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1 Kings 9:15-28
English Standard Version
1 Kings 9:15-28
English Standard Version
15 And this is the account of (A)the forced labor that King Solomon drafted to build the house of the Lord and his own house and (B)the Millo and the wall of Jerusalem and (C)Hazor and (D)Megiddo and Gezer 16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and captured Gezer and burned it with fire, and had killed (E)the Canaanites who lived in the city, and had given it as dowry to (F)his daughter, Solomon's wife; 17 so Solomon rebuilt Gezer) and (G)Lower Beth-horon 18 and Baalath and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land of Judah,[a] 19 and all the store cities that Solomon had, and (H)the cities for his chariots, and the cities for (I)his horsemen, and whatever Solomon (J)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 (K)their descendants who were left after them in the land, (L)whom the people of Israel were unable to devote to destruction[b]—(M)these Solomon drafted to be (N)slaves, and so they are to this day. 22 But (O)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: (P)550 (Q)who had charge of the people who carried on the work.
24 But (R)Pharaoh's daughter went up from the city of David to (S)her own house that Solomon had built for her. (T)Then he built (U)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[c] before the Lord. So he finished the house.
26 King Solomon built a fleet of ships at (V)Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. 27 And Hiram sent (W)with the fleet his servants, seamen who were familiar with the sea, together with the servants of Solomon. 28 And they went to (X)Ophir and brought from there gold, 420 talents, and they brought it to King Solomon.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 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 9:15-28
Common English Bible
1 Kings 9:15-28
Common English Bible
15 This is the story of the labor gang that King Solomon put together to build the Lord’s temple and his own palace, as well as the stepped structure, the wall of Jerusalem, Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer: (16 Pharaoh, Egypt’s king, had attacked and captured Gezer, setting it on fire. He killed the Canaanites who lived in the city and gave it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.) 17 Solomon built Gezer, Lower Beth-horon, 18 Baalath, and Tamar in the wilderness (within the land), 19 along with all the storage cities that belonged to Solomon, as well as the cities used for storing chariots and cavalry and whatever he wanted to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and throughout his kingdom. 20 Any non-Israelite people who remained of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites— 21 that is, the descendants of such people who were still in the land because the Israelites weren’t able to wipe them out—Solomon forced into the labor gangs that are still in existence today. 22 However, Solomon didn’t force the Israelites to work as slaves; instead, they became warriors, his servants, his leaders, his officers, and those in charge of his chariots and cavalry.
23 These were the chief officers over Solomon’s work: five hundred fifty had charge of the people who did the work. 24 When Pharaoh’s daughter went up from David’s City to the palace he had built for her, Solomon built the stepped structure. 25 Three times a year Solomon would offer entirely burned offerings and well-being sacrifices on the altar that he had built for the Lord. Along with this he would burn incense to the Lord. In this way, he completed the temple.[a] 26 King Solomon built a fleet near Eloth in Ezion-geber, on the coast of the Reed Sea[b] in the land of Edom. 27 Hiram sent his expert sailors on the fleet along with Solomon’s workers. 28 They went to Ophir for four hundred twenty kikkars of gold, which they brought back to King Solomon.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Kings 9:25 Heb uncertain
- 1 Kings 9:26 Traditionally Red Sea
1 Kings 9:15-28
New International Version
1 Kings 9:15-28
New International Version
15 Here is the account of the forced labor King Solomon conscripted(A) to build the Lord’s temple, his own palace, the terraces,[a](B) the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor,(C) Megiddo and Gezer.(D) 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,(E) Solomon’s wife. 17 And Solomon rebuilt Gezer.) He built up Lower Beth Horon,(F) 18 Baalath,(G) and Tadmor[b] in the desert, within his land, 19 as well as all his store cities(H) and the towns for his chariots(I) and for his horses[c]—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,(J) Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites(K) (these peoples were not Israelites). 21 Solomon conscripted the descendants(L) of all these peoples remaining in the land—whom the Israelites could not exterminate[d](M)—to serve as slave labor,(N) as it is to this day. 22 But Solomon did not make slaves(O) 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(P) in charge of Solomon’s projects—550 officials supervising those who did the work.
24 After Pharaoh’s daughter(Q) had come up from the City of David to the palace Solomon had built for her, he constructed the terraces.(R)
25 Three(S) 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(T) at Ezion Geber,(U) which is near Elath(V) in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea.[e] 27 And Hiram sent his men—sailors(W) who knew the sea—to serve in the fleet with Solomon’s men. 28 They sailed to Ophir(X) and brought back 420 talents[f] of gold,(Y) which they delivered to King Solomon.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 9:15 Or the Millo; also in verse 24
- 1 Kings 9:18 The Hebrew may also be read Tamar.
- 1 Kings 9:19 Or charioteers
- 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.
- 1 Kings 9:26 Or the Sea of Reeds
- 1 Kings 9:28 That is, about 16 tons or about 14 metric tons
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Common English Bible (CEB)
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.