2 Chronicles 8
King James Version
8 And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, wherein Solomon had built the house of the Lord, and his own house,
2 That the cities which Huram had restored to Solomon, Solomon built them, and caused the children of Israel to dwell there.
3 And Solomon went to Hamathzobah, and prevailed against it.
4 And he built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the store cities, which he built in Hamath.
5 Also he built Bethhoron the upper, and Bethhoron the nether, fenced cities, with walls, gates, and bars;
6 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.
7 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,
8 But of their children, who were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel consumed not, them did Solomon make to pay tribute until this day.
9 But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no servants for his work; but they were men of war, and chief of his captains, and captains of his chariots and horsemen.
10 And these were the chief of king Solomon's officers, even two hundred and fifty, that bare rule 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, whereunto the ark of the Lord hath come.
12 Then Solomon offered burnt offerings unto the Lord on the altar of the Lord, which he had built before the porch,
13 Even after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of 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, as the duty of every day required: the porters also by their courses at every 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 unto 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 went Solomon to Eziongeber, and to Eloth, at the sea side in the land of Edom.
18 And Huram sent him by the hands of his servants ships, and servants that had knowledge of the sea; and they went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and took thence four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and brought them to king Solomon.
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).
2 Chronicles 8
Tree of Life Version
Solomon’s Exploits Throughout the Land
8 It came to pass at the end of 20 years, during which Solomon built the House of Adonai and his own palace, 2 that he built the cities which Huram had given to him and settled Bnei-Yisrael there. 3 Then Solomon marched against Hamath-zobah and overpowered it. 4 He built up Tadmor in the wilderness and all the store cities that he built in Hamath. 5 He also built upper Beth-horon and lower Bet-horon as fortified cities with walls, gates and bars, 6 as well as Baalath and all his store cities, and cities for his chariots and cities for his horsemen—every thing that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem and in Lebanon and in all the land that he ruled.
7 All the people that were left of the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, who were not of Israel, 8 that is, those of their descendants that were left after them in the land, whom Bnei-Yisrael did not destroy—these Solomon conscripted for forced labor, as it is to this day. 9 But Solomon did not make slaves of Bnei-Yisrael for his work. Rather, they were his soldiers, his chief officers and commanders of his chariots and horsemen. 10 These were the chief officers of King Solomon, 250 who ruled over the people.
11 Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter up from the city of David to the house that he had built for her, for he said, “My wife shall not dwell in the palace of King David of Israel, because the places where the Ark of Adonai has entered are holy.”
12 At that time, Solomon offered burnt offerings to Adonai on the altar of Adonai which he had built before the porch, 13 according to the daily requirement for offerings commanded by Moses for Shabbatot, for New Moons and for the moadim three times a year—at the Feast of Matzot, at the Feast of Shavuot and at the Feast of Sukkot. 14 Following the ordinance of his father David, he appointed the divisions of the kohanim for their avodah and the Levites for their duties—to praise and minister alongside the kohanim according to the daily assignment—and the gatekeepers by their divisions at every gate, because this is what David the man of God had commanded. 15 They did not depart from the king’s commandment to the kohanim and Levites in any matter, including the treasuries.
16 Thus all Solomon’s work was carried out from the day of the foundation of the House of Adonai until it was finished. So the House of Adonai was completed.
17 Then Solomon went to Ezion-geber and to Elat on the coast of the land of Edom. 18 And Huram sent him ships commanded by his servants and servants that knew the sea. They went with Solomon’s servants to Ophir and obtained from there 450 talents of gold and brought them to King Solomon.
2 Chronicles 8
New Living Translation
Solomon’s Many Achievements
8 It took Solomon twenty years to build the Lord’s Temple and his own royal palace. At the end of that time, 2 Solomon turned his attention to rebuilding the towns that King Hiram[a] had given him, and he settled Israelites in them.
3 Solomon also fought against the town of Hamath-zobah and conquered it. 4 He rebuilt Tadmor in the wilderness and built towns in the region of Hamath as supply centers. 5 He fortified the towns of Upper Beth-horon and Lower Beth-horon, rebuilding their walls and installing barred gates. 6 He also rebuilt Baalath and other supply centers and constructed towns where his chariots and horses[b] could be stationed. He built everything he desired in Jerusalem and Lebanon and throughout his entire realm.
7 There were still some people living in the land who were not Israelites, including the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 8 These were descendants of the nations whom the people of Israel had not destroyed. So Solomon conscripted them for his labor force, and they serve as forced laborers to this day. 9 But Solomon did not conscript any of the Israelites for his labor force. Instead, he assigned them to serve as fighting men, officers in his army, commanders of his chariots, and charioteers. 10 King Solomon appointed 250 of them to supervise the people.
11 Solomon moved his wife, Pharaoh’s daughter, from the City of David to the new palace he had built for her. He said, “My wife must not live in King David’s palace, for the Ark of the Lord has been there, and it is holy ground.”
12 Then Solomon presented burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar he had built for him in front of the entry room of the Temple. 13 He offered the sacrifices for the Sabbaths, the new moon festivals, and the three annual festivals—the Passover celebration, the Festival of Harvest,[c] and the Festival of Shelters—as Moses had commanded.
14 In assigning the priests to their duties, Solomon followed the regulations of his father, David. He also assigned the Levites to lead the people in praise and to assist the priests in their daily duties. And he assigned the gatekeepers to their gates by their divisions, following the commands of David, the man of God. 15 Solomon did not deviate in any way from David’s commands concerning the priests and Levites and the treasuries.
16 So Solomon made sure that all the work related to building the Temple of the Lord was carried out, from the day its foundation was laid to the day of its completion.
17 Later Solomon went to Ezion-geber and Elath,[d] ports along the shore of the Red Sea[e] in the land of Edom. 18 Hiram sent him ships commanded by his own officers and manned by experienced crews of sailors. These ships sailed to Ophir with Solomon’s men and brought back to Solomon almost seventeen tons[f] of gold.
Footnotes
- 8:2 Hebrew Huram, a variant spelling of Hiram; also in 8:18.
- 8:6 Or and charioteers.
- 8:13 Or Festival of Weeks.
- 8:17a As in Greek version (see also 2 Kgs 14:22; 16:6); Hebrew reads Eloth, a variant spelling of Elath.
- 8:17b As in parallel text at 1 Kgs 9:26; Hebrew reads the sea.
- 8:18 Hebrew 450 talents [15.3 metric tons].
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Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
