Solomon Builds Cities and Ships

¹⁵ Now this is the account of the forced labor which King Solomon ^(A)raised up to build the house of Yahweh, his own house, the ^[a](B)Millo, the wall of Jerusalem, ^(C)Hazor, ^(D)Megiddo, and ^(E)Gezer. ¹⁶ For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and captured Gezer and burned it with fire, and killed the ^(F)Canaanites who lived in the city, and had ^(G)given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife. ¹⁷ So Solomon rebuilt Gezer and the lower ^(H)Beth-horon ¹⁸ and ^(I)Baalath and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land of Judah, ¹⁹ and all the storage cities which Solomon had, and ^(J)the cities for ^[b]his chariots, and the cities for ^[c](K)his horsemen, and ^[d](L)all that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land ^[e]under his rule. ²⁰ As for all the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, who were not of the sons of Israel, ^21 (M)namely, their sons who were left after them in the land ^(N)whom the sons of Israel were unable to devote to destruction, from ^(O)them Solomon raised up ^(P)forced laborers to this day. ²² But Solomon ^(Q)did not make slaves of the sons of Israel; for they were men of war, his servants, his princes, his captains, his chariot commanders, and his horsemen.

²³ These were the ^[f](R)chief deputies who were over Solomon’s work, 550, ^(S)who had dominion over the people doing the work.

²⁴ As soon as ^(T)Pharaoh’s daughter came up from the city of David to her house which Solomon had built for her, ^(U)then he built the Millo.

²⁵ And ^(V)three times in a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he built to Yahweh, burning incense with them on the altar which was before Yahweh. So he finished the house.

²⁶ King Solomon also made a ^(W)fleet of ships in ^(X)Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the ^[g]Red Sea, in the land of Edom. ^27 (Y)And Hiram sent his servants with the fleet of ships, sailors who knew the sea, along with the servants of Solomon. ²⁸ And they went to ^(Z)Ophir and took from there 420 talents of gold and brought it to King Solomon.