The First Book of the Kings

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- Kapitel 9 -

(2 Chronicles 7:11–22)

After Solomon had finished building the house of Yahweh and the king’s palace, and after he had accomplished all that he wanted to do,

Yahweh appeared to Solomon a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon.

Then Yahweh said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your request that you have made before me. I have set apart this house, which you have built, to myself, to put my name there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time.

As for you, if you walk before me as David your father walked in integrity of heart and in uprightness, obeying all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my decrees,

then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘A descendant of yours will never fail to be on the throne of Israel.’

But if you turn away, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have placed before you, and if you go and worship other gods and bow down to them,

then will I cut off Israel from off the ground that I have given them; and this house that I have set apart to my name, I will cast it out of my sight, and Israel will become an example to be mocked and an object of ridicule among all peoples.

This temple will become a heap of ruins, and everyone who passes by it will be shocked and will hiss. They will ask, ‘Why has Yahweh done this to this land and to this house?’

Others will answer, ‘Because they forsook Yahweh, their God, who had brought their ancestors out of the land of Egypt, and they laid hold of other gods and bowed down to them and worshiped them. That is why Yahweh has brought all this disaster on them.’”

Solomon’s Additional Achievements

(2 Chronicles 8:1–18)

It came about at the end of twenty years that Solomon had finished building the two buildings, the temple of Yahweh and the king’s palace.

Now Hiram, the king of Tyre, had furnished Solomon with cedar and cypress trees, and with gold-all that Solomon desired-so King Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.

Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities that Solomon had given him, but they did not please him.

So Hiram said, “What cities are these which you have given me, my brother?” Hiram called them the Land of Cabul, which they are still called today.

Hiram had sent to the king 120 talents of gold.

The following is the reason for the requirement to work which King Solomon imposed: to build the temple of Yahweh and his own palace, to build the Millo and the wall of Jerusalem, and to build the defenses of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.

Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and taken Gezer. He burned it and killed the Canaanites in the city. Then Pharaoh gave the city to his daughter, Solomon’s wife, as a wedding gift.

So Solomon rebuilt Gezer and Beth Horon the Lower,

Baalath and Tamar in the wilderness in the land of Judah,

and all the store cities that he possessed, and the cities for his chariots and the cities for his horsemen, and whatever he wished to build for his pleasure in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the lands under his rule.

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

their descendants who were left after them in the land, whom the people of Israel were not able to totally destroy-Solomon made them into forced laborers, which they are to this day.

However, Solomon made no forced laborers of the people of Israel. Instead, they became his soldiers and his servants, his officials, and his officers and commanders of his chariot forces and his horse riders.

These were also the chief officers managing the supervisors who were over Solomon’s works, 550 of them, who supervised the people who did the work.

Pharaoh’s daughter moved from the city of David to the house that Solomon had built for her. Later, Solomon built the Millo.

Three times each year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar that he built for Yahweh, burning incense with them on the altar that was before Yahweh. So he completed the temple and was now using it.

King Solomon built a fleet of ships in Ezion Geber, which is near Elath on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom.

Hiram sent servants to Solomon’s fleet, sailors who understood the sea, with Solomon’s own servants.

They went to Ophir with servants of Solomon. From there they brought back 420 talents of gold for King Solomon.

(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.

Fußnoten

(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