2 Chronicles 1
New American Standard Bible
Solomon Worships at Gibeon
1 Now (A)Solomon the son of David established himself securely over his kingdom, and the Lord his God was with him and (B)exalted him greatly.
2 And Solomon spoke to all Israel, (C)to the commanders of thousands, of hundreds, and to the judges and to every leader in all Israel, the heads of the fathers’ households. 3 Then Solomon and all the assembly with him went to (D)the high place which was at Gibeon, (E)because God’s tent of meeting was there which Moses, the servant of the Lord had made in the wilderness. 4 However, David had brought up (F)the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim [a]to (G)the place he had prepared for it, for he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem. 5 Now (H)the bronze altar which Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made was there before the tabernacle of the Lord, and Solomon and the assembly sought it out. 6 And Solomon went up there before the Lord to the bronze altar which was at the tent of meeting, and (I)offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.
7 (J)In that night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask what I shall give you.”
Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom
8 And Solomon said to God, “You have dealt with my father David with great faithfulness, and (K)have made me king in his place. 9 Now, Lord God, (L)Your [b]promise to my father David is fulfilled, for You have made me king over (M)a people as numerous as the dust of the earth. 10 (N)Now give me wisdom and knowledge, (O)so that I may go out and come in before this people, for who can rule this great people of Yours?” 11 (P)Then God said to Solomon, “Because this was [c]in your heart, and you did not ask for riches, wealth, or honor, or the life of those who hate you, nor did you even ask for long life, but you asked for yourself wisdom and knowledge so that you may rule My people over whom I have made you king, 12 wisdom and knowledge have been granted to you. (Q)I will also give you riches, wealth, and honor, [d]such as none of the kings who were before you has possessed, nor will those who will [e]come after you.” 13 (R)So Solomon went [f]from the high place which was at Gibeon, from the tent of meeting, to Jerusalem, and he reigned over Israel.
Solomon’s Wealth
14 (S)Solomon amassed chariots and horsemen. (T)He had 1,400 chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, and he stationed them in (U)the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 15 (V)The king made (W)silver and gold as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamores in the [g]lowland. 16 Solomon’s (X)horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue; the king’s traders acquired them from Kue for a price. 17 They [h]imported chariots from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver apiece, horses for 150 apiece, and [i]by the same means they [j]exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 1:4 Lit where David had prepared for it
- 2 Chronicles 1:9 Lit word
- 2 Chronicles 1:11 Lit with
- 2 Chronicles 1:12 Lit which was not so to the kings who were before you
- 2 Chronicles 1:12 Lit be
- 2 Chronicles 1:13 As in other ancient versions; MT to
- 2 Chronicles 1:15 Heb shephelah
- 2 Chronicles 1:17 Lit brought up and brought out
- 2 Chronicles 1:17 Lit in the same way by their hand
- 2 Chronicles 1:17 Lit brought out
2 Chronicles 1
Living Bible
1 King David’s son Solomon was now the undisputed ruler of Israel, for the Lord his God had made him a powerful monarch. 2-3 He summoned all the army officers and judges to Gibeon[a] as well as all the political and religious leaders of Israel. He led them up the hill to the old Tabernacle constructed by Moses, the Lord’s assistant, while he was in the wilderness. 4 (There was a later Tabernacle in Jerusalem, built by King David for the Ark of God when he removed it from Kiriath-jearim.) 5-6 The bronze altar made by Bezalel (son of Uri, son of Hur) still stood in front of the old Tabernacle, and now Solomon and those he had invited assembled themselves before it, as he sacrificed upon it 1,000 burnt offerings to the Lord.
7 That night God appeared to Solomon and told him, “Ask me for anything, and I will give it to you!”
8 Solomon replied, “O God, you have been so kind and good to my father David, and now you have given me the kingdom— 9 this is all I want! For you have fulfilled your promise to David my father and have made me king over a nation as full of people as the earth is full of dust! 10 Now give me wisdom and knowledge to rule them properly, for who is able to govern by himself such a great nation as this one of yours?”
11 God replied, “Because your greatest desire is to help your people, and you haven’t asked for personal wealth and honor, and you haven’t asked me to curse your enemies, and you haven’t asked for a long life, but for wisdom and knowledge to properly guide my people— 12 yes, I am giving you the wisdom and knowledge you asked for! And I am also giving you riches, wealth, and honor such as no other king has ever had before you! And there will never again be so great a king in all the world!”
13 Solomon then left the Tabernacle, returned down the hill, and went back to Jerusalem to rule Israel. 14 He built up a huge force of 1,400 chariots and recruited 12,000 cavalry to guard the cities where the chariots were garaged, though some, of course, were stationed at Jerusalem near the king. 15 During Solomon’s reign, silver and gold were as plentiful in Jerusalem as rocks on the road! And expensive cedar lumber was used like common sycamore! 16 Solomon sent horse traders to Egypt to purchase entire herds at wholesale prices. 17 At that time Egyptian chariots sold for $400 each and horses for $100, delivered at Jerusalem. Many of these were then resold to the kings of the Hittites and Syria.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 1:2 He summoned all the army officers and judges to Gibeon, implied. He led them up the hill to the old Tabernacle. Moses had built the Tabernacle 500 years before the reign of King Solomon.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.