2 Chronicles 8
New English Translation
Building Projects and Commercial Efforts
8 After twenty years, during which Solomon built the Lord’s temple and his royal palace, 2 Solomon rebuilt the cities that Huram[a] had given him and settled Israelites there. 3 Solomon went to Hamath Zobah and seized it. 4 He built up Tadmor in the wilderness and all the storage cities he had built in Hamath. 5 He made upper Beth Horon and lower Beth Horon fortified cities with walls and barred gates,[b] 6 and built up Baalath, all the storage cities that belonged to him,[c] and all the cities where chariots and horses were kept.[d] He built whatever he wanted in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and throughout his entire kingdom.[e]
7 Now several non-Israelite peoples were left in the land after the conquest of Joshua, including the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.[f] 8 Their descendants remained in the land (the Israelites were unable to wipe them out). Solomon conscripted them for his work crews, and they continue in that role to this very day.[g] 9 Solomon did not assign Israelites to these work crews;[h] the Israelites served as his soldiers, officers, charioteers, and commanders of his chariot forces.[i] 10 These men worked for King Solomon as supervisors; there were a total of 250 of them who were in charge of the people.[j]
11 Solomon moved Pharaoh’s daughter up from the City of David[k] to the palace he had built for her, for he said, “My wife must not live in the palace of King David of Israel, for the places where the ark of the Lord has entered are holy.”
12 Then Solomon offered burnt sacrifices to the Lord on the altar of the Lord which he had built in front of the temple’s porch.[l] 13 He observed the daily requirements for sacrifices that Moses had specified for Sabbaths, new moon festivals, and the three annual celebrations—the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Shelters.[m] 14 As his father David had decreed, Solomon[n] appointed the divisions of the priests to do their assigned tasks, the Levitical orders to lead worship and help the priests with their daily tasks,[o] and the divisions of the gatekeepers to serve at their assigned gates.[p] This was what David the man of God had ordered.[q] 15 They did not neglect any detail of the king’s orders pertaining to the priests, Levites, and treasuries.[r]
16 All the work ordered by Solomon was completed, from the day the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid until it was finished; the Lord’s temple was completed.
17 Then Solomon went to Ezion Geber and to Elat on the coast in the land of Edom. 18 Huram sent him ships and some of his sailors, men who were well acquainted with the sea. They sailed with Solomon’s men to Ophir[s] and took from there 450 talents[t] of gold, which they brought back to King Solomon.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 8:2 tn Heb “Huram” (also in v. 18). Some medieval Hebrew mss, along with the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate spell the name “Hiram,” agreeing with 1 Chr 14:1. “Huram” is a variant spelling referring to the same individual.
- 2 Chronicles 8:5 tn Heb “and he built…[as] cities of fortification, [with] walls, doors, and a bar.”
- 2 Chronicles 8:6 tn Heb “Solomon.” The recurrence of the proper name is unexpected in terms of contemporary English style, so the pronoun has been used in the translation instead.
- 2 Chronicles 8:6 tn Heb “the cities of the chariots and the cities of the horses.”
- 2 Chronicles 8:6 tn Heb “and all the desire of Solomon which he desired to build in Jerusalem and in Lebanon and in all the land of his kingdom.”
- 2 Chronicles 8:7 tn Heb “all the people who were left from the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not from Israel.”
- 2 Chronicles 8:8 tn Heb “from their sons who were left after them in the land, whom the sons of Israel did not wipe out, and Solomon raised them up for a work crew to this day.”
- 2 Chronicles 8:9 tn Heb “and from the sons of Israel whom Solomon did not assign to the laborers for his work.”
- 2 Chronicles 8:9 tn Heb “officers of his chariots and his horses.”
- 2 Chronicles 8:10 tn Heb “these [were] the officials of the governors who belonged to the king, Solomon, 250, the ones ruling over the people.”
- 2 Chronicles 8:11 sn The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
- 2 Chronicles 8:12 tn Heb “the porch.”
- 2 Chronicles 8:13 tn The Hebrew phrase הַסֻּכּוֹת[חַג] (khag hassukkot, “[Feast of] shelters” [or “huts”]) is traditionally known as the Feast of Tabernacles. The rendering “booths” (cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV) is probably better than the traditional “tabernacles” in light of the meaning of the term סֻכָּה (sukkah, “hut; booth”), but “booths” are frequently associated with trade shows and craft fairs in contemporary American English. The nature of the celebration during this feast as a commemoration of the wanderings of the Israelites after they left Egypt suggests that a translation like “shelters” is more appropriate.
- 2 Chronicles 8:14 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Solomon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 2 Chronicles 8:14 tn Heb “and the Levites, according to their posts, to praise and to serve opposite the priests according to the matter of a day in its day.”
- 2 Chronicles 8:14 tn Heb “and the gatekeepers by their divisions for a gate and a gate.”
- 2 Chronicles 8:14 tn Heb “for so [was] the command of David the man of God.”
- 2 Chronicles 8:15 tn Heb “and they did not turn aside from the command of the king concerning the priests and the Levites with regard to any matter and with regard to the treasuries.”
- 2 Chronicles 8:18 tn Heb “and Huram sent to him by the hand of his servants, ships, and servants [who] know the sea, and they came with the servants of Solomon to Ophir.”
- 2 Chronicles 8:18 tn The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the weight of the gold was 30,285 lbs. (13,770 kg).
2 Chronicles 8
Amplified Bible
Solomon’s Activities and Accomplishments
8 Now it came about at the end of the twenty years, in which Solomon had built the house of the Lord and his own house (palace), 2 that he built and fortified [a]the cities which Huram (Hiram) had given to him, and settled the Israelites there.
3 Then Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and captured it. 4 He built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all his storage cities in Hamath. 5 He also built upper Beth-horon and lower Beth-horon, fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars [to lock the gates]; 6 and Baalath and all the storage cities that Solomon had, and all the cities for his chariots and the cities for his horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land under his rule.
7 All the people who were left of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of Israel, 8 but were descendants of those who were left in the land, whom the Israelites had not destroyed—Solomon brought them up as forced laborers to this day. 9 But Solomon did not make slaves of the Israelites for his work; they were men of war, his chief captains, and commanders of his chariots and his horsemen. 10 These were the chief officers of King Solomon, two hundred and fifty [in authority] who ruled over the people.
11 Then Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh up from the City of David into the house (palace) he had built for her, for he said, “My wife shall not live in the house of David king of Israel, because the places where the ark of the Lord has entered are holy.”
12 Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of the Lord which he had built in front of the porch [of the temple], 13 a certain number every day, offering them up as Moses commanded for the Sabbaths, the New Moons, and the three annual feasts—the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles).
14 Now in accordance with the ordinance of his father David, he appointed the divisions of the priests for their service, and the Levites for their duties of praise and ministering and serving before the priests as every day required, and the gatekeepers by their divisions at every gate; for David the man of God had so commanded. 15 And they did not deviate from the commandment of the king to the priests and Levites in any respect or in regard to the storehouses or treasuries.
16 Thus all the work of Solomon was carried out from the day the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid until it was finished. So the house of the Lord was completed.
17 Then Solomon went to Ezion-geber and to Eloth on the shore of the [Red] Sea in the land of Edom. 18 And Huram (Hiram) sent him, by his servants, ships and servants familiar with the sea; and they went with Solomon’s servants to Ophir, and took from there four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and brought them to King Solomon.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 8:2 These cities were originally given to Hiram king of Tyre by Solomon (1 Kin 9:10-14).
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