1 Kings 9
International Standard Version
God Appears to Solomon(A)
9 Later, after Solomon had finished building the Lord’s Temple, the royal palace, and everything else that Solomon wanted to do, 2 the Lord appeared to Solomon for a second time, just as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3 The Lord told him:
“I’ve heard your prayer and your request that you made to me. I have consecrated this Temple that you have built by placing my name there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there continuously.
4 “Now as for you, if you commune with me like your father did, with an upright heart of integrity and doing everything that I’ve commanded you and keeping my statutes and ordinances, 5 then I’ll make your royal throne secure forever, just as I agreed to do so for your father David when I said, ‘You are to not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’ 6 But if you or your descendants abandon me, and do not keep my commandments and statutes that I have given to you, and if you go away, serve other gods, and worship them, 7 then I will eliminate Israel from the land that I gave them and from the Temple that I’ve consecrated for my name. I will throw them out of my sight, and Israel will become the butt of jokes[a] and a means of ridicule among people worldwide!
8 “This Temple will become a pile of ruins. Everyone who passes by it will be so astounded that they will ask, ‘Why did the Lord do this to this land and to this Temple?’ 9 They will answer, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of the land of Egypt, and they adopted other gods and served them. That’s why the Lord has brought all of this disaster on them.’”
Solomon Cedes Cities to Hiram
10 It took 20 years for Solomon to finish working on the two houses—the Lord’s Temple and the royal palace— 11 after which King Solomon gave Hiram 20 cities in the land of Galilee, because King Hiram of Tyre had provided Solomon with as much cedar, cypress timber, and gold as he wanted. 12 Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities that Solomon had given him, but he wasn’t happy with them, 13 so he asked him, “What are these cities that you have given to me, my brother?” That’s why these cities were named “the land of Cabal”[b] to this day. 14 Then Hiram paid the king 120 talents[c] of gold.
Solomon’s Other Accomplishments(B)
15 Here is a summary of the conscripted labor that King Solomon required to build the Lord’s Temple, his royal palace, the terrace ramparts in the City of David,[d] the wall of Jerusalem, Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. 16 Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, had attacked and captured Gezer, burned it down, killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and then gave it as a dowry for his daughter, Solomon’s wife. 17 So Solomon rebuilt Gezer, lower Beth-horon, 18 Baalath, and Tamar in the wilderness, 19 along with the storage cities that Solomon used for his chariots and for his cavalry, everything that Solomon felt like building in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in every territory under his control.
20 The people who survived from the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not related to the Israelis, 21 and whose descendants had survived them and continued to live in the land because the Israelis were unable to completely eliminate them, Solomon placed under conscripted labor, a situation that remains in effect to this day. 22 However, Solomon did not force Israelis into conscripted labor, but they did serve as his soldiers, servants, princes, captains, chariot commanders, and cavalry. 23 There were 550 chief officers who supervised Solomon’s activities and managed the staff that was doing the work.
24 As soon as Pharaoh’s daughter arrived from the City of David to live in her house that Solomon[e] had built for her, then he fortified the terrace ramparts in the City of David.[f] 25 Three times every year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar that he had built to the Lord, burning incense with the offerings in the presence of the Lord.
This concludes the record of the Temple construction.
Solomon’s Business Ventures(C)
26 King Solomon also built a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the Reed[g] Sea in the land of Edom. 27 Hiram sent his servants to sail with the fleet, since they were expert seamen, and so they accompanied Solomon’s servants. 28 They sailed as far as Ophir[h] and brought back 420 talents[i] of gold for Solomon.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 9:7 Lit. become an object of mockery
- 1 Kings 9:13 The Heb. name Cabul means as good as nothing
- 1 Kings 9:14 I.e. about 9,000 pounds; a talent weighed about 75 pounds
- 1 Kings 9:15 Lit. the Millo, fortified areas of ancient Jerusalem with terraces and retaining walls
- 1 Kings 9:24 Lit. he
- 1 Kings 9:24 Lit. the Millo, fortified areas of ancient Jerusalem with terraces and retaining walls
- 1 Kings 9:26 So MT; LXX reads Red
- 1 Kings 9:28 Or as a source of fine gold; cf. 1Chr 29:4
- 1 Kings 9:28 I.e. about 31,500 pounds; a talent weighed about 75 pounds
1 Kings 9
King James Version
9 And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the Lord, and the king's house, and all Solomon's desire which he was pleased to do,
2 That the Lord appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon.
3 And the Lord said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.
4 And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments:
5 Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.
6 But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them:
7 Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people:
8 And at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the Lord done thus unto this land, and to this house?
9 And they shall answer, Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the Lord brought upon them all this evil.
10 And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the Lord, and the king's house,
11 (Now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and fir trees, and with gold, according to all his desire,) that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.
12 And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not.
13 And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul unto this day.
14 And Hiram sent to the king sixscore talents of gold.
15 And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised; for to build the house of the Lord, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer.
16 For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a present unto his daughter, Solomon's wife.
17 And Solomon built Gezer, and Bethhoron the nether,
18 And Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land,
19 And all the cities of store that Solomon had, and cities for his chariots, and cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.
20 And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of the children of Israel,
21 Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bondservice unto this day.
22 But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen: but they were men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and his captains, and rulers of his chariots, and his horsemen.
23 These were the chief of the officers that were over Solomon's work, five hundred and fifty, which bare rule over the people that wrought in the work.
24 But Pharaoh's daughter came up out of the city of David unto her house which Solomon had built for her: then did he build Millo.
25 And three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt offerings and peace offerings upon the altar which he built unto the Lord, and he burnt incense upon the altar that was before the Lord. So he finished the house.
26 And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Eziongeber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom.
27 And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.
28 And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.
1 Kings 9
English Standard Version
The Lord Appears to Solomon
9 (A)As soon as Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord (B)and the king's house and (C)all that Solomon desired to build, 2 (D)the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3 And the Lord said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your plea, which you have made before me. I have consecrated this house that you have built, (E)by putting my name there forever. (F)My eyes and my heart will be there for all time. 4 And as for you, if you will (G)walk before me, (H)as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my rules, 5 (I)then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’ 6 (J)But if you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, 7 (K)then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, (L)and the house that I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight, (M)and Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 8 And this house will become a heap of ruins.[a] Everyone passing by it will be astonished and will hiss, and they will say, (N)‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ 9 Then they will say, ‘Because (O)they abandoned the Lord their God who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore the Lord has brought all this disaster on them.’”
Solomon's Other Acts
10 (P)At the end of (Q)twenty years, in which Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the Lord and the king's house, 11 and Hiram king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and cypress timber and gold, as much as he desired, King Solomon gave to Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. 12 But when Hiram came from Tyre to see the cities that Solomon had given him, they did not please him. 13 Therefore he said, “What kind of cities are these that you have given me, my brother?” So they are called the land of (R)Cabul to this day. 14 Hiram had sent to the king 120 talents[b] of gold.
15 And this is the account of (S)the forced labor that King Solomon drafted to build the house of the Lord and his own house and (T)the Millo and the wall of Jerusalem and (U)Hazor and (V)Megiddo and Gezer 16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and captured Gezer and burned it with fire, and had killed (W)the Canaanites who lived in the city, and had given it as dowry to (X)his daughter, Solomon's wife; 17 so Solomon rebuilt Gezer) and (Y)Lower Beth-horon 18 and Baalath and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land of Judah,[c] 19 and all the store cities that Solomon had, and (Z)the cities for his chariots, and the cities for (AA)his horsemen, and whatever Solomon (AB)desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. 20 All the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the people of Israel— 21 (AC)their descendants who were left after them in the land, (AD)whom the people of Israel were unable to devote to destruction[d]—(AE)these Solomon drafted to be (AF)slaves, and so they are to this day. 22 But (AG)of the people of Israel Solomon made no slaves. They were the soldiers, they were his officials, his commanders, his captains, his chariot commanders and his horsemen.
23 These were the chief officers who were over Solomon's work: (AH)550 (AI)who had charge of the people who carried on the work.
24 But (AJ)Pharaoh's daughter went up from the city of David to (AK)her own house that Solomon had built for her. (AL)Then he built (AM)the Millo.
25 Three times a year Solomon used to offer up burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar that he built to the Lord, making offerings with it[e] before the Lord. So he finished the house.
26 King Solomon built a fleet of ships at (AN)Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. 27 And Hiram sent (AO)with the fleet his servants, seamen who were familiar with the sea, together with the servants of Solomon. 28 And they went to (AP)Ophir and brought from there gold, 420 talents, and they brought it to King Solomon.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 9:8 Syriac, Old Latin; Hebrew will become high
- 1 Kings 9:14 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms
- 1 Kings 9:18 Hebrew lacks of Judah
- 1 Kings 9:21 That is, set apart (devote) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction)
- 1 Kings 9:25 Septuagint lacks with it
1 Kings 9
New King James Version
God’s Second Appearance to Solomon(A)
9 And (B)it came to pass, when Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord (C)and the king’s house, and (D)all Solomon’s desire which he wanted to do, 2 that the Lord appeared to Solomon the second time, (E)as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3 And the Lord said to him: (F)“I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built (G)to put My name there forever, (H)and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. 4 Now if you (I)walk before Me (J)as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you (K)keep My statutes and My judgments, 5 then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, (L)as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’ 6 (M)But if you or your sons at all [a]turn from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, 7 (N)then I will [b]cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and this house which I have consecrated (O)for My name I will cast out of My sight. (P)Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 8 And as for (Q)this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and will hiss, and say, (R)‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ 9 Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore the Lord has brought all this (S)calamity on them.’ ”
Solomon and Hiram Exchange Gifts
10 Now (T)it happened at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the Lord and the king’s house 11 (U)(Hiram the king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and cypress and gold, as much as he desired), that King Solomon then gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. 12 Then Hiram went from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him, but they did not please him. 13 So he said, “What kind of cities are these which you have given me, my brother?” (V)And he called them the land of [c]Cabul, as they are to this day. 14 Then Hiram sent the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold.
Solomon’s Additional Achievements(W)
15 And this is the reason for (X)the labor force which King Solomon raised: to build the house of the Lord, his own house, [d]the (Y)Millo, the wall of Jerusalem, (Z)Hazor, (AA)Megiddo, and (AB)Gezer. 16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and taken Gezer and burned it with fire, (AC)had killed the Canaanites who dwelt in the city, and had given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.) 17 And Solomon built Gezer, Lower (AD)Beth Horon, 18 (AE)Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land of Judah, 19 all the storage cities that Solomon had, cities for (AF)his chariots and cities for his (AG)cavalry, and whatever Solomon (AH)desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.
20 (AI)All the people who were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not of the children of Israel— 21 that is, their descendants (AJ)who were left in the land after them, (AK)whom the children of Israel had not been able to destroy completely—(AL)from these Solomon raised (AM)forced labor, as it is to this day. 22 But of the children of Israel Solomon (AN)made no forced laborers, because they were men of war and his servants: his officers, his captains, commanders of his chariots, and his cavalry.
23 Others were chiefs of the officials who were over Solomon’s work: (AO)five hundred and fifty, who ruled over the people who did the work.
24 But (AP)Pharaoh’s daughter came up from the City of David to (AQ)her house which [e]Solomon had built for her. (AR)Then he built the Millo.
25 (AS)Now three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he had built for the Lord, and he burned incense with them on the altar that was before the Lord. So he finished the temple.
26 (AT)King Solomon also built a fleet of ships at (AU)Ezion Geber, which is near [f]Elath on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. 27 (AV)Then Hiram sent his servants with the fleet, seamen who knew the sea, to work with the servants of Solomon. 28 And they went to (AW)Ophir, and acquired four hundred and twenty talents of gold from there, and brought it to King Solomon.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 9:6 turn back
- 1 Kings 9:7 destroy
- 1 Kings 9:13 Lit. Good for Nothing
- 1 Kings 9:15 Lit. The Landfill
- 1 Kings 9:24 Lit. he; cf. 2 Chr. 8:11
- 1 Kings 9:26 Heb. Eloth
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
