2 Chronicles 7-9

Easy-to-Read Version

The Temple Dedicated to the Lord

7 When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from the sky and burned up the burnt offering and the sacrifices. The Glory of the Lord filled the Temple. ² The priests could not enter the Lord’s Temple because the Glory of the Lord filled it. ³ When all the Israelites saw the fire come down from heaven and the Glory of the Lord on the Temple, they bowed down on the pavement with their faces low to the ground. They worshiped and thanked the Lord, singing,

⁴ Then King Solomon and all the Israelites offered sacrifices to the Lord. ⁵ King Solomon offered 22,000 bulls and 120,000 sheep. So the king and the people showed that they had dedicated the Temple to God. ⁶ The priests stood ready to do their work. The Levites stood with the instruments they would use to play music to the Lord. King David had made these instruments to use when they gave thanks to the Lord and sang, “His faithful love will last forever.” The priests blew their trumpets as they stood across from the Levites. And all the Israelites were standing.

⁷ King Solomon also dedicated the middle of the courtyard, the part that is in front of the Temple of the Lord. There he offered burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat from the animals that were used as fellowship offerings. He did this because the bronze altar he had built was too small to hold all these offerings.

⁸ So there at the Temple, King Solomon and all the people of Israel celebrated the festival.^[a] People came from as far away as Hamath Pass in the north and the border of Egypt in the south. This huge crowd of people enjoyed themselves for seven days. ⁹ On the eighth day, they had a holy meeting because they had celebrated for seven days. They made the altar holy and it was to be used only for worshiping the Lord. And they celebrated the festival for seven days. ¹⁰ On the 23rd day of the seventh month, Solomon told the people to go home. All the people thanked the king, said goodbye, and went home. They were happy because of all the good things that the Lord had done for David his servant and for his people Israel.

The Lord Comes to Solomon

¹¹ So Solomon finished building the Lord’s Temple and the king’s palace. Solomon did everything that he had planned to do in building a house for the Lord and for himself. ¹² Then the Lord appeared to Solomon at night and said to him,

“Solomon, I have heard your prayer, and I have chosen this place for myself to be a house for sacrifices. ¹³ When I close the sky so that there is no rain, or command the locusts to destroy the land, or send sicknesses to my people ¹⁴ and if my people who are called by my name become humble and pray, and look for me, and turn away from their evil ways, then I will hear them from heaven. I will forgive their sin and heal their land. ¹⁵ Now, my eyes are open, and my ears will pay attention to the prayers prayed in this place. ¹⁶ I have chosen this Temple, and I have made it a holy place. So I will be honored there forever. I will watch over it and think of it always. ¹⁷ You must serve me with a pure and honest heart, just as your father David did. You must obey my laws and do everything that I commanded you. If you obey all I have commanded, and if you obey my laws and rules, ¹⁸ then I will make you a strong king and your kingdom will be great. That is the agreement I made with David your father when I told him that Israel would always be ruled by one of his descendants.

¹⁹ “But if you don’t obey my laws and commands that I gave you, and if you worship other gods and serve them, ²⁰ then I will take the Israelites out from my land that I gave them. And I will leave this Temple that I have made holy for my name. I will make this Temple something that all the nations will speak evil about. ²¹ Everyone who sees it will be amazed. They will ask, ‘Why did the Lord do this terrible thing to this land and to this temple?’ ²² People will say, ‘This happened because they left the Lord, the God of their ancestors. He brought them out of Egypt, but they decided to follow other gods. They began to worship and to serve those gods. That is why he caused all these bad things to happen to them.’”

The Cities Solomon Built

8 It took 20 years for King Solomon to build the Lord’s Temple and the king’s palace. ² Then Solomon rebuilt the towns that Hiram gave him and then moved Israelites into those towns to live there. ³ After this Solomon went to Hamath of Zobah and captured it. ⁴ He also built the town of Tadmor in the desert. He built all the towns in Hamath to store things in. ⁵ He rebuilt the towns of Upper Beth Horon and Lower Beth Horon. He made them into strong forts with strong walls, gates, and bars in the gates. ⁶ He also rebuilt the town of Baalath and all the other towns where he stored things. He built all the cities where the chariots were kept and where the horse riders lived. Solomon built all he wanted in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and in all the country where he was king.

^7-8 There were many people left in the land who were not Israelites. There were Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. The Israelites had not been able to destroy them, but Solomon forced them to work for him as slaves. They are still slaves today. ⁹ Solomon did not force any of the Israelites to be his slaves. They were soldiers, government officials, officers, captains, and chariot commanders and drivers. ¹⁰ There were 250 supervisors over Solomon’s projects. They supervised the men.

¹¹ Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter up from the City of David to the house he built for her. He said, “My wife must not live in King David’s palace because the places where the Lord’s Holy Box has been are holy places.”

¹² Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to the Lord on the Lord’s altar. He built that altar in front of the Temple porch. ¹³ Solomon offered sacrifices every day the way Moses commanded. Sacrifices were to be offered on Sabbath days, during New Moon celebrations, and at the three yearly festivals. The three yearly festivals were the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Harvest, and the Festival of Shelters. ¹⁴ Solomon followed his father David’s instructions. He chose the groups of priests for their service and the Levites for their duties. The Levites were to lead the praise and help the priests from day to day to do what needed to be done in the Temple service. And he chose the gatekeepers by their groups to serve at each gate. This is the way David, the man of God, instructed. ¹⁵ The Israelites did not change or disobey any of Solomon’s instructions to the priests and Levites. They did not change any of the instructions, even in the way they should keep the valuable things.

¹⁶ So Solomon completed his work on the Lord’s Temple. Work began the day they laid the foundation and continued without stopping until the day the Temple was finished.

¹⁷ King Solomon also built ships at Ezion Geber. This town is near Elath on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. ¹⁸ Hiram sent ships to Solomon. Hiram’s own men sailed the ships. They were skilled at sailing on the sea. His men went with Solomon’s servants to Ophir^[b] and brought back 17 tons^[c] of gold to King Solomon.

The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon

9 The queen of Sheba heard about Solomon, so she came to test him with hard questions. She had a very large group with her. She had camels that carried spices, much gold, and valuable stones. She traveled to Jerusalem with a very large group of servants. There were many camels carrying spices, jewels, and a lot of gold. She met Solomon and asked him all the questions that she could think of. ² Solomon answered all the questions. None of her questions was too hard for him to explain. ³ The queen of Sheba saw that Solomon was very wise. She also saw the beautiful palace he had built. ⁴ She saw the food at the king’s table. She saw his officials meeting together. She saw the servants in the palace and the good clothes they wore. She saw his parties and the sacrifices that he offered in the Lord’s Temple. She was so amazed, she could hardly breathe!

⁵ Then she said to King Solomon, “The stories I heard in my country about your great works and your wisdom are true. ⁶ I did not believe it until I came and saw it with my own eyes. Now I see that it is even greater than what I heard. Your wealth and wisdom is much greater than people told me. ⁷ Your wives^[d] and officers are very fortunate! They can serve you and hear your wisdom every day. ⁸ Praise the Lord your God! He was pleased to make you king of Israel. The Lord God loves Israel, so he made you the king. You follow the law and treat people fairly.”

⁹ Then the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon 4 1/2 tons^[e] of gold, a huge amount of spices, and precious stones. She gave Solomon more spices than anyone has ever brought into Israel.

¹⁰ Hiram’s servants brought gold from Ophir. They also brought in jewels and a special kind of wood.^{[f] 11} King Solomon used this special wood to make steps for the Lord’s Temple and the king’s palace. Solomon also used the algum wood to make lyres and harps for the singers. No one ever saw such beautiful things like those made from the algum wood in the country of Judah.

¹² King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she asked for. He gave her more than she brought to give him. Then the queen of Sheba and her servants left and went back to their own country.

Solomon’s Great Wealth

¹³ Every year Solomon got almost 25 tons^[g] of gold. ¹⁴ In addition to the gold brought in by the traveling merchants and traders, all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon.

¹⁵ King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold. He used about 15 pounds^[h] of gold for each shield. ¹⁶ He also made 300 smaller shields of hammered gold. He used about 7 1/2 pounds^[i] of gold for each shield. The king put them in the Forest-of-Lebanon House.^[j]

¹⁷ King Solomon also built a large throne with ivory decorations. It was covered with pure gold. ¹⁸ There were six steps leading up to the throne. The back of the throne was round at the top. There were armrests on both sides of the throne, and there were lions in the sides of the throne under the armrests. ¹⁹ There were also two lions on each of the six steps, one at each end. There was nothing like it in any other kingdom.

²⁰ All of Solomon’s cups and glasses were made of gold. And all the dishes^[k] in the building called the “Forest of Lebanon” were made from pure gold. Nothing in the palace was made from silver. There was so much gold that in Solomon’s time people did not think silver was important!

²¹ The king also had cargo ships that went to Tarshish to trade things with other countries. Hiram’s men were on these ships. Every three years the ships would come back with a new load of gold, silver, ivory, and apes and baboons.

²² King Solomon became greater in riches and wisdom than any other king on earth. ²³ People everywhere wanted to see King Solomon. They wanted to hear the great wisdom that God had given him. ²⁴ Every year people came to see the king, and everyone brought a gift. They brought things made from gold and silver, clothes, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.

²⁵ Solomon had 4000 stalls to keep horses and chariots. He had 12,000 horse soldiers. Solomon built special cities for these chariots. So the chariots were kept in these cities. King Solomon also kept some of the chariots with him in Jerusalem. ²⁶ Solomon was the king over all the kings from the Euphrates River all the way to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt. ²⁷ King Solomon had so much silver that it was as common as rocks in Jerusalem. And he had so much cedar wood that it was as common as sycamore trees in the hill country. ²⁸ The people brought horses to Solomon from Egypt and from all the other countries.

Solomon’s Death

²⁹ Everything else Solomon did, from the beginning to the end, is written in the writings of Nathan the Prophet, in The Prophecy of Ahijah from Shiloh, and in The Visions of Iddo the Seer. Iddo was a seer who wrote about Jeroboam son of Nebat. ³⁰ Solomon ruled in Jerusalem over all Israel for 40 years. ³¹ Then he died^[l] and was buried in the city of David, his father. Then Solomon’s son Rehoboam became the next king.