2 Chronicles 8
Contemporary English Version
Other Things Solomon Did
(1 Kings 9.10-28)
8 It took 20 years for the Lord's temple and Solomon's palace to be built. 2 After that, Solomon had his workers rebuild the towns that Hiram had given him. Then Solomon sent Israelites to live in those towns.
3 Solomon attacked and captured the town of Hamath-Zobah. 4 He ordered his workers to build the town of Tadmor in the desert and some towns in Hamath where he could keep his supplies. 5 He strengthened Upper Beth-Horon and Lower Beth-Horon by adding walls and gates that could be locked. 6 He did the same thing to the town of Baalath and to the cities where he kept supplies, chariots, and horses. Solomon ordered his workers to build whatever he wanted in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and anywhere else in his kingdom.
7-9 Solomon did not force the Israelites to do his work. Instead, they were his soldiers, officers, army commanders, and cavalry troops. But he did make slaves of the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites who were living in Israel. These were the descendants of those foreigners the Israelites did not destroy, and they remained Israel's slaves.
10 Solomon appointed 250 officers to be in charge of his workers.
11 Solomon's wife, the daughter of the king of Egypt, moved from the part of Jerusalem called David's City to her new palace that Solomon had built. The sacred chest had been kept in David's City, which made his palace sacred, and so Solomon's wife could no longer live there.
12 Solomon offered sacrifices to the Lord on the altar he had built in front of the temple porch. 13 (A) He followed the requirements that Moses had given for sacrifices offered on the Sabbath, on the first day of each month, the Festival of Thin Bread, the Harvest Festival, and the Festival of Shelters.
14 Solomon then assigned the priests and the Levites their duties at the temple, and he followed the instructions that his father, the man of God, had given him. Some of the Levites were to lead music and help the priests in their duties, and others were to guard the temple gates 15 and the storage rooms. The priests and Levites followed these instructions exactly.
16 Everything Solomon had planned to do was now finished—from the laying of the temple's foundation to its completion.
17 Solomon went to Ezion-Geber and Eloth, two Edomite towns on the Red Sea.[a] 18 Hiram sent him ships and some of his experienced sailors. They went with Solomon's own sailors to the country of Ophir[b] and brought back more than 15 tons of gold for Solomon.
2 Chronicles 8
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
Solomon’s Later Building Projects
8 At the end of twenty years(A) during which Solomon had built the Lord’s temple and his own palace – 2 Solomon had rebuilt the cities Hiram[a] gave him and settled Israelites there – 3 Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and seized it. 4 He built Tadmor in the wilderness along with all the storage cities that he built in Hamath. 5 He built Upper Beth-horon and Lower Beth-horon(B) – fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars(C) – 6 Baalath, all the storage cities that belonged to Solomon, all the chariot cities, the cavalry cities, and everything Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, or anywhere else in the land of his dominion.
7 As for all the peoples who remained of the Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not from Israel(D) – 8 their descendants who remained in the land after them, those the Israelites had not completely destroyed – Solomon imposed forced labour on them; it is this way today.(E) 9 But Solomon did not consign the Israelites to be slaves for his work; they were soldiers, commanders of his captains, and commanders of his chariots and his cavalry. 10 These were King Solomon’s district governors: 250 who supervised the people.
11 Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh from the city of David to the house he had built for her,(F) for he said, ‘My wife must not live in the house[b] of King David of Israel because the places the ark of the Lord has come into are holy.’
Public Worship Established at the Temple
12 At that time(G) Solomon offered burnt offerings to the Lord on the Lord’s altar he had made in front of the portico.(H) 13 He followed the daily requirement(I) for offerings according to the commandment of Moses(J) for Sabbaths, New Moons, and the three annual appointed festivals: the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Shelters.(K) 14 According to the ordinances of his father David, he appointed the divisions of the priests over their service,(L) of the Levites over their responsibilities to offer praise and to minister before the priests following the daily requirement,(M) and of the gatekeepers by their divisions with respect to each temple gate,(N) for this had been the command of David, the man of God.(O) 15 They did not turn aside from the king’s command regarding the priests and the Levites concerning any matter or concerning the treasuries.(P) 16 All of Solomon’s work was carried out from the day the foundation was laid for the Lord’s temple until it was finished. So the Lord’s temple was completed.
Solomon’s Fleet
17 At that time(Q) Solomon went to Ezion-geber and to Eloth(R) on the seashore in the land of Edom. 18 So Hiram[c] sent ships to him by his servants along with crews of experienced seamen. They went with Solomon’s servants to Ophir, took from there sixteen tonnes[d] of gold, and delivered it to King Solomon.(S)
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