Category: 2 Chronicles

Solomon Worships at Gibeon

1 Solomon the son of David established himself securely over his kingdom, and the Lordhis God was with him and made him exceedingly great.

2 Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the commanders of thousands and of hundreds and to the judges and to every leader in all Israel, the heads of the fathers’ (ancestors’)households.

3 Then Solomon and all the assembly went to the high place at Gibeon [to offer sacrifices, where the Canaanites had habitually worshiped], for God’s Tent of Meeting was there, which Moses the servant of the Lordhad made in the wilderness.

4 But David had brought up the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim to the place he had prepared for it, because he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem.

5 Now the bronze altar, which Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made was there before the tabernacle of the Lord, and Solomon and the assembly sought it out.

6 And Solomon went up to the bronze altar before the Lordat the Tent of Meeting, and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.

7 That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask what I shall give to you.”

Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom

8 Then Solomon said to God, “You have shown great lovingkindnessandmercy to my father David, and have made me king in his place.

9 Now, O LordGod, Your promise to my father David is fulfilled, for You have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth.

10 Give me wisdom and knowledge, so that I may go out and come in [performing my duties] before this people, for [otherwise] who can ruleandadminister justice to this great people of Yours?”

11 God replied to Solomon, “Because this was in your heart and you did not ask for riches, possessions or honorandpersonal glory, or the life of those who hate you, nor have you even asked for long life, but you have asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself so that you may ruleandadminister justice to My people over whom I have made you king,

12 wisdom and knowledge have been granted you. I will also give you riches, possessions, and honor, such as none of the kings who were before you has possessed nor will those who will come after you.”

13 So Solomon went from the high place at Gibeon, from the Tent of Meeting, to Jerusalem. And he reigned over Israel.

Solomon’s Wealth

14 Solomon acquired chariots and horsemen; he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, and he stationed them in the cities [suited for the use] of chariots and with the king at Jerusalem.

15 The king made silver and gold as plentifulandcommon in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar as plentiful as thesycamore-fig trees in the lowland.

16 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and fromKue. The king’s merchants purchased them [in large numbers] from Kueat a price.

17 And they imported chariots from Egypt for 600shekelsof silver apiece, and horses for 150 apiece; and in the same way they exported horses to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Arameans (Syrians).

Solomon Will Build a Temple and Palace

1 Now Solomon decided to build a house (temple) for the Name of the Lord, and a royal palace for himself.

2 So Solomon assigned 70,000 men to carry loads, 80,000 men to quarry stone in the mountains, and 3,600 to supervise them.

3 Then Solomon sentwordtoHiram king of Tyre, saying, “As you dealt with my father David and sent him cedars to build himself a house in which to live, [please] do the same for me.

4 Observe, I am about to build a house for the Name of the Lordmy God, dedicated to Him, to burn fragrant incense [of sweet spices] before Him, to set out the showbread continually, and to offer burnt offerings morning and evening, on Sabbaths, New Moons, and on the festivals of the Lordour God, asordainedforever in Israel.

5 The house I am going to build will be great, for our God is greater than all the gods.

6 But who is able to build a house for Him, since the heavens and [even] the highest heavens cannot contain Him? Who am I to build a house for Him, except [as a place] to burnincensebefore Him?

7 Now send me a man who is skilled to work in gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and in purple, crimson, and bluefabrics,and who knows how to make engravings,to workwith the skilled men who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem, whom my father David provided.

8 Send me also cedar, cypress, andalgum timber, for I know that your servants know how to cut timber in Lebanon. And indeed my servantswill workwith your servants

9 to prepare for me an abundance of timber, because the house I am about to build will be great and wonderful.

10 And I will give to your servants who cut timber, 20,000measures of crushed wheat and 20,000 measures of barley, and 20,000 baths of wine and 20,000 baths of [olive] oil.”

Hiram to Assist

11 Then Hiram, king of Tyre replied in a letter sent to Solomon: “Because the Lordloves His people, He has made you king over them.”

12 Hiram said also, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, who has given King David a wise son, endowed with discretion and understanding, who will build a house for the Lordand a royal palace for himself.

13 “Now I am sending a skilled man, endowed with understanding, Huram-abi,

14 the son of aDanite woman and a Tyrian father. He is trained to work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood; in purple, blue, and crimson fabrics, and in fine linen. He is able to make any kind of engraving and to carry out any design given him.He will workwith your skilled men and those of my lord, David your father.

15 Now then, let my lord send to his servants the wheat, the barley, the oil, and the wine of which he has spoken.

16 We will cut whatever timber you need from Lebanon and bring it to you on rafts by sea to Joppa, so that you may take it up to Jerusalem.”

17 Then Solomon took a count of all the aliens in the land of Israel, like the census that his father David had taken; and they were found to be 153,600.

18 He assigned 70,000 of them to carry loads and 80,000 to quarry stone in the mountain, and 3,600 as overseers to make the people work.

The Temple Construction in Jerusalem

1 Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lordin Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lordappeared to his father David, in the place that David had prepared, on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

2 Solomon began to build on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign.

Dimensions and Materials of the Temple

3 Now this is the [measurement of the] foundation which Solomon laid for the house of God: the length in cubits—by the old standard of measure—was sixty cubits (90 ft.), and the width was twenty cubits (30 ft.).

4 The porch in front of the house was as long as the width of the house, twenty cubits, and the height was 120 cubits. He overlaid it inside with pure gold.

5 He overlaid the main room [the Holy Place] with cypress wood and overlaid it with fine gold, and decorated it with palm trees and chains.

6 And he adorned the house with precious stones; and the gold was gold from Parvaim.

7 He also overlaid the house [the Holy Place] with gold—the beams, the thresholds, and its walls and its doors; and he carved cherubim on the walls.

8 Now he made the room of the Holy of Holies: its length equaling the width of the house was twenty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits; and he overlaid it with 600 talents of fine gold.

9 The weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. He also overlaid the upper rooms with gold.

10 And in the Holy of Holies he made two sculptured cherubim, and overlaid them with gold.

11 The wingspan of the cherubim was twenty cubits: one wing of one cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house, and its other wing, of five cubits, touched the other cherub’s wing.

12 The wing of the other cherub, of five cubits, touched the wall of the house; and its other wing of five cubits touched the wing of the first cherub.

13 The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits. The cherubim stood on their feet, their faces toward the Holy Place (the main room).

14 He made the veil [between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies] of blue, purple, and crimson colors, andfine linen, and embroidered cherubim on it.

15 He also made two pillars for the front of the house, thirty-five cubits high, and the capital on the top of each one was five cubits.

16 He made chains [like a necklace] in the inner sanctuary and put them on the tops of the pillars; and he made a hundred pomegranates and put them on the chains.

17 He erected the pillars in front of the temple, one on the right, the other on the left, and named the one on the right Jachin (may He establish) and the one on the left Boaz (in Him is strength).

Furnishings of the Temple

1 Then Solomon made an altar of bronze, twenty cubits in length, twenty cubits in width, and ten cubits in height.

2 He also made the Sea [that is, the large basin used for ceremonial washing] of cast metal, ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in form, and five cubits in height, and its circumference was thirty cubits.

3 Under it and entirely encircling it were figures of oxen, ten to a cubit. The oxen were in two rows, cast in one piece.

4 It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, three facing east; and the Sea was set on top of them and all their hindquarters turned inward.

5 It was a handbreadth (the width of the four fingers) thick; its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It could hold3,000 baths (measures).

6 He also made ten [portable] basins in which to wash, and he put five on the right (south) side and five on the left (north). They would rinse things for the burnt offering in them, but the Sea was for the priests to wash in.

7 And he made ten golden lampstands just as directed and set them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left.

8 He made also ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left side, and he made a hundred [ceremonial] basins of gold.

9 Moreover, he made the courtyard of the priests, and the great courtyard [for the people] and doors for the courtyard, and he overlaid their doors with bronze.

10 He set the Sea on the right side at the southeast corner [of the house].

11 And Huram also made the pails [for ashes], the shovels, and the basins. So Huram finished the work that he did for King Solomon in the house of God:

12 the two pillars, the bowls, the capitals on top of the two pillars, and the two lattice works to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on top of the pillars,

13 and the four hundred pomegranates for the two lattice works, two rows of pomegranates for each lattice to cover the two bowls of the capitals on the pillars.

14 He also made the stands and he made the basins on the stands;

15 and the one Sea with the twelve oxen under it.

16 The pails, the shovels, and the meat-forks, and all the utensils Huram-abi made of polished bronze for King Solomon for the house of the Lord.

17 The king cast them on the plain of the Jordan, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah.

18 Solomon made all these utensils in such great quantity that the weight of the bronze could not be determined.

19 Solomon also made all the articles that were in the house of God: the golden altar, and the tables for the bread of the Presence (showbread),

20 and the lampstands with their lamps of pure gold, to burn in front of the inner sanctuary (the Holy of Holies) as directed;

21 the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs of gold, of purest gold;

22 and the snuffers, the basins, the dishes [for incense], and the firepans, of pure gold; and for the entrance of the house (temple), the inner doors for the Holy of Holies and the doors of the Holy Place (main room), were of gold.

The Ark Is Brought into the Temple

1 Thus all the work that Solomon did for the house of the Lordwas finished. He brought in the things that his father David had dedicated, and he put the silver and the gold and all the utensils in the treasuries of the house of God.

2 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’householdsof the Israelites, in Jerusalem to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lordup from the City of David, which is Zion.

3 All the men of Israel gathered before the king at the feast in the seventh month.

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

5 The Levitical priests brought up the ark, the Tent of Meeting, and all the holy utensils that were in the Tent.

6 And King Solomon and all the assembly of Israel who gathered together with him before the ark were sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered.

7 Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lordto its place, to the inner sanctuary of the house, into the Holy of Holies, under the wings of the cherubim;

8 for the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, making a covering above the ark and its carrying poles.

9 The poles were so long that the ends of the poles of the ark were visible from the front of the Holy of Holies (inner sanctuary), but were not visible from the outside. They are there to this day.

10 There was nothing in the ark exceptthe two tablets [of the Ten Commandments] which Moses put there at Mount Horeb, when the Lordmade a covenant with the Israelites, when they came out of Egypt.

The Glory of God Fills the Temple

11 When the priests came out of the Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves [separating themselves from everything unclean], without regard to theirassigned divisions),

12 and all of the Levitical singers, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, with their sons and relatives, clothed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps, and lyres were standing at the east end of the altar, and with them a hundred and twenty priests blowing trumpets

13 in unison when the trumpeters and singers were to make themselves heard with one voice praising and thanking the Lord, and when they raised their voices accompanied by the trumpets and cymbals and [other] instruments of music, and when they praised the Lord,saying,“ForHeis good, for His mercyandlovingkindness endure forever,” then the house of the Lordwas filled with a cloud,

14 so that the priests could not remain standing to minister because of the cloud; for the gloryandbrilliance of the Lordfilled the house of God.

Solomon’s Dedication

1 Then Solomon said,

“The Lordhas said that He would dwell in the thick cloud.

2 I have built You a lofty house,

A place for You to dwell forever.”

3 Then the king turned around and blessed the entire assembly of Israel, while they were all standing.

4 And he said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who spoke with His mouth to my father David and has fulfilled with His handswhat He promised,saying,

5 ‘Since the day that I brought My people out of the land of Egypt, I did not choose a city among all the tribes of Israelin whichto build a house so that My Name (Presence) might be there, nor did I choose any man to be a leader over My people Israel;

6 but I have chosen Jerusalem that My Name might be there, and I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’

7 Now it was in the heart of my father David to build a house for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel.

8 But the Lordsaid to my father David, ‘Because it wasin your heart to build a house for My Name, you did well that it was in your heart.

9 Nevertheless you shall not build the house, but your son who will be born to you, he shall build the house for My Name.’

10 Now the Lordhas fulfilled His word which He spoke; for I have risen in place of my father David and I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lordpromised, and have built the house for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel.

11 There I have placed the ark [the symbol of His Presence] in which is the covenant of the Lord[the Ten Commandments], which He made with the people (descendants) of Israel.”

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication

12 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lordin the presence of the entire assembly of Israel and spread out his hands.

13 For Solomon had made a bronze platform, five cubits square and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the courtyard; and he stood on it, and he knelt down on his knees in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven,

14 and he said, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no god like You in heaven or on the earth, keeping covenant andshowingmercyandlovingkindness to Your servants who walk before You [in obedience] with all their heart,

15 [You] who have kept Your promise to Your servant David, my father, that which You told him; You have spoken with Your mouth and have fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is today.

16 Now therefore, O Lord, the God of Israel, keep with Your servant David, my father, that which You promised him, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man to sit on the throne of Israel, provided your sons are careful to walk in My law as you, [David,] have walked before Me.’

17 Now then, O Lord, the God of Israel, let Your word which You have spoken to Your servant David be confirmed (verified).

18 “But will God actually dwell with mankind on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house which I have built!

19 Yet have regard for the prayer of Your servant and for his supplication, O Lordmy God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which Your servant prays before You,

20 that Your eyes may be open toward this house day and night, toward the place in which You have said thatYou wouldput Your Name (Presence), to listen to the prayer which Your servant shall pray toward this place.

21 So listen to the requests of Your servant and Your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from Your dwelling place, from heaven; andwhen Youhear, forgive.

22 “If a man sins against his neighbor, and he is required to take anoath, and he comes and takes the oath before Your altar in this house,

23 then hear from heaven and act and judge Your servants, punishing the wicked by bringing his conduct on his own head, and providing justice to the righteous by giving to him in accordance with his righteousness (innocence).

24 “If Your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against You, and they returnto Youand confess Your name, and pray and make supplication before You in this house,

25 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them again to the land which You gave to them and to their fathers.

26 “When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because Your people have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and turn from their sin when You afflictandhumble them;

27 then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants and Your people Israel, indeed, 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 “If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence, if there is blight or mildew, if there are [migratory] locusts or grasshoppers, if their enemies besiege them in the land of their cities, whatever plague or whatever sicknessthere is,

29 then whatever prayer or request is made by any man or all of Your people Israel, each knowing his own suffering and his own pain, and stretching out his hands toward this house,

30 then hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, and forgive, and render to eachin accordance with all his ways, whose heart You know; for You alone know the hearts of the sons of men,

31 so that they may fear You, to walk in Your ways [in obedience to You] as long as they live in the land which You have given to our fathers.

32 “Also in regard to the foreigner who is not from Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for the sake of Your great name and Your mighty power and Your outstretched arm—when they come and pray toward this house,

33 then hear from heaven, from Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, so that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name, and fear You [reverently and worshipfully], asdoYour people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by Your Name.

34 “When Your people go out to war against their enemies, by the way that You send them, and they pray to You facing this city [Jerusalem] which You have chosen and the house which I have built for Your Name,

35 then hear from heaven their prayer and their request, and maintain their causeanddo justice.

36 “When they sin against You (for there is no man who does not sin) and You are angry with them and hand them over to an enemy, so that they take them away captive to a land far away or near,

37 if they take it to heart in the land where they have been taken captive, and repent and pray to You in the land of their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong and have acted wickedly’;

38 if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, and pray facing their land which You have given to their fathers and toward the city which You have chosen, and toward the house which I have built for Your Name;

39 then hear from heaven, from Your dwelling place, their prayer and requests, and maintain their causeanddo justice and forgive Your people who have sinned against You.

40 “Now, O my God, I pray, let Your eyes be open and Your ears attentive to the prayerofferedin this place.

41 “Now then arise, O LordGod, [and come] to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your strengthandpower. Let Your priests, O LordGod, be clothed with salvation and let Your godly ones rejoice in [Your] goodness.

42 “O LordGod, do not turn awayandreject the face of Your anointed; rememberYourlovingkindnessandfaithfulness to Your servant David.”

The Shekinah Glory

1 When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the [Shekinah] gloryandbrilliance of the Lordfilled the house.

2 The priests could not enter the house of the Lordbecause the gloryandbrilliance of the Lordhad filled the Lord’shouse.

3 When all the people of Israel saw how the fire came down andsawthe gloryandbrilliance of the Lordupon the house, they bowed down on the stone pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and praised the Lord,saying,“For He is good, for His mercyandlovingkindness endure forever.”

Sacrifices Offered

4 Then the king and all the people offered a sacrifice before the Lord.

5 King Solomon offered a sacrifice of 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. In this way the king and all the people dedicated God’s house.

6 The priests stood at their posts [ready for service], and the Levites also, with the musical instruments of the Lordwhich King David had made to praise the Lord,saying,“For His lovingkindnessandmercy endure forever,” whenever David offered praise through their ministry. The priests were opposite the Levites blowing the trumpets and all Israel was standing.

7 Moreover, Solomon consecrated the middle of the courtyard that was in front of the house of the Lord, for it was there that he offered burnt offerings and the fat of the peace offerings because the bronze altar which he had made was not sufficient to hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat [all together].

The Feast of Dedication

8 At that time Solomon observed the feast for seven days, and all Israel with him, a very large assembly, from the entrance of Hamath to the Brook of Egypt.

9 On the eighth day they held a celebration, for they had observed the dedication of the altar for seven days, and the feast for seven days.

10 And on the twenty-third day of the seventh month Solomon sent the people to their tents, rejoicing and happy in heart because of the goodness that the Lordhad shown to David, to Solomon, and to His people Israel.

God’s Promise and Warning

11 And so Solomon finished the house (temple) of the Lordand the palace of the king. He successfully accomplished all that he had planned to do in the house of the Lordand in his palace.

12 Then the Lordappeared to Solomon by night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice.

13 If I shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or if I command locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilenceandplague among My people,

14 and My people, who are called by My Name, humble themselves, and pray and seek (crave, require as a necessity) My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear [them] from heaven, and forgive their sin and heal their land.

15 Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayerofferedin this place.

16 For now I have chosen and sanctifiedandset apart for My purpose this house that My Name may be here forever, and My eyes and My heart will be here perpetually.

17 As for you [Solomon], if you willwalk before me as your father David walked, and do everything that I have commanded you, and observe My statutes and My ordinances,

18 then I will establish your royal throne just as I covenanted with your father David, saying, ‘You will not fail to have a man as ruler in Israel.’

19 “But if you [people] turn away and abandon My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and you go and serve other gods and worship them,

20 then I will uproot Israel from My land which I have given them; and I will cast this house, which I have consecrated for My Name, out of My sight, and will make it a proverb and an object of scorn among all nations.

21 And as for this house, which was so exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonishedandappalled and say, ‘Why has the Lorddone thus to this land and to this house?’

22 Then people will say, ‘It is because they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and they adopted other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore He has brought all this adversityandevil on them.’ ”

Solomon’s Activities and Accomplishments

1 Now it came about at the end of the twenty years, in which Solomon had built the house of the Lordand his own house (palace),

2 that he builtandfortifiedthe cities which Huram (Hiram) had given to him, and settled the Israelites there.

3 Then Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and captured it.

4 He built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all his storage cities in Hamath.

5 He also built upper Beth-horon and lower Beth-horon, fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars [to lock the gates];

6 and Baalath and all the storage cities that Solomon had, and all the cities for his chariots and the cities for his horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land under his rule.

7 All the people who were left of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of Israel,

8 but weredescendants of those who were left in the land, whom the Israelites had not destroyed—Solomon brought them up as forced laborers to this day.

9 But Solomon did not make slaves of the Israelites for his work; they were men of war, his chief captains, and commanders of his chariots and his horsemen.

10 These were the chief officers of King Solomon, two hundred and fifty [in authority] who ruled over the people.

11 Then Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh up from the City of David into the house (palace) he had built for her, for he said, “My wife shall not live in the house of David king of Israel, because the places where the ark of the Lordhas entered are holy.”

12 Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to the Lordon the altar of the Lordwhich he had built in front of the porch [of the temple],

13 a certain number every day, offering them up as Moses commanded for the Sabbaths, the New Moons, and the three annual feasts—the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles).

14 Now in accordance with the ordinance of his father David, he appointed the divisions of the priests for their service, and the Levites for their duties of praise and ministeringandserving before the priests as every day required, and the gatekeepers by their divisions at every gate; for David the man of God had so commanded.

15 And they did not deviate from the commandment of the king to the priests and Levites in any respect or in regard to the storehousesortreasuries.

16 Thus all the work of Solomon was carried out from the day the foundation of the house of the Lordwas laid until it was finished. So the house of the Lordwas completed.

17 Then Solomon went to Ezion-geber and to Eloth on the shore of the [Red] Sea in the land of Edom.

18 And Huram (Hiram) sent him, by his servants, ships and servants familiar with the sea; and they went with Solomon’s servants to Ophir, and took from there four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and brought them to King Solomon.

Visit of the Queen of Sheba

1 When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with riddles. She was accompanied by a very large number of attendants, with camels bearing spices (balsam oil) and a large amount of gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she talked with him about all that was on her mind.

2 Solomonanswered all her questions; nothing was hidden from him which he did not make clear to her.

3 So when the queen of Sheba saw the [depth of] Solomon’s wisdom, and the house which he had built,

4 and the food of his table, the [vast] seating order of his officials, the attendanceandservice of his ministers and their attire, his cupbearers and their attire, and hisstairway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, she was breathless.

5 She said to the king, “The report which I heard in my own land regarding your [accomplishments and your] words and your wisdom was true,

6 but I did not believe the reports until I came and saw it with my own eyes. Behold, the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not told to me; you have surpassed the report that I heard.

7 Blessedandfortunate are your people, how blessedandfortunate are these servants of yours who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom!

8 Blessed be the Lordyour God, who delighted in you, setting you on His throne as king for the Lordyour God; because your God loved Israel, establishing them forever, therefore He made you king over them, to do justice and righteousness.”

9 Then she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, a very largeamount ofspices (balsam oil) and precious stones; there was no such spice [anywhere] like that which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

10 The servants of Huram and those of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, also brought almug trees and precious stones.

11 From the almug timber the king madestairways for the house of the Lordand for the king’s palace, and lyres and harps for the singers; none like that was seen before in the land of Judah.

12 King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all [the things] she desired, whatever she asked,besidesa return forwhat she had brought to the king. So she returned to her own land with her servants.

Solomon’s Wealth and Power

13 Now the weight of gold which came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents,

14 besides what the traders and merchants brought; and all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon.

15 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold, using six hundredshekels ofbeaten gold on each large shield.

16 Andhe madethree hundred [smaller] shields of beaten gold, using three hundred shekels of gold on each shield; and the king put them in thehouse of the Forest of Lebanon.

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

18 There weresix steps to the throne and a golden footstool attached to the throne, and arms on each side of the seat, with two lions standing beside the arms.

19 Also, twelve lions were standing there, one on each side of the six steps. Nothing like it had ever been made for any [other] kingdom.

20 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 valuable in the days of Solomon.

21 For the king’s ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram; once every three years the ships of Tarshish came bringing gold and silver, ivory and apes and peacocks.

22 So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in wealth and wisdom.

23 And all the kings of the earth were seeking the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom which God had put into his heart.

24 Each man brought his gift, articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses and mules, so much year by year.

25 Now Solomon had 4,000 stalls for horses and chariots, and 12,000 horsemen, and he stationed them in the chariot cities or with the king at Jerusalem.

26 He ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, and as far as the border of Egypt.

27 The king made silver in Jerusalemas commonas stones, and cedar wood as plentiful as thesycamore-fig trees that are in thelowland.

28 And they were importing horses for Solomon from Egypt and from all [the other] countries.

29 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, from the first to the last, are they not written in the records of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat?

30 Solomon reigned forty years in Jerusalem over all Israel.

Death of Solomon

31 And Solomon slept with his fathers [in death]; he was buried in the city of his father David. Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.

Rehoboam’s Reign of Folly

1 Then Rehoboam went to Shechem, because all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.

2 When Jeroboam the son of Nebat heardabout the new king(for he was inEgypt, where he had fled from the presence of King Solomon), Jeroboam returned from Egypt.

3 And the people sentmessengersand summoned him. So when Jeroboam and all Israel came, they spoke to Rehoboam, saying,

4 “Your father [King Solomon] made our yoke hard (heavy, difficult); so now lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.”

5 Rehoboam replied, “Come back to me again in three days.” So the people departed.

6 Then King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had served his father Solomon [as advisers] while he was alive, asking, “What advice do you give me in answer to these people?”

7 They answered him, saying, “If you are kind to these people and please them and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.”

8 But the king rejected the advice which the elders gave him, and consulted with the young men who grew up with him and served him [as advisers].

9 He asked them, “What advice do you give to us regarding the answer to these people, who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke which your father put on us’? ”

10 The young men who grew up with him told him, “Tell the people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter for us’: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’sloins!

11 Now my father loaded you with a heavy yoke, but I will add [more weight] to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but Iwill discipline youwith scorpions (extremely painful scourges).’ ”

12 So on the third day Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam just as the king had directed, saying, “Return to me on the third day.”

13 The king answered them harshly, for King Rehoboam rejected the counsel of the elders.

14 He spoke to them in accordance with the advice of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it; my father disciplined you with whips, but Iwill discipline youwith scorpions.”

15 So the king did not listen to the people, for theturn of events was from God that the Lordmight fulfill His word, which He had spoken through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

16 When all Israel saw that the king did not listenandpay attention to them, the people answered him,

“What portion do we have in David?

We haveno inheritance in the son of Jesse.

Every man to your tents, O Israel;

Now, [Rehoboam, descendant of] David, see to your own house.”

So all Israel went to their tents.

17 But as for the Israelites who lived in Judah’s cities, Rehoboam ruled over them.

18 Then King Rehoboamsent Hadoram, who was over the forced labor, and the Israelites stoned him and he died. And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his [royal] chariot to escape to Jerusalem.

19 And Israel has rebelled against the house of David to this day.