Solomon’s Marriage and Sacrifices
Then aSolomon formed a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter band brought her to the city of David cuntil he had completed building his own house and the house of Yahweh and dthe wall around Jerusalem. 2 aThe people were still sacrificing on the high places because there was no house built for the name of Yahweh until those days.
3 And aSolomon loved Yahweh, bwalking in the statutes of his father David, except he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. 4 aAnd the king went to bGibeon to sacrifice there, cfor that was the great high place; Solomon offered one thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5 aIn Gibeon, Yahweh appeared to Solomon bin a dream at night; and God said, “cAsk what I should give to you.”
God Gives Wisdom to Solomon
6 Then Solomon said, “aYou have shown great lovingkindness to Your slave David my father, baccording to how he walked before You in truth and righteousness and uprightness of heart toward You; and cYou have kept for him this great lovingkindness, that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. 7 So now, O Yahweh my God, aYou have made Your slave king in place of my father David, yet bI am but a little child; cI do not know how to go out or come in. 8 aAnd Your slave is in the midst of Your people which You have chosen, ba numerous people who are too many to be numbered or counted. 9 So agive Your slave a listening heart to judge Your people bto discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this glorious people of Yours?”
10 And it was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. 11 And God said to him, “Because you have asked this thing and have anot asked for yourself long life, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to listen to justice, 12 behold, aI have done according to your words. Behold, bI have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you. 13 aI have also given you what you have not asked, both briches and honor, so that there will not be any among the kings like you all your days. 14 aNow if you walk in My ways, keeping My statutes and commandments, as your father David walked, then I will bprolong your days.”
15 Then aSolomon 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 burnt offerings and made peace offerings, and bmade a feast for all his servants.
Solomon Wisely Judges
16 Then two women who were harlots came to the king and stood before him. 17 And the one woman said, “Oh, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house; and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house. 18 And it happened on the third day after I gave birth, that this woman also gave birth to a child, and we were together. There was no stranger with us in the house, only 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 beside me while your maidservant slept, and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead son in my bosom. 21 When I rose in the morning to nurse my son, behold, he was dead; but when I looked at him carefully in the morning, behold, he was not my son, whom I had borne.” 22 Then the other woman said, “No! For the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” But the first woman said, “No! For the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.” Thus they spoke before the king.
23 Then the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son who is living, and your son is the dead one’; and the other says, ‘No! For your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’” 24 And the king said, “Get me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king. 25 Then the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.” 26 Then the woman whose son was the living one spoke to the king, for ashe was deeply stirred with compassion over her son and said, “Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him to death.” But the other said, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him!” 27 Then the king said, “Give the first woman the living child, and by no means put him to death. She is his mother.” 28 Then all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had handed down, and they feared the king, for athey saw that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice.
Solomon’s Officials
So King Solomon was king over all Israel. 2 These were his officials:
Azariah the son of Zadok was athe priest;
3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha were scribes;
aJehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder;
4 and aBenaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the army;
and Zadok and bAbiathar were priests;
5 and Azariah the son of Nathan was over athe deputies;
and Zabud the son of Nathan, a priest, was the king’s friend;
6 and Ahishar was over the household;
and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the men subject to forced labor.
7 Now Solomon had twelve deputies over all Israel, who sustained the king and his household; each man had to sustain them for a month in the year. 8 These are their names:
Ben-hur, in the ahill country of Ephraim;
9 Ben-deker in Makaz and aShaalbim and bBeth-shemesh and Elonbeth-hanan;
10 Ben-hesed, in Arubboth (aSocoh was his and all the land of bHepher);
11 Ben-abinadab, in all the aheight of Dor (Taphath the daughter of Solomon was his wife);
12 Baana the son of Ahilud, in aTaanach and Megiddo, and all bBeth-shean which is beside cZarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to dAbel-meholah as far as the other side of eJokmeam;
13 Ben-geber, in aRamoth-gilead (now bHavvoth-Jair—Jair being the son of Manasseh—which is in Gilead was his: cthe region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars were his);
14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in aMahanaim;
15 aAhimaaz, in Naphtali (he also married Basemath the daughter of Solomon);
16 Baana the son of aHushai, in Asher and Bealoth;
17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar;
18 aShimei the son of Ela, in Benjamin;
19 Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, athe country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only deputy who was in the land.
Judah’s and Israel’s Abundance and Security
20 aJudah and Israel were as numerous as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance; they were eating and drinking and being glad.
21 aNow Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms bfrom the River to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt; cthey brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.
22 And Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty kors of fine flour and sixty kors of meal, 23 ten fat oxen, twenty pasture-fed oxen, one hundred sheep besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened fowl. 24 For he had dominion over everything west of the River, from Tiphsah even to aGaza, bover all the kings west of the River; and che had peace on all sides around about him. 25 aSo Judah and Israel lived in security, every man under his vine and his fig tree, bfrom Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon. 26 aSolomon had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 horsemen. 27 And these deputies sustained King Solomon and all who came to King Solomon’s table, each in his month; they left nothing lacking. 28 They also brought barley and straw for the horses and aswift steeds to the place where it should be, each according to the legal judgment for him.
29 And aGod gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment and breadth of understanding in his heart, blike the sand that is on the seashore. 30 And Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all athe sons of the east and ball the wisdom of Egypt. 31 And ahe was wiser than all men, than bEthan the Ezrahite, Heman, cCalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and the renown of his name was in all the surrounding nations. 32 aHe also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005. 33 And he spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that grows on the wall; he spoke also of animals and birds and creeping things and fish. 34 And men acame from all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.
Covenant with Hiram King of Tyre
aThen Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for bHiram had always been one who loved David. 2 And aSolomon sent word to Hiram, saying, 3 “You know that aDavid my father was unable to build a house for the name of Yahweh his God because of the wars which surrounded him, until Yahweh put them under the soles of his feet. 4 But now aYahweh my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor calamity. 5 So behold, aI intend to build a house for the name of Yahweh my God, as Yahweh spoke to David my father, saying, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, he will build the house for My name.’ 6 So now, command that they cut for me acedars from Lebanon, and my servants will be with your servants; and I will give you wages for your servants according to all that you say, for you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”
7 Now it happened, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he was very glad and said, “Blessed be Yahweh today, who has given to David a wise son over this great people.” 8 So Hiram sent word to Solomon, saying, “I have heard the message which you have sent me; I will do what you desire concerning the cedar and cypress timber. 9 My servants will bring them down from Lebanon to the sea; and I will make them into rafts to go by sea ato the place where you direct me, and I will have them broken up there, and you shall carry them away. Then byou shall accomplish my desire by giving food to my household.” 10 So Hiram gave Solomon as much as he desired of the cedar and cypress timber. 11 aSolomon then gave Hiram 20,000 kors of wheat as food for his household, and 20 kors of beaten oil; thus Solomon would give Hiram year by year. 12 aNow Yahweh gave wisdom to Solomon, just as He promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them cut a covenant.
13 And aKing Solomon raised up forced laborers from all Israel; and the forced laborers numbered 30,000 men. 14 And he sent them to Lebanon, 10,000 a month in shifts; they were in Lebanon a month and two months at home. And aAdoniram was over the forced laborers. 15 And aSolomon had 70,000 who carried loads, and 80,000 hewers of stone in the mountains, 16 abesides Solomon’s 3,300 chief deputies who were over the project and who ruled over the people who were doing the work. 17 Then athe king commanded, and they quarried great stones, precious stones, to lay the foundation of the house with cut stones. 18 So Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders and athe Gebalites carved them out, and prepared the timbers and the stones to build the house.
The House Solomon Built for Yahweh
aNow it happened in the four hundred and eightieth year after the sons of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv which is the second month, that he began to build the house of Yahweh. 2 As for the house which King Solomon built for Yahweh, its length was sixty cubits and its width twenty cubits and its height thirty cubits. 3 And the porch in front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits in length, corresponding to the width of the house, and its depth along the front of the house was ten cubits. 4 Also for the house ahe made windows with artistic frames. 5 aAnd he built, against the wall of the house, stories encompassing the walls of the house around both the nave and the binner sanctuary; thus he made cside chambers all around. 6 The lowest story was five cubits wide, and the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for on the outside he made offsets in the wall of the house all around in order that the beams would not be inserted in the walls of the house.
7 aThe house, while it was being built, was built of stone prepared at the quarry, and there was neither hammer nor axe nor any iron tool heard in the house while it was being built.
8 The doorway for the lowest side chamber was on the right side of the house; and they would go up by winding stairs to the middle story, and from the middle to the third. 9 So ahe built the house and completed it; and he paneled the house with beams and planks of cedar. 10 He also built the stories against the whole house, each five cubits high; and they were fastened to the house with timbers of cedar.
11 And the word of Yahweh came to Solomon saying, 12 “Concerning this house which you are building, aif you will walk in My statutes and do My judgments and keep all My commandments by walking in them, then I will establish My word with you which I spoke to David your father. 13 aAnd I will dwell among the sons of Israel, and bwill not forsake My people Israel.”
14 aSo Solomon built the house and completed it. 15 Then he abuilt the walls of the house on the inside with boards of cedar; from the floor of the house to the ceiling he overlaid the walls on the inside with wood, and he overlaid the floor of the house with boards of cypress. 16 aAnd he built twenty cubits on the rear part of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the ceiling; he built them for it on the inside as an inner sanctuary, as bthe Holy of Holies. 17 And the house, that is, the nave in front of the inner sanctuary, was forty cubits long. 18 And there was cedar on the house within, carved in the shape of agourds and open flowers; all was cedar, there was no stone seen. 19 Then he prepared an inner sanctuary within the house in order to place there the ark of the covenant of Yahweh. 20 Now the inner sanctuary was twenty cubits in length, twenty cubits in width, and twenty cubits in height, and he overlaid it with pure gold. He also overlaid the altar with cedar. 21 So Solomon overlaid the inside of the house with pure gold. And he drew chains of gold across the front of the inner sanctuary, and he overlaid it with gold. 22 So he overlaid the whole house with gold, until all the house was finished. Also athe whole altar which was by the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold.
23 aAlso in the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive wood, 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 end of one wing to the end of the other wing were ten cubits. 25 The other cherub was also ten cubits; both the cherubim were of the same measure and the same form. 26 The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was the other cherub. 27 And he put the cherubim in the midst of the inner house, and athe wings of the cherubim were spread out, so that the wing of the one was touching the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub was touching the other wall. And their wings were touching each other in the center of the house. 28 He also overlaid the cherubim with gold.
29 Then he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved engravings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, from within the inner and outer sanctuaries. 30 And he overlaid the floor of the house with gold, in the inner and outer sanctuaries.
31 For the entrance of the inner sanctuary he made doors of olive wood, the lintel, and five-sided doorposts. 32 So he made two doors of olive wood, and he carved on them carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold; and he spread the gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees.
33 So also he made for the entrance of the nave four-sided doorposts of olive wood 34 and atwo doors of cypress wood; the two leaves of the one door turned on pivots, and the two leaves of the other door turned on pivots. 35 And he carved on it cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers; and he overlaid them with gold evenly applied on the engraved work. 36 aAnd he built the inner court with three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams.
37 aIn the fourth year the foundation of the house of Yahweh was laid, in the month of Ziv. 38 Now in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was completed throughout all its parts and according to all its plans. So he built it in seven years.
Solomon Builds His Own House
Now aSolomon built his own house thirteen years, and he completed all his house. 2 aAnd he built the house of the forest of Lebanon; its length was 100 cubits and its width 50 cubits and its height 30 cubits, on four rows of cedar pillars with cedar beams on the pillars. 3 And it was paneled with cedar above the side chambers which were on the 45 pillars, 15 in each row. 4 Now there were artistic window frames in three rows, and window was opposite window in three ranks. 5 And all the doorways and doorposts had squared artistic frames, and window was opposite window in three ranks.
6 Then he made athe hall of pillars; its length was 50 cubits and its width 30 cubits, and a porch was in front of them and pillars and a bthreshold in front of them.
7 And he made the hall of the athrone where he was to judge, the hall of judgment, and bit was paneled with cedar from floor to floor.
8 Now his house where he was to live, the other court inward from the hall, was of the same workmanship. aHe also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, bwhom Solomon had married.
9 All these were of precious stones, of stone cut according to measure, sawed with saws, inside and outside; even from the foundation to the coping, and so on the outside to the great court.
10 And the foundation was of precious stones, even large stones, stones of ten cubits and stones of eight cubits. 11 And above were precious stones, stone cut according to measure, and cedar. 12 So athe great court all around had three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams even as the inner court of the house of Yahweh, and bthe porch of the house.
Hiram’s Work in the House of Yahweh
13 Then aKing Solomon sent and brought Hiram from Tyre. 14 aHe was a widow’s son from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze; and bhe was filled with wisdom and discernment and knowledge to do any work in bronze. So he came to King Solomon and cdid all his work.
15 And he fashioned athe two pillars of bronze; beighteen cubits was the height of one pillar, and a line of twelve cubits measured the circumference of both. 16 He also made two capitals of molten bronze to set on the tops of the pillars; the height of the one capital was five cubits and the height of the other capital was five cubits. 17 There were nets of network and twisted threads of chainwork for the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; seven for the one capital and seven for the other capital. 18 So he made the pillars, and two rows around on the one network to cover the capitals which were on the top of the pomegranates; and so he did for the other capital. 19 Now the capitals which were on the top of the pillars in the porch were of lily design, four cubits. 20 And there were capitals on the two pillars, even right above the rounded projection which was on the one side of the network; and athe pomegranates numbered two hundred in rows around both capitals. 21 aThus he set up the pillars at the bporch of the nave; and he set up the right pillar and named it Jachin, and he set up the left pillar and named it Boaz. 22 And on the top of the pillars was lily design. So the work of the pillars was finished.
23 aAnd he made the sea of bcast metal ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in form, and its height was five cubits, and thirty cubits in its circumference. 24 Now under its brim agourds went around encircling it ten to a cubit, bentirely encircling the sea; the gourds were in two rows, cast with the Sea when it was cast. 25 aIt stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east; and the sea was set on top of them, and all their rear parts turned inward. 26 And it was a handbreadth thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, as a lily blossom; it could hold two thousand baths.
27 Then ahe made the ten stands of bronze; the length of each stand was four cubits and its width four cubits and its height three cubits. 28 Now this was the workmanship of the stands: they had borders, even borders between the frames, 29 and on the borders which were between the frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim; and on the frames there was a pedestal above, and beneath the lions and oxen were wreaths of hanging work. 30 Now each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles, and its four feet had supports; beneath the laver were cast supports with wreaths at each side. 31 And its opening inside the capital at the top was a cubit, and its opening was round like the workmanship of a pedestal, a cubit and a half; and also on its opening there were engravings, and their borders were square, not round. 32 And the four wheels were underneath the borders, and the axles of the wheels were on the stand. And the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half. 33 Now the workmanship of the wheels was like the workmanship of a chariot wheel. Their axles, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all cast. 34 Now there were four supports at the four corners of each stand; its supports were part of the stand itself. 35 And on the top of the stand there was a circular form half a cubit high, and on the top of the stand its stays and its borders were part of it. 36 And he engraved on the plates of its stays and on its borders, cherubim, lions, and palm trees, according to the clear space on each, with wreaths all around. 37 aHe made the ten stands like this: all of them had one casting, one measure and one form.
38 aHe also made ten lavers of bronze, one laver held forty baths; each laver was four cubits, and on each of the ten stands was one laver. 39 Then he set the stands, five on the right side of the house and five on the left side of the house; and he set the sea of cast metal on the right side of the house eastward toward the south.
40 And Hiram made the lavers and the shovels and the bowls. So Hiram completed doing all the work that he did for King Solomon in the house of Yahweh: 41 the two pillars and the two bowls of the capitals which were on the top of the atwo pillars, and the two networks to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the top of the pillars, 42 and the afour hundred pomegranates for the two networks, two rows of pomegranates for each network to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the tops of the pillars; 43 and the ten stands with the ten lavers on the stands; 44 and athe one sea and the twelve oxen under the sea; 45 and athe pots and the shovels and the bowls; and all these utensils which Hiram made for King Solomon in the house of Yahweh were of polished bronze. 46 aOn the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between bSuccoth and cZarethan. 47 And Solomon left all the utensils unweighed, because they were too many; athe weight of the bronze could not be found out.
48 Solomon also made all the furniture which was in the house of Yahweh: athe golden altar and the golden table on which was the bbread of the Presence; 49 and the lampstands, five on the right side and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary, of pure gold; and athe flowers and the lamps and the tongs, of gold; 50 and the cups and the snuffers and the bowls and the spoons and the afirepans, of pure gold; and the hinges both for the doors of the inner house, the Holy of Holies, and for the doors of the house, that is, of the nave, of gold.
51 aThus all the work that King Solomon did in the house of Yahweh was finished. And bSolomon brought in the things set apart as holy by his father David, the silver and the gold and the utensils, and he put them in the treasuries of the house of Yahweh.
The Ark Brought into the House of Yahweh
aThen Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all bthe heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ households of the sons of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, cto bring up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh from dthe city of David, which is Zion. 2 And all the men of Israel assembled themselves to King Solomon at athe feast, in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. 3 Then all the elders of Israel came, and athe priests carried the ark. 4 And they brought up the ark of Yahweh and athe tent of meeting and all the holy utensils, which were in the tent, and the priests and the Levites brought them up. 5 And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who congregated to him being awith him before the ark, were sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. 6 Then athe priests brought the ark of the covenant of Yahweh bto its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the Holy of Holies, cunder the wings of the cherubim. 7 For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim made a covering over the ark and its poles from above. 8 But athe poles were so long that the ends of the poles could be seen from the holy place before the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen outside; and they are there to this day. 9 aThere was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses laid there at Horeb, where bYahweh cut a covenant with the sons of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. 10 Now it happened that when the priests came out of the holy place, athe cloud filled the house of Yahweh, 11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of Yahweh filled the house of Yahweh.
Solomon Blesses the People
12 aThen Solomon said,
“Yahweh has said that bHe would dwell in the cloud of dense gloom.
13 aI have surely built You a lofty house,
bA place for Your dwelling forever.”
14 Then the king turned his face around and ablessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing. 15 And he said, “aBlessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, bwho spoke with His mouth to my father David and has fulfilled it by His hand, saying, 16 ‘aSince the day that I brought My people Israel from Egypt, I did not choose a city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house that bMy name might be there, but cI have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’ 17 aAnd it was in the heart of my father David to build a house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. 18 But Yahweh said to my father David, ‘Because it was in your heart to build a house for My name, you did well that it was in your heart. 19 aNevertheless you shall not build the house, but your son who will bcome forth from your loins, he shall build the house for My name.’ 20 And Yahweh has established His word which He spoke; and aI have been established in place of my father David and sit on the throne of Israel, as Yahweh promised, and have built the house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. 21 And there I have set a place for the ark, ain which is the covenant of Yahweh, which He cut with our fathers when He brought them from the land of Egypt.”
Solomon’s Prayer for Israel
22 Then aSolomon stood before the altar of Yahweh before all the assembly of Israel and bspread out his hands toward heaven. 23 And he said, “O Yahweh, the God of Israel, athere is no god like You in heaven above or upon earth beneath, bkeeping covenant and lovingkindness to Your slaves who walk before You with all their heart, 24 who have kept with Your servant, my father David, that which You have promised him; indeed, You have promised with Your mouth and have fulfilled it by Your hand as it is this day. 25 So now, O Yahweh, the God of Israel, keep with Your servant David my father that which You have promised him, saying, ‘aYou shall not have a man cut off from before Me who is to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your sons keep their way to walk as you have walked before Me.’ 26 So now, O God of Israel, let Your word truly endure awhich You have spoken to Your servant, my father David.
27 “But will God truly dwell on the earth? Behold, aheaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house which I have built! 28 Yet have regard to the aprayer of Your slave and to his supplication, O Yahweh my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which Your slave prays before You today; 29 athat Your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, toward bthe place of which You have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ to listen to the prayer which Your slave shall pray toward this place. 30 aAnd listen to the supplication of Your slave and of Your people Israel, bwhen they pray toward this place; listen in heaven Your dwelling place; listen and cforgive.
31 “aIf a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take an oath, and he comes and takes an oath before Your altar in this house, 32 then listen in heaven and act and judge Your slaves, acondemning the wicked by bringing his way on his own head and justifying the righteous by bringing him reward according to his righteousness.
33 “aWhen Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy, because they have sinned against You, bif they turn to You again and confess Your name and pray and make supplication to You in this house, 34 then listen in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave to their fathers.
35 “aWhen the heavens are shut up and there is no rain, because they have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name and turn from their sin when You afflict them, 36 then listen in heaven and forgive the sin of Your slaves and of Your people Israel; aindeed, teach them the good way in which they should walk. And bgive rain on Your land, which You have given to Your people for an inheritance.
37 “aIf there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence, if there is scorching wind or mildew, locust or grasshopper, if their enemy besieges them in the land of their cities, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, 38 whatever prayer or supplication is made by any man or by all Your people Israel, each of whom knows the affliction of his own heart, and spreads his hands toward this house; 39 then listen in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive and act and give to each according to all his ways, awhose heart You know, for bYou alone know the hearts of all the sons of men, 40 that they may fear You all the days that they live upon the face of the land which You have given to our fathers.
41 “Also concerning the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel, if he comes from a far country for Your name’s sake 42 (for they will hear of Your great name aand Your strong hand, and of Your outstretched arm); so if he comes and prays toward this house, 43 listen in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, in order athat all the peoples of the earth may know Your name to fear You, as do Your people Israel, and to know that Your name is called upon this house which I have built.
44 “When Your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way You shall send them, and athey pray to Yahweh toward the city which You have chosen and the house which I have built for Your name, 45 then listen in heaven to their prayer and their supplication, and do justice.
46 “When they sin against You (for athere is no man who does not sin) and You are angry with them and give them over to an enemy, so that they take them away captive bto the land of the enemy, far off or near; 47 aand if they cause these things to return to their heart in the land where they have been taken captive, and return and make supplication to You in the land of those who have taken them captive, saying, ‘bWe have sinned and have committed iniquity, we have acted wickedly’; 48 aand if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who have taken them captive, and bpray to You toward their land which You have given to their fathers, the city which You have chosen, and the house which I have built for Your name; 49 then listen in heaven Your dwelling place to their prayer and their supplication, and do justice for them, 50 and forgive Your people who have sinned against You and all their transgressions which they have transgressed against You, and agive them over as objects of compassion before those who have taken them captive, that they may have compassion on them 51 (afor they are Your people and Your inheritance which You have brought forth from Egypt, bfrom the midst of the iron furnace), 52 athat Your eyes may be open to the supplication of Your slave and to the supplication of Your people Israel, to listen to them whenever they call to You. 53 For You have separated them from all the peoples of the earth as Your inheritance, aas You spoke by the hand of Moses Your servant, when You brought our fathers forth from Egypt, O Lord Yahweh.”
Solomon Blesses Yahweh
54 aNow it happened that when Solomon had finished praying this entire prayer and supplication to Yahweh, bhe arose from before the altar of Yahweh, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread toward heaven. 55 And he stood and ablessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying:
56 “Blessed be Yahweh, who has given rest to His people Israel, aaccording to all that He promised; bnot one promise has failed of all His good promises, which He promised by the hand of Moses His servant. 57 May Yahweh our God be with us, as He was with our fathers; amay He not forsake us or abandon us, 58 that aHe may 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 Yahweh, be near to Yahweh our God day and night, that He may do justice for His slave and justice for His people Israel, as each day requires, 60 so athat all the peoples of the earth may know that bYahweh is God; there is no one else. 61 aLet your heart therefore be wholly devoted to Yahweh our God, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments, as at this day.”
The Offering for the House of Yahweh
62 aNow the king and all Israel with him were boffering sacrifices before Yahweh. 63 And Solomon offered for the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered to Yahweh, 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. aSo the king and all the sons of Israel dedicated the house of Yahweh. 64 On the same day the king set apart as holy the middle of the court that was before the house of Yahweh, because there he offered the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat of the peace offerings; for athe bronze altar that was before Yahweh was too small to hold the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat of the peace offerings.
65 So aSolomon celebrated the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly bfrom Lebo-hamath cto the brook of Egypt, before Yahweh our God, for seven days and seven more days, even fourteen days. 66 On the eighth day he sent the people away and they blessed the king. Then they went to their tents with gladness and goodness of heart because of all the goodness that Yahweh had shown to David His servant and to Israel His people.
Yahweh Appears to Solomon
aNow it happened when Solomon had completed building the house of Yahweh, and bthe king’s house, and call that Solomon desired to do, 2 that aYahweh appeared to Solomon a second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3 And Yahweh said to him, “aI have heard your prayer and your supplication, which you have made before Me; I have set apart as holy this house which you have built bby putting My name there forever, and cMy eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. 4 As for you, aif you will walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you and will keep My statutes and My judgments, 5 then aI will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, just as I promised to your father David, saying, ‘You shall not have a man cut off from the throne of Israel.’
6 “aBut if you or your sons indeed turn away from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have given before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, 7 athen I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them, and bthe house which I have set apart as holy for My name, I will cast out of My presence. So cIsrael will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 8 And this house will become aa heap of ruins; everyone who passes by will feel desolate and hiss and say, ‘bWhy has Yahweh done thus to this land and to this house?’ 9 And they will say, ‘aBecause they forsook Yahweh their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and took hold of other gods and worshiped them and served them, therefore Yahweh has brought all this calamity on them.’”
Cities Given to Hiram
10 aNow it happened that bat the end of twenty years in which Solomon had built the two houses, the house of Yahweh and the king’s house 11 (Hiram king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and cypress timber and gold according to all his desire), that King Solomon then gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. 12 So Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him, and they were not right in his eyes. 13 And he said, “What are these cities which you have given me, my brother?” So they were called the land of aCabul to this day. 14 aAnd Hiram sent to the king 120 talents of gold.
Solomon Builds Cities and Ships
15 Now this is the account of the forced labor which King Solomon araised up to build the house of Yahweh, his own house, the bMillo, the wall of Jerusalem, cHazor, dMegiddo, and eGezer. 16 For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and captured Gezer and burned it with fire, and killed the aCanaanites who lived in the city, and had bgiven it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife. 17 So Solomon rebuilt Gezer and the lower aBeth-horon 18 and aBaalath and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land of Judah, 19 and all the storage cities which Solomon had, and athe cities for his chariots, and the cities for bhis horsemen, and call that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land under his rule. 20 As for all the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, who were not of the sons of Israel, 21 anamely, their sons who were left after them in the land bwhom the sons of Israel were unable to devote to destruction, from cthem Solomon raised up dforced laborers to this day. 22 But Solomon adid not make slaves of the sons of Israel; for they were men of war, his servants, his princes, his captains, his chariot commanders, and his horsemen.
23 These were the achief deputies who were over Solomon’s work, 550, bwho had dominion over the people doing the work.
24 As soon as aPharaoh’s daughter came up from the city of David to her house which Solomon had built for her, bthen he built the Millo.
25 And athree times in a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he built to Yahweh, burning incense with them on the altar which was before Yahweh. So he finished the house.
26 King Solomon also made a afleet of ships in bEzion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. 27 aAnd Hiram sent his servants with the fleet of ships, sailors who knew the sea, along with the servants of Solomon. 28 And they went to aOphir and took from there 420 talents of gold and brought it to King Solomon.
The Queen of Sheba
aNow the aqueen of bSheba heard the report about Solomon concerning the name of Yahweh. So she came cto test him with riddles. 2 She came to Jerusalem with a very glorious retinue, with camels acarrying spices and very much gold and precious stones. And she came to Solomon and spoke to him about all that was in her heart. 3 And Solomon declared to her the answer to all her matters; there was not a matter which was hidden from the king which he did not declare to her. 4 Then the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5 the food of his table, the seating of his servants, the disposition of his attendants and their attire, his cupbearers, and his stairway by which he went up to the house of Yahweh, so that there was no more spirit in her. 6 Then she said to the king, “The word is true which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. 7 Nevertheless I did not believe those words, until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not declared to me. You exceed, in wisdom and prosperity, the report which I heard. 8 How ablessed are your men, how blessed are these your servants who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom. 9 aBlessed be Yahweh your God who delighted in you, to set you on the throne of Israel; bbecause Yahweh loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, cto do justice and righteousness.” 10 aThen she gave the king 120 talents of gold and a very great amount of spices and precious stones. Never again did such abundance of spices come in as that which the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.
11 aAlso, the ships of Hiram, which carried gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir a very great number of almug trees and precious stones. 12 aAnd the king made of the almug trees supports for the house of Yahweh and for the king’s house, also lyres and harps for the singers; such almug trees have not come in again nor have they been seen to this day.
13 Thus King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire which she asked, besides what he gave her according to his royal bounty. Then she turned and went to her own land, she and her servants.
Solomon’s Riches and Wisdom
14 aNow the weight of gold which came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, 15 besides that from the traders and the wares of the merchants and all the kings of the aArabs and the governors of the country. 16 aAnd King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold, using 600 shekels of gold on each large shield. 17 And he made a300 shields of beaten gold, using three minas of gold on each shield, and bthe king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. 18 Moreover, the king made a great throne of aivory and overlaid it with refined gold. 19 There were six steps to the throne and a round top to the throne at its rear, and arms on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the arms. 20 Twelve lions were also standing there on the six steps on the one side and on the other; nothing like it was made for all the other kingdoms. 21 Now 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 was of silver; it was not considered valuable in the days of Solomon. 22 For athe king had at sea the ships of Tarshish with the ships of Hiram; once every three years the ships of Tarshish came carrying gold and silver, ivory and apes and peacocks.
23 aSo King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. 24 And all the earth was seeking the presence of Solomon, ato hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart. 25 aAnd they brought every man his present, articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses, and mules, a set amount year by year.
26 aAnd Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen. And he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen and stationed them in the bchariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 27 aThe king also made silver as plentiful as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees that are in the Shephelah. 28 aSolomon’s import of horses was from Egypt and Kue; the king’s merchants procured them from Kue for a price. 29 And a chariot was imported from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver, and a horse for 150; and by the same means they exported them ato all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram.