Now aSolomon the son of David strengthened himself over his kingdom, and 1Yahweh his God was with him and highly bexalted him. 2 And Solomon spoke to all Israel, ato the commanders of thousands and of hundreds and to the judges and to every leader in all Israel, the heads of the fathers’ households.3 Then Solomon and all the assembly with him went to athe high place which was at Gibeon, bfor God’s tent of meeting was there, which Moses the servant of Yahweh had made in the wilderness. 4 However, David had brought up athe ark of God from Kiriath-jearim 1to bthe place he had prepared for it, for he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem. 5 Now athe bronze altar, which Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, 1was there before the tabernacle of Yahweh, and Solomon and the assembly sought it out. 6 And Solomon went up there before Yahweh to the bronze altar which was at the tent of meeting, and aoffered one thousand burnt offerings on it. 7 aIn that night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask what I should give to you.”
God Gives Wisdom to Solomon
8 Then Solomon said to God, “You have shown great lovingkindness to my father David, and ahave made me king in his place. 9 Now, O Yahweh God, alet Your 1promise to my father David 2endure, for You have made me king over ba people as numerous as the dust of the earth. 10 aGive me now wisdom and knowledge, bthat I may go out and come in before this people, for who can do justice for this great people of Yours?” 11 aAnd God said to Solomon, “Because 1you had this in your heart, and did not ask for riches, wealth, or glory, or the life of those who hate you, nor have you even asked for long life, but you have asked for yourself wisdom and knowledge that you may do justice for My people over whom I have made you king, 12 wisdom and knowledge have been given to you. And aI will give you riches and wealth and glory, 1such as none of the kings who were before you had nor those who will 2come after you.” 13 aSo Solomon went 1from the high place which was at Gibeon, from the tent of meeting, to Jerusalem, and he reigned over Israel.
Solomon’s Chariots and Horsemen
14 aAnd Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen. bAnd he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, and he stationed them in cthe chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 15 aThe king also made bsilver and gold as plentiful as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees that are in the 1Shephelah. 16 Solomon’s import of ahorses was from Egypt and from Kue; the king’s merchants procured them from Kue for a price. 17 And they 1imported a chariot from Egypt for 2600 shekels of silver and a horse for 3150; and 4by the same means they 5exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.
Yahweh’s House Will Be Great
1aThen Solomon 2decided to build a house for the name of Yahweh and a 3royal palace for himself. 2 1So aSolomon numbered 70,000 men to carry loads and 80,000 men to hew stone in the mountains and 3,600 to direct them. 3 aThen Solomon sent word to 1Huram the king of Tyre, saying, “bAs you dealt with David my father and sent him cedars to build him a house to live in, so do for me.4 Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of Yahweh my God, setting it apart to Him as holy, ato burn fragrant incense before Him and to set out bthe showbread continually, and to offer cburnt offerings morning and evening, don sabbaths and on new moons and on the appointed feasts of Yahweh our God, this being required forever in Israel. 5 Now the house which I am about to build will be great, for agreater is our God than all the gods. 6 But awho is able to build a house for Him, for the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain Him? So who am I, that I should build a house for Him, except to 1burn incense before Him? 7 So now, asend me a wise man to work in gold, silver, brass, and iron, and in purple, crimson, and blue fabrics, and who knows how to make engravings, to work with the wise men 1bwhom I have in Judah and Jerusalem, whom David my father prepared. 8 aSend me also cedar, cypress and algum timber from Lebanon, for I know that your servants know how to cut timber of Lebanon; and behold, bmy servants will work with your servants, 9 to prepare timber in abundance for me, for the house which I am about to build will be great and wonderful. 10 And behold, aI will give to your servants, the woodsmen who cut the timber, 120,000 kors of crushed wheat and 20,000 kors of barley, and 220,000 baths of wine and 20,000 baths of oil.”
Covenant with Huram King of Tyre
11 Then Huram king of Tyre said in a letter 1sent to Solomon: “aBecause Yahweh loves His people, He has given you to be king over them.” 12 Then Huram said, “Blessed be aYahweh, the God of Israel, who has made heaven and earth, who has given King David a wise son, knowledgeable in insight and understanding, bwho will build a house for Yahweh and a 1royal palace for himself. 13 “So now, I am sending Huram-abi, a wise man, who is knowledgeable in understanding, 14 athe son of a 1Danite woman and 2a Tyrian father, who knows how to work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, and in purple, blue, linen, and crimson fabrics, and who knows how to make all kinds of engravings and to devise any design which may be given to him, to work with your wise men and with the wise men of my lord David your father. 15 So now, let my lord send to his servants wheat and barley, oil and wine, of awhich he has spoken. 16 aAnd we will cut whatever timber you need from Lebanon and bring it to you on rafts by sea to Joppa, so that you may carry it up to Jerusalem.” 17 Then Solomon numbered all the sojourners who were in the land of Israel, afollowing the 1census which his father David had 2taken; and 153,600 were found. 18 aAnd he made 70,000 of them to carry loads and 80,000 as hewers of stone in the mountains and 3,600 directors to make the people work.
Solomon Builds Yahweh’s House
aThen Solomon began to build the house of Yahweh in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where Yahweh had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared bon the threshing floor of 1Ornan the Jebusite. 2 Then he began to build on the second day in the second month 1of the fourth year of his reign. 3 Now these are the 1foundations which aSolomon laid for building the house of God. The length in cubits, according to the old standard was 2sixty cubits, and the width twenty cubits. 4 And the porch which was in front of the house awas as long as the width of the house, 120 cubits, and the height 120; and inside he overlaid it with pure gold. 5 Now he overlaid athe 1main room with cypress wood and overlaid it with fine gold, and 2ornamented it with palm trees and chains. 6 Further, he overlaid the house with precious stones for beauty; and the gold was gold from 1Parvaim. 7 aHe also covered the house with gold—the beams, the thresholds and its walls and its doors; and he bcarved cherubim on the walls. 8 And he made athe 1room of the Holy of Holies: its length across the width of the house was twenty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits; and he covered it with fine gold, amounting to 2600 talents. 9 Now the weight of the nails was 1fifty shekels of gold. He also covered athe upper rooms with gold. 10 aThen in the room of the Holy of Holies he made two cherubim of fashioned work and overlaid them with gold. 11 Now the wingspan of the cherubim was twenty cubits; the wing of one, of five cubits, touched the wall of the house, and its other wing, of five cubits, touched the wing of the other cherub. 12 And the wing of the other cherub, of five cubits, touched the wall of the house; and its other wing of five cubits was attached to the wing of the 1first cherub. 13 The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits, and they stood on their feet 1facing the main room. 14 aAnd he made the veil of blue, purple, crimson, and fine linen, and he ornamented cherubim on it. 15 aHe also made two pillars for the front of the house, 1thirty-five cubits 2high, and the capital on the top of each was five cubits. 16 And he made chains in the inner sanctuary and put them on the top of the pillars; and he made one hundred pomegranates and put them on the chains. 17 aThus he set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the right and one on the left, and named the one on the right Jachin and the one on the left Boaz.
The Furnishings of the House of Yahweh
Then ahe made a bronze altar, 1twenty cubits in length and twenty cubits in width and ten cubits in height. 2 aAnd he made the sea of cast metal ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in form, and its height was five cubits, and 1thirty cubits in 2its circumference. 3 Now figures like oxen were under it and encircling it, ten cubits, entirely encircling the sea. The oxen were in two rows, cast 1in one piece. 4 It stood on twelve oxen, three facing the 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. 5 And it was a 1handbreadth thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, as a lily blossom; it acould hold 3,000 baths. 6 aHe also made ten lavers and set five on the right side and five on the left, in which to wash things,that is, in which they would rinse things for the burnt offering; but the sea was for the priests to wash in. 7 Then ahe made the ten golden lampstands 1in the way prescribed for them and he put them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. 8 He also made aten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. And he made one hundred golden bowls. 9 Then he made athe court of the priests and bthe great court and doors for the court, and overlaid their doors with bronze. 10 aAnd he put the sea on the right 1side of the house toward the southeast. 11 aAnd Huram made the pots and the shovels and the bowls. So Huram completed doing the work which he did for King Solomon in the house of God: 12 the two pillars and the two bowls and the two capitals on top of the pillars, and the two networks to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on top of the pillars, 13 and athe four 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 pillars. 14 aHe also made the stands and he made the lavers on the stands, 15 and the one sea with the twelve oxen under it. 16 And the pots and the shovels and the flesh hooks and all its utensils, aHuram-abi made of polished bronze for King Solomon for the house of Yahweh. 17 On the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah. 18 aThus Solomon made all these utensils in great quantities, for the weight of the bronze could not be found out. 19 Solomon also made all the furniture which was in the house of God: even the golden altar and athe tables with the bread of the Presence on them, 20 and the lampstands with their lamps of pure gold, ato burn in front of the inner sanctuary 1in the way prescribed; 21 and the flowers and the lamps and the tongs of gold, of purest gold; 22 and the snuffers and the bowls and the spoons and the firepans, of pure gold; and the entrance of the house, its inner doors for the Holy of Holies and the doors of the house, that is, of the nave, of gold.
The Ark Brought into the House of Yahweh
aThus all the work that Solomon did for the house of Yahweh was finished. And Solomon brought in the 1bthings set apart as holy by his father David, even the silver and the gold and all the utensils, and he put them in the treasuries of the house of God. 2 aThen Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ households of the sons of Israel to Jerusalem, bto bring up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh from the city of David, which is Zion. 3 aAnd all the men of Israel assembled themselves to the king at bthe feast, that is in the seventh month. 4 Then all the elders of Israel came, and athe Levites carried the ark. 5 And they brought up the ark and the tent of meeting and all the holy utensils which were in the tent; the Levitical priests brought them up. 6 And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel who congregated with him before the ark, were sacrificing 1so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. 7 Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of Yahweh to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the Holy of Holies, under the wings of the cherubim. 8 And 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. 9 But the poles were so long that athe ends of the poles of the ark could be seen before the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen outside; and 1they are there to this day. 10 aThere was nothing in the ark except the two tablets which Moses put there at Horeb, where Yahweh cut a covenant with the sons of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.
The Glory of Yahweh Fills His House
11 Now it happened that when the priests came out of the holy place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves, without regard ato divisions), 12 and all the Levitical singers, aAsaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and relatives, clothed in fine linen, bwith cymbals, harps, and lyres, standing east of the altar, and with them 120 priests cblowing trumpets 13 in unison when the trumpeters and the singers were to make themselves heard with one voice to praise and to give thanks to Yahweh, and when they lifted up their voice aaccompanied by trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and when they praised Yahweh saying, “bHe indeed is good for His lovingkindness endures forever,” then the house, the house of Yahweh, was filled with a cloud, 14 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for athe glory of Yahweh filled the house of God.
Solomon Blesses the People
aThen Solomon said,
“Yahweh has said that He would dwell in the cloud of dense gloom.
2
Now I have built You a lofty house,
And a place for Your dwelling forever.”
3 Then the king turned his face around and blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing. 4 And he said, “Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who spoke with His mouth to my father David and has fulfilled it by His hands, saying, 5 ‘Since the day that I brought My people from the land of Egypt, I did not choose a city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house that My name might be there, nor did I choose any man for a ruler over My people Israel; 6 but aI have chosen Jerusalem that My name might be there, and I bhave chosen David to be over My people Israel.’ 7 aAnd it was 1in the heart of my father David to build a house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. 8 But Yahweh said to my father David, ‘Because it was 1in your heart to build a house for My name, you did well that it was 1in your heart. 9 Nevertheless you shall not build the house, but your son who will acome forth from your loins, he shall build the house for My name.’ 10 And Yahweh has established His word which He spoke; and I have been established in place of my father David and sit on the throne of Israel, as Yahweh 1promised, and have built the house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. 11 And there I have set the ark ain which is the covenant of Yahweh, which He cut with the sons of Israel.”
Solomon’s Prayer for Israel
12 Then he stood before the altar of Yahweh before all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands. 13 aNow Solomon had made a bronze platform, five cubits long, five cubits wide and three cubits high, and had put it in the midst of the court; and he stood on it, bknelt on his knees in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven. 14 And he said, “O Yahweh, the God of Israel, athere is no god like You in heaven or on earth, bkeeping covenant and lovingkindness to Your slaves who walk before You with all their heart; 15 awho have kept with Your 1servant David, my father, that which You have 2promised him; indeed You have promised with Your mouth and have fulfilled it by Your hand, as it is this day. 16 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 in My law as you have walked before Me.’ 17 So now, O Yahweh, the God of Israel, let Your word truly 1endure which You have spoken to Your servant David. 18 “But awill God truly dwell with mankind on the earth? Behold, bheaven and the 1highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house which I have built. 19 Yet have regard to the prayer 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; 20 that Your aeyes may be open toward this house day and night, toward bthe place of which You have said that You would place Your name there, to listen to the prayer which Your slave shall pray toward this place. 21 And listen to the supplications of Your slave and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place; listen from Your dwelling place, from heaven; alisten and forgive. 22 “If 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, 23 then listen from heaven and act and judge Your slaves, 1apunishing the wicked by 2bringing his way on his own head and justifying the righteous by 2bringing him reward according to his righteousness. 24 “And if Your people Israel are 1defeated before an enemy because athey have sinned against You, and they turn to You and confess Your name, and pray and make supplication before You in this house, 25 then listen from heaven and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You have given to them and to their fathers. 26 “When the aheavens 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; 27 then listen in heaven and forgive the sin of Your slaves and of Your people Israel; indeed, ateach them the good way in which they should walk. And give rain on Your land, which You have given to Your people for an inheritance. 28 “If there is afamine in the land, if there is pestilence, if there is scorching wind or mildew, if there is locust or grasshopper, if their enemies besiege them in the land of their 1cities, whatever plague or whatever sickness there is,29 whatever prayer or supplication is made by any man or by all Your people Israel, who know his own affliction and his own pain, and spread his hands toward this house, 30 then listen from heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and give to each according to all his ways, whose heart You know, afor You alone know the hearts of the sons of men, 31 that they may 1fear You, to walk in Your ways all the days they live upon the face of the land which You have given to our fathers. 32 “Also concerning athe foreigner who is not of Your people Israel, if he comes from a far country for Your great name’s sake and Your strong hand and Your outstretched arm, so if they come and pray toward this house, 33 then listen from heaven, from Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name even to 1fear You, as do Your people Israel, and to know that Your name is acalled upon this house which I have built. 34 “When Your people go out to battle against their enemies, by whatever way You shall send them, and they pray to You toward this city which You have chosen and the house which I have built for Your name, 35 then listen from heaven to their prayer and their supplication, and do justice. 36 “When they sin against You (afor there is no man who does not sin) and You are angry with them and give them over to an enemy, so that 1they take them away captive to a land far off or near, 37 and if they acause these things to return to their heart in the land where they have been taken captive, and 1return and make supplication to You in the land of their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned, we have committed iniquity and have acted wickedly’; 38 aand if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, where they have been taken captive, and pray toward their land which You have given to their fathers and the city which You have chosen, and toward the house which I have built for Your name, 39 then listen from heaven, from Your dwelling place, to their prayer and supplications, and do justice for them and forgive Your people who have sinned against You. 40 “Now, O my God, I pray, alet Your eyes be open and bYour ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place. 41 “aSo now, arise, O Yahweh God, to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your strength; let Your priests, O Yahweh God, be clothed with salvation and let Your holy ones be glad in what is good. 42 “O Yahweh God, do not turn away the face of Your anointed; aremember Your lovingkindness to Your servant David.”
The Glory of Yahweh Fills His House
aNow when Solomon had 1finished praying, bfire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of Yahweh filled the house. 2 aAnd the priests could not enter into the house of Yahweh because the glory of Yahweh filled the house of Yahweh. 3 And all the sons of Israel, seeing the fire come down and the glory of Yahweh upon the house, bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave praise to Yahweh, saying, “aFor He is good, for His lovingkindness endures forever.”
Offerings for the House of Yahweh
4 aNow the king and all the people were offering sacrifices before Yahweh. 5 And King Solomon offered a sacrifice of 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. 6 And the priests stood at their posts, and athe Levites also, with the instruments of music to Yahweh, which King David had made for giving thanks to Yahweh—“for His lovingkindness endures forever”—whenever 1he gave praise by their hand, while bthe priests on the other side blew trumpets; and all Israel was standing. 7 aThen Solomon set apart as holy the middle of the court that was before the house of Yahweh, because there he offered the burnt offerings and the fat of the peace offerings; for the bronze altar which Solomon had made was not able to hold the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat. 8 So aSolomon celebrated the feast at that time for seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly from 1Lebo-hamath to the bbrook of Egypt. 9 And on the eighth day they celebrated aa solemn assembly; for the dedication of the altar they celebrated seven days and the feast seven days. 10 And on the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people to their tents, with gladness and goodness of heart because of the goodness that Yahweh had shown to David and to Solomon and to Israel His people.
Yahweh Appears to Solomon
11 aThus Solomon completed the house of Yahweh and the king’s house; and all that had come into Solomon’s heart to do in the house of Yahweh and in his house, he did successfully. 12 Then Yahweh appeared to Solomon at night and said to him, “I have heard your prayer and ahave chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. 13 aIf I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the grasshopper to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, 14 aand My people 1who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their evil ways, then I will listen from heaven, I will forgive their sin, and I will heal their land. 15 aNow My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the 1prayer offered in this place. 16 So anow I have chosen and set this house apart as holy that My name may be there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. 17 As for you, if you will walk before Me as your father David walked, even to do according to all that I have commanded you, and will keep My statutes and My judgments, 18 then I will establish your royal throne as I cut a covenant with your father David, saying, ‘1aYou shall not have a man cut off as ruler in Israel.’ 19 “aBut 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 athen I will uproot you from My land which I have given 1you, and this house which I have set apart as holy for My name I will cast out of My presence and I will make it ba proverb and a byword among all peoples. 21 As for this house, which was exalted, everyone who passes by it will feel desolate and say, ‘aWhy has Yahweh done thus to this land and to this house?’ 22 And they will say, ‘Because athey forsook Yahweh, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt and took hold of other gods and worshiped them and served them, therefore He has brought all this calamity on them.’”
Solomon Builds Cities
aNow it happened at the end of the twenty years in which Solomon had built the house of Yahweh and his own house 2 that he built the cities which Huram had given to 1him, and settled the sons of Israel there. 3 Then Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and overpowered it. 4 And he built Tadmor in the wilderness and all the storage cities which he had built in Hamath. 5 He also built upper aBeth-horon and lower Beth-horon, bfortified cities with walls, gates and bars; 6 and Baalath and all the storage cities which Solomon had, and all the cities for 1his chariots, and the cities for 1his horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land 2under his rule. 7 aAs for all the people who were left of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of Israel, 8 namely, from their sons who were left after them in the land whom the sons of Israel had not consumed, afrom them Solomon raised up forced laborers to this day. 9 But Solomon did not make slaves for his work from the sons of Israel; for they were men of war, his chief captains and his chariot commanders and his horsemen. 10 These were the chief 1deputies of King Solomon, 250 who 2ruled over the people. 11 aThen Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter up from the city of David to the house which he had built for her, for he said, “My wife shall not live in the house of David king of Israel, because 1the places are holy where the ark of Yahweh has entered.” 12 Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to Yahweh on athe altar of Yahweh which he had built before the porch; 13 and adid so according to the daily rule, offering them up baccording to the commandment of Moses, for cthe sabbaths, dthe new moons and the ethree annual feasts—the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Booths. 14 And according to the judgment of his father David, he caused athe divisions of the priests to stand for their service, and bthe Levites for their responsibilities to praise and minister before the priests according to the daily rule, and cthe gatekeepers by their divisions at every gate; for dDavid the man of God had so commanded. 15 And they did not turn away from the commandment of the king to the priests and Levites in any manner or concerning the treasuries. 16 Thus all the work of Solomon was carried out 1from the day of the foundation of the house of Yahweh, and until it was completed. So the house of Yahweh was finished. 17 Then Solomon went to aEzion-geber and to bEloth on the shore of the sea in the land of Edom. 18 And Huram by the hand of his servants sent him ships and servants who knew the sea; and they went with Solomon’s servants to Ophir, and atook from there 1450 talents of gold and brought them to King Solomon.
The Queen of Sheba
aNow the queen of Sheba heard the report about Solomon. So she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with riddles. She had a very glorious retinue, with camels carrying spices and a large amount of gold and precious stones. And she came to Solomon and spoke with him about all that was in her heart. 2 And Solomon declared to her the answer to all her matters; and not a matter was hidden from Solomon which he did not declare to her. 3 Then the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon, the house which he had built, 4 the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the disposition of his attendants and their attire, his cupbearers and their attire, and 1his stairway by which he went up to the house of Yahweh, so that there was no more spirit in her. 5 Then she said to the king, “The word is true which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. 6 Nevertheless I did not believe their words until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not declared to me. You exceed the report which I heard. 7 How 1blessed are your men, how 1blessed are these your servants who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom. 8 Blessed be Yahweh your God who delighted in you, ato set you on His throne as king for Yahweh your God; bbecause your God loved Israel to cause them to stand forever, therefore He gave you as king over them, to do justice and righteousness.” 9 Then she gave the king 1120 talents of gold and a very great amount of spices and precious stones. There had never been spice like that which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. 10 Also, the servants of Huram and the servants of Solomon, awho brought gold from Ophir, brought algum trees and precious stones. 11 And the king made of the algum trees steps for the house of Yahweh and for the king’s house, and lyres and harps for the singers; and none like that was seen before in the land of Judah. 12 Thus King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire which she asked, besides a return for what she had brought to the king. Then she turned around and went to her own land together with her servants.
Solomon’s Riches and Wisdom
13 aNow the weight of gold which came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, 14 besides that which the traders and merchants brought; and all athe kings of Arabia and the governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon. 15 And King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold, 1using 2600 shekels of beaten gold on each large shield. 16 And he made 300 shields of beaten gold, 1using 2300 shekels of gold on each shield, and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. 17 Moreover, the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. 18 And there were six steps to the throne and a footstool in gold attached to the throne, and 1arms 2on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the 1arms. 19 Twelve lions were also standing there on the six steps on the one side and on the other; nothing like it was made for any other kingdom. 20 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; silver was not considered 1valuable in the days of Solomon. 21 aFor the king had ships which went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram; once every three years the ships of Tarshish came carrying gold and silver, ivory and apes and peacocks. 22 aSo King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. 23 And all the kings of the earth were seeking the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart. 24 aAnd they brought every man his present, articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses and mules, a set amount year by year. 25 And Solomon had a4,000 stalls for horses and chariots and 12,000 horsemen, and he stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 26 aAnd he was the ruler over all the kings from the 1River even to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt. 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 1Shephelah. 28 aAnd they were importing horses for Solomon from Egypt and from all countries.
The Death of Solomon
29 aNow the rest of the acts of Solomon, from first to last, bare they not written in the 1chronicles of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of 2Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat? 30 aThus Solomon reigned forty years in Jerusalem over all Israel. 31 And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in athe city of his father David; and his son Rehoboam became king in his place.