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:

²⁴ For he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah^(A) to Gaza, and had peace^(B) on all sides. ²⁵ During Solomon’s lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba,^(C) lived in safety,^(D) everyone under their own vine and under their own fig tree.^(E)

²⁶ Solomon had four^[a] thousand stalls for chariot horses,^(F) and twelve thousand horses.^[b]

²⁷ The district governors,^(G) each in his month, supplied provisions for King Solomon and all who came to the king’s table. They saw to it that nothing was lacking. ²⁸ They also brought to the proper place their quotas of barley and straw for the chariot horses and the other horses.

Solomon’s Wisdom

²⁹ God gave Solomon wisdom^(H) and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand^(I) on the seashore. ³⁰ Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East,^(J) and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.^{(K) 31} He was wiser^(L) than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite—wiser than Heman, Kalkol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations. ³² He spoke three thousand proverbs^(M) and his songs^(N) numbered a thousand and five. ³³ He spoke about plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop^(O) that grows out of walls. He also spoke about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. ³⁴ From all nations people came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings^(P) of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.^[c]

Solomon’s Other Activities^(A)

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^(B) 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,^[a](C) a name they have to this day. ¹⁴ Now Hiram had sent to the king 120 talents^[b] of gold.^(D)

¹⁵ Here is the account of the forced labor King Solomon conscripted^(E) to build the Lord’s temple, his own palace, the terraces,^[c](F) the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor,^(G) Megiddo and Gezer.^{(H) 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,^(I) Solomon’s wife. ¹⁷ And Solomon rebuilt Gezer.) He built up Lower Beth Horon,^{(J) 18} Baalath,^(K) and Tadmor^[d] in the desert, within his land, ¹⁹ as well as all his store cities^(L) and the towns for his chariots^(M) and for his horses^[e]—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,^(N) Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites^(O) (these peoples were not Israelites). ²¹ Solomon conscripted the descendants^(P) of all these peoples remaining in the land—whom the Israelites could not exterminate^[f](Q)—to serve as slave labor,^(R) as it is to this day. ²² But Solomon did not make slaves^(S) 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^(T) in charge of Solomon’s projects—550 officials supervising those who did the work.

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

²⁵ Three^(W) 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^(X) at Ezion Geber,^(Y) which is near Elath^(Z) in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea.^{[g] 27} And Hiram sent his men—sailors^(AA) who knew the sea—to serve in the fleet with Solomon’s men. ²⁸ They sailed to Ophir^(AB) and brought back 420 talents^[h] of gold,^(AC) which they delivered to King Solomon.

Solomon’s Other Activities^(A)

8 At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built the temple of the Lord and his own palace,^{(B) 2} Solomon rebuilt the villages that Hiram^[a] had given him, and settled Israelites in them. ³ Solomon then went to Hamath Zobah and captured it. ⁴ He also built up Tadmor in the desert and all the store cities he had built in Hamath.^{(C) 5} He rebuilt Upper Beth Horon^(D) and Lower Beth Horon as fortified cities, with walls and with gates and bars, ⁶ as well as Baalath^(E) and all his store cities, and all the cities for his chariots and for his horses^[b]—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled.

⁷ There were still people left from the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites^(F) (these people were not Israelites). ⁸ Solomon conscripted^(G) the descendants of all these people remaining in the land—whom the Israelites had not destroyed—to serve as slave labor, as it is to this day. ⁹ But Solomon did not make slaves of the Israelites for his work; they were his fighting men, commanders of his captains, and commanders of his chariots and charioteers. ¹⁰ They were also King Solomon’s chief officials—two hundred and fifty officials supervising the men.

¹¹ Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter^(H) up from the City of David to the palace he had built for her, for he said, “My wife must not live in the palace of David king of Israel, because the places the ark of the Lord has entered are holy.”

¹² On the altar^(I) of the Lord that he had built in front of the portico, Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings to the Lord, ¹³ according to the daily requirement^(J) for offerings commanded by Moses for the Sabbaths,^(K) the New Moons^(L) and the three^(M) annual festivals—the Festival of Unleavened Bread,^(N) the Festival of Weeks^(O) and the Festival of Tabernacles.^{(P) 14} In keeping with the ordinance of his father David, he appointed the divisions^(Q) of the priests for their duties, and the Levites^(R) to lead the praise and to assist the priests according to each day’s requirement. He also appointed the gatekeepers^(S) by divisions for the various gates, because this was what David the man of God^(T) had ordered.^{(U) 15} They did not deviate from the king’s commands to the priests or to the Levites in any matter, including that of the treasuries.

¹⁶ All Solomon’s work was carried out, from the day the foundation of the temple of the Lord was laid until its completion. So the temple of the Lord was finished.

¹⁷ Then Solomon went to Ezion Geber and Elath on the coast of Edom. ¹⁸ And Hiram sent him ships commanded by his own men, sailors who knew the sea. These, with Solomon’s men, sailed to Ophir and brought back four hundred and fifty talents^[c] of gold,^(V) which they delivered to King Solomon.

The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon^(A)

10 When the queen of Sheba^(B) heard about the fame^(C) of Solomon and his relationship to the Lord, she came to test Solomon with hard questions.^{(D) 2} Arriving at Jerusalem with a very great caravan^(E)—with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with him about all that she had on her mind. ³ Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. ⁴ When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had built, ⁵ the food on his table,^(F) the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he made at^[a] the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed.

⁶ She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. ⁷ But I did not believe^(G) these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth^(H) you have far exceeded the report I heard. ⁸ How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear^(I) your wisdom! ⁹ Praise^(J) be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the Lord’s eternal love^(K) for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice^(L) and righteousness.”

¹⁰ And she gave the king 120 talents^[b] of gold,^(M) large quantities of spices, and precious stones. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

¹¹ (Hiram’s ships brought gold from Ophir;^(N) and from there they brought great cargoes of almugwood^[c] and precious stones. ¹² The king used the almugwood to make supports^[d] for the temple of the Lord and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. So much almugwood has never been imported or seen since that day.)

¹³ King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.

Solomon’s Splendor^(A)

¹⁴ The weight of the gold^(B) that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents,^{[a] 15} not including the revenues from merchants and traders and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of the territories.

¹⁶ King Solomon made two hundred large shields^(C) of hammered gold; six hundred shekels^[b] of gold went into each shield. ¹⁷ He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three minas^[c] of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.^(D)

¹⁸ Then the king made a great throne covered with ivory and overlaid with fine gold. ¹⁹ The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. ²⁰ Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom. ²¹ All King Solomon’s goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold.^(E) Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s days. ²² The king had a fleet of trading ships^[d](F) at sea along with the ships^(G) of Hiram. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.

²³ King Solomon was greater in riches^(H) and wisdom^(I) than all the other kings of the earth. ²⁴ The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom^(J) God had put in his heart. ²⁵ Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift^(K)—articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.

²⁶ Solomon accumulated chariots and horses;^(L) he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses,^[e] which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. ²⁷ The king made silver as common^(M) in Jerusalem as stones,^(N) and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig^(O) trees in the foothills. ²⁸ Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue^[f]—the royal merchants purchased them from Kue at the current price. ²⁹ They imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty.^[g] They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites^(P) and of the Arameans.

Psalm 72

Of Solomon.