Solomon’s Other Achievements^(A)

8 By the end of twenty years, Solomon had built the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of the Lord and the royal ·palace [^Lhouse]. ² Solomon then rebuilt the towns that ·Hiram [or Huram; 2:3] had given him, and Solomon sent Israelites to live in them. ³ Then he went to Hamath Zobah and captured it. ⁴ Solomon also built the town of Tadmor in the ·desert [wilderness], and he built all the towns in Hamath as ·towns for storing grain and supplies [supply centers; storage cities]. ⁵ He rebuilt the towns of Upper Beth Horon and Lower Beth Horon, ·protecting [fortifying] them with strong walls, gates, and bars in the gates. ⁶ He also rebuilt the town of Baalath. And he built all the other ·towns for storage [supply centers; storage cities] and all the cities for his chariots and horses. He built all he ·wanted [desired] in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and ·everywhere he ruled [throughout his kingdom/realm].

⁷ ·There were other people [Others survived] in the land who were not Israelites—the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. ⁸ They were descendants of the ·people [nations] that the Israelites had not destroyed. Solomon ·forced [conscripted] them to be ·slave workers [forced labor], as is still true today. ⁹ But Solomon did not ·make slaves of [impose forced labor on] the Israelites. They were his soldiers, ·chief captains [officers], commanders of his chariots, and his ·chariot drivers [or cavalry]. ¹⁰ These were his most important officers. There were two hundred fifty of them to ·direct [supervise; be in charge of] the people.

¹¹ Solomon brought the daughter of the king of Egypt from the ·older part of Jerusalem [^LCity of David] to the ·palace [^Lhouse] he had built for her. Solomon said, “My wife must not live in King David’s ·palace [house], because the places where the Ark of the ·Agreement [^LLord] has ·been [entered] are ·holy [consecrated; purified; sanctified].”

¹² Then Solomon ·offered [sacrificed] burnt offerings [Lev. 1:1–17] to the Lord on the altar he had built for the Lord in front of the ·Temple [^Lhouse] ·porch [portico; vestibule; entry room]. ¹³ He ·offered [sacrificed] sacrifices ·every day [according to the daily requirements/rule] as Moses had commanded. They were ·offered [sacrificed] on the Sabbath days, New Moons, and the three yearly feasts—the ·Feast [Festival] of Unleavened Bread, the ·Feast [Festival] of Weeks, and the ·Feast [Festival] of ·Shelters [Tabernacles; Booths]. ¹⁴ Solomon followed his father David’s instructions and ·chose [appointed] the ·groups [divisions; orders] of priests for their service and the Levites ·to lead the [for their duties/offices of] praise and to help the priests do their daily work. And he ·chose [appointed] the gatekeepers by their ·groups [divisions] to serve at each gate, as David, the man of God, had commanded. ¹⁵ They ·obeyed all of [^Ldid not deviate from] Solomon’s commands to the priests and Levites, as well as his commands about the ·treasuries [storehouses].

¹⁶ All Solomon’s work was done as he had ·said [ordered] from the day the foundation of the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of the Lord was begun, until it was finished. So the ·Temple [^Lhouse] was ·finished [completed].

¹⁷ Then Solomon went to the towns of Ezion Geber and Elath near the ·Red Sea [^Lcoast] in the land of Edom. ¹⁸ ·Hiram [or Huram; 2:3] sent ships to Solomon that were commanded by his own men, who ·were skilled sailors [^Lknew the sea]. ·Hiram’s [or Huram’s] men went with Solomon’s men to Ophir and brought back ·about thirty-four thousand pounds [^L450 talents] of gold to King Solomon.