Font Size
2 Chronicles 8
New International Version
2 Chronicles 8
New International Version
Solomon’s Other Activities(A)
8 At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built the temple of the Lord and his own palace,(B) 2 Solomon rebuilt the villages that Hiram[a] had given him, and settled Israelites in them. 3 Solomon then went to Hamath Zobah and captured it. 4 He also built up Tadmor in the desert and all the store cities he had built in Hamath.(C) 5 He rebuilt Upper Beth Horon(D) and Lower Beth Horon as fortified cities, with walls and with gates and bars, 6 as well as Baalath(E) and all his store cities, and all the cities for his chariots and for his horses[b]—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled.
7 There were still people left from the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites(F) (these people were not Israelites). 8 Solomon conscripted(G) the descendants of all these people remaining in the land—whom the Israelites had not destroyed—to serve as slave labor, as it is to this day. 9 But Solomon did not make slaves of the Israelites for his work; they were his fighting men, commanders of his captains, and commanders of his chariots and charioteers. 10 They were also King Solomon’s chief officials—two hundred and fifty officials supervising the men.
11 Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter(H) up from the City of David to the palace he had built for her, for he said, “My wife must not live in the palace of David king of Israel, because the places the ark of the Lord has entered are holy.”
12 On the altar(I) of the Lord that he had built in front of the portico, Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings to the Lord, 13 according to the daily requirement(J) for offerings commanded by Moses for the Sabbaths,(K) the New Moons(L) and the three(M) annual festivals—the Festival of Unleavened Bread,(N) the Festival of Weeks(O) and the Festival of Tabernacles.(P) 14 In keeping with the ordinance of his father David, he appointed the divisions(Q) of the priests for their duties, and the Levites(R) to lead the praise and to assist the priests according to each day’s requirement. He also appointed the gatekeepers(S) by divisions for the various gates, because this was what David the man of God(T) had ordered.(U) 15 They did not deviate from the king’s commands to the priests or to the Levites in any matter, including that of the treasuries.
16 All Solomon’s work was carried out, from the day the foundation of the temple of the Lord was laid until its completion. So the temple of the Lord was finished.
17 Then Solomon went to Ezion Geber and Elath on the coast of Edom. 18 And Hiram sent him ships commanded by his own men, sailors who knew the sea. These, with Solomon’s men, sailed to Ophir and brought back four hundred and fifty talents[c] of gold,(V) which they delivered to King Solomon.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 8:2 Hebrew Huram, a variant of Hiram; also in verse 18
- 2 Chronicles 8:6 Or charioteers
- 2 Chronicles 8:18 That is, about 17 tons or about 15 metric tons
2 Chronicles 8
GOD’S WORD Translation
2 Chronicles 8
GOD’S WORD Translation
Solomon Completes His Construction(A)
8 It took Solomon 20 years to build the Lord’s house and his own house. 2 He rebuilt the cities Huram gave him, and he had Israelites live in them.
3 Then Solomon went to Hamath Zobah and conquered it. 4 He rebuilt Tadmor in the desert and built all the storage cities in Hamath. 5 He rebuilt Upper Beth Horon and Lower Beth Horon into cities fortified with walls, double-door gates, and bars. 6 ⌞He also rebuilt⌟ Baalath and all the storage cities that he owned. He built all the cities for his chariots, all the cities for his war horses, and whatever ⌞else⌟ he wanted to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, or the entire territory that he governed.
7 The Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites had been left ⌞in the land⌟ because the Israelites had not been able to destroy them.[a] They were not Israelites, 8 but they had descendants who were still in the land. Solomon drafted them for slave labor. (They are still ⌞slaves⌟ today.) 9 But Solomon didn’t make any of the Israelites slaves for his projects. Instead, they were the soldiers, officers, generals, and commanders of his chariot and cavalry units.
10 These were the officers in charge of King Solomon’s projects: 250 foremen for the people who did the work.
11 Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter from the City of David to a palace he had built for her. He said, “My wife will not live in the palace of King David of Israel because these places where the Lord’s ark has come are holy.”
12 Then Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings to the Lord on the Lord’s altar that he built in front of the entrance hall. 13 He sacrificed every day, on weekly days of rest—holy days, on the New Moon Festivals, and on the three annual festivals (the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Booths) as Moses had commanded. 14 As Solomon’s father David had directed, he set up the divisions of priests for their service and the ⌞divisions of⌟ Levites for their appointed places. ⌞The Levites⌟ were to lead in praising ⌞the Lord⌟ and to serve beside the priests by doing whatever needed to be done each day. Solomon also set up divisions of doorkeepers at every gate because this is what David, the man of God, had commanded. 15 No one neglected the king’s orders to the priests or the Levites in any matter, including the ⌞temple’s⌟ finances. 16 All of Solomon’s work was carried out from the day the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid until it was completed. The Lord’s temple was ⌞now⌟ finished.
17 Then Solomon went to the coast near Ezion Geber and Elath in Edom. 18 Huram sent his own servants and his experienced sailors with ships to Solomon. They went with Solomon’s servants to Ophir, got 33,750 pounds of gold, and brought it to King Solomon.
Footnotes
- 8:7 “because the Israelites….” This clause has been moved from verse 8 (in Hebrew) to express the complex Hebrew sentence structure more clearly in English.
2 Chronicles 8
The Message
2 Chronicles 8
The Message
More on Solomon
8 1-6 At the end of twenty years, Solomon had quite a list of accomplishments. He had:
built The Temple of God and his own palace;
rebuilt the cities that Hiram had given him and colonized them with Israelites;
marched on Hamath Zobah and took it;
fortified Tadmor in the desert and all the store-cities he had founded in Hamath;
built the fortress cities Upper Beth Horon and Lower Beth Horon, complete with walls, gates, and bars;
built Baalath and store-cities;
built chariot-cities for his horses.
Solomon built impulsively and extravagantly—whenever a whim took him. And in Jerusalem, in Lebanon—wherever he fancied.
7-10 The remnants from the original inhabitants of the land (Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, Jebusites—all non-Israelites), survivors of the holy wars, were rounded up by Solomon for his gangs of slave labor. The policy is in effect today. But true Israelites were not treated this way; they were used in his army and administration—government leaders and commanders of his chariots and charioteers. They were also the project managers responsible for Solomon’s building operations—250 in all in charge of the workforce.
11 Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter from the City of David to a house built especially for her, “Because,” he said, “my wife cannot live in the house of David king of Israel, for the areas in which the Chest of God has entered are sacred.”
12-13 Then Solomon offered Whole-Burnt-Offerings to God on the Altar of God that he had built in front of The Temple porch. He kept to the regular schedule of worship set down by Moses: Sabbaths, New Moons, and the three annual feasts of Unraised Bread (Passover), Weeks (Pentecost), and Booths.
14-15 He followed the practice of his father David in setting up groups of priests carrying out the work of worship, with the Levites assigned to lead the sacred music for praising God and to assist the priests in the daily worship; he assigned security guards to be on duty at each gate—that’s what David the man of God had ordered. The king’s directions to the priests and Levites and financial stewards were kept right down to the fine print—no innovations—including the treasuries.
16 All that Solomon set out to do, from the groundbreaking of The Temple of God to its finish, was now complete.
17-18 Then Solomon went to Ezion Geber and Elath on the coast of Edom. Hiram sent him ships and with them veteran sailors. Joined by Solomon’s men they sailed to Ophir (in east Africa), loaded on fifteen tons of gold, and brought it back to King Solomon.
* * *
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God’s Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson