2 Chronicles 8
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 8
Public Works. 1 (A)After the twenty years during which Solomon built the house of the Lord and his own house, 2 he built up the cities which Huram had given him,[a] and settled Israelites there. 3 Then Solomon went to Hamath of Zoba and conquered it. 4 He built Tadmor[b] in the wilderness and all the supply cities, which he built in Hamath. 5 (B)He built Upper Beth-horon and Lower Beth-horon, fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars; 6 also Baalath, all the supply cities belonging to Solomon, and all the cities for the chariots, the cities for horses, and whatever else Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in the entire land under his dominion. 7 All the people who were left of the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites who were not Israelites— 8 those of their descendants who were left in the land and whom the Israelites had not destroyed—Solomon conscripted as forced laborers, as they are to this day. 9 But Solomon made none of the Israelites forced laborers for his works, for they were his fighting force, commanders, adjutants, chariot officers, and cavalry. 10 They were also King Solomon’s two hundred and fifty overseers who directed the people.
Solomon’s Piety. 11 Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh up from the City of David to the house which he had built for her, for he said, “No wife of mine shall dwell in the house of David, king of Israel, for the places where the ark of the Lord has come are holy.”
12 In those times Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings to the Lord upon the altar of the Lord which he had built in front of the porch, 13 as was required to be done day by day according to the command of Moses, especially on the sabbaths, at the new moons, and on the fixed festivals three times a year: on the feast of the Unleavened Bread, the feast of Weeks, and the feast of Booths.(C)
14 And according to the ordinance of David his father he appointed the various divisions of the priests for their service, and the Levites according to their functions of praise and attendance upon the priests, as the daily duty required. The gatekeepers by their divisions stood guard at each gate, since such was the command of David, the man of God.(D) 15 There was no deviation from the king’s command in whatever related to the priests and Levites or the treasuries. 16 All of Solomon’s work was carried out successfully from the day the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid until its completion. The house of the Lord was finished.
Glories of the Court. 17 In those times Solomon went to Ezion-geber and to Elath on the seashore of the land of Edom.(E) 18 Huram had his servants send him ships and his own servants, expert seamen; they went with Solomon’s servants to Ophir, and obtained there four hundred and fifty talents of gold and brought it to King Solomon.(F)
Footnotes
- 8:2 The cities which Huram had given him: according to 1 Kgs 9:10–14, it was Solomon who ceded the cities to the king of Tyre as payment for the timber and gold received from him. Since, however, 1 Kgs 9:12 states that Hiram was not satisfied with the cities, the Chronicler may have inferred that he gave them back to Solomon.
- 8:4 Tadmor: later known as Palmyra, an important caravan city in the Syrian desert. The parallel passage in 1 Kgs 9:18 has “Tamar,” in southern Judah; cf. Ez 47:19; 48:28. But Solomon may well have fortified Tadmor against the Arameans.
2 Chronicles 8
Expanded Bible
Solomon’s Other Achievements(A)
8 By the end of twenty years, Solomon had built the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord and the royal ·palace [L house]. 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 [L City of David] to the ·palace [L house] 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 [L Lord] 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 [L house] ·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 [L did 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 [L house] of the Lord was begun, until it was finished. So the ·Temple [L house] was ·finished [completed].
17 Then Solomon went to the towns of Ezion Geber and Elath near the ·Red Sea [L coast] 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 [L knew the sea]. ·Hiram’s [or Huram’s] men went with Solomon’s men to Ophir and brought back ·about thirty-four thousand pounds [L 450 talents] of gold to King Solomon.
2 Chronicles 8
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition
Various Activities of Solomon
8 At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon had built the house of the Lord and his own house, 2 Solomon rebuilt the cities that Huram had given to him, and settled the people of Israel in them.
3 Solomon went to Hamath-zobah, and captured it. 4 He built Tadmor in the wilderness and all the storage towns that he built in Hamath. 5 He also built Upper Beth-horon and Lower Beth-horon, fortified cities, with walls, gates, and bars, 6 and Baalath, as well as all Solomon’s storage towns, and all the towns for his chariots, the towns for his cavalry, and whatever Solomon desired to build, in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. 7 All the people who were left of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of Israel, 8 from their descendants who were still left in the land, whom the people of Israel had not destroyed—these Solomon conscripted for forced labour, as is still the case today. 9 But of the people of Israel Solomon made no slaves for his work; they were soldiers, and his officers, the commanders of his chariotry and cavalry. 10 These were the chief officers of King Solomon, two hundred and fifty of them, who exercised authority over the people.
11 Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter from the city of David to the house that he had built for her, for he said, ‘My wife shall not live in the house of King David of Israel, for the places to which the ark of the Lord has come are holy.’
12 Then Solomon offered up burnt-offerings to the Lord on the altar of the Lord that he had built in front of the vestibule, 13 as the duty of each day required, offering according to the commandment of Moses for the sabbaths, the new moons, and the three annual festivals—the festival of unleavened bread, the festival of weeks, and the festival of booths. 14 According to the ordinance of his father David, he appointed the divisions of the priests for their service, and the Levites for their offices of praise and ministry alongside the priests as the duty of each day required, and the gatekeepers in their divisions for the several gates; for so David the man of God had commanded. 15 They did not turn away from what the king had commanded the priests and Levites regarding anything at all, or regarding the treasuries.
16 Thus all the work of Solomon was accomplished from[a] the day the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid until the house of the Lord was finished completely.
17 Then Solomon went to Ezion-geber and Eloth on the shore of the sea, in the land of Edom. 18 Huram sent him, in the care of his servants, ships and servants familiar with the sea. They went to Ophir, together with the servants of Solomon, and imported from there four hundred and fifty talents of gold and brought it to King Solomon.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 8:16 Gk Syr Vg: Heb to
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