2 Chronicles 8
International Children’s Bible
Solomon’s Other Achievements
8 It took Solomon 20 years to build the Temple of the Lord and his own palace. 2 Then Solomon rebuilt the towns that Hiram 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. He built all the towns in Hamath as towns for storing things. 5 He rebuilt the towns of Upper Beth Horon and Lower Beth Horon. He made them protected towns with strong walls, gates and bars in the gates. 6 He also rebuilt the town of Baalath. And he built all the other towns where he stored things. He built all the cities where the chariots and horses were kept. Solomon built all he wanted in Jerusalem, Lebanon and in all the country he ruled.
7-8 Many people who were not Israelites were left living in the country. These people were the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. They were descendants of the people that the Israelites had not destroyed. Solomon forced all of them to be slave workers. This is still true today. 9 But Solomon did not force any of the Israelites to be slave workers. They were his fighting men. They were the commanders of his army officers, his chariots and his chariot drivers. 10 Some of them were his most important officers. There were 250 of them to direct the people.
11 Solomon brought the daughter of the king of Egypt from the older part of Jerusalem. He brought her to the palace he had built for her. Solomon said, “My wife must not live in King David’s palace. This is because the places where the Ark of the Covenant has been are holy places.”
12 Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to the Lord on the Lord’s altar. Solomon built that altar in front of the Temple porch. 13 He offered sacrifices every day as Moses had commanded. Sacrifices were to be offered on the Sabbath days, New Moons and the three yearly feasts. The three yearly feasts were the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Shelters. 14 Solomon followed his father David’s instructions. Solomon chose the groups of priests for their service. He chose the Levites to lead the praise. And they were to help the priests do their daily work. And he chose the gatekeepers by their groups to serve at each gate. This is what David, the man of God, had commanded. 15 They obeyed all of Solomon’s commands to the priests and Levites. And they obeyed his commands about the treasuries.
16 All Solomon’s work was done. Everything was done as he had said from the day the Temple of the Lord was begun until it was finished. So the Temple was finished.
17 Then Solomon went to the towns of Ezion Geber and Elath. They were near the Red Sea in the country of Edom. 18 Hiram sent to Solomon ships commanded by his own men. They were skilled sailors. Hiram’s men went with Solomon’s men to Ophir. And they brought back about 34,000 pounds of gold to King Solomon.
2 Chronicles 8
Living Bible
8 It was now twenty years since Solomon had become king, and the great building projects of the Lord’s Temple and his own royal palace were completed. 2 He now turned his energies to rebuilding the cities that King Hiram of Tyre had given to him, and he relocated some of the people of Israel into them. 3 It was at this time, too, that Solomon fought against the city of Hamath-zobah and conquered it. 4 He built Tadmor in the desert and built cities in Hamath as supply centers. 5 He fortified the cities of upper Beth-horon and lower Beth-horon, both being supply centers, building their walls and installing barred gates. 6 He also built Baalath and other supply centers at this time and constructed cities where his chariots and horses were kept. He built to his heart’s desire in Jerusalem and Lebanon and throughout the entire realm.
7-8 He began the practice that still continues of conscripting as slave laborers the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—the descendants of those nations that the Israelis had not completely wiped out. 9 However, he didn’t make slaves of any of the Israeli citizens, but used them as soldiers, officers, charioteers, and cavalrymen; 10 also, 250 of them were government officials who administered all public affairs.
11 Solomon now moved his wife (she was Pharaoh’s daughter) from the City of David sector of Jerusalem to the new palace he had built for her. For he said, “She must not live in King David’s palace for the Ark of the Lord was there, and it is holy ground.”
12 Then Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar he had built in front of the porch of the Temple. 13 The number of sacrifices differed from day to day in accordance with the instructions Moses had given; there were extra sacrifices on the Sabbaths, on new moon festivals, and at the three annual festivals—the Passover celebration, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Tabernacles. 14 In assigning the priests to their posts of duty he followed the organizational chart prepared by his father David; he also assigned the Levites to their work of praise and of helping the priests in each day’s duties; and he assigned the gatekeepers to their gates. 15 Solomon did not deviate in any way from David’s instructions concerning these matters and concerning the treasury personnel. 16 Thus Solomon successfully completed the construction of the Temple.
17-18 Then he went to the seaport towns of Ezion-geber and Eloth, in Edom, to launch a fleet presented to him by King Hiram. These ships, with King Hiram’s experienced crews working alongside Solomon’s men, went to Ophir and brought back to him several million dollars worth of gold on each trip!
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The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.