Historical

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.

The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon

9 The queen of Sheba heard about Solomon’s fame. So she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. She had a very large group of people with her. She had camels that carried spices, much gold and many gems. She came to Solomon and talked with him about all her questions. ² And Solomon answered all her questions. Nothing was too hard for him to explain to her. ³ The queen of Sheba saw that Solomon was very wise. She also saw the palace he had built. ⁴ She saw the food on his table and his many officers. She saw the palace servants and their good clothes. She saw the servants who served Solomon his wine. And she saw their good clothes. She saw the burnt offerings he made in the Temple of the Lord. All these things amazed her. ⁵ So she said to King Solomon, “I heard in my own country about your achievements and wisdom. And all of it is true. ⁶ I did not believe it then. But now I have come and seen it with my own eyes. Not even half of your great wisdom was told to me! You are much greater than I had heard. ⁷ Your men and officers are very lucky! Since they are always serving you, they are able to hear your wisdom! ⁸ Praise the Lord your God! He was pleased to make you king. He has put you on his throne to rule for the Lord your God. Your God loves Israel and supports Israel forever. So the Lord has made you king of Israel to keep law and order and to rule fairly.”

⁹ Then the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon about 9,000 pounds of gold. She also gave him many spices and gems. No one had ever given such fine spices as she gave to King Solomon.

¹⁰ Hiram’s men and Solomon’s men brought in gold from Ophir. They also brought in juniper wood and gems. ¹¹ King Solomon used the juniper wood to make steps for the Temple of the Lord and the palace. He also used it to make lyres and harps for the singers. No one in Judah had ever seen such beautiful things as these.

¹² King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she wanted and asked for. He gave her more than she had brought to him. Then she and her servants left and returned to their own country.

Solomon’s Great Wealth

¹³ The amount of gold that Solomon received in one year weighed about 50,000 pounds. ¹⁴ Besides that, he also received gold from merchants and traders. All the kings of Arabia and the rulers of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon.

¹⁵ King Solomon made 200 large shields from hammered gold. Each shield contained about 7½ pounds of hammered gold. ¹⁶ Solomon also made 300 small shields of hammered gold. Each shield contained about 4 pounds of gold. King Solomon put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.

¹⁷ Then he built a large throne of ivory. And he covered it with pure gold. ¹⁸ The throne had six steps on it. And it had a gold footstool on it. There were armrests on both sides of the chair. And beside each armrest was a statue of a lion. ¹⁹ Twelve lions stood on the six steps. There was one lion at each end of each step. Nothing like this had ever been made for any other kingdom. ²⁰ All King Solomon’s drinking cups were made of gold. All of the dishes in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. In Solomon’s time people did not think silver was valuable. So nothing was made of silver. ²¹ King Solomon had many ships that he sent out to trade. Hiram’s men sailed Solomon’s ships. Every three years the ships returned. They brought back gold, silver, ivory, apes and baboons.

²² King Solomon had more riches and wisdom than all the other kings on earth. ²³ All the kings of the earth came to see Solomon. They wanted to hear the wisdom God had given him. ²⁴ Every year everyone who came brought a gift. They brought things made of silver and gold, clothes, weapons, spices, horses and mules.

²⁵ Solomon had 4,000 stalls to hold his horses and chariots. He had 12,000 horses. He kept them in special cities for the chariots. And he kept some with him in Jerusalem. ²⁶ Solomon was king over all the kings from the Euphrates River to the Philistine country to the border of Egypt. ²⁷ In Jerusalem silver was as common as stones while Solomon was king. Cedar trees were as common as the fig trees growing on the western mountain slopes. ²⁸ Solomon imported horses from Egypt and all other countries.

Solomon’s Death

²⁹ The other things Solomon did as king, from the beginning to the end, are written down. They are in the writings of Nathan the prophet. And they are in the prophecy of Ahijah and the visions of Iddo. Ahijah was from Shiloh. Iddo was a seer who wrote about Jeroboam, Nebat’s son. ³⁰ Solomon was king in Jerusalem over all Israel for 40 years. ³¹ Then Solomon died and was buried in Jerusalem. This was the city of his father David. And Solomon’s son Rehoboam became king in his place.

Rehoboam Acts Foolishly

10 Rehoboam went to Shechem because all the Israelites had gone there to make him king. ² Jeroboam son of Nebat was in Egypt. He had gone there to run away from King Solomon. Jeroboam heard that Rehoboam was going to be the new king. So he returned from Egypt. ³ The people sent for Jeroboam. Then he and the people went to Rehoboam. They said to Rehoboam, ⁴ “Your father forced us to work very hard. Now, make it easier for us. Don’t make us work as hard as your father did. Then we will serve you.”

⁵ Rehoboam answered, “Come back to me in three days.” So the people left.

⁶ There were some elders who had helped Solomon make decisions during his lifetime. So King Rehoboam asked them what he should do. He said, “How do you think I should answer these people?”

⁷ They answered, “Be kind to these people. Please them and give them a kind answer. If you do, they will serve you always.”

⁸ But Rehoboam did not listen to the advice the elders gave him. He talked with the young men who had grown up with him. They advised him in making decisions. ⁹ Rehoboam asked them, “What is your advice? How should we answer these people? They said, ‘Don’t make us work as hard as your father did.’”

¹⁰ Then the young men who had grown up with him said, “The people said to you, ‘Your father forced us to work very hard. Now make our work easier.’ But you should tell those people, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist. ¹¹ My father forced you to work hard. But I will make you work even harder. My father beat you with whips. But I will beat you with whips that have sharp points.’”

¹² King Rehoboam had told the people, “Come back to me in three days.” So three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam. ¹³ Then King Rehoboam spoke to them in a cruel way. He did not take the advice of the elders. ¹⁴ He followed the advice of the young men. He said, “My father forced you to work hard. But I will give you even more work. My father beat you with whips. But I will beat you with whips that have sharp points.” ¹⁵ So King Rehoboam did not do what the people wanted. God caused this to happen. He did this so the Lord could keep his promise to Jeroboam son of Nebat. The Lord had made this promise through Ahijah, a prophet from Shiloh.

¹⁶ The people of Israel saw that King Rehoboam did not listen to them. So they said to the king,

So all the Israelites went home. ¹⁷ But Rehoboam still ruled over the Israelites who lived in the towns of Judah.

¹⁸ Adoniram was in charge of the people who were forced to work. Rehoboam sent him to the people. But they threw stones at Adoniram until he died. But King Rehoboam was able to run to his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. ¹⁹ Since then, Israel has always turned against the family of David.