1 Kings 5 - 9 — Legacy Standard Bible

Covenant with Hiram King of Tyre

5¹^,^aThen Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for ^bHiram had ²always been one who loved David. ²And ^aSolomon sent word to Hiram, saying, ³“You know that ^aDavid my father was unable to build a house for the name of Yahweh his God because of the wars which surrounded him, until Yahweh put them under the soles of his feet. ⁴“But now ^aYahweh my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor ¹calamity. ⁵“So behold, ^aI ¹intend to build a house for the name of Yahweh my God, as Yahweh spoke to David my father, saying, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, he will build the house for My name.’ ⁶“So now, command that they cut for me ^acedars from Lebanon, and my servants will be with your servants; and I will give you wages for your servants according to all that you say, for you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”

⁷Now it happened, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he was very glad and said, “Blessed be Yahweh today, who has given to David a wise son over this great people.” ⁸So Hiram sent word to Solomon, saying, “I have heard the message which you have sent me; I will do ¹what you desire concerning the cedar and cypress timber. ⁹“My servants will bring them down from Lebanon to the sea; and I will make them into rafts to go by sea ^ato the place where you ¹direct me, and I will have them broken up there, and you shall carry them away. Then ^byou shall accomplish my desire by giving food to my household.” ¹⁰So ¹Hiram ²gave Solomon ³as much as he desired of the cedar and cypress timber. ¹¹^aSolomon then gave Hiram ¹20,000 kors of wheat as food for his household, and ²20 kors of beaten oil; thus Solomon would give Hiram year by year. ¹²^aNow Yahweh gave wisdom to Solomon, just as He ¹promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them cut a covenant.

¹³And ^aKing Solomon raised up forced laborers from all Israel; and the forced laborers ¹numbered 30,000 men. ¹⁴And he sent them to Lebanon, 10,000 a month in ¹shifts; they were in Lebanon a month and two months at home. And ^aAdoniram was over the forced laborers. ¹⁵And ^aSolomon had 70,000 ¹who carried loads, and 80,000 hewers of stone in the mountains, ¹⁶^abesides Solomon’s 3,300 chief deputies who were over the ¹project and who ²ruled over the people who were doing the work. ¹⁷Then ^athe king commanded, and they quarried great stones, precious stones, to lay the foundation of the house with cut stones. ¹⁸So Solomon’s builders and ¹Hiram’s builders and ^athe Gebalites ²carved them out, and prepared the timbers and the stones to build the house.

The House Solomon Built for Yahweh

6^aNow it happened in the four hundred and eightieth year after the sons of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv which is the second month, that he ¹began to build the house of Yahweh. ²As for the house which King Solomon built for Yahweh, its length was ¹sixty cubits and its width twenty cubits and its height thirty cubits. ³And the porch in front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits ¹in length, ²corresponding to the width of the house, and its ³depth along the front of the house was ten cubits. ⁴Also for the house ^ahe made windows with artistic frames. ⁵^aAnd he built, against the wall of the house, stories encompassing the walls of the house around both the nave and the ^binner sanctuary; thus he made ^cside chambers all around. ⁶The lowest story was five cubits wide, and the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for on the outside he ¹made offsets in the wall of the house all around in order that the beams would not ²be inserted in the walls of the house.

⁷^aThe house, while it was being built, was built of stone ¹prepared at the quarry, and there was neither hammer nor axe nor any iron tool heard in the house while it was being built.

⁸The doorway for the ¹lowest side chamber was on the right side of the house; and they would go up by winding stairs to the middle story, and from the middle to the third. ⁹So ^ahe built the house and completed it; and he paneled the house with beams and ¹planks of cedar. ¹⁰He also built the stories against the whole house, each five ¹cubits high; and they ²were fastened to the house with timbers of cedar.

¹¹And the word of Yahweh came to Solomon saying, ¹²“Concerning this house which you are building, ^aif you will walk in My statutes and do My judgments and keep all My commandments by walking in them, then I will establish My word with you which I spoke to David your father. ¹³“^aAnd I will dwell among the sons of Israel, and ^bwill not forsake My people Israel.”

¹⁴^aSo Solomon built the house and completed it. ¹⁵Then he ^abuilt the walls of the house on the inside with boards of cedar; from the floor of the house to the ¹ceiling he overlaid the walls on the inside with wood, and he overlaid the floor of the house with boards of cypress. ¹⁶^aAnd he built twenty cubits on the rear part of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the ¹ceiling; he built them for it on the inside as an inner sanctuary, as ^bthe Holy of Holies. ¹⁷And the house, that is, the nave in front of the inner sanctuary, was ¹forty cubits long. ¹⁸And there was cedar on the house within, carved in the shape of ^agourds and open flowers; all was cedar, there was no stone seen. ¹⁹Then he prepared an inner sanctuary within the house in order to place there the ark of the covenant of Yahweh. ²⁰Now ¹the inner sanctuary was twenty cubits in length, twenty cubits in width, and twenty cubits in height, and he overlaid it with pure gold. He also overlaid the altar with cedar. ²¹So Solomon overlaid the inside of the house with pure gold. And he drew chains of gold across the front of the inner sanctuary, and he overlaid it with gold. ²²So he overlaid the whole house with gold, until all the house was finished. Also ^athe whole altar which was by the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold.

²³^aAlso in the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high. ²⁴And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub and five cubits the other wing of the cherub; from the end of one wing to the end of the other wing were ten cubits. ²⁵The other cherub was also ten cubits; both the cherubim were of the same measure and the same form. ²⁶The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was the other cherub. ²⁷And he put the cherubim in the midst of the inner house, and ^athe wings of the cherubim were spread out, so that the wing of the one was touching the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub was touching the other wall. And their wings were touching each other in the center of the house. ²⁸He also overlaid the cherubim with gold.

²⁹Then he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved engravings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, from within the inner and outer sanctuaries. ³⁰And he overlaid the floor of the house with gold, in the inner and outer sanctuaries.

³¹For the entrance of the inner sanctuary he made doors of olive wood, the lintel, and five-sided doorposts. ³²So he made two doors of olive wood, and he carved on them carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold; and he spread the gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees.

³³So also he made for the entrance of the nave four-sided doorposts of olive wood ³⁴and ^atwo doors of cypress wood; the two leaves of the one door turned on pivots, and the two ¹leaves of the other door turned on pivots. ³⁵And he carved on it cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers; and he overlaid them with gold evenly applied on the engraved work. ³⁶^aAnd he built the inner court with three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams.

³⁷^aIn the fourth year the foundation of the house of Yahweh was laid, in the month of Ziv. ³⁸Now in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was completed throughout all its parts and according to all its ¹plans. So he built it in seven years.

Solomon Builds His Own House

7Now ^aSolomon built his own house thirteen years, and he completed all his house. ²^aAnd he built the house of the forest of Lebanon; its length was ¹100 cubits and its width 50 cubits and its height 30 cubits, on four rows of cedar pillars with cedar beams on the pillars. ³And it was paneled with cedar above the side chambers which were on the 45 pillars, 15 in each row. ⁴Now there were artistic window frames in three rows, and window was opposite window in three ranks. ⁵And all the doorways and doorposts had squared artistic frames, and window was opposite window in three ranks.

⁶Then he made ^athe hall of pillars; its length was 50 cubits and its width 30 cubits, and a porch was in front of them and pillars and a ^bthreshold in front of them.

⁷And he made the hall of the ^athrone where he was to judge, the hall of judgment, and ^bit was paneled with cedar from floor to floor.

⁸Now his house where he was to live, the other court inward from the hall, was of the same workmanship. ^aHe also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, ^bwhom Solomon had married.

⁹All these were of precious stones, of stone cut according to measure, sawed with saws, inside and outside; even from the foundation to the coping, and so on the outside to the great court.

¹⁰And the foundation was of precious stones, even large stones, stones of ten cubits and stones of eight cubits. ¹¹And above were precious stones, stone cut according to measure, and cedar. ¹²So ^athe great court all around had three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams even as the inner court of the house of Yahweh, and ^bthe porch of the house.

Hiram’s Work in the House of Yahweh

¹³Then ^aKing Solomon sent and brought Hiram from Tyre. ¹⁴^aHe was a widow’s son from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze; and ^bhe was filled with wisdom and discernment and knowledge to do any work in bronze. So he came to King Solomon and ^cdid all his work.

¹⁵And he fashioned ^athe two pillars of bronze; ^beighteen cubits was the height of one pillar, and a line of twelve cubits ¹measured the circumference of both. ¹⁶He also made two capitals of molten bronze to set on the tops of the pillars; the height of the one capital was five ¹cubits and the height of the other capital was five cubits. ¹⁷There were nets of network and twisted threads of chainwork for the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; seven for the one capital and seven for the other capital. ¹⁸So he made the pillars, and two rows around on the one network to cover the capitals which were on the top of the pomegranates; and so he did for the other capital. ¹⁹Now the capitals which were on the top of the pillars in the porch were of lily design, four cubits. ²⁰And there were capitals on the two pillars, even right above the ¹rounded projection which was on the one side of the network; and ^athe pomegranates numbered two hundred in rows around ²both capitals. ²¹^aThus he set up the pillars at the ^bporch of the nave; and he set up the right pillar and named it ¹Jachin, and he set up the left pillar and named it ²Boaz. ²²And on the top of the pillars was lily design. So the work of the pillars was finished.

²³^aAnd he made the sea of ^bcast metal ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in form, and its height was five cubits, and ¹thirty cubits in its circumference. ²⁴Now under its brim ^agourds went around encircling it ten to a cubit, ^bentirely encircling the sea; the gourds were in two rows, cast with the Sea when it was cast. ²⁵^aIt stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east; and the sea was set on top of them, and all their rear parts turned inward. ²⁶And it was a ¹handbreadth thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, as a lily blossom; it could hold ²two thousand baths.

²⁷Then ^ahe made the ten stands of bronze; the length of each stand was four cubits and its width four cubits and its height three cubits. ²⁸Now this was the workmanship of the stands: they had borders, even borders between the ¹frames, ²⁹and on the borders which were between the ¹frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim; and on the ²frames there was a pedestal above, and beneath the lions and oxen were wreaths of hanging work. ³⁰Now each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles, and its four feet had supports; beneath the laver were cast supports with wreaths at each side. ³¹And its opening inside the capital at the top was a cubit, and its opening was round like the workmanship of a pedestal, a cubit and a half; and also on its opening there were engravings, and their borders were square, not round. ³²And the four wheels were underneath the borders, and the axles of the wheels were on the stand. And the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half. ³³Now the workmanship of the wheels was like the workmanship of a chariot wheel. Their axles, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all cast. ³⁴Now there were four supports at the four corners of each stand; its supports were part of the stand itself. ³⁵And on the top of the stand there was a circular form half a ¹cubit high, and on the top of the stand its ²stays and its borders were part of it. ³⁶And he engraved on the plates of its stays and on its borders, cherubim, lions, and palm trees, according to the clear space on each, with wreaths all around. ³⁷^aHe made the ten stands like this: all of them had one casting, one measure and one form.

³⁸^aHe also made ten lavers of bronze, one laver held forty baths; each laver was four cubits, and on each of the ten stands was one laver. ³⁹Then he set the stands, five on the right side of the house and five on the left side of the house; and he set the sea of cast metal on the right side of the house eastward toward the south.

⁴⁰And Hiram made the lavers and the shovels and the bowls. So Hiram completed doing all the work that he did for King Solomon in the house of Yahweh: ⁴¹the two pillars and the two bowls of the capitals which were on the top of the ^atwo pillars, and the two networks to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the top of the pillars, ⁴²and the ^afour hundred pomegranates for the two networks, two rows of pomegranates for each network to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the tops of the pillars; ⁴³and the ten stands with the ten lavers on the stands; ⁴⁴and ^athe one sea and the twelve oxen under the sea; ⁴⁵and ^athe pots and the shovels and the bowls; and all these utensils which Hiram made for King Solomon in the house of Yahweh were of polished bronze. ⁴⁶^aOn the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between ^bSuccoth and ^cZarethan. ⁴⁷And Solomon left all the utensils unweighed, because they were too many; ^athe weight of the bronze could not be found out.

⁴⁸Solomon also made all the furniture which was in the house of Yahweh: ^athe golden altar and the golden table on which was the ^bbread of the Presence; ⁴⁹and the lampstands, five on the right side and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary, of pure gold; and ^athe flowers and the lamps and the tongs, of gold; ⁵⁰and the cups and the snuffers and the bowls and the spoons and the ^afirepans, of pure gold; and the hinges both for the doors of the inner house, the Holy of Holies, and for the doors of the house, that is, of the nave, of gold.

⁵¹^aThus all the work that King Solomon did in the house of Yahweh was finished. And ^bSolomon brought in the things set apart as holy by his father David, the silver and the gold and the utensils, and he put them in the treasuries of the house of Yahweh.

The Ark Brought into the House of Yahweh

8^aThen Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all ^bthe heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ households of the sons of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, ^cto bring up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh from ^dthe city of David, which is Zion. ²And all the men of Israel assembled themselves to King Solomon at ^athe feast, in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. ³Then all the elders of Israel came, and ^athe priests carried the ark. ⁴And they brought up the ark of Yahweh and ^athe tent of meeting and all the holy utensils, which were in the tent, and the priests and the Levites brought them up. ⁵And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who congregated to him being ^awith him before the ark, were sacrificing ¹so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. ⁶Then ^athe priests brought the ark of the covenant of Yahweh ^bto its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the Holy of Holies, ^cunder the wings of the cherubim. ⁷For 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. ⁸But ^athe poles were so long that the ends of the poles could be seen from the holy place before the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen outside; and they are there to this day. ⁹^aThere was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses laid there at Horeb, where ^bYahweh cut a covenant with the sons of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. ¹⁰Now it happened that when the priests came out of the holy place, ^athe cloud filled the house of Yahweh, ¹¹so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of Yahweh filled the house of Yahweh.

Solomon Blesses the People

¹²^aThen Solomon said, “Yahweh has said that ^bHe would dwell in the cloud of dense gloom.

¹³“^aI have surely built You a lofty house,^bA place for Your dwelling forever.”

¹⁴Then the king turned his face around and ^ablessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing. ¹⁵And he said, “^aBlessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, ^bwho spoke with His mouth to my father David and has fulfilled it by His hand, saying, ¹⁶‘^aSince the day that I brought My people Israel from Egypt, I did not choose a city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house that ^bMy name might be there, but ^cI have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’ ¹⁷“^aAnd it was ¹in the heart of my father David to build a house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. ¹⁸“But Yahweh said to my father David, ‘Because it was ¹in your heart to build a house for My name, you did well that it was ²in your heart. ¹⁹‘^aNevertheless you shall not build the house, but your son who will ^bcome forth from your loins, he shall build the house for My name.’ ²⁰“And Yahweh has established His word which He spoke; and ^aI have been established in place of my father David and sit on the throne of Israel, as Yahweh ¹promised, and have built the house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. ²¹“And there I have set a place for the ark, ^ain which is the covenant of Yahweh, which He cut with our fathers when He brought them from the land of Egypt.”

Solomon’s Prayer for Israel

²²Then ^aSolomon stood before the altar of Yahweh before all the assembly of Israel and ^bspread out his hands toward heaven. ²³And he said, “O Yahweh, the God of Israel, ^athere is no god like You in heaven above or upon earth beneath, ^bkeeping covenant and lovingkindness to Your slaves who walk before You with all their heart, ²⁴who have kept with Your ¹servant, my father David, that which You have ²promised him; indeed, You have ³promised with Your mouth and have fulfilled it by Your hand as it is this day. ²⁵“So now, O Yahweh, the God of Israel, keep with Your ¹servant David my father that which You have ²promised him, saying, ‘^aYou shall not have a man cut off from before Me who is to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your sons keep their way to walk as you have walked before Me.’ ²⁶“So now, O God of Israel, let Your word truly ¹endure ^awhich You have spoken to Your ²servant, my father David.

²⁷“But will God truly dwell on the earth? Behold, ^aheaven and the ¹highest heaven cannot ²contain You; how much less this house which I have built! ²⁸“Yet have regard to the ^aprayer of Your slave and to his supplication, O Yahweh my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which Your slave prays before You today; ²⁹^athat Your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, toward ^bthe place of which You have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ to listen to the prayer which Your slave shall pray toward this place. ³⁰“^aAnd listen to the supplication of Your slave and of Your people Israel, ^bwhen they pray toward this place; listen in heaven Your dwelling place; listen and ^cforgive.

³¹“^aIf a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take an oath, and he comes and takes an oath before Your altar in this house, ³²then listen in heaven and act and judge Your slaves, ^acondemning the wicked by ¹bringing his way on his own head and justifying the righteous by ²bringing him reward according to his righteousness.

³³“^aWhen Your people Israel are ¹defeated before an enemy, because they have sinned against You, ^bif they turn to You again and confess Your name and pray and make supplication to You in this house, ³⁴then listen in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave to their fathers.

³⁵“^aWhen the heavens are shut up and there is no rain, because they have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name and turn from their sin when You afflict them, ³⁶then listen in heaven and forgive the sin of Your slaves and of Your people Israel; ^aindeed, teach them the good way in which they should walk. And ^bgive rain on Your land, which You have given to Your people for an inheritance.

³⁷“^aIf there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence, if there is scorching wind or mildew, locust or grasshopper, if their enemy besieges them in the land of their ¹cities, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, ³⁸whatever prayer or supplication is made by any man or by all Your people Israel, each of whom knows the ¹affliction of his own heart, and spreads his ²hands toward this house; ³⁹then listen in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive and act and give to each according to all his ways, ^awhose heart You know, for ^bYou alone know the hearts of all the sons of men, ⁴⁰that they may ¹fear You all the days that they live upon the face of the land which You have given to our fathers.

⁴¹“Also concerning the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel, if he comes from a far country for Your name’s sake ⁴²(for they will hear of Your great name ^aand Your strong hand, and of Your outstretched arm); so if he comes and prays toward this house, ⁴³listen in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, in order ^athat all the peoples of the earth may know Your name to ¹fear You, as do Your people Israel, and to know that Your name is called upon this house which I have built.

⁴⁴“When Your people go out to battle against ¹their enemy, by whatever way You shall send them, and ^athey pray to Yahweh ²toward the city which You have chosen and the house which I have built for Your name, ⁴⁵then listen in heaven to their prayer and their supplication, and do justice.

⁴⁶“When they sin against You (for ^athere is no man who does not sin) and You are angry with them and give them over to an enemy, so that ¹they take them away captive ^bto the land of the enemy, far off or near; ⁴⁷^aand if they cause these things to return to their heart in the land where they have been taken captive, and ¹return and make supplication to You in the land of those who have taken them captive, saying, ‘^bWe have sinned and have committed iniquity, we have acted wickedly’; ⁴⁸^aand if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who have taken them captive, and ^bpray to You toward their land which You have given to their fathers, the city which You have chosen, and the house which I have built for Your name; ⁴⁹then listen in heaven Your dwelling place to their prayer and their supplication, and do justice for them, ⁵⁰and forgive Your people who have sinned against You and all their transgressions which they have transgressed against You, and ^agive them over as objects of compassion before those who have taken them captive, that they may have compassion on them ⁵¹(^afor they are Your people and Your inheritance which You have brought forth from Egypt, ^bfrom the midst of the iron furnace), ⁵²^athat Your eyes may be open to the supplication of Your slave and to the supplication of Your people Israel, to listen to them whenever they call to You. ⁵³“For You have separated them from all the peoples of the earth as Your inheritance, ^aas You spoke by the hand of Moses Your ¹servant, when You brought our fathers forth from Egypt, O Lord Yahweh.”

Solomon Blesses Yahweh

⁵⁴^aNow it happened that when Solomon had ¹finished praying this entire prayer and supplication to Yahweh, ^bhe arose from before the altar of Yahweh, from kneeling on his knees with his ²hands spread toward heaven. ⁵⁵And he stood and ^ablessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying:

⁵⁶“Blessed be Yahweh, who has given rest to His people Israel, ^aaccording to all that He ¹promised; ^bnot one promise has ²failed of all His good ³promises, which He ⁴promised by the hand of Moses His ⁵servant. ⁵⁷“May Yahweh our God be with us, as He was with our fathers; ^amay He not forsake us or abandon us, ⁵⁸that ^aHe may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers. ⁵⁹“And may these words of mine, with which I have made supplication before Yahweh, be near to Yahweh our God day and night, that He may do justice for His slave and justice for His people Israel, ¹as each day requires, ⁶⁰so ^athat all the peoples of the earth may know that ^bYahweh is God; there is no one else. ⁶¹“^aLet your heart therefore be ¹wholly devoted to Yahweh our God, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments, as at this day.”

The Offering for the House of Yahweh

⁶²^aNow the king and all Israel with him were ^boffering sacrifices before Yahweh. ⁶³And Solomon offered for the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered to Yahweh, 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. ^aSo the king and all the sons of Israel dedicated the house of Yahweh. ⁶⁴On the same day the king set apart as holy the middle of the court that was before the house of Yahweh, because there he ¹offered the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat of the peace offerings; for ^athe bronze altar that was before Yahweh was too small to hold the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat of the peace offerings.

⁶⁵So ^aSolomon celebrated the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly ^bfrom ¹Lebo-hamath ^cto the brook of Egypt, before Yahweh our God, for seven days and seven more days, even fourteen days. ⁶⁶On the eighth day he sent the people away and they blessed the king. Then they went to their tents with gladness and goodness of heart because of all the goodness that Yahweh had shown to David His ¹servant and to Israel His people.

Yahweh Appears to Solomon

9^aNow it happened when Solomon had completed building the house of Yahweh, and ^bthe king’s house, and ^call ¹that Solomon desired to do, ²that ^aYahweh appeared to Solomon a second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. ³And Yahweh said to him, “^aI have heard your prayer and your supplication, which you have made before Me; I have set apart as holy this house which you have built ^bby putting My name there forever, and ^cMy eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. ⁴“As for you, ^aif you will walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you and will keep My statutes and My judgments, ⁵then ^aI will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, just as I ¹promised to your father David, saying, ‘You shall not have a man cut off from the throne of Israel.’

⁶“^aBut if you or your sons indeed turn away from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have given before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, ⁷^athen I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them, and ^bthe house which I have set apart as holy for My name, I will ¹cast out of My presence. So ^cIsrael will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples. ⁸“And this house will become ¹^,^aa heap of ruins; everyone who passes by will feel desolate and hiss and say, ‘^bWhy has Yahweh done thus to this land and to this house?’ ⁹“And they will say, ‘^aBecause they forsook Yahweh their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and took hold of other gods and worshiped them and served them, therefore Yahweh has brought all this calamity on them.’”

Cities Given to Hiram

¹⁰^aNow it happened that ^bat the end of twenty years in which Solomon had built the two houses, the house of Yahweh and the king’s house ¹¹(Hiram king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and cypress timber and gold according to all his desire), that King Solomon then gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. ¹²So Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him, and they were not right in his eyes. ¹³And he said, “What are these cities which you have given me, my brother?” So ¹they were called the land of ²^,^aCabul to this day. ¹⁴^aAnd Hiram sent to the king ¹120 talents of gold.

Solomon Builds Cities and Ships

¹⁵Now this is the account of the forced labor which King Solomon ^araised up to build the house of Yahweh, his own house, the ¹^,^bMillo, the wall of Jerusalem, ^cHazor, ^dMegiddo, and ^eGezer. ¹⁶For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and captured Gezer and burned it with fire, and killed the ^aCanaanites who lived in the city, and had ^bgiven it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife. ¹⁷So Solomon rebuilt Gezer and the lower ^aBeth-horon ¹⁸and ^aBaalath and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land of Judah, ¹⁹and all the storage cities which Solomon had, and ^athe cities for ¹his chariots, and the cities for ²^,^bhis horsemen, and ³^,^call that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land ⁴under his rule. ²⁰As for all the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, who were not of the sons of Israel, ²¹^anamely, their sons who were left after them in the land ^bwhom the sons of Israel were unable to devote to destruction, from ^cthem Solomon raised up ^dforced laborers to this day. ²²But Solomon ^adid not make slaves of the sons of Israel; for they were men of war, his servants, his princes, his captains, his chariot commanders, and his horsemen.

²³These were the ¹^,^achief deputies who were over Solomon’s work, 550, ^bwho had dominion over the people doing the work.

²⁴As soon as ^aPharaoh’s daughter came up from the city of David to her house which Solomon had built for her, ^bthen he built the Millo.

²⁵And ^athree times in a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he built to Yahweh, burning incense with them on the altar which was before Yahweh. So he finished the house.

²⁶King Solomon also made a ^afleet of ships in ^bEzion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the ¹Red Sea, in the land of Edom. ²⁷^aAnd Hiram sent his servants with the fleet of ships, sailors who knew the sea, along with the servants of Solomon. ²⁸And they went to ^aOphir and took from there 420 talents of gold and brought it to King Solomon.