Solomon Asks for Wisdom

1 Solomon was David’s son, and he became a powerful king. This was because the Lord his God was with him. The Lord made Solomon very great.

² Solomon spoke to all the people of Israel. He spoke to the commanders of 100 men and of 1,000 men. He spoke to the judges, to every leader in all Israel and to the leaders of the families. ³ Then Solomon and all the people gathered with him went to the place of worship. This was at the town of Gibeon. God’s Meeting Tent was there. Moses, the Lord’s servant, had made that Tent in the desert. ⁴ David had brought the Ark of the Covenant with God from Kiriath Jearim to Jerusalem. David had made a place for it there. He had set up a tent for it in Jerusalem. ⁵ Bezalel was Uri’s son, and Uri was Hur’s son. Bezalel had made a bronze altar. It was in Gibeon in front of the Holy Tent. So Solomon and the people worshiped the Lord there. ⁶ Solomon went up to the bronze altar before the Lord at the Meeting Tent. He offered 1,000 burnt offerings on the altar.

⁷ That night God appeared to Solomon. God said, “Solomon, ask for whatever you want me to give you.”

⁸ Solomon answered, “You have been very kind to my father David. You have chosen me to be the king in his place. ⁹ Now, Lord God, may your promise to my father David come true. You have made me king of a very large nation. There are so many of them they are like the dust of the earth. ¹⁰ Now give me wisdom and knowledge so I can lead these people in the right way. No one can rule them without your help.”

¹¹ God said to Solomon, “What you want is good. I have chosen you to be king of these people. You have not asked for wealth or riches or honor. You have not asked for your enemies to be killed. You have not asked for a long life. But you have asked for wisdom and knowledge to lead my people. ¹² So I will give you wisdom and knowledge. I will also give you more wealth, riches and honor than any king who has lived before you. And the kings who will live after you will not have as much.”

¹³ Then Solomon left the place of worship at Gibeon. He left the Meeting Tent and went back to Jerusalem. There King Solomon ruled over Israel.

Solomon’s Wealth

¹⁴ Solomon gathered horses and chariots. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses. He put some horses and chariots in the cities where the chariots were kept. And he kept some with him in Jerusalem. ¹⁵ In Jerusalem, Solomon gathered much silver and gold. He got so much it was as common as rocks. He also gathered much cedar wood. It became as plentiful as the sycamore trees on the western mountain slopes. ¹⁶ Solomon imported horses from Egypt and Kue. The king’s traders bought the horses in Kue. ¹⁷ They imported a chariot from Egypt for about 15 pounds of silver. And they imported a horse for nearly 4 pounds of silver. Then they sold the horses and chariots to all the kings of the Hittites and the Arameans.

Correcting False Teachings

1 From Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ.

To you who have received a faith as valuable as ours. You received that faith because our God and Savior Jesus Christ is fair and does what is right.

² Grace and peace be given to you more and more. You will have grace and peace because you truly know God and Jesus our Lord.

God Has Given Us Blessings

³ Jesus has the power of God. His power has given us everything we need to live and to serve God. We have these things because we know him. Jesus called us by his glory and goodness. ⁴ Through his glory and goodness, he gave us the very great and rich gifts he promised us. With those gifts you can share in God’s nature. And so the world will not ruin you with its evil desires.

⁵ Because you have these blessings, you should try as much as you can to add these things to your lives: to your faith, add goodness; and to your goodness, add knowledge; ⁶ and to your knowledge, add self-control; and to your self-control, add the ability to hold on; and to your ability to hold on, add service for God; ⁷ and to your service for God, add kindness for your brothers and sisters in Christ; and to this kindness, add love. ⁸ If all these things are in you and are growing, they will help you never to be useless. They will help your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ make your lives better. ⁹ But if anyone does not have these things, he cannot see clearly. He is blind. He has forgotten that he was made clean from his past sins.

¹⁰ My brothers, God called you and chose you to be his. Try hard to show that you really are God’s chosen people. If you do all these things, you will never fall. ¹¹ And you will be given a very great welcome into the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That kingdom continues forever.

¹² You know these things, and you are very strong in the truth. But I will always help you to remember these things. ¹³ I think it is right for me to help you remember while I am still living here on earth. ¹⁴ I know that I must soon leave this body. Our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me that. ¹⁵ I will try the best I can to help you remember these things always. I want you to be able to remember them even after I am gone.

We Saw Christ’s Glory

¹⁶ We have told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. What we told you were not just smart stories that someone invented. But we saw the greatness of Jesus with our own eyes. ¹⁷ Jesus heard the voice of God, the Greatest Glory. That was when Jesus received honor and glory from God the Father. The voice said, “This is my Son, and I love him. I am very pleased with him.” ¹⁸ We heard that voice. It came from heaven while we were with Jesus on the holy mountain.

¹⁹ This makes us more sure about the message the prophets gave. And it is good for you to follow closely what they said. Their message is like a light shining in a dark place. That light shines until the day begins and the morning star rises in your hearts. ²⁰ Most of all, you must understand this: No prophecy in the Scriptures ever comes from the prophet’s own interpretation. ²¹ No prophecy ever came from what a man wanted to say. But men led by the Holy Spirit spoke words from God.