2 Chronicles 1:1-12:1

Solomon Asks for Wisdom 1Solomon son of David established himself firmly over his kingdom, for the LORD his God was with him and made him exceedingly great. 2Then Solomon spoke to all Israel—to the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, to the judges and to all the leaders in Israel, the heads of families— 3and Solomon and the whole assembly went to the high place at Gibeon, for God’s tent of meeting was there, which Moses the LORD ’s servant had made in the wilderness. 4Now 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. 5But the bronze altar that Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made was in Gibeon in front of the tabernacle of the LORD ; so Solomon and the assembly inquired of him there.

6Solomon went up to the bronze altar before the LORD in the tent of meeting and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.

7That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” 8Solomon answered God, “You have shown great kindness to David my father and have made me king in his place. 9Now, LORD God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth.

10Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?” 11God said to Solomon, “Since this is your heart’s desire and you have not asked for wealth, possessions or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king,

12therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, possessions and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have.”

13Then Solomon went to Jerusalem from the high place at Gibeon, from before the tent of meeting. And he reigned over Israel. 14Solomon accumulated chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses, Or charioteers which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. 15The king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills. 16Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue Probably Cilicia —the royal merchants purchased them from Kue at the current price. 17They imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels That is, about 15 pounds or about 6.9 kilograms of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. That is, about 3 3/4 pounds or about 1.7 kilograms They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and of the Arameans.

Preparations for Building the Temple 1In Hebrew texts 2:1 is numbered 1:18, and 2:2-18 is numbered 2:1-17. Solomon gave orders to build a temple for the Name of the LORD and a royal palace for himself.

2He conscripted 70,000 men as carriers and 80,000 as stonecutters in the hills and 3,600 as foremen over them.

3Solomon sent this message to Hiram Hebrew Huram, a variant of Hiram also in verses 11 and 12 king of Tyre: “Send me cedar logs as you did for my father David when you sent him cedar to build a palace to live in.

4Now I am about to build a temple for the Name of the LORD my God and to dedicate it to him for burning fragrant incense before him, for setting out the consecrated bread regularly, and for making burnt offerings every morning and evening and on the Sabbaths, at the New Moons and at the appointed festivals of the LORD our God. This is a lasting ordinance for Israel. 5“The temple I am going to build will be great, because our God is greater than all other gods.

6But who is able to build a temple for him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain him? Who then am I to build a temple for him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before him?

7“Send me, therefore, a man skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, and in purple, crimson and blue yarn, and experienced in the art of engraving, to work in Judah and Jerusalem with my skilled workers, whom my father David provided. 8“Send me also cedar, juniper and algum Probably a variant of almug logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants are skilled in cutting timber there. My servants will work with yours 9to provide me with plenty of lumber, because the temple I build must be large and magnificent.

10I will give your servants, the woodsmen who cut the timber, twenty thousand cors That is, probably about 3,600 tons or about 3,200 metric tons of wheat of ground wheat, twenty thousand cors That is, probably about 3,000 tons or about 2,700 metric tons of barley of barley, twenty thousand baths That is, about 120,000 gallons or about 440,000 liters of wine and twenty thousand baths of olive oil.”

11Hiram king of Tyre replied by letter to Solomon: “Because the LORD loves his people, he has made you their king.”

12And Hiram added: “Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth! He has given King David a wise son, endowed with intelligence and discernment, who will build a temple for the LORD and a palace for himself. 13“I am sending you Huram-Abi, a man of great skill,

14whose mother was from Dan and whose father was from Tyre. He is trained to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, and with purple and blue and crimson yarn and fine linen. He is experienced in all kinds of engraving and can execute any design given to him. He will work with your skilled workers and with those of my lord, David your father. 15“Now let my lord send his servants the wheat and barley and the olive oil and wine he promised,

16and we will cut all the logs from Lebanon that you need and will float them as rafts by sea down to Joppa. You can then take them up to Jerusalem.” 17Solomon took a census of all the foreigners residing in Israel, after the census his father David had taken; and they were found to be 153,600. 18He assigned 70,000 of them to be carriers and 80,000 to be stonecutters in the hills, with 3,600 foremen over them to keep the people working.

Solomon Builds the Temple 1Then Solomon began to build the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David. It was on the threshing floor of Araunah Hebrew Ornan, a variant of Araunah the Jebusite, the place provided by David.

2He began building on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign. 3The foundation Solomon laid for building the temple of God was sixty cubits long and twenty cubits wide That is, about 90 feet long and 30 feet wide or about 27 meters long and 9 meters wide (using the cubit of the old standard).

4The portico at the front of the temple was twenty cubits That is, about 30 feet or about 9 meters; also in verses 8, 11 and 13 long across the width of the building and twenty Some Septuagint and Syriac manuscripts; Hebrew and a hundred and twenty cubits high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold. 5He paneled the main hall with juniper and covered it with fine gold and decorated it with palm tree and chain designs. 6He adorned the temple with precious stones. And the gold he used was gold of Parvaim.

7He overlaid the ceiling beams, doorframes, walls and doors of the temple with gold, and he carved cherubim on the walls. 8He built the Most Holy Place, its length corresponding to the width of the temple—twenty cubits long and twenty cubits wide. He overlaid the inside with six hundred talents That is, about 23 tons or about 21 metric tons of fine gold.

9The gold nails weighed fifty shekels. That is, about 1 1/4 pounds or about 575 grams He also overlaid the upper parts with gold. 10For the Most Holy Place he made a pair of sculptured cherubim and overlaid them with gold. 11The total wingspan of the cherubim was twenty cubits. One wing of the first cherub was five cubits That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters; also in verse 15 long and touched the temple wall, while its other wing, also five cubits long, touched the wing of the other cherub. 12Similarly one wing of the second cherub was five cubits long and touched the other temple wall, and its other wing, also five cubits long, touched the wing of the first cherub.

13The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits. They stood on their feet, facing the main hall. Or facing inward

14He made the curtain of blue, purple and crimson yarn and fine linen, with cherubim worked into it. 15For the front of the temple he made two pillars, which together were thirty-five cubits That is, about 53 feet or about 16 meters long, each with a capital five cubits high. 16He made interwoven chains Or possibly made chains in the inner sanctuary; the meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain. and put them on top of the pillars. He also made a hundred pomegranates and attached them to the chains. 17He erected the pillars in the front of the temple, one to the south and one to the north. The one to the south he named Jakin Jakin probably means he establishes. and the one to the north Boaz. Boaz probably means in him is strength.

The Temple’s Furnishings 1He made a bronze altar twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide and ten cubits high. That is, about 30 feet long and wide and 15 feet high or about 9 meters long and wide and 4.5 meters high 2He made the Sea of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters high. It took a line of thirty cubits That is, about 45 feet or about 14 meters to measure around it.

3Below the rim, figures of bulls encircled it—ten to a cubit. That is, about 18 inches or about 45 centimeters The bulls were cast in two rows in one piece with the Sea. 4The Sea stood on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east. The Sea rested on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center.

5It was a handbreadth That is, about 3 inches or about 7.5 centimeters in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held three thousand baths. That is, about 18,000 gallons or about 66,000 liters

6He then made ten basins for washing and placed five on the south side and five on the north. In them the things to be used for the burnt offerings were rinsed, but the Sea was to be used by the priests for washing.

7He made ten gold lampstands according to the specifications for them and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north.

8He made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. He also made a hundred gold sprinkling bowls. 9He made the courtyard of the priests, and the large court and the doors for the court, and overlaid the doors with bronze.

10He placed the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner.

11And Huram also made the pots and shovels and sprinkling bowls. So Huram finished the work he had undertaken for King Solomon in the temple of God:

12the two pillars; the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars; the two sets of network decorating the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars;

13the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network, decorating the bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars);

14the stands with their basins;

15the Sea and the twelve bulls under it;

16the pots, shovels, meat forks and all related articles. All the objects that Huram-Abi made for King Solomon for the temple of the LORD were of polished bronze. 17The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Sukkoth and Zarethan. Hebrew Zeredatha, a variant of Zarethan

18All these things that Solomon made amounted to so much that the weight of the bronze could not be calculated.

19Solomon also made all the furnishings that were in God’s temple: the golden altar; the tables on which was the bread of the Presence;

20the lampstands of pure gold with their lamps, to burn in front of the inner sanctuary as prescribed;

21the gold floral work and lamps and tongs (they were solid gold); 22the pure gold wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes and censers; and the gold doors of the temple: the inner doors to the Most Holy Place and the doors of the main hall.

1When all the work Solomon had done for the temple of the LORD was finished, he brought in the things his father David had dedicated—the silver and gold and all the furnishings—and he placed them in the treasuries of God’s temple.

The Ark Brought to the Temple 2Then Solomon summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the LORD ’s covenant from Zion, the City of David.

3And all the Israelites came together to the king at the time of the festival in the seventh month. 4When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the Levites took up the ark, 5and they brought up the ark and the tent of meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it. The Levitical priests carried them up;

6and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted. 7The priests then brought the ark of the LORD ’s covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. 8The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and covered the ark and its carrying poles. 9These poles were so long that their ends, extending from the ark, could be seen from in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today.

10There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt. 11The priests then withdrew from the Holy Place. All the priests who were there had consecrated themselves, regardless of their divisions. 12All the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives—stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets.

13The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the LORD . Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the LORD and sang: “He is good; his love endures forever.” Then the temple of the LORD was filled with the cloud, 14and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the temple of God.

1Then Solomon said, “The LORD has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud;

2I have built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever.” 3While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around and blessed them.

4Then he said: “Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, who with his hands has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to my father David. For he said, 5‘Since the day I brought my people out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built so that my Name might be there, nor have I chosen anyone to be ruler over my people Israel.

6But now I have chosen Jerusalem for my Name to be there, and I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.’ 7“My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. 8But the LORD said to my father David, ‘You did well to have it in your heart to build a temple for my Name.

9Nevertheless, you are not the one to build the temple, but your son, your own flesh and blood—he is the one who will build the temple for my Name.’ 10“The LORD has kept the promise he made. I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel.

11There I have placed the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD that he made with the people of Israel.”

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication 12Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands. 13Now he had made a bronze platform, five cubits long, five cubits wide and three cubits high, That is, about 7 1/2 feet long and wide and 4 1/2 feet high or about 2.3 meters long and wide and 1.4 meters high and had placed it in the center of the outer court. He stood on the platform and then knelt down before the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven.

14He said: “ LORD, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven or on earth—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way.

15You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it—as it is today. 16“Now, LORD, the God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants are careful in all they do to walk before me according to my law, as you have done.’

17And now, LORD, the God of Israel, let your word that you promised your servant David come true. 18“But will God really dwell on earth with humans? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! 19Yet, LORD my God, give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence. 20May your eyes be open toward this temple day and night, this place of which you said you would put your Name there. May you hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place.

21Hear the supplications of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place; and when you hear, forgive. 22“When anyone wrongs their neighbor and is required to take an oath and they come and swear the oath before your altar in this temple,

23then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, condemning the guilty and bringing down on their heads what they have done, and vindicating the innocent by treating them in accordance with their innocence. 24“When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you and when they turn back and give praise to your name, praying and making supplication before you in this temple,

25then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to them and their ancestors. 26“When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and when they pray toward this place and give praise to your name and turn from their sin because you have afflicted them,

27then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land you gave your people for an inheritance. 28“When famine or plague comes to the land, or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when enemies besiege them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come, 29and when a prayer or plea is made by anyone among your people Israel—being aware of their afflictions and pains, and spreading out their hands toward this temple— 30then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive, and deal with everyone according to all they do, since you know their hearts (for you alone know the human heart),

31so that they will fear you and walk in obedience to you all the time they live in the land you gave our ancestors. 32“As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm—when they come and pray toward this temple,

33then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name. 34“When your people go to war against their enemies, wherever you send them, and when they pray to you toward this city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name,

35then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause. 36“When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to a land far away or near; 37and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong and acted wickedly’; 38and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their captivity where they were taken, and pray toward the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you have chosen and toward the temple I have built for your Name;

39then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their pleas, and uphold their cause. And forgive your people, who have sinned against you.

40“Now, my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.

41“Now arise, LORD God, and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. May your priests, LORD God, be clothed with salvation, may your faithful people rejoice in your goodness. 42LORD God, do not reject your anointed one. Remember the great love promised to David your servant.”

The Dedication of the Temple 1When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. 2The priests could not enter the temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it.

3When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, “He is good; his love endures forever.” 4Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the LORD . 5And King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand head of cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the people dedicated the temple of God.

6The priests took their positions, as did the Levites with the LORD ’s musical instruments, which King David had made for praising the LORD and which were used when he gave thanks, saying, “His love endures forever.” Opposite the Levites, the priests blew their trumpets, and all the Israelites were standing.

7Solomon consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the LORD, and there he offered burnt offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar he had made could not hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat portions. 8So Solomon observed the festival at that time for seven days, and all Israel with him—a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath to the Wadi of Egypt. 9On the eighth day they held an assembly, for they had celebrated the dedication of the altar for seven days and the festival for seven days more.

10On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people to their homes, joyful and glad in heart for the good things the LORD had done for David and Solomon and for his people Israel.

The LORD Appears to Solomon 11When Solomon had finished the temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the LORD and in his own palace,

12the LORD appeared to him at night and said: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices. 13“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.

16I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there. 17“As for you, if you walk before me faithfully as David your father did, and do all I command, and observe my decrees and laws,

18I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor to rule over Israel.’ 19“But if you The Hebrew is plural. turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you The Hebrew is plural. and go off to serve other gods and worship them, 20then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. 21This temple will become a heap of rubble. All See some Septuagint manuscripts, Old Latin, Syriac, Arabic and Targum; Hebrew And though this temple is now so imposing, all who pass by will be appalled and say, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ 22People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the LORD, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’ ”

Solomon’s Other Activities 1At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built the temple of the LORD and his own palace, 2Solomon rebuilt the villages that Hiram Hebrew Huram, a variant of Hiram; also in verse 18 had given him, and settled Israelites in them. 3Solomon then went to Hamath Zobah and captured it. 4He also built up Tadmor in the desert and all the store cities he had built in Hamath. 5He rebuilt Upper Beth Horon and Lower Beth Horon as fortified cities, with walls and with gates and bars,

6as well as Baalath and all his store cities, and all the cities for his chariots and for his horses Or charioteers —whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled. 7There were still people left from the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites (these people were not Israelites). 8Solomon conscripted the descendants of all these people remaining in the land—whom the Israelites had not destroyed—to serve as slave labor, as it is to this day. 9But Solomon did not make slaves of the Israelites for his work; they were his fighting men, commanders of his captains, and commanders of his chariots and charioteers.

10They were also King Solomon’s chief officials—two hundred and fifty officials supervising the men.

11Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter up from the City of David to the palace he had built for her, for he said, “My wife must not live in the palace of David king of Israel, because the places the ark of the LORD has entered are holy.” 12On the altar of the LORD that he had built in front of the portico, Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings to the LORD, 13according to the daily requirement for offerings commanded by Moses for the Sabbaths, the New Moons and the three annual festivals—the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks and the Festival of Tabernacles. 14In keeping with the ordinance of his father David, he appointed the divisions of the priests for their duties, and the Levites to lead the praise and to assist the priests according to each day’s requirement. He also appointed the gatekeepers by divisions for the various gates, because this was what David the man of God had ordered.

15They did not deviate from the king’s commands to the priests or to the Levites in any matter, including that of the treasuries.

16All Solomon’s work was carried out, from the day the foundation of the temple of the LORD was laid until its completion. So the temple of the LORD was finished. 17Then Solomon went to Ezion Geber and Elath on the coast of Edom. 18And Hiram sent him ships commanded by his own men, sailors who knew the sea. These, with Solomon’s men, sailed to Ophir and brought back four hundred and fifty talents That is, about 17 tons or about 15 metric tons of gold, which they delivered to King Solomon.

The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon 1When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. Arriving with a very great caravan—with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with him about all she had on her mind. 2Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for him to explain to her. 3When the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon, as well as the palace he had built,

4the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, the cupbearers in their robes and the burnt offerings he made at Or and the ascent by which he went up to the temple of the LORD, she was overwhelmed. 5She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. 6But I did not believe what they said until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half the greatness of your wisdom was told me; you have far exceeded the report I heard. 7How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!

8Praise be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on his throne as king to rule for the LORD your God. Because of the love of your God for Israel and his desire to uphold them forever, he has made you king over them, to maintain justice and righteousness.”

9Then she gave the king 120 talents That is, about 4 1/2 tons or about 4 metric tons of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. There had never been such spices as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. 10(The servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon brought gold from Ophir; they also brought algumwood Probably a variant of almugwood and precious stones.

11The king used the algumwood to make steps for the temple of the LORD and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. Nothing like them had ever been seen in Judah.)

12King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for; he gave her more than she had brought to him. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.

Solomon’s Splendor 13The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents, That is, about 25 tons or about 23 metric tons

14not including the revenues brought in by merchants and traders. Also all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the territories brought gold and silver to Solomon. 15King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels That is, about 15 pounds or about 6.9 kilograms of hammered gold went into each shield.

16He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three hundred shekels That is, about 7 1/2 pounds or about 3.5 kilograms of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. 17Then the king made a great throne covered with ivory and overlaid with pure gold. 18The throne had six steps, and a footstool of gold was attached to it. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. 19Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom. 20All King Solomon’s goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s day.

21The king had a fleet of trading ships Hebrew of ships that could go to Tarshish manned by Hiram’s Hebrew Huram, a variant of Hiram servants. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons. 22King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth. 23All the kings of the earth sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart.

24Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift—articles of silver and gold, and robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules. 25Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horses, Or charioteers which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. 26He ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. 27The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills.

28Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from all other countries.

Solomon’s Death 29As for the other events of Solomon’s reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the records of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat? 30Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. 31Then he rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son succeeded him as king.

Israel Rebels Against Rehoboam 1Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone there to make him king. 2When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned from Egypt. 3So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and all Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him:

4“Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”

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

6Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. “How would you advise me to answer these people?” he asked.

7They replied, “If you will be kind to these people and please them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants.” 8But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him.

9He asked them, “What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?” 10The young men who had grown up with him replied, “The people have said to you, ‘Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter.’ Now tell them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist.

11My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.’ ” 12Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, “Come back to me in three days.” 13The king answered them harshly. Rejecting the advice of the elders, 14he followed the advice of the young men and said, “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.”

15So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from God, to fulfill the word the LORD had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.

16When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king: “What share do we have in David, what part in Jesse’s son? To your tents, Israel! Look after your own house, David!” So all the Israelites went home.

17But as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah, Rehoboam still ruled over them. 18King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram, Hebrew Hadoram, a variant of Adoniram who was in charge of forced labor, but the Israelites stoned him to death. King Rehoboam, however, managed to get into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. 19So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

1When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered Judah and Benjamin—a hundred and eighty thousand able young men—to go to war against Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam. 2But this word of the LORD came to Shemaiah the man of God: 3“Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin,

4‘This is what the LORD says: Do not go up to fight against your fellow Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.’ ” So they obeyed the words of the LORD and turned back from marching against Jeroboam.

Rehoboam Fortifies Judah 5Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and built up towns for defense in Judah: 6Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, 7Beth Zur, Soko, Adullam, 8Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, 9Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, 10Zorah, Aijalon and Hebron. These were fortified cities in Judah and Benjamin. 11He strengthened their defenses and put commanders in them, with supplies of food, olive oil and wine.

12He put shields and spears in all the cities, and made them very strong. So Judah and Benjamin were his. 13The priests and Levites from all their districts throughout Israel sided with him. 14The Levites even abandoned their pasturelands and property and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them as priests of the LORD 15when he appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat and calf idols he had made. 16Those from every tribe of Israel who set their hearts on seeking the LORD, the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to the LORD, the God of their ancestors.

17They strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam son of Solomon three years, following the ways of David and Solomon during this time.

Rehoboam’s Family 18Rehoboam married Mahalath, who was the daughter of David’s son Jerimoth and of Abihail, the daughter of Jesse’s son Eliab. 19She bore him sons: Jeush, Shemariah and Zaham. 20Then he married Maakah daughter of Absalom, who bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza and Shelomith.

21Rehoboam loved Maakah daughter of Absalom more than any of his other wives and concubines. In all, he had eighteen wives and sixty concubines, twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters. 22Rehoboam appointed Abijah son of Maakah as crown prince among his brothers, in order to make him king. 23He acted wisely, dispersing some of his sons throughout the districts of Judah and Benjamin, and to all the fortified cities. He gave them abundant provisions and took many wives for them.

Shishak Attacks Jerusalem 1After Rehoboam’s position as king was established and he had become strong, he and all Israel That is, Judah, as frequently in 2 Chronicles with him abandoned the law of the LORD .