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Chronological

Read the Bible in the chronological order in which its stories and events occurred.

Duration: 365 days

1 Kings 9

The Lord Gives Solomon a Promise and a Warning

9 After Solomon finished building the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and all the other construction projects he had planned,^[a] ²the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, in the same way he had appeared to him at Gibeon.^[b] ³The Lord said to him, “I have answered^[c] your prayer and your request for help that you made to me. I have consecrated this temple you built by making it my permanent home;^[d] I will be constantly present there.^[e] ⁴You must serve me with integrity and sincerity, just as your father David did. Do everything I commanded and obey my rules and regulations.^[f] ⁵Then I will allow your dynasty to rule over Israel permanently,^[g] just as I promised your father David, ‘You will not fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’^[h]

⁶“But if you or your sons ever turn away from me, fail to obey the regulations and rules I instructed you to keep,^[i] and decide to serve and worship other gods,^[j] ⁷then I will remove Israel from the land^[k] I have given them, I will abandon this temple I have consecrated with my presence,^[l] and Israel will be mocked and ridiculed^[m] among all the nations. ⁸This temple will become a heap of ruins;^[n] everyone who passes by it will be shocked and will hiss out their scorn,^[o] saying, ‘Why did the Lord do this to this land and this temple?’ ⁹Others will then answer,^[p] ‘Because they abandoned the Lord their God, who led their ancestors^[q] out of Egypt. They embraced other gods whom they worshiped and served.^[r] That is why the Lord has brought all this disaster down on them.’”

Foreign Affairs and Building Projects

¹⁰After twenty years, during which Solomon built the Lord’s temple and the royal palace,^[s] ¹¹King Solomon gave King Hiram of Tyre twenty towns in the region of Galilee, because Hiram had supplied Solomon with cedars, evergreens, and all the gold he wanted. ¹²When Hiram went out from Tyre to inspect the towns Solomon had given him, he was not pleased with them.^[t] ¹³Hiram asked,^[u] “Why did you give me these towns, my friend?”^[v] He called that area the region of Cabul, a name which it has retained to this day.^[w] ¹⁴Hiram had sent to the king 120 talents^[x] of gold.

¹⁵Here are the details concerning the work crews^[y] King Solomon conscripted^[z] to build the Lord’s temple, his palace, the terrace, the wall of Jerusalem, and the cities of^[aa] Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. ¹⁶(Pharaoh, king of Egypt, had attacked and captured Gezer. He burned it and killed the Canaanites who lived in the city. He gave it as a wedding present to his daughter, who had married Solomon.) ¹⁷Solomon built up Gezer, lower Beth Horon, ¹⁸Baalath, Tadmor in the wilderness,^[ab] ¹⁹all the storage cities that belonged to him,^[ac] and the cities where chariots and horses were kept.^[ad] He built whatever he wanted in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and throughout his entire kingdom.^[ae] ²⁰Now several non-Israelite peoples were left in the land after the conquest of Joshua, including the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.^[af] ²¹Their descendants remained in the land (the Israelites were unable to wipe them out completely). Solomon conscripted them for his work crews, and they continue in that role to this very day.^[ag] ²²Solomon did not assign Israelites to these work crews;^[ah] the Israelites served as his soldiers, attendants, officers, charioteers, and commanders of his chariot forces.^[ai] ²³These men were also in charge of Solomon’s work projects; there were a total of 550 men who supervised the workers.^[aj] ²⁴Solomon built the terrace as soon as Pharaoh’s daughter moved up from the City of David^[ak] to the palace Solomon built for her.^[al]

²⁵Three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings^[am] on the altar he had built for the Lord, burning incense along with them before the Lord. He made the temple his official worship place.^[an]

²⁶King Solomon also built ships^[ao] in Ezion Geber, which is located near Elat in the land of Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea. ²⁷Hiram sent his fleet and some of his sailors, who were well acquainted with the sea, to serve with Solomon’s men.^[ap] ²⁸They sailed^[aq] to Ophir, took from there 420 talents^[ar] of gold, and then brought them to King Solomon.

Footnotes

1 Kings 9:1 tn Heb “and all the desire of Solomon which he wanted to do.”
1 Kings 9:2 sn In the same way he had appeared to him at Gibeon. See 1 Kgs 3:5.
1 Kings 9:3 tn Heb “I have heard.”
1 Kings 9:3 tn Heb “by placing my name there perpetually” (or perhaps, “forever”).
1 Kings 9:3 tn Heb “and my eyes and my heart will be there all the days.”
1 Kings 9:4 tn Heb “As for you, if you walk before me, as David your father walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, by doing all which I commanded you, [and] you keep my rules and my regulations.” Verse 4 is actually a lengthy protasis (“if” section) of a conditional sentence, the apodosis (“then” section) of which appears in v. 5.
1 Kings 9:5 tn Heb “I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever.”
1 Kings 9:5 tn Heb “there will not be cut off from you a man from upon the throne of Israel.”
1 Kings 9:6 tn Heb “which I placed before you.”
1 Kings 9:6 tn Heb “and walk and serve other gods and bow down to them.”
1 Kings 9:7 tn Heb “I will cut off Israel from upon the surface of the land.”
1 Kings 9:7 tn Heb “and the temple which I consecrated for my name I will send away from before my face.”sn Instead of “I will send away,” the parallel text in 2 Chr 7:20 has “I will throw away.” The two verbs sound very similar in Hebrew, so the discrepancy is likely due to an oral transmissional error.
1 Kings 9:7 tn Heb “will become a proverb and a taunt,” that is, a proverbial example of destruction and an object of reproach.
1 Kings 9:8 tn Heb “and this house will be high [or elevated].” The statement makes little sense in this context, which predicts the desolation that judgment will bring. Some treat the clause as concessive, “Even though this temple is lofty [now].” Others, following the lead of several ancient versions, emend the text to, “this temple will become a heap of ruins.”
1 Kings 9:8 tn Heb “hiss,” or perhaps “whistle.” This refers to a derisive sound one would make when taunting an object of ridicule.
1 Kings 9:9 tn Heb “and they will say.”
1 Kings 9:9 tn Heb “fathers.”
1 Kings 9:9 tn Heb “and they took hold of other gods and bowed down to them and served them.”
1 Kings 9:10 tn Heb “the two houses, the house of the Lord and the house of the king.”
1 Kings 9:12 tn Heb “they were not agreeable in his eyes.”
1 Kings 9:13 tn Heb “and he said.”
1 Kings 9:13 tn Heb “my brother.” Kings allied through a parity treaty would sometimes address each other as “my brother.” See 1 Kgs 20:32-33.
1 Kings 9:13 tn Heb “he called them the land of Cabul to this day.” The significance of the name is unclear, though it appears to be disparaging. The name may be derived from a root, attested in Akkadian and Arabic, meaning “bound” or “restricted.” Some propose a wordplay, pointing out that the name “Cabul” sounds like a Hebrew phrase meaning, “like not,” or “as good as nothing.”
1 Kings 9:14 tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 9,000 pounds of gold (cf. NCV, NLT); CEV “five tons”; TEV “4,000 kilogrammes.”
1 Kings 9:15 sn The work crews. This Hebrew word מַס (mas) refers to a group of laborers conscripted for royal or public service.
1 Kings 9:15 tn Heb “raised up.”
1 Kings 9:15 tn The words “the cities of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
1 Kings 9:18 tn The Hebrew text has “in the wilderness, in the land.”
1 Kings 9:19 tn Heb “to Solomon.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
1 Kings 9:19 tn Heb “the cities of the chariots and the cities of the horses.”
1 Kings 9:19 tn Heb “and the desire of Solomon which he desired to build in Jerusalem and in Lebanon and in all the land of his kingdom.”
1 Kings 9:20 tn Heb “all the people who were left from the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not from the sons of Israel.”
1 Kings 9:21 tn Heb “their sons who were left after them in the land, whom the sons of Israel were unable to wipe out, and Solomon raised them up for a crew of labor to this day.”
1 Kings 9:22 sn These work crews. The work crews referred to here must be different than the temporary crews described in 5:13-16.
1 Kings 9:22 tn Heb “officers of his chariots and his horses.”
1 Kings 9:23 tn Heb “these [were] the officials of the governors who were over the work belonging to Solomon, five hundred fifty, the ones ruling over the people, the ones doing the work.”
1 Kings 9:24 sn The phrase City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
1 Kings 9:24 tn Heb “As soon as Pharaoh’s daughter went up from the City of David to her house which he built for her, then he built the terrace.”
1 Kings 9:25 tn Or “tokens of peace”; NIV, TEV “fellowship offerings.”
1 Kings 9:25 tn Heb “and he made complete the house.”
1 Kings 9:26 tn Or “a fleet” (in which case “ships” would be implied).
1 Kings 9:27 tn Heb “and Hiram sent with the fleet his servants, men of ships, [who] know the sea, [to be] with the servants of Solomon.”
1 Kings 9:28 tn Heb “went.”
1 Kings 9:28 tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 31,500 pounds of gold (cf. NCV); CEV, NLT “sixteen tons”; TEV “more than 14,000 kilogrammes.”

2 Chronicles 8

Building Projects and Commercial Efforts

8 After twenty years, during which Solomon built the Lord’s temple and his royal palace, ²Solomon rebuilt the cities that Huram^[a] had given him and settled Israelites there. ³Solomon went to Hamath Zobah and seized it. ⁴He built up Tadmor in the wilderness and all the storage cities he had built in Hamath. ⁵He made upper Beth Horon and lower Beth Horon fortified cities with walls and barred gates,^[b] ⁶and built up Baalath, all the storage cities that belonged to him,^[c] and all the cities where chariots and horses were kept.^[d] He built whatever he wanted in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and throughout his entire kingdom.^[e]

⁷Now several non-Israelite peoples were left in the land after the conquest of Joshua, including the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.^[f] ⁸Their descendants remained in the land (the Israelites were unable to wipe them out). Solomon conscripted them for his work crews, and they continue in that role to this very day.^[g] ⁹Solomon did not assign Israelites to these work crews;^[h] the Israelites served as his soldiers, officers, charioteers, and commanders of his chariot forces.^[i] ¹⁰These men worked for King Solomon as supervisors; there were a total of 250 of them who were in charge of the people.^[j]

¹¹Solomon moved Pharaoh’s daughter up from the City of David^[k] to the palace he had built for her, for he said, “My wife must not live in the palace of King David of Israel, for the places where the ark of the Lord has entered are holy.”

¹²Then Solomon offered burnt sacrifices to the Lord on the altar of the Lord which he had built in front of the temple’s porch.^[l] ¹³He observed the daily requirements for sacrifices that Moses had specified for Sabbaths, new moon festivals, and the three annual celebrations—the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Shelters.^[m] ¹⁴As his father David had decreed, Solomon^[n] appointed the divisions of the priests to do their assigned tasks, the Levitical orders to lead worship and help the priests with their daily tasks,^[o] and the divisions of the gatekeepers to serve at their assigned gates.^[p] This was what David the man of God had ordered.^[q] ¹⁵They did not neglect any detail of the king’s orders pertaining to the priests, Levites, and treasuries.^[r]

¹⁶All the work ordered by Solomon was completed, from the day the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid until it was finished; the Lord’s temple was completed.

¹⁷Then Solomon went to Ezion Geber and to Elat on the coast in the land of Edom. ¹⁸Huram sent him ships and some of his sailors, men who were well acquainted with the sea. They sailed with Solomon’s men to Ophir^[s] and took from there 450 talents^[t] of gold, which they brought back to King Solomon.

Footnotes

2 Chronicles 8:2 tn Heb “Huram” (also in v. 18). Some medieval Hebrew mss, along with the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate spell the name “Hiram,” agreeing with 1 Chr 14:1. “Huram” is a variant spelling referring to the same individual.
2 Chronicles 8:5 tn Heb “and he built…[as] cities of fortification, [with] walls, doors, and a bar.”
2 Chronicles 8:6 tn Heb “Solomon.” The recurrence of the proper name is unexpected in terms of contemporary English style, so the pronoun has been used in the translation instead.
2 Chronicles 8:6 tn Heb “the cities of the chariots and the cities of the horses.”
2 Chronicles 8:6 tn Heb “and all the desire of Solomon which he desired to build in Jerusalem and in Lebanon and in all the land of his kingdom.”
2 Chronicles 8:7 tn Heb “all the people who were left from the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not from Israel.”
2 Chronicles 8:8 tn Heb “from their sons who were left after them in the land, whom the sons of Israel did not wipe out, and Solomon raised them up for a work crew to this day.”
2 Chronicles 8:9 tn Heb “and from the sons of Israel whom Solomon did not assign to the laborers for his work.”
2 Chronicles 8:9 tn Heb “officers of his chariots and his horses.”
2 Chronicles 8:10 tn Heb “these [were] the officials of the governors who belonged to the king, Solomon, 250, the ones ruling over the people.”
2 Chronicles 8:11 sn The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
2 Chronicles 8:12 tn Heb “the porch.”
2 Chronicles 8:13 tn The Hebrew phrase הַסֻּכּוֹת[חַג] (khag hassukkot, “[Feast of] shelters” [or “huts”]) is traditionally known as the Feast of Tabernacles. The rendering “booths” (cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV) is probably better than the traditional “tabernacles” in light of the meaning of the term סֻכָּה (sukkah, “hut; booth”), but “booths” are frequently associated with trade shows and craft fairs in contemporary American English. The nature of the celebration during this feast as a commemoration of the wanderings of the Israelites after they left Egypt suggests that a translation like “shelters” is more appropriate.
2 Chronicles 8:14 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Solomon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 Chronicles 8:14 tn Heb “and the Levites, according to their posts, to praise and to serve opposite the priests according to the matter of a day in its day.”
2 Chronicles 8:14 tn Heb “and the gatekeepers by their divisions for a gate and a gate.”
2 Chronicles 8:14 tn Heb “for so [was] the command of David the man of God.”
2 Chronicles 8:15 tn Heb “and they did not turn aside from the command of the king concerning the priests and the Levites with regard to any matter and with regard to the treasuries.”
2 Chronicles 8:18 tn Heb “and Huram sent to him by the hand of his servants, ships, and servants [who] know the sea, and they came with the servants of Solomon to Ophir.”
2 Chronicles 8:18 tn The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the weight of the gold was 30,285 lbs. (13,770 kg).

New English Translation (NET)

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Chronological

The Lord Gives Solomon a Promise and a Warning

Foreign Affairs and Building Projects

Footnotes

Building Projects and Commercial Efforts

Footnotes