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Forsooth when twenty years were [ful]filled, after that Solomon had builded the house of the Lord, and his own house,

he builded the cities, which Hiram[a] had given to Solomon; and he made the sons of Israel to dwell there. (he rebuilt the cities, which Hiram had given to Solomon; and he ordered the Israelites to live there.)

Also he went into Hamath of Zobah, and got it.

And he builded Palmyra in (the) desert, and he builded other full strong cities in Hamath.

And he builded the higher Bethhoron and the lower Bethhoron, walled cities, having gates, and locks, and bars;

also he builded Baalath, and all the strong cities that were of Solomon; and all the cities of carts, and the cities of knights (and all the cities for the chariots, and the cities for the horsemen), (and) king Solomon builded, and disposed all things, whichever he would, in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his power.

And Solomon made subject into tributaries till into this day all the people that was left of (the) Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites, that were not of the generations of Israel,

and of the sons of them, and of the after-comers of them, which the sons of Israel had not slain, (and their descendants, and their after-comers, whom the Israelites had not killed.)

For of the sons of Israel Solomon set not, that they should serve the works of the king; for they were men warriors, and the first, or chief, dukes, and princes of his chariots, and of his knights; (For Solomon ordained, that the Israelites should not serve in the forced labour for the public works of the king; for they were men of war, and the first, or the chief, officers, and the leaders of his chariots, and of his horsemen;)

10 and all the princes of the host of king Solomon were two hundred and fifty, that taught, or ruled, the people.

11 And Solomon translated the daughter of Pharaoh from the city of David into an house, that he had builded to her; for the king said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David, king of Israel, for it is hallowed, for the ark of the Lord entered into that house. (And Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter up from the City of David to the house, that he had built for her; for the king said, My wife shall not live in the house of David, the king of Israel, for it is holy, for the Ark of the Lord hath entered into that house.)

12 Then Solomon offered burnt sacrifices to the Lord on the altar of the Lord, which he had builded before the porch (which he had built in front of the vestibule),

13 that by all days offering should be offered in it, by the commandment of Moses, in sabbaths, and in calends, and in feast days, thrice by the year, that is, in the solemnity of therf loaves, and in the solemnity of weeks, and in the solemnity of tabernacles. (so that by all days the offerings would be offered on it, by the command of Moses, yea, on sabbaths, and calends, and Feast days, three times in the year, that is, on the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles.)

14 And he ordained by the ordinance of David, his father, the offices of priests in their services, and the deacons in their order, that they should praise and minister before [the] priests by the custom of each day; and he ordained [the] porters in their partings by gate and gate. For David, the man of God, had commanded so; (And he ordained by the ordinance of his father David, the offices of the priests in their services, and the Levites in their order, to praise and to minister before the priests by the custom of each day; and he ordained the guards, or the doorkeepers, in their divisions by each gate. For David, the man of God, had so commanded;)

15 and both priests and deacons passed not from the commandments of the king of all things which he had commanded. (and the priests and the Levites followed all the king’s commands concerning everything which he commanded, including his orders about the treasuries.)

16 And Solomon had all [the] costs, or dispenses (or expenses), made ready in the keepings of [the] treasuries, from that day in which he founded the house of the Lord, till into the day in which he performed it. (And so Solomon founded the House of the Lord, and he finished it; and he successfully completed all of his work.)

17 Then Solomon went into Eziongeber, and into Elath, at the brink of the Red Sea (and into Elath, on the Gulf of Akabah), which is in the land of Edom.

18 Therefore Hiram sent to him, by the hands of his servants, ships, and shipmen knowing of the sea (And so Hiram sent to him, under the command of his servants, ships, and shipmen who were knowledgeable about the sea), and they went with the servants of Solomon into Ophir, and they took from thence four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and they brought it (back) to king Solomon.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 8:2 Also known as Huram.

Solomon’s Other Activities(A)

At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built the temple of the Lord and his own palace,(B) Solomon rebuilt the villages that Hiram[a] had given him, and settled Israelites in them. Solomon then went to Hamath Zobah and captured it. He also built up Tadmor in the desert and all the store cities he had built in Hamath.(C) He rebuilt Upper Beth Horon(D) and Lower Beth Horon as fortified cities, with walls and with gates and bars, as well as Baalath(E) and all his store cities, and all the cities for his chariots and for his horses[b]—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled.

There were still people left from the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites(F) (these people were not Israelites). Solomon conscripted(G) the descendants of all these people remaining in the land—whom the Israelites had not destroyed—to serve as slave labor, as it is to this day. But Solomon did not make slaves of the Israelites for his work; they were his fighting men, commanders of his captains, and commanders of his chariots and charioteers. 10 They were also King Solomon’s chief officials—two hundred and fifty officials supervising the men.

11 Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter(H) up from the City of David to the palace he had built for her, for he said, “My wife must not live in the palace of David king of Israel, because the places the ark of the Lord has entered are holy.”

12 On the altar(I) of the Lord that he had built in front of the portico, Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings to the Lord, 13 according to the daily requirement(J) for offerings commanded by Moses for the Sabbaths,(K) the New Moons(L) and the three(M) annual festivals—the Festival of Unleavened Bread,(N) the Festival of Weeks(O) and the Festival of Tabernacles.(P) 14 In keeping with the ordinance of his father David, he appointed the divisions(Q) of the priests for their duties, and the Levites(R) to lead the praise and to assist the priests according to each day’s requirement. He also appointed the gatekeepers(S) by divisions for the various gates, because this was what David the man of God(T) had ordered.(U) 15 They did not deviate from the king’s commands to the priests or to the Levites in any matter, including that of the treasuries.

16 All Solomon’s work was carried out, from the day the foundation of the temple of the Lord was laid until its completion. So the temple of the Lord was finished.

17 Then Solomon went to Ezion Geber and Elath on the coast of Edom. 18 And Hiram sent him ships commanded by his own men, sailors who knew the sea. These, with Solomon’s men, sailed to Ophir and brought back four hundred and fifty talents[c] of gold,(V) which they delivered to King Solomon.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 8:2 Hebrew Huram, a variant of Hiram; also in verse 18
  2. 2 Chronicles 8:6 Or charioteers
  3. 2 Chronicles 8:18 That is, about 17 tons or about 15 metric tons