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And when Solomon had ended praying, the fire came down from the heavens and consumed the burnt-offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of Jehovah filled the house.

And the priests could not enter into the house of Jehovah, because the glory of Jehovah filled Jehovah's house.

And all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of Jehovah upon the house, and bowed themselves with their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshipped and thanked Jehovah: For he is good, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever.

And the king and all the people offered sacrifices before Jehovah.

And king Solomon sacrificed a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand oxen, and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God.

And the priests stood in their charges, and the Levites with Jehovah's instruments of music, which David the king had made to praise Jehovah, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever, when David praised by their means; and the priests sounded the trumpets opposite to them, and all Israel stood.

And Solomon hallowed the middle of the court that was before the house of Jehovah; for there he offered the burnt-offerings, and the fat of the peace-offerings, because the brazen altar which Solomon had made was not able to receive the burnt-offerings and the oblations and the fat.

And at that time Solomon held the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great congregation, from the entrance of Hamath unto the torrent of Egypt.

And on the eighth day they held a solemn assembly; for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days.

10 And on the three and twentieth day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their tents, joyful and glad of heart for the goodness that Jehovah had done to David and to Solomon, and to Israel his people.

11 And Solomon completed the house of Jehovah, and the king's house; and all that came into Solomon's heart to make in the house of Jehovah, and in his own house, he did prosperously.

12 Then Jehovah appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: I have heard thy prayer, and I have chosen for myself this place for a house of sacrifice.

13 If I shut up the heavens that there be no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;

14 and my people, who are called by my name, humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from the heavens, and forgive their sin, and heal their land.

15 Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attentive to the prayer [made] in this place;

16 for I have now chosen and hallowed this house, that my name may be there for ever; and mine eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually.

17 And [as for] thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and mine ordinances;

18 then will I establish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to rule over Israel.

19 But if ye turn away and forsake my statutes and my commandments which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them;

20 then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed to my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.

21 And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passes by it; so that he shall say, Why has Jehovah done thus to this land and to this house?

22 And they shall say, Because they forsook Jehovah the God of their fathers, who brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and have attached themselves to other gods, and have worshipped them and served them; therefore he has brought upon them all this evil.

And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the house of Jehovah and his own house,

that the cities which Huram had given to Solomon, Solomon built them and caused the children of Israel to dwell there.

And Solomon went to Hamath-Zobah, and overcame it.

And he built Tadmor, in the wilderness, and all the store-cities, which he built in Hamath.

And he built upper Beth-Horon and lower Beth-Horon, fortified cities, with walls, gates, and bars;

and Baalath, and all the store-cities that Solomon had, and all the cities for chariots, and the cities for the horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and on Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.

All the people that were left of the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of Israel,

their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel had not destroyed, upon them did Solomon impose tribute-service until this day.

But of the children of Israel, of them did Solomon make no bondmen for his work; but they were men of war, and chief of his captains, and captains of his chariots and his horsemen.

10 And these were the chief of king Solomon's superintendents, two hundred and fifty, that ruled over the people.

11 And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David to the house which he had built for her; for he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the [places] are holy to which the ark of Jehovah has come.

12 Then Solomon offered up burnt-offerings to Jehovah on the altar of Jehovah, which he had built before the porch;

13 even as the duty of every day required, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and at the set feasts, three times in the year,—at the feast of unleavened bread, and at the feast of weeks, and at the feast of tabernacles.

14 And he appointed, according to the ordinance of David his father, the divisions of the priests for their service, and the Levites for their charges, to praise and serve before the priests, as the duty of every day required; and the doorkeepers by their divisions at every gate: for such was the commandment of David the man of God;

15 and they did not depart from the commandment of the king to the priests and the Levites concerning any matter, nor concerning the treasures.

16 And all the work of Solomon was prepared, to the day of the foundation of the house of Jehovah and to its completion. [So] the house of Jehovah was finished.

17 Then went Solomon to Ezion-geber, and to Eloth, on the seashore in the land of Edom.

18 And Huram sent him by his servants ships, and servants that had knowledge of the sea; and they went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and fetched thence four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and brought them to king Solomon.

And the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, and came to Jerusalem to prove Solomon with enigmas; with a very great train, and camels that bore spices and gold in great abundance, and precious stones; and she came to Solomon, and spoke with him of all that was in her heart.

And Solomon explained to her all she spoke of, and there was not a thing hidden from Solomon that he did not explain to her.

And when the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built,

and the food of his table, and the deportment of his servants, and the order of service of his attendants and their apparel, and his cupbearers and their apparel, and his ascent by which he went up to the house of Jehovah, there was no more spirit in her.

And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thine affairs and of thy wisdom;

but I gave no credit to their words, until I came and mine eyes had seen; and behold, the half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me: thou exceedest the report that I heard.

Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servants, who stand continually before thee and hear thy wisdom!

Blessed be Jehovah thy God, who delighted in thee, to set thee on his throne, to be king to Jehovah thy God! Because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever, therefore did he make thee king over them, to do judgment and justice.

And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and spices in very great abundance, and precious stones; neither was there any such spice as that which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.

10 (And the servants also of Huram, and the servants of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, brought sandal-wood and precious stones.

11 And the king made of the sandal-wood stairs for the house of Jehovah, and for the king's house, and harps and lutes for the singers. And there were none such seen before in the land of Judah.)

12 And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she asked, besides what she had brought to the king. And she turned and went to her own land, she and her servants.

13 And the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold,

14 besides [what] dealers and merchants brought, and [what] all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the country brought of gold and silver to Solomon.

15 And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold,—he applied six hundred [shekels] of beaten gold to one target;

16 and three hundred shields of beaten gold,—he applied three hundred [shekels] of gold to one shield; and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.

17 And the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold;

18 and the throne had six steps, with a footstool of gold fastened to the throne; and there were arms on each side at the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the arms;

19 and twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom.

20 And all king Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of precious gold: silver was not of the least account in the days of Solomon.

21 For the king's ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram: once in three years came the ships of Tarshish, bringing gold and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.

22 And king Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.

23 And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.

24 And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver and vessels of gold, and clothing, armour, and spices, horses and mules, a rate year by year.

25 And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; and he placed them in the chariot-cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.

26 And he ruled over all the kings from the river as far as the land of the Philistines, and up to the border of Egypt.

27 And the king made silver in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he as the sycamores that are in the lowland for abundance.

28 And they brought to Solomon horses out of Egypt, and out of all lands.

29 And the rest of the acts of Solomon first and last, are they not written in the words of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat?

30 And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.

31 And Solomon slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David his father; and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.

The Dedication of the Temple(A)

When Solomon finished praying, fire(B) came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled(C) the temple.(D) The priests could not enter(E) the temple of the Lord because the glory(F) of the Lord filled it. When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying,

“He is good;
    his love endures forever.”(G)

Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the Lord. And King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand head of cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the people dedicated the temple of God. The priests took their positions, as did the Levites(H) with the Lord’s musical instruments,(I) which King David had made for praising the Lord and which were used when he gave thanks, saying, “His love endures forever.” Opposite the Levites, the priests blew their trumpets, and all the Israelites were standing.

Solomon consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the Lord, and there he offered burnt offerings and the fat(J) of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar he had made could not hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat portions.

So Solomon observed the festival(K) at that time for seven days, and all Israel(L) with him—a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath(M) to the Wadi of Egypt.(N) On the eighth day they held an assembly, for they had celebrated(O) the dedication of the altar for seven days and the festival(P) for seven days more. 10 On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people to their homes, joyful and glad in heart for the good things the Lord had done for David and Solomon and for his people Israel.

The Lord Appears to Solomon(Q)

11 When Solomon had finished(R) the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the Lord and in his own palace, 12 the Lord appeared(S) to him at night and said:

“I have heard your prayer and have chosen(T) this place for myself(U) as a temple for sacrifices.

13 “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain,(V) or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name,(W) will humble(X) themselves and pray and seek my face(Y) and turn(Z) from their wicked ways, then I will hear(AA) from heaven, and I will forgive(AB) their sin and will heal(AC) their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.(AD) 16 I have chosen(AE) and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.

17 “As for you, if you walk before me faithfully(AF) as David your father did, and do all I command, and observe my decrees(AG) and laws, 18 I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted(AH) with David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor(AI) to rule over Israel.’(AJ)

19 “But if you[a] turn away(AK) and forsake(AL) the decrees and commands I have given you[b] and go off to serve other gods and worship them, 20 then I will uproot(AM) Israel from my land,(AN) which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule(AO) among all peoples. 21 This temple will become a heap of rubble. All[c] who pass by will be appalled(AP) and say,(AQ) ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ 22 People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them(AR)—that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’”

Solomon’s Other Activities(AS)

At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built the temple of the Lord and his own palace,(AT) Solomon rebuilt the villages that Hiram[d] had given him, and settled Israelites in them. Solomon then went to Hamath Zobah and captured it. He also built up Tadmor in the desert and all the store cities he had built in Hamath.(AU) He rebuilt Upper Beth Horon(AV) and Lower Beth Horon as fortified cities, with walls and with gates and bars, as well as Baalath(AW) and all his store cities, and all the cities for his chariots and for his horses[e]—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled.

There were still people left from the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites(AX) (these people were not Israelites). Solomon conscripted(AY) the descendants of all these people remaining in the land—whom the Israelites had not destroyed—to serve as slave labor, as it is to this day. But Solomon did not make slaves of the Israelites for his work; they were his fighting men, commanders of his captains, and commanders of his chariots and charioteers. 10 They were also King Solomon’s chief officials—two hundred and fifty officials supervising the men.

11 Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter(AZ) up from the City of David to the palace he had built for her, for he said, “My wife must not live in the palace of David king of Israel, because the places the ark of the Lord has entered are holy.”

12 On the altar(BA) of the Lord that he had built in front of the portico, Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings to the Lord, 13 according to the daily requirement(BB) for offerings commanded by Moses for the Sabbaths,(BC) the New Moons(BD) and the three(BE) annual festivals—the Festival of Unleavened Bread,(BF) the Festival of Weeks(BG) and the Festival of Tabernacles.(BH) 14 In keeping with the ordinance of his father David, he appointed the divisions(BI) of the priests for their duties, and the Levites(BJ) to lead the praise and to assist the priests according to each day’s requirement. He also appointed the gatekeepers(BK) by divisions for the various gates, because this was what David the man of God(BL) had ordered.(BM) 15 They did not deviate from the king’s commands to the priests or to the Levites in any matter, including that of the treasuries.

16 All Solomon’s work was carried out, from the day the foundation of the temple of the Lord was laid until its completion. So the temple of the Lord was finished.

17 Then Solomon went to Ezion Geber and Elath on the coast of Edom. 18 And Hiram sent him ships commanded by his own men, sailors who knew the sea. These, with Solomon’s men, sailed to Ophir and brought back four hundred and fifty talents[f] of gold,(BN) which they delivered to King Solomon.

The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon(BO)

When the queen of Sheba(BP) heard of Solomon’s fame, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. Arriving with a very great caravan—with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with him about all she had on her mind. Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for him to explain to her. When the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon,(BQ) as well as the palace he had built, the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, the cupbearers in their robes and the burnt offerings he made at[g] the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed.

She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. But I did not believe what they said until I came(BR) and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half the greatness of your wisdom was told me; you have far exceeded the report I heard. How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on his throne(BS) as king to rule for the Lord your God. Because of the love of your God for Israel and his desire to uphold them forever, he has made you king(BT) over them, to maintain justice and righteousness.”

Then she gave the king 120 talents[h] of gold,(BU) large quantities of spices, and precious stones. There had never been such spices as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

10 (The servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon brought gold from Ophir;(BV) they also brought algumwood[i] and precious stones. 11 The king used the algumwood to make steps for the temple of the Lord and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. Nothing like them had ever been seen in Judah.)

12 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for; he gave her more than she had brought to him. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.

Solomon’s Splendor(BW)

13 The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents,[j] 14 not including the revenues brought in by merchants and traders. Also all the kings of Arabia(BX) and the governors of the territories brought gold and silver to Solomon.

15 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels[k] of hammered gold went into each shield. 16 He also made three hundred small shields(BY) of hammered gold, with three hundred shekels[l] of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.(BZ)

17 Then the king made a great throne covered with ivory(CA) and overlaid with pure gold. 18 The throne had six steps, and a footstool of gold was attached to it. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. 19 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. 20 All King Solomon’s goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s day. 21 The king had a fleet of trading ships[m] manned by Hiram’s[n] servants. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.

22 King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth.(CB) 23 All the kings(CC) of the earth sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. 24 Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift(CD)—articles of silver and gold, and robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.

25 Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots,(CE) and twelve thousand horses,[o] which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. 26 He ruled(CF) over all the kings from the Euphrates River(CG) to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt.(CH) 27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills. 28 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from all other countries.

Solomon’s Death(CI)

29 As for the other events of Solomon’s reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the records of Nathan(CJ) the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah(CK) the Shilonite and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam(CL) son of Nebat? 30 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. 31 Then he rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David(CM) his father. And Rehoboam his son succeeded him as king.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 7:19 The Hebrew is plural.
  2. 2 Chronicles 7:19 The Hebrew is plural.
  3. 2 Chronicles 7:21 See some Septuagint manuscripts, Old Latin, Syriac, Arabic and Targum; Hebrew And though this temple is now so imposing, all
  4. 2 Chronicles 8:2 Hebrew Huram, a variant of Hiram; also in verse 18
  5. 2 Chronicles 8:6 Or charioteers
  6. 2 Chronicles 8:18 That is, about 17 tons or about 15 metric tons
  7. 2 Chronicles 9:4 Or and the ascent by which he went up to
  8. 2 Chronicles 9:9 That is, about 4 1/2 tons or about 4 metric tons
  9. 2 Chronicles 9:10 Probably a variant of almugwood
  10. 2 Chronicles 9:13 That is, about 25 tons or about 23 metric tons
  11. 2 Chronicles 9:15 That is, about 15 pounds or about 6.9 kilograms
  12. 2 Chronicles 9:16 That is, about 7 1/2 pounds or about 3.5 kilograms
  13. 2 Chronicles 9:21 Hebrew of ships that could go to Tarshish
  14. 2 Chronicles 9:21 Hebrew Huram, a variant of Hiram
  15. 2 Chronicles 9:25 Or charioteers