The First Book of the Kings

⭑ Berean Study Bible :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 9 -

(2 Chronicles 7:11–22)

Now when Solomon had finished building the house of the LORD and the royal palace, and had achieved all that he had desired to do,

the LORD appeared to him a second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon.

And the LORD said to him: “I have heard your prayer and petition before Me. I have consecrated this temple you have built by putting My Name there forever; My eyes and My heart will be there for all time.

And as for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, with a heart of integrity and uprightness, doing all I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and ordinances,

then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised your father David when I said, ‘You will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’

But if indeed you or your sons turn away from following Me and do not keep the commandments and statutes I have set before you, and if you go off to serve and worship other gods,

then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and I will banish from My presence this temple I have sanctified for My Name. Then Israel will become an object of scorn and ridicule among all peoples.

And when this temple has become a heap of rubble,(a) all who pass by it will be appalled and will hiss and say, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’

And others will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the LORD their God who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—because of this, the LORD has brought all this disaster upon them.’”

Solomon’s Additional Achievements

(2 Chronicles 8:1–18)

Now at the end of the twenty years during which Solomon built these two houses, the house of the LORD and the royal palace,

King Solomon gave twenty towns in the land of Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, who had supplied him with cedar and cypress

(b)

logs and gold for his every desire.

So Hiram went out from Tyre to inspect the towns that Solomon had given him, but he was not pleased with them.

“What are these towns you have given me, my brother?” asked Hiram, and he called them the Land of Cabul,(c) as they are called to this day.

And Hiram had sent the king 120 talents of gold.(d)

This is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon imposed to build the house of the LORD, his own palace, the supporting terraces,(e) and the wall of Jerusalem, as well as Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.

Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it on fire, killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.

So Solomon rebuilt Gezer, Lower Beth-horon,

Baalath, and Tamar (f) in the Wilderness of Judah,(g)

as well as all the store cities that Solomon had for his chariots and horses (h)—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and throughout the land of his dominion.

As for all the people who remained of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites (the people who were not Israelites)—

their descendants who remained in the land, those whom the Israelites were unable to devote to destruction (i)—Solomon conscripted these people to be forced laborers, as they are to this day.

But Solomon did not consign any of the Israelites to slavery, because they were his men of war, his servants, his officers, his captains, and the commanders of his chariots and cavalry.

They were also the chief officers over Solomon’s projects: 550 supervisors over the people who did the work.

As soon as Pharaoh’s daughter had come up from the City of David to the palace that Solomon had built for her, he built the supporting terraces.

Three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar he had built for the LORD, burning incense with them before the LORD. So he completed the temple.

King Solomon also assembled a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth (j) in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea.(k)

And Hiram sent his servants, men who knew the sea, to serve in the fleet with Solomon’s servants.

They sailed to Ophir and imported gold from there—420 talents (l)—and delivered it to Solomon.

Footnotes

(a)9:8 Some LXX manuscripts, Syriac, and Arabic; Hebrew And though this temple is now exalted; see also 2 Chronicles 7:21.

(b)9:11 Or pine or juniper or fir

(d)9:14 120 talents is approximately 4.52 tons or 4.1 metric tons of gold.

(e)9:15 Hebrew the Millo; also in verse 24

(f)9:18 Alternate MT reading; the other alternate reads Tadmor

(g)9:18 Hebrew in the wilderness in the land

(h)9:19 Or horsemen or charioteers

(i)9:21 Forms of the Hebrew cherem refer to the giving over of things or persons to the LORD, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering.

(j)9:26 Eloth is a variant of Elath; see LXX, 2 Kings 14:22, and 2 Kings 16:6.

(k)9:26 Or the Sea of Reeds

(l)9:28 420 talents is approximately 15.8 tons or 14.4 metric tons of gold.

(2 Chronicles 7:11–22)

When Solomon had finished the building of the LORD’s house, the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he was pleased to do,

The LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon.

The LORD said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before me. I have made this house holy, which you have built, to put my name there forever; and my eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually.

As for you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and will keep my statutes and my ordinances,

then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised to David your father, saying, ‘There shall not fail from you a man on the throne of Israel.’

But if you turn away from following me, you or your children, and not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them,

then I will cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and I will cast this house, which I have made holy for my name, out of my sight; and Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples.

Though this house is so high, yet everyone who passes by it will be astonished and hiss; and they will say, ‘Why has the LORD done this to this land and to this house?’

and they will answer, ‘Because they abandoned the LORD their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and embraced other gods, and worshiped them, and served them. Therefore the LORD has brought all this evil on them.’”

Solomon’s Additional Achievements

(2 Chronicles 8:1–18)

At the end of twenty years, in which Solomon had built the two houses, the LORD’s house and the king’s house

(now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and cypress trees, and with gold, according to all his desire), King Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.

Hiram came out of Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they didn’t please him.

He said, “What cities are these which you have given me, my brother?” He called them the land of Cabul

(a)

to this day.

Hiram sent to the king one hundred twenty talents

(b)

of gold.

This is the reason of the forced labor which King Solomon conscripted: to build the LORD’s house, his own house, Millo, Jerusalem’s wall, Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.

Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, taken Gezer, burned it with fire, killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and given it for a wedding gift to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.

Solomon built in the land Gezer, Beth Horon the lower,

Baalath, Tamar in the wilderness,

all the storage cities that Solomon had, the cities for his chariots, the cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build for his pleasure in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.

As for all the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the children of Israel—

their children who were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel were not able utterly to destroy—of them Solomon raised a levy of bondservants to this day.

But of the children of Israel Solomon made no bondservants; but they were the men of war, his servants, his princes, his captains, and rulers of his chariots and of his horsemen.

These were the five hundred fifty chief officers who were over Solomon’s work, who ruled over the people who labored in the work.

But Pharaoh’s daughter came up out of David’s city to her house which Solomon had built for her. Then he built Millo.

Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he built to the LORD three times per year, burning incense with them on the altar that was before the LORD. So he finished the house.

King Solomon made a fleet of ships in Ezion Geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom.

Hiram sent in the fleet his servants, sailors who had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.

They came to Ophir, and fetched from there gold, four hundred and twenty talents,(c) and brought it to King Solomon.

Footnotes

(a)9:13 “Cabul” sounds like Hebrew for “good-for-nothing”.

(b)9:14 A talent is about 30 kilograms or 66 pounds or 965 Troy ounces, so 120 talents is about 3.6 metric tons