2 The Lord appeareth the second time to Solomon. 11 Solomon giveth cities to Hiram. 20 The Canaanites become tributaries. 28 He sendeth forth a navy for gold.

When (A)Solomon had finished the building of the house of the Lord, and the King’s palace, and all that Solomon desired and minded to do,

Then the Lord appeared unto Solomon the second time, as he (B)appeared unto him at Gibeon.

And the Lord said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house (which thou hast built) to (C)put my Name there forever, and mine eyes, and my heart shall be there perpetually.

And [a]if thou wilt walk before me (as David thy father walked in pureness of heart and in righteousness) to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and keep my statutes, and my judgments,

Then will I stablish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel forever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, (D)Thou shalt not want a man upon the throne of Israel.

But if ye and your children turn away from me, and will [b]not keep my Commandments, and my statutes (which I have set before you) but go and serve other gods, and worship them,

Then will I cut off Israel from the land, which I have given them, and the house which I have hallowed (E)for my Name, will I cast out of my sight, and Israel shall be a [c]proverb, and a common talk among all people.

Even this high house shall be so: everyone that passeth by it, shall be astonied, and shall hiss, and they shall say, (F)Why hath the Lord done thus unto this land and to this house?

And they shall answer, Because they forsook the Lord their God, which brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them, therefore hath the Lord brought upon them all this evil.

10 (G)And at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the Lord, and the King’s palace,

11 (For the which Hiram the king of [d]Tyre had brought to Solomon timber of Cedar and fir trees, and gold, and whatsoever he desired) then king Solomon gave to Hiram twenty cities in the land of [e]Galilee.

12 And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him, and they pleased him not.

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

14 And Hiram had sent the King [g]sixscore [h]talents of gold.

15 ¶ And this is the cause of the tribute, why King Solomon raised tribute, to wit, to build the house of the Lord, and his own house, and [i]Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer.

16 Pharaoh king of Egypt had come up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slew the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and gave it for a present unto his daughter Solomon’s wife.

17 (Therefore Solomon built Gezer and Beth Horon the nether,

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

19 And all the cities [j]of store, that Solomon had, even cities for chariots, and cities for horsemen, and all that Solomon desired and would build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion)

20 All the people that were [k]left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of the children of Israel

21 To wit, their children that were left after them in the land whom the children of Israel were not able to destroy, those did Solomon make tributaries unto this day

22 But of the children of Israel did Solomon (H)make no bondmen: but they were men of war and his servants, and his princes, and his captains, and rulers of his chariots and his horsemen.

23 These were the princes of the officers, that were over Solomon’s work: even [l]five hundred and fifty, and they ruled the people that wrought in the work.

24 ¶ And Pharaoh’s daughter came up from the city of David unto the house which Solomon had built for her: then did he build Millo.

25 And thrice a year did Solomon offer burnt offerings and peace offerings upon the altar which he built unto the Lord: and he burnt incense upon the altar that was before the Lord, when he had finished the house.

26 Also king Solomon made a navy of ships in Ezion Geber, which is beside Elath, and the brink of the red sea, in the land of Edom.

27 And Hiram sent with the navy, his servants, that were mariners, and had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.

28 And they came to Ophir, and fet from thence [m]four hundred and twenty talents of gold, and brought it to king Solomon.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 9:4 If thou walk in my fear, and withdraw thyself from the common manner of men, which follow their sensuality.
  2. 1 Kings 9:6 God declareth that disobedience against him, is the cause of his displeasure, and so of all misery.
  3. 1 Kings 9:7 The world shall make of you a mocking stock for the vile contempt and abusing of God’s most liberal benefits.
  4. 1 Kings 9:11 Or, Zor.
  5. 1 Kings 9:11 Or, Galilee.
  6. 1 Kings 9:13 Or, dirty, or barren.
  7. 1 Kings 9:14 For his tribute toward the building.
  8. 1 Kings 9:14 The common talent was about threescore pounds weight.
  9. 1 Kings 9:15 Millo was as the town house or place of assembly which was open above.
  10. 1 Kings 9:19 Cities for his munitions of war.
  11. 1 Kings 9:20 These were as bondmen and paid what was required, either labor or money.
  12. 1 Kings 9:23 The overseers of Solomon’s works, were divided into three parts: the first contained 3300, the second 300, and the third 250, which were Israelites: so here are contained the two last parts, which make 550, see 2 Chron. 8:10.
  13. 1 Kings 9:28 In 2 Chron. 8:18, is made mention of thirty more, which seem to have been employed for their charges.

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