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1 Kings 9
New International Version

The Lord Appears to Solomon(A)

9 When Solomon had finished(B) building the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had achieved all he had desired to do, 2 the Lord appeared(C) to him a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3 The Lord said to him:

“I have heard(D) the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name(E) there forever. My eyes(F) and my heart will always be there.

4 “As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with integrity of heart(G) and uprightness, as David(H) your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws,(I) 5 I will establish(J) your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail(K) to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’

6 “But if you[a] or your descendants turn away(L) from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you[b] and go off to serve other gods(M) and worship them, 7 then I will cut off Israel from the land(N) I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name.(O) Israel will then become a byword(P) and an object of ridicule(Q) among all peoples. 8 This temple will become a heap of rubble. All[c] who pass by will be appalled(R) and will scoff and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’(S) 9 People will answer,(T) ‘Because they have forsaken(U) the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why the Lord brought all this disaster(V) on them.’”

Solomon’s Other Activities(W)

10 At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built these two buildings—the temple of the Lord and the royal palace— 11 King Solomon gave twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, because Hiram had supplied him with all the cedar and juniper and gold(X) he wanted. 12 But when Hiram went from Tyre to see the towns that Solomon had given him, he was not pleased with them. 13 “What kind of towns are these you have given me, my brother?” he asked. And he called them the Land of Kabul,[d](Y) a name they have to this day. 14 Now Hiram had sent to the king 120 talents[e] of gold.(Z)

15 Here is the account of the forced labor King Solomon conscripted(AA) to build the Lord’s temple, his own palace, the terraces,[f](AB) the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor,(AC) Megiddo and Gezer.(AD) 16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it on fire. He killed its Canaanite inhabitants and then gave it as a wedding gift to his daughter,(AE) Solomon’s wife. 17 And Solomon rebuilt Gezer.) He built up Lower Beth Horon,(AF) 18 Baalath,(AG) and Tadmor[g] in the desert, within his land, 19 as well as all his store cities(AH) and the towns for his chariots(AI) and for his horses[h]—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled.

20 There were still people left from the Amorites, Hittites,(AJ) Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites(AK) (these peoples were not Israelites). 21 Solomon conscripted the descendants(AL) of all these peoples remaining in the land—whom the Israelites could not exterminate[i](AM)—to serve as slave labor,(AN) as it is to this day. 22 But Solomon did not make slaves(AO) of any of the Israelites; they were his fighting men, his government officials, his officers, his captains, and the commanders of his chariots and charioteers. 23 They were also the chief officials(AP) in charge of Solomon’s projects—550 officials supervising those who did the work.

24 After Pharaoh’s daughter(AQ) had come up from the City of David to the palace Solomon had built for her, he constructed the terraces.(AR)

25 Three(AS) times a year Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar he had built for the Lord, burning incense before the Lord along with them, and so fulfilled the temple obligations.

26 King Solomon also built ships(AT) at Ezion Geber,(AU) which is near Elath(AV) in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea.[j] 27 And Hiram sent his men—sailors(AW) who knew the sea—to serve in the fleet with Solomon’s men. 28 They sailed to Ophir(AX) and brought back 420 talents[k] of gold,(AY) which they delivered to King Solomon.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 9:6 The Hebrew is plural.
  2. 1 Kings 9:6 The Hebrew is plural.
  3. 1 Kings 9:8 See some Septuagint manuscripts, Old Latin, Syriac, Arabic and Targum; Hebrew And though this temple is now imposing, all
  4. 1 Kings 9:13 Kabul sounds like the Hebrew for good-for-nothing.
  5. 1 Kings 9:14 That is, about 4 1/2 tons or about 4 metric tons
  6. 1 Kings 9:15 Or the Millo; also in verse 24
  7. 1 Kings 9:18 The Hebrew may also be read Tamar.
  8. 1 Kings 9:19 Or charioteers
  9. 1 Kings 9:21 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  10. 1 Kings 9:26 Or the Sea of Reeds
  11. 1 Kings 9:28 That is, about 16 tons or about 14 metric tons
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1 Kings 9
English Standard Version

The Lord Appears to Solomon

9 (A)As soon as Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord (B)and the king's house and (C)all that Solomon desired to build, 2 (D)the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3 And the Lord said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your plea, which you have made before me. I have consecrated this house that you have built, (E)by putting my name there forever. (F)My eyes and my heart will be there for all time. 4 And as for you, if you will (G)walk before me, (H)as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my rules, 5 (I)then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’ 6 (J)But if you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, 7 (K)then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, (L)and the house that I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight, (M)and Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 8 And this house will become a heap of ruins.[a] Everyone passing by it will be astonished and will hiss, and they will say, (N)‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ 9 Then they will say, ‘Because (O)they abandoned the Lord their God who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore the Lord has brought all this disaster on them.’”

Solomon's Other Acts

10 (P)At the end of (Q)twenty years, in which Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the Lord and the king's house, 11 and Hiram king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and cypress timber and gold, as much as he desired, King Solomon gave to Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. 12 But when Hiram came from Tyre to see the cities that Solomon had given him, they did not please him. 13 Therefore he said, “What kind of cities are these that you have given me, my brother?” So they are called the land of (R)Cabul to this day. 14 Hiram had sent to the king 120 talents[b] of gold.

15 And this is the account of (S)the forced labor that King Solomon drafted to build the house of the Lord and his own house and (T)the Millo and the wall of Jerusalem and (U)Hazor and (V)Megiddo and Gezer 16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and captured Gezer and burned it with fire, and had killed (W)the Canaanites who lived in the city, and had given it as dowry to (X)his daughter, Solomon's wife; 17 so Solomon rebuilt Gezer) and (Y)Lower Beth-horon 18 and Baalath and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land of Judah,[c] 19 and all the store cities that Solomon had, and (Z)the cities for his chariots, and the cities for (AA)his horsemen, and whatever Solomon (AB)desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. 20 All the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the people of Israel— 21 (AC)their descendants who were left after them in the land, (AD)whom the people of Israel were unable to devote to destruction[d]—(AE)these Solomon drafted to be (AF)slaves, and so they are to this day. 22 But (AG)of the people of Israel Solomon made no slaves. They were the soldiers, they were his officials, his commanders, his captains, his chariot commanders and his horsemen.

23 These were the chief officers who were over Solomon's work: (AH)550 (AI)who had charge of the people who carried on the work.

24 But (AJ)Pharaoh's daughter went up from the city of David to (AK)her own house that Solomon had built for her. (AL)Then he built (AM)the Millo.

25 Three times a year Solomon used to offer up burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar that he built to the Lord, making offerings with it[e] before the Lord. So he finished the house.

26 King Solomon built a fleet of ships at (AN)Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. 27 And Hiram sent (AO)with the fleet his servants, seamen who were familiar with the sea, together with the servants of Solomon. 28 And they went to (AP)Ophir and brought from there gold, 420 talents, and they brought it to King Solomon.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 9:8 Syriac, Old Latin; Hebrew will become high
  2. 1 Kings 9:14 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms
  3. 1 Kings 9:18 Hebrew lacks of Judah
  4. 1 Kings 9:21 That is, set apart (devote) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction)
  5. 1 Kings 9:25 Septuagint lacks with it
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1 Kings 9
New American Standard Bible

God’s Promise and Warning

9 (A)Now it came about when Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord and (B)the king’s house, and (C)all [a]that Solomon desired to do, 2 that (D)the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3 And the Lord said to him, “(E)I have heard your prayer and your plea which you have offered before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built, (F)by putting My name there forever, and (G)My eyes and My heart will be there [b]always. 4 As for you, (H)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 (I)I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, just as I [c]promised to your father David, saying, ‘[d]You shall not be deprived of a man on the throne of Israel.’

6 “(J)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 (K)then I will cut Israel off from the land which I have given them, and (L)the house which I have consecrated for My name, I will [e]expel from My sight. So (M)Israel will become a saying and an object of derision among all peoples. 8 And this house will become (N)a heap of ruins; everyone who passes by it will be appalled and [f]hiss and say, ‘(O)Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and this house?’ 9 And they will say, ‘(P)Because they abandoned the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and they [g]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 (Q)Now it came about (R)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, [h]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 [i]did not please him. 13 And he said, “What are these cities which you have given me, my brother?” So [j]they have been called the land of [k](S)Cabul to this day. 14 (T)And Hiram sent to the king [l]120 talents of gold.

15 Now this is the account of the forced labor which King Solomon (U)conscripted to build the house of the Lord, his own house, the [m](V)Millo, the wall of Jerusalem, (W)Hazor, (X)Megiddo, and (Y)Gezer. 16 For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and overthrown Gezer and burned it with fire, and killed the (Z)Canaanites who lived in the city; and he had (AA)given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife. 17 So Solomon rebuilt Gezer and the lower (AB)Beth-horon, 18 and (AC)Baalath and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land of Judah, 19 and all the storage cities which Solomon had, that is, (AD)the cities for [n]his chariots and the cities for [o](AE)his horsemen, and [p](AF)everything that it pleased Solomon to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land [q]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 (AG)their descendants who were left after them in the land, (AH)whom the sons of Israel were unable to completely eliminate, (AI)from them Solomon conscripted (AJ)forced laborers, as they are to this day. 22 But Solomon (AK)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 [r](AL)chief officers who were in charge of Solomon’s work, 550, (AM)who ruled over the people doing the work.

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

25 Now (AP)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 (AQ)fleet of ships in (AR)Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the [s]Red Sea, in the land of Edom. 27 (AS)And Hiram sent his servants with the fleet, sailors who knew the sea, along with the servants of Solomon. 28 And they went to (AT)Ophir and received [t]420 talents of gold from there, and brought it to King Solomon.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 9:1 Lit Solomon’s desire which he was pleased to do
  2. 1 Kings 9:3 Lit all the days
  3. 1 Kings 9:5 Lit spoke
  4. 1 Kings 9:5 Lit There shall not be cut off to you a man
  5. 1 Kings 9:7 Lit send
  6. 1 Kings 9:8 Or whistle
  7. 1 Kings 9:9 Lit laid hold of
  8. 1 Kings 9:11 Lit to all
  9. 1 Kings 9:12 Lit were not right in his sight
  10. 1 Kings 9:13 Lit he called them
  11. 1 Kings 9:13 I.e., like nothing
  12. 1 Kings 9:14 About 4.5 tons or 4 metric tons
  13. 1 Kings 9:15 I.e., terraced structure
  14. 1 Kings 9:19 Lit the
  15. 1 Kings 9:19 Lit the
  16. 1 Kings 9:19 Lit the desire of Solomon which he desired to build in Jerusalem
  17. 1 Kings 9:19 Lit of
  18. 1 Kings 9:23 Or officers of the deputies
  19. 1 Kings 9:26 Lit Sea of Reeds
  20. 1 Kings 9:28 About 16 tons or 14 metric tons
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1 Kings 9
Revised Standard Version

God Appears Again to Solomon

9 When Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord and the king’s house and all that Solomon desired to build, 2 the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3 And the Lord said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your supplication, which you have made before me; I have consecrated this house which you have built, and put my name there for ever; my eyes and my heart will be there for all time. 4 And as for you, if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my ordinances, 5 then I will establish your royal throne over Israel for ever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘There shall not fail you a man upon the throne of Israel.’ 6 But if you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, 7 then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and the house which I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight; and Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 8 And this house will become a heap of ruins;[a] everyone passing by it will be astonished, and will hiss; and they will say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ 9 Then they will say, ‘Because they forsook the Lord their God who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore the Lord has brought all this evil upon them.’”

10 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 and Hiram king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and cypress timber and gold, as much as he desired, King Solomon gave to Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. 12 But when Hiram came from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him, they did not please him. 13 Therefore he said, “What kind of cities are these which you have given me, my brother?” So they are called the land of Cabul to this day. 14 Hiram had sent to the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold.

Other Acts of Solomon

15 And this is the account of the forced labor which King Solomon levied to build the house of the Lord and his own house and the Millo and the wall of Jerusalem and Hazor and Megid′do and Gezer 16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and captured Gezer and burnt it with fire, and had slain the Canaanites who dwelt in the city, and had given it as dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife; 17 so Solomon rebuilt Gezer) and Lower Beth-hor′on 18 and Ba′alath and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land of Judah,[b] 19 and all the store-cities that Solomon had, and the cities for his chariots, and the cities for his horsemen, and whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. 20 All the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Per′izzites, the Hivites, and the Jeb′usites, who were not of the people of Israel— 21 their descendants who were left after them in the land, whom the people of Israel were unable to destroy utterly—these Solomon made a forced levy of slaves, and so they are to this day. 22 But of the people of Israel Solomon made no slaves; they were the soldiers, they were his officials, his commanders, his captains, his chariot commanders and his horsemen.

23 These were the chief officers who were over Solomon’s work: five hundred and fifty, who had charge of the people who carried on the work.

24 But Pharaoh’s daughter went up from the city of David to her own house which Solomon had built for her; then he built the Millo.

25 Three times a year Solomon used to offer up burnt offerings and peace offerings upon the altar which he built to the Lord, burning incense[c] before the Lord. So he finished the house.

Solomon’s Commercial Activity

26 King Solomon built a fleet of ships at E′zion-ge′ber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. 27 And Hiram sent with the fleet his servants, seamen who were familiar with the sea, together with the servants of Solomon; 28 and they went to Ophir, and brought from there gold, to the amount of four hundred and twenty talents; and they brought it to King Solomon.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 9:8 Syr Old Latin: Heb high
  2. 1 Kings 9:18 Heb lacks of Judah
  3. 1 Kings 9:25 Gk: Heb burning incense with it which
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1 Kings 9
New Living Translation

The Lord’s Response to Solomon

9 So Solomon finished building the Temple of the Lord, as well as the royal palace. He completed everything he had planned to do. 2 Then the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, as he had done before at Gibeon. 3 The Lord said to him,

“I have heard your prayer and your petition. I have set this Temple apart to be holy—this place you have built where my name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart.

4 “As for you, if you will follow me with integrity and godliness, as David your father did, obeying all my commands, decrees, and regulations, 5 then I will establish the throne of your dynasty over Israel forever. For I made this promise to your father, David: ‘One of your descendants will always sit on the throne of Israel.’

6 “But if you or your descendants abandon me and disobey the commands and decrees I have given you, and if you serve and worship other gods, 7 then I will uproot Israel from this land that I have given them. I will reject this Temple that I have made holy to honor my name. I will make Israel an object of mockery and ridicule among the nations. 8 And though this Temple is impressive now, all who pass by will be appalled and will gasp in horror. They will ask, ‘Why did the Lord do such terrible things to this land and to this Temple?’

9 “And the answer will be, ‘Because his people abandoned the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and they worshiped other gods instead and bowed down to them. That is why the Lord has brought all these disasters on them.’”

Solomon’s Agreement with Hiram

10 It took Solomon twenty years to build the Lord’s Temple and his own royal palace. At the end of that time, 11 he gave twenty towns in the land of Galilee to King Hiram of Tyre. (Hiram had previously provided all the cedar and cypress timber and gold that Solomon had requested.) 12 But when Hiram came from Tyre to see the towns Solomon had given him, he was not at all pleased with them. 13 “What kind of towns are these, my brother?” he asked. So Hiram called that area Cabul (which means “worthless”), as it is still known today. 14 Nevertheless, Hiram paid[a] Solomon 9,000 pounds[b] of gold.

Solomon’s Many Achievements

15 This is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon conscripted to build the Lord’s Temple, the royal palace, the supporting terraces,[c] the wall of Jerusalem, and the cities of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. 16 (Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, had attacked and captured Gezer, killing the Canaanite population and burning it down. He gave the city to his daughter as a wedding gift when she married Solomon. 17 So Solomon rebuilt the city of Gezer.) He also built up the towns of Lower Beth-horon, 18 Baalath, and Tamar[d] in the wilderness within his land. 19 He built towns as supply centers and constructed towns where his chariots and horses[e] could be stationed. He built everything he desired in Jerusalem and Lebanon and throughout his entire realm.

20 There were still some people living in the land who were not Israelites, including Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 21 These were descendants of the nations whom the people of Israel had not completely destroyed.[f] So Solomon conscripted them as slaves, and they serve as forced laborers to this day. 22 But Solomon did not conscript any of the Israelites for forced labor. Instead, he assigned them to serve as fighting men, government officials, officers and captains in his army, commanders of his chariots, and charioteers. 23 Solomon appointed 550 of them to supervise the people working on his various projects.

24 Solomon moved his wife, Pharaoh’s daughter, from the City of David to the new palace he had built for her. Then he constructed the supporting terraces.

25 Three times each year Solomon presented burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar he had built for the Lord. He also burned incense to the Lord. And so he finished the work of building the Temple.

26 King Solomon also built a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, a port near Elath[g] in the land of Edom, along the shore of the Red Sea.[h] 27 Hiram sent experienced crews of sailors to sail the ships with Solomon’s men. 28 They sailed to Ophir and brought back to Solomon some sixteen tons[i] of gold.

Footnotes

  1. 9:14a Or For Hiram had paid.
  2. 9:14b Hebrew 120 talents [4,000 kilograms].
  3. 9:15 Hebrew the millo; also in 9:24. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
  4. 9:18 An alternate reading in the Masoretic Text reads Tadmor.
  5. 9:19 Or and charioteers.
  6. 9:21 The Hebrew term used here refers to the complete consecration of things or people to the Lord, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering.
  7. 9:26a As in Greek version (see also 2 Kgs 14:22; 16:6); Hebrew reads Eloth, a variant spelling of Elath.
  8. 9:26b Hebrew sea of reeds.
  9. 9:28 Hebrew 420 talents [14 metric tons].
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