Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Add parallel Print Page Options
Close AMP

1 Kings 9-10
Amplified Bible

God’s Promise and Warning

9 Now it happened when Solomon had finished building the house (temple) of the Lord and the king’s house (palace), and all else which he was pleased to do, 2 that the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, just as He had appeared to him [a]at Gibeon. 3 The Lord told him, “I have heard your prayer and supplication which you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built by putting My Name and My Presence there forever. My eyes and My heart shall be there perpetually. 4 As for you, if you walk (live your life) before Me, as David your father walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, acting in accordance with everything that I have commanded you, and will keep My statutes and My precepts, 5 then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, just as I promised your father David, saying, ‘You shall not be without a man (descendant) on the throne of Israel.’

6 “But if you or your sons turn away from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, 7 then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them, and I will cast out of My sight the house which I have consecrated for My Name and Presence. Then Israel will become a proverb (a saying) and a byword (object of ridicule) among all the peoples. 8 This house (temple) will become a heap of ruins; everyone who passes by will be appalled and [b]sneer and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this house?’ 9 And they [who know] will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and they have chosen other gods and have worshiped and served them; that is the reason the Lord has brought on them all this adversity.’”

Cities Given to Hiram

10 Now at the end of twenty years, in which Solomon had built the two houses, the temple of the Lord and the palace of the king 11 (Hiram king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with as much cedar and cypress timber [from Lebanon] and gold as he desired), at that time King Solomon gave Hiram [c]twenty cities in the land of Galilee (northern Israel). 12 So Hiram came from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him, and they [d]did not please him. 13 He said, “What are these cities [good for] which you have given me, my brother?” So they have been called the land of Cabul (like nothing, unproductive) to this day. 14 And Hiram sent to the king 120 talents of gold.

15 Now this is the account of the forced labor which King Solomon conscripted to build the house of the Lord, his own house, the [e]Millo (fortification), the wall of Jerusalem, [and the fortress cities of] Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. 16 For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and taken Gezer, burned it with fire and killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and he had given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife. 17 So Solomon rebuilt [and fortified] Gezer and Lower Beth-horon, 18 Baalath and [f]Tamar in the wilderness, in the land of Judah, 19 and all the storage cities [for surplus provisions] which Solomon had, and the cities for his chariots and cities for his horsemen, and whatever it pleased Solomon to build [g]in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land under his rule. 20 As for all the people who were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not of the sons (descendants) of Israel, 21 their children who were left after them in the land, whom the Israelites were unable to completely destroy, from them Solomon levied (conscripted) forced laborers, even to this day (the date of this writing). 22 But Solomon did not make slaves of the sons of Israel; for they were men of war (soldiers), his servants, his officers, his captains, his chariot commanders, and his horsemen.

23 These were the chief officers who were over Solomon’s work, five hundred and fifty, who ruled over the people doing the work.

24 As soon as Pharaoh’s daughter came up from the City of David to her house which Solomon had built for her, then he built the Millo (fortification).

25 Three times a year [during the [h]major annual festivals] Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar he had built to the Lord, and he burned incense with them before the Lord. So he finished the house [of the Lord].

26 King Solomon built a fleet of ships in Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea (Sea of Reeds), in the land of Edom. 27 And Hiram [king of Tyre] sent his servants with the fleet, sailors who knew the sea, along with the servants of Solomon. 28 They came to [i]Ophir and took four hundred and twenty talents of gold from there, and brought it to King Solomon.

The Queen of Sheba

10 Now when the queen of [j]Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with riddles. 2 So she came to Jerusalem with a very large caravan (entourage), with camels carrying spices, a great quantity of gold, and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about everything that was on her mind [to discover the extent of his wisdom]. 3 Solomon [k]answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king which he did not explain to her. 4 When the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house (palace) which he had built, 5 the food on his table, the seating of his servants (court officials), the attendance of his waiters and their attire, his cupbearers, his [l]stairway by which he went up to the house (temple) of the Lord, she was breathless and awed [by the wonder of it all]. 6 Then she told the king, “The report which I heard in my own land about your words and wisdom is true! 7 I did not believe the report until I came and saw it with my own eyes. Behold, the half of it was not told to me. You exceed in wisdom and prosperity the report which I heard. 8 How blessed (fortunate, happy) are your men! How blessed are these your servants who stand continually before you, hearing your wisdom! 9 Blessed be the Lord your God who delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel! Because the Lord loved Israel forever, He made you king to execute justice and righteousness.” 10 She gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold and a very great quantity of spices and precious stones. Never again did such an abundance of spices come in [to Israel] as that which the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.

11 Also the ships of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir a great quantity of almug wood (sandalwood) and precious stones. 12 From the almug wood (sandalwood) the king made pillars for the house of the Lord and for the king’s palace, and also lyres and harps for the singers. Such almug wood did not come in [to Israel] again, nor has it been seen to this day.

13 King Solomon [in turn] gave to the queen of Sheba everything that she wanted, whatever she asked, besides what he gave to her [m]from his royal bounty. So she returned to her own country, she and her servants.

Wealth, Splendor and Wisdom

14 Now the weight of the gold that came to Solomon in one [particular] year was six hundred and sixty-six [n]talents of gold, 15 besides the taxes from the traders and from the wares of the merchants, and [the tribute money] from all the kings of the Arabs (Bedouins) and the governors of the country. 16 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten (hammered) gold; [o]six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. 17 He made three hundred smaller shields of beaten gold; [p]three minas of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon [the king’s armory]. 18 Also the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with the finest gold. 19 The throne had six steps, and a round [q]top was attached to the throne from the back. On either side of the seat were armrests, and two lions stood beside the armrests. 20 Twelve lions stood there, one on either end of each of the six steps; there was nothing like it made for any other kingdom. 21 All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were of silver; it was not considered valuable in the days of Solomon. 22 For the king had at sea the [large cargo] ships of Tarshish with the ships of Hiram. Once every three years the ships of Tarshish came bringing gold, silver, ivory, monkeys, and peacocks.

23 So King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in wealth and in wisdom. 24 All the earth was seeking the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom which God had put in his mind. 25 Every man brought a gift [of tribute]: articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year.

26 Now Solomon collected chariots and horsemen; he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, which he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars as plentiful as the [r]sycamore trees that are in the lowland. 28 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from [s]Kue, and the king’s merchants acquired them from Kue, for a price.(A) 29 A chariot could be imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty; and in the same way they exported them, by the king’s merchants, to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram (Syria).

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 9:2 See 3:4-15.
  2. 1 Kings 9:8 Or hiss.
  3. 1 Kings 9:11 These cities were either sold to Hiram in exchange for the gold or used as collateral for a loan of the gold (v 14).
  4. 1 Kings 9:12 Lit were not right in his eyes.
  5. 1 Kings 9:15 The exact nature of the Millo is unclear, but most scholars believe it was some sort of military fortification such as a tower, a citadel, a significant part of a wall or even an earth-fill or terraced hillside. It was located on the eastern side of the City of David. It was later repaired by King Hezekiah.
  6. 1 Kings 9:18 In 2 Chr 8:4 Tadmor.
  7. 1 Kings 9:19 Because of Solomon’s extensive building program and his extravagant expenditures, he resorted to forced labor and heavy taxation. These oppressive policies, combined with his son’s lack of good judgment contributed to the division of Solomon’s kingdom. Shortly after his death, his son King Rehoboam rebuffed the people’s appeal for relief and declared his intention to add to their burdens (12:11).
  8. 1 Kings 9:25 I.e. the Feasts of Passover, Pentecost, and Booths.
  9. 1 Kings 9:28 The location of this wealthy trading port is a subject of debate among scholars and archeologists. Possible sites considered include Pakistan, India, Zimbabwe, Yemen, and other ports in Arabia and Africa.
  10. 1 Kings 10:1 The location of this ancient kingdom is uncertain, but may have included portions of modern Yemen and Ethiopia. The imperial family of Ethiopia claimed descent from a son supposedly born to Solomon and the queen of Sheba; however, there is no biblical evidence to support this claim. Ongoing archeological discoveries in Mareb, Yemen (Awam Temple) may support the area’s connection to the reign of the queen of Sheba. It has been suggested that she ruled southern Arabia and that the area being excavated was the capital of the Kingdom of Sheba.
  11. 1 Kings 10:3 Lit told her all her words.
  12. 1 Kings 10:5 Lit going up; or his burnt offering which he offered at.
  13. 1 Kings 10:13 Lit according to the hand of King Solomon. Following ancient custom for nobility and royalty, the king was obligated to give a visitor (especially a visiting dignitary) a greater gift than he received from the visitor. Solomon went far beyond custom in lavishing gifts on the queen.
  14. 1 Kings 10:14 It is impossible to determine the exact weight of a talent, in part because the Israelites had more than one measurement of a talent. Estimates range from 58-80 lbs. or higher, and the weight may have had to do with the amount an able-bodied man could carry of a given precious metal. Six hundred and sixty-six talents would have weighed at least 38,628 lbs.
  15. 1 Kings 10:16 Perhaps about twelve pounds. These shields were designed to cover a man. The gold probably overlaid wood or some other lighter material.
  16. 1 Kings 10:17 About three pounds.
  17. 1 Kings 10:19 Or canopy.
  18. 1 Kings 10:27 This tree, ficus sycomorus, is native to Egypt and Asia Minor and produces an edible fruit similar but inferior to the common fig.
  19. 1 Kings 10:28 This was an area which, in NT times, was called Cilicia, the home province of the apostle Paul.
Listen to 1 Kings 9-10
Close NIV

1 Kings 9-10
New International Version

The Lord Appears to Solomon(A)

9 When Solomon had finished(B) building the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had achieved all he had desired to do, 2 the Lord appeared(C) to him a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3 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.

4 “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) 5 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.’

6 “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, 7 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. 8 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) 9 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.

The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon(AZ)

10 When the queen of Sheba(BA) heard about the fame(BB) of Solomon and his relationship to the Lord, she came to test Solomon with hard questions.(BC) 2 Arriving at Jerusalem with a very great caravan(BD)—with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with him about all that she had on her mind. 3 Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. 4 When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had built, 5 the food on his table,(BE) the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he made at[l] the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed.

6 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. 7 But I did not believe(BF) these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth(BG) you have far exceeded the report I heard. 8 How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear(BH) your wisdom! 9 Praise(BI) be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the Lord’s eternal love(BJ) for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice(BK) and righteousness.”

10 And she gave the king 120 talents[m] of gold,(BL) large quantities of spices, and precious stones. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

11 (Hiram’s ships brought gold from Ophir;(BM) and from there they brought great cargoes of almugwood[n] and precious stones. 12 The king used the almugwood to make supports[o] for the temple of the Lord and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. So much almugwood has never been imported or seen since that day.)

13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.

Solomon’s Splendor(BN)

14 The weight of the gold(BO) that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents,[p] 15 not including the revenues from merchants and traders and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of the territories.

16 King Solomon made two hundred large shields(BP) of hammered gold; six hundred shekels[q] of gold went into each shield. 17 He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three minas[r] of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.(BQ)

18 Then the king made a great throne covered with ivory and overlaid with fine gold. 19 The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. 20 Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom. 21 All King Solomon’s goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold.(BR) Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s days. 22 The king had a fleet of trading ships[s](BS) at sea along with the ships(BT) of Hiram. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.

23 King Solomon was greater in riches(BU) and wisdom(BV) than all the other kings of the earth. 24 The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom(BW) God had put in his heart. 25 Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift(BX)—articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.

26 Solomon accumulated chariots and horses;(BY) he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses,[t] which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. 27 The king made silver as common(BZ) in Jerusalem as stones,(CA) and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig(CB) trees in the foothills. 28 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue[u]—the royal merchants purchased them from Kue at the current price. 29 They imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty.[v] They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites(CC) and of the Arameans.

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
  12. 1 Kings 10:5 Or the ascent by which he went up to
  13. 1 Kings 10:10 That is, about 4 1/2 tons or about 4 metric tons
  14. 1 Kings 10:11 Probably a variant of algumwood; also in verse 12
  15. 1 Kings 10:12 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  16. 1 Kings 10:14 That is, about 25 tons or about 23 metric tons
  17. 1 Kings 10:16 That is, about 15 pounds or about 6.9 kilograms; also in verse 29
  18. 1 Kings 10:17 That is, about 3 3/4 pounds or about 1.7 kilograms; or perhaps reference is to double minas, that is, about 7 1/2 pounds or about 3.5 kilograms.
  19. 1 Kings 10:22 Hebrew of ships of Tarshish
  20. 1 Kings 10:26 Or charioteers
  21. 1 Kings 10:28 Probably Cilicia
  22. 1 Kings 10:29 That is, about 3 3/4 pounds or about 1.7 kilograms
Next
1 Kings 8
1 Kings 11
Next
dropdown
Amplified Bible (AMP)

Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.

The Amplified Bible is made available by The Lockman Foundation
New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.

July Summer Surge

More on the NIV