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¶ And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, in which Solomon had built the house of the LORD and his own house,

that Solomon rebuilt the cities which Hiram had given him and caused the sons of Israel to dwell there.

Then Solomon went to Hamathzobah and prevailed against it.

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

Likewise, he rebuilt Bethhoron the upper and Bethhoron the lower, fenced cities with walls, gates, and bars;

and Baalath and all the store cities that Solomon had and all the chariot cities and the cities of the horsemen and all that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem and in Lebanon and throughout all the land of his dominion.

As for all the people that were left of the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, which were not of Israel,

but of their sons, who were left after them in the land, whom the sons of Israel, did not consume, Solomon made them pay tribute until this day.

But of the sons of Israel Solomon did not make slaves for his work, for they were men of war, and his princes and his captains, and princes of his chariots and horsemen.

10 And King Solomon had two hundred and fifty princes of the governors, who presided over the people.

11 And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David unto the house that 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, unto which the ark of the LORD has come.

12 ¶ Then Solomon offered burnt offerings unto the LORD on the altar of the LORD, which he had built before the porch,

13 that each thing might be offered in its day, according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths and on the new moons and on the feasts three times in the year, that is in the feast of unleavened bread and in the feast of weeks and in the feast of the tabernacles.

14 And he appointed, according to the order of David his father, the courses of the priests to their service and the Levites to their charges, to praise and minister before the priests, each thing in its day; the porters also by their courses at each gate, for so had David, the man of God, commanded.

15 And they departed not from the commandment of the king unto the priests and Levites concerning any matter or concerning the treasures.

16 Now all the work of Solomon was prepared from the day of the foundation of the house of the LORD and until it was finished. So the house of the LORD was perfected.

17 Then Solomon went to Eziongeber and to Eloth, at the sea side in the land of Edom.

18 For Hiram had sent him ships by the hands of his slaves and slaves that had knowledge of the sea, and they had gone with the slaves of Solomon to Ophir and had taken from there four hundred and fifty talents of gold and brought them to King Solomon.

Solomon’s Other Activities(A)

At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built the temple of the Lord and his own palace,(B) Solomon rebuilt the villages that Hiram[a] 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.(C) He rebuilt Upper Beth Horon(D) and Lower Beth Horon as fortified cities, with walls and with gates and bars, as well as Baalath(E) and all his store cities, and all the cities for his chariots and for his horses[b]—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(F) (these people were not Israelites). Solomon conscripted(G) 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(H) 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(I) 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(J) for offerings commanded by Moses for the Sabbaths,(K) the New Moons(L) and the three(M) annual festivals—the Festival of Unleavened Bread,(N) the Festival of Weeks(O) and the Festival of Tabernacles.(P) 14 In keeping with the ordinance of his father David, he appointed the divisions(Q) of the priests for their duties, and the Levites(R) to lead the praise and to assist the priests according to each day’s requirement. He also appointed the gatekeepers(S) by divisions for the various gates, because this was what David the man of God(T) had ordered.(U) 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[c] of gold,(V) which they delivered to King Solomon.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 8:2 Hebrew Huram, a variant of Hiram; also in verse 18
  2. 2 Chronicles 8:6 Or charioteers
  3. 2 Chronicles 8:18 That is, about 17 tons or about 15 metric tons