Solomon’s Agreement with Hiram

¹⁰ It took Solomon twenty years to build the Lord’s Temple and his own royal palace. At the end of that time, ¹¹ he gave twenty towns in the land of Galilee to King Hiram of Tyre. (Hiram had previously provided all the cedar and cypress timber and gold that Solomon had requested.) ¹² But when Hiram came from Tyre to see the towns Solomon had given him, he was not at all pleased with them. ¹³ “What kind of towns are these, my brother?” he asked. So Hiram called that area Cabul (which means “worthless”), as it is still known today. ¹⁴ Nevertheless, Hiram paid^[a] Solomon 9,000 pounds^[b] of gold.

² Solomon turned his attention to rebuilding the towns that King Hiram^[a] had given him, and he settled Israelites in them.

³ Solomon also fought against the town of Hamath-zobah and conquered it.

Solomon’s Many Achievements

¹⁵ This is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon conscripted to build the Lord’s Temple, the royal palace, the supporting terraces,^[a] the wall of Jerusalem, and the cities of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. ¹⁶ (Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, had attacked and captured Gezer, killing the Canaanite population and burning it down. He gave the city to his daughter as a wedding gift when she married Solomon. ¹⁷ So Solomon rebuilt the city of Gezer.) He also built up the towns of Lower Beth-horon, ¹⁸ Baalath, and Tamar^[b] in the wilderness within his land. ¹⁹ He built towns as supply centers and constructed towns where his chariots and horses^[c] could be stationed. He built everything he desired in Jerusalem and Lebanon and throughout his entire realm.

²⁰ There were still some people living in the land who were not Israelites, including Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. ²¹ These were descendants of the nations whom the people of Israel had not completely destroyed.^[d] So Solomon conscripted them as slaves, and they serve as forced laborers to this day. ²² But Solomon did not conscript any of the Israelites for forced labor. Instead, he assigned them to serve as fighting men, government officials, officers and captains in his army, commanders of his chariots, and charioteers. ²³ Solomon appointed 550 of them to supervise the people working on his various projects.

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.

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]

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^[a] of gold.

Visit of the Queen of Sheba

10 When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, which brought honor to the name of the Lord,^[a] she came to test him with hard questions. ² She arrived in Jerusalem with a large group of attendants and a great caravan of camels loaded with spices, large quantities of gold, and precious jewels. When she met with Solomon, she talked with him about everything she had on her mind. ³ Solomon had answers for all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. ⁴ When the queen of Sheba realized how very wise Solomon was, and when she saw the palace he had built, ⁵ she was overwhelmed. She was also amazed at the food on his tables, the organization of his officials and their splendid clothing, the cup-bearers, and the burnt offerings Solomon made at the Temple of the Lord.

⁶ She exclaimed to the king, “Everything I heard in my country about your achievements^[b] and wisdom is true! ⁷ I didn’t believe what was said until I arrived here and saw it with my own eyes. In fact, I had not heard the half of it! Your wisdom and prosperity are far beyond what I was told. ⁸ How happy your people^[c] must be! What a privilege for your officials to stand here day after day, listening to your wisdom! ⁹ Praise the Lord your God, who delights in you and has placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king so you can rule with justice and righteousness.”

¹⁰ Then she gave the king a gift of 9,000 pounds^[d] of gold, great quantities of spices, and precious jewels. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

¹¹ (In addition, Hiram’s ships brought gold from Ophir, and they also brought rich cargoes of red sandalwood^[e] and precious jewels. ¹² The king used the sandalwood to make railings for the Temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and to construct lyres and harps for the musicians. Never before or since has there been such a supply of sandalwood.)

¹³ King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba whatever she asked for, besides all the customary gifts he had so generously given. Then she and all her attendants returned to their own land.

Solomon’s Prosperity and Wisdom

²⁰ The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They were very contented, with plenty to eat and drink. ^21 [a]Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River^[b] in the north to the land of the Philistines and the border of Egypt in the south. The conquered peoples of those lands sent tribute money to Solomon and continued to serve him throughout his lifetime.

²² The daily food requirements for Solomon’s palace were 150 bushels of choice flour and 300 bushels of meal^[c]; ²³ also 10 oxen from the fattening pens, 20 pasture-fed cattle, 100 sheep or goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roe deer, and choice poultry.^[d]

²⁴ Solomon’s dominion extended over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah to Gaza. And there was peace on all his borders. ²⁵ During the lifetime of Solomon, all of Judah and Israel lived in peace and safety. And from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, each family had its own home and garden.^[e]

²⁶ Solomon had 4,000^[f] stalls for his chariot horses, and he had 12,000 horses.^[g]

²⁷ The district governors faithfully provided food for King Solomon and his court; each made sure nothing was lacking during the month assigned to him. ²⁸ They also brought the necessary barley and straw for the royal horses in the stables.

Solomon’s Wealth and Splendor

¹³ Each year Solomon received about 25 tons^[a] of gold. ¹⁴ This did not include the additional revenue he received from merchants and traders. All the kings of Arabia and the governors of the provinces also brought gold and silver to Solomon.

¹⁵ King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold, each weighing more than 15 pounds.^{[b] 16} He also made 300 smaller shields of hammered gold, each weighing more than 7 1⁄2 pounds.^[c] The king placed these shields in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.

¹⁷ Then the king made a huge throne, decorated with ivory and overlaid with pure gold. ¹⁸ The throne had six steps, with a footstool of gold. There were armrests on both sides of the seat, and the figure of a lion stood on each side of the throne. ¹⁹ There were also twelve other lions, one standing on each end of the six steps. No other throne in all the world could be compared with it!

²⁰ All of King Solomon’s drinking cups were solid gold, as were all the utensils in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. They were not made of silver, for silver was considered worthless in Solomon’s day!