²⁶ King Solomon also built a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, a port near Elath^[a] in the land of Edom, along the shore of the Red Sea.^[b]

⁴⁸ Jehoshaphat also built a fleet of trading ships^[a] to sail to Ophir for gold. But the ships never set sail, for they met with disaster in their home port of Ezion-geber.

⁸ “So we bypassed the territory of our relatives, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We avoided the road through the Arabah Valley that comes up from Elath and Ezion-geber.

“Then as we turned north along the desert route through Moab,

³⁵ They left Abronah and camped at Ezion-geber.

¹⁷ Later Solomon went to Ezion-geber and Elath,^[a] ports along the shore of the Red Sea^[b] 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^[c] of gold.

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.

²² After his father’s death, Uzziah rebuilt the town of Elath and restored it to Judah.