2 Chronicles 1
New King James Version
Solomon Requests Wisdom(A)
1 Now (B)Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and (C)the Lord his God was with him and (D)exalted him exceedingly.
2 And Solomon spoke to all Israel, to (E)the captains of thousands and of hundreds, to the judges, and to every leader in all Israel, the heads of the fathers’ houses. 3 Then Solomon, and all the assembly with him, went to [a]the high place that was at (F)Gibeon; for the tabernacle of meeting with God was there, which Moses the servant of the Lord had (G)made in the wilderness. 4 (H)But David had brought up the ark of God from Kirjath Jearim to the place David had prepared for it, for he had pitched a tent for it at Jerusalem. 5 Now (I)the bronze altar that (J)Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, [b]he put before the tabernacle of the Lord; Solomon and the assembly sought Him there. 6 And Solomon went up there to the bronze altar before the Lord, which was at the tabernacle of meeting, and (K)offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.
7 (L)On that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, “Ask! What shall I give you?”
8 And Solomon said to God: “You have shown great (M)mercy to David my father, and have made me (N)king in his place. 9 Now, O Lord God, let Your promise to David my father be established, (O)for You have made me king over a people like the (P)dust of the earth in multitude. 10 (Q)Now give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may (R)go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this great people of Yours?”
11 (S)Then God said to Solomon: “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked riches or wealth or honor or the life of your enemies, nor have you asked long life—but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself, that you may judge My people over whom I have made you king— 12 wisdom and knowledge are granted to you; and I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as (T)none of the kings have had who were before you, nor shall any after you have the like.”
Solomon’s Military and Economic Power(U)
13 So Solomon came to Jerusalem from [c]the high place that was at Gibeon, from before the tabernacle of meeting, and reigned over Israel. 14 (V)And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; he had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 15 (W)Also the king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars as abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland. 16 (X)And Solomon had horses imported from Egypt and Keveh; the king’s merchants bought them in Keveh at the current price. 17 They also acquired and imported from Egypt a chariot for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for one hundred and fifty; thus, [d]through their agents, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 1:3 Place for worship
- 2 Chronicles 1:5 Some authorities it was there
- 2 Chronicles 1:13 Place for worship
- 2 Chronicles 1:17 Lit. by their hands
2 Chronicles 1
New Life Version
1 Solomon the son of David became a strong king. The Lord his God was with him, and gave him much honor. 2 Solomon spoke to all Israel. He spoke to the leaders of thousands and of hundreds. He spoke to the men who judge and to every leader in all Israel, the heads of fathers’ houses. 3 Then Solomon and all the people with him went to a place of worship at Gibeon where God’s meeting tent was. It was the tent which Moses the servant of the Lord had made in the desert. 4 (But David had brought up the special box of God from Kiriath-jearim to the place he had made ready for it. For he had set up a tent for it in Jerusalem.) 5 Now the brass altar was there in front of the meeting tent of the Lord. It was the altar which was made by Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur. Solomon and the people worshiped the Lord there. 6 Solomon went before the Lord to the brass altar at the meeting tent. And he gave a thousand burnt gifts on it.
7 That night God showed Himself to Solomon and said to him, “Ask Me for anything and I will give it to you.” 8 Solomon said to God, “You have acted toward my father David with great loving-kindness. And You have made me king in his place. 9 Now, O Lord God, Your promise to my father David has come true. For You have made me king over as many people as the dust of the earth. 10 Now give me wisdom and much understanding, that I may lead these people. For who can rule this great nation of Yours?” 11 God said to Solomon, “You have not asked for riches, much money, or honor, or the life of those who hate you. And you have not asked for a long life for yourself. But you have asked for wisdom and much understanding, that you may rule My people over whom I have made you king. Because this was in your heart, 12 wisdom and much understanding have been given to you. And I will give you riches and much money and honor. You will have more than all the kings who were before you, and more than all who will come after you.”
Solomon’s Power and Riches
13 So Solomon went from the place of worship at Gibeon, from the meeting tent to Jerusalem. There he ruled over Israel.
14 Solomon gathered together war-wagons and horsemen. He had 1,400 war-wagons and 12,000 horsemen. And he kept some of them in the war-wagon cities, and some with him in Jerusalem. 15 The king made silver and gold as easy to find in Jerusalem as stones. He made cedar trees as easy to find as sycamore trees in the valley. 16 Solomon’s horses were brought in from Egypt and Kue. The men who traded for the king received them from Kue for a special price. 17 They paid 600 pieces of silver for each war-wagon brought in from Egypt and 150 pieces of silver for each horse. They also sold them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.
2 Chronicles 1
Good News Translation
King Solomon Prays for Wisdom(A)
1 Solomon, the son of King David, took firm control of the kingdom of Israel, and the Lord his God blessed him and made him very powerful.
2 King Solomon gave an order to all the officers in charge of units of a thousand men and of a hundred men, all the government officials, all the heads of families, and all the rest of the people, 3 commanding them to go with him to the place of worship at Gibeon. They went there because that was where the Tent of the Lord's presence was located, which Moses, the Lord's servant, had made in the wilderness. (4 (B)The Covenant Box, however, was in Jerusalem, kept in a tent which King David had set up when he brought the Box from Kiriath Jearim.) 5 (C)The bronze altar which had been made by Bezalel, the son of Uri and grandson of Hur, was also in Gibeon in front of the Tent of the Lord's presence. King Solomon and all the people worshiped the Lord there. 6 In front of the Tent the king worshiped the Lord by offering sacrifices on the bronze altar; he had a thousand animals killed and burned whole on it.
7 That night God appeared to Solomon and asked, “What would you like me to give you?”
8 Solomon answered, “You always showed great love for my father David, and now you have let me succeed him as king. 9 (D)O Lord God, fulfill the promise you made to my father. You have made me king over a people who are so many that they cannot be counted, 10 so give me the wisdom and knowledge I need to rule over them. Otherwise, how would I ever be able to rule this great people of yours?”
11 God replied to Solomon, “You have made the right choice. Instead of asking for wealth or treasure or fame or the death of your enemies or even for long life for yourself, you have asked for wisdom and knowledge so that you can rule my people, over whom I have made you king. 12 I will give you wisdom and knowledge. And in addition, I will give you more wealth, treasure, and fame than any king has ever had before or will ever have again.”
King Solomon's Power and Wealth(E)
13 So Solomon left[a] the place of worship at Gibeon, where the Tent of the Lord's presence was, and returned to Jerusalem. There he ruled over Israel. 14 (F)He built up a force of fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand cavalry horses. Some of them he kept in Jerusalem, and the rest he stationed in various other cities. 15 During his reign silver and gold became as common in Jerusalem as stone, and cedar was as plentiful as ordinary sycamore in the foothills of Judah. 16 (G)The king's agents controlled the export of horses from Musri[b] and Cilicia,[c] 17 and the export of chariots from Egypt. They supplied the Hittite and Syrian kings with horses and chariots, selling chariots for 600 pieces of silver each and horses for 150 each.[d]
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 1:13 Some ancient translations left; Hebrew came to.
- 2 Chronicles 1:16 Probable text Musri; Hebrew Egypt.
- 2 Chronicles 1:16 Two ancient countries in what is now southeast Turkey which were centers of horse breeding in Solomon's time.
- 2 Chronicles 1:17 Verses 16-17 in Hebrew are unclear.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1969, 2003 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
