Other Acts of Solomon

¹⁵ This is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon conscripted to build the house of the Lord and his own house, the Millo and the wall of Jerusalem, Hazor, Megiddo, Gezer^{(A) 16} (Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and captured Gezer and burned it down, had killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and had given it as dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife;^{(B) 17} so Solomon rebuilt Gezer), Lower Beth-horon,^{(C) 18} Baalath, Tadmor in the wilderness, within the land, ¹⁹ as well as all of Solomon’s storage cities, the cities for his chariots, the cities for his cavalry, and whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.^{(D) 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^(E)— ²¹ their descendants who were still left in the land, whom the Israelites were unable to destroy completely—these Solomon conscripted for slave labor, and so they are to this day.^{(F) 22} But of the Israelites Solomon made no slaves; they were the soldiers; they were his officials, his commanders, his captains, and the commanders of his chariotry and cavalry.^(G)

²³ These were the chief officers who were over Solomon’s work: five hundred fifty who had charge of the people who carried on the work.^(H)

²⁴ But Pharaoh’s daughter went up from the city of David to her own house that Solomon had built for her; then he built the Millo.^(I)

²⁵ Three times a year Solomon used to offer up burnt offerings and sacrifices of well-being on the altar that he built for the Lord, offering incense^[a] before the Lord. So he completed the house.^(J)

Solomon’s Commercial Activity

²⁶ King Solomon built a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea,^[b] in the land of Edom.^{(K) 27} Hiram sent his servants with the fleet, sailors who were familiar with the sea, together with the servants of Solomon.^{(L) 28} They went to Ophir and imported from there four hundred twenty talents of gold that they delivered to King Solomon.^(M)