39 Zadok the priest took the horn of oil(A) from the sacred tent(B) and anointed Solomon. Then they sounded the trumpet(C) and all the people shouted,(D) “Long live King Solomon!” 40 And all the people went up after him, playing pipes(E) and rejoicing greatly, so that the ground shook with the sound.

41 Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they were finishing their feast. On hearing the sound of the trumpet, Joab asked, “What’s the meaning of all the noise in the city?”(F)

42 Even as he was speaking, Jonathan(G) son of Abiathar the priest arrived. Adonijah said, “Come in. A worthy man like you must be bringing good news.”(H)

43 “Not at all!” Jonathan answered. “Our lord King David has made Solomon king. 44 The king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites and the Pelethites, and they have put him on the king’s mule, 45 and Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon. From there they have gone up cheering, and the city resounds(I) with it. That’s the noise you hear. 46 Moreover, Solomon has taken his seat(J) on the royal throne. 47 Also, the royal officials have come to congratulate our lord King David, saying, ‘May your God make Solomon’s name more famous than yours and his throne greater(K) than yours!’ And the king bowed in worship on his bed 48 and said, ‘Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who has allowed my eyes to see a successor(L) on my throne today.’”

49 At this, all Adonijah’s guests rose in alarm and dispersed. 50 But Adonijah, in fear of Solomon, went and took hold of the horns(M) of the altar. 51 Then Solomon was told, “Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon and is clinging to the horns of the altar. He says, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’”

52 Solomon replied, “If he shows himself to be worthy, not a hair(N) of his head will fall to the ground; but if evil is found in him, he will die.” 53 Then King Solomon sent men, and they brought him down from the altar. And Adonijah came and bowed down to King Solomon, and Solomon said, “Go to your home.”

David’s Charge to Solomon(O)

When the time drew near for David to die,(P) he gave a charge to Solomon his son.

“I am about to go the way of all the earth,”(Q) he said. “So be strong,(R) act like a man, and observe(S) what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper(T) in all you do and wherever you go and that the Lord may keep his promise(U) to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully(V) before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’

“Now you yourself know what Joab(W) son of Zeruiah did to me—what he did to the two commanders of Israel’s armies, Abner(X) son of Ner and Amasa(Y) son of Jether. He killed them, shedding their blood in peacetime as if in battle, and with that blood he stained the belt around his waist and the sandals on his feet. Deal with him according to your wisdom,(Z) but do not let his gray head go down to the grave in peace.

“But show kindness(AA) to the sons of Barzillai(AB) of Gilead and let them be among those who eat at your table.(AC) They stood by me when I fled from your brother Absalom.

“And remember, you have with you Shimei(AD) son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim, who called down bitter curses on me the day I went to Mahanaim.(AE) When he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore(AF) to him by the Lord: ‘I will not put you to death by the sword.’ But now, do not consider him innocent. You are a man of wisdom;(AG) you will know what to do to him. Bring his gray head down to the grave in blood.”

10 Then David rested with his ancestors and was buried(AH) in the City of David.(AI) 11 He had reigned(AJ) forty years over Israel—seven years in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. 12 So Solomon sat on the throne(AK) of his father David, and his rule was firmly established.(AL)

Solomon’s Throne Established

13 Now Adonijah,(AM) the son of Haggith, went to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. Bathsheba asked him, “Do you come peacefully?”(AN)

He answered, “Yes, peacefully.” 14 Then he added, “I have something to say to you.”

“You may say it,” she replied.

15 “As you know,” he said, “the kingdom was mine. All Israel looked to me as their king. But things changed, and the kingdom has gone to my brother; for it has come to him from the Lord. 16 Now I have one request to make of you. Do not refuse me.”

“You may make it,” she said.

17 So he continued, “Please ask King Solomon—he will not refuse you—to give me Abishag(AO) the Shunammite as my wife.”

18 “Very well,” Bathsheba replied, “I will speak to the king for you.”

19 When Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah, the king stood up to meet her, bowed down to her and sat down on his throne. He had a throne brought for the king’s mother,(AP) and she sat down at his right hand.(AQ)

20 “I have one small request to make of you,” she said. “Do not refuse me.”

The king replied, “Make it, my mother; I will not refuse you.”

21 So she said, “Let Abishag(AR) the Shunammite be given in marriage to your brother Adonijah.”

22 King Solomon answered his mother, “Why do you request Abishag(AS) the Shunammite for Adonijah? You might as well request the kingdom for him—after all, he is my older brother(AT)—yes, for him and for Abiathar(AU) the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah!”

23 Then King Solomon swore by the Lord: “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely,(AV) if Adonijah does not pay with his life for this request! 24 And now, as surely as the Lord lives—he who has established me securely on the throne of my father David and has founded a dynasty for me as he promised(AW)—Adonijah shall be put to death today!” 25 So King Solomon gave orders to Benaiah(AX) son of Jehoiada, and he struck down Adonijah and he died.(AY)

26 To Abiathar(AZ) the priest the king said, “Go back to your fields in Anathoth.(BA) You deserve to die, but I will not put you to death now, because you carried the ark(BB) of the Sovereign Lord before my father David and shared all my father’s hardships.”(BC) 27 So Solomon removed Abiathar from the priesthood of the Lord, fulfilling(BD) the word the Lord had spoken at Shiloh about the house of Eli.

28 When the news reached Joab, who had conspired with Adonijah though not with Absalom, he fled to the tent of the Lord and took hold of the horns(BE) of the altar. 29 King Solomon was told that Joab had fled to the tent of the Lord and was beside the altar.(BF) Then Solomon ordered Benaiah(BG) son of Jehoiada, “Go, strike him down!”

30 So Benaiah entered the tent(BH) of the Lord and said to Joab, “The king says, ‘Come out!(BI)’”

But he answered, “No, I will die here.”

Benaiah reported to the king, “This is how Joab answered me.”

31 Then the king commanded Benaiah, “Do as he says. Strike him down and bury him, and so clear me and my whole family of the guilt of the innocent blood(BJ) that Joab shed. 32 The Lord will repay(BK) him for the blood he shed,(BL) because without my father David knowing it he attacked two men and killed them with the sword. Both of them—Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa(BM) son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army—were better(BN) men and more upright than he. 33 May the guilt of their blood rest on the head of Joab and his descendants forever. But on David and his descendants, his house and his throne, may there be the Lord’s peace forever.”

34 So Benaiah(BO) son of Jehoiada went up and struck down Joab(BP) and killed him, and he was buried at his home out in the country. 35 The king put Benaiah(BQ) son of Jehoiada over the army in Joab’s position and replaced Abiathar with Zadok(BR) the priest.

36 Then the king sent for Shimei(BS) and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, but do not go anywhere else. 37 The day you leave and cross the Kidron Valley,(BT) you can be sure you will die; your blood will be on your own head.”(BU)

38 Shimei answered the king, “What you say is good. Your servant will do as my lord the king has said.” And Shimei stayed in Jerusalem for a long time.

39 But three years later, two of Shimei’s slaves ran off to Achish(BV) son of Maakah, king of Gath, and Shimei was told, “Your slaves are in Gath.” 40 At this, he saddled his donkey and went to Achish at Gath in search of his slaves. So Shimei went away and brought the slaves back from Gath.

41 When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned, 42 the king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord and warn(BW) you, ‘On the day you leave to go anywhere else, you can be sure you will die’? At that time you said to me, ‘What you say is good. I will obey.’ 43 Why then did you not keep your oath to the Lord and obey the command I gave you?”

44 The king also said to Shimei, “You know in your heart all the wrong(BX) you did to my father David. Now the Lord will repay you for your wrongdoing. 45 But King Solomon will be blessed, and David’s throne will remain secure(BY) before the Lord forever.”

46 Then the king gave the order to Benaiah(BZ) son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck Shimei(CA) down and he died.

The kingdom was now established(CB) in Solomon’s hands.

Solomon Asks for Wisdom(CC)

Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt and married(CD) his daughter.(CE) He brought her to the City of David(CF) until he finished building his palace(CG) and the temple of the Lord, and the wall around Jerusalem. The people, however, were still sacrificing at the high places,(CH) because a temple had not yet been built for the Name(CI) of the Lord. Solomon showed his love(CJ) for the Lord by walking(CK) according to the instructions(CL) given him by his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places.(CM)

The king went to Gibeon(CN) to offer sacrifices, for that was the most important high place, and Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. At Gibeon the Lord appeared(CO) to Solomon during the night in a dream,(CP) and God said, “Ask(CQ) for whatever you want me to give you.”

Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful(CR) to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son(CS) to sit on his throne this very day.

“Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child(CT) and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen,(CU) a great people, too numerous to count or number.(CV) So give your servant a discerning(CW) heart to govern your people and to distinguish(CX) between right and wrong. For who is able(CY) to govern this great people of yours?”

10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. 11 So God said to him, “Since you have asked(CZ) for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment(DA) in administering justice, 12 I will do what you have asked.(DB) I will give you a wise(DC) and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. 13 Moreover, I will give you what you have not(DD) asked for—both wealth and honor(DE)—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal(DF) among kings. 14 And if you walk(DG) in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.”(DH) 15 Then Solomon awoke(DI)—and he realized it had been a dream.(DJ)

He returned to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord’s covenant and sacrificed burnt offerings(DK) and fellowship offerings.(DL) Then he gave a feast(DM) for all his court.

A Wise Ruling

16 Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17 One of them said, “Pardon me, my lord. This woman and I live in the same house, and I had a baby while she was there with me. 18 The third day after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one in the house but the two of us.

19 “During the night this woman’s son died because she lay on him. 20 So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast. 21 The next morning, I got up to nurse my son—and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn’t the son I had borne.”

22 The other woman said, “No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours.”

But the first one insisted, “No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine.” And so they argued before the king.

23 The king said, “This one says, ‘My son is alive and your son is dead,’ while that one says, ‘No! Your son is dead and mine is alive.’”

24 Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword for the king. 25 He then gave an order: “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.”

26 The woman whose son was alive was deeply moved(DN) out of love for her son and said to the king, “Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!”

But the other said, “Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!”

27 Then the king gave his ruling: “Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother.”

28 When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom(DO) from God to administer justice.

Solomon’s Officials and Governors

So King Solomon ruled over all Israel. And these were his chief officials:(DP)

Azariah(DQ) son of Zadok—the priest;

Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha—secretaries;(DR)

Jehoshaphat(DS) son of Ahilud—recorder;

Benaiah(DT) son of Jehoiada—commander in chief;

Zadok(DU) and Abiathar—priests;

Azariah son of Nathan—in charge of the district governors;

Zabud son of Nathan—a priest and adviser to the king;

Ahishar—palace administrator;(DV)

Adoniram(DW) son of Abda—in charge of forced labor.(DX)

Solomon had twelve district governors(DY) over all Israel, who supplied provisions for the king and the royal household. Each one had to provide supplies for one month in the year. These are their names:

Ben-Hur—in the hill country(DZ) of Ephraim;

Ben-Deker—in Makaz, Shaalbim,(EA) Beth Shemesh(EB) and Elon Bethhanan;

10 Ben-Hesed—in Arubboth (Sokoh(EC) and all the land of Hepher(ED) were his);

11 Ben-Abinadab—in Naphoth Dor(EE) (he was married to Taphath daughter of Solomon);

12 Baana son of Ahilud—in Taanach and Megiddo, and in all of Beth Shan(EF) next to Zarethan(EG) below Jezreel, from Beth Shan to Abel Meholah(EH) across to Jokmeam;(EI)

13 Ben-Geber—in Ramoth Gilead (the settlements of Jair(EJ) son of Manasseh in Gilead(EK) were his, as well as the region of Argob in Bashan and its sixty large walled cities(EL) with bronze gate bars);

14 Ahinadab son of Iddo—in Mahanaim;(EM)

15 Ahimaaz(EN)—in Naphtali (he had married Basemath daughter of Solomon);

16 Baana son of Hushai(EO)—in Asher and in Aloth;

17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah—in Issachar;

18 Shimei(EP) son of Ela—in Benjamin;

19 Geber son of Uri—in Gilead (the country of Sihon(EQ) king of the Amorites and the country of Og(ER) king of Bashan). He was the only governor over the district.

Solomon’s Daily Provisions

20 The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand(ES) on the seashore; they ate, they drank and they were happy.(ET) 21 And Solomon ruled(EU) over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River(EV) to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt.(EW) These countries brought tribute(EX) and were Solomon’s subjects all his life.

22 Solomon’s daily provisions(EY) were thirty cors[a] of the finest flour and sixty cors[b] of meal, 23 ten head of stall-fed cattle, twenty of pasture-fed cattle and a hundred sheep and goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks and choice fowl.(EZ) 24 For he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah(FA) to Gaza, and had peace(FB) on all sides. 25 During Solomon’s lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba,(FC) lived in safety,(FD) everyone under their own vine and under their own fig tree.(FE)

26 Solomon had four[c] thousand stalls for chariot horses,(FF) and twelve thousand horses.[d]

27 The district governors,(FG) each in his month, supplied provisions for King Solomon and all who came to the king’s table. They saw to it that nothing was lacking. 28 They also brought to the proper place their quotas of barley and straw for the chariot horses and the other horses.

Solomon’s Wisdom

29 God gave Solomon wisdom(FH) and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand(FI) on the seashore. 30 Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East,(FJ) and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.(FK) 31 He was wiser(FL) than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite—wiser than Heman, Kalkol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations. 32 He spoke three thousand proverbs(FM) and his songs(FN) numbered a thousand and five. 33 He spoke about plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop(FO) that grows out of walls. He also spoke about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. 34 From all nations people came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings(FP) of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.[e]

Preparations for Building the Temple(FQ)

[f]When Hiram(FR) king of Tyre heard that Solomon had been anointed king to succeed his father David, he sent his envoys to Solomon, because he had always been on friendly terms with David. Solomon sent back this message to Hiram:

“You know that because of the wars(FS) waged against my father David from all sides, he could not build(FT) a temple for the Name of the Lord his God until the Lord put his enemies under his feet.(FU) But now the Lord my God has given me rest(FV) on every side, and there is no adversary(FW) or disaster. I intend, therefore, to build a temple(FX) for the Name of the Lord my God, as the Lord told my father David, when he said, ‘Your son whom I will put on the throne in your place will build the temple for my Name.’(FY)

“So give orders that cedars(FZ) of Lebanon be cut for me. My men will work with yours, and I will pay you for your men whatever wages you set. You know that we have no one so skilled in felling timber as the Sidonians.”

When Hiram heard Solomon’s message, he was greatly pleased and said, “Praise be to the Lord(GA) today, for he has given David a wise son to rule over this great nation.”

So Hiram sent word to Solomon:

“I have received the message you sent me and will do all you want in providing the cedar and juniper logs. My men will haul them down from Lebanon to the Mediterranean Sea(GB), and I will float them as rafts by sea to the place you specify. There I will separate them and you can take them away. And you are to grant my wish by providing food(GC) for my royal household.”

10 In this way Hiram kept Solomon supplied with all the cedar and juniper logs he wanted, 11 and Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand cors[g] of wheat as food(GD) for his household, in addition to twenty thousand baths[h][i] of pressed olive oil. Solomon continued to do this for Hiram year after year. 12 The Lord gave Solomon wisdom,(GE) just as he had promised him. There were peaceful relations between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.(GF)

13 King Solomon conscripted laborers(GG) from all Israel—thirty thousand men. 14 He sent them off to Lebanon in shifts of ten thousand a month, so that they spent one month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram(GH) was in charge of the forced labor. 15 Solomon had seventy thousand carriers and eighty thousand stonecutters in the hills, 16 as well as thirty-three hundred[j] foremen(GI) who supervised the project and directed the workers. 17 At the king’s command they removed from the quarry(GJ) large blocks of high-grade stone(GK) to provide a foundation of dressed stone for the temple. 18 The craftsmen of Solomon and Hiram(GL) and workers from Byblos(GM) cut and prepared the timber and stone for the building of the temple.

Solomon Builds the Temple(GN)

In the four hundred and eightieth[k] year after the Israelites came out of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the second month,(GO) he began to build the temple of the Lord.(GP)

The temple(GQ) that King Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits long, twenty wide and thirty high.[l] The portico(GR) at the front of the main hall of the temple extended the width of the temple, that is twenty cubits,[m] and projected ten cubits[n] from the front of the temple. He made narrow windows(GS) high up in the temple walls. Against the walls of the main hall and inner sanctuary he built a structure around the building, in which there were side rooms.(GT) The lowest floor was five cubits[o] wide, the middle floor six cubits[p] and the third floor seven.[q] He made offset ledges around the outside of the temple so that nothing would be inserted into the temple walls.

In building the temple, only blocks dressed(GU) at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool(GV) was heard at the temple site while it was being built.

The entrance to the lowest[r] floor was on the south side of the temple; a stairway led up to the middle level and from there to the third. So he built the temple and completed it, roofing it with beams and cedar(GW) planks. 10 And he built the side rooms all along the temple. The height of each was five cubits, and they were attached to the temple by beams of cedar.

11 The word of the Lord came(GX) to Solomon: 12 “As for this temple you are building, if you follow my decrees, observe my laws and keep all my commands(GY) and obey them, I will fulfill through you the promise(GZ) I gave to David your father. 13 And I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon(HA) my people Israel.”

14 So Solomon(HB) built the temple and completed(HC) it. 15 He lined its interior walls with cedar boards, paneling them from the floor of the temple to the ceiling,(HD) and covered the floor of the temple with planks of juniper.(HE) 16 He partitioned off twenty cubits at the rear of the temple with cedar boards from floor to ceiling to form within the temple an inner sanctuary, the Most Holy Place.(HF) 17 The main hall in front of this room was forty cubits[s] long. 18 The inside of the temple was cedar,(HG) carved with gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; no stone was to be seen.

19 He prepared the inner sanctuary(HH) within the temple to set the ark of the covenant(HI) of the Lord there. 20 The inner sanctuary(HJ) was twenty cubits long, twenty wide and twenty high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold, and he also overlaid the altar of cedar.(HK) 21 Solomon covered the inside of the temple with pure gold, and he extended gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, which was overlaid with gold. 22 So he overlaid the whole interior with gold. He also overlaid with gold the altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary.

23 For the inner sanctuary he made a pair of cherubim(HL) out of olive wood, each ten cubits high. 24 One wing of the first cherub was five cubits long, and the other wing five cubits—ten cubits from wing tip to wing tip. 25 The second cherub also measured ten cubits, for the two cherubim were identical in size and shape. 26 The height of each cherub was ten cubits. 27 He placed the cherubim(HM) inside the innermost room of the temple, with their wings spread out. The wing of one cherub touched one wall, while the wing of the other touched the other wall, and their wings touched each other in the middle of the room. 28 He overlaid the cherubim with gold.

29 On the walls(HN) all around the temple, in both the inner and outer rooms, he carved cherubim,(HO) palm trees and open flowers. 30 He also covered the floors of both the inner and outer rooms of the temple with gold.

31 For the entrance to the inner sanctuary he made doors out of olive wood that were one fifth of the width of the sanctuary. 32 And on the two olive-wood doors(HP) he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid the cherubim and palm trees with hammered gold. 33 In the same way, for the entrance to the main hall he made doorframes out of olive wood that were one fourth of the width of the hall. 34 He also made two doors out of juniper wood, each having two leaves that turned in sockets. 35 He carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers on them and overlaid them with gold hammered evenly over the carvings.

36 And he built the inner courtyard(HQ) of three courses(HR) of dressed stone and one course of trimmed cedar beams.

37 The foundation of the temple of the Lord was laid in the fourth year, in the month of Ziv. 38 In the eleventh year in the month of Bul, the eighth month, the temple was finished in all its details(HS) according to its specifications.(HT) He had spent seven years building it.

Solomon Builds His Palace

It took Solomon thirteen years, however, to complete the construction of his palace.(HU) He built the Palace(HV) of the Forest of Lebanon(HW) a hundred cubits long, fifty wide and thirty high,[t] with four rows of cedar columns supporting trimmed cedar beams. It was roofed with cedar above the beams that rested on the columns—forty-five beams, fifteen to a row. Its windows were placed high in sets of three, facing each other. All the doorways had rectangular frames; they were in the front part in sets of three, facing each other.[u]

He made a colonnade fifty cubits long and thirty wide.[v] In front of it was a portico, and in front of that were pillars and an overhanging roof.

He built the throne hall, the Hall of Justice, where he was to judge,(HX) and he covered it with cedar from floor to ceiling.[w](HY) And the palace in which he was to live, set farther back, was similar in design. Solomon also made a palace like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had married.(HZ)

All these structures, from the outside to the great courtyard and from foundation to eaves, were made of blocks of high-grade stone cut to size and smoothed on their inner and outer faces. 10 The foundations were laid with large stones of good quality, some measuring ten cubits[x] and some eight.[y] 11 Above were high-grade stones, cut to size, and cedar beams. 12 The great courtyard was surrounded by a wall of three courses(IA) of dressed stone and one course of trimmed cedar beams, as was the inner courtyard of the temple of the Lord with its portico.

The Temple’s Furnishings(IB)(IC)

13 King Solomon sent to Tyre and brought Huram,[z](ID) 14 whose mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali and whose father was from Tyre and a skilled craftsman in bronze. Huram was filled with wisdom,(IE) with understanding and with knowledge to do all kinds of bronze work. He came to King Solomon and did all(IF) the work assigned to him.

15 He cast two bronze pillars,(IG) each eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference.[aa] 16 He also made two capitals(IH) of cast bronze to set on the tops of the pillars; each capital was five cubits[ab] high. 17 A network of interwoven chains adorned the capitals on top of the pillars, seven for each capital. 18 He made pomegranates in two rows[ac] encircling each network to decorate the capitals on top of the pillars.[ad] He did the same for each capital. 19 The capitals on top of the pillars in the portico were in the shape of lilies, four cubits[ae] high. 20 On the capitals of both pillars, above the bowl-shaped part next to the network, were the two hundred pomegranates(II) in rows all around. 21 He erected the pillars at the portico of the temple. The pillar to the south he named Jakin[af] and the one to the north Boaz.[ag](IJ) 22 The capitals on top were in the shape of lilies. And so the work on the pillars(IK) was completed.

23 He made the Sea(IL) of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits high. It took a line(IM) of thirty cubits[ah] to measure around it. 24 Below the rim, gourds encircled it—ten to a cubit. The gourds were cast in two rows in one piece with the Sea.

25 The Sea stood on twelve bulls,(IN) three facing north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east. The Sea rested on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center. 26 It was a handbreadth[ai] in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held two thousand baths.[aj]

27 He also made ten movable stands(IO) of bronze; each was four cubits long, four wide and three high.[ak] 28 This is how the stands were made: They had side panels attached to uprights. 29 On the panels between the uprights were lions, bulls and cherubim—and on the uprights as well. Above and below the lions and bulls were wreaths of hammered work. 30 Each stand(IP) had four bronze wheels with bronze axles, and each had a basin resting on four supports, cast with wreaths on each side. 31 On the inside of the stand there was an opening that had a circular frame one cubit[al] deep. This opening was round, and with its basework it measured a cubit and a half.[am] Around its opening there was engraving. The panels of the stands were square, not round. 32 The four wheels were under the panels, and the axles of the wheels were attached to the stand. The diameter of each wheel was a cubit and a half. 33 The wheels were made like chariot wheels; the axles, rims, spokes and hubs were all of cast metal.

34 Each stand had four handles, one on each corner, projecting from the stand. 35 At the top of the stand there was a circular band half a cubit[an] deep. The supports and panels were attached to the top of the stand. 36 He engraved cherubim, lions and palm trees on the surfaces of the supports and on the panels, in every available space, with wreaths all around. 37 This is the way he made the ten stands. They were all cast in the same molds and were identical in size and shape.

38 He then made ten bronze basins,(IQ) each holding forty baths[ao] and measuring four cubits across, one basin to go on each of the ten stands. 39 He placed five of the stands on the south side of the temple and five on the north. He placed the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner of the temple. 40 He also made the pots[ap] and shovels and sprinkling bowls.(IR)

So Huram finished all the work he had undertaken for King Solomon in the temple of the Lord:

41 the two pillars;

the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars;

the two sets of network decorating the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars;

42 the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network decorating the bowl-shaped capitals(IS) on top of the pillars);

43 the ten stands with their ten basins;

44 the Sea and the twelve bulls under it;

45 the pots, shovels and sprinkling bowls.(IT)

All these objects that Huram(IU) made for King Solomon for the temple of the Lord were of burnished bronze. 46 The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain(IV) of the Jordan between Sukkoth(IW) and Zarethan.(IX) 47 Solomon left all these things unweighed,(IY) because there were so many;(IZ) the weight of the bronze(JA) was not determined.

48 Solomon also made all(JB) the furnishings that were in the Lord’s temple:

the golden altar;

the golden table(JC) on which was the bread of the Presence;(JD)

49 the lampstands(JE) of pure gold (five on the right and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary);

the gold floral work and lamps and tongs;

50 the pure gold basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes(JF) and censers;(JG)

and the gold sockets for the doors of the innermost room, the Most Holy Place, and also for the doors of the main hall of the temple.

51 When all the work King Solomon had done for the temple of the Lord was finished, he brought in the things his father David had dedicated(JH)—the silver and gold and the furnishings(JI)—and he placed them in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple.

The Ark Brought to the Temple(JJ)

Then King Solomon summoned into his presence at Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs(JK) of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark(JL) of the Lord’s covenant from Zion, the City of David.(JM) All the Israelites came together to King Solomon at the time of the festival(JN) in the month of Ethanim, the seventh month.(JO)

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

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

10 When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud(JZ) filled the temple of the Lord. 11 And the priests could not perform their service(KA) because of the cloud, for the glory(KB) of the Lord filled his temple.

12 Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud;(KC) 13 I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell(KD) forever.”

14 While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around and blessed(KE) them. 15 Then he said:

“Praise be to the Lord,(KF) the God of Israel, who with his own hand has fulfilled what he promised with his own mouth to my father David. For he said, 16 ‘Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt,(KG) I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built so that my Name(KH) might be there, but I have chosen(KI) David(KJ) to rule my people Israel.’

17 “My father David had it in his heart(KK) to build a temple(KL) for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 18 But the Lord said to my father David, ‘You did well to have it in your heart to build a temple for my Name. 19 Nevertheless, you(KM) 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.’(KN)

20 “The Lord has kept the promise he made: I have succeeded(KO) David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised, and I have built(KP) the temple for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 4:22 That is, probably about 5 1/2 tons or about 5 metric tons
  2. 1 Kings 4:22 That is, probably about 11 tons or about 10 metric tons
  3. 1 Kings 4:26 Some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 2 Chron. 9:25); Hebrew forty
  4. 1 Kings 4:26 Or charioteers
  5. 1 Kings 4:34 In Hebrew texts 4:21-34 is numbered 5:1-14.
  6. 1 Kings 5:1 In Hebrew texts 5:1-18 is numbered 5:15-32.
  7. 1 Kings 5:11 That is, probably about 3,600 tons or about 3,250 metric tons
  8. 1 Kings 5:11 Septuagint (see also 2 Chron. 2:10); Hebrew twenty cors
  9. 1 Kings 5:11 That is, about 120,000 gallons or about 440,000 liters
  10. 1 Kings 5:16 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 2 Chron. 2:2,18) thirty-six hundred
  11. 1 Kings 6:1 Hebrew; Septuagint four hundred and fortieth
  12. 1 Kings 6:2 That is, about 90 feet long, 30 feet wide and 45 feet high or about 27 meters long, 9 meters wide and 14 meters high
  13. 1 Kings 6:3 That is, about 30 feet or about 9 meters; also in verses 16 and 20
  14. 1 Kings 6:3 That is, about 15 feet or about 4.5 meters; also in verses 23-26
  15. 1 Kings 6:6 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters; also in verses 10 and 24
  16. 1 Kings 6:6 That is, about 9 feet or about 2.7 meters
  17. 1 Kings 6:6 That is, about 11 feet or about 3.2 meters
  18. 1 Kings 6:8 Septuagint; Hebrew middle
  19. 1 Kings 6:17 That is, about 60 feet or about 18 meters
  20. 1 Kings 7:2 That is, about 150 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high or about 45 meters long, 23 meters wide and 14 meters high
  21. 1 Kings 7:5 The meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.
  22. 1 Kings 7:6 That is, about 75 feet long and 45 feet wide or about 23 meters long and 14 meters wide
  23. 1 Kings 7:7 Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew floor
  24. 1 Kings 7:10 That is, about 15 feet or about 4.5 meters; also in verse 23
  25. 1 Kings 7:10 That is, about 12 feet or about 3.6 meters
  26. 1 Kings 7:13 Hebrew Hiram, a variant of Huram; also in verses 40 and 45
  27. 1 Kings 7:15 That is, about 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference or about 8.1 meters high and 5.4 meters in circumference
  28. 1 Kings 7:16 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters; also in verse 23
  29. 1 Kings 7:18 Two Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts made the pillars, and there were two rows
  30. 1 Kings 7:18 Many Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts pomegranates
  31. 1 Kings 7:19 That is, about 6 feet or about 1.8 meters; also in verse 38
  32. 1 Kings 7:21 Jakin probably means he establishes.
  33. 1 Kings 7:21 Boaz probably means in him is strength.
  34. 1 Kings 7:23 That is, about 45 feet or about 14 meters
  35. 1 Kings 7:26 That is, about 3 inches or about 7.5 centimeters
  36. 1 Kings 7:26 That is, about 12,000 gallons or about 44,000 liters; the Septuagint does not have this sentence.
  37. 1 Kings 7:27 That is, about 6 feet long and wide and about 4 1/2 feet high or about 1.8 meters long and wide and 1.4 meters high
  38. 1 Kings 7:31 That is, about 18 inches or about 45 centimeters
  39. 1 Kings 7:31 That is, about 2 1/4 feet or about 68 centimeters; also in verse 32
  40. 1 Kings 7:35 That is, about 9 inches or about 23 centimeters
  41. 1 Kings 7:38 That is, about 240 gallons or about 880 liters
  42. 1 Kings 7:40 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac and Vulgate (see also verse 45 and 2 Chron. 4:11); many other Hebrew manuscripts basins

39 And Zadok the priest took an horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save king Solomon.

40 And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them.

41 And Adonijah and all the guests that were with him heard it as they had made an end of eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, Wherefore is this noise of the city being in an uproar?

42 And while he yet spake, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came; and Adonijah said unto him, Come in; for thou art a valiant man, and bringest good tidings.

43 And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, Verily our lord king David hath made Solomon king.

44 And the king hath sent with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and they have caused him to ride upon the king's mule:

45 And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon: and they are come up from thence rejoicing, so that the city rang again. This is the noise that ye have heard.

46 And also Solomon sitteth on the throne of the kingdom.

47 And moreover the king's servants came to bless our lord king David, saying, God make the name of Solomon better than thy name, and make his throne greater than thy throne. And the king bowed himself upon the bed.

48 And also thus said the king, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which hath given one to sit on my throne this day, mine eyes even seeing it.

49 And all the guests that were with Adonijah were afraid, and rose up, and went every man his way.

50 And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.

51 And it was told Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah feareth king Solomon: for, lo, he hath caught hold on the horns of the altar, saying, Let king Solomon swear unto me today that he will not slay his servant with the sword.

52 And Solomon said, If he will shew himself a worthy man, there shall not an hair of him fall to the earth: but if wickedness shall be found in him, he shall die.

53 So king Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and bowed himself to king Solomon: and Solomon said unto him, Go to thine house.

Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying,

I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man;

And keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself:

That the Lord may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.

Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet.

Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace.

But shew kindness unto the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table: for so they came to me when I fled because of Absalom thy brother.

And, behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, which cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him by the Lord, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword.

Now therefore hold him not guiltless: for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him; but his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with blood.

10 So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.

11 And the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.

12 Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly.

13 And Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably.

14 He said moreover, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And she said, Say on.

15 And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign: howbeit the kingdom is turned about, and is become my brother's: for it was his from the Lord.

16 And now I ask one petition of thee, deny me not. And she said unto him, Say on.

17 And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king, (for he will not say thee nay,) that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife.

18 And Bathsheba said, Well; I will speak for thee unto the king.

19 Bathsheba therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king's mother; and she sat on his right hand.

20 Then she said, I desire one small petition of thee; I pray thee, say me not nay. And the king said unto her, Ask on, my mother: for I will not say thee nay.

21 And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah thy brother to wife.

22 And king Solomon answered and said unto his mother, And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom also; for he is mine elder brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.

23 Then king Solomon sware by the Lord, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah have not spoken this word against his own life.

24 Now therefore, as the Lord liveth, which hath established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and who hath made me an house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death this day.

25 And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him that he died.

26 And unto Abiathar the priest said the king, Get thee to Anathoth, unto thine own fields; for thou art worthy of death: but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou barest the ark of the Lord God before David my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted.

27 So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the Lord; that he might fulfil the word of the Lord, which he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.

28 Then tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the Lord, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.

29 And it was told king Solomon that Joab was fled unto the tabernacle of the Lord; and, behold, he is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him.

30 And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the Lord, and said unto him, Thus saith the king, Come forth. And he said, Nay; but I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.

31 And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of my father.

32 And the Lord shall return his blood upon his own head, who fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, my father David not knowing thereof, to wit, Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah.

33 Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever: but upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace for ever from the Lord.

34 So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell upon him, and slew him: and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.

35 And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the host: and Zadok the priest did the king put in the room of Abiathar.

36 And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Build thee an house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence any whither.

37 For it shall be, that on the day thou goest out, and passest over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die: thy blood shall be upon thine own head.

38 And Shimei said unto the king, The saying is good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days.

39 And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away unto Achish son of Maachah king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy servants be in Gath.

40 And Shimei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants: and Shimei went, and brought his servants from Gath.

41 And it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and was come again.

42 And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Did I not make thee to swear by the Lord, and protested unto thee, saying, Know for a certain, on the day thou goest out, and walkest abroad any whither, that thou shalt surely die? and thou saidst unto me, The word that I have heard is good.

43 Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the Lord, and the commandment that I have charged thee with?

44 The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness which thine heart is privy to, that thou didst to David my father: therefore the Lord shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head;

45 And king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord for ever.

46 So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; which went out, and fell upon him, that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.

And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.

Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built unto the name of the Lord, until those days.

And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places.

And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar.

In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.

And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.

And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.

And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.

Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?

10 And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.

11 And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment;

12 Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.

13 And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.

14 And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.

15 And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.

16 Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him.

17 And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house.

18 And it came to pass the third day after that I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also: and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house.

19 And this woman's child died in the night; because she overlaid it.

20 And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.

21 And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear.

22 And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king.

23 Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living.

24 And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.

25 And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.

26 Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it.

27 Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.

28 And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.

So king Solomon was king over all Israel.

And these were the princes which he had; Azariah the son of Zadok the priest,

Elihoreph and Ahiah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder.

And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the host: and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests:

And Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers: and Zabud the son of Nathan was principal officer, and the king's friend:

And Ahishar was over the household: and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the tribute.

And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, which provided victuals for the king and his household: each man his month in a year made provision.

And these are their names: The son of Hur, in mount Ephraim:

The son of Dekar, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Bethshemesh, and Elonbethhanan:

10 The son of Hesed, in Aruboth; to him pertained Sochoh, and all the land of Hepher:

11 The son of Abinadab, in all the region of Dor; which had Taphath the daughter of Solomon to wife:

12 Baana the son of Ahilud; to him pertained Taanach and Megiddo, and all Bethshean, which is by Zartanah beneath Jezreel, from Bethshean to Abelmeholah, even unto the place that is beyond Jokneam:

13 The son of Geber, in Ramothgilead; to him pertained the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; to him also pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, threescore great cities with walls and brasen bars:

14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo had Mahanaim:

15 Ahimaaz was in Naphtali; he also took Basmath the daughter of Solomon to wife:

16 Baanah the son of Hushai was in Asher and in Aloth:

17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar:

18 Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin:

19 Geber the son of Uri was in the country of Gilead, in the country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only officer which was in the land.

20 Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry.

21 And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life.

22 And Solomon's provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore measures of meal,

23 Ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and an hundred sheep, beside harts, and roebucks, and fallowdeer, and fatted fowl.

24 For he had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from Tiphsah even to Azzah, over all the kings on this side the river: and he had peace on all sides round about him.

25 And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.

26 And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.

27 And those officers provided victual for king Solomon, and for all that came unto king Solomon's table, every man in his month: they lacked nothing.

28 Barley also and straw for the horses and dromedaries brought they unto the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge.

29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore.

30 And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt.

31 For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about.

32 And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five.

33 And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes.

34 And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.

And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David.

And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying,

Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto the name of the Lord his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet.

But now the Lord my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent.

And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build an house unto my name.

Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants: and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians.

And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be the Lord this day, which hath given unto David a wise son over this great people.

And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for: and I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir.

My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea: and I will convey them by sea in floats unto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be discharged there, and thou shalt receive them: and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household.

10 So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all his desire.

11 And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year.

12 And the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him: and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together.

13 And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men.

14 And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses: a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home: and Adoniram was over the levy.

15 And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand hewers in the mountains;

16 Beside the chief of Solomon's officers which were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, which ruled over the people that wrought in the work.

17 And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house.

18 And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did hew them, and the stonesquarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house.

And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the Lord.

And the house which king Solomon built for the Lord, the length thereof was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits.

And the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits was the breadth thereof before the house.

And for the house he made windows of narrow lights.

And against the wall of the house he built chambers round about, against the walls of the house round about, both of the temple and of the oracle: and he made chambers round about:

The nethermost chamber was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad: for without in the wall of the house he made narrowed rests round about, that the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the house.

And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.

The door for the middle chamber was in the right side of the house: and they went up with winding stairs into the middle chamber, and out of the middle into the third.

So he built the house, and finished it; and covered the house with beams and boards of cedar.

10 And then he built chambers against all the house, five cubits high: and they rested on the house with timber of cedar.

11 And the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying,

12 Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father:

13 And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel.

14 So Solomon built the house, and finished it.

15 And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar, both the floor of the house, and the walls of the ceiling: and he covered them on the inside with wood, and covered the floor of the house with planks of fir.

16 And he built twenty cubits on the sides of the house, both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar: he even built them for it within, even for the oracle, even for the most holy place.

17 And the house, that is, the temple before it, was forty cubits long.

18 And the cedar of the house within was carved with knops and open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen.

19 And the oracle he prepared in the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of the Lord.

20 And the oracle in the forepart was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof: and he overlaid it with pure gold; and so covered the altar which was of cedar.

21 So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: and he made a partition by the chains of gold before the oracle; and he overlaid it with gold.

22 And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the house: also the whole altar that was by the oracle he overlaid with gold.

23 And within the oracle he made two cherubims of olive tree, each ten cubits high.

24 And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits.

25 And the other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubims were of one measure and one size.

26 The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was it of the other cherub.

27 And he set the cherubims within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house.

28 And he overlaid the cherubims with gold.

29 And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, within and without.

30 And the floors of the house he overlaid with gold, within and without.

31 And for the entering of the oracle he made doors of olive tree: the lintel and side posts were a fifth part of the wall.

32 The two doors also were of olive tree; and he carved upon them carvings of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and spread gold upon the cherubims, and upon the palm trees.

33 So also made he for the door of the temple posts of olive tree, a fourth part of the wall.

34 And the two doors were of fir tree: the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding.

35 And he carved thereon cherubims and palm trees and open flowers: and covered them with gold fitted upon the carved work.

36 And he built the inner court with three rows of hewed stone, and a row of cedar beams.

37 In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the Lord laid, in the month Zif:

38 And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.

But Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house.

He built also the house of the forest of Lebanon; the length thereof was an hundred cubits, and the breadth thereof fifty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars.

And it was covered with cedar above upon the beams, that lay on forty five pillars, fifteen in a row.

And there were windows in three rows, and light was against light in three ranks.

And all the doors and posts were square, with the windows: and light was against light in three ranks.

And he made a porch of pillars; the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth thereof thirty cubits: and the porch was before them: and the other pillars and the thick beam were before them.

Then he made a porch for the throne where he might judge, even the porch of judgment: and it was covered with cedar from one side of the floor to the other.

And his house where he dwelt had another court within the porch, which was of the like work. Solomon made also an house for Pharaoh's daughter, whom he had taken to wife, like unto this porch.

All these were of costly stones, according to the measures of hewed stones, sawed with saws, within and without, even from the foundation unto the coping, and so on the outside toward the great court.

10 And the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones, stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits.

11 And above were costly stones, after the measures of hewed stones, and cedars.

12 And the great court round about was with three rows of hewed stones, and a row of cedar beams, both for the inner court of the house of the Lord, and for the porch of the house.

13 And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre.

14 He was a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all his work.

15 For he cast two pillars of brass, of eighteen cubits high apiece: and a line of twelve cubits did compass either of them about.

16 And he made two chapiters of molten brass, to set upon the tops of the pillars: the height of the one chapiter was five cubits, and the height of the other chapiter was five cubits:

17 And nets of checker work, and wreaths of chain work, for the chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars; seven for the one chapiter, and seven for the other chapiter.

18 And he made the pillars, and two rows round about upon the one network, to cover the chapiters that were upon the top, with pomegranates: and so did he for the other chapiter.

19 And the chapiters that were upon the top of the pillars were of lily work in the porch, four cubits.

20 And the chapiters upon the two pillars had pomegranates also above, over against the belly which was by the network: and the pomegranates were two hundred in rows round about upon the other chapiter.

21 And he set up the pillars in the porch of the temple: and he set up the right pillar, and called the name thereof Jachin: and he set up the left pillar, and called the name thereof Boaz.

22 And upon the top of the pillars was lily work: so was the work of the pillars finished.

23 And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.

24 And under the brim of it round about there were knops compassing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about: the knops were cast in two rows, when it was cast.

25 It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward.

26 And it was an hand breadth thick, and the brim thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies: it contained two thousand baths.

27 And he made ten bases of brass; four cubits was the length of one base, and four cubits the breadth thereof, and three cubits the height of it.

28 And the work of the bases was on this manner: they had borders, and the borders were between the ledges:

29 And on the borders that were between the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubims: and upon the ledges there was a base above: and beneath the lions and oxen were certain additions made of thin work.

30 And every base had four brasen wheels, and plates of brass: and the four corners thereof had undersetters: under the laver were undersetters molten, at the side of every addition.

31 And the mouth of it within the chapiter and above was a cubit: but the mouth thereof was round after the work of the base, a cubit and an half: and also upon the mouth of it were gravings with their borders, foursquare, not round.

32 And under the borders were four wheels; and the axletrees of the wheels were joined to the base: and the height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit.

33 And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel: their axletrees, and their naves, and their felloes, and their spokes, were all molten.

34 And there were four undersetters to the four corners of one base: and the undersetters were of the very base itself.

35 And in the top of the base was there a round compass of half a cubit high: and on the top of the base the ledges thereof and the borders thereof were of the same.

36 For on the plates of the ledges thereof, and on the borders thereof, he graved cherubims, lions, and palm trees, according to the proportion of every one, and additions round about.

37 After this manner he made the ten bases: all of them had one casting, one measure, and one size.

38 Then made he ten lavers of brass: one laver contained forty baths: and every laver was four cubits: and upon every one of the ten bases one laver.

39 And he put five bases on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house: and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward over against the south.

40 And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the basons. So Hiram made an end of doing all the work that he made king Solomon for the house of the Lord:

41 The two pillars, and the two bowls of the chapiters that were on the top of the two pillars; and the two networks, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars;

42 And four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, even two rows of pomegranates for one network, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters that were upon the pillars;

43 And the ten bases, and ten lavers on the bases;

44 And one sea, and twelve oxen under the sea;

45 And the pots, and the shovels, and the basons: and all these vessels, which Hiram made to king Solomon for the house of the Lord, were of bright brass.

46 In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarthan.

47 And Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because they were exceeding many: neither was the weight of the brass found out.

48 And Solomon made all the vessels that pertained unto the house of the Lord: the altar of gold, and the table of gold, whereupon the shewbread was,

49 And the candlesticks of pure gold, five on the right side, and five on the left, before the oracle, with the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs of gold,

50 And the bowls, and the snuffers, and the basons, and the spoons, and the censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, to wit, of the temple.

51 So was ended all the work that king Solomon made for the house of the Lord. And Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated; even the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, did he put among the treasures of the house of the Lord.

Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion.

And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.

And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.

And they brought up the ark of the Lord, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up.

And king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled unto him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude.

And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims.

For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.

And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and there they are unto this day.

There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.

10 And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that 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 had filled the house of the Lord.

12 Then spake Solomon, The Lord said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

13 I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever.

14 And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the congregation of Israel: (and all the congregation of Israel stood;)

15 And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which spake with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying,

16 Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build an house, that my name might be therein; but I chose David to be over my people Israel.

17 And it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the Lord God of Israel.

18 And the Lord said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart.

19 Nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name.

20 And the Lord hath performed his word that he spake, and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and have built an house for the name of the Lord God of Israel.

21 And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of the Lord, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.

22 And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven:

23 And he said, Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart:

24 Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.

25 Therefore now, Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me.

26 And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father.

27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?

28 Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day:

29 That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place.

30 And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive.

31 If any man trespass against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house:

32 Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.

33 When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house:

34 Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers.

35 When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them:

36 Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou teach them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance.

37 If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be;

38 What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house:

39 Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;)

40 That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.

41 Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name's sake;

42 (For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house;

43 Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name.

44 If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shall pray unto the Lord toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I have built for thy name:

45 Then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.

46 If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near;

47 Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness;

48 And so return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name:

49 Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause,

50 And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee, and give them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them:

51 For they be thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron:

52 That thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in all that they call for unto thee.

53 For thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.

54 And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven.

55 And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying,

56 Blessed be the Lord, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.

57 The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us:

58 That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers.

59 And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before the Lord, be nigh unto the Lord our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require:

60 That all the people of the earth may know that the Lord is God, and that there is none else.

61 Let your heart therefore be perfect with the Lord our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.

62 And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the Lord.

63 And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered unto the Lord, two and twenty thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord.

64 The same day did the king hallow the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord: for there he offered burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings: because the brasen altar that was before the Lord was too little to receive the burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.

65 And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt, before the Lord our God, seven days and seven days, even fourteen days.

66 On the eighth day he sent the people away: and they blessed the king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the Lord had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people.

And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the Lord, and the king's house, and all Solomon's desire which he was pleased to do,

That the Lord appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon.

And the Lord said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.

And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments:

Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.

But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them:

Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people:

And at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the Lord done thus unto this land, and to this house?

And they shall answer, Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the Lord brought upon them all this evil.

10 And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the Lord, and the king's house,

11 (Now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and fir trees, and with gold, according to all his desire,) that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.

12 And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not.

13 And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul unto this day.

14 And Hiram sent to the king sixscore talents of gold.

15 And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised; for to build the house of the Lord, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer.

16 For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a present unto his daughter, Solomon's wife.

17 And Solomon built Gezer, and Bethhoron the nether,

18 And Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land,

19 And all the cities of store that Solomon had, and cities for his chariots, and cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.

20 And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of the children of Israel,

21 Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bondservice unto this day.

22 But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen: but they were men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and his captains, and rulers of his chariots, and his horsemen.

23 These were the chief of the officers that were over Solomon's work, five hundred and fifty, which bare rule over the people that wrought in the work.

24 But Pharaoh's daughter came up out of the city of David unto her house which Solomon had built for her: then did he build Millo.

25 And three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt offerings and peace offerings upon the altar which he built unto the Lord, and he burnt incense upon the altar that was before the Lord. So he finished the house.

26 And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Eziongeber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom.

27 And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.

28 And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.

10 And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to prove him with hard questions.

And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.

And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not.

And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the house that he had built,

And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the Lord; there was no more spirit in her.

And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom.

Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard.

Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom.

Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the Lord loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice.

10 And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.

11 And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious stones.

12 And the king made of the almug trees pillars for the house of the Lord, and for the king's house, harps also and psalteries for singers: there came no such almug trees, nor were seen unto this day.

13 And king Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.

14 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold,

15 Beside that he had of the merchantmen, and of the traffick of the spice merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the country.

16 And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of gold went to one target.

17 And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three pound of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.

18 Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold.

19 The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were stays on either side on the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the stays.

20 And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom.

21 And all king Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; none were of silver: it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon.

22 For the king had at sea a navy of Tharshish with the navy of Hiram: once in three years came the navy of Tharshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.

23 So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom.

24 And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.

25 And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.

26 And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and with the king at Jerusalem.

27 And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycomore trees that are in the vale, for abundance.

28 And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king's merchants received the linen yarn at a price.

29 And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and an horse for an hundred and fifty: and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, did they bring them out by their means.

11 But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites:

Of the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love.

And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.

For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.

For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.

And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father.

Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon.

And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.

And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice,

10 And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the Lord commanded.

11 Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant.

12 Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father's sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son.

13 Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen.

14 And the Lord stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite: he was of the king's seed in Edom.

15 For it came to pass, when David was in Edom, and Joab the captain of the host was gone up to bury the slain, after he had smitten every male in Edom;

16 (For six months did Joab remain there with all Israel, until he had cut off every male in Edom:)

17 That Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father's servants with him, to go into Egypt; Hadad being yet a little child.

18 And they arose out of Midian, and came to Paran: and they took men with them out of Paran, and they came to Egypt, unto Pharaoh king of Egypt; which gave him an house, and appointed him victuals, and gave him land.

19 And Hadad found great favour in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him to wife the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen.

20 And the sister of Tahpenes bare him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh's house: and Genubath was in Pharaoh's household among the sons of Pharaoh.

21 And when Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers, and that Joab the captain of the host was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, Let me depart, that I may go to mine own country.

22 Then Pharaoh said unto him, But what hast thou lacked with me, that, behold, thou seekest to go to thine own country? And he answered, Nothing: howbeit let me go in any wise.

23 And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliadah, which fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah:

24 And he gathered men unto him, and became captain over a band, when David slew them of Zobah: and they went to Damascus, and dwelt therein, and reigned in Damascus.

25 And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, beside the mischief that Hadad did: and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria.

26 And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomon's servant, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow woman, even he lifted up his hand against the king.

27 And this was the cause that he lifted up his hand against the king: Solomon built Millo, and repaired the breaches of the city of David his father.

28 And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour: and Solomon seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph.

29 And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field:

30 And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces:

31 And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee:

32 (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:)

33 Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father.

34 Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant's sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes:

35 But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes.

36 And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there.

37 And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel.

38 And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee.

39 And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not for ever.

40 Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, unto Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

41 And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon?

42 And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.

43 And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.

39 Then Zadok the priest took a horn of (A)oil from the tabernacle and (B)anointed Solomon. And they blew the horn, (C)and all the people said, [a]Long live King Solomon!” 40 And all the people went up after him; and the people played the flutes and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth seemed to split with their sound.

41 Now Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they finished eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the horn, he said, “Why is the city in such a noisy uproar?” 42 While he was still speaking, there came (D)Jonathan, the son of Abiathar the priest. And Adonijah said to him, “Come in, for (E)you are a prominent man, and bring good news.”

43 Then Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, “No! Our lord King David has made Solomon king. 44 The king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites; and they have made him ride on the king’s mule. 45 So Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon; and they have gone up from there rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar. This is the noise that you have heard. 46 Also Solomon (F)sits on the throne of the kingdom. 47 And moreover the king’s servants have gone to bless our lord King David, saying, (G)‘May God make the name of Solomon better than your name, and may He make his throne greater than your throne.’ (H)Then the king bowed himself on the bed. 48 Also the king said thus, ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who has (I)given one to sit on my throne this day, while my eyes see (J)it!’ ”

49 So all the guests who were with Adonijah were afraid, and arose, and each one went his way.

50 Now Adonijah was afraid of Solomon; so he arose, and went and (K)took hold of the horns of the altar. 51 And it was told Solomon, saying, “Indeed Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon; for look, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’ ”

52 Then Solomon said, “If he proves himself a worthy man, (L)not one hair of him shall fall to the earth; but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.” 53 So King Solomon sent them to bring him down from the altar. And he came and fell down before King Solomon; and Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.”

David’s Instructions to Solomon

Now (M)the days of David drew near that he should die, and he [b]charged Solomon his son, saying: (N)“I go the way of all the earth; (O)be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man. And keep the charge of the Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may (P)prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn; that the Lord may (Q)fulfill His word which He spoke concerning me, saying, (R)‘If your sons take heed to their way, to (S)walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul,’ He said, (T)‘you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’

“Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah (U)did to me, and what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to (V)Abner the son of Ner and (W)Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed. And he shed the blood of war in peacetime, and put the blood of war on his belt that was around his waist, and on his sandals that were on his feet. Therefore do (X)according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to the grave in peace.

“But show kindness to the sons of (Y)Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who (Z)eat at your table, for so (AA)they came to me when I fled from Absalom your brother.

“And see, you have with you (AB)Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a malicious curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim. But (AC)he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and (AD)I swore to him by the Lord, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’ Now therefore, (AE)do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man and know what you ought to do to him; but (AF)bring his gray hair down to the grave with blood.”

Death of David(AG)

10 So (AH)David [c]rested with his fathers, and was buried in (AI)the City of David. 11 The period that David (AJ)reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years he reigned in Hebron, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years. 12 (AK)Then Solomon sat on the throne of his father David; and his kingdom was (AL)firmly established.

Solomon Executes Adonijah

13 Now Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. So she said, (AM)“Do you come peaceably?”

And he said, “Peaceably.” 14 Moreover he said, “I have something to say to you.”

And she said, “Say it.”

15 Then he said, “You know that the kingdom was (AN)mine, and all Israel had set their expectations on me, that I should reign. However, the kingdom has been turned over, and has become my brother’s; for (AO)it was his from the Lord. 16 Now I ask one petition of you; do not [d]deny me.”

And she said to him, “Say it.”

17 Then he said, “Please speak to King Solomon, for he will not refuse you, that he may give me (AP)Abishag the Shunammite as wife.”

18 So Bathsheba said, “Very well, I will speak for you to the king.”

19 Bathsheba therefore went to King Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her and (AQ)bowed down to her, and sat down on his throne and had a throne set for the king’s mother; (AR)so she sat at his right hand. 20 Then she said, “I desire one small petition of you; do not [e]refuse me.”

And the king said to her, “Ask it, my mother, for I will not refuse you.”

21 So she said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as wife.”

22 And King Solomon answered and said to his mother, “Now why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also—for he is my (AS)older brother—for him, and for (AT)Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.” 23 Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, (AU)“May God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life! 24 Now therefore, as the Lord lives, who has confirmed me and set me on the throne of David my father, and who has established a [f]house for me, as He (AV)promised, Adonijah shall be put to death today!”

25 So King Solomon sent by the hand of (AW)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he struck him down, and he died.

Abiathar Exiled, Joab Executed

26 And to Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to (AX)Anathoth, to your own fields, for [g]you are deserving of death; but I will not put you to death at this time, (AY)because you carried the ark of the Lord God before my father David, and because you were afflicted every time my father was afflicted.” 27 So Solomon removed Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, that he might (AZ)fulfill the word of the Lord which He spoke concerning the house of Eli at Shiloh.

28 Then news came to Joab, for Joab (BA)had defected to Adonijah, though he had not defected to Absalom. So Joab fled to the tabernacle of the Lord, and (BB)took hold of the horns of the altar. 29 And King Solomon was told, “Joab has fled to the tabernacle of the Lord; there he is, by the altar.” Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, (BC)strike him down.” 30 So Benaiah went to the tabernacle of the Lord, and said to him, “Thus says the king, (BD)‘Come out!’ ”

And he said, “No, but I will die here.” And Benaiah brought back word to the king, saying, “Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.”

31 Then the king said to him, (BE)“Do as he has said, and strike him down and bury him, (BF)that you may take away from me and from the house of my father the innocent blood which Joab shed. 32 So the Lord (BG)will return his [h]blood on his head, because he struck down two men more righteous (BH)and better than he, and killed them with the sword—(BI)Abner the son of Ner, the commander of the army of Israel, and (BJ)Amasa the son of Jether, the commander of the army of Judah—though my father David did not know it. 33 Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab and (BK)upon the head of his descendants forever. (BL)But upon David and his descendants, upon his house and his throne, there shall be peace forever from the Lord.”

34 So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and struck and killed him; and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. 35 The king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his place over the army, and the king put (BM)Zadok the priest in the place of (BN)Abiathar.

Shimei Executed

36 Then the king sent and called for (BO)Shimei, and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go out from there anywhere. 37 For it shall be, on the day you go out and cross (BP)the Brook Kidron, know for certain you shall surely die; (BQ)your [i]blood shall be on your own head.”

38 And Shimei said to the king, “The saying is good. As my lord the king has said, so your servant will do.” So Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days.

39 Now it happened at the end of three years, that two slaves of Shimei ran away to (BR)Achish the son of Maachah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, “Look, your slaves are in Gath!” 40 So Shimei arose, saddled his donkey, and went to Achish at Gath to seek his slaves. And Shimei went and brought his slaves from Gath. 41 And Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had come back. 42 Then the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord, and warn you, saying, ‘Know for certain that on the day you go out and travel anywhere, you shall surely die’? And you said to me, ‘The word I have heard is good.’ 43 Why then have you not kept the oath of the Lord and the commandment that I gave you?” 44 The king said moreover to Shimei, “You know, as your heart acknowledges, (BS)all the wickedness that you did to my father David; therefore the Lord will (BT)return your wickedness on your own head. 45 But King Solomon shall be blessed, and (BU)the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever.”

46 So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he went out and struck him down, and he died. Thus the (BV)kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.

Solomon Requests Wisdom(BW)

Now (BX)Solomon made [j]a treaty with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and married Pharaoh’s daughter; then he brought her (BY)to the City of David until he had finished building his (BZ)own house, and (CA)the house of the Lord, and (CB)the wall all around Jerusalem. (CC)Meanwhile the people sacrificed at the high places, because there was no house built for the name of the Lord until those days. And Solomon (CD)loved the Lord, (CE)walking in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places.

Now (CF)the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, (CG)for that was the great high place: Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. (CH)At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon (CI)in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?”

(CJ)And Solomon said: “You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he (CK)walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You (CL)have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a (CM)little child; I do not know how (CN)to go out or come in. And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You (CO)have chosen, a great people, (CP)too numerous to be numbered or counted. (CQ)Therefore give to Your servant an [k]understanding heart (CR)to judge Your people, that I may (CS)discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”

10 The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. 11 Then God said to him: “Because you have asked this thing, and have (CT)not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, 12 (CU)behold, I have done according to your words; (CV)see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. 13 And I have also (CW)given you what you have not asked: both (CX)riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days. 14 So (CY)if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, (CZ)as your father David walked, then I will (DA)lengthen[l] your days.”

15 Then Solomon (DB)awoke; and indeed it had been a dream. And he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, offered up burnt offerings, offered peace offerings, and (DC)made a feast for all his servants.

Solomon’s Wise Judgment

16 Now two women who were harlots came to the king, and (DD)stood before him. 17 And one woman said, “O my lord, this woman and I dwell in the same house; and I gave birth while she was in the house. 18 Then it happened, the third day after I had given birth, that this woman also gave birth. And we were together; [m]no one was with us in the house, except the two of us in the house. 19 And this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him. 20 So she arose in the middle of the night and took my son from my side, while your maidservant slept, and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. 21 And when I rose in the morning to nurse my son, there he was, dead. But when I had examined him in the morning, indeed, he was not my son whom I had borne.”

22 Then the other woman said, “No! But the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.”

And the first woman said, “No! But the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.”

Thus they spoke before the king.

23 And the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son, who lives, and your son is the dead one’; and the other says, ‘No! But your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’ ” 24 Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king. 25 And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to one, and half to the other.”

26 Then the woman whose son was living spoke to the king, for (DE)she yearned with compassion for her son; and she said, “O my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him!”

But the other said, “Let him be neither mine nor yours, but divide him.

27 So the king answered and said, “Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him; she is his mother.”

28 And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered; and they feared the king, for they saw that the (DF)wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.

Solomon’s Administration

So King Solomon was king over all Israel. And these were his officials: Azariah the son of Zadok, the priest; Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, [n]scribes; (DG)Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder; (DH)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, over the army; Zadok and (DI)Abiathar, the priests; Azariah the son of Nathan, over (DJ)the officers; Zabud the son of Nathan, (DK)a priest and (DL)the king’s friend; Ahishar, over the household; and (DM)Adoniram the son of Abda, over the labor force.

And Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household; each one made provision for one month of the year. These are their names: [o]Ben-Hur, in the mountains of Ephraim; [p]Ben-Deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan; 10 [q]Ben-Hesed, in Arubboth; to him belonged Sochoh and all the land of Hepher; 11 [r]Ben-Abinadab, in all the regions of Dor; he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon as wife; 12 Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth Shean, which is beside Zaretan below Jezreel, from Beth Shean to Abel Meholah, as far as the other side of Jokneam; 13 [s]Ben-Geber, in Ramoth Gilead; to him belonged (DN)the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, in Gilead; to him also belonged (DO)the region of Argob in Bashan—sixty large cities with walls and bronze gate-bars; 14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim; 15 (DP)Ahimaaz, in Naphtali; he also took Basemath the daughter of Solomon as wife; 16 Baanah the son of (DQ)Hushai, in Asher and Aloth; 17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar; 18 (DR)Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin; 19 Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, in (DS)the country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan. He was the only governor who was in the land.

Prosperity and Wisdom of Solomon’s Reign

20 Judah and Israel were as numerous (DT)as the sand by the sea in multitude, (DU)eating and drinking and rejoicing. 21 So (DV)Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from (DW)the[t] River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. (DX)They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.

22 (DY)Now Solomon’s [u]provision for one day was thirty [v]kors of fine flour, sixty kors of meal, 23 ten fatted oxen, twenty oxen from the pastures, and one hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fatted fowl.

24 For he had dominion over all the region on this side of [w]the River from Tiphsah even to Gaza, namely over (DZ)all the kings on this side of the River; and (EA)he had peace on every side all around him. 25 And Judah and Israel (EB)dwelt[x] safely, (EC)each man under his vine and his fig tree, (ED)from Dan as far as Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.

26 (EE)Solomon had [y]forty thousand stalls of (EF)horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. 27 And (EG)these governors, each man in his month, provided food for King Solomon and for all who came to King Solomon’s table. There was no lack in their supply. 28 They also brought barley and straw to the proper place, for the horses and steeds, each man according to his charge.

29 And (EH)God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. 30 Thus Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men (EI)of the East and all (EJ)the wisdom of Egypt. 31 For he was (EK)wiser than all men—(EL)than Ethan the Ezrahite, (EM)and Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. 32 (EN)He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his (EO)songs were one thousand and five. 33 Also he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish. 34 And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, (EP)came to hear the wisdom of Solomon.

Solomon Prepares to Build the Temple(EQ)

Now (ER)Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, because he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, (ES)for Hiram had always loved David. Then (ET)Solomon sent to Hiram, saying:

(EU)You know how my father David could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God (EV)because of the wars which were fought against him on every side, until the Lord put [z]his foes under the soles of his feet.

But now the Lord my God has given me (EW)rest[aa] on every side; there is neither adversary nor [ab]evil occurrence.

(EX)And behold, [ac]I propose to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, (EY)as the Lord spoke to my father David, saying, “Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, he shall build the house for My name.”

Now therefore, command that they cut down (EZ)cedars for me from Lebanon; and my servants will be with your servants, and I will pay you wages for your servants according to whatever you say. For you know there is none among us who has skill to cut timber like the Sidonians.

So it was, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly and said,

Blessed be the Lord this day, for He has given David a wise son over this great people!

Then Hiram sent to Solomon, saying:

I have considered the message which you sent me, and I will do all you desire concerning the cedar and cypress logs.

My servants shall bring them down (FA)from Lebanon to the sea; I will float them in rafts by sea to the place you indicate to me, and will have them broken apart there; then you can take them away. And you shall fulfill my desire (FB)by giving food for my household.

10 Then Hiram gave Solomon cedar and cypress logs according to all his desire. 11 (FC)And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand [ad]kors of wheat as food for his household, and [ae]twenty kors of pressed oil. Thus Solomon gave to Hiram year by year.

12 So the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, (FD)as He had promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty together.

13 Then King Solomon raised up a labor force out of all Israel; and the labor force was thirty thousand men. 14 And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month in shifts: they were one month in Lebanon and two months at home; (FE)Adoniram was in charge of the labor force. 15 (FF)Solomon had seventy thousand who carried burdens, and eighty thousand who quarried stone in the mountains, 16 besides three thousand [af]three hundred from the (FG)chiefs of Solomon’s deputies, who supervised the people who labored in the work. 17 And the king commanded them to quarry large stones, costly stones, and (FH)hewn stones, to lay the foundation of the [ag]temple. 18 So Solomon’s builders, Hiram’s builders, and the Gebalites quarried them; and they prepared timber and stones to build the [ah]temple.

Solomon Builds the Temple(FI)

And (FJ)it came to pass in the four hundred and [ai]eightieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of [aj]Ziv, which is the second month, (FK)that he began to build the house of the Lord. Now (FL)the house which King Solomon built for the Lord, its length was sixty cubits, its width twenty, and its height thirty cubits. The vestibule in front of the [ak]sanctuary of the house was [al]twenty cubits long across the width of the house, and the width of [am]the vestibule extended [an]ten cubits from the front of the house. And he made for the house (FM)windows with beveled frames.

Against the wall of the [ao]temple he built (FN)chambers all around, against the walls of the temple, all around the sanctuary (FO)and the [ap]inner sanctuary. Thus he made side chambers all around it. The lowest chamber was five cubits wide, the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for he made narrow ledges around the outside of the temple, so that the support beams would not be fastened into the walls of the [aq]temple. And (FP)the temple, when it was being built, was built with stone finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built. The doorway for the [ar]middle story was on the right side of the temple. They went up by stairs to the middle story, and from the middle to the third.

(FQ)So he built the [as]temple and finished it, and he paneled the temple with beams and boards of cedar. 10 And he built side chambers against the entire temple, each five cubits high; they were attached to the temple with cedar beams.

11 Then the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying: 12 Concerning this [at]temple which you are building, (FR)if you walk in My statutes, execute My judgments, keep all My commandments, and walk in them, then I will perform My [au]word with you, (FS)which I spoke to your father David. 13 And (FT)I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not (FU)forsake My people Israel.”

14 So Solomon built the temple and finished it. 15 And he built the inside walls of the temple with cedar boards; from the floor of the temple to the ceiling he paneled the inside with wood; and he covered the floor of the temple with planks of cypress. 16 Then he built the twenty-cubit room at the rear of the temple, from floor to ceiling, with cedar boards; he built it inside as the inner sanctuary, as the (FV)Most Holy Place. 17 And in front of it the temple sanctuary was forty cubits long. 18 The inside of the temple was cedar, carved with ornamental buds and open flowers. All was cedar; there was no stone to be seen.

19 And he prepared the [av]inner sanctuary inside the temple, to set the ark of the covenant of the Lord there. 20 The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high. He overlaid it with pure gold, and overlaid the altar of cedar. 21 So Solomon overlaid the inside of the temple with pure gold. He stretched gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, and overlaid it with gold. 22 The whole temple he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the temple; also he overlaid with gold (FW)the entire altar that was by the inner sanctuary.

23 Inside the inner sanctuary (FX)he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high. 24 One wing of the cherub was five cubits, and the other wing of the cherub five cubits: ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other. 25 And the other cherub was ten cubits; both cherubim were of the same size and shape. 26 The height of one cherub was ten cubits, and so was the other cherub. 27 Then he set the cherubim inside the inner [aw]room; and (FY)they stretched out the wings of the cherubim so that the wing of the one touched one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall. And their wings touched each other in the middle of the room. 28 Also he overlaid the cherubim with gold.

29 Then he carved all the walls of the temple all around, both the inner and outer sanctuaries, with carved (FZ)figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. 30 And the floor of the temple he overlaid with gold, both the inner and outer sanctuaries.

31 For the entrance of the inner sanctuary he made doors of olive wood; the lintel and doorposts were [ax]one-fifth of the wall. 32 The two doors were of olive wood; and he carved on them figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold; and he spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees. 33 So for the door of the [ay]sanctuary he also made doorposts of olive wood, [az]one-fourth of the wall. 34 And the two doors were of cypress wood; (GA)two panels comprised one folding door, and two panels comprised the other folding door. 35 Then he carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers on them, and overlaid them with gold applied evenly on the carved work.

36 And he built the (GB)inner court with three rows of hewn stone and a row of cedar beams.

37 (GC)In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid, in the month of [ba]Ziv. 38 And in the eleventh year, in the month of [bb]Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its details and according to all its plans. So he was (GD)seven years in building it.

Solomon’s Other Buildings

But Solomon took (GE)thirteen years to build his own house; so he finished all his house.

He also built the (GF)House of the Forest of Lebanon; its length was [bc]one hundred cubits, its width [bd]fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits, with four rows of cedar pillars, and cedar beams on the pillars. And it was paneled with cedar above the beams that were on forty-five pillars, fifteen to a row. There were windows with beveled frames in three rows, and window was opposite window in three tiers. And all the doorways and doorposts had rectangular frames; and window was opposite window in three tiers.

He also made the Hall of Pillars: its length was fifty cubits, and its width thirty cubits; and in front of them was a portico with pillars, and a canopy was in front of them.

Then he made a hall for the throne, the Hall of Judgment, where he might judge; and it was paneled with cedar from floor to [be]ceiling.

And the house where he dwelt had another court inside the hall, of like workmanship. Solomon also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, (GG)whom he had taken as wife.

All these were of costly stones cut to size, trimmed with saws, inside and out, from the foundation to the eaves, and also on the outside to the great court. 10 The foundation was of costly stones, large stones, some ten cubits and some eight cubits. 11 And above were costly stones, hewn to size, and cedar wood. 12 The great court was enclosed with three rows of hewn stones and a row of cedar beams. So were the (GH)inner court of the house of the Lord (GI)and the vestibule of the temple.

Hiram the Craftsman

13 Now King Solomon sent and brought [bf]Huram from Tyre. 14 (GJ)He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and (GK)his father was a man of Tyre, a bronze worker; (GL)he was filled with wisdom and understanding and skill in working with all kinds of bronze work. So he came to King Solomon and did all his work.

The Bronze Pillars for the Temple(GM)

15 And he [bg]cast (GN)two pillars of bronze, each one eighteen cubits high, and a line of twelve cubits measured the circumference of each. 16 Then he made two capitals of cast bronze, to set on the tops of the pillars. The height of one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits. 17 He made a lattice network, with wreaths of chainwork, for the capitals which were on top of the pillars: seven chains for one capital and seven for the other capital. 18 So he made the pillars, and two rows of pomegranates above the network all around to cover the capitals that were on top; and thus he did for the other capital.

19 The capitals which were on top of the pillars in the hall were in the shape of lilies, four cubits. 20 The capitals on the two pillars also had pomegranates above, by the convex surface which was next to the network; and there were (GO)two hundred such pomegranates in rows on each of the capitals all around.

21 (GP)Then he set up the pillars by the vestibule of the temple; he set up the pillar on the right and called its name [bh]Jachin, and he set up the pillar on the left and called its name [bi]Boaz. 22 The tops of the pillars were in the shape of lilies. So the work of the pillars was finished.

The Sea and the Oxen

23 And he made (GQ)the Sea of cast bronze, ten cubits from one brim to the other; it was completely round. Its height was five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference.

24 Below its brim were ornamental buds encircling it all around, ten to a cubit, (GR)all the way around the Sea. The ornamental buds were cast in two rows when it was cast. 25 It stood on (GS)twelve oxen: three looking toward the north, three looking toward the west, three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east; the Sea was set upon them, and all their back parts pointed inward. 26 It was a handbreadth thick; and its brim was shaped like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It contained [bj]two thousand baths.

The Carts and the Lavers

27 He also made ten [bk]carts of bronze; four cubits was the length of each cart, four cubits its width, and three cubits its height. 28 And this was the design of the carts: They had panels, and the panels were between frames; 29 on the panels that were between the frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim. And on the frames was a pedestal on top. Below the lions and oxen were wreaths of plaited work. 30 Every cart had four bronze wheels and axles of bronze, and its four feet had supports. Under the laver were supports of cast bronze beside each wreath. 31 Its opening inside the crown at the top was one cubit in diameter; and the opening was round, shaped like a pedestal, one and a half cubits in outside diameter; and also on the opening were engravings, but the panels were square, not round. 32 Under the panels were the four wheels, and the axles of the wheels were joined to the cart. The height of a wheel was one and a half cubits. 33 The workmanship of the wheels was like the workmanship of a chariot wheel; their axle pins, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all of cast bronze. 34 And there were four supports at the four corners of each cart; its supports were part of the cart itself. 35 On the top of the cart, at the height of half a cubit, it was perfectly round. And on the top of the cart, its flanges and its panels were of the same casting. 36 On the plates of its flanges and on its panels he engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees, wherever there was a clear space on each, with wreaths all around. 37 Thus he made the ten carts. All of them were of [bl]the same mold, one measure, and one shape.

38 Then (GT)he made ten lavers of bronze; each laver contained [bm]forty baths, and each laver was four cubits. On each of the ten carts was a laver. 39 And he put five carts on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house. He set the Sea on the right side of the house, toward the southeast.

Furnishings of the Temple(GU)

40 (GV)Huram[bn] made the lavers and the shovels and the bowls. So Huram finished doing all the work that he was to do for King Solomon for the house of the Lord: 41 the two pillars, the two bowl-shaped capitals that were on top of the two pillars; the two (GW)networks covering the two bowl-shaped capitals which were on top of the pillars; 42 (GX)four hundred pomegranates for the two networks (two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowl-shaped capitals that were on top of the pillars); 43 the ten carts, and ten lavers on the carts; 44 one Sea, and twelve oxen under the Sea; 45 (GY)the pots, the shovels, and the bowls.

All these articles which [bo]Huram made for King Solomon for the house of the Lord were of burnished bronze. 46 (GZ)In the plain of Jordan the king had them cast in clay molds, between (HA)Succoth and (HB)Zaretan. 47 And Solomon did not weigh all the articles, because there were so many; the weight of the bronze was not (HC)determined.

48 Thus Solomon had all the furnishings made for the house of the Lord: (HD)the altar of gold, and (HE)the table of gold on which was (HF)the showbread; 49 the lampstands of pure gold, five on the right side and five on the left in front of the inner sanctuary, with the flowers and the lamps and the wick-trimmers of gold; 50 the basins, the trimmers, the bowls, the ladles, and the [bp]censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, both for the doors of the inner room (the Most Holy Place) and for the doors of the main hall of the temple.

51 So all the work that King Solomon had done for the house of the Lord was finished; and Solomon brought in the things (HG)which his father David had dedicated: the silver and the gold and the furnishings. He put them in the treasuries of the house of the Lord.

The Ark Brought into the Temple(HH)

Now (HI)Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, (HJ)that they might bring (HK)up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the City of David, which is Zion. Therefore all the men of Israel assembled with King Solomon at the (HL)feast in the month of [bq]Ethanim, which is the seventh month. So all the elders of Israel came, (HM)and the priests took up the ark. Then they brought up the ark of the Lord, (HN)the [br]tabernacle of meeting, and all the holy furnishings that were in the tabernacle. The priests and the Levites brought them up. Also King Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled with him, were with him before the ark, (HO)sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted or numbered for multitude. Then the priests (HP)brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord to (HQ)its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the Most Holy Place, (HR)under the wings of the cherubim. For the cherubim spread their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles. The poles (HS)extended so that the [bs]ends of the poles could be seen from the holy place, in front of the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day. (HT)Nothing was in the ark (HU)except the two tablets of stone which Moses (HV)put there at Horeb, (HW)when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.

10 And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud (HX)filled the house of the Lord, 11 so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the (HY)glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

12 (HZ)Then Solomon spoke:

“The Lord said He would dwell (IA)in the dark cloud.
13 (IB)I have surely built You an exalted house,
(IC)And a place for You to dwell in forever.”

Solomon’s Speech at Completion of the Work(ID)

14 Then the king turned around and (IE)blessed the whole assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing. 15 And he said: (IF)“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who (IG)spoke with His mouth to my father David, and with His hand has fulfilled it, saying, 16 ‘Since the day that I brought My people Israel out of Egypt, I have chosen no city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house, that (IH)My name might be there; but I chose (II)David to be over My people Israel.’ 17 Now (IJ)it was in the heart of my father David to build a [bt]temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel. 18 (IK)But the Lord said to my father David, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a temple for My name, you did well that it was in your heart. 19 Nevertheless (IL)you shall not build the temple, but your son who will come from your body, he shall build the temple for My name.’ 20 So the Lord has fulfilled His word which He spoke; and I have [bu]filled the position of my father David, and sit on the throne of Israel, (IM)as the Lord promised; and I have built a temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel. 21 And there I have made a place for the ark, in which is (IN)the covenant of the Lord which He made with our fathers, when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.”

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication(IO)

22 Then Solomon stood before (IP)the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and (IQ)spread out his hands toward heaven; 23 and he said: “Lord God of Israel, (IR)there is no God in heaven above or on earth below like You, (IS)who keep Your covenant and mercy with Your servants who (IT)walk before You with all their hearts. 24 You have kept what You promised Your servant David my father; You have both spoken with Your mouth and fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day. 25 Therefore, Lord God of Israel, now keep what You promised Your servant David my father, saying, (IU)‘You shall not fail to have a man sit before Me on the throne of Israel, only if your sons take heed to their way, that they walk before Me as you have walked before Me.’ 26 (IV)And now I pray, O God of Israel, let Your word come true, which You have spoken to Your servant David my father.

27 “But (IW)will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the (IX)heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built! 28 Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O Lord my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You today: 29 that Your eyes may be open toward this [bv]temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, (IY)‘My name shall be (IZ)there,’ that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes (JA)toward this place. 30 (JB)And may You hear the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Hear in heaven Your dwelling place; and when You hear, forgive.

31 “When anyone sins against his neighbor, and is forced to take (JC)an oath, and comes and takes an oath before Your altar in this temple, 32 then hear in heaven, and act, and judge Your servants, (JD)condemning the wicked, bringing his way on his head, and justifying the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness.

33 (JE)“When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, and (JF)when they turn back to You and confess Your name, and pray and make supplication to You in this temple, 34 then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave to their (JG)fathers.

35 (JH)“When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, when they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and turn from their sin because You afflict them, 36 then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, that You may (JI)teach them (JJ)the good way in which they should walk; and send rain on Your land which You have given to Your people as an inheritance.

37 (JK)“When there is famine in the land, pestilence or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers; when their enemy besieges them in the land of their [bw]cities; whatever plague or whatever sickness there is; 38 whatever prayer, whatever supplication is made by anyone, or by all Your people Israel, when each one knows the plague of his own heart, and spreads out his hands toward this temple: 39 then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and act, and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know (for You alone (JL)know the hearts of all the sons of men), 40 (JM)that they may fear You all the days that they live in the land which You gave to our fathers.

41 “Moreover, concerning a foreigner, who is not of Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for Your name’s sake 42 (for they will hear of Your great name and Your (JN)strong hand and Your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this temple, 43 hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, (JO)that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and (JP)fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this temple which I have built is called by Your name.

44 “When Your people go out to battle against their enemy, wherever You send them, and when they pray to the Lord toward the city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name, 45 then hear in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their [bx]cause.

46 “When they sin against You (JQ)(for there is no one who does not sin), and You become angry with them and deliver them to the enemy, and they take them captive (JR)to the land of the enemy, far or near; 47 (JS)yet when they [by]come to themselves in the land where they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication to You in the land of those who took them captive, (JT)saying, ‘We have sinned and done wrong, we have committed wickedness’; 48 and when they (JU)return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who led them away captive, and (JV)pray to You toward their land which You gave to their fathers, the city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name: 49 then hear in heaven Your dwelling place their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their [bz]cause, 50 and forgive Your people who have sinned against You, and all their transgressions which they have transgressed against You; and (JW)grant them compassion before those who took them captive, that they may have compassion on them 51 (for (JX)they are Your people and Your inheritance, whom You brought out of Egypt, (JY)out of the iron furnace), 52 (JZ)that Your eyes may be open to the supplication of Your servant and the supplication of Your people Israel, to listen to them whenever they call to You. 53 For You separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be Your inheritance, (KA)as You spoke by Your servant Moses, when You brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.”

Solomon Blesses the Assembly(KB)

54 (KC)And so it was, when Solomon had finished praying all this prayer and supplication to the Lord, that he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven. 55 Then he stood (KD)and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying: 56 “Blessed be the Lord, who has given (KE)rest[ca] to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. (KF)There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses. 57 May the Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers. (KG)May He not leave us nor forsake us, 58 that He may (KH)incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers. 59 And may these words of mine, with which I have made supplication before the Lord, be near the Lord our God day and night, that He may maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, as each day may require, 60 (KI)that all the peoples of the earth may know that (KJ)the Lord is God; there is no other. 61 Let your (KK)heart therefore be [cb]loyal to the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, as at this day.”

Solomon Dedicates the Temple(KL)

62 Then (KM)the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the Lord. 63 And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered to the Lord, twenty-two thousand bulls and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord. 64 On (KN)the same day the king consecrated the middle of the court that was in front of the house of the Lord; for there he offered burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the (KO)bronze altar that was before the Lord was too small to receive the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.

65 At that time Solomon held (KP)a feast, and all Israel with him, a great assembly from (KQ)the entrance of Hamath to (KR)the Brook of Egypt, before the Lord our God, (KS)seven days and seven more days—fourteen days. 66 (KT)On the eighth day he sent the people away; and they [cc]blessed the king, and went to their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the good that the Lord had done for His servant David, and for Israel His people.

God’s Second Appearance to Solomon(KU)

And (KV)it came to pass, when Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord (KW)and the king’s house, and (KX)all Solomon’s desire which he wanted to do, that the Lord appeared to Solomon the second time, (KY)as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. And the Lord said to him: (KZ)“I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built (LA)to put My name there forever, (LB)and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. Now if you (LC)walk before Me (LD)as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you (LE)keep My statutes and My judgments, then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, (LF)as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’ (LG)But if you or your sons at all [cd]turn from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, (LH)then I will [ce]cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and this house which I have consecrated (LI)for My name I will cast out of My sight. (LJ)Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And as for (LK)this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and will hiss, and say, (LL)‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore the Lord has brought all this (LM)calamity on them.’ ”

Solomon and Hiram Exchange Gifts

10 Now (LN)it happened at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the Lord and the king’s house 11 (LO)(Hiram the king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and cypress and gold, as much as he desired), that King Solomon then gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. 12 Then Hiram went from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him, but they did not please him. 13 So he said, “What kind of cities are these which you have given me, my brother?” (LP)And he called them the land of [cf]Cabul, as they are to this day. 14 Then Hiram sent the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold.

Solomon’s Additional Achievements(LQ)

15 And this is the reason for (LR)the labor force which King Solomon raised: to build the house of the Lord, his own house, [cg]the (LS)Millo, the wall of Jerusalem, (LT)Hazor, (LU)Megiddo, and (LV)Gezer. 16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and taken Gezer and burned it with fire, (LW)had killed the Canaanites who dwelt in the city, and had given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.) 17 And Solomon built Gezer, Lower (LX)Beth Horon, 18 (LY)Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land of Judah, 19 all the storage cities that Solomon had, cities for (LZ)his chariots and cities for his (MA)cavalry, and whatever Solomon (MB)desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.

20 (MC)All the people who were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not of the children of Israel— 21 that is, their descendants (MD)who were left in the land after them, (ME)whom the children of Israel had not been able to destroy completely—(MF)from these Solomon raised (MG)forced labor, as it is to this day. 22 But of the children of Israel Solomon (MH)made no forced laborers, because they were men of war and his servants: his officers, his captains, commanders of his chariots, and his cavalry.

23 Others were chiefs of the officials who were over Solomon’s work: (MI)five hundred and fifty, who ruled over the people who did the work.

24 But (MJ)Pharaoh’s daughter came up from the City of David to (MK)her house which [ch]Solomon had built for her. (ML)Then he built the Millo.

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

26 (MN)King Solomon also built a fleet of ships at (MO)Ezion Geber, which is near [ci]Elath on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. 27 (MP)Then Hiram sent his servants with the fleet, seamen who knew the sea, to work with the servants of Solomon. 28 And they went to (MQ)Ophir, and acquired four hundred and twenty talents of gold from there, and brought it to King Solomon.

The Queen of Sheba’s Praise of Solomon(MR)

10 Now when the (MS)queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came (MT)to test him with hard questions. She came to Jerusalem with a very great [cj]retinue, with camels that bore spices, very much gold, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing [ck]so difficult for the king that he could not explain it to her. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers, (MU)and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her. Then she said to the king: “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. However I did not believe the words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame of which I heard. (MV)Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom! (MW)Blessed be the Lord your God, who (MX)delighted in you, setting you on the throne of Israel! Because the Lord has loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, (MY)to do justice and righteousness.”

10 Then she (MZ)gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, spices in great quantity, and precious stones. There never again came such abundance of spices as the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. 11 (NA)Also, the ships of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought great quantities of [cl]almug wood and precious stones from Ophir. 12 (NB)And the king made [cm]steps of the almug wood for the house of the Lord and for the king’s house, also harps and stringed instruments for singers. There never again came such (NC)almug wood, nor has the like been seen to this day.

13 Now King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked, besides what Solomon had given her according to the royal generosity. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.

Solomon’s Great Wealth

14 The weight of gold that came to Solomon yearly was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold, 15 besides that from the (ND)traveling merchants, from the income of traders, (NE)from all the kings of Arabia, and from the governors of the country.

16 And King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. 17 He also made (NF)three hundred shields of hammered gold; three minas of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the (NG)House of the Forest of Lebanon.

18 (NH)Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold. 19 The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round at the back; there were armrests on either side of the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the armrests. 20 Twelve lions stood there, one on each side of the six steps; nothing like this had been made for any other kingdom.

21 (NI)All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Not one was silver, for this was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon. 22 For the king had (NJ)merchant[cn] ships at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the merchant (NK)ships came bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and [co]monkeys. 23 So (NL)King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.

24 Now all the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. 25 Each man brought his present: articles of silver and gold, garments, armor, spices, horses, and mules, at a set rate year by year.

26 (NM)And Solomon (NN)gathered chariots and horsemen; he had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he [cp]stationed in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem. 27 (NO)The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar trees as abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland.

28 (NP)Also Solomon had horses imported from Egypt and Keveh; the king’s merchants bought them in Keveh at the current price. 29 Now a chariot that was imported from Egypt cost six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse one hundred and fifty; (NQ)and [cq]thus, through their agents, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.

Solomon’s Heart Turns from the Lord

11 But (NR)King Solomon loved (NS)many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites— from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, (NT)“You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. For it was so, when Solomon was old, (NU)that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his (NV)heart was not [cr]loyal to the Lord his God, (NW)as was the heart of his father David. For Solomon went after (NX)Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after (NY)Milcom[cs] the abomination of the (NZ)Ammonites. Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not fully follow the Lord, as did his father David. (OA)Then Solomon built a [ct]high place for (OB)Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on (OC)the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon. And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

So the Lord became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the Lord God of Israel, (OD)who had appeared to him twice, 10 and (OE)had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep what the Lord had commanded. 11 Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, (OF)I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your (OG)servant. 12 Nevertheless I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David; I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 (OH)However I will not tear away the whole kingdom; I will give (OI)one tribe to your son (OJ)for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem (OK)which I have chosen.”

Adversaries of Solomon

14 Now the Lord (OL)raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was a descendant of the king in Edom. 15 (OM)For it happened, when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of the army had gone up to bury the slain, (ON)after he had killed every male in Edom 16 (because for six months Joab remained there with all Israel, until he had cut down every male in Edom), 17 that Hadad fled to go to Egypt, he and certain Edomites of his father’s servants with him. Hadad was still a little child. 18 Then they arose from Midian and came to Paran; and they took men with them from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house, apportioned food for him, and gave him land. 19 And Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him as wife the sister of his own wife, that is, the sister of Queen Tahpenes. 20 Then the sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh’s house. And Genubath was in Pharaoh’s household among the sons of Pharaoh.

21 (OO)So when Hadad heard in Egypt that David [cu]rested with his fathers, and that Joab the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, [cv]“Let me depart, that I may go to my own country.”

22 Then Pharaoh said to him, “But what have you lacked with me, that suddenly you seek to go to your own country?”

So he answered, “Nothing, but do let me go anyway.”

23 And God raised up another adversary against him, Rezon the son of Eliadah, who had fled from his lord, (OP)Hadadezer king of Zobah. 24 So he gathered men to him and became captain over a band of raiders, (OQ)when David killed those of Zobah. And they went to Damascus and dwelt there, and reigned in Damascus. 25 He was an adversary of Israel all the days of Solomon (besides the trouble that Hadad caused); and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria.

Jeroboam’s Rebellion

26 Then Solomon’s servant, (OR)Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite from Zereda, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow, (OS)also (OT)rebelled against the king.

27 And this is what caused him to rebel against the king: (OU)Solomon had built the Millo and [cw]repaired the damages to the City of David his father. 28 The man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor; and Solomon, seeing that the young man was (OV)industrious, made him the officer over all the labor force of the house of Joseph.

29 Now it happened at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet (OW)Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the way; and he had clothed himself with a new garment, and the two were alone in the field. 30 Then Ahijah took hold of the new garment that was on him, and (OX)tore it into twelve pieces. 31 And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces, for (OY)thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to you 32 (but he shall have one tribe for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel), 33 (OZ)because [cx]they have forsaken Me, and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the people of Ammon, and have not walked in My ways to do what is right in My eyes and keep My statutes and My judgments, as did his father David. 34 However I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, because I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of My servant David, whom I chose because he kept My commandments and My statutes. 35 But (PA)I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand and give it to you—ten tribes. 36 And to his son I will give one tribe, that (PB)My servant David may always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for Myself, to put My name there. 37 So I will take you, and you shall reign over all your heart desires, and you shall be king over Israel. 38 Then it shall be, if you heed all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then (PC)I will be with you and (PD)build for you an enduring house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to you. 39 And I will afflict the descendants of David because of this, but not forever.’ ”

40 Solomon therefore sought to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled to Egypt, to (PE)Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

Death of Solomon(PF)

41 Now (PG)the rest of the acts of Solomon, all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon? 42 (PH)And the period that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. 43 (PI)Then Solomon [cy]rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his (PJ)place.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 1:39 Lit. Let King Solomon live
  2. 1 Kings 2:1 commanded
  3. 1 Kings 2:10 Died and joined his ancestors
  4. 1 Kings 2:16 Lit. turn away the face
  5. 1 Kings 2:20 Lit. turn away the face
  6. 1 Kings 2:24 Royal dynasty
  7. 1 Kings 2:26 Lit. you are a man of death
  8. 1 Kings 2:32 Or bloodshed
  9. 1 Kings 2:37 Or bloodshed
  10. 1 Kings 3:1 an alliance
  11. 1 Kings 3:9 Lit. hearing
  12. 1 Kings 3:14 prolong
  13. 1 Kings 3:18 Lit. no stranger
  14. 1 Kings 4:3 secretaries
  15. 1 Kings 4:8 Lit. Son of Hur
  16. 1 Kings 4:9 Lit. Son of Deker
  17. 1 Kings 4:10 Lit. Son of Hesed
  18. 1 Kings 4:11 Lit. Son of Abinadab
  19. 1 Kings 4:13 Lit. Son of Geber
  20. 1 Kings 4:21 The Euphrates
  21. 1 Kings 4:22 Lit. bread
  22. 1 Kings 4:22 Each about 5 bushels
  23. 1 Kings 4:24 The Euphrates
  24. 1 Kings 4:25 lived in safety
  25. 1 Kings 4:26 So with MT, most other authorities; some LXX mss. four thousand; cf. 2 Chr. 9:25
  26. 1 Kings 5:3 Lit. them
  27. 1 Kings 5:4 peace
  28. 1 Kings 5:4 misfortune
  29. 1 Kings 5:5 Lit. I am saying
  30. 1 Kings 5:11 Each about 5 bushels
  31. 1 Kings 5:11 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX, Syr. twenty thousand kors
  32. 1 Kings 5:16 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX six hundred
  33. 1 Kings 5:17 Lit. house
  34. 1 Kings 5:18 Lit. house
  35. 1 Kings 6:1 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX fortieth
  36. 1 Kings 6:1 Or Ayyar, April or May
  37. 1 Kings 6:3 Heb. heykal; here the main room of the temple; elsewhere called the holy place, Ex. 26:33; Ezek. 41:1
  38. 1 Kings 6:3 About 30 feet
  39. 1 Kings 6:3 Lit. it
  40. 1 Kings 6:3 About 15 feet
  41. 1 Kings 6:5 Lit. house
  42. 1 Kings 6:5 Heb. debir; here the inner room of the temple; elsewhere called the Most Holy Place, v. 16
  43. 1 Kings 6:6 Lit. house
  44. 1 Kings 6:8 So with MT, Vg.; LXX upper story; Tg. ground story
  45. 1 Kings 6:9 Lit. house
  46. 1 Kings 6:12 Lit. house
  47. 1 Kings 6:12 promise
  48. 1 Kings 6:19 The Most Holy Place
  49. 1 Kings 6:27 Lit. house
  50. 1 Kings 6:31 Or five-sided
  51. 1 Kings 6:33 temple
  52. 1 Kings 6:33 Or four-sided
  53. 1 Kings 6:37 Or Ayyar, April or May
  54. 1 Kings 6:38 Or Heshvan, October or November
  55. 1 Kings 7:2 About 150 feet
  56. 1 Kings 7:2 About 75 feet
  57. 1 Kings 7:7 Lit. floor of the upper level
  58. 1 Kings 7:13 Heb. Hiram; cf. 2 Chr. 2:13, 14
  59. 1 Kings 7:15 fashioned
  60. 1 Kings 7:21 Lit. He Shall Establish
  61. 1 Kings 7:21 Lit. In It Is Strength
  62. 1 Kings 7:26 About 12,000 gallons; three thousand, 2 Chr. 4:5
  63. 1 Kings 7:27 Or stands
  64. 1 Kings 7:37 one
  65. 1 Kings 7:38 About 240 gallons
  66. 1 Kings 7:40 Heb. Hiram; cf. 2 Chr. 2:13, 14
  67. 1 Kings 7:45 Heb. Hiram; cf. 2 Chr. 2:13, 14
  68. 1 Kings 7:50 firepans
  69. 1 Kings 8:2 Or Tishri, September or October
  70. 1 Kings 8:4 tent
  71. 1 Kings 8:8 heads
  72. 1 Kings 8:17 Lit. house, and so in vv. 18–20
  73. 1 Kings 8:20 risen in the place of
  74. 1 Kings 8:29 Lit. house
  75. 1 Kings 8:37 Lit. gates
  76. 1 Kings 8:45 justice
  77. 1 Kings 8:47 Lit. bring back to their heart
  78. 1 Kings 8:49 justice
  79. 1 Kings 8:56 peace
  80. 1 Kings 8:61 Lit. at peace with
  81. 1 Kings 8:66 thanked
  82. 1 Kings 9:6 turn back
  83. 1 Kings 9:7 destroy
  84. 1 Kings 9:13 Lit. Good for Nothing
  85. 1 Kings 9:15 Lit. The Landfill
  86. 1 Kings 9:24 Lit. he; cf. 2 Chr. 8:11
  87. 1 Kings 9:26 Heb. Eloth
  88. 1 Kings 10:2 company
  89. 1 Kings 10:3 too
  90. 1 Kings 10:11 algum, 2 Chr. 9:10, 11
  91. 1 Kings 10:12 Or supports
  92. 1 Kings 10:22 Lit. ships of Tarshish, deep-sea vessels
  93. 1 Kings 10:22 Or peacocks
  94. 1 Kings 10:26 So with LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. (cf. 2 Chr. 9:25); MT led
  95. 1 Kings 10:29 Lit. by their hands
  96. 1 Kings 11:4 Lit. at peace with
  97. 1 Kings 11:5 Or Molech
  98. 1 Kings 11:7 A place for pagan worship
  99. 1 Kings 11:21 Died and joined his ancestors
  100. 1 Kings 11:21 Lit. Send me away
  101. 1 Kings 11:27 Lit. closed up the breaches
  102. 1 Kings 11:33 So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Syr., Vg. he has
  103. 1 Kings 11:43 Died and joined his ancestors
'2 Chronicles 1-9:31' not found for the version: New International Version.

And Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and the Lord his God was with him, and magnified him exceedingly.

Then Solomon spake unto all Israel, to the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and to the judges, and to every governor in all Israel, the chief of the fathers.

So Solomon, and all the congregation with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon; for there was the tabernacle of the congregation of God, which Moses the servant of the Lord had made in the wilderness.

But the ark of God had David brought up from Kirjathjearim to the place which David had prepared for it: for he had pitched a tent for it at Jerusalem.

Moreover the brasen altar, that Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, he put before the tabernacle of the Lord: and Solomon and the congregation sought unto it.

And Solomon went up thither to the brasen altar before the Lord, which was at the tabernacle of the congregation, and offered a thousand burnt offerings upon it.

In that night did God appear unto Solomon, and said unto him, Ask what I shall give thee.

And Solomon said unto God, Thou hast shewed great mercy unto David my father, and hast made me to reign in his stead.

Now, O Lord God, let thy promise unto David my father be established: for thou hast made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude.

10 Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people: for who can judge this thy people, that is so great?

11 And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king:

12 Wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honour, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like.

13 Then Solomon came from his journey to the high place that was at Gibeon to Jerusalem, from before the tabernacle of the congregation, and reigned over Israel.

14 And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, which he placed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.

15 And the king made silver and gold at Jerusalem as plenteous as stones, and cedar trees made he as the sycomore trees that are in the vale for abundance.

16 And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king's merchants received the linen yarn at a price.

17 And they fetched up, and brought forth out of Egypt a chariot for six hundred shekels of silver, and an horse for an hundred and fifty: and so brought they out horses for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, by their means.

And Solomon determined to build an house for the name of the Lord, and an house for his kingdom.

And Solomon told out threescore and ten thousand men to bear burdens, and fourscore thousand to hew in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred to oversee them.

And Solomon sent to Huram the king of Tyre, saying, As thou didst deal with David my father, and didst send him cedars to build him an house to dwell therein, even so deal with me.

Behold, I build an house to the name of the Lord my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before him sweet incense, and for the continual shewbread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts of the Lord our God. This is an ordinance for ever to Israel.

And the house which I build is great: for great is our God above all gods.

But who is able to build him an house, seeing the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain him? who am I then, that I should build him an house, save only to burn sacrifice before him?

Send me now therefore a man cunning to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, and that can skill to grave with the cunning men that are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father did provide.

Send me also cedar trees, fir trees, and algum trees, out of Lebanon: for I know that thy servants can skill to cut timber in Lebanon; and, behold, my servants shall be with thy servants,

Even to prepare me timber in abundance: for the house which I am about to build shall be wonderful great.

10 And, behold, I will give to thy servants, the hewers that cut timber, twenty thousand measures of beaten wheat, and twenty thousand measures of barley, and twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.

11 Then Huram the king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon, Because the Lord hath loved his people, he hath made thee king over them.

12 Huram said moreover, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, that made heaven and earth, who hath given to David the king a wise son, endued with prudence and understanding, that might build an house for the Lord, and an house for his kingdom.

13 And now I have sent a cunning man, endued with understanding, of Huram my father's,

14 The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson; also to grave any manner of graving, and to find out every device which shall be put to him, with thy cunning men, and with the cunning men of my lord David thy father.

15 Now therefore the wheat, and the barley, the oil, and the wine, which my lord hath spoken of, let him send unto his servants:

16 And we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as thou shalt need: and we will bring it to thee in floats by sea to Joppa; and thou shalt carry it up to Jerusalem.

17 And Solomon numbered all the strangers that were in the land of Israel, after the numbering wherewith David his father had numbered them; and they were found an hundred and fifty thousand and three thousand and six hundred.

18 And he set threescore and ten thousand of them to be bearers of burdens, and fourscore thousand to be hewers in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred overseers to set the people a work.

Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the Lord appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.

And he began to build in the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.

Now these are the things wherein Solomon was instructed for the building of the house of God. The length by cubits after the first measure was threescore cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits.

And the porch that was in the front of the house, the length of it was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the height was an hundred and twenty: and he overlaid it within with pure gold.

And the greater house he cieled with fir tree, which he overlaid with fine gold, and set thereon palm trees and chains.

And he garnished the house with precious stones for beauty: and the gold was gold of Parvaim.

He overlaid also the house, the beams, the posts, and the walls thereof, and the doors thereof, with gold; and graved cherubims on the walls.

And he made the most holy house, the length whereof was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits: and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents.

And the weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold.

10 And in the most holy house he made two cherubims of image work, and overlaid them with gold.

11 And the wings of the cherubims were twenty cubits long: one wing of the one cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was likewise five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other cherub.

12 And one wing of the other cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was five cubits also, joining to the wing of the other cherub.

13 The wings of these cherubims spread themselves forth twenty cubits: and they stood on their feet, and their faces were inward.

14 And he made the vail of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubims thereon.

15 Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits high, and the chapiter that was on the top of each of them was five cubits.

16 And he made chains, as in the oracle, and put them on the heads of the pillars; and made an hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains.

17 And he reared up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand, and the other on the left; and called the name of that on the right hand Jachin, and the name of that on the left Boaz.

Moreover he made an altar of brass, twenty cubits the length thereof, and twenty cubits the breadth thereof, and ten cubits the height thereof.

Also he made a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and five cubits the height thereof; and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.

And under it was the similitude of oxen, which did compass it round about: ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about. Two rows of oxen were cast, when it was cast.

It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward.

And the thickness of it was an handbreadth, and the brim of it like the work of the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies; and it received and held three thousand baths.

He made also ten lavers, and put five on the right hand, and five on the left, to wash in them: such things as they offered for the burnt offering they washed in them; but the sea was for the priests to wash in.

And he made ten candlesticks of gold according to their form, and set them in the temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left.

He made also ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right side, and five on the left. And he made an hundred basons of gold.

Furthermore he made the court of the priests, and the great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid the doors of them with brass.

10 And he set the sea on the right side of the east end, over against the south.

11 And Huram made the pots, and the shovels, and the basons. And Huram finished the work that he was to make for king Solomon for the house of God;

12 To wit, the two pillars, and the pommels, and the chapiters which were on the top of the two pillars, and the two wreaths to cover the two pommels of the chapiters which were on the top of the pillars;

13 And four hundred pomegranates on the two wreaths; two rows of pomegranates on each wreath, to cover the two pommels of the chapiters which were upon the pillars.

14 He made also bases, and lavers made he upon the bases;

15 One sea, and twelve oxen under it.

16 The pots also, and the shovels, and the fleshhooks, and all their instruments, did Huram his father make to king Solomon for the house of the Lord of bright brass.

17 In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredathah.

18 Thus Solomon made all these vessels in great abundance: for the weight of the brass could not be found out.

19 And Solomon made all the vessels that were for the house of God, the golden altar also, and the tables whereon the shewbread was set;

20 Moreover the candlesticks with their lamps, that they should burn after the manner before the oracle, of pure gold;

21 And the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs, made he of gold, and that perfect gold;

22 And the snuffers, and the basons, and the spoons, and the censers, of pure gold: and the entry of the house, the inner doors thereof for the most holy place, and the doors of the house of the temple, were of gold.

Thus all the work that Solomon made for the house of the Lord was finished: and Solomon brought in all the things that David his father had dedicated; and the silver, and the gold, and all the instruments, put he among the treasures of the house of God.

Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion.

Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the feast which was in the seventh month.

And all the elders of Israel came; and the Levites took up the ark.

And they brought up the ark, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, these did the priests and the Levites bring up.

Also king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled unto him before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen, which could not be told nor numbered for multitude.

And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto his place, to the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims:

For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.

And they drew out the staves of the ark, that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark before the oracle; but they were not seen without. And there it is unto this day.

10 There was nothing in the ark save the two tables which Moses put therein at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.

11 And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course:

12 Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:)

13 It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord;

14 So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God.

Then said Solomon, The Lord hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

But I have built an house of habitation for thee, and a place for thy dwelling for ever.

And the king turned his face, and blessed the whole congregation of Israel: and all the congregation of Israel stood.

And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who hath with his hands fulfilled that which he spake with his mouth to my father David, saying,

Since the day that I brought forth my people out of the land of Egypt I chose no city among all the tribes of Israel to build an house in, that my name might be there; neither chose I any man to be a ruler over my people Israel:

But I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel.

Now it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the Lord God of Israel.

But the Lord said to David my father, Forasmuch as it was in thine heart to build an house for my name, thou didst well in that it was in thine heart:

Notwithstanding thou shalt not build the house; but thy son which shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house for my name.

10 The Lord therefore hath performed his word that he hath spoken: for I am risen up in the room of David my father, and am set on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and have built the house for the name of the Lord God of Israel.

11 And in it have I put the ark, wherein is the covenant of the Lord, that he made with the children of Israel.

12 And he stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands:

13 For Solomon had made a brasen scaffold of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court: and upon it he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven.

14 And said, O Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and shewest mercy unto thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts:

15 Thou which hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him; and spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.

16 Now therefore, O Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit upon the throne of Israel; yet so that thy children take heed to their way to walk in my law, as thou hast walked before me.

Solomon Requests Wisdom(A)

Now (B)Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and (C)the Lord his God was with him and (D)exalted him exceedingly.

And Solomon spoke to all Israel, to (E)the captains of thousands and of hundreds, to the judges, and to every leader in all Israel, the heads of the fathers’ houses. Then Solomon, and all the assembly with him, went to [a]the high place that was at (F)Gibeon; for the tabernacle of meeting with God was there, which Moses the servant of the Lord had (G)made in the wilderness. (H)But David had brought up the ark of God from Kirjath Jearim to the place David had prepared for it, for he had pitched a tent for it at Jerusalem. Now (I)the bronze altar that (J)Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, [b]he put before the tabernacle of the Lord; Solomon and the assembly sought Him there. And Solomon went up there to the bronze altar before the Lord, which was at the tabernacle of meeting, and (K)offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.

(L)On that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, “Ask! What shall I give you?”

And Solomon said to God: “You have shown great (M)mercy to David my father, and have made me (N)king in his place. Now, O Lord God, let Your promise to David my father be established, (O)for You have made me king over a people like the (P)dust of the earth in multitude. 10 (Q)Now give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may (R)go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this great people of Yours?”

11 (S)Then God said to Solomon: “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked riches or wealth or honor or the life of your enemies, nor have you asked long life—but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself, that you may judge My people over whom I have made you king— 12 wisdom and knowledge are granted to you; and I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as (T)none of the kings have had who were before you, nor shall any after you have the like.”

Solomon’s Military and Economic Power(U)

13 So Solomon came to Jerusalem from [c]the high place that was at Gibeon, from before the tabernacle of meeting, and reigned over Israel. 14 (V)And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; he had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 15 (W)Also the king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars as abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland. 16 (X)And Solomon had horses imported from Egypt and Keveh; the king’s merchants bought them in Keveh at the current price. 17 They also acquired and imported from Egypt a chariot for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for one hundred and fifty; thus, [d]through their agents, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.

Solomon Prepares to Build the Temple(Y)

Then Solomon (Z)determined to build a temple for the name of the Lord, and a royal house for himself. (AA)Solomon selected seventy thousand men to bear burdens, eighty thousand to quarry stone in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred to oversee them.

Then Solomon sent to [e]Hiram king of Tyre, saying:

(AB)As you have dealt with David my father, and sent him cedars to build himself a house to dwell in, so deal with me. Behold, (AC)I am building a temple for the name of the Lord my God, to dedicate it to Him, (AD)to burn before Him [f]sweet incense, for (AE)the continual showbread, for (AF)the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the (AG)Sabbaths, on the New Moons, and on the [g]set feasts of the Lord our God. This is an ordinance forever to Israel.

And the temple which I build will be great, for (AH)our God is greater than all gods. (AI)But who is able to build Him a temple, since heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him? Who am I then, that I should build Him a temple, except to burn sacrifice before Him?

Therefore send me at once a man skillful to work in gold and silver, in bronze and iron, in purple and crimson and blue, who has skill to engrave with the skillful men who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem, (AJ)whom David my father provided. (AK)Also send me cedar and cypress and algum logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants have skill to cut timber in Lebanon; and indeed my servants will be with your servants, to prepare timber for me in abundance, for the [h]temple which I am about to build shall be great and wonderful.

10 (AL)And indeed I will give to your servants, the woodsmen who cut timber, twenty thousand kors of ground wheat, twenty thousand kors of barley, twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.

11 Then Hiram king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon:

(AM)Because the Lord loves His people, He has made you king over them.

12 [i]Hiram also said:

(AN)Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, (AO)who made heaven and earth, for He has given King David a wise son, endowed with prudence and understanding, who will build a temple for the Lord and a royal house for himself!

13 And now I have sent a skillful man, endowed with understanding, [j]Huram my [k]master craftsman 14 (AP)(the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre), skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, purple and blue, fine linen and crimson, and to make any engraving and to accomplish any plan which may be given to him, with your skillful men and with the skillful men of my lord David your father.

15 Now therefore, the wheat, the barley, the oil, and the wine which (AQ)my lord has spoken of, let him send to his servants. 16 (AR)And we will cut wood from Lebanon, as much as you need; we will bring it to you in rafts by sea to [l]Joppa, and you will carry it up to Jerusalem.

17 (AS)Then Solomon numbered all the aliens who were in the land of Israel, after the census in which (AT)David his father had numbered them; and there were found to be one hundred and fifty-three thousand six hundred. 18 And he made (AU)seventy thousand of them bearers of burdens, eighty thousand stonecutters in the mountain, and three thousand six hundred overseers to make the people work.

Solomon Builds the Temple(AV)

Now (AW)Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at (AX)Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where [m]the Lord had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of (AY)Ornan[n] the Jebusite. And he began to build on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign.

This is the foundation (AZ)which Solomon laid for building the house of God: The length was sixty cubits (by cubits according to the former measure) and the width twenty cubits. And the (BA)vestibule that was in front of [o]the sanctuary was twenty cubits long across the width of the house, and the height was [p]one hundred and twenty. He overlaid the inside with pure gold. (BB)The larger [q]room he (BC)paneled with cypress which he overlaid with fine gold, and he carved palm trees and chainwork on it. And he decorated the house with precious stones for beauty, and the gold was gold from Parvaim. He also overlaid the house—the beams and doorposts, its walls and doors—with gold; and he carved cherubim on the walls.

And he made the (BD)Most Holy Place. Its length was according to the width of the house, twenty cubits, and its width twenty cubits. He overlaid it with six hundred talents of fine gold. The weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold; and he overlaid the upper (BE)area with gold. 10 (BF)In the Most Holy Place he made two cherubim, fashioned by carving, and overlaid them with gold. 11 The wings of the cherubim were twenty cubits in overall length: one wing of the one cherub was five cubits, touching the wall of the room, and the other wing was five cubits, touching the wing of the other cherub; 12 one wing of the other cherub was five cubits, touching the wall of the room, and the other wing also was five cubits, touching the wing of the other cherub. 13 The wings of these cherubim spanned twenty cubits overall. They stood on their feet, and they faced inward. 14 And he made the (BG)veil of blue, purple, crimson, and fine linen, and wove cherubim into it.

15 Also he made in front of the [r]temple (BH)two pillars [s]thirty-five cubits [t]high, and the capital that was on the top of each of them was five cubits. 16 He made wreaths of chainwork, as in the inner sanctuary, and put them on top of the pillars; and he made (BI)one hundred pomegranates, and put them on the wreaths of chainwork. 17 Then he (BJ)set up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand and the other on the left; he called the name of the one on the right hand [u]Jachin, and the name of the one on the left [v]Boaz.

Furnishings of the Temple(BK)

Moreover he made (BL)a bronze altar: twenty cubits was its length, twenty cubits its width, and ten cubits its height.

(BM)Then he made the [w]Sea of cast bronze, ten cubits from one brim to the other; it was completely round. Its height was five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference. (BN)And under it was the likeness of oxen encircling it all around, ten to a cubit, all the way around the Sea. The oxen were cast in two rows, when it was cast. It stood on twelve (BO)oxen: three looking toward the north, three looking toward the west, three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east; the Sea was set upon them, and all their back parts pointed inward. It was a handbreadth thick; and its brim was shaped like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It contained [x]three thousand baths.

He also made (BP)ten lavers, and put five on the right side and five on the left, to wash in them; such things as they offered for the burnt offering they would wash in them, but the [y]Sea was for the (BQ)priests to wash in. (BR)And he made ten lampstands of gold (BS)according to their design, and set them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. (BT)He also made ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. And he made one hundred (BU)bowls of gold.

Furthermore (BV)he made the court of the priests, and the (BW)great court and doors for the court; and he overlaid these doors with bronze. 10 (BX)He set the Sea on the right side, toward the southeast.

11 Then (BY)Huram made the pots and the shovels and the bowls. So Huram finished doing the work that he was to do for King Solomon for the house of God: 12 the two pillars and (BZ)the bowl-shaped capitals that were on top of the two pillars; the two networks covering the two bowl-shaped capitals which were on top of the pillars; 13 (CA)four hundred pomegranates for the two networks (two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowl-shaped capitals that were on the pillars); 14 he also made (CB)carts and the lavers on the carts; 15 one Sea and twelve oxen under it; 16 also the pots, the shovels, the forks—and all their articles (CC)Huram his [z]master craftsman made of burnished bronze for King Solomon for the house of the Lord.

17 In the plain of Jordan the king had them cast in clay molds, between Succoth and [aa]Zeredah. 18 (CD)And Solomon had all these articles made in such great abundance that the weight of the bronze was not determined.

19 Thus (CE)Solomon had all the furnishings made for the house of God: the altar of gold and the tables on which was (CF)the showbread; 20 the lampstands with their lamps of pure gold, to burn (CG)in the prescribed manner in front of the inner sanctuary, 21 with (CH)the flowers and the lamps and the wick-trimmers of gold, of purest gold; 22 the trimmers, the bowls, the ladles, and the censers of pure gold. As for the entry of the [ab]sanctuary, its inner doors to the Most Holy Place, and the doors of the main hall of the temple, were gold.

The Ark Brought into the Temple

So (CI)all the work that Solomon had done for the house of the Lord was finished; and Solomon brought in the things which his father David had dedicated: the silver and the gold and all the furnishings. And he put them in the treasuries of the house of God.

The Ark Brought into the Temple(CJ)

(CK)Now Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel, in Jerusalem, that they might bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord up (CL)from the City of David, which is Zion. (CM)Therefore all the men of Israel assembled with the king (CN)at the feast, which was in the seventh month. So all the elders of Israel came, and the (CO)Levites took up the ark. Then they brought up the ark, the tabernacle of meeting, and all the holy furnishings that were in the tabernacle. The priests and the Levites brought them up. Also King Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled with him before the ark, were sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted or numbered for multitude. Then the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, into the (CP)inner sanctuary of the [ac]temple, to the Most Holy Place, under the wings of the cherubim. For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles. The poles extended so that the ends of the (CQ)poles of the ark could be seen from the holy place, in front of the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And [ad]they are there to this day. 10 Nothing was in the ark except the two tablets which Moses (CR)put there at Horeb, [ae]when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they had come out of Egypt.

11 And it came to pass when the priests came out of the Most Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had [af]sanctified themselves, without keeping to their (CS)divisions), 12 (CT)and the Levites who were the singers, all those of Asaph and Heman and Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, stood at the east end of the altar, clothed in white linen, having cymbals, stringed instruments and harps, (CU)and with them one hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets— 13 indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying:

(CV)For He is good,
For His mercy endures forever,”

that the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, 14 so that the priests could not [ag]continue ministering because of the cloud; (CW)for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication

Then (CX)Solomon spoke:

“The Lord said He would dwell in the (CY)dark cloud.
I have surely built You an exalted house,
And (CZ)a place for You to dwell in forever.”

Solomon’s Speech upon Completion of the Work(DA)

Then the king turned around and (DB)blessed the whole assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing. And he said: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who has fulfilled with His hands what He spoke with His mouth to my father David, (DC)saying, ‘Since the day that I brought My people out of the land of Egypt, I have chosen no city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house, that My name might be there, nor did I choose any man to be a ruler over My people Israel. (DD)Yet I have chosen Jerusalem, that My name may be there, and I (DE)have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’ Now (DF)it was in the heart of my father David to build a [ah]temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel. But the Lord said to my father David, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a temple for My name, you did well in that it was in your heart. Nevertheless you shall not build the temple, but your son who will come from your body, he shall build the temple for My (DG)name.’ 10 So the Lord has fulfilled His word which He spoke, and I have filled the position of my father David, and (DH)sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised; and I have built the temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel. 11 And there I have put the ark, (DI)in which is the covenant of the Lord which He made with the children of Israel.”

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication(DJ)

12 (DK)Then [ai]Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands 13 (for Solomon had made a bronze platform five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court; and he stood on it, knelt down on his knees before all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven); 14 and he said: “Lord God of Israel, (DL)there is no God in heaven or on earth like You, who keep Your (DM)covenant and mercy with Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts. 15 (DN)You have kept what You promised Your servant David my father; You have both spoken with Your mouth and fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day. 16 Therefore, Lord God of Israel, now keep what You promised Your servant David my father, saying, (DO)‘You shall not fail to have a man sit before Me on the throne of Israel, (DP)only if your sons take heed to their way, that they walk in My law as you have walked before Me.’ 17 And now, O Lord God of Israel, let Your word come true, which You have spoken to Your servant David.

18 “But will God indeed dwell with men on the earth? (DQ)Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this [aj]temple which I have built! 19 Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O Lord my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You: 20 that Your eyes may be (DR)open toward this temple day and night, toward the place where You said You would put Your name, that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes (DS)toward this place. 21 And may You hear 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, (DT)forgive.

22 “If anyone sins against his neighbor, and is forced to take an (DU)oath, and comes and takes an oath before Your altar in this temple, 23 then hear from heaven, and act, and judge Your servants, bringing retribution on the wicked by bringing his way on his own head, and justifying the righteous by giving him according to his (DV)righteousness.

24 “Or if Your people Israel are defeated before an (DW)enemy because they have sinned against You, and return and confess Your name, and pray and make supplication before You in this temple, 25 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave to them and their fathers.

26 “When the (DX)heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, when they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and turn from their sin because You afflict them, 27 then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk; and send rain on Your land which You have given to Your people as an inheritance.

28 “When there (DY)is famine in the land, pestilence or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers; when their enemies besiege them in the land of their cities; whatever plague or whatever (DZ)sickness there is; 29 whatever prayer, whatever supplication is made by anyone, or by all Your people Israel, when each one knows his own burden and his own grief, and spreads out his hands to this temple: 30 then hear from heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know (for You alone (EA)know the (EB)hearts of the sons of men), 31 that they may fear You, to walk in Your ways as long as they live in the land which You gave to our fathers.

32 “Moreover, concerning a foreigner, (EC)who is not of Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for the sake of Your great name and Your mighty hand and Your outstretched arm, when they come and pray in this temple; 33 then hear from heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that [ak]this temple which I have built is called by Your name.

34 “When Your people go out to battle against their enemies, wherever You send them, and when they pray to You toward this city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name, 35 then hear from heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.

36 “When they sin against You (for there is (ED)no one who does not sin), and You become angry with them and deliver them to the enemy, and they take them (EE)captive to a land far or near; 37 yet when they [al]come to themselves in the land where they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication to You in the land of their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, and have committed wickedness’; 38 and when they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, where they have been carried captive, and pray toward their land which You gave to their fathers, the (EF)city which You have chosen, and toward the temple which I have built for Your name: 39 then hear from heaven Your dwelling place their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive Your people who have sinned against You. 40 Now, my God, I pray, let Your eyes be (EG)open and let Your ears be attentive to the prayer made in this place.

41 “Now(EH) therefore,
Arise, O Lord God, to Your (EI)resting place,
You and the ark of Your strength.
Let Your priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation,
And let Your saints (EJ)rejoice in goodness.

42 “O Lord God, do not turn away the face of Your Anointed;
(EK)Remember the mercies of Your servant David.”

Solomon Dedicates the Temple(EL)

When (EM)Solomon had finished praying, (EN)fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and (EO)the glory of the Lord filled the [am]temple. (EP)And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord’s house. When all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshiped and praised the Lord, saying:

(EQ)“For He is good,
(ER)For His mercy endures forever.”

(ES)Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the Lord. King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand bulls and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. (ET)And the priests attended to their services; the Levites also with instruments of the music of the Lord, which King David had made to praise the Lord, saying, “For His mercy endures forever,” whenever David offered praise by their [an]ministry. (EU)The priests sounded trumpets opposite them, while all Israel stood.

Furthermore (EV)Solomon consecrated the middle of the court that was in front of the house of the Lord; for there he offered burnt offerings and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar which Solomon had made was not able to receive the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat.

(EW)At that time Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly (EX)from the entrance of Hamath to (EY)the[ao] Brook of Egypt. And on the eighth day they held a (EZ)sacred assembly, for they observed the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days. 10 (FA)On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their tents, joyful and glad of heart for the good that the Lord had done for David, for Solomon, and for His people Israel. 11 Thus (FB)Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king’s house; and Solomon successfully accomplished all that came into his heart to make in the house of the Lord and in his own house.

God’s Second Appearance to Solomon(FC)

12 Then the Lord (FD)appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: “I have heard your prayer, (FE)and have chosen this (FF)place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. 13 (FG)When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, 14 if My people who are (FH)called by My name will (FI)humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, (FJ)then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 15 Now (FK)My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place. 16 For now (FL)I have chosen and [ap]sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and [aq]My eyes and [ar]My heart will be there perpetually. 17 (FM)As for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, and do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, 18 then I will establish the throne of your kingdom, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, (FN)‘You shall not fail to have a man as ruler in Israel.’

19 (FO)“But if you turn away and forsake My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods, and worship them, 20 (FP)then I will uproot them from My land which I have given them; and this house which I have [as]sanctified for My name I will cast out of My sight, and will make it a proverb and a (FQ)byword among all peoples.

21 “And as for (FR)this [at]house, which [au]is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be (FS)astonished and say, (FT)‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and this house?’ 22 Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore He has brought all this calamity on them.’ ”

Solomon’s Additional Achievements(FU)

It (FV)came to pass at the end of (FW)twenty years, when Solomon had built the house of the Lord and his own house, that the cities which [av]Hiram had given to Solomon, Solomon built them; and he settled the children of Israel there. And Solomon went to Hamath Zobah and seized it. (FX)He also built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the storage cities which he built in (FY)Hamath. He built Upper Beth Horon and (FZ)Lower Beth Horon, fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars, also Baalath and all the storage cities that Solomon had, and all the chariot cities and the cities of the cavalry, and all that Solomon (GA)desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.

(GB)All the people who were left of the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not of Israel— that is, their descendants who were left in the land after them, whom the children of Israel did not destroy—from these Solomon raised forced labor, as it is to this day. But Solomon did not make the children of Israel [aw]servants for his work. Some were men of war, captains of his officers, captains of his chariots, and his cavalry. 10 And others were chiefs of the officials of King Solomon: (GC)two hundred and fifty, who ruled over the people.

11 Now Solomon (GD)brought the daughter of Pharaoh up from the City of David to the house he had built for her, for he said, “My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places to which the ark of the Lord has come are holy.”

12 Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of the Lord which he had built before the vestibule, 13 according to the (GE)daily rate, offering according to the commandment of Moses, for the Sabbaths, the New Moons, and the (GF)three appointed yearly (GG)feasts—the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. 14 And, according to the [ax]order of David his father, he appointed the (GH)divisions of the priests for their service, (GI)the Levites for their duties (to praise and serve before the priests) as the duty of each day required, and the (GJ)gatekeepers by their divisions at each gate; for so David the man of God had commanded. 15 They did not depart from the command of the king to the priests and Levites concerning any matter or concerning the (GK)treasuries.

16 Now all the work of Solomon was well-ordered [ay]from the day of the foundation of the house of the Lord until it was finished. So the house of the Lord was completed.

17 Then Solomon went to (GL)Ezion Geber and [az]Elath on the seacoast, in the land of Edom. 18 (GM)And Hiram sent him ships by the hand of his servants, and servants who knew the sea. They went with the servants of Solomon to (GN)Ophir, and acquired four hundred and fifty talents of gold from there, and brought it to King Solomon.

The Queen of Sheba’s Praise of Solomon(GO)

Now (GP)when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with hard questions, having a very great retinue, camels that bore spices, gold in abundance, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing so difficult for Solomon that he could not explain it to her. And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his (GQ)cupbearers and their apparel, and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her.

Then she said to the king: “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. However I did not believe their words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not told me. You exceed the fame of which I heard. Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom! Blessed be the Lord your God, who delighted in you, setting you on His throne to be king for the Lord your God! Because your God has (GR)loved Israel, to establish them forever, therefore He made you king over them, to do justice and righteousness.”

And she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, spices in great abundance, and precious stones; there never were any spices such as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

10 Also, the servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon, (GS)who brought gold from Ophir, brought [ba]algum wood and precious stones. 11 And the king made walkways of the [bb]algum wood for the house of the Lord and for the king’s house, also harps and stringed instruments for singers; and there were none such as these seen before in the land of Judah.

12 Now King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked, much more than she had brought to the king. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.

Solomon’s Great Wealth(GT)

13 (GU)The weight of gold that came to Solomon yearly was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold, 14 besides what the traveling merchants and traders brought. And all the kings of Arabia and governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon. 15 And King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of hammered gold went into each shield. 16 He also made three hundred shields of hammered gold; [bc]three hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the (GV)House of the Forest of Lebanon.

17 Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold. 18 The throne had six steps, with a footstool of gold, which were fastened to the throne; there were [bd]armrests on either side of the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the armrests. 19 Twelve lions stood there, one on each side of the six steps; nothing like this had been made for any other kingdom.

20 All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Not one was silver, for this was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon. 21 For the king’s ships went to (GW)Tarshish with the servants of [be]Hiram. Once every three years the [bf]merchant ships came, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and [bg]monkeys.

22 So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. 23 And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. 24 Each man brought his present: articles of silver and gold, garments, (GX)armor, spices, horses, and mules, at a set rate year by year.

25 Solomon (GY)had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem.

26 (GZ)So he reigned over all the kings (HA)from [bh]the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. 27 (HB)The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar trees (HC)as abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland. 28 (HD)And they brought horses to Solomon from Egypt and from all lands.

Death of Solomon(HE)

29 (HF)Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of (HG)Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of (HH)Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat? 30 (HI)Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. 31 Then Solomon [bi]rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 1:3 Place for worship
  2. 2 Chronicles 1:5 Some authorities it was there
  3. 2 Chronicles 1:13 Place for worship
  4. 2 Chronicles 1:17 Lit. by their hands
  5. 2 Chronicles 2:3 Heb. Huram; cf. 1 Kin. 5:1
  6. 2 Chronicles 2:4 Lit. incense of spices
  7. 2 Chronicles 2:4 appointed
  8. 2 Chronicles 2:9 Lit. house
  9. 2 Chronicles 2:12 Heb. Huram; cf. 1 Kin. 5:1
  10. 2 Chronicles 2:13 Hiram, 1 Kin. 7:13
  11. 2 Chronicles 2:13 Lit. father, 1 Kin. 7:13, 14
  12. 2 Chronicles 2:16 Heb. Japho
  13. 2 Chronicles 3:1 Lit. He, following MT, Vg.; LXX the Lord; Tg. the Angel of the Lord
  14. 2 Chronicles 3:1 Araunah, 2 Sam. 24:16ff
  15. 2 Chronicles 3:4 The holy place, the main room of the temple, 1 Kin. 6:3
  16. 2 Chronicles 3:4 So with MT, LXX, Vg.; Arab., some LXX mss., Syr. twenty
  17. 2 Chronicles 3:5 Lit. house
  18. 2 Chronicles 3:15 Lit. house
  19. 2 Chronicles 3:15 eighteen, 1 Kin. 7:15; 2 Kin. 25:17; Jer. 52:21
  20. 2 Chronicles 3:15 Lit. long
  21. 2 Chronicles 3:17 Lit. He Shall Establish
  22. 2 Chronicles 3:17 Lit. In It Is Strength
  23. 2 Chronicles 4:2 Great laver or basin
  24. 2 Chronicles 4:5 About 8,000 gallons; two thousand, 1 Kin. 7:26
  25. 2 Chronicles 4:6 Great basin
  26. 2 Chronicles 4:16 Lit. father
  27. 2 Chronicles 4:17 Zaretan, 1 Kin. 7:46
  28. 2 Chronicles 4:22 Lit. house
  29. 2 Chronicles 5:7 Lit. house
  30. 2 Chronicles 5:9 Lit. it is
  31. 2 Chronicles 5:10 Or where
  32. 2 Chronicles 5:11 consecrated
  33. 2 Chronicles 5:14 Lit. stand to minister
  34. 2 Chronicles 6:7 Lit. house, and so in vv. 8–10
  35. 2 Chronicles 6:12 Lit. he
  36. 2 Chronicles 6:18 Lit. house
  37. 2 Chronicles 6:33 Lit. Your name is called upon this house
  38. 2 Chronicles 6:37 Lit. bring back to their hearts
  39. 2 Chronicles 7:1 Lit. house
  40. 2 Chronicles 7:6 Lit. hand
  41. 2 Chronicles 7:8 The Shihor, 1 Chr. 13:5
  42. 2 Chronicles 7:16 set apart
  43. 2 Chronicles 7:16 My attention
  44. 2 Chronicles 7:16 My concern
  45. 2 Chronicles 7:20 set apart
  46. 2 Chronicles 7:21 Temple
  47. 2 Chronicles 7:21 Or was
  48. 2 Chronicles 8:2 Heb. Huram, 2 Chr. 2:3
  49. 2 Chronicles 8:9 slaves
  50. 2 Chronicles 8:14 ordinance
  51. 2 Chronicles 8:16 So with LXX, Syr., Vg.; MT as far as
  52. 2 Chronicles 8:17 Heb. Eloth, 2 Kin. 14:22
  53. 2 Chronicles 9:10 almug, 1 Kin. 10:11, 12
  54. 2 Chronicles 9:11 almug, 1 Kin. 10:11, 12
  55. 2 Chronicles 9:16 three minas, 1 Kin. 10:17
  56. 2 Chronicles 9:18 Lit. hands
  57. 2 Chronicles 9:21 Heb. Huram; cf. 1 Kin. 10:22
  58. 2 Chronicles 9:21 Lit. ships of Tarshish, deep-sea vessels
  59. 2 Chronicles 9:21 Or peacocks
  60. 2 Chronicles 9:26 The Euphrates
  61. 2 Chronicles 9:31 Died and joined his ancestors