1 Solomon the son of David became a strong king. The Lord his God was with him, and gave him much honor. ² Solomon spoke to all Israel. He spoke to the leaders of thousands and of hundreds. He spoke to the men who judge and to every leader in all Israel, the heads of fathers’ houses. ³ Then Solomon and all the people with him went to a place of worship at Gibeon where God’s meeting tent was. It was the tent which Moses the servant of the Lord had made in the desert. ⁴ (But David had brought up the special box of God from Kiriath-jearim to the place he had made ready for it. For he had set up a tent for it in Jerusalem.) ⁵ Now the brass altar was there in front of the meeting tent of the Lord. It was the altar which was made by Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur. Solomon and the people worshiped the Lord there. ⁶ Solomon went before the Lord to the brass altar at the meeting tent. And he gave a thousand burnt gifts on it.

⁷ That night God showed Himself to Solomon and said to him, “Ask Me for anything and I will give it to you.” ⁸ Solomon said to God, “You have acted toward my father David with great loving-kindness. And You have made me king in his place. ⁹ Now, O Lord God, Your promise to my father David has come true. For You have made me king over as many people as the dust of the earth. ¹⁰ Now give me wisdom and much understanding, that I may lead these people. For who can rule this great nation of Yours?” ¹¹ God said to Solomon, “You have not asked for riches, much money, or honor, or the life of those who hate you. And you have not asked for a long life for yourself. But you have asked for wisdom and much understanding, that you may rule My people over whom I have made you king. Because this was in your heart, ¹² wisdom and much understanding have been given to you. And I will give you riches and much money and honor. You will have more than all the kings who were before you, and more than all who will come after you.”

Solomon’s Power and Riches

¹³ So Solomon went from the place of worship at Gibeon, from the meeting tent to Jerusalem. There he ruled over Israel.

¹⁴ Solomon gathered together war-wagons and horsemen. He had 1,400 war-wagons and 12,000 horsemen. And he kept some of them in the war-wagon cities, and some with him in Jerusalem. ¹⁵ The king made silver and gold as easy to find in Jerusalem as stones. He made cedar trees as easy to find as sycamore trees in the valley. ¹⁶ Solomon’s horses were brought in from Egypt and Kue. The men who traded for the king received them from Kue for a special price. ¹⁷ They paid 600 pieces of silver for each war-wagon brought in from Egypt and 150 pieces of silver for each horse. They also sold them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.

Solomon Gets Ready to Build the House of God

2 Solomon planned to build a house for the name of the Lord, and a king’s house for himself. ² So he picked 70,000 men to carry loads, 80,000 men to cut stones in the mountains, and 3,600 men to watch over these men. ³ Then Solomon sent word to King Huram of Tyre, saying, “You sent my father David cedar trees to build him a house to live in. Do the same for me. ⁴ See, I am about to build a house for the name of the Lord my God. I will set it apart for Him. There special perfume will be burned before Him. The holy bread will be there all the time. Burnt gifts will be given morning and evening, on Days of Rest, on new moons, and during the special suppers of the Lord our God. This is to be done forever in Israel. ⁵ The house I am about to build will be great. For our God is greater than all the gods. ⁶ But who is able to build a house for Him? For the heavens and the highest heavens are not big enough to hold Him. So who am I, that I should build a house for Him, except as a place to burn special perfume before Him? ⁷ Now send me an able man to work with gold, silver, brass, iron, and purple, red and blue cloth who knows how to cut all kinds of pictures. He will work with the able men I have in Judah and Jerusalem, whom my father David gave me. ⁸ Send me cedar, cypress and algum trees from Lebanon. I know you have able men who know how to do this work. My servants will work with your servants ⁹ to cut many trees for me. For the house I am about to build will be very great and beautiful. ¹⁰ I will give to your servants who cut trees, 200,000 baskets of crushed grain, 200,000 baskets of barley, 200,000 bottles of wine, and 200,000 bottles of oil.”

¹¹ Then King Huram of Tyre answered by letter to Solomon, “The Lord has made you king over His people because He loves them.” ¹² Then Huram said, “Honor and thanks be to the Lord, the God of Israel. He has made heaven and earth. And He has given King David a wise son. Wisdom and understanding have been given to David’s son who will build a house for the Lord and a king’s house for himself. ¹³ Now I am sending Huram-abi, an able man of understanding. ¹⁴ He is the son of a Danite woman and a Tyrian father. He knows how to work with gold, silver, brass, iron, stone and wood and with purple, blue, and red cloth. He knows how to cut all kinds of pictures, any kind given him to do. He is to work with your able men, and with those of my lord David your father. ¹⁵ So now let my lord send the grain, barley, oil and wine to his servant, as he has said. ¹⁶ We will cut whatever trees you need in Lebanon, and bring them to you by ship to Joppa. Then you may carry them up to Jerusalem.”

¹⁷ Solomon numbered all those in Israel who were from other lands, using the number of them which his father David had taken. And 153,600 were found. ¹⁸ He picked 70,000 of them to carry loads, 80,000 to cut stones in the mountains, and 3,600 men to see that the people did their work.

Solomon Builds the House of God

3 Then Solomon began to build the Lord’s house in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah. It was there that the Lord had shown Himself to his father David. It was the place that David had chosen, on the grain-floor of Ornan the Jebusite. ² Solomon began to build on the second day in the second month of the fourth year of his rule. ³ He laid the base for building the house of God. It was thirty long steps, using the old way to find the length. And it was ten long steps wide. ⁴ The porch in front of the house was as long as the house was wide, ten long steps. It was thirty-three times taller than a man. And he covered the inside with pure gold. ⁵ He covered the large room with cypress wood, and covered that with fine gold. Then he made palm trees and chains on it. ⁶ He put stones of much worth on the house for beauty. And the gold was from Parvaim. ⁷ He covered the house with gold. He covered its cross-pieces, its door-ways, its walls, and its doors. And he cut pictures of cherubim on the walls.

⁸ He made the most holy place. It was as long as the house was wide, ten long steps. And it was as wide as ten long steps. He covered it with fine gold weighing as much as 600 men. ⁹ The nails weighed as much as fifty pieces of gold. He covered the rooms on the second floor with gold also.

¹⁰ Then he made two cherubim of wood in the most holy place, and covered them with gold. ¹¹ The wings of the cherubim spread as far as ten long steps. The wing of one was as long as three steps, and touched the wall of the house. Its other wing was as long as three steps, and touched the wing of the other cherub. ¹² The wing of the other cherub was as long as three steps, and touched the wall of the house. Its other wing was as long as three steps, and was joined to the wing of the first cherub. ¹³ The wings of these cherubim spread as far as ten long steps. And they stood on their feet with their faces toward the holy place. ¹⁴ He made the curtain of blue, purple and red cloth and fine linen. And he worked cherubim on it. ¹⁵ He made two pillars in front of the house that were ten times taller than a man. The top piece of each one was as tall as a man can raise his hand. ¹⁶ For the inside holy place he made chains, and put them on the tops of the pillars. Then he made 100 pomegranates and put them on the chains. ¹⁷ He put up the pillars in front of the house of God. One was on the right and the other was on the left. He named the one on the right Jachin, and the one on the left Boaz.