2 Chronicles 1
Evangelical Heritage Version
God Blesses Solomon With Wisdom and Possessions
1 Solomon, the son of David, firmly established his rule over his kingdom. The Lord his God was with him and made him very great. 2 Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the commanders of the units of a thousand and a hundred, to the judges, to all the leaders of all Israel, that is, to all the leading fathers.[a]
3 Solomon and the whole assembly with him went to the high place at Gibeon, because God’s Tent of Meeting, which Moses, the servant of the Lord, had made in the wilderness, was located there.
4 (David had brought up the Ark of God from Kiriath Jearim to the place he had prepared for it, because he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem. 5 But the bronze altar, which Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, was set up in front of the Tent of the Lord, so that was where Solomon and the assembly sought God.)
6 Solomon went to the bronze altar there in the presence of the Lord at the Tent of Meeting, and he offered a thousand burnt offerings upon the altar.
7 That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask for whatever you want me to give to you.”
8 Solomon said to God, “You have shown great mercy and faithfulness[b] to my father David, and you have made me king in his place. 9 Now, Lord God, let your commitment to David my father be fully realized, because you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth. 10 Now give me wisdom and knowledge, so that I can come and go[c] before this people, for who is up to the task of judging[d] this great people of yours?”
11 God said to Solomon, “Because this was on your heart, and you did not ask for riches, possessions, and honor, or for the lives of those who hate you, or even for many days of life, and because you have asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself so that you can judge my people, over whom I have made you king, 12 wisdom and knowledge will be given to you. I will also give you riches, possessions, and honor, the likes of which the kings before you never had, nor will those who come after you.”
Military and Economic Prosperity
13 After Solomon had gone up to the high place in Gibeon, he returned from the Tent of Meeting to Jerusalem, and he ruled as king over Israel.
14 Solomon accumulated chariots and charioteers. He had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand charioteers, and he stationed them in the chariot cities, as well as with the king in Jerusalem. 15 In Jerusalem the king made silver and gold as plentiful as ordinary stones. He made cedar as plentiful as sycamore fig trees in the Shephelah.[e] 16 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue.[f] The king’s dealers bought them from Kue for the market price. 17 They could import a chariot from Egypt for six hundred silver shekels and a horse for one hundred fifty. In the same way these dealers exported chariots to all the kings of the Hittites and Aram.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 1:2 The leaders of the societal units of Israel are regularly called fathers.
- 2 Chronicles 1:8 The Hebrew word chesed has connotations of both mercy and faithfulness, so the translation here includes bothconcepts.
- 2 Chronicles 1:10 Or carry out my duties
- 2 Chronicles 1:10 Or ruling over
- 2 Chronicles 1:15 That is, the western foothills
- 2 Chronicles 1:16 Probably Cilicia, on the southeast coast of Turkey
2 Chronicles 1
Lexham English Bible
Solomon Worships at Gibeon
1 And Solomon the son of David strengthened himself concerning his kingdom, and Yahweh his God was with him and made him exceedingly great. 2 And Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and to the judges, and to all the leaders for all Israel, the heads of the families.[a] 3 And Solomon and the whole assembly with him went to the high place that was at Gibeon, for the tent of assembly[b] of God that Moses the servant of Yahweh had made in the desert was there. 4 (But the ark of God David had brought up from Kiriath-Jearim to the place David had prepared for it, for David had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem.) 5 And the bronze altar that Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made was there before the tabernacle of Yahweh. And Solomon and the assembly sought it out. 6 And Solomon went up there to the bronze altar before Yahweh, which was at the tent of assembly,[c] and he offered upon it a thousand burnt offerings.
Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom
7 On that night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask what I shall give to you.” 8 Then Solomon said to God, “You yourself have shown steadfast[d] loyal love to David my father and have made me king in his place. 9 Now, O Yahweh God, let your word to David my father be fulfilled, for you yourself have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth. 10 Now, give to me wisdom and knowledge that I may go out and come in before this people, for who can judge this, your great people?”
11 Then God said to Solomon, “Because this was with your heart and you did not ask for wealth, possessions, honor, and the lives of your enemies, and also did not ask for long life,[e] but have asked for wisdom and knowledge that you might judge my people over whom I have made you king, 12 wisdom and knowledge is given to you. And I will also give to you wealth, possessions, and honor, the like of which was not had by the kings who were before you, nor will there be the like after you.” 13 So Solomon went from the high place which was at Gibeon to Jerusalem before the tent of assembly.[f] And he reigned over Israel.
Solomon’s Wealth
14 And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen. And he had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, and he placed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 15 And the king made silver and gold in Jerusalem like the stones. And he made cedar as abundant as the sycamore fig trees that were in the Shephelah. 16 And Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue. The traders of the king received them from Kue at a price. 17 They went up and exported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver and a horse for one hundred and fifty shekels. And these were likewise exported[g] to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.[h]
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 1:2 Literally “fathers”
- 2 Chronicles 1:3 Or “meeting”
- 2 Chronicles 1:6 Or “meeting”
- 2 Chronicles 1:8 Or “great”
- 2 Chronicles 1:11 Literally “many days”
- 2 Chronicles 1:13 Or “meeting”
- 2 Chronicles 1:17 Literally “likewise through their hand”
- 2 Chronicles 1:17 Or “Syria”
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