Study Desk

Now this is the account of the forced labor which King Solomon ^(C1)conscripted to build the house of the LORD, his own house, the ^(F1)(C2)Millo, the wall of Jerusalem, ^(C3)Hazor, ^(C4)Megiddo, and ^(C5)Gezer.

For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and overthrown Gezer and burned it with fire, and killed the ^(C1)Canaanites who lived in the city; and he had ^(C2)given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon's wife.

So Solomon rebuilt Gezer and the lower ^(C1)Beth-horon,

and ^(C1)Baalath and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land of Judah,

and all the storage cities which Solomon had, that is, ^(C1)the cities for ^(F1)his chariots and the cities for ^(F1)(C2)his horsemen, and ^(F2)(C3)everything that it pleased Solomon to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land ^(F3)under his rule.

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 sons of Israel,

^(C1)their descendants who were left after them in the land, ^(C2)whom the sons of Israel were unable to completely eliminate, ^(C3)from them Solomon conscripted ^(C4)forced laborers, as they are to this day.

But Solomon ^(C1)did not make slaves of the sons of Israel; for they were men of war, his servants, his commanders, his charioteers, his chariot commanders, and his horsemen.

These were the ^(F1)(C1)chief officers who were in charge of Solomon's work, 550, ^(C2)who ruled over the people doing the work.

As soon as ^(C1)Pharaoh's daughter came up from the city of David to her house which Solomon had built for her, ^(C2)he then built the Millo.

Now ^(C1)three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he had built for the LORD, burning incense with them on the altar which was before the LORD. So he finished the house.

King Solomon also built a ^(C1)fleet of ships in ^(C2)Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the ^(F1)Red Sea, in the land of Edom.

^(C1)And Hiram sent his servants with the fleet, sailors who knew the sea, along with the servants of Solomon.

And they went to ^(C1)Ophir and received ^(F1)420 talents of gold from there, and brought it to King Solomon.