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1 Kings 9-10
GOD’S WORD Translation

The Lord Answers Solomon’s Prayer(A)

9 Solomon finished building the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and everything ⌞else⌟ he wanted to build. 2 Then the Lord appeared to him a second time, as he had appeared to him in Gibeon. 3 The Lord said to him,

“I have heard your prayer for mercy that you made to me.
I have declared that this temple which you have built is holy
so that my name may be placed there forever.
My eyes and my heart will always be there.

4 “If you will be faithful to me as your father David was
(with a sincere and upright heart),
do everything I command,
and keep my laws and rules,
5 then I will establish your royal dynasty over Israel forever
as I promised your father David when I said,
‘You will never fail to have an heir on the throne of Israel.’
6 But if you and your descendants dare to turn away from me
and do not keep my commands and laws that I gave to you,
and follow and serve other gods and worship them,
7 then I will cut Israel out of the land I gave them.
I will reject this temple that I declared holy for my name.
Israel will be an example
and an object of ridicule for all the people of the world.
8 Everyone passing by this temple, as impressive as it is, will be appalled.
They will gasp and ask,
‘Why did the Lord do these things to this land and this temple?’
9 They will answer ⌞themselves⌟,
‘They abandoned the Lord their God,
who brought their ancestors out of Egypt.
They adopted other gods, worshiped, and served them.
That is why the Lord brought this disaster on them.’ ”

Solomon Completes His Construction(B)

10 It took Solomon 20 years to build the two houses (the Lord’s house and the royal palace). 11 ⌞When King Solomon had finished,⌟ he gave King Hiram of Tyre 20 cities in Galilee. (Hiram had supplied Solomon with as much cedar and cypress lumber and gold as he wanted.) 12 Hiram left Tyre to see the cities Solomon gave him. However, they didn’t please him. 13 “What kind of cities have you given me, brother?” he asked. So he named it the region of Cabul [Good for Nothing]. (⌞They’re⌟ still ⌞called⌟ that today.) 14 Hiram had sent the king 9,000 pounds of gold.

15 This is the record of the forced laborers whom King Solomon drafted to build the Lord’s house, his own house, the Millo,[a] the walls of Jerusalem, and ⌞the cities of⌟ Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. 16 (The king of Egypt captured Gezer, burned it down, and killed the Canaanites living there. Then he gave it to his daughter, Solomon’s wife, as a wedding present.) 17 So Solomon rebuilt Gezer, Lower Beth Horon, 18 Baalath, Tadmor in the desert (inside the country), and 19 all the storage cities that he owned. He also built cities for his chariots, cities for his war horses, and whatever ⌞else⌟ he wanted to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, or the entire territory that he governed.

20 The Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites had been left ⌞in the land⌟ because the Israelites had not been able to claim them for God by destroying them.[b] They were not Israelites, 21 but they had descendants who were still in the land. Solomon drafted them for slave labor. (They are still ⌞slaves⌟ today.) 22 But Solomon didn’t make any of the Israelites slaves. Instead, they were soldiers, officials, officers, generals, and commanders of his chariot and cavalry units.

23 These were the officers in charge of Solomon’s projects: 550 foremen for the people who did the work.

24 Pharaoh’s daughter moved from the City of David to the palace that Solomon had built for her. Then he built the Millo.

25 Three times a year Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar he built for the Lord. He burnt them on the altar that was in the Lord’s presence. And he finished the temple.

26 King Solomon also built a fleet near the Red Sea coast at Ezion Geber by Elath in Edom. 27 Hiram sent his own servants ⌞who were⌟ experienced seamen with the fleet. Along with Solomon’s servants 28 they went to Ophir, got 31,500 pounds of gold, and brought it to King Solomon.

The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon(C)

10 The queen of Sheba heard about Solomon’s reputation. (He owed his reputation to the name of the Lord.) So she came to test him with riddles. 2 She arrived in Jerusalem with a large group of servants, with camels carrying spices, a very large quantity of gold, and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she talked to him about everything she had on her mind. 3 Solomon answered all her questions. No question was too difficult for the king to answer.

4 When the queen of Sheba saw all of Solomon’s wisdom, the palace he built, 5 the food on his table, his officers’ seating arrangement, the organization of his officials and the uniforms they wore, his cupbearers,[c] and the burnt offerings that he sacrificed at the Lord’s temple, she was breathless. 6 She told the king, “What I heard in my country about your words and your wisdom is true! 7 But I didn’t believe the reports until I came and saw it with my own eyes. I wasn’t even told half of it. Your wisdom and wealth surpass the stories I’ve heard. 8 How blessed your men must be! How blessed these servants of yours must be because they are always stationed in front of you, listening to your wisdom! 9 Thank the Lord your God, who is pleased with you. He has put you on the throne of Israel. Because of your God’s eternal love for the people of Israel, he has made you king so that you would maintain justice and righteousness.”

10 She gave the king 9,000 pounds of gold, a very large quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again was such a large quantity of spices brought ⌞into Israel⌟ as those that the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.

11 Hiram’s fleet that brought gold from Ophir also brought a large quantity of sandalwood and precious stones from Ophir. 12 With the sandalwood the king made supports for the Lord’s temple and the royal palace, and lyres and harps for the singers. Never again was sandalwood like this imported ⌞into Israel⌟, nor has any been seen ⌞there⌟ to this day.

13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba anything she wanted, whatever she asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal generosity. Then she and her servants went back to her country.

Solomon’s Wealth(D)

14 The gold that came to Solomon in one year weighed 49,950 pounds, 15 not counting ⌞the gold⌟ which came from the merchants, the traders’ profits, all the Arab kings, and the governors of the country.

16 King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold, using 15 pounds of gold on each shield. 17 He also made 300 small shields of hammered gold, using four pounds of gold on each shield. The king put them in the hall ⌞which he called⌟ the Forest of Lebanon.

18 The king also made a large ivory throne and covered it with fine gold. 19 Six steps led to the throne. Carved into the back of the throne was a calf’s head. There were armrests on both sides of the seat. Two lions stood beside the armrests. 20 Twelve lions stood on six steps, one on each side. Nothing like this had been made for any other kingdom.

21 All King Solomon’s cups were gold, and all the utensils for the hall ⌞which he called⌟ the Forest of Lebanon were fine gold. (Nothing was silver, because it wasn’t considered valuable in Solomon’s time.) 22 The king had a fleet headed for Tarshish with Hiram’s fleet. Once every three years the Tarshish fleet would bring gold, silver, ivory, apes, and monkeys.

23 In wealth and wisdom King Solomon was greater than all the ⌞other⌟ kings of the world. 24 The whole world wanted to listen to the wisdom that God gave Solomon. 25 So everyone who came brought him gifts: articles of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules. This happened year after year.

26 Solomon built up ⌞his army⌟ with chariots and war horses. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 war horses. He stationed ⌞some⌟ in chariot cities and ⌞others⌟ with himself in Jerusalem. 27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars as plentiful as fig trees in the foothills.

28 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue. The king’s traders bought them from Kue for a fixed price. 29 Each chariot was imported from Egypt for 15 pounds of silver and each horse for 6 ounces of silver. For the same price they obtained horses to export to all the Hittite and Aramean kings.

Footnotes

  1. 9:15 The exact place referred to as “the Millo” is unknown.
  2. 9:20 “because the Israelites….” This clause from verse 21 (in Hebrew) has been placed in verse 20 to express the complex Hebrew paragraph structure more clearly in English.
  3. 10:5 A cupbearer   was a trusted royal official who ensured that the king’s drink was not poisoned.
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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
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