Bible Reading Plan

1 Kings 9

Chapter 9

The Lord's Response

¹ When Solomon finished building the temple of the Lord ,^(a) the royal palace, and all that Solomon desired to do,^{(b) 2} the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time just as He had appeared to him at Gibeon.^{(c) 3} The Lord said to him:

King Hiram's 20 Towns

¹⁰ At the end of 20 years during which Solomon had built the two houses, the Lord 's temple and the royal palace⁽ⁿ⁾— ¹¹ Hiram king of Tyre^(o) having supplied him with cedar and cypress logs and gold^(p) for his every wish^(q)—King Solomon gave Hiram 20 towns in the land of Galilee. ¹² So Hiram went out from Tyre to look over the towns that Solomon had given him, but he was not pleased with them. ¹³ So he said, "What are these towns you've given me, my brother?" So he called them the Land of Cabul,^[d] as they are still called today.^{(r) 14} Now Hiram had sent the king 9,000 pounds^[e] of gold.^(s)

Solomon's Forced Labor

¹⁵ This is the account of the forced labor^(t) that King Solomon had imposed to build the Lord 's temple, his own palace, the supporting terraces,^(u) the wall of Jerusalem,^(v) and Hazor,^(w) Megiddo,^(x) and Gezer.^{(y) 16} Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He then burned it down, killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and gave it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon's wife.^{(z) 17} Then Solomon rebuilt Gezer, Lower Beth-horon,^{(aa) 18} Baalath,^(ab) Tamar^[f][g] in the Wilderness of Judah, ¹⁹ all the storage cities that belonged to Solomon, the chariot cities,^(ac) the cavalry cities,^(ad) and whatever Solomon desired to build^(ae) in Jerusalem, Lebanon, or anywhere else in the land of his dominion.

²⁰ As for all the peoples who remained of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not Israelites— ²¹ their descendants who remained in the land after them, those whom the Israelites were unable to completely destroy^(af)—Solomon imposed forced labor on them; it is this way until today.^{(ag) 22} But Solomon did not consign the Israelites to slavery;^(ah) they were soldiers, his servants, his commanders, his captains, and commanders of his chariots and his cavalry. ²³ These were the deputies^(ai) who were over Solomon's work: 550 who ruled over the people doing the work.^(aj)

Solomon's Other Activities

²⁴ Pharaoh's daughter moved from the city of David^(ak) to the house that Solomon had built for her;^(al) he then built the terraces.^(am)

²⁵ Three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar he had built for the Lord , and he burned incense with them in the Lord 's presence.^(an) So he completed the temple.^(ao)

²⁶ King Solomon put together a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber,^(ap) which is near Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea in the land of Edom. ²⁷ With the fleet, Hiram sent his servants, experienced seamen, along with Solomon's servants. ²⁸ They went to Ophir^(aq) and acquired gold there—16 tons^[h]—and delivered it to Solomon.^(ar)

2 Chronicles 8

Chapter 8

Solomon's Later Building Projects

¹ At the end of 20 years^(a) during which Solomon had built the Lord 's temple and his own palace— ² Solomon had rebuilt the cities Hiram^[a] gave him and settled Israelites there— ³ Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and seized it. ⁴ He built Tadmor in the wilderness along with all the storage cities that he built in Hamath. ⁵ He built Upper Beth-horon and Lower Beth-horon^(b)—fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars^(c)— ⁶ Baalath, all the storage cities that belonged to Solomon, all the chariot cities, the cavalry cities, and everything Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, or anywhere else in the land of his dominion.

⁷ As for all the peoples who remained of the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not from Israel^(d)— ⁸ their descendants who remained in the land after them, those the Israelites had not completely destroyed—Solomon imposed forced labor on them; it is this way today.^{(e) 9} But Solomon did not consign the Israelites to be slaves for his work; they were soldiers, commanders of his captains, and commanders of his chariots and his cavalry. ¹⁰ These were King Solomon's deputies: 250 who ruled over the people.

¹¹ Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh from the city of David to the house he had built for her,^(f) for he said, "My wife must not live in the house^[b] of David king of Israel because the places the ark of the Lord has come into are holy."

Public Worship Established at the Temple

¹² At that time^(g) Solomon offered burnt offerings to the Lord on the Lord 's altar he had made in front of the portico.^{(h) 13} He followed the daily requirement⁽ⁱ⁾ for offerings according to the commandment of Moses^(j) for Sabbaths, New Moons, and the three annual appointed festivals: the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Booths.^{(k) 14} According to the ordinances of his father David, he appointed the divisions of the priests over their service,^(l) of the Levites over their responsibilities to offer praise and to minister before the priests following the daily requirement,^(m) and of the gatekeepers by their divisions with respect to each gate,⁽ⁿ⁾ for this had been the command of David, the man of God.^{(o) 15} They did not turn aside from the king's command regarding the priests and the Levites concerning any matter or concerning the treasuries.^{(p) 16} All of Solomon's work was carried out from the day the foundation was laid for the Lord 's temple until it was finished. So the Lord 's temple was completed.

Solomon's Fleet

¹⁷ At that time^(q) Solomon went to Ezion-geber and to Eloth^(r) on the seashore in the land of Edom. ¹⁸ So Hiram^[c] sent ships to him by his servants along with crews of experienced seamen. They went with Solomon's servants to Ophir, took from there 17 tons^[d] of gold, and delivered it to King Solomon.^(s)