1 Kings 4 - 5, 2 Chronicles 2, Revelation 11, Song of Songs 1

Solomon’s Officials

4So King Solomon was king over all Israel. ²These were his officials: Azariah the son of Zadok was ^athe priest;

³Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha were scribes; ^aJehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder; ⁴and ^aBenaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the army; and Zadok and ^bAbiathar were priests; ⁵and Azariah the son of Nathan was over ^athe deputies; and Zabud the son of Nathan, a priest, was the king’s friend; ⁶and Ahishar was over the household; and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the men subject to forced labor.

⁷Now Solomon had twelve deputies over all Israel, who sustained the king and his household; each man had to sustain them for a month in the year. ⁸These are their names: Ben-hur, in the ^ahill country of Ephraim;

⁹Ben-deker in Makaz and ^aShaalbim and ^bBeth-shemesh and Elonbeth-hanan; ¹⁰Ben-hesed, in Arubboth (^aSocoh was his and all the land of ^bHepher); ¹¹Ben-abinadab, in all ¹the ^aheight of Dor (Taphath the daughter of Solomon was his wife); ¹²Baana the son of Ahilud, in ^aTaanach and Megiddo, and all ^bBeth-shean which is beside ^cZarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to ^dAbel-meholah as far as the other side of ^eJokmeam; ¹³Ben-geber, in ^aRamoth-gilead (now ¹^,^bHavvoth-Jair—Jair being the son of Manasseh—which is in Gilead was his: ^cthe region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars were his); ¹⁴Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in ^aMahanaim; ¹⁵^aAhimaaz, in Naphtali (he also married Basemath the daughter of Solomon); ¹⁶Baana the son of ^aHushai, in Asher and ¹Bealoth; ¹⁷Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar; ¹⁸^aShimei the son of Ela, in Benjamin; ¹⁹Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, ^athe country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only deputy who was in the land.

Judah’s and Israel’s Abundance and Security

²⁰^aJudah and Israel were as numerous as the sand that is on the ¹seashore in abundance; they were eating and drinking and being glad.

²¹¹^,^aNow Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms ^bfrom the ²River to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt; ^cthey brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.

²²And Solomon’s ¹provision for one day was ²thirty kors of fine flour and ³sixty kors of meal, ²³ten fat oxen, twenty ¹pasture-fed oxen, one hundred sheep besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened fowl. ²⁴For he had dominion over everything ¹west of the ²River, from Tiphsah even to ^aGaza, ^bover all the kings ³west of the ⁴River; and ^che had peace on all sides around about him. ²⁵^aSo Judah and Israel lived in security, every man under his vine and his fig tree, ^bfrom Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon. ²⁶^aSolomon had ¹40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 horsemen. ²⁷And these deputies sustained King Solomon and all who came to King Solomon’s table, each in his month; they left nothing lacking. ²⁸They also brought barley and straw for the horses and ^aswift steeds to the place where it should be, each according to the legal judgment for him.

²⁹And ^aGod gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment and breadth of understanding in his heart, ^blike the sand that is on the seashore. ³⁰And Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all ^athe sons of the east and ^ball the wisdom of Egypt. ³¹And ^ahe was wiser than all men, than ^bEthan the Ezrahite, Heman, ^cCalcol, and ¹Darda, the sons of Mahol; and the renown of his name was in all the surrounding nations. ³²^aHe also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005. ³³And he spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that grows on the wall; he spoke also of animals and birds and creeping things and fish. ³⁴¹And men ^acame from all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.

Covenant with Hiram King of Tyre

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.

Yahweh’s House Will Be Great

2¹^,^aThen Solomon ²decided to build a house for the name of Yahweh and a ³royal palace for himself. ²¹So ^aSolomon numbered 70,000 men to carry loads and 80,000 men to hew stone in the mountains and 3,600 to direct them.

³^aThen Solomon sent word to ¹Huram the king of Tyre, saying, “^bAs you dealt with David my father and sent him cedars to build him a house to live in, so do for me. ⁴“Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of Yahweh my God, setting it apart to Him as holy, ^ato burn fragrant incense before Him and to set out ^bthe showbread continually, and to offer ^cburnt offerings morning and evening, ^don sabbaths and on new moons and on the appointed feasts of Yahweh our God, this being required forever in Israel. ⁵“Now the house which I am about to build will be great, for ^agreater is our God than all the gods. ⁶“But ^awho is able to build a house for Him, for the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain Him? So who am I, that I should build a house for Him, except to ¹burn incense before Him? ⁷“So now, ^asend me a wise man to work in gold, silver, brass, and iron, and in purple, crimson, and blue fabrics, and who knows how to make engravings, to work with the wise men ¹^,^bwhom I have in Judah and Jerusalem, whom David my father prepared. ⁸“^aSend me also cedar, cypress and algum timber from Lebanon, for I know that your servants know how to cut timber of Lebanon; and behold, ^bmy servants will work with your servants, ⁹to prepare timber in abundance for me, for the house which I am about to build will be great and wonderful. ¹⁰“And behold, ^aI will give to your servants, the woodsmen who cut the timber, ¹20,000 kors of crushed wheat and 20,000 kors of barley, and ²20,000 baths of wine and 20,000 baths of oil.”

Covenant with Huram King of Tyre

¹¹Then Huram king of Tyre said in a letter ¹sent to Solomon: “^aBecause Yahweh loves His people, He has given you to be king over them.” ¹²Then Huram said, “Blessed be ^aYahweh, the God of Israel, who has made heaven and earth, who has given King David a wise son, knowledgeable in insight and understanding, ^bwho will build a house for Yahweh and a ¹royal palace for himself.

¹³“So now, I am sending Huram-abi, a wise man, who is knowledgeable in understanding, ¹⁴^athe son of a ¹Danite woman and ²a Tyrian father, who knows how to work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, and in purple, blue, linen, and crimson fabrics, and who knows how to make all kinds of engravings and to devise any design which may be given to him, to work with your wise men and with the wise men of my lord David your father. ¹⁵“So now, let my lord send to his servants wheat and barley, oil and wine, of ^awhich he has spoken. ¹⁶“^aAnd we will cut whatever timber you need from Lebanon and bring it to you on rafts by sea to Joppa, so that you may carry it up to Jerusalem.”

¹⁷Then Solomon numbered all the sojourners who were in the land of Israel, ^afollowing the ¹census which his father David had ²taken; and 153,600 were found. ¹⁸^aAnd he made 70,000 of them to carry loads and 80,000 as hewers of stone in the mountains and 3,600 directors to make the people work.

Footnotes

2:11 Ch 1:18 in Heb
2:12 Lit said
2:13 Lit house for his royalty
2:21 Ch 2:1 in Heb
2:31 In 1 Kin 5:18, Hiram
2:61 Lit offer up in smoke
2:71 Lit who are with me
2:101 Approx. 130,000 bu. or 4,600 metric tons, a kor was approx. 6.5 bu. or 230 l
2:102 Approx. 120,000 gal. or 454,249 l, a bath was approx. 6 gal. or 23 l
2:111 Lit and sent
2:121 Lit house for his royalty
2:141 Lit a woman of the daughters of Dan
2:142 Lit whose father is a Tyrian man
2:171 Lit numbering
2:172 Lit numbered of them

Cross references

The Two Witnesses

11Then a ¹^,^ameasuring rod like a staff was given to me, ^bsaying, “Get up and measure the sanctuary of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. ²“And ¹leave out the ^acourt which is outside the sanctuary and do not measure it, for ^bit has been given to the Gentiles, and they will ^ctrample ^dthe holy city under foot for ^eforty-two months. ³“And I will give authority to my two ^awitnesses, and they will prophesy for ^b1,260 days, clothed in ^csackcloth.” ⁴These are the ^atwo olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. ⁵And if anyone wishes to harm them, ^afire comes out of their mouth and devours their enemies; so if anyone wishes to harm them, ^bhe must be killed in this way. ⁶These have the authority to ^ashut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during ^bthe days of their prophesying; they also have authority over the waters to ^cturn them into blood, and ^dto strike the earth with every plague, as often as they wish.

⁷And when they have finished their witness, ^athe beast that comes up out of the ^babyss will ^cmake war with them and overcome them and kill them. ⁸And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the ^agreat city which spiritually is called ^bSodom and ^cEgypt, where also their Lord was crucified. ⁹And those from ^athe peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead ¹bodies for three and a half days, and ²^,^bwill not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. ¹⁰And ^athose who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate and ^bsend gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented ^cthose who dwell on the earth.

¹¹But after the three and a half days, ^athe breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell upon those who were watching them. ¹²And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “^aCome up here.” Then they ^bwent up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them. ¹³And in that hour there was a great ^aearthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; ¹seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and ^bgave glory to the ^cGod of heaven.

¹⁴The second ^awoe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly.

The Seventh Trumpet

¹⁵Then the ^aseventh angel sounded, and there were ^bloud voices in heaven, saying, “^cThe kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of ^dHis ¹Christ, and ^eHe will reign forever and ever.” ¹⁶And the twenty-four elders, who ^asit on their thrones before God, ^bfell on their faces and worshiped God, ¹⁷saying, “We give You thanks, ^aO Lord God, the Almighty, who is and who was, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to ^breign. ¹⁸“And ^athe nations were enraged, and ^bYour rage came, and ^cthe time came for the dead to be judged, and to give reward to Your ^dslaves—the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, ^ethe small and the great—and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”

¹⁹And ^athe sanctuary of God which is in heaven was opened, and ^bthe ark of His covenant appeared in His sanctuary, and there were flashes of ^clightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a ^dgreat ¹hailstorm.

The Shulammite Bride’s Desire

1The ¹Song of ^aSongs, which is Solomon’s.

²“¹May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!For your ^alove is better than wine.³“Your ^aoils have a pleasing fragrance,Your ^bname is like ¹purified oil;Therefore the ²^,^cmaidens love you.⁴“Draw me after you and let us run together!The ^aking has brought me into his chambers.”“¹We will rejoice in you and be glad;We will ²extol your ^blove more than wine.Rightly do they love you.”⁵“¹I am black but ^alovely,O ^bdaughters of Jerusalem,Like the ^ctents of ^dKedar,Like the curtains of Solomon.⁶“Do not look at me because I am ¹swarthy,For the sun has burned me.My ^amother’s sons were angry with me;They made me ^bcaretaker of the vineyards,But I have not taken care of my own vineyard.⁷“Tell me, O you ^awhom my soul loves,Where do you ^bshepherd your flock,Where do you make it ^clie down at noon?For why should I be like one who ¹veils herselfBeside the flocks of your ^dcompanions?”

Solomon and His Bride Extol Each Other

⁸“¹If you yourself do not know,^aMost beautiful among women,Go forth on the trail of the flockAnd pasture your young goatsBy the dwellings of the shepherds.⁹“To a ^amare of mine among the chariots of PharaohI compare you, O ^bmy darling.¹⁰“Your ^acheeks are lovely with ornaments,Your neck with strings of ¹^,^bbeads.”¹¹“¹We will make for you ornaments of goldWith beads of silver.”¹²“¹While the king was at his ²banqueting table,My ³^,^aperfume gave forth its fragrance.¹³“My beloved is to me a pouch of ^amyrrhWhich lies all night between my breasts.¹⁴“My beloved is to me a cluster of ^ahenna blossomsIn the vineyards of ^bEngedi.”¹⁵“¹^,^aBehold, you are beautiful, my darling,Behold, you are beautiful!Your ^beyes are like doves.”¹⁶“¹Behold, you are handsome, ^amy beloved,Indeed, so pleasant!Indeed, our couch is luxuriant!¹⁷“The beams of our houses are ^acedars,Our rafters, ¹^,^bcypresses.