Solomon’s Officials

4 Now King Solomon was king over all Israel. ² These were his officials: Azariah the son of Zadok was ^(A)the priest; ³ Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha were scribes; ^(B)Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the secretary; ⁴ and ^(C)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the army; and Zadok and ^(D)Abiathar were priests; ⁵ and Azariah the son of Nathan was over ^(E)the deputies; and Zabud the son of Nathan, a priest, was the king’s confidant; ⁶ and Ahishar was over the household; and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the forced labor.

⁷ Solomon had twelve deputies over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household; each deputy had to provide food for a month in the year. ⁸ And these were their names: Ben-hur, in the ^(F)hill country of Ephraim; ⁹ Ben-deker in Makaz and ^(G)Shaalbim, and ^(H)Beth-shemesh, and Elonbeth-hanan; ¹⁰ Ben-hesed in Arubboth (^(I)Socoh was his and all the land of ^(J)Hepher); ¹¹ Ben-abinadab in all ^[a]the ^(K)hills of Dor (Taphath the daughter of Solomon was his wife); ¹² Baana the son of Ahilud in ^(L)Taanach and Megiddo, and all ^(M)Beth-shean which is beside ^(N)Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to ^(O)Abel-meholah as far as the other side of ^(P)Jokmeam; ¹³ Ben-geber in ^(Q)Ramoth-gilead (^(R)the villages of Jair, the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead were his: ^(S)the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars were his); ¹⁴ Ahinadab the son of Iddo in ^(T)Mahanaim; ^15 (U)Ahimaaz in Naphtali (he also married Basemath the daughter of Solomon); ¹⁶ Baana the son of ^(V)Hushai in Asher and ^[b]Bealoth; ¹⁷ Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah in Issachar; ^18 (W)Shimei the son of Ela in Benjamin; ¹⁹ Geber the son of Uri in the land of Gilead, ^(X)the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only deputy who was in the land.

Solomon’s Power, Wealth, and Wisdom

^20 (Y)Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand that is on the ^[c]seashore in abundance; they were eating, drinking, and rejoicing.

^21 [d](Z)Now Solomon was ruling over all the kingdoms ^(AA)from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt; ^(AB)they brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.

²² Solomon’s ^[e]provision for one day was ^[f]thirty kors of fine flour and ^[g]sixty kors of meal, ²³ ten fat oxen, twenty ^[h]pasture-fed oxen, and a hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened geese. ²⁴ For he was ruling over everything ^[i]west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah even to ^(AC)Gaza, ^(AD)over all the kings ^[j]west of the River; and ^(AE)he had peace on all sides surrounding him. ^25 (AF)So Judah and Israel lived securely, everyone under his vine and his fig tree, ^(AG)from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon. ^26 (AH)Solomon had ^[k]forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. ²⁷ And those deputies provided food for King Solomon and all who came to King Solomon’s table, each in his month; they allowed nothing to be lacking. ²⁸ They also brought barley and straw for the war horses and ^(AI)baggage horses to the place where it was required, each deputy according to his duty.

²⁹ Now ^(AJ)God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment and breadth of ^[l]mind, ^(AK)like the sand that is on the seashore. ³⁰ Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all ^(AL)the ^[m]people of the east and ^(AM)all the wisdom of Egypt. ³¹ For ^(AN)he was wiser than all other people, more than ^(AO)Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, ^(AP)Calcol, and ^[n]Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his ^[o]fame was known in all the surrounding nations. ^32 (AQ)He also told three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered 1,005. ³³ He told of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that grows on the wall; he told also of animals, birds, crawling things, and fish. ³⁴ People ^(AR)came from all the ^[p]nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.

Alliance with King Hiram

5 ^[q](AS)Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for ^(AT)Hiram had ^[r]always been a friend of David. ² Then ^(AU)Solomon sent word to Hiram, saying, ³ “You know that ^(AV)David my father was unable to build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the wars which surrounded him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. ⁴ But now ^(AW)the Lord my God has secured me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor ^[s]misfortune. ⁵ So behold, ^(AX)I ^[t]intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, just as the Lord spoke to David my father, saying, ‘Your son, whom I will put on your throne in your place, he will build the house for My name.’ ⁶ Now then, issue orders that they cut ^(AY)cedars from Lebanon for me, and my servants will be with your servants; and I will give you wages for your servants in accordance with all that you say, for you yourself know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”

⁷ When Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he greatly rejoiced; and he said, “Blessed be the Lord today, who has given to David a wise son over this great people.” ⁸ So Hiram sent word to Solomon, saying, “I have heard the message which you sent me; I will do everything you wish concerning the cedar and juniper timber. ⁹ My servants will bring the timbers down from Lebanon to the sea; and I will have them made into rafts to go by sea ^(AZ)to the place where you ^[u]direct me, and I will have them broken up there, and you will carry them away. Then ^(BA)you shall do what I wish, by giving food to my household.” ¹⁰ So ^[v]Hiram ^[w]gave Solomon all that he wished of the cedar and juniper timber. ^11 (BB)Solomon then gave ^[x]Hiram ^[y]twenty thousand kors of wheat as food for his household, and ^[z]twenty kors of pure oil; this is what Solomon would give Hiram year by year. ¹² And ^(BC)the Lord gave wisdom to Solomon, just as He ^[aa]promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a covenant.

Conscription of Laborers

¹³ Now ^(BD)King Solomon ^[ab]conscripted forced laborers from all Israel; and the forced laborers numbered thirty thousand men. ¹⁴ Then he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month in shifts; they were in Lebanon for a month, and two months at home. And ^(BE)Adoniram was in charge of the forced laborers. ¹⁵ Now ^(BF)Solomon had seventy thousand porters, and eighty thousand stonemasons in the mountains, ^16 (BG)besides Solomon’s 3,300 chief deputies who were in charge of the ^[ac]project and ruled over the people who were doing the work. ¹⁷ Then ^(BH)the king issued orders, and they quarried large stones, valuable stones, to lay the foundation of the house with cut stones. ¹⁸ So Solomon’s builders and ^[ad]Hiram’s builders and ^(BI)the Gebalites ^[ae]cut the stones, and they prepared the timbers and the stones to build the house.

Solomon Will Build a Temple and a Palace

2 ^[a](A)Now Solomon ^[b]decided to build a house for the name of the Lord, and a ^[c]royal palace for himself. ^2 [d]So ^(B)Solomon ^[e]assigned seventy thousand men to carry loads, eighty thousand men to quarry stone in the mountains, and 3,600 to supervise them.

^3 (C)Then Solomon sent word to ^[f]Huram the king of Tyre, saying, “^(D)As you dealt with my father David and sent him cedars to build him a house to live in, do it for me. ⁴ Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, dedicating it to Him, ^(E)to burn fragrant incense before Him and to set out ^(F)the showbread continually, and to offer ^(G)burnt offerings morning and evening, ^(H)on Sabbaths, on new moons, and on the appointed feasts of the Lord our God. This is to be done in Israel forever. ⁵ The house which I am about to build will be great, for our God is ^(I)greater than all the gods. ⁶ But ^(J)who is able to build a house for Him, since the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain Him? And who am I, that I should build a house for Him, except to ^[g]burn incense before Him? ⁷ Now ^(K)send me a skilled man to work in gold, silver, brass, iron, and in purple, crimson, and violet fabrics, one who knows how to make engravings, to work with the skilled workers ^[h](L)whom I have in Judah and Jerusalem, whom my father David provided. ^8 (M)Send me also cedar, juniper, and algum timber from Lebanon, for I know that your servants know how to cut timber of Lebanon; and indeed ^(N)my servants will work with your servants, ⁹ to prepare timber in abundance for me, for the house which I am about to build will be great and wonderful. ¹⁰ Now behold, ^(O)I will give your servants, the woodsmen who cut the timber, ^[i]twenty thousand kors of crushed wheat, twenty thousand kors of barley, ^[j]twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.”

Huram to Assist

¹¹ Then Huram, king of Tyre, ^[k]answered in a letter sent to Solomon: “^(P)Because the Lord loves His people, He has made you king over them.” ¹² Then Huram ^[l]continued, “Blessed be ^(Q)the Lord, the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, who has given King David a wise son, ^[m]endowed with discretion and understanding, ^(R)who will build a house for the Lord and a ^[n]royal palace for himself.

¹³ “Now then, I am sending Huram-abi, a skilled man, ^[o]endowed with understanding, ^14 (S)the son of a ^[p]Danite woman and ^[q]a Tyrian father, who knows how to work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, and in purple, violet, linen, and crimson fabrics, and who knows how to make all kinds of engravings and to ^[r]execute any design which is assigned to him, to work with your skilled workers and with ^[s]those of my lord, your father David. ¹⁵ Now then, let my lord send his servants wheat and barley, oil and wine, of ^(T)which he has spoken. ^16 (U)We will cut whatever timber you need from Lebanon and bring it to you as rafts by sea to Joppa, so that you may carry it up to Jerusalem.”

¹⁷ Solomon counted all the foreigners who were in the land of Israel, ^(V)following the ^[t]census which his father David had ^[u]taken; and 153,600 were found. ^18 (W)He appointed seventy thousand of them to carry loads and eighty thousand to quarry stones in the mountains, and 3,600 supervisors to make the people work.

A Prayer for the Overthrow of the Wicked.

Request for Prayer

3 ^(A)Finally, brothers and sisters, ^(B)pray for us that ^(C)the word of the Lord will ^[a]spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it was also with you; ² and that we will be ^(D)rescued from troublesome and evil people; for not all have the faith. ³ But ^(E)the Lord is faithful, ^[b]and He will strengthen and protect you ^[c]from ^(F)the evil one. ⁴ We have ^(G)confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you ^(H)are doing, and will do, what we command. ⁵ May the Lord ^(I)direct your hearts to the love of God and to the perseverance of Christ.

⁶ Now we command you, brothers and sisters, ^(J)in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you ^[d](K)keep away from every brother or sister who ^[e]leads a ^[f](L)disorderly life and not one in accordance with ^(M)the tradition which ^[g]you received from us. ⁷ For you yourselves know how you ought to ^[h](N)follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined way among you, ⁸ nor did we ^(O)eat ^[i]anyone’s bread ^[j]without paying for it, but with ^(P)labor and hardship we kept ^(Q)working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you; ⁹ not because we do not have ^(R)the right to this, but in order to offer ourselves ^(S)as a role model for you, so that you would ^[k]follow our example. ¹⁰ For even ^(T)when we were with you, we used to give you this order: ^(U)if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either. ¹¹ For we hear that some among you are ^(V)leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like ^(W)busybodies. ¹² Now we command and ^(X)exhort such persons in the Lord Jesus Christ to ^(Y)work ^[l]peacefully and eat their own bread. ¹³ But as for you, ^(Z)brothers and sisters, ^(AA)do not grow weary of doing good.

¹⁴ If anyone does not obey our ^[m]instruction ^[n](AB)in this letter, take special note of that person so as ^(AC)not to associate with him, so that he will be ^(AD)put to shame. ¹⁵ And yet ^(AE)do not regard that person as an enemy, but ^[o](AF)admonish that one as a ^(AG)brother or sister.

¹⁶ Now ^(AH)may the Lord of peace ^(AI)Himself continually grant you peace in every ^[p]circumstance. ^(AJ)The Lord be with you all!

^17 [q]I, Paul, write this greeting ^(AK)with my own hand, and this is a distinguishing mark in every letter; this is the way I write. ^18 (AL)The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.