David in Old Age

1 Now King David was old, ^[a]advanced in age; and they covered him with garments, but he could not keep warm. ² So his servants said to him, “Have them search for a young virgin for my lord the king, and have her ^[b]attend the king and become his nurse; and have her lie on your chest, so that my lord the king may keep warm.” ³ So they searched for a beautiful girl throughout the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the ^(A)Shunammite, and brought her to the king. ⁴ The girl was very beautiful; and she became the king’s nurse and served him, but the king did not ^[c]become intimate with her.

⁵ Now ^(B)Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king.” So ^(C)he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, with fifty men to run before him. ⁶ And his father had never rebuked him at any time by asking, “Why have you done so?” And he was also a very handsome man, and ^[d](D)he was born after Absalom. ⁷ Now ^[e]he had conferred with ^(E)Joab the son of Zeruiah and with ^(F)Abiathar the priest; and they allied themselves with ^(G)Adonijah. ⁸ But ^(H)Zadok the priest, ^(I)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, ^(J)Nathan the prophet, ^(K)Shimei, Rei, and ^(L)the mighty men who belonged to David, were not with Adonijah.

⁹ Adonijah sacrificed sheep, oxen, and fattened steers by the ^[f]stone of Zoheleth, which is beside ^(M)En-rogel; and he invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah, the king’s servants. ¹⁰ But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the mighty men, or his brother ^(N)Solomon.

Nathan and Bathsheba

¹¹ Then Nathan spoke to ^(O)Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king, and David our lord does not know it? ¹² So now come, please let me ^(P)give you advice, and save your life and the life of your son Solomon. ¹³ Go ^[g]at once to King David and say to him, ‘Have you not, my lord the king, sworn to your servant, saying, “^(Q)Solomon your son certainly shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne”? Why then has Adonijah become king?’ ¹⁴ Behold, while you are still there speaking with the king, I will come in after you and confirm your words.”

¹⁵ So Bathsheba entered to the king in the bedroom. Now ^(R)the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was serving the king. ¹⁶ Then Bathsheba bowed and prostrated herself ^[h]before the king. And the king said, “What ^[i]is on your mind?” ¹⁷ So she said to him, “My lord, you yourself swore to your servant by the Lord your God, saying, ‘^(S)Your son Solomon certainly shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne.’ ¹⁸ But now, behold, Adonijah is king; and now, my lord the king, you do not know it. ^19 (T)He has sacrificed oxen and fattened steers and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest, and Joab the commander of the army, but he has not invited Solomon your servant. ²⁰ And as for you, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are upon you, to announce to them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. ²¹ Otherwise it will come about, ^(U)as soon as my lord the king ^[j]lies down with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be considered ^[k]offenders.”

²² And behold, while she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet came in. ²³ They informed the king, saying, “Nathan the prophet is here.” And when he came into the king’s presence, he prostrated himself ^[l]before the king with his face to the ground. ²⁴ Then Nathan said, “My lord the king, have you yourself said, ‘Adonijah shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne’? ^25 (V)For he has gone down today and has sacrificed oxen and fattened steers and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king’s sons, the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the priest, and behold, they are eating and drinking in his presence; and they say, ‘^(W)Long live King Adonijah!’ ^26 (X)But me, even me your servant, Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon, he has not invited. ²⁷ Has this thing been done by my lord the king, and you have not let your ^[m]servants know who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”

²⁸ Then King David responded and said, “Summon Bathsheba to me.” And she came into the king’s presence and stood before the king. ²⁹ Then the king vowed and said, “^(Y)As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from all distress, ³⁰ certainly as ^(Z)I vowed to you by the Lord, the God of Israel, saying, ‘Your son Solomon certainly shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place’; I will indeed do so this day.” ³¹ Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the ground, and prostrated herself before the king and said, “^(AA)May my lord King David live forever.”

³² Then King David said, “Summon to me ^(AB)Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” And they came into the king’s presence. ³³ And the king said to them, “Take with you ^(AC)the servants of your lord, and have my son Solomon ride on my own mule, and bring him down to ^(AD)Gihon. ³⁴ And have Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet ^(AE)anoint him there as king over Israel, and ^(AF)blow the trumpet and say, ‘^(AG)Long live King Solomon!’ ³⁵ Then you shall come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne, and he shall be king in my place; for I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and Judah.” ³⁶ Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said, “Amen! May the Lord, the God of my lord the king, say the same. ^37 (AH)Just as the Lord has been with my lord the king, so may He be with Solomon, and ^(AI)make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David!”

Solomon Anointed King

³⁸ So ^(AJ)Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, ^(AK)the Cherethites, and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and brought him to ^(AL)Gihon. ³⁹ And Zadok the priest then ^(AM)took the horn of oil from the tent and ^(AN)anointed Solomon. Then they ^(AO)blew the trumpet, and all the people said, “^(AP)Long live King Solomon!” ⁴⁰ And all the people went up after him, and the people were playing on flutes and rejoicing with great joy, so that the earth ^[n]shook at their noise.

⁴¹ Now Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard this as they finished eating. When Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, “Why is the ^[o]city making such an uproar?” ⁴² While he was still speaking, behold, ^(AQ)Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came. Then Adonijah said, “Come in, for ^(AR)you are a valiant man and you bring good news.” ⁴³ But Jonathan replied to Adonijah, “On the contrary! Our lord King David has made Solomon king! ⁴⁴ The king has also sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites; and they have mounted him on the king’s mule. ⁴⁵ Furthermore, Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon, and they have come up from there rejoicing, ^(AS)so that the city is going wild. This is the noise which you have heard. ⁴⁶ Besides, ^(AT)Solomon has even taken his seat on the throne of the kingdom. ⁴⁷ Moreover, the king’s servants came to bless our lord King David, saying, ‘May ^(AU)your God make the name of Solomon better than your name, and his throne greater than your throne!’ And ^(AV)the king bowed himself on the bed. ⁴⁸ The king has also said this: ‘Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who ^(AW)has granted one to sit on my throne today while my own eyes see it.’”

⁴⁹ Then all the guests of Adonijah trembled and got up, and each went on his way. ⁵⁰ Adonijah also was afraid of Solomon, and he got up, and went, and ^(AX)took hold of the horns of the altar. ⁵¹ Now it was reported to Solomon, saying, “Behold, Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon, for behold, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘May King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’” ⁵² And Solomon said, “If he is a worthy man, ^(AY)not one of his hairs will fall to the ground; but if wickedness is found in him, he will die.” ⁵³ So King Solomon sent men, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and prostrated himself before King Solomon, and Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.”

David’s Command to Solomon

2 As David’s ^[p](AZ)time to die drew near, he commanded his son Solomon, saying, ² “^(BA)I am going the way of all the earth. So ^(BB)be strong, and ^[q]prove yourself a man. ³ Do your duty to the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to ^[r]keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies, ^(BC)according to what is written in the Law of Moses, so that ^(BD)you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn, ⁴ so that ^(BE)the Lord may fulfill His ^[s]promise which He spoke regarding me, saying, ‘^(BF)If your sons are careful about their way, ^(BG)to walk before Me in ^[t]truth with all their heart and all their soul, ^[u](BH)you shall not be deprived of a man to occupy the throne of Israel.’

⁵ “Now you yourself also know what Joab the ^(BI)son of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to ^(BJ)Abner the son of Ner and to ^(BK)Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed; he also ^[v]shed the blood of war in peace. And he put the blood of war on his belt that was on his waist, and on his sandals that were on his feet. ^6 (BL)So act as your wisdom dictates, and do not let his gray hair go down to ^[w]Sheol in peace. ⁷ However, ^(BM)show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and ^(BN)let them be among those who eat at your table; ^(BO)for ^[x]they assisted me when I fled from Absalom your brother. ⁸ And behold, you have with you ^(BP)Shimei the son of Gera the Benjaminite, of Bahurim; now it was he who cursed me with a painful curse on the day I went to Mahanaim. But when ^(BQ)he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’ ⁹ But now do not leave him unpunished, ^(BR)for you are a wise man; and you will know what to do to him, and you will bring his gray hair down to ^[y]Sheol with blood.”

Death of David

¹⁰ Then ^(BS)David ^[z]lay down with his fathers, and he was buried in ^(BT)the city of David. ¹¹ Now ^(BU)the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: in Hebron he reigned for ^(BV)seven years, and in Jerusalem he reigned for thirty-three years. ¹² Then ^(BW)Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his kingdom was firmly established.

¹³ Now Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. So she said, “^(BX)Do you come peacefully?” And he said, “Peacefully.” ¹⁴ Then he said, “I have something to say to you.” And she said, “Speak.” ¹⁵ So he said, “You yourself know that ^(BY)the kingdom was mine and ^(BZ)that all Israel ^[aa]intended for me to be king; ^(CA)however, the kingdom has turned around and become my brother’s, ^(CB)for it was his from the Lord. ¹⁶ So now I am making one request of you; do not ^[ab]refuse me.” And she said to him, “Speak.” ¹⁷ Then he said, “Please speak to Solomon the king—for he will not ^[ac]refuse you—that he may give me ^(CC)Abishag the Shunammite as a wife.” ¹⁸ And Bathsheba said, “Very well; I will speak to the king for you.”

Adonijah Executed

¹⁹ So Bathsheba went to King Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king stood to meet her, bowed to her, and sat on his throne; then he ^(CD)had a throne set up for the king’s mother, and ^(CE)she sat on his right. ²⁰ Then she said, “I am making one small request of you; ^(CF)do not ^[ad]refuse me.” And the king said to her, “Ask, my mother, for I will not ^[ae]refuse you.” ²¹ So she said, “^(CG)Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as a wife.” ²² But King Solomon answered and said to his mother, “And why are you requesting Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ^(CH)Request for him the kingdom as well—^(CI)since he is my older brother—for him, for ^(CJ)Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah!” ²³ Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, “May God do so to me and more so, if Adonijah has ^(CK)not spoken this word against his own ^[af]life! ²⁴ Now then, as the Lord lives, who has established me and set me on the throne of David my father, and ^(CL)has made me a house just as He ^[ag]promised, Adonijah certainly shall be put to death today!” ²⁵ Then King Solomon ^(CM)sent the order by Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he ^[ah]struck him so that he died.

²⁶ Then to Abiathar the priest the king said, “^(CN)Go to Anathoth to your own field, ^(CO)for you ^[ai]deserve to die; but I will not put you to death at this ^[aj]time, because ^(CP)you carried the ark of the Lord ^[ak]God before my father David, and because ^(CQ)you were afflicted in everything with which my father was afflicted.” ²⁷ So Solomon dismissed Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, to fulfill ^(CR)the word of the Lord, which He had spoken regarding the house of Eli in Shiloh.

Joab Executed

²⁸ Now the news came to Joab ^(CS)because Joab had followed Adonijah, ^(CT)though he had not followed Absalom. So Joab fled to the tent of the Lord and ^(CU)took hold of the horns of the altar. ²⁹ And it was reported to King Solomon that Joab had fled to the tent of the Lord, and ^[al]was beside the altar. Then Solomon ^(CV)sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “^(CW)Go, ^[am]execute him.” ³⁰ So Benaiah came to the tent of the Lord and said to him, “This is what the king has said: ‘Come out.’” But he said, “No, for I will die here.” So Benaiah brought back word to the king, saying, “This is what Joab spoke, and so he answered me.” ³¹ And the king said to him, “^(CX)Do just as he has spoken, and ^[an]execute him and bury him, ^(CY)so that you may remove from me and from my father’s house the blood which Joab shed without ^[ao]justification. ^32 (CZ)The Lord will return his blood on his own head, ^(DA)because he ^[ap]struck two men more righteous and better than he, and killed them with the sword, while my father David did not know about it: ^(DB)Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and ^(DC)Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. ^33 (DD)So their blood shall return on the head of Joab and on the head of his ^[aq]descendants forever; but for David and his ^[ar]descendants, and his house and his throne, may there be peace from the Lord forever.” ³⁴ Then ^(DE)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and ^[as]struck him and put him to death, and he was buried at his own house ^(DF)in the wilderness. ³⁵ And ^(DG)the king appointed Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the army in his place, and the king appointed ^(DH)Zadok the priest ^(DI)in place of Abiathar.

Shimei Executed

³⁶ Now the king sent men and summoned ^(DJ)Shimei, and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, and do not leave there for any other place. ³⁷ For on the day you leave and ^(DK)cross the ^[at]brook Kidron, you will know for certain that you will assuredly die; ^(DL)your blood will be ^[au]on your own head.” ³⁸ Shimei then said to the king, “The word is good. Just as my lord the king has spoken, so your servant shall do.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem for many days.

³⁹ But it came about at the end of three years, that two of Shimei’s servants ran away ^(DM)to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath. And others told Shimei, saying, “Behold, your servants are in Gath.” ⁴⁰ Then Shimei got up and saddled his donkey, and went to Gath to Achish, to search for his servants. And Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath. ⁴¹ And it was reported to Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and had returned. ⁴² So the king sent men and summoned Shimei, and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord, and solemnly warn you, saying, ‘Know for certain that on the day you depart and go anywhere, you shall assuredly die’? And you said to me, ‘The word I have heard is good.’ ⁴³ Why then have you not kept the oath of the Lord, and the command which I ^[av]imposed on you?” ⁴⁴ The king also said to Shimei, “^(DN)You yourself know all the evil that ^[aw]you acknowledge in your heart, which you did to my father David; therefore ^(DO)the Lord will return your evil on your own head. ⁴⁵ But King Solomon will be blessed, and ^(DP)the throne of David will be established before the Lord forever.” ^46 (DQ)So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and he went out and ^[ax]struck him so that he died.

^(DR)And the kingdom was established in the hands of Solomon.

Solomon’s Rule Consolidated

3 Now ^(DS)Solomon ^[ay]formed a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter ^(DT)and brought her to the city of David ^(DU)until he had finished building his own house and the house of the Lord, and ^(DV)the wall around Jerusalem. ^2 (DW)The people were still sacrificing on the high places, because there was no house built for the name of the Lord until those days.

³ Now ^(DX)Solomon loved the Lord, ^(DY)walking in the statutes of his father David, except that he was sacrificing and burning incense on the high places. ⁴ And ^(DZ)the king went to ^(EA)Gibeon to sacrifice there, ^(EB)because that was the great high place; Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. ^5 (EC)In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon ^(ED)in a dream at night; and God said, “^(EE)Ask what you wish Me to give you.”

Solomon’s Prayer

⁶ Then Solomon said, “^(EF)You have shown great faithfulness to Your servant David my father, ^(EG)according as he walked before You in ^[az]truth, righteousness, and uprightness of heart toward You; and ^(EH)You have ^[ba]reserved for him this great faithfulness, that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. ⁷ And now, Lord my God, ^(EI)You have made Your servant king in place of my father David, yet ^(EJ)I am like a little boy; ^(EK)I do not know how to ^[bb]go out or come in. ⁸ And ^(EL)Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, ^(EM)a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted. ⁹ So ^(EN)give Your servant ^[bc]an understanding heart to judge Your people, ^(EO)to discern between good and evil. For who is capable of judging this ^[bd]great people of Yours?”

God’s Answer

¹⁰ Now ^[be]it was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. ¹¹ And God said to him, “Because you have asked this thing, and have ^(EP)not asked for yourself ^[bf]a long life, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the lives of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to understand justice, ¹² behold, ^(EQ)I have done according to your words. Behold, ^(ER)I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you. ^13 (ES)I have also given you what you have not asked, both ^(ET)riches and honor, so that there will not be any among the kings like you all your days. ¹⁴ And ^(EU)if you walk in My ways, keeping My statutes and commandments, as your father David walked, then I will ^(EV)prolong your days.”

¹⁵ Then ^(EW)Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and made peace offerings, and ^(EX)held a feast for all his servants.

Solomon Wisely Judges

¹⁶ Then two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. ¹⁷ The one woman said, “Pardon me, my lord: ^[bg]this woman and I live in the same house; and I gave birth to a child ^[bh]while she was in the house. ¹⁸ And it happened on the third day after I gave birth, that this woman also gave birth to a child, and we were together. There was no stranger with us in the house, only the two of us in the house. ¹⁹ Then this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him. ²⁰ So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from beside me while your servant was asleep, and she laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast. ²¹ When I got up in the morning to nurse my son, behold, he was dead! But when I examined him closely in the morning, behold, he was not my son, whom I had borne!” ²² Then the other woman said, “No! For the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” But ^[bi]the first woman said, “No! For the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.” So they spoke before the king.

²³ Then the king said, “^[bj]The one says, ‘This is my son who is living, and your son is the dead one’; and ^[bk]the other says, ‘No! For your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’” ²⁴ And the king said, “Get me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king. ²⁵ And the king said, “Cut the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.” ²⁶ But the woman whose child was the living one spoke to the king, for ^[bl](EY)she was deeply stirred over her son, and she said, “Pardon me, my lord! Give her the living child, and by no means kill him!” But the other woman was saying, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; cut him!” ²⁷ Then the king replied, “Give ^[bm]the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him. She is his mother.” ²⁸ When all Israel heard about the judgment which the king had ^[bn]handed down, they feared the king, because ^(EZ)they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to ^[bo]administer justice.

Solomon’s Officials

4 Now King Solomon was king over all Israel. ² These were his officials: Azariah the son of Zadok was ^(FA)the priest; ³ Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha were scribes; ^(FB)Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the secretary; ⁴ and ^(FC)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the army; and Zadok and ^(FD)Abiathar were priests; ⁵ and Azariah the son of Nathan was over ^(FE)the deputies; and Zabud the son of Nathan, a priest, was the king’s confidant; ⁶ and Ahishar was over the household; and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the forced labor.

⁷ Solomon had twelve deputies over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household; each deputy had to provide food for a month in the year. ⁸ And these were their names: Ben-hur, in the ^(FF)hill country of Ephraim; ⁹ Ben-deker in Makaz and ^(FG)Shaalbim, and ^(FH)Beth-shemesh, and Elonbeth-hanan; ¹⁰ Ben-hesed in Arubboth (^(FI)Socoh was his and all the land of ^(FJ)Hepher); ¹¹ Ben-abinadab in all ^[bp]the ^(FK)hills of Dor (Taphath the daughter of Solomon was his wife); ¹² Baana the son of Ahilud in ^(FL)Taanach and Megiddo, and all ^(FM)Beth-shean which is beside ^(FN)Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to ^(FO)Abel-meholah as far as the other side of ^(FP)Jokmeam; ¹³ Ben-geber in ^(FQ)Ramoth-gilead (^(FR)the villages of Jair, the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead were his: ^(FS)the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars were his); ¹⁴ Ahinadab the son of Iddo in ^(FT)Mahanaim; ^15 (FU)Ahimaaz in Naphtali (he also married Basemath the daughter of Solomon); ¹⁶ Baana the son of ^(FV)Hushai in Asher and ^[bq]Bealoth; ¹⁷ Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah in Issachar; ^18 (FW)Shimei the son of Ela in Benjamin; ¹⁹ Geber the son of Uri in the land of Gilead, ^(FX)the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only deputy who was in the land.

Solomon’s Power, Wealth, and Wisdom

^20 (FY)Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand that is on the ^[br]seashore in abundance; they were eating, drinking, and rejoicing.

^21 [bs](FZ)Now Solomon was ruling over all the kingdoms ^(GA)from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt; ^(GB)they brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.

²² Solomon’s ^[bt]provision for one day was ^[bu]thirty kors of fine flour and ^[bv]sixty kors of meal, ²³ ten fat oxen, twenty ^[bw]pasture-fed oxen, and a hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened geese. ²⁴ For he was ruling over everything ^[bx]west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah even to ^(GC)Gaza, ^(GD)over all the kings ^[by]west of the River; and ^(GE)he had peace on all sides surrounding him. ^25 (GF)So Judah and Israel lived securely, everyone under his vine and his fig tree, ^(GG)from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon. ^26 (GH)Solomon had ^[bz]forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. ²⁷ And those deputies provided food for King Solomon and all who came to King Solomon’s table, each in his month; they allowed nothing to be lacking. ²⁸ They also brought barley and straw for the war horses and ^(GI)baggage horses to the place where it was required, each deputy according to his duty.

²⁹ Now ^(GJ)God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment and breadth of ^[ca]mind, ^(GK)like the sand that is on the seashore. ³⁰ Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all ^(GL)the ^[cb]people of the east and ^(GM)all the wisdom of Egypt. ³¹ For ^(GN)he was wiser than all other people, more than ^(GO)Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, ^(GP)Calcol, and ^[cc]Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his ^[cd]fame was known in all the surrounding nations. ^32 (GQ)He also told three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered 1,005. ³³ He told of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that grows on the wall; he told also of animals, birds, crawling things, and fish. ³⁴ People ^(GR)came from all the ^[ce]nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.

Alliance with King Hiram

5 ^[cf](GS)Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for ^(GT)Hiram had ^[cg]always been a friend of David. ² Then ^(GU)Solomon sent word to Hiram, saying, ³ “You know that ^(GV)David my father was unable to build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the wars which surrounded him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. ⁴ But now ^(GW)the Lord my God has secured me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor ^[ch]misfortune. ⁵ So behold, ^(GX)I ^[ci]intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, just as the Lord spoke to David my father, saying, ‘Your son, whom I will put on your throne in your place, he will build the house for My name.’ ⁶ Now then, issue orders that they cut ^(GY)cedars from Lebanon for me, and my servants will be with your servants; and I will give you wages for your servants in accordance with all that you say, for you yourself know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”

⁷ When Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he greatly rejoiced; and he said, “Blessed be the Lord today, who has given to David a wise son over this great people.” ⁸ So Hiram sent word to Solomon, saying, “I have heard the message which you sent me; I will do everything you wish concerning the cedar and juniper timber. ⁹ My servants will bring the timbers down from Lebanon to the sea; and I will have them made into rafts to go by sea ^(GZ)to the place where you ^[cj]direct me, and I will have them broken up there, and you will carry them away. Then ^(HA)you shall do what I wish, by giving food to my household.” ¹⁰ So ^[ck]Hiram ^[cl]gave Solomon all that he wished of the cedar and juniper timber. ^11 (HB)Solomon then gave ^[cm]Hiram ^[cn]twenty thousand kors of wheat as food for his household, and ^[co]twenty kors of pure oil; this is what Solomon would give Hiram year by year. ¹² And ^(HC)the Lord gave wisdom to Solomon, just as He ^[cp]promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a covenant.

Conscription of Laborers

¹³ Now ^(HD)King Solomon ^[cq]conscripted forced laborers from all Israel; and the forced laborers numbered thirty thousand men. ¹⁴ Then he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month in shifts; they were in Lebanon for a month, and two months at home. And ^(HE)Adoniram was in charge of the forced laborers. ¹⁵ Now ^(HF)Solomon had seventy thousand porters, and eighty thousand stonemasons in the mountains, ^16 (HG)besides Solomon’s 3,300 chief deputies who were in charge of the ^[cr]project and ruled over the people who were doing the work. ¹⁷ Then ^(HH)the king issued orders, and they quarried large stones, valuable stones, to lay the foundation of the house with cut stones. ¹⁸ So Solomon’s builders and ^[cs]Hiram’s builders and ^(HI)the Gebalites ^[ct]cut the stones, and they prepared the timbers and the stones to build the house.

The Building of the Temple

6 ^(HJ)Now it came about 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, that is, the second month, that he ^[cu]began to build the house of the Lord. ² And the house which King Solomon built for the Lord was ^[cv]sixty cubits in its length, and twenty cubits in its width, and its height was thirty cubits. ³ The porch in front of the main room of the house was ^[cw]twenty cubits in ^[cx]length, ^[cy]corresponding to the width of the house, and its width along the front of the house was ten cubits. ⁴ Also for the house ^(HK)he made windows with artistic frames. ^5 (HL)Against the wall of the house he built stories encompassing the walls of the house around both the main room and the ^[cz](HM)inner sanctuary; so he made ^(HN)side chambers all around. ⁶ The lowest story was ^[da]five cubits wide, the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for on the outside he ^[db]made offsets in the wall of the house all around so that the beams would not ^[dc]be inserted into the walls of the house.

^7 (HO)The house, while it was being built, was built of stone finished at the quarry, and neither hammer, nor axe, nor any iron tool was heard in the house while it was being built.

⁸ The doorway for the ^[dd]lowest side chamber was on the right side of the house; and they would go up by a winding staircase to the middle story, and from the middle to the third. ⁹ So ^(HP)he built the house and finished it; and he covered the house with beams and ^[de]planks of cedar. ¹⁰ He also built the stories against the whole house, each ^[df]five cubits high; and they ^[dg]were attached to the house with timbers of cedar.

¹¹ Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying, ¹² “As for this house which you are building, ^(HQ)if you will walk in My statutes and execute My ordinances and keep all My commandments by walking in them, then I will fulfill My word with you which I spoke to David your father. ¹³ And ^(HR)I will dwell among the sons of Israel, and ^(HS)will not abandon My people Israel.”

^14 (HT)So Solomon built the house and finished it. ¹⁵ He ^(HU)built the walls of the house on the inside with boards of cedar; from the floor of the house to the ^[dh]ceiling he paneled the walls on the inside with wood, and he paneled the floor of the house with boards of juniper. ^16 (HV)He also built ^[di]twenty cubits on the rear part of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the ^[dj]ceiling; he built them for it on the inside as an inner sanctuary, as ^(HW)the Most Holy Place. ¹⁷ The house, that is, the main room in front of the inner sanctuary, was ^[dk]forty cubits long. ¹⁸ There was cedar inside the house, carved in the shape of ^(HX)gourds and open flowers; everything was cedar, there was no stone visible. ¹⁹ Then he prepared an inner sanctuary inside the house in order to place there the ark of the covenant of the Lord. ^20 [dl]The 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 paneled the altar with cedar. ²¹ So Solomon overlaid the inside of the house with pure gold. And he extended chains of gold across the front of the inner sanctuary, and he overlaid it with gold. ²² He overlaid the entire house with gold, until all the house was finished. Also ^(HY)the entire altar which was by the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold.

^23 (HZ)And in the inner sanctuary he made two ^[dm]cherubim of olive wood, each ^[dn]ten cubits high. ²⁴ The one wing of the first cherub was five cubits, and the other wing of the first cherub was five cubits; from the end of one wing to the end of the other wing were ten cubits. ²⁵ The second cherub was ten cubits; both of the cherubim were of the same measurement and the same form. ²⁶ The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was that of the other cherub. ²⁷ He placed the cherubim in the midst of the inner house, and ^(IA)the wings of the cherubim 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 ^[do]end to ^[dp]end in the center of the house. ²⁸ He also overlaid the cherubim with gold.

²⁹ Then he carved all the surrounding walls of the house with engravings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, for the inner and outer sanctuaries. ³⁰ And he overlaid the floor of the house with gold, for the inner and outer sanctuaries.

³¹ And for the entrance of the inner sanctuary he made doors of olive wood, the lintel, and five-sided doorposts. ³² So 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 overlaid the cherubim and the palm trees with gold.

³³ So too he made for the entrance of the main room four-sided doorposts of olive wood, ³⁴ and ^(IB)two doors of juniper wood; the two leaves of the one door turned on pivots, and the two ^[dq]leaves of the other door turned on pivots. ³⁵ He carved on it cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers; and he overlaid them with gold plated on the carved work. ³⁶ And ^(IC)he built the inner courtyard with three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams.

^37 (ID)In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid, in the month of Ziv. ³⁸ And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, that is, the eighth month, the house was finished in all its parts and in accordance with all its plans. So he was seven years in building it.

Solomon’s Palace

7 Now ^(IE)Solomon built his own house over the course of thirteen years, and he finished all of his house. ^2 (IF)He built the house of the timber from Lebanon; its length was ^[dr]a hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits, on four rows of cedar pillars with cedar beams on the pillars. ³ And it was paneled with cedar above the side chambers which were on the forty-five pillars, fifteen in each row. ⁴ There were artistic window frames in three rows, and window was opposite window at three ^[ds]intervals. ⁵ And all the doorways and doorposts had squared artistic frames, and window was opposite window at three ^[dt]intervals.

⁶ Then he made ^(IG)the hall of pillars; its length was ^[du]fifty cubits and its width thirty cubits, and a porch was in front of them and pillars and a ^(IH)threshold in front of them.

⁷ And he made the hall of the ^(II)throne where he was to judge, the hall of judgment, and ^(IJ)it was paneled with cedar from floor to floor.

⁸ And his house where he was to live, the other courtyard inward from the hall, was of this same workmanship. ^(IK)He also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, ^(IL)whom Solomon had married.

⁹ All of these were made of valuable stones, of stone cut according to measure, sawed with saws, inside and outside; even from the foundation to the ^[dv]coping, and from the outside to the large courtyard.

¹⁰ And the foundation was of valuable stones, large stones, stones of ^[dw]ten cubits and stones of eight cubits. ¹¹ And above were valuable stones, cut according to measure, and cedar. ¹² So ^(IM)the large courtyard all around had three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams as well as the inner courtyard of the house of the Lord, and ^(IN)the porch of the house.

Hiram’s Work in the Temple

¹³ Now ^(IO)King Solomon sent word and had Hiram brought from Tyre. ^14 (IP)He was a widow’s son from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, an artisan in bronze; and ^(IQ)he was filled with wisdom, skill, and knowledge for doing any work in bronze. So he came to King Solomon and ^(IR)performed all his work.

¹⁵ He fashioned ^(IS)the two pillars of bronze; ^[dx](IT)eighteen cubits was the height of ^[dy]each pillar, and a line of ^[dz]twelve cubits ^[ea]measured the circumference of both. ¹⁶ He also made two capitals of cast bronze to put on the tops of the pillars; the height of the one capital was ^[eb]five cubits and the height of the other capital was ^[ec]five cubits. ¹⁷ There were lattices of latticework and wreaths of chainwork for the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; seven for the one capital and seven for the other capital. ¹⁸ So he made the pillars, and two rows around on the one lattice to cover the capitals which were on the top of the pomegranates; and so he did for the other capital. ¹⁹ The capitals which were on the tops of the pillars in the porch were of lily design, four cubits. ²⁰ So there were capitals on the two pillars, also above and close to the ^[ed]rounded projection which was beside the lattice; and ^(IU)the pomegranates totaled two hundred in rows around ^[ee]both capitals. ^21 (IV)And he set up the pillars at the ^(IW)porch of the ^[ef]main room: he set up the right pillar and named it ^[eg]Jachin, and he set up the left pillar and named it ^[eh]Boaz. ²² On the top of the pillars was the lily design. So the work of the pillars was finished.

^23 (IX)He also he made the ^[ei]Sea of ^(IY)cast metal ^[ej]ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in shape, and its height was five cubits, and ^[ek]it was ^[el]thirty cubits in circumference. ²⁴ Under its brim ^(IZ)gourds went around encircling it ten to a cubit, ^(JA)completely surrounding the Sea; the gourds were in two rows, cast ^[em]with the rest. ^25 (JB)It was standing 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. ²⁶ And it was a ^[en]hand width thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom; it could hold ^[eo]two thousand baths.

²⁷ Then ^(JC)he made the ten stands of bronze; the length of each stand was ^[ep]four cubits, its width four cubits, and its height was three cubits. ²⁸ This was the design of the stands: they had borders, that is, borders between the crossbars, ²⁹ and on the borders which were between the crossbars were lions, oxen, and cherubim; and on the crossbars there was a pedestal above, and beneath the lions and oxen were wreaths of hanging work. ³⁰ Now each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles, and its four feet had supports; beneath the basin were cast supports with wreaths at each side. ³¹ And its opening inside the crown at the top was a ^[eq]cubit, and its opening was round like the design of a pedestal, a cubit and a half; and on its opening also there were engravings, and their borders were square, not round. ³² 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. ³³ 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. ³⁴ Now there were four supports at the four corners of each stand; its supports were part of the stand itself. ³⁵ And on the top of the stand there was a circular form ^[er]half a cubit high, and on the top of the stand its ^[es]stays and its borders were part of it. ³⁶ And he engraved on the plates of its stays and on its borders cherubim, lions, and palm trees, as there was clear space on each, with wreaths all around. ^37 (JD)He made the ten stands like this: all of them had the ^[et]same casting, ^[eu]same measure, and ^[ev]same form.

^38 (JE)And he made ten basins of bronze, ^[ew]each holding ^[ex]forty baths; each basin was ^[ey]four cubits, and on each of the ten stands was one basin. ³⁹ Then he placed the stands, five on the right side of the house and five on the left side of the house; and he set the ^[ez]Sea of cast metal on the right side of the house eastward toward the south.

⁴⁰ Now Hiram made the basins and the shovels and the bowls. So Hiram finished doing all the work which he performed for King Solomon in the house of the Lord: ⁴¹ the two pillars and the two bowls of the capitals which were on the top of the ^(JF)two pillars, and the two lattices to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; ⁴² and the ^(JG)four hundred pomegranates for the two lattices, two rows of pomegranates for each lattice to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the tops of the pillars; ⁴³ and the ten stands with the ten basins on the stands; ⁴⁴ and ^(JH)the one ^[fa]Sea and the twelve oxen under the Sea; ⁴⁵ and ^(JI)the buckets, the shovels, and the bowls; indeed, all these utensils which Hiram made for King Solomon in the house of the Lord were of polished bronze. ^46 (JJ)The king had them cast in the plain of the Jordan, in the clay ground between ^(JK)Succoth and ^(JL)Zarethan. ⁴⁷ However, Solomon left all the utensils unweighed, because they were too many; ^(JM)the weight of the bronze could not be determined.

⁴⁸ Solomon also made all the furniture that was in the house of the Lord: ^(JN)the golden altar and the golden table on which was set the ^(JO)bread of the Presence; ⁴⁹ and the lampstands of pure gold, five on the right side and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary; and ^(JP)the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of gold; ⁵⁰ also the cups, the ^[fb]shears, the bowls, the ladles, and the ^(JQ)firepans, of pure gold; and the hinges both for the doors of the inner house, the Most Holy Place, and for the doors of the house, that is, for the main room, of gold.

^51 (JR)So all the work that King Solomon performed in the house of the Lord was finished. And ^(JS)Solomon brought in the offerings vowed by his father David, the silver and the gold and the utensils, and he put them in the treasuries of the house of the Lord.

The Ark Brought into the Temple

8 ^(JT)Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all ^(JU)the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ households of the sons of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, ^(JV)to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from ^(JW)the city of David, that is, Zion. ² So all the men of Israel assembled themselves before King Solomon at ^(JX)the feast, in the month Ethanim, that is, the seventh month. ³ Then all the elders of Israel came, and ^(JY)the priests took up the ark. ⁴ And they brought up the ark of the Lord, ^(JZ)the tent of meeting, and all the holy utensils which were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up. ⁵ And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who were gathered together to him, ^(KA)were with him before the ark, sacrificing ^[fc]so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. ⁶ Then ^(KB)the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord ^(KC)to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the Most Holy Place, ^(KD)under the wings of the cherubim. ⁷ For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim made a covering over the ark and its carrying poles from above. ⁸ But ^(KE)the poles were so long that the ends of the poles could be seen from the holy place in front of the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen outside; they are there to this day. ^9 (KF)There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, where ^(KG)the Lord made a covenant with the sons of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. ¹⁰ And it happened that when the priests came from the holy place, ^(KH)the cloud filled the house of the Lord, ¹¹ so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

Solomon Addresses the People

^12 (KI)Then Solomon said,

¹⁴ Then the king ^[fd]turned around and ^(KM)blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing. ¹⁵ He said, “^(KN)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, ^(KO)who spoke with His mouth to my father David, and fulfilled it with His hands, saying, ¹⁶ ‘^(KP)Since 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 so that ^(KQ)My name would be there, but ^(KR)I chose David to be over My people Israel.’ ^17 (KS)Now it was ^[fe]in the heart of my father David to build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁸ But the Lord said to my father David, ‘Because it was ^[ff]in your heart to build a house for My name, you did well that it was ^[fg]in your heart. ^19 (KT)Nevertheless you shall not build the house, but your son who ^[fh]will be born to you, he will build the house for My name.’ ²⁰ Now the Lord has fulfilled His word which He spoke; for ^(KU)I have risen in place of my father David and I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord ^[fi]promised, and I have built the house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. ²¹ And there I have set a place for the ark, ^(KV)in which is the covenant of the Lord, which He made with our fathers when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.”

The Prayer of Dedication

²² Then ^(KW)Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and he ^(KX)spread out his hands toward heaven. ²³ And he said, “Lord, God of Israel, ^(KY)there is no God like You in heaven above or on earth beneath, ^(KZ)keeping the covenant and showing faithfulness to Your servants who walk before You with all their heart, ²⁴ You who have kept with Your servant, my father David, that which You ^[fj]promised him; You have spoken with Your mouth and have fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day. ²⁵ Now then, Lord, God of Israel, keep with Your servant David my father that which You have ^[fk]promised him, saying, ‘^[fl](LA)You shall not be deprived of a man to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your sons are careful about their way, to walk before Me as you have walked.’ ²⁶ Now then, God of Israel, let Your words, please, be confirmed, ^(LB)which You have spoken to Your servant, my father David.

²⁷ “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, ^(LC)heaven and the ^[fm]highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built! ²⁸ Nevertheless, turn Your attention to the ^(LD)prayer of Your servant and to his plea, Lord, my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which Your servant prays before You today, ^29 (LE)so that Your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, toward ^(LF)the place of which You have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ to listen to the prayer which Your servant will pray toward this place. ³⁰ And ^(LG)listen to the plea of Your servant and of Your people Israel, ^(LH)when they pray toward this place; hear in heaven Your dwelling place; hear and ^(LI)forgive!

³¹ “^(LJ)If a person sins against his neighbor and is compelled to take an oath of innocence, and he comes and takes an oath before Your altar in this house, ³² then hear in heaven and act and judge Your servants, ^(LK)condemning the wicked by ^[fn]bringing his way on his own head, and acquitting the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness.

³³ “^(LL)When Your people Israel are ^[fo]defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, ^(LM)if they turn to You again and confess Your name and pray and implore Your ^[fp]favor in this house, ³⁴ then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave their fathers.

³⁵ “^(LN)When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and praise Your name, and turn from their sin when You afflict them, ³⁶ then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants and Your people Israel; ^(LO)indeed, teach them the good way in which they are to walk. And ^(LP)provide rain on Your land, which You have given to Your people as an inheritance.

³⁷ “^(LQ)If there is a famine in the land, if there is a plague, if there is ^[fq]blight or mildew, locust or grasshopper, if their enemy harasses them in the land of their ^[fr]cities, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, ³⁸ whatever prayer or plea ^[fs]is offered by any person or by all Your people Israel, ^[ft]each knowing the affliction of his own heart, and spreading his ^[fu]hands toward this house; ³⁹ then hear in heaven, Your dwelling place, and forgive and act, and give to each in accordance with all his ways, ^(LR)whose heart You know—for ^(LS)You alone know the hearts of all ^[fv]mankind— ⁴⁰ so that they will ^[fw]fear You all the days that they live on the ^[fx]land which You have given to our fathers.

⁴¹ “Also regarding the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel, when he comes from a far country on account of Your name ⁴² (for they will hear of Your great name ^(LT)and Your mighty hand, and of Your outstretched arm); when he comes and prays toward this house, ⁴³ hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and act in accordance with all for which the foreigner calls to You, in order ^(LU)that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name, to ^[fy]fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that ^[fz]this house which I have built is called by Your name.

⁴⁴ “When Your people go out to battle against ^[ga]their enemy, by whatever way You send them, and ^(LV)they pray to the Lord ^[gb]toward the city which You have chosen and the house which I have built for Your name, ⁴⁵ then hear in heaven their prayer and their pleading, and maintain their cause.

⁴⁶ “When they sin against You (for ^(LW)there is no person who does not sin) and You are angry with them and turn them over to an enemy, so that ^[gc]they take them away captive ^(LX)to the land of the enemy, distant or near; ^47 (LY)if they ^[gd]take it to heart in the land where they have been taken captive, and repent and implore Your ^[ge]favor in the land of those who have taken them captive, saying, ‘^(LZ)We have sinned and done wrong, we have acted wickedly’; ^48 (MA)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 ^(MB)pray 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; ⁴⁹ then hear their prayer and their pleading in heaven, Your dwelling place, and maintain their cause, ⁵⁰ and forgive Your people who have sinned against You and all their wrongdoings which they have committed against You, and ^(MC)make them objects of compassion before those who have taken them captive, so that they will have compassion on them ⁵¹ (^(MD)for they are Your people and Your inheritance which You have brought out of Egypt, ^(ME)from the midst of the iron furnace), ^52 (MF)so that Your eyes may be open to the pleading of Your servant and to the pleading of Your people Israel, to listen to them whenever they call to You. ⁵³ For You have singled them out from all the peoples of the earth as Your inheritance, ^(MG)just as You spoke through Moses Your servant, when You brought our fathers out of Egypt, Lord ^[gf]God.”

Solomon’s Benediction

^54 (MH)When Solomon had finished praying this entire prayer and plea to the Lord, ^(MI)he stood up from the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his ^[gg]hands spread toward heaven. ⁵⁵ And he stood and ^(MJ)blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying:

⁵⁶ “Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel ^(MK)in accordance with everything that He ^[gh]promised; ^(ML)not one word has ^[gi]failed of all His good ^[gj]promise, which He ^[gk]promised through Moses His servant. ⁵⁷ May the Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers; ^(MM)may He not leave us nor forsake us, ⁵⁸ so that ^(MN)He may guide our hearts toward Himself, to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His ordinances, which He commanded our fathers. ⁵⁹ And may these words of mine, with which I have implored the ^[gl]favor of the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, so that He will maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, ^[gm]as each day requires, ⁶⁰ so ^(MO)that all the peoples of the earth may know that ^(MP)the Lord is God; there is no one else. ^61 (MQ)Your hearts therefore shall be ^[gn]wholly devoted to the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments, as at this day.”

Dedicatory Sacrifices

^62 (MR)Then the king and all Israel with him ^(MS)offered sacrifice before the Lord. ⁶³ And Solomon offered for the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered to the Lord, twenty-two thousand oxen and 120,000 sheep. ^(MT)So the king and all the sons of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord. ⁶⁴ On the same day the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard that was in front of the house of the Lord, because there he ^[go]offered the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the fat of the peace offerings; for ^(MU)the bronze altar that was before the Lord was too small to hold the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the fat of the peace offerings.

⁶⁵ So ^(MV)Solomon held the ^[gp]feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly ^(MW)from the entrance of Hamath ^(MX)to the brook of Egypt, before the Lord our God, for seven days and seven more days, that is, fourteen days. ⁶⁶ On the eighth day he dismissed the people, and they blessed the king. Then they went to their tents joyful and with happy hearts for all the goodness that the Lord had ^[gq]shown to David His servant, and to Israel His people.

God’s Promise and Warning

9 ^(MY)Now it came about when Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord and ^(MZ)the king’s house, and ^(NA)all ^[gr]that Solomon desired to do, ² that ^(NB)the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. ³ And the Lord said to him, “^(NC)I have heard your prayer and your plea which you have offered before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built, ^(ND)by putting My name there forever, and ^(NE)My eyes and My heart will be there ^[gs]always. ⁴ As for you, ^(NF)if you walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and honesty, acting in accordance with everything that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My ordinances, ⁵ then ^(NG)I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, just as I ^[gt]promised to your father David, saying, ‘^[gu]You shall not be deprived of a man on the throne of Israel.’

⁶ “^(NH)But if you or your sons indeed turn away from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have placed before you, but you go and serve other gods and worship them, ^7 (NI)then I will cut Israel off from the land which I have given them, and ^(NJ)the house which I have consecrated for My name, I will ^[gv]expel from My sight. So ^(NK)Israel will become a saying and an object of derision among all peoples. ⁸ And this house will become ^(NL)a heap of ruins; everyone who passes by it will be appalled and ^[gw]hiss and say, ‘^(NM)Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and this house?’ ⁹ And they will say, ‘^(NN)Because they abandoned the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and they ^[gx]adopted other gods and worshiped and served them, for that reason the Lord has brought all this adversity on them.’”

Cities Given to Hiram

^10 (NO)Now it came about ^(NP)at the end of twenty years in which Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the Lord and the king’s house ¹¹ (Hiram king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and juniper timber and gold, ^[gy]satisfying all his desire), that King Solomon then gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. ¹² So Hiram left Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him, and they ^[gz]did not please him. ¹³ And he said, “What are these cities which you have given me, my brother?” So ^[ha]they have been called the land of ^[hb](NQ)Cabul to this day. ^14 (NR)And Hiram sent to the king ^[hc]120 talents of gold.

¹⁵ Now this is the account of the forced labor which King Solomon ^(NS)conscripted to build the house of the Lord, his own house, the ^[hd](NT)Millo, the wall of Jerusalem, ^(NU)Hazor, ^(NV)Megiddo, and ^(NW)Gezer. ¹⁶ For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and overthrown Gezer and burned it with fire, and killed the ^(NX)Canaanites who lived in the city; and he had ^(NY)given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife. ¹⁷ So Solomon rebuilt Gezer and the lower ^(NZ)Beth-horon, ¹⁸ and ^(OA)Baalath and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land of Judah, ¹⁹ and all the storage cities which Solomon had, that is, ^(OB)the cities for ^[he]his chariots and the cities for ^[hf](OC)his horsemen, and ^[hg](OD)everything that it pleased Solomon to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land ^[hh]under his rule. ²⁰ As 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 (OE)their descendants who were left after them in the land, ^(OF)whom the sons of Israel were unable to completely eliminate, ^(OG)from them Solomon conscripted ^(OH)forced laborers, as they are to this day. ²² But Solomon ^(OI)did not make slaves of the sons of Israel; for they were men of war, his servants, his commanders, his charioteers, his chariot commanders, and his horsemen.

²³ These were the ^[hi](OJ)chief officers who were in charge of Solomon’s work, 550, ^(OK)who ruled over the people doing the work.

²⁴ As soon as ^(OL)Pharaoh’s daughter came up from the city of David to her house which Solomon had built for her, ^(OM)he then built the Millo.

²⁵ Now ^(ON)three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he had built for the Lord, burning incense with them on the altar which was before the Lord. So he finished the house.

²⁶ King Solomon also built a ^(OO)fleet of ships in ^(OP)Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the ^[hj]Red Sea, in the land of Edom. ^27 (OQ)And Hiram sent his servants with the fleet, sailors who knew the sea, along with the servants of Solomon. ²⁸ And they went to ^(OR)Ophir and received ^[hk]420 talents of gold from there, and brought it to King Solomon.

The Queen of Sheba

10 ^(OS)Now when the ^(OT)queen of ^(OU)Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon in relation to the name of the Lord, she came ^(OV)to test him with riddles. ² So she came to Jerusalem with a very large entourage, with camels ^(OW)carrying balsam oil and a very large quantity of gold and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she spoke to him about everything that was in her heart. ³ And Solomon ^[hl]answered all her questions; nothing was concealed from the king which he did not explain to her. ⁴ When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, ⁵ and the food of his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their attire, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings which he offered at the house of the Lord, ^[hm]she was breathless. ⁶ Then she said to the king, “It was a true ^[hn]story that I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. ⁷ But I did not believe the ^[ho]stories until I came and my own eyes saw it all. And behold, the half of it was not reported to me. You have exceeded in wisdom and prosperity the report which I heard. ^8 (OX)Blessed are your men, and blessed are these servants of yours who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom! ^9 (OY)Blessed be the Lord your God who delighted in you to put you on the throne of Israel; ^(OZ)because the Lord loves Israel forever, He made you king, ^(PA)to do justice and righteousness.” ¹⁰ Then ^(PB)she gave the king ^[hp]120 talents of gold, and a very large amount of balsam oil and precious stones. Never again did such a large quantity of balsam oil come in as that which the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.

^11 (PC)And the ships of Hiram as well, which brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir a very great number of almug trees and precious stones. ^12 (PD)The king made from the almug trees supports for the house of the Lord and for the king’s house, and lyres and harps for the singers; such almug trees have not come in again, nor have they been seen to this day.

¹³ And King Solomon granted the queen of Sheba everything she desired, whatever she requested, besides what he gave her in proportion to ^[hq]his royal bounty. Then she ^[hr]departed and went to her own land ^[hs]together with her servants.

Wealth, Splendor, and Wisdom

^14 (PE)Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was ^[ht]666 talents of gold, ¹⁵ besides that from the traders, and the ^[hu]wares of the merchants and all the kings of the ^(PF)Arabs and the governors of the country. ^16 (PG)King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold, ^[hv]using six hundred shekels of gold on each large shield. ¹⁷ And he made ^(PH)three hundred small shields of beaten gold, ^[hw]using ^[hx]three minas of gold on each shield; and ^(PI)the king put them in the house of the timber of Lebanon. ¹⁸ Moreover, the king made a large throne of ^(PJ)ivory and overlaid it with fine gold. ¹⁹ There were six steps to the throne and a round top to the throne at its back, and ^[hy]armrests ^[hz]on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the ^[ia]armrests. ²⁰ Twelve lions were standing there on the six steps on the one side and on the other; nothing like it was made for ^[ib]any other kingdom. ²¹ Now all King Solomon’s drinking utensils were of gold, and all the utensils of the house of the timber of Lebanon were of pure gold. None was of silver; it was not considered as amounting to anything in the days of Solomon. ²² For ^(PK)the king had the ships of Tarshish at sea with Hiram’s ships; once every three years the ships of Tarshish would come carrying gold and silver, ivory, monkeys, and peacocks.

^23 (PL)So King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in wealth and wisdom. ²⁴ And all the earth was seeking the ^[ic]attention of Solomon, ^(PM)to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. ²⁵ And ^(PN)they were bringing, everyone, ^[id]a gift: articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, balsam oil, horses, and mules, so much year by year.

^26 (PO)Now Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; and he had 1,400 chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, and he ^[ie]stationed them in the ^(PP)chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. ^27 (PQ)And the king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees that are in the ^[if]lowland. ^28 (PR)Also Solomon’s import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king’s merchants acquired them from Kue for a price. ²⁹ A chariot ^[ig]was imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for 150; and ^[ih]by the same means they exported them ^(PS)to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of the Arameans.

Solomon Turns from God

11 Now ^(PT)King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, ² from the nations of which the Lord had said to the sons of Israel, “^(PU)You shall not ^[ii]associate with them, nor shall they ^[ij]associate with you; they will certainly turn your heart away ^[ik]to follow their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. ^3 (PV)He had seven hundred wives, who were ^[il]princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned his heart away. ⁴ For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away ^[im]to follow other gods; and ^(PW)his heart was not ^[in]wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of his father David had been. ⁵ For Solomon became a follower of ^(PX)Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and of ^[io](PY)Milcom the abhorrent idol of the Ammonites. ⁶ So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not follow the Lord fully, as his father David had done. ⁷ Then Solomon built a high place for ^(PZ)Chemosh, the abhorrent idol of Moab, on the mountain that is ^[ip]east of Jerusalem, and for ^(QA)Molech, the abhorrent idol of the sons of Ammon. ⁸ He also did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

⁹ Now ^(QB)the Lord was angry with Solomon ^(QC)because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, ^(QD)who had appeared to him twice, ¹⁰ and ^(QE)had commanded him regarding this thing, that he was not to follow other gods; but he did not comply with what the Lord had commanded. ¹¹ So the Lord said to Solomon, “Since ^[iq]you have done this, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, ^(QF)I will certainly tear the kingdom away from you, and will give it to your servant. ¹² However, I will not do it in your days, only for the sake of your father David; but I will tear it away from the hand of your son. ¹³ Yet ^(QG)I will not tear away all the kingdom, but ^(QH)I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David, and ^(QI)for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”

God Raises Adversaries

¹⁴ Then the Lord raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was of the ^[ir]royal line in Edom. ¹⁵ For it came about, ^(QJ)when David was in Edom and Joab the commander of the army had gone up to bury those killed in battle, and had ^(QK)struck and killed every male in Edom ¹⁶ (for Joab and all Israel stayed there for six months, until he had eliminated every male in Edom), ¹⁷ that Hadad fled ^[is]to Egypt, he and certain Edomites of his father’s servants with him, while Hadad was a young boy. ¹⁸ They set out from Midian and came to ^(QL)Paran; and they took men with them from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house and assigned him food and gave him land. ¹⁹ Now Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him in marriage the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen. ²⁰ And the sister of Tahpenes gave birth to his son Genubath, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh’s house; and Genubath was in Pharaoh’s house among the sons of Pharaoh. ²¹ But ^(QM)when Hadad heard in Egypt that David ^[it]lay down with his fathers and that Joab the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me go, so that I may go to my own country.” ²² However, Pharaoh said to him, “But what have you lacked with me that you are here, requesting to go to your own country?” And he answered, “Nothing; nevertheless you must let me go.”

^23 (QN)God also raised up another adversary against him, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his master ^(QO)Hadadezer, king of Zobah. ²⁴ And he gathered men to himself and became leader of a marauding band, ^(QP)after David killed those of Zobah; and they went to Damascus and stayed ^[iu]there, and reigned in Damascus. ²⁵ So he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, along with the harm that Hadad inflicted; and he felt disgust for Israel and reigned over Aram.

²⁶ Then ^(QQ)Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite of Zeredah, Solomon’s servant, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow, ^(QR)also ^[iv]rebelled against the king. ²⁷ Now this was the reason why he ^[iw]rebelled against the king: ^(QS)Solomon built the ^[ix]Millo, and closed up the breach of the city of his father David. ²⁸ Now the man Jeroboam was a valiant warrior, and when ^(QT)Solomon saw that the young man was ^[iy]industrious, he appointed him over all the ^[iz]forced labor of the house of Joseph. ²⁹ And it came about at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that ^(QU)the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. Now ^[ja]Ahijah had clothed himself with a new cloak; and both of them were alone in the field. ³⁰ Then ^(QV)Ahijah took hold of the new cloak which was on him and tore it into twelve pieces. ³¹ And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Behold, ^(QW)I am going to tear the kingdom away from the hand of Solomon and give you ten tribes ³² (^(QX)but he shall have one tribe, for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, ^(QY)the city which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel), ³³ because they have abandoned Me, and ^(QZ)have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, ^(RA)Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the sons of Ammon; and they have not walked in My ways, doing what is right in My sight and keeping My statutes and My ordinances, as his father David did. ³⁴ Nevertheless I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him ruler all the days of his life, for the sake of My servant David whom I chose, who kept My commandments and My statutes; ³⁵ but ^(RB)I will take the kingdom from his son’s hand and give it to you; that is, ten tribes. ³⁶ But ^(RC)to his son I will give one tribe, ^(RD)so that My servant David may always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, ^(RE)the city where I have chosen for Myself to put My name. ³⁷ However I will take you, and you shall reign over all that ^[jb]you desire, and you shall be king over Israel. ³⁸ Then it shall be, that if you listen to all that I command you and walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight by keeping My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then ^(RF)I will be with you and ^(RG)build you an enduring house as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you. ³⁹ So I will oppress the ^[jc]descendants of David for this, but not always.’” ⁴⁰ Solomon sought therefore to put Jeroboam to death; but Jeroboam set out and fled to Egypt to ^(RH)Shishak king of Egypt, and he was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

The Death of Solomon

^41 (RI)Now the rest of the acts of Solomon and whatever he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon? ⁴² So ^(RJ)the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. ⁴³ Then Solomon ^[jd](RK)lay down with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David, and his son ^(RL)Rehoboam reigned in his place.

King Rehoboam Acts Foolishly

12 ^(RM)Then Rehoboam went to Shechem, because all Israel had come to ^(RN)Shechem to make him king. ² Now ^(RO)when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard about this, ^[je]he was living in Egypt (for he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from the presence of King Solomon). ³ Then they sent word and summoned him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, ⁴ “^(RP)Your father made our yoke hard; but now, lighten the hard labor imposed by your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.” ⁵ Then he said to them, “^(RQ)Depart ^[jf]for three days, then return to me.” So the people departed.

⁶ And King Rehoboam ^(RR)consulted with the elders who had ^[jg]served his father Solomon while he was still alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?” ⁷ Then they spoke to him, saying, “^(RS)If you will be a servant to this people today, and will serve them and ^[jh]grant them their request, and speak pleasant words to them, then they will be your servants always.” ⁸ But he ignored the advice of the elders which they had given him, and consulted with the young men who had grown up with him ^[ji]and served him. ⁹ He said to them, “What advice do you give, so that we may answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke which your father put on us’?” ¹⁰ And the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, “This is what you should say to this people who spoke to you, saying: ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, now you make it lighter for us!’ You should speak this way to them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist! ¹¹ Now then, my father loaded you with a heavy yoke; yet I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with ^[jj]scorpions!’”

¹² Then Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, just as the king had ^[jk]directed, saying, “^(RT)Return to me on the third day.” ¹³ And the king answered the people harshly, for he ignored the advice of the elders which they had ^[jl]given him, ¹⁴ and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, “^(RU)My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with ^[jm]scorpions!” ¹⁵ So the king did not listen to the people; ^(RV)because it was ^[jn]a turn of events from the Lord, ^(RW)in order to establish His word which the Lord spoke through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

The Kingdom Divided; Jeroboam Rules Israel

¹⁶ When all Israel saw that the king had not listened to them, the people replied to the king, saying,

So Israel went away to their tents. ¹⁷ But ^(RY)as for the sons of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. ¹⁸ Then King Rehoboam sent ^(RZ)Adoram, who was in charge of the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him ^[jo]to death. And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. ^19 (SA)So Israel has broken with the house of David to this day.

²⁰ And it came about, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, that they sent word and called him to the assembly, and made him king over all Israel. ^(SB)None except the tribe of Judah alone followed the house of David.

^21 (SC)Now when Rehoboam had come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against the house of Israel to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. ²² But the word of God came to ^(SD)Shemaiah the man of God, saying, ²³ “Tell Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and the ^(SE)rest of the people, saying, ²⁴ ‘This is what the Lord says: “You shall not go up nor fight against your relatives the sons of Israel; return, every man to his house, ^(SF)for this thing has come from Me.”’” So they listened to the word of the Lord, and returned to go their way in accordance with the word of the Lord.

Jeroboam’s Idolatry

²⁵ Then ^(SG)Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and lived ^[jp]there. And he went out from there and built ^(SH)Penuel. ²⁶ And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will return to the house of David. ^27 (SI)If this people go up to ^[jq]offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will return to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” ²⁸ So the king ^[jr]consulted, and he ^(SJ)made two golden ^(SK)calves; and he said to ^[js]the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; ^(SL)behold your gods, Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt.” ²⁹ And he set up ^(SM)one in ^(SN)Bethel, and the other he put in ^(SO)Dan. ³⁰ Now ^(SP)this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan. ³¹ And ^(SQ)he made houses on high places, and ^[jt](SR)appointed priests from ^[ju]all the people who were not of the sons of Levi. ³² Jeroboam also ^[jv]instituted a feast in the eighth month on the fifteenth day of the month, ^(SS)like the feast that is in Judah, and he ^[jw]went up to the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves which he had made. And he stationed in Bethel ^(ST)the priests of the high places which he had made. ³³ Then he ^[jx]went up to the altar which he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, the month that he had ^[jy](SU)devised ^[jz]in his own heart; and he ^[ka]instituted a feast for the sons of Israel and ^[kb]went up to the altar ^(SV)to burn ^[kc]incense.

Jeroboam Warned, Stricken

13 Now behold, ^(SW)a man of God came from Judah to Bethel by the word of the Lord, while Jeroboam was standing at the altar ^(SX)to burn incense. ² And ^(SY)he cried out against the altar by the word of the Lord and said, “Altar, altar, this is what the Lord says: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, ^(SZ)Josiah by name; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones shall burn on you.’” ³ Then he gave a ^[kd]sign on the same day, saying, “^(TA)This is the ^[ke]sign which the Lord has spoken: ‘Behold, the altar shall be torn to pieces and the ^[kf]ashes which are on it shall be poured out.’” ⁴ Now when the king heard the statement of the man of God which he cried out against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him!” But his hand which he had stretched out toward him dried up, and he could not draw it back to himself. ⁵ The altar also was torn to pieces and the ^[kg]ashes were poured out from the altar, in accordance with the ^[kh]sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord. ⁶ And the king responded and said to the man of God, “Please ^[ki](TB)appease the Lord your God and pray for me, so that my hand may be restored to me.” So ^(TC)the man of God ^[kj]appeased the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him, and it became as it was before. ⁷ Then the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and ^(TD)I will give you a gift.” ⁸ But the man of God said to the king, “^(TE)If you were to give me half your house, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water in this place. ⁹ For so ^[kk]it was commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘You shall not eat bread nor drink water, nor return by the way that you came.’” ¹⁰ So he went another way and did not return by the way that he had come to Bethel.

The Disobedient Prophet

¹¹ Now ^(TF)an old prophet was living in Bethel; and his ^[kl]sons came and told him all the deeds which the man of God had done that day in Bethel; the words which he had spoken to the king, these also they reported to their father. ¹² And their father said to them, “^[km]Which way did he go?” Now his sons ^[kn]had seen the way that the man of God who came from Judah had gone. ¹³ Then he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him and he rode away on it. ¹⁴ So he went after the man of God and found him sitting under ^[ko]an oak; and he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” And he said, “I am.” ¹⁵ Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.” ¹⁶ But he said, “^(TG)I cannot return with you, nor come with you, nor will I eat bread or drink water with you in this place. ¹⁷ For a ^[kp]command came to me ^(TH)by the word of the Lord: ‘You shall not eat bread, nor drink water there; do not return by going the way that you came.’” ¹⁸ Then he said to him, “^(TI)I too am a prophet like you, and ^(TJ)an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, so that he may eat bread and drink water.’” But ^(TK)he lied to him. ¹⁹ So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house and drank water.

²⁰ Now it came about, as they were sitting down at the table, that the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back; ²¹ and he cried out to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because you have ^[kq]disobeyed the ^[kr]command of the Lord, and have not kept the commandment which the Lord your God commanded you, ²² but have returned and eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which He said to you, “You are not to eat bread nor drink water”; your dead body will not come to the grave of your fathers.’” ²³ It came about after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, that he saddled the donkey for him, for the prophet whom he had brought back. ²⁴ Now when he had gone, ^(TL)a lion met him on the way and killed him, and his body was thrown on the road, with the donkey standing beside it; the lion also was standing beside the body. ²⁵ And behold, men passed by and saw the body thrown on the road, and the lion standing beside the body; so they came and told about it in the city where ^(TM)the old prophet had lived.

²⁶ Now when the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard about it, he said, “It is the man of God, who ^[ks]disobeyed the ^[kt]command of the Lord; therefore the Lord has given him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, in accordance with the word of the Lord which He spoke to him.” ²⁷ Then he spoke to his sons, saying, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And they saddled it. ²⁸ Then he went and found his body thrown on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside the body; the lion had not eaten the body nor ^[ku]harmed the donkey. ²⁹ So the prophet picked up the body of the man of God and laid it on the donkey and brought it back; and he came to the city of the old prophet to mourn and to bury him. ³⁰ He laid his body in his own grave, and they mourned over him, saying, “^(TN)Oh, my brother!” ³¹ And after he had buried him, he talked to his sons, saying, “When I die, bury me in the grave in which the man of God is buried; ^(TO)lay my bones beside his bones. ^32 (TP)For the thing will certainly come to pass which he cried out by the word of the Lord against the altar that is in Bethel, and ^(TQ)against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of ^(TR)Samaria.”

³³ After this event, Jeroboam did not ^[kv]abandon his evil way, but he ^(TS)again ^[kw]appointed priests of the high places from ^[kx]all the people; ^(TT)anyone who wanted, he ordained, and he became ^[ky]one of the priests of the high places.