1 Kings 7-11

New International Reader's Version

Solomon Builds His Palace

7 But it took Solomon 13 years to finish constructing his palace and the other buildings related to it. ² He built the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. It was 150 feet long. It was 75 feet wide. And it was 45 feet high. It had four rows of cedar columns. They held up beautiful cedar beams. ³ Above the beams was a roof made out of cedar boards. It rested on the columns. There were three rows of beams with 15 in each row. The total number of beams was 45. ⁴ The windows of the palace were placed high up in the walls. They were in groups of three. And they faced each other. ⁵ All the doorways had frames shaped like rectangles. They were in front. They were in groups of three. And they faced each other.

⁶ Solomon made a covered area. It was 75 feet long. And it was 45 feet wide. Its roof was held up by columns. In front of it was a porch. In front of that were pillars and a roof that went out beyond them.

⁷ Solomon built the throne hall. It was called the Hall of Justice. That’s where he would serve as judge. He covered the hall with cedar boards from floor to ceiling. ⁸ The palace where he would live was set farther back. Its plan was something like the plan for the hall. Solomon had married Pharaoh’s daughter. He made a palace for her. It was like the hall.

⁹ All those buildings were made out of blocks of good quality stone. They were cut to the right size. They were made smooth on their back and front sides. Those stones were used for the outside of each building and for the large courtyard. They were also used from the foundations up to the roofs. ¹⁰ Large blocks of good quality stone were used for the foundations. Some were 15 feet long. Others were 12 feet long. ¹¹ The walls above them were made out of good quality stones. The stones were cut to the right size. On top of them was a layer of cedar beams. ¹² The large courtyard had a wall around it. The first three layers of the wall were made out of blocks of stone. The top layer was made out of beautiful cedar wood. The same thing was done with the inside courtyard of the Lord’s temple and its porch.

More Facts About the Temple

¹³ King Solomon sent messengers to Tyre. He wanted them to bring Huram back with them. ¹⁴ Huram’s mother was a widow. She was from the tribe of Naphtali. Huram’s father was from Tyre. He was skilled in working with bronze. Huram also had great skill, knowledge and understanding in working with bronze. He came to King Solomon and did all the work he was asked to do.

¹⁵ Huram made two bronze pillars. Each of them was 27 feet high. And each was 18 feet around. ¹⁶ Each pillar had a decorated top made out of bronze. Each top was seven and a half feet high. ¹⁷ Chains that were linked together hung down from the tops of the pillars. There were seven chains for each top. ¹⁸ Huram made two rows of pomegranates. They circled the chains. The pomegranates decorated the tops of the pillars. Huram did the same thing for each pillar. ¹⁹ The tops on the pillars of the porch were shaped like lilies. The lilies were 6 feet high. ²⁰ On the tops of both pillars were 200 pomegranates. They were in rows all around the tops. They were above the part that was shaped like a bowl. And they were next to the chains. ²¹ Huram set the pillars up at the temple porch. The pillar on the south he named Jakin. The one on the north he named Boaz. ²² The tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. So the work on the pillars was finished.

²³ Huram made a huge metal bowl for washing. Its shape was round. It measured 15 feet from rim to rim. It was seven and a half feet high. And it was 45 feet around. ²⁴ Below the rim there was a circle of gourds around the bowl. In every 18 inches around the bowl there were ten gourds. The gourds were arranged in two rows. They were made as part of the bowl itself.

²⁵ The huge bowl stood on 12 bulls. Three of them faced north. Three faced west. Three faced south. And three faced east. The bowl rested on top of the bulls. Their rear ends were toward the center. ²⁶ The bowl was three inches thick. Its rim was like the rim of a cup. The rim was shaped like the bloom of a lily. The bowl held 12,000 gallons of water.

²⁷ Huram also made ten stands out of bronze. They could be moved around. Each stand was six feet long. It was six feet wide. And it was four and a half feet high. ²⁸ Here is how the stands were made. They had sides that were joined to posts. ²⁹ On the sides between the posts were lions, bulls and cherubim. They were also on all of the posts. Above and below the lions and bulls were wreaths made out of hammered metal. ³⁰ Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles. Each stand had a bowl that rested on four supports. The stand had wreaths on each side. ³¹ There was a round opening on the inside of each stand. The opening had a frame 18 inches deep. The sides were 27 inches high from the top of the opening to the bottom of the base. There was carving around the opening. The sides of the stands were square, not round. ³² The four wheels were under the sides. The axles of the wheels were connected to the stand. Each wheel was 27 inches across. ³³ The wheels were made like chariot wheels. All the axles, rims, spokes and hubs were made out of metal.

³⁴ Each stand had four handles on it. There was one on each corner. They came out from the stand. ³⁵ At the top of the stand there was a round band. It was nine inches deep. The sides and supports were connected to the top of the stand. ³⁶ Huram carved cherubim, lions and palm trees on the sides of the stands. He also carved them on the surfaces of the supports. His carving covered every open space. He had also carved wreaths all around. ³⁷ That’s how he made the ten stands. All of them were made in the same molds. And they had the same size and shape.

³⁸ Then Huram made ten bronze bowls. Each one held 240 gallons. The bowls measured six feet across. There was one bowl for each of the ten stands. ³⁹ He placed five of the stands on the south side of the temple. He placed the other five on the north side. He put the huge bowl on the south side. It was at the southeast corner of the temple. ⁴⁰ He also made the pots, shovels and sprinkling bowls.

So Huram finished all the work he had started for King Solomon. Here’s what he made for the Lord’s temple.

Huram made all those objects for King Solomon for the Lord’s temple. He made them out of bronze. Then he shined them up. ⁴⁶ The king had made them in clay molds. It was done on the plain of the Jordan River between Sukkoth and Zarethan. ⁴⁷ Solomon didn’t weigh any of those things. There were too many of them to weigh. No one even tried to weigh the bronze they were made out of.

⁴⁸ Solomon also made everything in the Lord’s temple.

⁵¹ King Solomon finished all the work for the Lord’s temple. Then he brought in the things his father David had set apart for the Lord. They included the silver and gold and all the other things for the Lord’s temple. Solomon placed them with the other treasures that were there.

The Ark Is Brought to the Temple

8 Then King Solomon sent for the elders of Israel. He told them to come to him in Jerusalem. They included all the leaders of the tribes. They also included the chiefs of the families of Israel. Solomon wanted them to bring up the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Zion. Zion was the City of David. ² All the Israelites came together to where King Solomon was. It was at the time of the Feast of Booths. The feast was held in the month of Ethanim. That’s the seventh month.

³ All the elders of Israel arrived. Then the priests picked up the ark and carried it. ⁴ They brought up the ark of the Lord. They also brought up the tent of meeting and all the sacred things in the tent. The priests and Levites carried everything up. ⁵ The entire community of Israel had gathered around King Solomon. All of them were in front of the ark. They sacrificed huge numbers of sheep and cattle. There were so many animals that they couldn’t be recorded. In fact, they couldn’t even be counted.

⁶ The priests brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant law to its place in the Most Holy Room of the temple. They put it under the wings of the cherubim. ⁷ Their wings were spread out over the place where the ark was. They covered the ark. They also covered the poles used to carry it. ⁸ The poles were very long. Their ends could be seen from the Holy Room in front of the Most Holy Room. But they couldn’t be seen from outside the Holy Room. They are still there to this day. ⁹ There wasn’t anything in the ark except the two stone tablets. Moses had placed them in it at Mount Horeb. That’s where the Lord had made a covenant with the Israelites. He made it after they came out of Egypt.

¹⁰ The priests left the Holy Room. Then the cloud filled the temple of the Lord. ¹¹ The priests couldn’t do their work because of it. That’s because the glory of the Lord filled his temple.

¹² Then Solomon said, “Lord, you have said you would live in a dark cloud. ¹³ As you can see, I’ve built a beautiful temple for you. You can live in it forever.”

¹⁴ The whole community of Israel was standing there. The king turned around and gave them his blessing. ¹⁵ Then he said,

“I praise the Lord. He is the God of Israel. With his own mouth he made a promise to my father David. With his own powerful hand he made it come true. He said, ¹⁶ ‘I brought my people Israel out of Egypt. Ever since, I haven’t chosen a city in any tribe of Israel where a temple could be built for my Name. But I have chosen David to rule over my people Israel.’

¹⁷ “With all his heart my father David wanted to build a temple. He wanted to do it so the Lord could put his Name there. The Lord is the God of Israel. ¹⁸ But the Lord spoke to my father David. He said, ‘With all your heart you wanted to build a temple for my Name. It is good that you wanted to do that. ¹⁹ But you will not build the temple. Instead, your son will build the temple for my Name. He is your own flesh and blood.’

²⁰ “The Lord has kept the promise he made. I’ve become the next king after my father David. Now I’m sitting on the throne of Israel. That’s exactly what the Lord promised would happen. I’ve built the temple where the Lord will put his Name. He is the God of Israel. ²¹ I’ve provided a place for the ark there. The tablets of the Lord’s covenant law are inside it. He made that covenant with our people of long ago. He made it when he brought them out of Egypt.”

Solomon Prays to Set the Temple Apart to the Lord

²² Then Solomon stood in front of the Lord’s altar. He stood in front of the whole community of Israel. He spread out his hands toward heaven. ²³ He said,

“Lord, you are the God of Israel. There is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below. You keep the covenant you made with us. You show us your love. You do that when we follow you with all our hearts. ²⁴ You have kept your promise to my father David. He was your servant. With your mouth you made a promise. With your powerful hand you have made it come true. And today we can see it.

²⁵ “Lord, you are the God of Israel. Keep the promises you made to my father David. Do it for him. He was your servant. Here is what you said to him. ‘A son from your family line will sit before me on the throne of Israel. This will always be true if your children after you are careful in everything they do. They must live in my sight faithfully the way you have lived.’ ²⁶ God of Israel, let your promise to my father David come true.

²⁷ “But will you really live on earth? After all, the heavens can’t hold you. In fact, even the highest heavens can’t hold you. So this temple I’ve built certainly can’t hold you! ²⁸ But please pay attention to my prayer. Lord my God, be ready to help me as I make my appeal to you. Listen to my cry for help. Hear the prayer I’m praying to you today. ²⁹ Let your eyes look toward this temple night and day. You said, ‘I will put my Name there.’ So please listen to the prayer I’m praying toward this place. ³⁰ Hear me when I ask you to help us. Listen to your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Listen to us from heaven. It’s the place where you live. When you hear us, forgive us.

³¹ “Suppose someone does something wrong to their neighbor. And the person who has done something wrong is required to give their word. They must tell the truth about what they have done. They must come and do it in front of your altar in this temple. ³² When they do, listen to them from heaven. Take action. Judge between the person and their neighbor. Punish the guilty one. Do to that person what they have done to their neighbor. Deal with the one who isn’t guilty in a way that shows they are free from blame. That will prove they aren’t guilty.

³³ “Suppose your people Israel have lost the battle against their enemies. And suppose they’ve sinned against you. But they turn back to you and praise your name. They pray to you in this temple. And they ask you to help them. ³⁴ Then listen to them from heaven. Forgive the sin of your people Israel. Bring them back to the land you gave to their people who lived long ago.

³⁵ “Suppose your people have sinned against you. And because of that, the sky is closed up and there isn’t any rain. But your people pray toward this place. They praise you by admitting they’ve sinned. And they turn away from their sin because you have made them suffer. ³⁶ Then listen to them from heaven. Forgive the sin of your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live. Send rain on the land you gave them as their share.

³⁷ “Suppose there isn’t enough food in the land. And a plague strikes the land. The hot winds completely dry up our crops. Or locusts or grasshoppers come and eat them up. Or an enemy surrounds one of our cities and gets ready to attack it. Or trouble or sickness comes. ³⁸ But suppose one of your people prays to you. They ask you to help them. They are aware of how much their own heart is suffering. And they spread out their hands toward this temple to pray. ³⁹ Then listen to them from heaven. It’s the place where you live. Forgive them. Take action. Deal with everyone in keeping with everything they do. You know their hearts. In fact, you are the only one who knows every human heart. ⁴⁰ Your people will have respect for you. They will respect you as long as they are in the land you gave our people long ago.

⁴¹ “Suppose there are outsiders who don’t belong to your people Israel. And they have come from a land far away. They’ve come because they’ve heard about your name. ⁴² When they get here, they will find out even more about your great name. They’ll hear about how you reached out your mighty hand and powerful arm. So they’ll come and pray toward this temple. ⁴³ Then listen to them from heaven. It’s the place where you live. Do what those outsiders ask you to do. Then all the nations on earth will know you. They will have respect for you. They’ll respect you just as your own people Israel do. They’ll know that your Name is in this house I’ve built.

⁴⁴ “Suppose your people go to war against their enemies. It doesn’t matter where you send them. And suppose they pray to you toward the city you have chosen. They pray toward the temple I’ve built for your Name. ⁴⁵ Then listen to them from heaven. Listen to their prayer for your help. Stand up for them.

⁴⁶ “Suppose your people sin against you. After all, there isn’t anyone who doesn’t sin. And suppose you get angry with them. You hand them over to their enemies. They take them as prisoners to their own lands. It doesn’t matter whether those lands are near or far away. ⁴⁷ But suppose your people change their ways in the land where they are held as prisoners. They turn away from their sins. They beg you to help them in the land of those who won the battle over them. They say, ‘We have sinned. We’ve done what is wrong. We’ve done what is evil.’ ⁴⁸ And they turn back to you with all their heart and soul. Suppose it happens in the land of their enemies who took them away as prisoners. There they pray to you toward the land you gave their people long ago. They pray toward the city you have chosen. And they pray toward the temple I’ve built for your Name. ⁴⁹ Then listen to them from heaven. It’s the place where you live. Listen to their prayer. Listen to them when they ask you to help them. Stand up for them. ⁵⁰ Your people have sinned against you. Please forgive them. Forgive them for all the wrong things they’ve done against you. And make those who won the battle over them show mercy to them. ⁵¹ After all, they are your people. They belong to you. You brought them out of Egypt. You brought them out of that furnace that melts iron down and makes it pure.

⁵² “Let your eyes be open to me when I ask you to help us. Let them be open to your people Israel when they ask you to help them. Pay attention to them every time they cry out to you. ⁵³ After all, you chose them out of all the nations in the world. You made them your very own people. You did it just as you had announced through your servant Moses. That’s when you brought out of Egypt our people of long ago. You are our Lord and King.”

⁵⁴ Solomon finished praying. He finished asking the Lord to help his people. Then he got up from in front of the Lord’s altar. He had been down on his knees with his hands spread out toward heaven. ⁵⁵ He stood in front of the whole community of Israel. He blessed them with a loud voice. He said,

⁵⁶ “I praise the Lord. He has given peace and rest to his people Israel. That’s exactly what he promised to do. He gave his people good promises through his servant Moses. Every single word of those promises has come true. ⁵⁷ May the Lord our God be with us, just as he was with our people who lived long ago. May he never leave us. May he never desert us. ⁵⁸ May he turn our hearts to him. Then we will live the way he wants us to. We’ll obey the commands, rules and directions he gave our people of long ago. ⁵⁹ I’ve prayed these words to the Lord our God. May he keep them close to him day and night. May he stand up for me. May he also stand up for his people Israel. May he give us what we need every day. ⁶⁰ Then all the nations on earth will know that the Lord is God. They’ll know that there isn’t any other god. ⁶¹ And may you commit your lives completely to the Lord our God. May you live by his rules. May you obey his commands. May you always do as you are doing now.”

The Temple Is Set Apart to the Lord

⁶² Then the king and the whole community of Israel offered sacrifices to the Lord. ⁶³ Solomon sacrificed friendship offerings to the Lord. He sacrificed 22,000 oxen. He also sacrificed 120,000 sheep and goats. So the king and the whole community set the temple of the Lord apart to him.

⁶⁴ On that same day the king set the middle area of the courtyard apart to the Lord. It was in front of the Lord’s temple. There Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings and grain offerings. He also sacrificed the fat of the friendship offerings there. He did it there because the bronze altar that stood in front of the Lord was too small. It wasn’t big enough to hold all the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat of the friendship offerings.

⁶⁵ At that time Solomon celebrated the Feast of Booths. The whole community of Israel was with him. It was a huge crowd. People came from as far away as Lebo Hamath and the Wadi of Egypt. For seven days they celebrated in front of the Lord our God. The feast continued for seven more days. That made a total of 14 days. ⁶⁶ On the following day Solomon sent the people away. They asked the Lord to bless the king. Then they went home. The people were glad. Their hearts were full of joy. That’s because the Lord had done so many good things for his servant David and his people Israel.

The Lord Appears to Solomon

9 Solomon finished building the Lord’s temple and the royal palace. He had accomplished everything he had planned to do. ² The Lord appeared to him a second time. He had already appeared to him at Gibeon. ³ The Lord said to him,

“I have heard you pray to me. I have heard you ask me to help you. You have built this temple. I have set it apart for myself. My Name will be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.

⁴ “But you must walk faithfully with me, just as your father David did. Your heart must be honest. It must be without blame. Do everything I command you to do. Obey my rules and laws. ⁵ Then I will set up your royal throne over Israel forever. I promised your father David I would do that. I said to him, ‘You will always have a son from your family line on the throne of Israel.’

⁶ “But suppose all of you turn away from me. Or your children turn away from me. You refuse to obey the commands and rules I have given you. And you go off to serve other gods and worship them. ⁷ Then I will remove Israel from the land. It is the land I gave them. I will turn my back on this temple. I will do it even though I have set it apart for my Name to be there. Then Israel will be hated by all the nations. They will laugh and joke about Israel. ⁸ This temple will become a pile of stones. All those who pass by it will be shocked. They will make fun of it. And they will say, ‘Why has the Lord done a thing like this to this land and temple?’ ⁹ People will answer, ‘Because they have deserted the Lord their God. He brought out of Egypt their people of long ago. But they have been holding on to other gods. They’ve been worshiping them. They’ve been serving them. That’s why the Lord has brought all this horrible trouble on them.’ ”

Other Things Solomon Did

¹⁰ Solomon built the Lord’s temple and the royal palace. It took him 20 years to construct those two buildings. ¹¹ King Solomon gave 20 towns in Galilee to Hiram, the king of Tyre. That’s because Hiram had provided him with all the cedar and juniper logs he wanted. He had also provided Solomon with all the gold he wanted. ¹² Hiram went from Tyre to see the towns Solomon had given him. But he wasn’t pleased with them. ¹³ “My friend,” he asked, “what have you given me? What kind of towns are these?” So he called them the Land of Kabul. And that’s what they are still called to this day. ¹⁴ Hiram had sent four and a half tons of gold to Solomon.

¹⁵ King Solomon forced people to work hard for him. Here is a record of what they did. They built the Lord’s temple and Solomon’s palace. They filled in the low places. They rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem. They built up Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer. ¹⁶ Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, had attacked Gezer and captured it. He had set it on fire. He had killed the Canaanites who lived there. Then he had given Gezer as a wedding gift to his daughter. She was Solomon’s wife. ¹⁷ Solomon rebuilt Gezer. He built up Lower Beth Horon ¹⁸ and Baalath. He built up Tadmor in the desert. All those towns were in his land. ¹⁹ He built up all the cities where he could store things. He also built up the towns for his chariots and horses. He built anything he wanted to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon and all the territory he ruled over.

²⁰ There were still many people left in the land who weren’t Israelites. They included Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. ²¹ They were children of the people who had lived in the land before the Israelites came. Those people had been set apart to the Lord in a special way to be destroyed. But the Israelites hadn’t been able to kill all of them. Solomon forced them to work very hard as his slaves. And they still work for Israel as slaves to this day. ²² But Solomon didn’t force any of the Israelites to work as his slaves. Instead, some were his fighting men. Others were his government officials, his officers and his captains. Others were commanders of his chariots and chariot drivers. ²³ Still others were the chief officials in charge of Solomon’s projects. There were 550 officials in charge of those who did the work.

²⁴ Pharaoh’s daughter moved from the City of David up to the palace Solomon had built for her. After that, he filled in the low places near the palace.

²⁵ Three times a year Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings and friendship offerings. He sacrificed them on the altar he had built to honor the Lord. Along with the offerings, he burned incense to the Lord. So he carried out his duties for the temple.

²⁶ King Solomon also built ships at Ezion Geber. It’s near Elath in Edom. It’s on the shore of the Red Sea. ²⁷ Hiram sent his men to serve on the ships together with Solomon’s men. Hiram’s sailors knew the sea. ²⁸ All of them sailed to Ophir. They brought back 16 tons of gold. They gave it to King Solomon.

The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon

10 The queen of Sheba heard about how famous Solomon was. She also heard about how he served and worshiped the Lord. So she came to test Solomon with hard questions. ² She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large group of attendants. Her camels were carrying spices, huge amounts of gold, and valuable jewels. She came to Solomon and asked him about everything she wanted to know. ³ Solomon answered all her questions. There wasn’t anything too hard for the king to explain to her. ⁴ So the queen of Sheba saw how very wise Solomon was. She saw the palace he had built. ⁵ She saw the food on his table. She saw his officials sitting there. She saw the robes of the servants who waited on everyone. She saw his wine tasters. And she saw the burnt offerings Solomon sacrificed at the Lord’s temple. She could hardly believe everything she had seen.

⁶ She said to the king, “Back in my own country I heard a report about you. I heard about how much you had accomplished. I also heard about how wise you are. Everything I heard is true. ⁷ But I didn’t believe those things. So I came to see for myself. And now I believe it! You are twice as wise and wealthy as people say you are. The report I heard doesn’t even begin to tell the whole story about you. ⁸ How happy your people must be! How happy your officials must be! They always get to serve you and hear the wise things you say. ⁹ May the Lord your God be praised. He takes great delight in you. He placed you on the throne of Israel. The Lord will love Israel for all time to come. That’s why he has made you king. He knows that you will do what is fair and right.”

¹⁰ She gave the king four and a half tons of gold. She also gave him huge amounts of spices and valuable jewels. No one would ever bring to King Solomon as many spices as the queen of Sheba gave him.

¹¹ Hiram’s ships brought gold from Ophir. From there they also brought huge amounts of almugwood and valuable jewels. ¹² The king used the almugwood to make supports for the Lord’s temple and the royal palace. He also used it to make harps and lyres for those who played the music. That much almugwood has never been brought into Judah or seen there since that day.

¹³ King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she wanted and asked for. That was in addition to what he had given her out of his royal riches. Then she left. She returned to her own country with her attendants.

Solomon’s Greatness

¹⁴ Each year Solomon received 25 tons of gold. ¹⁵ That didn’t include the money brought in by business and trade. It also didn’t include the money from all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the territories.

¹⁶ King Solomon made 200 large shields out of hammered gold. Each one weighed 15 pounds. ¹⁷ He also made 300 small shields out of hammered gold. Each one weighed seven and a half pounds. The king put all the shields in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.

¹⁸ Then he made a large throne. It was covered with ivory. And that was covered with fine gold. ¹⁹ The throne had six steps. Its back had a rounded top. The throne had armrests on both sides of the seat. A statue of a lion stood on each side of the throne. ²⁰ Twelve lions stood on the six steps. There was one at each end of each step. Nothing like that throne had ever been made for any other kingdom. ²¹ All of King Solomon’s cups were made out of gold. All the things used in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were made out of pure gold. Nothing was made out of silver. When Solomon was king, silver wasn’t considered to be worth very much. ²² He had many ships that carried goods to be traded. His ships went to sea along with Hiram’s ships. Once every three years the ships returned. They brought gold, silver, ivory, apes and peacocks.

²³ King Solomon was richer than all the other kings on earth. He was also wiser than they were. ²⁴ People from the whole world wanted to meet Solomon in person. They wanted to see for themselves how wise God had made him. ²⁵ Year after year, everyone who came to him brought a gift. They brought gifts made out of silver and gold. They brought robes, weapons and spices. They also brought horses and mules.

²⁶ Solomon had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses. He kept some of his horses and chariots in the chariot cities. He kept the others with him in Jerusalem. ²⁷ The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones. He made cedar wood as common there as sycamore-fig trees in the western hills. ²⁸ Solomon got horses from Egypt and from Kue. The royal traders bought them from Kue at the current price. ²⁹ They weighed out 15 pounds of silver for a chariot from Egypt. And they weighed out almost four pounds of silver for a horse. They also sold horses and chariots to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Arameans.

Solomon’s Wives

11 King Solomon loved many women besides Pharaoh’s daughter. They were from other lands. They were Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. ² The Lord had warned Israel about women from other nations. He had said, “You must not marry them. If you do, you can be sure they will turn your hearts toward their gods.” But Solomon continued to love them anyway. He wouldn’t give them up. ³ He had 700 wives who came from royal families. And he had 300 concubines. His wives led him astray. ⁴ As Solomon grew older, his wives turned his heart toward other gods. He didn’t follow the Lord his God with all his heart. So he wasn’t like his father David. ⁵ Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth. Ashtoreth was the female god of the Sidonians. He also worshiped Molek. Molek was the god of the Ammonites. The Lord hated that god. ⁶ Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He didn’t completely obey the Lord. He didn’t do what his father David had done.

⁷ There is a hill east of Jerusalem. Solomon built a high place for worshiping Chemosh there. He built a high place for worshiping Molek there too. Chemosh was the god of Moab. Molek was the god of Ammon. The Lord hated both of those gods. ⁸ Solomon also built high places so that all his wives from other nations could worship their gods. Those women burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.

⁹ The Lord became angry with Solomon. That’s because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel. He had appeared to Solomon twice. ¹⁰ He had commanded Solomon not to worship other gods. But Solomon didn’t obey the Lord. ¹¹ So the Lord said to Solomon, “You have chosen not to keep my covenant. You have decided not to obey my rules. I commanded you to do what I told you. But you did not do it. So you can be absolutely sure I will tear the kingdom away from you. I will give it to one of your officials. ¹² But I will not do that while you are still living. Because of your father David I will wait. I will tear the kingdom out of your son’s hand. ¹³ But I will not tear the whole kingdom away from him. I will give him one of the tribes because of my servant David. I will also do it because of Jerusalem. That is the city I have chosen.”

Solomon’s Enemies

¹⁴ Then the Lord brought an enemy against Solomon. The enemy’s name was Hadad. He was from Edom. In fact, he belonged to the royal family of Edom. ¹⁵ David had fought against Edom. Joab had been the commander of the army. He had gone up to bury the dead bodies of the Israelites who had been killed in battle. At that time he had struck down all the men in Edom. ¹⁶ In fact, Joab and all the men of Israel stayed there for six months. During that time they destroyed all the men in Edom. ¹⁷ But when Hadad was only a boy, he ran away to Egypt. Some officials from Edom went with him. They had served Hadad’s father. ¹⁸ They started out from Midian and went to Paran. They took some people from Paran with them. Then they went to Egypt. They went to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. He gave Hadad a house and some land. He also supplied him with food.

¹⁹ Pharaoh was very pleased with Hadad. Pharaoh’s wife was Queen Tahpenes. He gave Hadad her sister to be his wife. ²⁰ The sister of Tahpenes had a son by Hadad. The baby was named Genubath. Tahpenes brought him up in the royal palace. Genubath lived there with Pharaoh’s own children.

²¹ Hadad heard that David had joined the members of his family who had already died. He also heard that Joab, the commander of the army, was dead. Hadad heard those things while he was in Egypt. He said to Pharaoh, “Let me go. I want to return to my own country.”

²² “Why do you want to go back to your own country?” Pharaoh asked. “Don’t you have everything you need right here?”

“Yes,” Hadad replied. “But I want you to let me go anyway!”

²³ God brought another enemy against Solomon. The enemy’s name was Rezon. He was the son of Eliada. Rezon had run away from his master Hadadezer, the king of Zobah. ²⁴ David had destroyed Zobah’s army. Then Rezon gathered together some men to follow him. He became their leader. They went to Damascus where they made their homes. They also took control of Damascus. ²⁵ Rezon was Israel’s enemy as long as Solomon was living. Rezon added to the trouble Hadad had caused. So Rezon ruled in Aram. He was Israel’s enemy.

Jeroboam Refuses to Follow Solomon

²⁶ Jeroboam refused to follow King Solomon. He was one of Solomon’s officials. He was from Zeredah in the territory of Ephraim. His father was Nebat. His mother was a widow named Zeruah.

²⁷ Here is the story of how Jeroboam refused to follow the king. Solomon had filled in the low places near the palace. He had also repaired the wall of the city of his father David. ²⁸ Jeroboam was a very important young man. Solomon saw how well he did his work. So he put him in charge of all the workers in northern Israel.

²⁹ About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem. Ahijah the prophet met him on the road. Ahijah was from Shiloh. He was wearing a new coat. The two of them were all alone out in the country. ³⁰ Ahijah grabbed the new coat he had on. He tore it up into 12 pieces. ³¹ Then he said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself. The Lord is the God of Israel. He says, ‘I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand. I will give you ten of its tribes. ³² Solomon will have one of its tribes. I will let him keep it because of my servant David and because of Jerusalem. I have chosen that city out of all the cities in the tribes of Israel. ³³ I will do these things because the tribes have deserted me. They have worshiped Ashtoreth, the female god of the people of Sidon. They have worshiped Chemosh, the god of the people of Moab. And they have worshiped Molek, the god of the people of Ammon. They have not lived the way I wanted them to. They have not done what is right in my eyes. They have not obeyed my rules and laws as Solomon’s father David did.

³⁴ “ ‘But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon’s hand. I have made him ruler all the days of his life. I have done it because of my servant David. I chose him, and he obeyed my commands and rules. ³⁵ I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hands. And I will give you ten of the tribes. ³⁶ I will give one of the tribes to David’s son. Then my servant David will always have a son on his throne in Jerusalem. The lamp of David’s kingdom will always burn brightly in my sight. Jerusalem is the city I chose for my Name. ³⁷ But I will make you king over Israel. You will rule over everything your heart desires. So you will be the king of Israel. ³⁸ Do everything I command you to do. Live the way I want you to. Do what is right in my eyes. Obey my rules and commands. That is what my servant David did. If you do those things, I will be with you. I will build you a kingdom. It will last as long as the one I built for David. I will give Israel to you. ³⁹ I will punish David’s family because of what Solomon has done. But I will not punish them forever.’ ”

⁴⁰ Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam ran away to Egypt. He went to Shishak, the king of Egypt. He stayed there until Solomon died.

Solomon Dies

⁴¹ The other events of Solomon’s rule are written down. Everything he did and the wisdom he showed are written down. They are written in the official records of Solomon. ⁴² Solomon ruled in Jerusalem over the whole nation of Israel for 40 years. ⁴³ Then he joined the members of his family who had already died. He was buried in the city of his father David. Solomon’s son Rehoboam became the next king after him.