¹⁰ They were also King Solomon’s chief officials—two hundred and fifty officials supervising the men.

¹¹ Solomon 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.”

¹² On the altar^(DN) of the Lord that he had built in front of the portico, Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings to the Lord, ¹³ according 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) 14} In 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) 15} They did not deviate from the king’s commands to the priests or to the Levites in any matter, including that of the treasuries.

¹⁶ All 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.

¹⁷ Then Solomon went to Ezion Geber and Elath on the coast of Edom. ¹⁸ And 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. ² Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for him to explain to her. ³ When the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon,^(ED) as well as the palace he had built, ⁴ the 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.

⁵ She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. ⁶ But 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. ⁷ How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! ⁸ Praise 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.”

⁹ Then 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. ¹¹ The 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.)

¹² King 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)

¹³ The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents,^{[k] 14} not 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.

¹⁵ King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels^[l] of hammered gold went into each shield. ¹⁶ He 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)

¹⁷ Then the king made a great throne covered with ivory^(EN) and overlaid with pure gold. ¹⁸ The 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. ¹⁹ Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom. ²⁰ All 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. ²¹ The 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.

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

²⁵ Solomon 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. ²⁶ He 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) 27} The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills. ²⁸ Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from all other countries.

Solomon’s Death^(EV)

²⁹ As 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? ³⁰ Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. ³¹ Then 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. ² When Jeroboam^(FB) son of Nebat heard this (he was in Egypt, where he had fled^(FC) from King Solomon), he returned from Egypt. ³ So 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.”

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

⁶ Then 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.

⁷ They 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.”

⁸ But 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. ⁹ He asked them, “What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?”

¹⁰ The 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. ¹¹ My 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.’”

¹² Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, “Come back to me in three days.” ¹³ The king answered them harshly. Rejecting the advice of the elders, ¹⁴ he 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.” ¹⁵ So 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)

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

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

¹⁸ King 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. ¹⁹ So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

14 ^[a]And Abijah rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. Asa his son succeeded him as king, and in his days the country was at peace for ten years.

Asa King of Judah^(A)

² Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God.^{(B) 3} He removed the foreign altars^(C) and the high places, smashed the sacred stones^(D) and cut down the Asherah poles.^{[b](E) 4} He commanded Judah to seek the Lord,^(F) the God of their ancestors, and to obey his laws and commands. ⁵ He removed the high places^(G) and incense altars^(H) in every town in Judah, and the kingdom was at peace under him. ⁶ He built up the fortified cities of Judah, since the land was at peace. No one was at war with him during those years, for the Lord gave him rest.^(I)

⁷ “Let us build up these towns,” he said to Judah, “and put walls around them, with towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the Lord our God; we sought him and he has given us rest^(J) on every side.” So they built and prospered.

⁸ Asa had an army of three hundred thousand^(K) men from Judah, equipped with large shields and with spears, and two hundred and eighty thousand from Benjamin, armed with small shields and with bows. All these were brave fighting men.

⁹ Zerah the Cushite^(L) marched out against them with an army of thousands upon thousands and three hundred chariots, and came as far as Mareshah.^{(M) 10} Asa went out to meet him, and they took up battle positions in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.

¹¹ Then Asa called^(N) to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us,^(O) Lord our God, for we rely^(P) on you, and in your name^(Q) we have come against this vast army. Lord, you are our God; do not let mere mortals prevail^(R) against you.”

¹² The Lord struck down^(S) the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled, ¹³ and Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar.^(T) Such a great number of Cushites fell that they could not recover; they were crushed^(U) before the Lord and his forces. The men of Judah carried off a large amount of plunder.^{(V) 14} They destroyed all the villages around Gerar, for the terror^(W) of the Lord had fallen on them. They looted all these villages, since there was much plunder there. ¹⁵ They also attacked the camps of the herders and carried off droves of sheep and goats and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

Asa’s Reform^(X)

15 The Spirit of God came on^(Y) Azariah son of Oded. ² He went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you^(Z) when you are with him.^(AA) If you seek^(AB) him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.^{(AC) 3} For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach^(AD) and without the law.^{(AE) 4} But in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him,^(AF) and he was found by them. ⁵ In those days it was not safe to travel about,^(AG) for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil. ⁶ One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another,^(AH) because God was troubling them with every kind of distress. ⁷ But as for you, be strong^(AI) and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.”^(AJ)

⁸ When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of^[c] Oded the prophet, he took courage. He removed the detestable idols^(AK) from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had captured^(AL) in the hills of Ephraim. He repaired the altar^(AM) of the Lord that was in front of the portico of the Lord’s temple.

⁹ Then he assembled all Judah and Benjamin and the people from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who had settled among them, for large numbers^(AN) had come over to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.

¹⁰ They assembled at Jerusalem in the third month^(AO) of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. ¹¹ At that time they sacrificed to the Lord seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats from the plunder^(AP) they had brought back. ¹² They entered into a covenant^(AQ) to seek the Lord,^(AR) the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul. ¹³ All who would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, were to be put to death,^(AS) whether small or great, man or woman. ¹⁴ They took an oath to the Lord with loud acclamation, with shouting and with trumpets and horns. ¹⁵ All Judah rejoiced about the oath because they had sworn it wholeheartedly. They sought God^(AT) eagerly, and he was found by them. So the Lord gave them rest^(AU) on every side.

¹⁶ King Asa also deposed his grandmother Maakah^(AV) from her position as queen mother,^(AW) because she had made a repulsive image for the worship of Asherah.^(AX) Asa cut it down, broke it up and burned it in the Kidron Valley.^{(AY) 17} Although he did not remove the high places from Israel, Asa’s heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life. ¹⁸ He brought into the temple of God the silver and gold and the articles that he and his father had dedicated.^(AZ)

¹⁹ There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.

Asa’s Last Years^(BA)(BB)

16 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign Baasha^(BC) king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah.

² Asa then took the silver and gold out of the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of his own palace and sent it to Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus.^{(BD) 3} “Let there be a treaty^(BE) between me and you,” he said, “as there was between my father and your father. See, I am sending you silver and gold. Now break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will withdraw from me.”

⁴ Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa and sent the commanders of his forces against the towns of Israel. They conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim^[d] and all the store cities of Naphtali.^{(BF) 5} When Baasha heard this, he stopped building Ramah and abandoned his work. ⁶ Then King Asa brought all the men of Judah, and they carried away from Ramah the stones and timber Baasha had been using. With them he built up Geba and Mizpah.^(BG)

⁷ At that time Hanani^(BH) the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: “Because you relied^(BI) on the king of Aram and not on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. ⁸ Were not the Cushites^[e](BJ) and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers^(BK) of chariots and horsemen^[f]? Yet when you relied on the Lord, he delivered^(BL) them into your hand. ⁹ For the eyes^(BM) of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish^(BN) thing, and from now on you will be at war.^(BO)”

¹⁰ Asa was angry with the seer because of this; he was so enraged that he put him in prison.^(BP) At the same time Asa brutally oppressed some of the people.

¹¹ The events of Asa’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ¹² In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted^(BQ) with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek^(BR) help from the Lord,^(BS) but only from the physicians. ¹³ Then in the forty-first year of his reign Asa died and rested with his ancestors. ¹⁴ They buried him in the tomb that he had cut out for himself^(BT) in the City of David. They laid him on a bier covered with spices and various blended perfumes,^(BU) and they made a huge fire^(BV) in his honor.