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And it came to pass when Solomon had completed the building of the house of Jehovah, and the king's house, and all Solomon's desire which he was pleased to do,

that Jehovah appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon.

And Jehovah said to him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication which thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually.

And [as for] thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, [and] wilt keep my statutes and mine ordinances;

then will I establish the throne of thy kingdom over Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.

[But] if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments, my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them;

then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and the house, which I have hallowed to my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a by word among all peoples;

and this house, [which] is high, every one that passes by it shall be astonished at, and shall hiss, and they shall say, Why has Jehovah done thus to this land and to this house?

And they shall say, Because they forsook Jehovah their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have attached themselves to other gods, and have worshipped them and served them; therefore has Jehovah brought upon them all this evil.

10 And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of Jehovah and the king's house,

11 Hiram the king of Tyre having furnished Solomon with cedar-trees and cypress-trees, and with gold, according to all his desire,—that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.

12 And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities that Solomon had given him; and they did not please him.

13 And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul to this day.

14 And Hiram had sent to the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold.

15 And this is the account of the levy which king Solomon raised, to build the house of Jehovah, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer.

16 —Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and taken Gezer, and burned it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon's wife.

17 —And Solomon built Gezer, and lower Beth-horon,

18 and Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land,

19 and all the store-cities that Solomon had, and cities for chariots, and cities for the horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and on Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.

20 All the people that were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the children of Israel,

21 their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel were not able utterly to destroy, upon them did Solomon impose a tribute of bondservice until this day.

22 But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen; but they were men of war, and his servants, and his chiefs, and his captains, and captains of his chariots, and his horsemen.

23 These were the chief superintendents that were over Solomon's work, five hundred and fifty, that ruled over the people that wrought in the work.

24 But Pharaoh's daughter came up out of the city of David to her house which he had built for her: then he built Millo.

25 And three times in the year did Solomon offer up burnt-offerings and peace-offerings upon the altar that he had built to Jehovah, and he burned incense upon that which was before Jehovah. So he finished the house.

26 And 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.

27 And Hiram sent in the fleet his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon;

28 and they went to Ophir, and fetched thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.

The Lord Appears to Solomon(A)

When Solomon had finished(B) building the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had achieved all he had desired to do, the Lord appeared(C) to him a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. The Lord said to him:

“I have heard(D) the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name(E) there forever. My eyes(F) and my heart will always be there.

“As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with integrity of heart(G) and uprightness, as David(H) your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws,(I) I will establish(J) your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail(K) to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’

“But if you[a] or your descendants turn away(L) from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you[b] and go off to serve other gods(M) and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land(N) I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name.(O) Israel will then become a byword(P) and an object of ridicule(Q) among all peoples. This temple will become a heap of rubble. All[c] who pass by will be appalled(R) and will scoff and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’(S) People will answer,(T) ‘Because they have forsaken(U) the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why the Lord brought all this disaster(V) on them.’”

Solomon’s Other Activities(W)

10 At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built these two buildings—the temple of the Lord and the royal palace— 11 King Solomon gave twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, because Hiram had supplied him with all the cedar and juniper and gold(X) he wanted. 12 But when Hiram went from Tyre to see the towns that Solomon had given him, he was not pleased with them. 13 “What kind of towns are these you have given me, my brother?” he asked. And he called them the Land of Kabul,[d](Y) a name they have to this day. 14 Now Hiram had sent to the king 120 talents[e] of gold.(Z)

15 Here is the account of the forced labor King Solomon conscripted(AA) to build the Lord’s temple, his own palace, the terraces,[f](AB) the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor,(AC) Megiddo and Gezer.(AD) 16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it on fire. He killed its Canaanite inhabitants and then gave it as a wedding gift to his daughter,(AE) Solomon’s wife. 17 And Solomon rebuilt Gezer.) He built up Lower Beth Horon,(AF) 18 Baalath,(AG) and Tadmor[g] in the desert, within his land, 19 as well as all his store cities(AH) and the towns for his chariots(AI) and for his horses[h]—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled.

20 There were still people left from the Amorites, Hittites,(AJ) Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites(AK) (these peoples were not Israelites). 21 Solomon conscripted the descendants(AL) of all these peoples remaining in the land—whom the Israelites could not exterminate[i](AM)—to serve as slave labor,(AN) as it is to this day. 22 But Solomon did not make slaves(AO) of any of the Israelites; they were his fighting men, his government officials, his officers, his captains, and the commanders of his chariots and charioteers. 23 They were also the chief officials(AP) in charge of Solomon’s projects—550 officials supervising those who did the work.

24 After Pharaoh’s daughter(AQ) had come up from the City of David to the palace Solomon had built for her, he constructed the terraces.(AR)

25 Three(AS) times a year Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar he had built for the Lord, burning incense before the Lord along with them, and so fulfilled the temple obligations.

26 King Solomon also built ships(AT) at Ezion Geber,(AU) which is near Elath(AV) in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea.[j] 27 And Hiram sent his men—sailors(AW) who knew the sea—to serve in the fleet with Solomon’s men. 28 They sailed to Ophir(AX) and brought back 420 talents[k] of gold,(AY) which they delivered to King Solomon.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 9:6 The Hebrew is plural.
  2. 1 Kings 9:6 The Hebrew is plural.
  3. 1 Kings 9:8 See some Septuagint manuscripts, Old Latin, Syriac, Arabic and Targum; Hebrew And though this temple is now imposing, all
  4. 1 Kings 9:13 Kabul sounds like the Hebrew for good-for-nothing.
  5. 1 Kings 9:14 That is, about 4 1/2 tons or about 4 metric tons
  6. 1 Kings 9:15 Or the Millo; also in verse 24
  7. 1 Kings 9:18 The Hebrew may also be read Tamar.
  8. 1 Kings 9:19 Or charioteers
  9. 1 Kings 9:21 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  10. 1 Kings 9:26 Or the Sea of Reeds
  11. 1 Kings 9:28 That is, about 16 tons or about 14 metric tons