²⁰ There were still some people living in the land who were not Israelites, including Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

⁷ There were still some people living in the land who were not Israelites, including the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. ⁸ These were descendants of the nations whom the people of Israel had not destroyed. So Solomon conscripted them for his labor force, and they serve as forced laborers to this day. ⁹ But Solomon did not conscript any of the Israelites for his labor force. Instead, he assigned them to serve as fighting men, officers in his army, commanders of his chariots, and charioteers. ¹⁰ King Solomon appointed 250 of them to supervise the people.

¹¹ Solomon moved his wife, Pharaoh’s daughter, from the City of David to the new palace he had built for her. He said, “My wife must not live in King David’s palace, for the Ark of the Lord has been there, and it is holy ground.”

¹² Then Solomon presented burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar he had built for him in front of the entry room of the Temple. ¹³ He offered the sacrifices for the Sabbaths, the new moon festivals, and the three annual festivals—the Passover celebration, the Festival of Harvest,^[a] and the Festival of Shelters—as Moses had commanded.

¹⁴ In assigning the priests to their duties, Solomon followed the regulations of his father, David. He also assigned the Levites to lead the people in praise and to assist the priests in their daily duties. And he assigned the gatekeepers to their gates by their divisions, following the commands of David, the man of God. ¹⁵ Solomon did not deviate in any way from David’s commands concerning the priests and Levites and the treasuries.

¹⁶ So Solomon made sure that all the work related to building the Temple of the Lord was carried out, from the day its foundation was laid to the day of its completion.

¹⁷ Later Solomon went to Ezion-geber and Elath,^[b] ports along the shore of the Red Sea^[c] in the land of Edom. ¹⁸ Hiram sent him ships commanded by his own officers and manned by experienced crews of sailors. These ships sailed to Ophir with Solomon’s men and brought back to Solomon almost seventeen tons^[d] of gold.

The Privilege of Holiness

7 “When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are about to enter and occupy, he will clear away many nations ahead of you: the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. These seven nations are greater and more numerous than you. ² When the Lord your God hands these nations over to you and you conquer them, you must completely destroy^[a] them. Make no treaties with them and show them no mercy. ³ You must not intermarry with them. Do not let your daughters and sons marry their sons and daughters,

¹¹ But listen carefully to everything I command you today. Then I will go ahead of you and drive out the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

¹² “Be very careful never to make a treaty with the people who live in the land where you are going. If you do, you will follow their evil ways and be trapped.

²⁸ I will send terror^[a] ahead of you to drive out the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites. ²⁹ But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals would multiply and threaten you. ³⁰ I will drive them out a little at a time until your population has increased enough to take possession of the land. ³¹ And I will fix your boundaries from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea,^[b] and from the eastern wilderness to the Euphrates River.^[c] I will hand over to you the people now living in the land, and you will drive them out ahead of you.

³² “Make no treaties with them or their gods. ³³ They must not live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against me. If you serve their gods, you will be caught in the trap of idolatry.”

²³ For my angel will go before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, so you may live there. And I will destroy them completely.

¹⁹ the land now occupied by the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, ²⁰ Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, ²¹ Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”