The People Who Returned from Captivity

9 All the people of Israel were listed according to their families, and this information was recorded in The book of the Kings of Israel.

The people of Judah had been deported to Babylon as punishment for their sins. ^2 (A)The first to return to their property in the cities included Israelite citizens, priests, Levites, and Temple workers. ³ People from the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh went to live in Jerusalem.

^4-6 There were 690 families of the tribe of Judah who lived in Jerusalem.

The descendants of Judah's son Perez had as their leader Uthai, the son of Ammihud and grandson of Omri. His other ancestors included Imri and Bani.

The descendants of Judah's son Shelah had as their leader Asaiah, who was the head of his family.

The descendants of Judah's son Zerah had Jeuel as their leader.

^7-8 The following members of the tribe of Benjamin lived in Jerusalem:

⁹ There were 956 families of this tribe living there. All the men named above were heads of families.

The Priests Who Lived in Jerusalem

^10-12 The following priests lived in Jerusalem:

¹³ The priests who were heads of families totaled 1,760. They were experts in all the work carried on in the Temple.

The Levites Who Lived in Jerusalem

^14-16 The following Levites lived in Jerusalem:

The Temple Guards Who Lived in Jerusalem

¹⁷ The following Temple guards lived in Jerusalem: Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, and Ahiman. Shallum was their leader. ¹⁸ Down to that time members of their clans had been stationed at the eastern entrance to the King's Gate.^[a] Formerly they had stood guard at the gates to the camps of the Levites.

¹⁹ Shallum, the son of Kore and grandson of Ebiasaph, together with his fellow members of the clan of Korah, was responsible for guarding the entrance to the Tent of the Lord's presence, just as their ancestors had been when they were in charge of the Lord's camp. ²⁰ Phinehas son of Eleazar—may the Lord be with him!—had supervised them at one time.

²¹ Zechariah son of Meshelemiah was also a guard at the entrance to the Tent of the Lord's presence.

²² In all, 212 men were chosen as guards for the entrances and gates. They were registered according to the villages where they lived. It was King David and the prophet Samuel who had put their ancestors in these responsible positions. ²³ They and their descendants continued to guard the gates to the Temple. ²⁴ There was a gate facing in each direction, north, south, east, and west, and each had a chief guard. ²⁵ These guards were assisted by their relatives, who lived in the villages and who had to take turns at guard duty for seven days at a time. ²⁶ The four chief guards were Levites and had the final responsibility. They were also responsible for the rooms in the Temple and for the supplies kept there. ²⁷ They lived near the Temple, because it was their duty to guard it and to open the gates every morning.

The Other Levites

²⁸ Other Levites were responsible for the utensils used in worship. They checked them out and checked them back in every time they were used. ²⁹ Others were in charge of the other sacred equipment, and of the flour, wine, olive oil, incense, and spices. ³⁰ But the responsibility for mixing the spices belonged to the priests.

³¹ A Levite named Mattithiah, oldest son of Shallum, of the clan of Korah, was responsible for preparing the baked offerings.^{[b] 32} Members of the clan of Kohath were responsible for preparing the sacred bread^[c] for the Temple every Sabbath.

³³ Some Levite families were responsible for the Temple music. The heads of these families lived in some of the Temple buildings and were free from other duties, because they were on call day and night.

³⁴ The men named above were heads of Levite families, according to their ancestral lines. They were the leaders who lived in Jerusalem.

The Ancestors and Descendants of King Saul^(B)

³⁵ Jeiel founded the city of Gibeon and settled there. His wife was named Maacah. ³⁶ His oldest son was Abdon, and his other sons were Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab, ³⁷ Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah, and Mikloth, ³⁸ the father of Shimeah. Their descendants lived in Jerusalem near other families of their clan.

³⁹ Ner was the father of Kish, and Kish was the father of Saul. Saul had four sons: Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Eshbaal.^{[d] 40} Jonathan was the father of Meribbaal,^[e] who was the father of Micah. ⁴¹ Micah had four sons: Pithon, Melech, Tarea, and Ahaz.^{[f] 42} Ahaz was the father of Jarah, who was the father of three sons: Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri. Zimri was the father of Moza, ⁴³ Moza the father of Binea, Binea of Rephaiah, Rephaiah of Eleasah, and Eleasah of Azel.

⁴⁴ Azel had six sons: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan.

The Death of King Saul^(C)

10 The Philistines fought a battle against the Israelites on Mount Gilboa. Many Israelites were killed there, and the rest of them, including King Saul and his sons, fled. ² But the Philistines caught up with them and killed three of Saul's sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua. ³ The fighting was heavy around Saul, and he was hit by enemy arrows and badly wounded. ⁴ He said to the young man carrying his weapons, “Draw your sword and kill me, to keep these godless Philistines from gloating over me.” But the young man was too terrified to do it. So Saul took his own sword and threw himself on it. ⁵ The young man saw that Saul was dead, so he too threw himself on his sword and died. ⁶ So Saul and his three sons all died together, and none of his descendants ever ruled. ⁷ When the Israelites who lived in Jezreel Valley heard that the army had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their towns and ran off. Then the Philistines came and occupied them.

⁸ The day after the battle the Philistines went to plunder the corpses, and they found the bodies of Saul and his sons lying on Mount Gilboa. ⁹ They cut off Saul's head, stripped off his armor, and sent messengers with them throughout Philistia to tell the good news to their idols and to their people. ¹⁰ They put his weapons in one of their temples and hung his head in the temple of their god Dagon. ¹¹ When the people of Jabesh in Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, ¹² the bravest men went and got the bodies of Saul and his sons and took them to Jabesh. They buried them there under an oak and fasted for seven days.

^13 (D)Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord. He disobeyed the Lord's commands; he tried to find guidance by consulting the spirits of the dead ¹⁴ instead of consulting the Lord. So the Lord killed him and gave control of the kingdom to David son of Jesse.

David Becomes King of Israel and Judah^(E)

11 All the people of Israel went to David at Hebron and said to him, “We are your own flesh and blood. ² In the past, even when Saul was still our king, you led the people of Israel in battle, and the Lord your God promised you that you would lead his people and be their ruler.” ³ So all the leaders of Israel came to King David at Hebron. He made a sacred alliance with them, they anointed him, and he became king of Israel, just as the Lord had promised through Samuel.

^4 (F)King David and all the Israelites went and attacked the city of Jerusalem. It was then known as Jebus, and the Jebusites, the original inhabitants of the land, were still living there. ⁵ The Jebusites told David he would never get inside the city, but David captured their fortress of Zion, and it became known as “David's City.” ⁶ David said, “The first man to kill a Jebusite will be commander of the army!” Joab, whose mother was Zeruiah, led the attack and became commander. ⁷ Because David went to live in the fortress, it came to be called “David's City.” ⁸ He rebuilt the city, starting at the place where land was filled in on the east side of the hill, and Joab restored the rest of the city. ⁹ David grew stronger and stronger, because the Lord Almighty was with him.

David's Famous Soldiers^(G)

¹⁰ This is the list of David's famous soldiers. Together with the rest of the people of Israel, they helped him become king, as the Lord had promised, and they kept his kingdom strong.

¹¹ First was Jashobeam of the clan of Hachmon, the leader of “The Three.”^[g] He fought with his spear against three hundred men and killed them all in one battle. ¹² Next among the famous “Three” was Eleazar son of Dodo, of the clan of Ahoh. ¹³ He fought on David's side against the Philistines at the battle of Pas Dammim. He was in a barley field when the Israelites started to run away, ¹⁴ so he and his men took a stand in the middle of the field and fought the Philistines. The Lord gave him a great victory.

¹⁵ One day three of the thirty leading soldiers went to a rock where David was staying near Adullam Cave, while a band of Philistines was camping in Rephaim Valley. ¹⁶ At that time David was on a fortified hill, and a group of Philistines had occupied Bethlehem. ¹⁷ David got homesick and said, “How I wish someone would bring me a drink of water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem!” ¹⁸ The three famous soldiers forced their way through the Philistine camp, drew some water from the well, and brought it back to David. But he would not drink it; instead he poured it out as an offering to the Lord ¹⁹ and said, “I could never drink this! It would be like drinking the blood of these men who risked their lives!” So he refused to drink it. These were the brave deeds of the three famous soldiers.

²⁰ Joab's brother Abishai was the leader of “The Famous Thirty.”^[h] He fought with his spear against three hundred men and killed them, and became famous among “The Thirty.”^{[i] 21} He was the most famous of “The Thirty”^[j] and became their leader, but he was not as famous as “The Three.”

²² Benaiah son of Jehoiada from Kabzeel was a famous soldier; he did many brave deeds, including killing two great Moabite warriors. He once went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. ²³ He also killed an Egyptian, a huge man seven and a half feet tall, who was armed with a gigantic spear. Benaiah attacked him with a club, snatched the spear from the Egyptian's hand, and killed him with it. ²⁴ Those were the brave deeds of Benaiah, who was one of “The Thirty.”^{[k] 25} He was outstanding among “The Thirty,” but not as famous as “The Three.” David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

^26-47 These are the other outstanding soldiers:

David's Early Followers from the Tribe of Benjamin

12 David was living in Ziklag, where he had gone to escape from King Saul. There he was joined by many experienced, reliable soldiers, ² members of the tribe of Benjamin, to which Saul belonged. They could shoot arrows and sling stones either right-handed or left-handed. ^3-7 They were under the command of Ahiezer and Joash, sons of Shemaah, from Gibeah.

These were the soldiers:

David's Followers from the Tribe of Gad

⁸ These are the names of the famous, experienced soldiers from the tribe of Gad who joined David's troops when he was at the desert fort. They were experts with shields and spears, as fierce looking as lions and as quick as mountain deer. ^9-13 They were ranked in the following order: Ezer, Obadiah, Eliab, Mishmannah, Jeremiah, Attai, Eliel, Johanan, Elzabad, Jeremiah, and Machbannai.

¹⁴ Some of these men from the tribe of Gad were senior officers in command of a thousand men, and others were junior officers in command of a hundred. ¹⁵ In the first month of one year, the time when the Jordan River overflowed its banks, they crossed the river, scattering the people who lived in the valleys both east and west of the river.

Followers from Benjamin and Judah

¹⁶ Once a group of men from the tribes of Benjamin and Judah went out to the fort where David was. ¹⁷ David went to meet them and said, “If you are coming as friends to help me, you are welcome here. Join us! But if you intend to betray me to my enemies, even though I have not tried to hurt you, the God of our ancestors will know it and punish you.”

¹⁸ God's spirit took control of one of them, Amasai, who later became the commander of “The Thirty,” and he called out,

David welcomed them and made them officers in his army.

Followers from Manasseh

¹⁹ Some soldiers from the tribe of Manasseh went over to David's side when he was marching out with the Philistines to fight King Saul. Actually he did not help the Philistines, for their kings were afraid that he would betray them to his former master Saul, so they sent him back to Ziklag. ²⁰ These are the soldiers from Manasseh who went over to David's side when he was returning: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai. In Manasseh they had all commanded units of a thousand men. ²¹ They served David as officers over his troops,^[n] because they were all outstanding soldiers. Later they were officers in the Israelite army. ²² Almost every day new men joined David's forces, so that his army was soon enormous.

List of David's Forces

^23-37 When David was at Hebron, many trained soldiers joined his army to help make him king in place of Saul, as the Lord had promised. Their numbers were as follows:

Judah: 6,800 well-equipped men, armed with shields and spears;

Simeon: 7,100 well-trained men;

Levi: 4,600 men;

Benjamin (Saul's own tribe): 3,000 men (most of the people of Benjamin had remained loyal to Saul);

Ephraim: 20,800 men famous in their own clans;

West Manasseh: 18,000 men chosen to go and make David king;

Issachar: 200 leaders, together with the men under their command (these leaders knew what Israel should do and the best time to do it);

Zebulun: 50,000 loyal and reliable men ready to fight, trained to use all kinds of weapons;

Naphtali: 1,000 leaders, together with 37,000 men armed with shields and spears;

Dan: 28,600 trained men;

Asher: 40,000 men ready for battle;

Tribes east of the Jordan—Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh: 120,000 men trained to use all kinds of weapons.

³⁸ All these soldiers, ready for battle, went to Hebron, determined to make David king over all Israel. All the rest of the people of Israel were united in the same purpose. ³⁹ They spent three days there with David, feasting on the food and drink which their relatives had prepared for them. ⁴⁰ From as far away as the northern tribes of Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali, people came bringing donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen loaded with food—flour, figs, raisins, wine, and olive oil. They also brought cattle and sheep to kill and eat. All this was an expression of the joy that was felt throughout the whole country.

The Covenant Box Is Moved from Kiriath Jearim^(H)

13 King David consulted with all the officers in command of units of a thousand men and units of a hundred men. ² Then he announced to all the people of Israel, “If you give your approval and if it is the will of the Lord our God, let us send messengers to the rest of our people and to the priests and Levites in their towns, and tell them to assemble here with us. ³ Then we will go and get God's Covenant Box, which was ignored while Saul was king.” ⁴ The people were pleased with the suggestion and agreed to it.

^5 (I)So David assembled the people of Israel from all over the country, from the Egyptian border in the south to Hamath Pass in the north, in order to bring the Covenant Box from Kiriath Jearim to Jerusalem. ^6 (J)David and the people went to the city of Baalah, that is, to Kiriath Jearim, in the territory of Judah, to get the Covenant Box of God, which bears the name of the Lord enthroned above the winged creatures. ⁷ At Abinadab's house they brought out the Covenant Box and put it on a new cart. Uzzah and Ahio guided the cart, ⁸ while David and all the people danced with all their might to honor God. They sang and played musical instruments—harps, drums, cymbals, and trumpets.

⁹ As they came to the threshing place of Chidon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah reached out and took hold of the Covenant Box. ¹⁰ At once the Lord became angry with Uzzah and killed him for touching the Box. He died there in God's presence, ¹¹ and so that place has been called Perez Uzzah^[o] ever since. David was furious because the Lord had punished Uzzah in anger.

^12 (K)Then David was afraid of God and said, “How can I take the Covenant Box with me now?” ¹³ So David did not take it with him to Jerusalem. Instead, he left it at the house of a man named Obed Edom, a native of the city of Gath. ^14 (L)It stayed there three months, and the Lord blessed Obed Edom's family and everything that belonged to him.

David's Activities in Jerusalem^(M)

14 King Hiram of Tyre sent a trade mission to David; he provided him with cedar logs and with stonemasons and carpenters to build a palace. ² And so David realized that the Lord had established him as king of Israel and was making his kingdom prosperous for the sake of his people.

³ There in Jerusalem, David married more wives and had more sons and daughters. ⁴ The following children were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, ⁵ Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet, ⁶ Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, ⁷ Elishama, Beeliada,^[p] and Eliphelet.

Victory over the Philistines^(N)

⁸ When the Philistines heard that David had now been made king over the whole country of Israel, their army went out to capture him. So David marched out to meet them. ⁹ The Philistines arrived at Rephaim Valley and began plundering. ¹⁰ David asked God, “Shall I attack the Philistines? Will you give me the victory?”

The Lord answered, “Yes, attack! I will give you the victory!”

¹¹ So David attacked them at Baal Perazim and defeated them. He said, “God has used me to break through the enemy army like a flood.” So that place is called Baal Perazim.^{[q] 12} When the Philistines fled, they left their idols behind, and David gave orders for them to be burned.

¹³ Soon the Philistines returned to the valley and started plundering it again. ¹⁴ Once more David consulted God, who answered, “Don't attack them from here, but go around and get ready to attack them from the other side, near the balsam trees. ¹⁵ When you hear the sound of marching in the treetops, then attack, because I will be marching ahead of you to defeat the Philistine army.” ¹⁶ David did what God had commanded, and so he drove the Philistines back from Gibeon all the way to Gezer. ¹⁷ David's fame spread everywhere, and the Lord made every nation afraid of him.

Getting Ready to Move the Covenant Box

15 For his own use, David built houses in David's City.^[r] He also prepared a place for God's Covenant Box and put up a tent for it. ^2 (O)Then he said, “Only Levites should carry the Covenant Box, because they are the ones the Lord chose to carry it and to serve him forever.” ³ So David summoned all the people of Israel to Jerusalem in order to bring the Covenant Box to the place he had prepared for it. ⁴ Next he sent for the descendants of Aaron and for the Levites. ⁵ From the Levite clan of Kohath came Uriel, in charge of 120 members of his clan; ⁶ from the clan of Merari came Asaiah, in charge of 220; ⁷ from the clan of Gershon, Joel, in charge of 130; ⁸ from the clan of Elizaphan, Shemaiah, in charge of 200; ⁹ from the clan of Hebron, Eliel, in charge of 80; ¹⁰ and from the clan of Uzziel, Amminadab, in charge of 112.

¹¹ David called in the priests Zadok and Abiathar and the six Levites, Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab. ¹² He said to the Levites, “You are the leaders of the Levite clans. Purify yourselves and your fellow Levites, so that you can bring the Covenant Box of the Lord God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it. ¹³ Because you were not there to carry it the first time, the Lord our God punished us for not worshiping him as we should have done.”

¹⁴ Then the priests and the Levites purified themselves in order to move the Covenant Box of the Lord God of Israel. ^15 (P)The Levites carried it on poles on their shoulders, as the Lord had commanded through Moses.

¹⁶ David commanded the leaders of the Levites to assign various Levites to sing and to play joyful music on harps and cymbals. ^17-21 From the clans of singers they chose the following men to play the brass cymbals: Heman son of Joel, his relative Asaph son of Berechiah, and Ethan son of Kushaiah, of the clan of Merari. To assist them they chose the following Levites to play the high-pitched harps: Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah.

To play the low-pitched harps they chose the following Levites: Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Azaziah, and the Temple guards, Obed Edom and Jeiel.

²² Because of his skill in music Chenaniah was chosen to be in charge of the levitical musicians. ^23-24 Berechiah and Elkanah, along with Obed Edom and Jehiah, were chosen as guards for the Covenant Box. The priests Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer were chosen to blow trumpets in front of the Covenant Box.

Moving the Covenant Box to Jerusalem^(Q)

²⁵ So King David, the leaders of Israel, and the military commanders went to the house of Obed Edom to get the Covenant Box, and they had a great celebration. ²⁶ They sacrificed seven bulls and seven sheep, to make sure that God would help the Levites who were carrying the Covenant Box. ²⁷ David was wearing a robe made of the finest linen, and so were the musicians, Chenaniah their leader, and the Levites who carried the Box. David also wore a linen ephod. ²⁸ So all the Israelites accompanied the Covenant Box up to Jerusalem with shouts of joy, the sound of trumpets, horns, and cymbals, and the music of harps.

²⁹ As the Box was being brought into the city, Michal, Saul's daughter, looked out of the window and saw King David dancing and leaping for joy, and she was disgusted with him.

16 They took the Covenant Box to the tent which David had prepared for it and put it inside. Then they offered sacrifices and fellowship offerings to God. ² After David had finished offering the sacrifices, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord ³ and distributed food to them all. He gave each man and woman in Israel a loaf of bread, a piece of roasted meat,^[s] and some raisins.

⁴ David appointed some of the Levites to lead the worship of the Lord, the God of Israel, in front of the Covenant Box, by singing and praising him. ⁵ Asaph was appointed leader, with Zechariah as his assistant. Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed Edom, and Jeiel were to play harps. Asaph was to sound the cymbals, ⁶ and two priests, Benaiah and Jahaziel, were to blow trumpets regularly in front of the Covenant Box. ⁷ It was then that David first gave Asaph and the other Levites the responsibility for singing praises to the Lord.

A Song of Praise^(R)

Then all the people said, “Amen,” and praised the Lord.

Worship at Jerusalem and Gibeon

³⁷ King David put Asaph and the other Levites in permanent charge of the worship that was held at the place where the Covenant Box was kept. They were to perform their duties there day by day. ³⁸ Obed Edom son of Jeduthun and sixty-eight men of his clan were to assist them. Hosah and Obed Edom were in charge of guarding the gates.

³⁹ Zadok the priest and his fellow priests, however, were in charge of the worship of the Lord at the place of worship in Gibeon. ⁴⁰ Every morning and evening they were to burn sacrifices whole on the altar in accordance with what was written in the Law which the Lord gave to Israel. ⁴¹ There with them were Heman and Jeduthun and the others who were specifically chosen to sing praises to the Lord for his eternal love. ⁴² Heman and Jeduthun also had charge of the trumpets and cymbals and the other instruments which were played when the songs of praise were sung. The members of Jeduthun's clan were in charge of guarding the gates.

^43 (W)Then everyone went home, and David went home to spend some time with his family.

Nathan's Message to David^(X)

17 King David was now living in his palace. One day he sent for the prophet Nathan and said to him, “Here I am living in a house built of cedar, but the Lord's Covenant Box is kept in a tent!”

² Nathan answered, “Do whatever you have in mind, because God is with you.”

³ But that night God said to Nathan, ⁴ “Go and tell my servant David that I say to him, ‘You are not the one to build a temple for me to live in. ⁵ From the time I rescued the people of Israel from Egypt until now I have never lived in a temple; I have always lived in tents and moved from place to place. ⁶ In all my traveling with the people of Israel I never asked any of the leaders that I appointed why they had not built me a temple made of cedar.’

⁷ “So tell my servant David that I, the Lord Almighty, say to him, ‘I took you from looking after sheep in the fields and made you the ruler of my people Israel. ⁸ I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have defeated all your enemies as you advanced. I will make you as famous as the greatest leaders in the world. ^9-10 I have chosen a place for my people Israel and have settled them there, where they will live without being oppressed any more. Ever since they entered this land they have been attacked by violent people, but this will not happen again. I promise to defeat all your enemies and to give you descendants. ¹¹ When you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will make one of your sons king and will keep his kingdom strong. ¹² He will be the one to build a temple for me, and I will make sure that his dynasty continues forever. ^13 (Y)I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will not withdraw my support from him as I did from Saul, whom I removed so that you could be king. ¹⁴ I will put him in charge of my people and my kingdom forever. His dynasty will never end.’”

¹⁵ Nathan told David everything that God had revealed to him.

David's Prayer of Thanksgiving^(Z)

¹⁶ Then King David went into the Tent of the Lord's presence, sat down, and prayed, “I am not worthy of what you have already done for me, Lord God, nor is my family. ¹⁷ Yet now you are doing even more; you have made promises about my descendants in the years to come, and you, Lord God, are already treating me like someone great.^{[u] 18} What more can I say to you! You know me well, and yet you honor me, your servant. ¹⁹ It was your will and purpose to do this for me and to show me my future greatness. ²⁰ Lord, there is none like you; we have always known that you alone are God. ²¹ There is no other nation on earth like Israel, whom you rescued from slavery to make them your own people. The great and wonderful things you did for them spread your fame throughout the world. You rescued your people from Egypt and drove out other nations as your people advanced. ²² You have made Israel your own people forever, and you, Lord, have become their God.

²³ “And now, O Lord, fulfill for all time the promise you made about me and my descendants, and do what you said you would. ²⁴ Your fame will be great, and people will forever say, ‘The Lord Almighty is God over Israel.’ And you will preserve my dynasty for all time. ²⁵ I have the courage to pray this prayer to you, my God, because you have revealed all this to me, your servant, and have told me that you will make my descendants kings. ²⁶ You, Lord, are God, and you have made this wonderful promise to me. ²⁷ I ask you to bless my descendants so that they will continue to enjoy your favor. You, Lord, have blessed them, and your blessing will rest on them forever.”

David's Military Victories^(AA)

18 Some time later King David attacked the Philistines again and defeated them. He took out of their control the city of Gath and its surrounding villages. ² He also defeated the Moabites, who became his subjects and paid taxes to him.

³ Next, David attacked King Hadadezer of the Syrian state of Zobah, near the territory of Hamath, because Hadadezer was trying to gain control of the territory by the upper Euphrates River. ⁴ David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand cavalry troops, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He kept enough horses for a hundred chariots and crippled all the rest.

⁵ When the Syrians of Damascus sent an army to help King Hadadezer, David attacked it and killed twenty-two thousand men. ⁶ Then he set up military camps in their territory, and they became his subjects and paid taxes to him. The Lord made David victorious everywhere. ⁷ David captured the gold shields carried by Hadadezer's officials and took them to Jerusalem. ^8 (AB)He also took a great quantity of bronze from Tibhath and Kun, cities ruled by Hadadezer. (Solomon later used this bronze to make the tank, the columns, and the bronze utensils for the Temple.)

⁹ King Toi of Hamath heard that David had defeated Hadadezer's entire army. ¹⁰ So he sent his son Joram to greet King David and congratulate him for his victory over Hadadezer, against whom Toi had fought many times. Joram brought David presents made of gold, silver, and bronze. ¹¹ King David dedicated them for use in worship, along with the silver and gold he took from the nations he conquered—Edom, Moab, Ammon, Philistia, and Amalek.

^12 (AC)Abishai, whose mother was Zeruiah, defeated the Edomites in Salt Valley and killed eighteen thousand of them. ¹³ He set up military camps throughout Edom, and the people there became King David's subjects. The Lord made David victorious everywhere.

¹⁴ David ruled over all Israel and made sure that his people were always treated fairly and justly. ¹⁵ Abishai's brother Joab was commander of the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was in charge of the records; ¹⁶ Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah^[v] was court secretary; ¹⁷ Benaiah son of Jehoiada was in charge of David's bodyguards; and King David's sons held high positions in his service.

David Defeats the Ammonites and the Syrians^(AD)

19 Some time later King Nahash of Ammon died, and his son Hanun became king. ² King David said, “I must show loyal friendship to Hanun, as his father Nahash did to me.” So David sent messengers to express his sympathy.

When they arrived in Ammon and called on King Hanun, ³ the Ammonite leaders said to the king, “Do you think that it is in your father's honor that David has sent these men to express sympathy to you? Of course not! He has sent them here as spies to explore the land, so that he can conquer it!”

⁴ Hanun seized David's messengers, shaved off their beards, cut off their clothes at the hips, and sent them away. ⁵ They were too ashamed to return home. When David heard what had happened, he sent word for them to stay in Jericho and not return until their beards had grown again.

⁶ King Hanun and the Ammonites realized that they had made David their enemy, so they paid nearly forty tons of silver to hire chariots and charioteers from Upper Mesopotamia and from the Syrian states of Maacah and Zobah. ⁷ The thirty-two thousand chariots they hired and the army of the king of Maacah came and camped near Medeba. The Ammonites too came out from all their cities and got ready to fight.

⁸ When David heard what was happening, he sent out Joab and the whole army. ⁹ The Ammonites marched out and took up their position at the entrance to Rabbah, their capital city, and the kings who had come to help took up their position in the open countryside.

¹⁰ Joab saw that the enemy troops would attack him in front and from the rear, so he chose the best of Israel's soldiers and put them in position facing the Syrians. ¹¹ He placed the rest of his troops under the command of his brother Abishai, who put them in position facing the Ammonites. ¹² Joab said to him, “If you see that the Syrians are defeating me, come and help me, and if the Ammonites are defeating you, I will go and help you. ¹³ Be strong and courageous! Let's fight hard for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the Lord's will be done.”

¹⁴ Joab and his men advanced to attack, and the Syrians fled. ¹⁵ When the Ammonites saw the Syrians running away, they fled from Abishai and retreated into the city. Then Joab went back to Jerusalem.

¹⁶ The Syrians realized that they had been defeated by the Israelites, so they brought troops from the Syrian states on the east side of the Euphrates River and placed them under the command of Shobach, commander of the army of King Hadadezer of Zobah. ¹⁷ When David heard of it, he gathered the Israelite troops, crossed the Jordan River, and put them in position facing the Syrians. The fighting began, ¹⁸ and the Israelites drove the Syrian army back. David and his men killed seven thousand Syrian chariot drivers and forty thousand foot soldiers. They also killed the Syrian commander, Shobach. ¹⁹ When the kings who were subject to Hadadezer realized that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became his subjects. The Syrians were never again willing to help the Ammonites.

David Captures Rabbah^(AE)

20 ^(AF)The following spring, at the time of the year when kings usually go to war, Joab led out the army and invaded the land of Ammon; King David, however, stayed in Jerusalem. They besieged the city of Rabbah, attacked it, and destroyed it. ² The Ammonite idol Molech^[w] had a gold crown which weighed about seventy-five pounds. In it there was a jewel, which David took and put in his own crown. He also took a large amount of loot from the city. ³ He took the people of the city and put them to work with saws, iron hoes, and axes. He did the same to the people of all the other towns of Ammon. Then he and his men returned to Jerusalem.

Battles against Philistine Giants^(AG)

⁴ Later on, war broke out again with the Philistines at Gezer. This was when Sibbecai from Hushah killed a giant named Sippai, and the Philistines were defeated.

^5 (AH)There was another battle with the Philistines, and Elhanan son of Jair killed Lahmi, the brother of Goliath from Gath, whose spear had a shaft as thick as the bar on a weaver's loom.

⁶ Another battle took place at Gath, where there was a giant with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. He was a descendant of the ancient giants. ⁷ He defied the Israelites, and Jonathan, the son of David's brother Shammah, killed him.

⁸ These three, who were killed by David and his men, were descendants of the giants at Gath.

David Takes a Census^(AI)

21 Satan wanted to bring trouble on the people of Israel, so he made David decide to take a census. ² David gave orders to Joab and the other officers, “Go through Israel, from one end of the country to the other, and count the people. I want to know how many there are.”

³ Joab answered, “May the Lord make the people of Israel a hundred times more numerous than they are now! Your Majesty, they are all your servants. Why do you want to do this and make the whole nation guilty?” ⁴ But the king made Joab obey the order. Joab went out, traveled through the whole country of Israel, and then returned to Jerusalem. ⁵ He reported to King David the total number of men capable of military service: 1,100,000 in Israel and 470,000 in Judah. ⁶ Because Joab disapproved of the king's command, he did not take any census of the tribes of Levi and Benjamin.

⁷ God was displeased with what had been done, so he punished Israel. ⁸ David said to God, “I have committed a terrible sin in doing this! Please forgive me. I have acted foolishly.”

⁹ Then the Lord said to Gad, David's prophet, ¹⁰ “Go and tell David that I am giving him three choices. I will do whichever he chooses.”

¹¹ Gad went to David, told him what the Lord had said, and asked, “Which is it to be? ¹² Three years of famine? Or three months of running away from the armies of your enemies? Or three days during which the Lord attacks you with his sword and sends an epidemic on your land, using his angel to bring death throughout Israel? What answer shall I give the Lord?”

¹³ David replied to Gad, “I am in a desperate situation! But I don't want to be punished by people. Let the Lord himself be the one to punish me, because he is merciful.”

¹⁴ So the Lord sent an epidemic on the people of Israel, and seventy thousand of them died. ¹⁵ Then he sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem, but he changed his mind and said to the angel, “Stop! That's enough!” The angel was standing by the threshing place of Araunah, a Jebusite.

¹⁶ David saw the angel standing in midair, holding his sword in his hand, ready to destroy Jerusalem. Then David and the leaders of the people—all of whom were wearing sackcloth—bowed low, with their faces touching the ground. ¹⁷ David prayed, “O God, I am the one who did wrong. I am the one who ordered the census. What have these poor people done? Lord, my God, punish me and my family, and spare your people.”

¹⁸ The angel of the Lord told Gad to command David to go and build an altar to the Lord at Araunah's threshing place. ¹⁹ David obeyed the Lord's command and went, as Gad had told him to. ²⁰ There at the threshing place Araunah and his four sons were threshing wheat, and when they saw the angel, the sons ran and hid. ²¹ As soon as Araunah saw King David approaching, he left the threshing place and bowed low, with his face touching the ground. ²² David said to him, “Sell me your threshing place, so that I can build an altar to the Lord, to stop the epidemic. I'll give you the full price.”

²³ “Take it, Your Majesty,” Araunah said, “and do whatever you wish. Here are these oxen to burn as an offering on the altar, and here are the threshing boards to use as fuel, and wheat to give as an offering. I give it all to you.”

²⁴ But the king answered, “No, I will pay you the full price. I will not give as an offering to the Lord something that belongs to you, something that costs me nothing.” ²⁵ And he paid Araunah six hundred gold coins for the threshing place. ²⁶ He built an altar to the Lord there and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He prayed, and the Lord answered him by sending fire from heaven to burn the sacrifices on the altar.

²⁷ The Lord told the angel to put his sword away, and the angel obeyed. ²⁸ David saw by this that the Lord had answered his prayer, so he offered sacrifices on the altar at Araunah's threshing place. ²⁹ The Tent of the Lord's presence which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar on which sacrifices were burned were still at the place of worship at Gibeon at this time; ³⁰ but David was not able to go there to worship God, because he was afraid of the sword of the Lord's angel.

22 So David said, “This is where the Temple of the Lord God will be. Here is the altar where the people of Israel are to offer burnt offerings.”

Preparations for Building the Temple

² King David gave orders for all the foreigners living in the land of Israel to assemble, and he put them to work. Some of them prepared stone blocks for building the Temple. ³ He supplied a large amount of iron for making nails and clamps for the wooden gates, and so much bronze that no one could weigh it. ⁴ He had the people of Tyre and Sidon bring him a large number of cedar logs. ⁵ David thought, “The Temple that my son Solomon is to build must be splendid and world-famous. But he is young and inexperienced, so I must make preparations for it.” So David got large amounts of the materials ready before he died.

⁶ He sent for his son Solomon and commanded him to build a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel. ^7 (AJ)David said to him, “Son, I wanted to build a temple to honor the Lord my God. ⁸ But the Lord told me that I had killed too many people and fought too many wars. And so, because of all the bloodshed I have caused, he would not let me build a temple for him. ⁹ He did, however, make me a promise. He said, ‘You will have a son who will rule in peace, because I will give him peace from all his enemies. His name will be Solomon,^[x] because during his reign I will give Israel peace and security. ¹⁰ He will build a temple for me. He will be my son, and I will be his father. His dynasty will rule Israel forever.’”

¹¹ David continued, “Now, son, may the Lord your God be with you, and may he keep his promise to make you successful in building a temple for him. ¹² And may the Lord your God give you insight and wisdom so that you may govern Israel according to his Law. ^13 (AK)If you obey all the laws which the Lord gave to Moses for Israel, you will be successful. Be determined and confident, and don't let anything make you afraid. ¹⁴ As for the Temple, by my efforts I have accumulated almost four thousand tons of gold and nearly forty thousand tons of silver to be used in building it. Besides that, there is an unlimited supply of bronze and iron. I also have wood and stone ready, but you must get more. ¹⁵ You have many workers. There are stonecutters to work in the quarries, and there are masons and carpenters, as well as a large number of skilled workers of every sort who can work ¹⁶ with gold, silver, bronze, and iron. Now begin the work, and may the Lord be with you.”

¹⁷ David commanded all the leaders of Israel to help Solomon. ¹⁸ He said, “The Lord your God has been with you and given you peace on all sides. He let me conquer all the people who used to live in this land, and they are now subject to you and to the Lord. ¹⁹ Now serve the Lord your God with all your heart and soul. Start building the Temple, so that you can place in it the Covenant Box of the Lord and all the other sacred objects used in worshiping him.”

23 ^(AL)When David was very old, he made his son Solomon king of Israel.

The Work of the Levites

² King David brought together all the Israelite leaders and all the priests and Levites. ³ He took a census of all the male Levites aged thirty or older. The total was thirty-eight thousand. ⁴ The king assigned twenty-four thousand to administer the work of the Temple, six thousand to keep records and decide disputes, ⁵ four thousand to do guard duty, and four thousand to praise the Lord, using the musical instruments provided by the king for this purpose.

⁶ David divided the Levites into three groups, according to their clans: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

⁷ Gershon had two sons: Ladan and Shimei. ⁸ Ladan had three sons: Jehiel, Zetham, and Joel, ⁹ who were the heads of the clans descended from Ladan. (Shimei had three sons: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran.)^{[y] 10-11} Shimei had four sons: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah, in order of age. Jeush and Beriah did not have many descendants, so they were counted as one clan.

¹² Kohath had four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ^13 (AM)His oldest son, Amram, was the father of Aaron and Moses. (Aaron and his descendants were set apart to be in charge of the sacred objects forever, to burn incense in the worship of the Lord, to serve him, and to bless the people in his name. ¹⁴ But the sons of Moses, the man of God, were included among the Levites.) ¹⁵ Moses had two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. ¹⁶ The leader among Gershom's sons was Shebuel. ¹⁷ Eliezer had only one son, Rehabiah, but Rehabiah had many descendants.

¹⁸ Kohath's second son, Izhar, had a son, Shelomith, the head of the clan. ¹⁹ Kohath's third son, Hebron, had four sons: Jeriah, Amariah, Jahaziel, and Jekameam. ²⁰ Kohath's fourth son, Uzziel, had two sons, Micah and Isshiah.

²¹ Merari had two sons, Mahli and Mushi. Mahli also had two sons, Eleazar and Kish, ²² but Eleazar died without having any sons, only daughters. His daughters married their cousins, the sons of Kish. ²³ Merari's second son, Mushi, had three sons: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth.

²⁴ These were the descendants of Levi, by clans and families, every one of them registered by name. Each of his descendants, twenty years of age or older, had a share in the work of the Lord's Temple.

²⁵ David said, “The Lord God of Israel has given peace to his people, and he himself will live in Jerusalem forever. ^26 (AN)So there is no longer any need for the Levites to carry the Tent of the Lord's presence and all the equipment used in worship.” ²⁷ On the basis of David's final instructions all Levites were registered for service when they reached the age of twenty, ^28 (AO)and were assigned the following duties: to help the priests descended from Aaron with the Temple worship, to take care of its courtyards and its rooms, and to keep undefiled everything that is sacred; ²⁹ to be responsible for the bread offered to God, the flour used in offerings, the wafers made without yeast, the baked offerings, and the flour mixed with olive oil; to weigh and measure the Temple offerings; ³⁰ and to praise and glorify the Lord every morning and every evening ³¹ and whenever offerings to the Lord are burned on the Sabbath, the New Moon Festival, and other festivals. Rules were made specifying the number of Levites assigned to do this work each time. The Levites were assigned the duty of worshiping the Lord for all time. ³² They were given the responsibility of taking care of the Tent of the Lord's presence and the Temple, and of assisting their relatives, the priests descended from Aaron, in the Temple worship.

The Work Assigned to the Priests

24 These are the groups to which the descendants of Aaron belong. Aaron had four sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ^2 (AP)Nadab and Abihu died before their father did, and left no descendants, so their brothers Eleazar and Ithamar became priests. ³ King David organized the descendants of Aaron into groups according to their duties. He was assisted in this by Zadok, a descendant of Eleazar, and by Ahimelech, a descendant of Ithamar. ⁴ The descendants of Eleazar were organized into sixteen groups, while the descendants of Ithamar were organized into eight; this was done because there were more male heads of families among the descendants of Eleazar. ⁵ Since there were Temple officials and spiritual leaders among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar, assignments were made by drawing lots. ⁶ The descendants of Eleazar and of Ithamar took turns drawing lots. Then they were registered by Shemaiah son of Nethanel, a Levite secretary. The king, his officials, the priest Zadok, Ahimelech son of Abiathar, and the heads of the priestly families and of the Levite families, were all witnesses.

^7-18 This is the order in which the twenty-four family groups were given their assignments: 1) Jehoiarib; 2) Jedaiah; 3) Harim; 4) Seorim; 5) Malchijah; 6) Mijamin; 7) Hakkoz; 8) Abijah; 9) Jeshua; 10) Shecaniah; 11) Eliashib; 12) Jakim; 13) Huppah; 14) Jeshebeab; 15) Bilgah; 16) Immer; 17) Hezir; 18) Happizzez; 19) Pethahiah; 20) Jehezkel; 21) Jachin; 22) Gamul; 23) Delaiah; 24) Maaziah.

¹⁹ These men were registered according to their assignments for going to the Temple and performing the duties established by their ancestor Aaron in obedience to the commands of the Lord God of Israel.

The List of the Levites

²⁰ These are other heads of families descended from Levi:

Jehdeiah, a descendant of Amram through Shebuel;

²¹ Isshiah, a descendant of Rehabiah;

²² Jahath, a descendant of Izhar through Shelomith;

²³ Jeriah, Amariah, Jehaziel, and Jekameam, sons of Hebron, in order of age;

²⁴ Shamir, a descendant of Uzziel through Micah;

²⁵ Zechariah, a descendant of Uzziel through Isshiah, Micah's brother;

²⁶ Mahli, Mushi, and Jaaziah, descendants of Merari. ²⁷ Jaaziah had three sons: Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri. ^28-29 Mahli had two sons, Eleazar and Kish. Eleazar had no sons, but Kish had one son, Jerahmeel. ³⁰ Mushi had three sons: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth.

These are the families of the Levites.

³¹ The head of each family and one of his younger brothers drew lots for their assignments, just as their relatives, the priests descended from Aaron, had done. King David, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of families of the priests and of the Levites were witnesses.

The Temple Musicians

25 King David and the leaders of the Levites chose the following Levite clans to lead the worship services: Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun. They were to proclaim God's messages, accompanied by the music of harps and cymbals. This is the list of persons chosen to lead the worship, with the type of service that each group performed:

² The four sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asharelah. They were under the direction of Asaph, who proclaimed God's messages whenever the king commanded.

³ The six sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah. Under the direction of their father they proclaimed God's message, accompanied by the music of harps, and sang praise and thanks to the Lord.

⁴ The fourteen sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti Ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. ⁵ God gave to Heman, the king's prophet, these fourteen sons and also three daughters, as he had promised, in order to give power to Heman. ⁶ All of his sons played cymbals and harps under their father's direction, to accompany the Temple worship. And Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under orders from the king.

⁷ All these twenty-four men were experts; and their fellow Levites were trained musicians. There were 288 men in all.

⁸ To determine the assignment of duties they all drew lots, whether they were young or old, experts or beginners.

^9-31 These 288 men were divided according to families into twenty-four groups of twelve, with a leader in charge of each group. This is the order in which they were on duty: 1) Joseph of the family of Asaph; 2) Gedaliah; 3) Zaccur; 4) Zeri; 5) Nethaniah; 6) Bukkiah; 7) Asharelah; 8) Jeshaiah; 9) Mattaniah; 10) Shimei; 11) Uzziel; 12) Hashabiah; 13) Shebuel; 14) Mattithiah; 15) Jerimoth; 16) Hananiah; 17) Joshbekashah; 18) Hanani; 19) Mallothi; 20) Eliathah; 21) Hothir; 22) Giddalti; 23) Mahazioth; 24) Romamti Ezer.

The Temple Guards

26 These are the assignments of work for the Levites who served as Temple guards. From the clan of Korah there was Meshelemiah son of Kore, of the family of Asaph. ² He had seven sons, listed in order of age: Zechariah, Jediael, Zebadiah, Jathniel, ³ Elam, Jehohanan, and Eliehoenai.

^4 (AQ)There was also Obed Edom, whom God blessed by giving him eight sons, listed in order of age: Shemaiah, Jehozabad, Joah, Sachar, Nethanel, ⁵ Ammiel, Issachar, and Peullethai.

^6-7 Obed Edom's oldest son, Shemaiah, had six sons: Othni, Rephael, Obed, Elzabad, Elihu, and Semachiah. They were important men in their clan because of their great ability; the last two were especially talented.

⁸ Obed Edom's family furnished a total of sixty-two highly qualified men for this work.

⁹ Meshelemiah's family furnished eighteen qualified men.

¹⁰ From the clan of Merari there was Hosah, who had four sons: Shimri (his father made him the leader, even though he was not the oldest son), ¹¹ Hilkiah, Tebaliah, and Zechariah. In all there were thirteen members of Hosah's family who were Temple guards.

¹² The Temple guards were divided into groups, according to families, and they were assigned duties in the Temple, just as the other Levites were. ¹³ Each family, regardless of size, drew lots to see which gate it would be responsible for. ¹⁴ Shelemiah drew the east gate, and his son Zechariah, a man who always gave good advice, drew the north gate. ¹⁵ Obed Edom was allotted the south gate, and his sons were allotted to guard the storerooms. ¹⁶ Shuppim and Hosah were allotted the west gate and the Shallecheth Gate on the upper road. Guard duty was divided into assigned periods, one after another. ¹⁷ On the east, six guards were on duty each day, on the north, four, and on the south, four. Four guards were stationed at the storerooms daily, two at each storeroom. ¹⁸ Near the western pavilion there were four guards by the road and two at the pavilion itself. ¹⁹ This is the assignment of guard duty to the clan of Korah and the clan of Merari.

Other Temple Duties

²⁰ Others of their fellow Levites^[z] were in charge of the Temple treasury and the storerooms for gifts dedicated to God. ²¹ Ladan, one of the sons of Gershon, was the ancestor of several family groups, including the family of his son Jehiel. ²² Ladan's two other sons, Zetham and Joel, had charge of the Temple treasury and storerooms.

²³ Duties were also assigned to the descendants of Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

²⁴ Shebuel, of the clan of Moses' son Gershom, was the chief official responsible for the Temple treasury. ²⁵ Through Gershom's brother Eliezer he was related to Shelomith. Eliezer was the father of Rehabiah, who was the father of Jeshaiah, the father of Joram, the father of Zichri, the father of Shelomith. ²⁶ Shelomith and the members of his family were in charge of all the gifts dedicated to God by King David, the heads of families, leaders of clan groups, and army officers. ²⁷ They took some of the loot they captured in battle and dedicated it for use in the Temple. ²⁸ Shelomith and his family were in charge of everything that had been dedicated for use in the Temple, including the gifts brought by the prophet Samuel, by King Saul, by Abner son of Ner, and by Joab son of Zeruiah.

Duties of Other Levites

²⁹ Among the descendants of Izhar, Chenaniah and his sons were assigned administrative duties: keeping records and settling disputes for the people of Israel.

³⁰ Among the descendants of Hebron, Hashabiah and seventeen hundred of his relatives, all outstanding men, were put in charge of the administration of all religious and civil matters in Israel west of the Jordan River. ³¹ Jeriah was the leader of the descendants of Hebron. In the fortieth year that David was king, an investigation was made of the family line of Hebron's descendants, and outstanding soldiers belonging to this family were found living at Jazer in the territory of Gilead. ³² King David chose twenty-seven hundred outstanding heads of families from Jeriah's relatives and put them in charge of administering all religious and civil matters in Israel east of the Jordan River—the territories of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh.

Military and Civil Organization

27 This is the list of the Israelite heads of families and clan leaders and their officials who administered the work of the kingdom. Each month of the year a different group of twenty-four thousand men was on duty under the commander for that month.

^2-15 The following were the commanders for each month:

Administration of the Tribes of Israel

^16-22 This is the list of the administrators of the tribes of Israel:

Tribe	Administrator
Reuben	Eliezer son of Zichri
Simeon	Shephatiah son of Maacah
Levi	Hashabiah son of Kemuel
Aaron	Zadok
Judah	Elihu, one of King David's brothers
Issachar	Omri son of Michael
Zebulun	Ishmaiah son of Obadiah
Naphtali	Jeremoth son of Azriel
Ephraim	Hoshea son of Azaziah
West Manasseh	Joel son of Pedaiah
East Manasseh	Iddo son of Zechariah
Benjamin	Jaasiel son of Abner
Dan	Azarel son of Jeroham

^23 (AR)King David did not take a census of the people who were under the age of twenty, because of the Lord's promise to make the people of Israel as numerous as the stars in the sky. ^24 (AS)Joab, whose mother was Zeruiah, began to take a census, but he did not complete it. God punished Israel because of this census, so the final figures were never recorded in King David's official records.

Administrators of the Royal Property

^25-31 This is the list of those who administered the royal property:

David's Personal Advisers

³² Jonathan, King David's uncle, was a skillful adviser and a scholar. He and Jehiel son of Hachmoni were in charge of the education of the king's sons. ³³ Ahithophel was adviser to the king, and Hushai the Archite was the king's friend and counselor. ³⁴ After Ahithophel died, Abiathar and Jehoiada son of Benaiah became advisers. Joab was commander of the royal army.

David's Instructions for the Temple

28 King David commanded all the officials of Israel to assemble in Jerusalem. So all the officials of the tribes, the officials who administered the work of the kingdom, the leaders of the clans, the supervisors of the property and livestock that belonged to the king and his sons—indeed all the palace officials, leading soldiers, and important men—gathered in Jerusalem.

^2 (AT)David stood before them and addressed them: “My friends, listen to me. I wanted to build a permanent home for the Covenant Box, the footstool of the Lord our God. I have made preparations for building a temple to honor him, ³ but he has forbidden me to do it, because I am a soldier and have shed too much blood. ⁴ The Lord, the God of Israel, chose me and my descendants to rule Israel forever. He chose the tribe of Judah to provide leadership, and out of Judah he chose my father's family. From all that family it was his pleasure to take me and make me king over all Israel. ⁵ He gave me many sons, and out of them all he chose Solomon to rule over Israel, the Lord's kingdom.

⁶ “The Lord said to me, ‘Your son Solomon is the one who will build my Temple. I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. ⁷ I will make his kingdom last forever if he continues to obey carefully all my laws and commands as he does now.’

⁸ “So now, my people, in the presence of our God and of this assembly of all Israel, the Lord's people, I charge you to obey carefully everything that the Lord our God has commanded us, so that you may continue to possess this good land and so that you may hand it on to succeeding generations forever.”

⁹ And to Solomon he said, “My son, I charge you to acknowledge your father's God and to serve him with an undivided heart and a willing mind. He knows all our thoughts and desires. If you go to him, he will accept you; but if you turn away from him, he will abandon you forever. ¹⁰ You must realize that the Lord has chosen you to build his holy Temple. Now do it—and do it with determination.”

¹¹ David gave Solomon the plans for all the Temple buildings, for the storerooms and all the other rooms, and for the Most Holy Place, where sins are forgiven. ¹² He also gave him the plans for all he had in mind for the courtyards and the rooms around them, and for the storerooms for the Temple equipment and the gifts dedicated to the Lord. ¹³ David also gave him the plans for organizing the priests and Levites to perform their duties, to do the work of the Temple, and to take care of all the Temple utensils. ¹⁴ He gave instructions as to how much silver and gold was to be used for making the utensils, ¹⁵ for each lamp and lampstand, ¹⁶ for the silver tables, and for each gold table on which were placed the loaves of bread offered to God. ¹⁷ He also gave instructions as to how much pure gold was to be used in making forks, bowls, and jars, how much silver and gold in making dishes, ¹⁸ and how much pure gold in making the altar on which incense was burned and in making the chariot for the winged creatures that spread their wings over the Lord's Covenant Box. ¹⁹ King David said, “All this is contained in the plan written according to the instructions which the Lord himself gave me to carry out.”

²⁰ King David said to his son Solomon, “Be confident and determined. Start the work and don't let anything stop you. The Lord God, whom I serve, will be with you. He will not abandon you, but he will stay with you until you finish the work to be done on his Temple. ²¹ The priests and the Levites have been assigned duties to perform in the Temple. Workers with every kind of skill are eager to help you, and all the people and their leaders are at your command.”

Gifts for Building the Temple

29 ^(AU)King David announced to the whole assembly: “My son Solomon is the one whom God has chosen, but he is still young and lacks experience. The work to be done is tremendous, because this is not a palace for people but a temple for the Lord God. ² I have made every effort to prepare materials for the Temple—gold, silver, bronze, iron, timber, precious stones and gems, stones for mosaics, and quantities of marble. ³ Over and above all this that I have provided, I have given silver and gold from my personal property because of my love for God's Temple. ⁴ I have given 115 tons of the finest gold and 265 tons of pure silver for decorating the walls of the Temple ⁵ and for all the objects which the skilled workers are to make. Now who else is willing to give a generous offering to the Lord?”

⁶ Then the heads of the clans, the officials of the tribes, the commanders of the army, and the administrators of the royal property volunteered to give ⁷ the following for the work on the Temple: 190 tons of gold, 380 tons of silver, 675 tons of bronze, and 3,750 tons of iron. ⁸ Those who had precious stones gave them to the Temple treasury, which was administered by Jehiel of the Levite clan of Gershon. ⁹ The people had given willingly to the Lord, and they were happy that so much had been given. King David also was extremely happy.

David Praises God

¹⁰ There in front of the whole assembly King David praised the Lord. He said, “Lord God of our ancestor Jacob, may you be praised forever and ever! ^11 (AV)You are great and powerful, glorious, splendid, and majestic. Everything in heaven and earth is yours, and you are king, supreme ruler over all. ¹² All riches and wealth come from you; you rule everything by your strength and power; and you are able to make anyone great and strong. ¹³ Now, our God, we give you thanks, and we praise your glorious name.

¹⁴ “Yet my people and I cannot really give you anything, because everything is a gift from you, and we have only given back what is yours already. ¹⁵ You know, O Lord, that we pass through life like exiles and strangers, as our ancestors did. Our days are like a passing shadow, and we cannot escape death. ¹⁶ O Lord, our God, we have brought together all this wealth to build a temple to honor your holy name, but it all came from you and all belongs to you. ¹⁷ I know that you test everyone's heart and are pleased with people of integrity. In honesty and sincerity I have willingly given all this to you, and I have seen how your people who are gathered here have been happy to bring offerings to you. ¹⁸ Lord God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, keep such devotion forever strong in your people's hearts and keep them always faithful to you. ¹⁹ Give my son Solomon a wholehearted desire to obey everything that you command and to build the Temple for which I have made these preparations.”

²⁰ Then David commanded the people, “Praise the Lord your God!” And the whole assembly praised the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and they bowed low and gave honor to the Lord and also to the king.

²¹ The following day they killed animals as sacrifices, dedicating them to the Lord, and then gave them to the people to eat. In addition, they sacrificed a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, which they burned whole on the altar. They also brought the offerings of wine. ²² So that day they were very happy as they ate and drank in the presence of the Lord.

For a second time they proclaimed Solomon king. In the name of the Lord they anointed him as their ruler and Zadok as priest. ^23 (AW)So Solomon succeeded his father David on the throne which the Lord had established. He was a successful king, and the whole nation of Israel obeyed him. ²⁴ All the officials and soldiers, and even all of David's other sons, promised to be loyal to Solomon as king. ²⁵ The Lord made the whole nation stand in awe of Solomon, and he made him more glorious than any other king that had ruled Israel.

Summary of David's Reign

²⁶ David son of Jesse ruled over all Israel ^27 (AX)for forty years. He ruled in Hebron for seven years and in Jerusalem for thirty-three. ²⁸ He died at a ripe old age, wealthy and respected, and his son Solomon succeeded him as king. ²⁹ The history of King David from beginning to end is recorded in the records of the three prophets, Samuel, Nathan, and Gad. ³⁰ The records tell how he ruled, how powerful he was, and all the things that happened to him, to Israel, and to the surrounding kingdoms.

King Solomon Prays for Wisdom^(AY)

1 Solomon, the son of King David, took firm control of the kingdom of Israel, and the Lord his God blessed him and made him very powerful.

² King Solomon gave an order to all the officers in charge of units of a thousand men and of a hundred men, all the government officials, all the heads of families, and all the rest of the people, ³ commanding them to go with him to the place of worship at Gibeon. They went there because that was where the Tent of the Lord's presence was located, which Moses, the Lord's servant, had made in the wilderness. (^4 (AZ)The Covenant Box, however, was in Jerusalem, kept in a tent which King David had set up when he brought the Box from Kiriath Jearim.) ^5 (BA)The bronze altar which had been made by Bezalel, the son of Uri and grandson of Hur, was also in Gibeon in front of the Tent of the Lord's presence. King Solomon and all the people worshiped the Lord there. ⁶ In front of the Tent the king worshiped the Lord by offering sacrifices on the bronze altar; he had a thousand animals killed and burned whole on it.

⁷ That night God appeared to Solomon and asked, “What would you like me to give you?”

⁸ Solomon answered, “You always showed great love for my father David, and now you have let me succeed him as king. ^9 (BB)O Lord God, fulfill the promise you made to my father. You have made me king over a people who are so many that they cannot be counted, ¹⁰ so give me the wisdom and knowledge I need to rule over them. Otherwise, how would I ever be able to rule this great people of yours?”

¹¹ God replied to Solomon, “You have made the right choice. Instead of asking for wealth or treasure or fame or the death of your enemies or even for long life for yourself, you have asked for wisdom and knowledge so that you can rule my people, over whom I have made you king. ¹² I will give you wisdom and knowledge. And in addition, I will give you more wealth, treasure, and fame than any king has ever had before or will ever have again.”

King Solomon's Power and Wealth^(BC)

¹³ So Solomon left^[ab] the place of worship at Gibeon, where the Tent of the Lord's presence was, and returned to Jerusalem. There he ruled over Israel. ^14 (BD)He built up a force of fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand cavalry horses. Some of them he kept in Jerusalem, and the rest he stationed in various other cities. ¹⁵ During his reign silver and gold became as common in Jerusalem as stone, and cedar was as plentiful as ordinary sycamore in the foothills of Judah. ^16 (BE)The king's agents controlled the export of horses from Musri^[ac] and Cilicia,^{[ad] 17} and the export of chariots from Egypt. They supplied the Hittite and Syrian kings with horses and chariots, selling chariots for 600 pieces of silver each and horses for 150 each.^[ae]

Preparations for Building the Temple^(BF)

2 King Solomon decided to build a temple where the Lord would be worshiped, and also to build a palace for himself. ² He put 70,000 men to work transporting materials, and 80,000 to work cutting stone in the hill country. There were 3,600 others responsible for supervising the work.

³ Solomon sent a message to King Hiram of Tyre: “Do business with me as you did with my father, King David, when you sold him cedar logs for building his palace. ⁴ I am building a temple to honor the Lord my God. It will be a holy place where my people and I will worship him by burning incense of fragrant spices, where we will present offerings of sacred bread to him continuously, and where we will offer burnt offerings every morning and evening, as well as on Sabbaths, New Moon Festivals, and other holy days honoring the Lord our God. He has commanded Israel to do this forever. ⁵ I intend to build a great temple, because our God is greater than any other god. ^6 (BG)Yet no one can really build a temple for God, because even all the vastness of heaven cannot contain him. How then can I build a temple that would be anything more than a place to burn incense to God? ⁷ Now send me a man with skill in engraving, in working gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and in making blue, purple, and red cloth. He will work with the craftsmen of Judah and Jerusalem whom my father David selected. ⁸ I know how skillful your lumbermen are, so send me cedar, cypress, and juniper logs from Lebanon. I am ready to send my men to assist yours ⁹ in preparing large quantities of timber, because this temple I intend to build will be large and magnificent. ¹⁰ As provisions for your lumbermen, I will send you 100,000 bushels of wheat, 100,000 bushels of barley, 110,000 gallons of wine, and 110,000 gallons of olive oil.”

¹¹ King Hiram sent Solomon a letter in reply. He wrote, “Because the Lord loves his people, he has made you their king. ¹² Praise the Lord God of Israel, Creator of heaven and earth! He has given King David a wise son, full of understanding and skill, who now plans to build a temple for the Lord and a palace for himself. ¹³ I am sending you a wise and skillful master metalworker named Huram. ¹⁴ His mother was a member of the tribe of Dan and his father was a native of Tyre. He knows how to make things out of gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood. He can work with blue, purple, and red cloth, and with linen. He can do all sorts of engraving and can follow any design suggested to him. Let him work with your skilled workers and with those who worked for your father, King David. ¹⁵ So now send us the wheat, barley, wine, and olive oil that you promised. ¹⁶ In the mountains of Lebanon we will cut down all the cedars you need, tie them together in rafts, and float them by sea as far as Joppa. From there you can take them to Jerusalem.”

Construction of the Temple Begins^(BH)

¹⁷ King Solomon took a census of all the foreigners living in the land of Israel, similar to the census his father David had taken. There were 153,600 resident foreigners. ¹⁸ He assigned 70,000 of them to transport materials and 80,000 to cut stones in the mountains, and appointed 3,600 supervisors to make sure the work was done.

3 ^(BI)King David, Solomon's father, had already prepared a place for the Temple. It was in Jerusalem, on Mount Moriah, where the Lord appeared to David, at the place which Araunah the Jebusite had used as a threshing place. King Solomon began the construction ² in the second month of the fourth year that he was king. ³ The Temple which King Solomon built was 90 feet long and 30 feet wide. ⁴ The entrance room was the full width of the Temple, 30 feet, and was 180 feet high. The inside of the room was overlaid with pure gold. ⁵ The main room was paneled with cedar and overlaid with fine gold, in which were worked designs of palm trees and chain patterns. ⁶ The king decorated the Temple with beautiful precious stones and with gold imported from the land of Parvaim. ⁷ He used the gold to overlay the Temple walls, the rafters, the entryways, and the doors. On the walls the workers carved designs of winged creatures.^{[af] 8 (BJ)}The inner room, called the Most Holy Place, was 30 feet long and 30 feet wide, which was the full width of the Temple. Twenty-five tons of gold were used to cover the walls of the Most Holy Place; ⁹ twenty ounces of gold were used for making nails, and the walls of the upper rooms were also covered with gold.

^10 (BK)The king also had his workers make two winged creatures out of metal, cover them with gold, and place them in the Most Holy Place, ^11-13 where they stood side by side facing the entrance. Each had two wings, each wing 7½ feet long, which were spread out so that they touched each other in the center of the room and reached to the wall on either side of the room, stretching across the full width of 30 feet. ^14 (BL)A curtain for the Most Holy Place was made of linen and of other material, which was dyed blue, purple, and red, with designs of the winged creatures worked into it.

The Two Bronze Columns^(BM)

¹⁵ The king had two columns made, each one 52 feet tall, and placed them in front of the Temple. Each one had a capital 7½ feet tall. ¹⁶ The tops of the columns were decorated with a design of interwoven chains and one hundred bronze pomegranates.^{[ag] 17} The columns were set at the sides of the Temple entrance: the one on the south side was named Jachin^[ah] and the one on the north side was named Boaz.^[ai]

Equipment for the Temple^(BN)

4 ^(BO)King Solomon had a bronze altar made, which was 30 feet square and 15 feet high. ² He also made a round tank of bronze, 7½ feet deep, 15 feet in diameter, and 45 feet in circumference. ³ All around the outer edge of the rim of the tank^[aj] were two rows of decorations, one above the other. The decorations were in the shape of bulls, which had been cast all in one piece with the rest of the tank. ⁴ The tank rested on the backs of twelve bronze bulls that faced outward, three facing in each direction. ⁵ The sides of the tank were 3 inches thick. Its rim was like the rim of a cup, curving outward like the petals of a flower. The tank held about 15,000 gallons. ^6 (BP)They also made ten basins, five to be placed on the south side of the Temple and five on the north side. They were to be used to rinse the parts of the animals that were burned as sacrifices. The water in the large tank was for the priests to use for washing.

^7-8 (BQ)They made ten gold lampstands according to the usual pattern, and ten tables, and placed them in the main room of the Temple, five lampstands and five tables on each side. They also made a hundred gold bowls.

⁹ They made an inner courtyard for the priests, and also an outer courtyard. The doors in the gates between the courtyards were covered with bronze. ¹⁰ The tank was placed near the southeast corner of the Temple.

^11-16 Huram also made pots, shovels, and bowls. He completed all the objects that he had promised King Solomon he would make for the Temple:

Huram the master metalworker made all these objects^[al] out of polished bronze, as King Solomon had commanded, for use in the Temple of the Lord.

¹⁷ The king had them all made in the foundry between Sukkoth and Zeredah^[am] in the Jordan Valley. ¹⁸ So many objects were made that no one determined the total weight of the bronze used.

¹⁹ King Solomon also had gold furnishings made for the Temple: the altar and the tables for the bread offered to God; ²⁰ the lampstands and the lamps of fine gold that were to burn in front of the Most Holy Place, according to plan; ²¹ the flower decorations, the lamps, and the tongs; ²² the lamp snuffers, the bowls, the dishes for incense, and the pans used for carrying live coals. All these objects were made of pure gold. The outer doors of the Temple and the doors to the Most Holy Place were overlaid with gold.

5 ^(BR)When King Solomon finished all the work on the Temple, he placed in the Temple storerooms all the things that his father David had dedicated to the Lord—the silver, gold, and other articles.

The Covenant Box Is Brought to the Temple^(BS)

^2 (BT)Then King Solomon summoned all the leaders of the tribes and clans of Israel to assemble in Jerusalem, in order to take the Lord's Covenant Box from Zion, David's City,^[an] to the Temple. ³ They all assembled at the time of the Festival of Shelters. ⁴ When all the leaders had gathered, then the Levites lifted the Covenant Box ⁵ and carried it to the Temple. The priests and the Levites also moved the Tent of the Lord's presence and all its equipment to the Temple. ⁶ King Solomon and all the people of Israel assembled in front of the Covenant Box and sacrificed a large number of sheep and cattle—too many to count. ⁷ Then the priests carried the Covenant Box of the Lord into the Temple and put it in the Most Holy Place, beneath the winged creatures. ⁸ Their outstretched wings covered the Box and the poles it was carried by. ⁹ The ends of the poles could be seen by anyone standing directly in front of the Most Holy Place, but from nowhere else. (The poles are still there today.) ^10 (BU)There was nothing inside the Covenant Box except the two stone tablets which Moses had placed there at Mount Sinai, when the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel as they were coming from Egypt.

The Glory of the Lord

^11-14 (BV)All the priests present, regardless of the group to which they belonged, had consecrated themselves. And all the Levite musicians—Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, and the members of their clans—were wearing linen clothing. The Levites stood near the east side of the altar with cymbals and harps, and with them were 120 priests playing trumpets. The singers were accompanied in perfect harmony by trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments, as they praised the Lord singing:

As the priests were leaving the Temple, it was suddenly filled with a cloud shining with the dazzling light of the Lord's presence, and they could not continue the service of worship.

Solomon's Address to the People^(BW)

³ All the people of Israel were standing there. The king turned to face them and asked God's blessing on them. ^4 (BX)He said, “Praise the Lord God of Israel! He has kept the promise he made to my father David when he said to him, ⁵ ‘From the time I brought my people out of Egypt until now, I did not choose any city in the land of Israel as the place to build a temple where I would be worshiped, and I did not choose anyone to lead my people Israel. ⁶ But now I have chosen Jerusalem as the place where I will be worshiped, and you, David, to rule my people.’”

⁷ And Solomon continued, “My father David planned to build a temple for the worship of the Lord God of Israel, ⁸ but the Lord said to him, ‘You were right in wanting to build a temple for me, ⁹ but you will never build it. It is your son, your own son, who will build my temple.’

¹⁰ “Now the Lord has kept his promise: I have succeeded my father as king of Israel, and I have built a temple for the worship of the Lord God of Israel. ¹¹ I have placed in the Temple the Covenant Box, which contains the stone tablets of the covenant which the Lord made with the people of Israel.”

Solomon's Prayer^(BY)

¹² Then in the presence of the people Solomon went and stood in front of the altar and raised his arms in prayer. (¹³ Solomon had made a bronze platform and put it in the middle of the courtyard. It was eight feet square and five feet high. He mounted this platform, knelt down where everyone could see him, and raised his hands toward heaven.) ¹⁴ He prayed, “Lord God of Israel, in all heaven and earth there is no god like you. You keep your covenant with your people and show them your love when they live in wholehearted obedience to you. ¹⁵ You have kept the promise you made to my father David; today every word has been fulfilled. ^16 (BZ)Now, Lord God of Israel, keep the other promise you made to my father when you told him that there would always be one of his descendants ruling as king of Israel, provided that they carefully obeyed your Law just as he did. ¹⁷ So now, Lord God of Israel, let everything come true that you promised to your servant David.

^18 (CA)“But can you, O God, really live on earth among men and women? Not even all of heaven is large enough to hold you, so how can this Temple that I have built be large enough? ¹⁹ Lord my God, I am your servant. Listen to my prayer and grant the requests I make to you. ^20 (CB)Watch over this Temple day and night. You have promised that this is where you will be worshiped, so hear me when I face this Temple and pray. ²¹ Hear my prayers and the prayers of your people Israel when they face this place and pray. In your home in heaven hear us and forgive us.

²² “When people are accused of wronging others and are brought to your altar in this Temple to take an oath that they are innocent, ²³ O Lord, listen in heaven and judge your servants. Punish the guilty ones as they deserve and acquit the innocent.

²⁴ “When your people Israel are defeated by their enemies because they have sinned against you and then when they turn to you and come to this Temple, humbly praying to you for forgiveness, ²⁵ listen to them in heaven. Forgive the sins of your people and bring them back to the land which you gave to them and to their ancestors.

²⁶ “When you hold back the rain because your people have sinned against you and then when they repent and face this Temple, humbly praying to you, ²⁷ O Lord, listen to them in heaven and forgive the sins of your servants, the people of Israel, and teach them to do what is right. Then, O Lord, send rain on this land of yours, which you gave to your people as a permanent possession.

²⁸ “When there is famine in the land or an epidemic or the crops are destroyed by scorching winds or swarms of locusts, or when your people are attacked by their enemies, or when there is disease or sickness among them, ²⁹ listen to their prayers. If any of your people Israel, out of heartfelt sorrow, stretch out their hands in prayer toward this Temple, ³⁰ hear their prayer. Listen to them in your home in heaven and forgive them. You alone know the thoughts of the human heart. Deal with each of us as we deserve, ³¹ so that your people may honor you and obey you all the time they live in the land which you gave to our ancestors.

³² “When foreigners who live in a distant land hear how great and powerful you are and how you are always ready to act, and then they come to pray at this Temple, ³³ listen to their prayers. In heaven, where you live, hear them and do what they ask you to do, so that all the peoples of the world may know you and obey you, as your people Israel do. Then they will know that this Temple I have built is where you are to be worshiped.

³⁴ “When you command your people to go into battle against their enemies and they pray to you, wherever they are, facing this city which you have chosen and this Temple which I have built for you, ³⁵ listen to their prayers. Hear them in heaven and give them victory.

³⁶ “When your people sin against you—and there is no one who does not sin—and in your anger you let their enemies defeat them and take them as prisoners to some other land, even if that land is far away, ³⁷ listen to your people's prayers. If there in that land they repent and pray to you, confessing how sinful and wicked they have been, hear their prayers, O Lord. ³⁸ If in that land they truly and sincerely repent and pray to you as they face toward this land which you gave to our ancestors, this city which you have chosen, and this Temple which I have built for you, ³⁹ then listen to their prayers. In your home in heaven hear them and be merciful to them and forgive all the sins of your people.

⁴⁰ “Now, O my God, look on us and listen to the prayers offered in this place. ^41 (CC)Rise up now, Lord God, and with the Covenant Box, the symbol of your power, enter the Temple and stay here forever. Bless your priests in all they do, and may all your people be happy because of your goodness to them. ⁴² Lord God, do not reject the king you have chosen. Remember the love you had for your servant David.”^[ao]

The Dedication of the Temple^(CD)

7 ^(CE)When King Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and burned up the sacrifices that had been offered, and the dazzling light of the Lord's presence filled the Temple. ² Because the Temple was full of the dazzling light, the priests could not enter it. ^3 (CF)When the people of Israel saw the fire fall from heaven and the light fill the Temple, they fell face downward on the pavement, worshiping God and praising him for his goodness and his eternal love. ⁴ Then Solomon and all the people offered sacrifices to the Lord. ⁵ He sacrificed 22,000 head of cattle and 120,000 sheep as fellowship offerings. And so he and all the people dedicated the Temple. ⁶ The priests stood in the places that were assigned to them, and facing them stood the Levites, praising the Lord with the musical instruments that King David had provided and singing the hymn, “His Love Is Eternal!” as they had been commissioned by David. The priests blew trumpets while all the people stood.

⁷ Solomon consecrated the central part of the courtyard, the area in front of the Temple, and then offered there the sacrifices burned whole, the grain offerings, and the fat from the fellowship offerings. He did this because the bronze altar which he had made was too small for all these offerings.

⁸ Solomon and all the people of Israel celebrated the Festival of Shelters for seven days. There was a huge crowd of people from as far away as Hamath Pass in the north and the Egyptian border in the south. ⁹ They had spent seven days for the dedication of the altar and then seven more days for the festival. On the last day they had a closing celebration, ¹⁰ and on the following day, the twenty-third day of the seventh month, Solomon sent the people home. They were happy about all the blessings that the Lord had given to his people Israel, to David, and to Solomon.

God Appears to Solomon Again^(CG)

¹¹ After King Solomon had finished the Temple and the palace, successfully completing all his plans for them, ¹² the Lord appeared to him at night. He said to him, “I have heard your prayer, and I accept this Temple as the place where sacrifices are to be offered to me. ¹³ Whenever I hold back the rain or send locusts to eat up the crops or send an epidemic on my people, ¹⁴ if they pray to me and repent and turn away from the evil they have been doing, then I will hear them in heaven, forgive their sins, and make their land prosperous again. ¹⁵ I will watch over this Temple and be ready to hear all the prayers that are offered here, ¹⁶ because I have chosen it and consecrated it as the place where I will be worshiped forever. I will watch over it and protect it for all time. ¹⁷ If you serve me faithfully as your father David did, obeying my laws and doing everything I have commanded you, ^18 (CH)I will keep the promise I made to your father David when I told him that Israel would always be ruled by his descendants. ¹⁹ But if you and your people ever disobey the laws and commands I have given you and worship other gods, ²⁰ then I will remove you from the land that I gave you, and I will abandon this Temple that I have consecrated as the place where I am to be worshiped. People everywhere will ridicule it and treat it with contempt.

²¹ “The Temple is now greatly honored, but then everyone who passes by it will be amazed and will ask, ‘Why did the Lord do this to this land and this Temple?’ ²² People will answer, ‘It is because they abandoned the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt. They gave their allegiance to other gods and worshiped them. That is why the Lord has brought this disaster on them.’”

Solomon's Achievements^(CI)

8 It took Solomon twenty years to build the Temple and his palace. ² He also rebuilt the cities that King Hiram had given him, and sent Israelites to settle in them. ³ He captured the territory of Hamath and Zobah ⁴ and fortified the city of Palmyra in the desert. He rebuilt all the cities in Hamath that were centers for storing supplies. ⁵ Solomon also rebuilt the following cities: Upper Beth Horon and Lower Beth Horon (fortified cities with gates that could be barred), ⁶ the city of Baalath, all the cities where he stored supplies, and the cities where his horses and chariots were stationed. He carried out all his plans for building in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and throughout the territory that he ruled over. ^7-8 Solomon employed at forced labor all the descendants of the people of Canaan whom the Israelites had not killed when they took possession of the land. These included Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, whose descendants continue to be slaves down to the present time. ⁹ Israelites were not used at forced labor, but served as soldiers, officers, chariot commanders, and cavalry troops. ¹⁰ There were 250 officials in charge of the forced labor working on the various building projects.

¹¹ Solomon moved his wife, the daughter of the king of Egypt, from David's City to a house he built for her. He said, “She must not live in the palace of King David of Israel, because any place where the Covenant Box has been is holy.”

¹² Solomon offered sacrifices to the Lord on the altar which he had built in front of the Temple. ^13 (CJ)He offered burnt offerings according to the requirements of the Law of Moses for each holy day: Sabbaths, New Moon Festivals, and the three annual festivals—the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Harvest Festival, and the Festival of Shelters. ¹⁴ Following the rules laid down by his father David, he organized the daily work of the priests and of the Levites who assisted the priests in singing hymns and in doing their work. He also organized the Temple guards in sections for performing their daily duties at each gate, in accordance with the commands of David, the man of God. ¹⁵ The instructions which David had given the priests and the Levites concerning the storehouses and other matters were carried out in detail.

¹⁶ By this time all of Solomon's projects had been completed. From the laying of the foundation of the Lord's Temple to its completion, all the work had been successful.

¹⁷ Then Solomon went to Eziongeber and Elath, ports on the shore of the Gulf of Aqaba, in the land of Edom. ¹⁸ King Hiram sent him ships under the command of his own officers and with experienced sailors. They sailed with Solomon's officers to the land of Ophir and brought back to Solomon about sixteen tons of gold.

The Visit of the Queen of Sheba^(CK)

9 ^(CL)The queen of Sheba heard of King Solomon's fame, and she traveled to Jerusalem to test him with difficult questions. She brought with her a large group of attendants, as well as camels loaded with spices, jewels, and a large amount of gold. When she and Solomon met, she asked him all the questions that she could think of. ² He answered them all; there was nothing too difficult for him to explain. ³ The queen of Sheba heard Solomon's wisdom and saw the palace he had built. ⁴ She saw the food that was served at his table, the living quarters for his officials, the organization of his palace staff and the uniforms they wore, the clothing of the servants who waited on him at feasts, and the sacrifices he offered^[ap] in the Temple. It left her breathless and amazed.

⁵ She said to the king, “What I heard in my own country about you^[aq] and your wisdom is true! ⁶ I did not believe what they told me until I came and saw for myself. I had not heard of even half your wisdom. You are even wiser than people say. ⁷ How fortunate are those who serve you, who are always in your presence and are privileged to hear your wise sayings! ⁸ Praise the Lord your God! He has shown how pleased he is with you by making you king, to rule in his name. Because he loves his people Israel and wants to preserve them forever, he has made you their king so that you can maintain law and justice.”

⁹ She presented to King Solomon the gifts she had brought: almost five tons of gold and a very large amount of spices and jewels. There have never been any other spices as fine as those that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

(¹⁰ The sailors of King Hiram and of King Solomon who brought gold from Ophir also brought juniper wood and jewels. ¹¹ Solomon used the wood to make stairs for the Temple and for his palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. Nothing like that had ever been seen before in the land of Judah.)

¹² King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she asked for. This was in addition to what he gave her in exchange for the gifts^[ar] she brought to him. Then she and her attendants returned to the land of Sheba.

King Solomon's Wealth^(CM)

¹³ Every year King Solomon received over twenty-five tons of gold, ¹⁴ in addition to the taxes paid by the traders and merchants. The kings of Arabia and the governors of the Israelite districts also brought him silver and gold. ¹⁵ Solomon made two hundred large shields, each of which was covered with about fifteen pounds of beaten gold, ¹⁶ and three hundred smaller shields, each covered with about eight pounds of beaten gold. He had them all placed in the Hall of the Forest of Lebanon.^[as]

¹⁷ The king also had a large throne made. Part of it was covered with ivory and the rest of it was covered with pure gold. ¹⁸ Six steps led up to the throne, and there was a footstool attached to it, covered with gold. There were arms on each side of the throne, and the figure of a lion stood at each side. ¹⁹ Twelve figures of lions were on the steps, one at either end of each step. No throne like this had ever existed in any other kingdom.

²⁰ All of King Solomon's drinking cups were made of gold, and all the utensils in the Hall of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. Silver was not considered valuable in Solomon's day. ²¹ He had a fleet of ocean-going ships sailing with King Hiram's fleet. Every three years his fleet would return, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and monkeys.

²² King Solomon was richer and wiser than any other king in the world. ²³ They all consulted him, to hear the wisdom that God had given him. ²⁴ Each of them brought Solomon gifts—articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons, spices, horses, and mules. This continued year after year.

^25 (CN)King Solomon also had four thousand stalls for his chariots and horses, and had twelve thousand cavalry horses. Some of them he kept in Jerusalem and the rest he stationed in various other cities. ^26 (CO)He was supreme ruler of all the kings in the territory from the Euphrates River to Philistia and the Egyptian border. ²⁷ During his reign silver was as common in Jerusalem as stone, and cedar was as plentiful as ordinary sycamore in the foothills of Judah. ^28 (CP)Solomon imported horses from Musri^[at] and from every other country.

Summary of Solomon's Reign^(CQ)

²⁹ The rest of the history of Solomon from beginning to end is recorded in The History of Nathan the Prophet, in The Prophecy of Ahijah of Shiloh, and in The Visions of Iddo the Prophet, which also deal with the reign of King Jeroboam of Israel. ³⁰ Solomon ruled in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years. ³¹ He died and was buried in David's City, and his son Rehoboam succeeded him as king.