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1 Kings 9:1-11:13
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.

The Queen of Sheba

10 (AQ)Now when (AR)the queen of (AS)Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came (AT)to test him with hard questions. 2 She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels (AU)bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. 3 And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her. 4 And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5 the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more breath in her.

6 And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, 7 but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard. 8 (AV)Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 9 (AW)Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! (AX)Because the Lord loved Israel forever, he has made you king, (AY)that you may execute justice and righteousness.” 10 (AZ)Then she gave the king 120 talents[f] of gold, and a very great quantity of spices and precious stones. Never again came such an abundance of spices as these that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

11 Moreover, (BA)the fleet of Hiram, which brought (BB)gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir a very great amount of almug wood and precious stones. 12 And the king made of the almug wood supports for the house of the Lord and for the king's house, also lyres and harps for the singers. No such almug wood has come or been seen to this day.

13 And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked besides what was given her by the bounty of King Solomon. So she turned and went back to her own land with her servants.

Solomon's Great Wealth

14 (BC)Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, 15 besides that which came from the explorers and from the business of the merchants, and from all the kings of the west and from the governors of the land. 16 King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold; 600 shekels[g] of gold went into each shield. 17 And he made 300 (BD)shields of beaten gold; three minas[h] of gold went into each shield. And the king put them in (BE)the House of the Forest of Lebanon. 18 The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with the finest gold. 19 The throne had six steps, and the throne had a round top,[i] and on each side of the seat were armrests and two lions standing beside the armrests, 20 while twelve lions stood there, one on each end of a step on the six steps. The like of it was never made in any kingdom. 21 All King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of (BF)the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were of silver; silver was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon. 22 For the king had (BG)a fleet of ships of Tarshish at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the fleet of ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.[j]

23 (BH)Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. 24 And the whole earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind. 25 Every one of them brought his present, articles of silver and gold, garments, myrrh,[k] spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year.

26 (BI)And Solomon gathered together (BJ)chariots and horsemen. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, whom he stationed in the (BK)chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 27 And the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as (BL)the sycamore of the Shephelah. 28 And Solomon's (BM)import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king's traders received them from Kue at a price. 29 A chariot could be imported from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver and a horse for 150, and so through the king's traders they were exported to all the kings of (BN)the Hittites and the kings of Syria.

Solomon Turns from the Lord

11 Now (BO)King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, 2 from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, (BP)“You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. 3 He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. 4 For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and (BQ)his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, (BR)as was the heart of David his father. 5 For Solomon went after (BS)Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after (BT)Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done. 7 Then Solomon built a high place for (BU)Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for (BV)Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. 8 And so he did for all his foreign wives, who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods.

The Lord Raises Adversaries

9 And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because (BW)his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, (BX)who had appeared to him twice 10 and (BY)had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the Lord commanded. 11 Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, (BZ)I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant. 12 Yet for the sake of David your father I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 However, (CA)I will not tear away all the kingdom, but (CB)I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem (CC)that I have chosen.”

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 9:8 Syriac, Old Latin; Hebrew will become high
  2. 1 Kings 9:14 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms
  3. 1 Kings 9:18 Hebrew lacks of Judah
  4. 1 Kings 9:21 That is, set apart (devote) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction)
  5. 1 Kings 9:25 Septuagint lacks with it
  6. 1 Kings 10:10 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms
  7. 1 Kings 10:16 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
  8. 1 Kings 10:17 A mina was about 1 1/4 pounds or 0.6 kilogram
  9. 1 Kings 10:19 Or and at the back of the throne was a calf's head
  10. 1 Kings 10:22 Or baboons
  11. 1 Kings 10:25 Or armor
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1 Kings 9:1-11:13
New International Version

The Lord Appears to Solomon(A)

9 When Solomon had finished(B) building the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had achieved all he had desired to do, 2 the Lord appeared(C) to him a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3 The Lord said to him:

“I have heard(D) the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name(E) there forever. My eyes(F) and my heart will always be there.

4 “As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with integrity of heart(G) and uprightness, as David(H) your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws,(I) 5 I will establish(J) your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail(K) to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’

6 “But if you[a] or your descendants turn away(L) from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you[b] and go off to serve other gods(M) and worship them, 7 then I will cut off Israel from the land(N) I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name.(O) Israel will then become a byword(P) and an object of ridicule(Q) among all peoples. 8 This temple will become a heap of rubble. All[c] who pass by will be appalled(R) and will scoff and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’(S) 9 People will answer,(T) ‘Because they have forsaken(U) the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why the Lord brought all this disaster(V) on them.’”

Solomon’s Other Activities(W)

10 At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built these two buildings—the temple of the Lord and the royal palace— 11 King Solomon gave twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, because Hiram had supplied him with all the cedar and juniper and gold(X) he wanted. 12 But when Hiram went from Tyre to see the towns that Solomon had given him, he was not pleased with them. 13 “What kind of towns are these you have given me, my brother?” he asked. And he called them the Land of Kabul,[d](Y) a name they have to this day. 14 Now Hiram had sent to the king 120 talents[e] of gold.(Z)

15 Here is the account of the forced labor King Solomon conscripted(AA) to build the Lord’s temple, his own palace, the terraces,[f](AB) the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor,(AC) Megiddo and Gezer.(AD) 16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it on fire. He killed its Canaanite inhabitants and then gave it as a wedding gift to his daughter,(AE) Solomon’s wife. 17 And Solomon rebuilt Gezer.) He built up Lower Beth Horon,(AF) 18 Baalath,(AG) and Tadmor[g] in the desert, within his land, 19 as well as all his store cities(AH) and the towns for his chariots(AI) and for his horses[h]—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled.

20 There were still people left from the Amorites, Hittites,(AJ) Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites(AK) (these peoples were not Israelites). 21 Solomon conscripted the descendants(AL) of all these peoples remaining in the land—whom the Israelites could not exterminate[i](AM)—to serve as slave labor,(AN) as it is to this day. 22 But Solomon did not make slaves(AO) of any of the Israelites; they were his fighting men, his government officials, his officers, his captains, and the commanders of his chariots and charioteers. 23 They were also the chief officials(AP) in charge of Solomon’s projects—550 officials supervising those who did the work.

24 After Pharaoh’s daughter(AQ) had come up from the City of David to the palace Solomon had built for her, he constructed the terraces.(AR)

25 Three(AS) times a year Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar he had built for the Lord, burning incense before the Lord along with them, and so fulfilled the temple obligations.

26 King Solomon also built ships(AT) at Ezion Geber,(AU) which is near Elath(AV) in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea.[j] 27 And Hiram sent his men—sailors(AW) who knew the sea—to serve in the fleet with Solomon’s men. 28 They sailed to Ophir(AX) and brought back 420 talents[k] of gold,(AY) which they delivered to King Solomon.

The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon(AZ)

10 When the queen of Sheba(BA) heard about the fame(BB) of Solomon and his relationship to the Lord, she came to test Solomon with hard questions.(BC) 2 Arriving at Jerusalem with a very great caravan(BD)—with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with him about all that she had on her mind. 3 Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. 4 When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had built, 5 the food on his table,(BE) the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he made at[l] the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed.

6 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. 7 But I did not believe(BF) these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth(BG) you have far exceeded the report I heard. 8 How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear(BH) your wisdom! 9 Praise(BI) be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the Lord’s eternal love(BJ) for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice(BK) and righteousness.”

10 And she gave the king 120 talents[m] of gold,(BL) large quantities of spices, and precious stones. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

11 (Hiram’s ships brought gold from Ophir;(BM) and from there they brought great cargoes of almugwood[n] and precious stones. 12 The king used the almugwood to make supports[o] for the temple of the Lord and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. So much almugwood has never been imported or seen since that day.)

13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.

Solomon’s Splendor(BN)

14 The weight of the gold(BO) that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents,[p] 15 not including the revenues from merchants and traders and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of the territories.

16 King Solomon made two hundred large shields(BP) of hammered gold; six hundred shekels[q] of gold went into each shield. 17 He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three minas[r] of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.(BQ)

18 Then the king made a great throne covered with ivory and overlaid with fine gold. 19 The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. 20 Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom. 21 All King Solomon’s goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold.(BR) Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s days. 22 The king had a fleet of trading ships[s](BS) at sea along with the ships(BT) of Hiram. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.

23 King Solomon was greater in riches(BU) and wisdom(BV) than all the other kings of the earth. 24 The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom(BW) God had put in his heart. 25 Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift(BX)—articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.

26 Solomon accumulated chariots and horses;(BY) he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses,[t] which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. 27 The king made silver as common(BZ) in Jerusalem as stones,(CA) and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig(CB) trees in the foothills. 28 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue[u]—the royal merchants purchased them from Kue at the current price. 29 They imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty.[v] They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites(CC) and of the Arameans.

Solomon’s Wives

11 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women(CD) besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites,(CE) Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. 2 They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry(CF) with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. 3 He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines,(CG) and his wives led him astray.(CH) 4 As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods,(CI) and his heart was not fully devoted(CJ) to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. 5 He followed Ashtoreth(CK) the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek(CL) the detestable god of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did evil(CM) in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done.

7 On a hill east(CN) of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh(CO) the detestable god of Moab, and for Molek(CP) the detestable god of the Ammonites. 8 He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.

9 The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared(CQ) to him twice. 10 Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods,(CR) Solomon did not keep the Lord’s command.(CS) 11 So the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees,(CT) which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear(CU) the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. 12 Nevertheless, for the sake of David(CV) your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe(CW) for the sake(CX) of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”(CY)

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 9:6 The Hebrew is plural.
  2. 1 Kings 9:6 The Hebrew is plural.
  3. 1 Kings 9:8 See some Septuagint manuscripts, Old Latin, Syriac, Arabic and Targum; Hebrew And though this temple is now imposing, all
  4. 1 Kings 9:13 Kabul sounds like the Hebrew for good-for-nothing.
  5. 1 Kings 9:14 That is, about 4 1/2 tons or about 4 metric tons
  6. 1 Kings 9:15 Or the Millo; also in verse 24
  7. 1 Kings 9:18 The Hebrew may also be read Tamar.
  8. 1 Kings 9:19 Or charioteers
  9. 1 Kings 9:21 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  10. 1 Kings 9:26 Or the Sea of Reeds
  11. 1 Kings 9:28 That is, about 16 tons or about 14 metric tons
  12. 1 Kings 10:5 Or the ascent by which he went up to
  13. 1 Kings 10:10 That is, about 4 1/2 tons or about 4 metric tons
  14. 1 Kings 10:11 Probably a variant of algumwood; also in verse 12
  15. 1 Kings 10:12 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  16. 1 Kings 10:14 That is, about 25 tons or about 23 metric tons
  17. 1 Kings 10:16 That is, about 15 pounds or about 6.9 kilograms; also in verse 29
  18. 1 Kings 10:17 That is, about 3 3/4 pounds or about 1.7 kilograms; or perhaps reference is to double minas, that is, about 7 1/2 pounds or about 3.5 kilograms.
  19. 1 Kings 10:22 Hebrew of ships of Tarshish
  20. 1 Kings 10:26 Or charioteers
  21. 1 Kings 10:28 Probably Cilicia
  22. 1 Kings 10:29 That is, about 3 3/4 pounds or about 1.7 kilograms
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