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2 Chronicles 7-9
English Standard Version

Fire from Heaven

7 (A)As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, (B)fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, (C)and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. 2 And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord's house. 3 When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “For he is good, (D)for his steadfast love endures forever.”

The Dedication of the Temple

4 (E)Then the king and all the people offered sacrifice before the Lord. 5 King Solomon offered as a sacrifice 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. 6 The priests stood at their posts; (F)the Levites also, with the instruments for music to the Lord that King David had made for giving thanks to the Lord—(G)for his steadfast love endures forever—whenever David offered praises by their ministry;[a] (H)opposite them the priests sounded trumpets, and all Israel stood.

7 (I)And Solomon consecrated the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord, for there he offered the burnt offering and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar Solomon had made could not hold the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat.

8 At that time Solomon held the feast for seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly, from (J)Lebo-hamath to the (K)Brook of Egypt. 9 And on the eighth day they held a solemn assembly, for they had kept the dedication of the altar seven days and the feast seven days. 10 On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their homes, joyful and glad of heart for the prosperity[b] that the Lord had granted to David and to Solomon and to Israel his people.

If My People Pray

11 (L)Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king's house. All that Solomon had planned to do in the house of the Lord and in his own house he successfully accomplished. 12 Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer (M)and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice. 13 (N)When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, 14 if my people who are called by my name (O)humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 15 (P)Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. 16 (Q)For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time. 17 And as for you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked, doing according to all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my rules, 18 then I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, (R)‘You shall not lack a man to rule Israel.’

19 (S)“But if you[c] turn aside and forsake my statutes and my commandments that I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, 20 (T)then I will pluck you[d] up from my land that I have given you, and this house that I have consecrated for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it (U)a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 21 And at this house, which was exalted, everyone passing by will be astonished and say, (V)‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ 22 Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore he has brought all this disaster on them.’”

Solomon's Accomplishments

8 (W)At the end of twenty years, in which Solomon had built the house of the Lord and his own house, 2 Solomon rebuilt the cities that Hiram had given to him, and settled the people of Israel in them.

3 And Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and took it. 4 He built Tadmor in the wilderness and all the store cities that he built in Hamath. 5 He also built (X)Upper Beth-horon and Lower Beth-horon, (Y)fortified cities (Z)with walls, gates, and bars, 6 and Baalath, and all the store cities that Solomon had and all the cities for his chariots and the cities for his horsemen, and whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. 7 (AA)All the people who were left of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of Israel, 8 from their descendants who were left after them in the land, whom the people of Israel had not destroyed—these Solomon drafted (AB)as forced labor, and so they are to this day. 9 But of the people of Israel Solomon made no slaves for his work; they were soldiers, and his officers, the commanders of his chariots, and his horsemen. 10 And these were the chief officers of King Solomon, 250, who exercised authority over the people.

11 (AC)Solomon brought Pharaoh's daughter up from the city of David to the house that he had built for her, for he said, “My wife shall not live in the house of David king of Israel, for the places to which the ark of the Lord has come are holy.”

12 Then Solomon offered up burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of the Lord (AD)that he had built before the vestibule, 13 (AE)as the duty of each day required, offering (AF)according to the commandment of Moses for the Sabbaths, the new moons, and the (AG)three annual feasts—the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Booths. 14 According to the ruling of David his father, he appointed (AH)the divisions of the priests for their service, (AI)and the Levites for their offices of praise and (AJ)ministry before the priests (AK)as the duty of each day required, and (AL)the gatekeepers in their divisions at each gate, for so David (AM)the man of God had commanded. 15 And they did not turn aside from what the king had commanded the priests and Levites concerning any matter and concerning the treasuries.

16 Thus was accomplished all the work of Solomon from[e] the day the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid until it was finished. So the house of the Lord was completed.

17 Then Solomon went to (AN)Ezion-geber and (AO)Eloth on the shore of the sea, in the land of Edom. 18 And Hiram sent to him by the hand of his servants ships and servants familiar with the sea, and they went to Ophir together with the servants of Solomon and brought from there (AP)450 talents[f] of gold and brought it to King Solomon.

The Queen of Sheba

9 (AQ)Now when (AR)the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions, having a very great retinue and camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. 2 And Solomon answered all her questions. There was nothing hidden from Solomon that he could not explain to her. 3 And when (AS)the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 4 the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, and their clothing, his cupbearers, and their clothing, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more breath in her.

5 And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, 6 but I did not believe the[g] reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, half the greatness of your wisdom was not told me; you surpass the report that I heard. 7 Happy are your wives![h] Happy are these your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 8 Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you (AT)and set you on his throne as king for the Lord your God! (AU)Because your God loved Israel and would establish them forever, he has made you king over them, that you may execute justice and righteousness.” 9 Then she gave the king 120 talents[i] of gold, and a very great quantity of spices, and precious stones. There were no spices such as those that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

10 Moreover, the servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon, (AV)who brought gold from Ophir, brought algum wood and precious stones. 11 And the king made from the algum wood (AW)supports for the house of the Lord and for the king's house, lyres also and harps for the singers. There never was seen the like of them before in the land of Judah.

12 And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked (AX)besides what she had brought to the king. So she turned and went back to her own land with her servants.

Solomon's Wealth

13 (AY)Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, 14 besides that which the explorers and merchants brought. (AZ)And all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land brought gold and silver to Solomon. 15 King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold; 600 shekels[j] of beaten gold went into each shield. 16 And he made 300 shields of beaten gold; (BA)300 shekels of gold went into each shield; and the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. 17 The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with pure gold. 18 The throne had six steps and a footstool of gold, which were attached to the throne, and on each side of the seat were armrests and two lions standing beside the armrests, 19 while twelve lions stood there, one on each end of a step on the six steps. Nothing like it was ever made for any kingdom. 20 All King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. Silver was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon. 21 For the king's ships went to (BB)Tarshish with the servants of Hiram. Once every three years the ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.[k]

22 Thus King Solomon (BC)excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. 23 And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind. 24 Every one of them brought his present, articles of silver and of gold, garments, myrrh,[l] spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year. 25 And Solomon had (BD)4,000 stalls for horses and chariots, and 12,000 horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 26 (BE)And he ruled over all the kings (BF)from the Euphrates[m] to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. 27 (BG)And the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the Shephelah. 28 (BH)And horses were imported for Solomon from Egypt and from all lands.

Solomon's Death

29 (BI)Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, from (BJ)first to last, are they not written in the history of (BK)Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of (BL)Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of (BM)Iddo (BN)the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat? 30 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. 31 And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in (BO)the city of David his father, and Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 7:6 Hebrew by their hand
  2. 2 Chronicles 7:10 Or good
  3. 2 Chronicles 7:19 The Hebrew for you is plural here
  4. 2 Chronicles 7:20 Hebrew them; twice in this verse
  5. 2 Chronicles 8:16 Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew to
  6. 2 Chronicles 8:18 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms
  7. 2 Chronicles 9:6 Hebrew their
  8. 2 Chronicles 9:7 Septuagint (compare 1 Kings 10:8); Hebrew men
  9. 2 Chronicles 9:9 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms
  10. 2 Chronicles 9:15 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
  11. 2 Chronicles 9:21 Or baboons
  12. 2 Chronicles 9:24 Or armor
  13. 2 Chronicles 9:26 Hebrew the River
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2 Chronicles 7-9
New International Version

The Dedication of the Temple(A)

7 When Solomon finished praying, fire(B) came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled(C) the temple.(D) 2 The priests could not enter(E) the temple of the Lord because the glory(F) of the Lord filled it. 3 When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying,

“He is good;
    his love endures forever.”(G)

4 Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the Lord. 5 And King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand head of cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the people dedicated the temple of God. 6 The priests took their positions, as did the Levites(H) with the Lord’s musical instruments,(I) which King David had made for praising the Lord and which were used when he gave thanks, saying, “His love endures forever.” Opposite the Levites, the priests blew their trumpets, and all the Israelites were standing.

7 Solomon consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the Lord, and there he offered burnt offerings and the fat(J) of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar he had made could not hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat portions.

8 So Solomon observed the festival(K) at that time for seven days, and all Israel(L) with him—a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath(M) to the Wadi of Egypt.(N) 9 On the eighth day they held an assembly, for they had celebrated(O) the dedication of the altar for seven days and the festival(P) for seven days more. 10 On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people to their homes, joyful and glad in heart for the good things the Lord had done for David and Solomon and for his people Israel.

The Lord Appears to Solomon(Q)

11 When Solomon had finished(R) the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the Lord and in his own palace, 12 the Lord appeared(S) to him at night and said:

“I have heard your prayer and have chosen(T) this place for myself(U) as a temple for sacrifices.

13 “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain,(V) or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name,(W) will humble(X) themselves and pray and seek my face(Y) and turn(Z) from their wicked ways, then I will hear(AA) from heaven, and I will forgive(AB) their sin and will heal(AC) their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.(AD) 16 I have chosen(AE) and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.

17 “As for you, if you walk before me faithfully(AF) as David your father did, and do all I command, and observe my decrees(AG) and laws, 18 I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted(AH) with David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor(AI) to rule over Israel.’(AJ)

19 “But if you[a] turn away(AK) and forsake(AL) the decrees and commands I have given you[b] and go off to serve other gods and worship them, 20 then I will uproot(AM) Israel from my land,(AN) which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule(AO) among all peoples. 21 This temple will become a heap of rubble. All[c] who pass by will be appalled(AP) and say,(AQ) ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ 22 People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them(AR)—that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’”

Solomon’s Other Activities(AS)

8 At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built the temple of the Lord and his own palace,(AT) 2 Solomon rebuilt the villages that Hiram[d] had given him, and settled Israelites in them. 3 Solomon then went to Hamath Zobah and captured it. 4 He also built up Tadmor in the desert and all the store cities he had built in Hamath.(AU) 5 He rebuilt Upper Beth Horon(AV) and Lower Beth Horon as fortified cities, with walls and with gates and bars, 6 as well as Baalath(AW) and all his store cities, and all the cities for his chariots and for his horses[e]—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled.

7 There were still people left from the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites(AX) (these people were not Israelites). 8 Solomon conscripted(AY) 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. 9 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(AZ) 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(BA) 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(BB) for offerings commanded by Moses for the Sabbaths,(BC) the New Moons(BD) and the three(BE) annual festivals—the Festival of Unleavened Bread,(BF) the Festival of Weeks(BG) and the Festival of Tabernacles.(BH) 14 In keeping with the ordinance of his father David, he appointed the divisions(BI) of the priests for their duties, and the Levites(BJ) to lead the praise and to assist the priests according to each day’s requirement. He also appointed the gatekeepers(BK) by divisions for the various gates, because this was what David the man of God(BL) had ordered.(BM) 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[f] of gold,(BN) which they delivered to King Solomon.

The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon(BO)

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

5 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. 6 But I did not believe what they said until I came(BR) and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half the greatness of your wisdom was told me; you have far exceeded the report I heard. 7 How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 8 Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on his throne(BS) as king to rule for the Lord your God. Because of the love of your God for Israel and his desire to uphold them forever, he has made you king(BT) over them, to maintain justice and righteousness.”

9 Then she gave the king 120 talents[h] of gold,(BU) large quantities of spices, and precious stones. There had never been such spices as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

10 (The servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon brought gold from Ophir;(BV) they also brought algumwood[i] and precious stones. 11 The king used the algumwood to make steps for the temple of the Lord and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. Nothing like them had ever been seen in Judah.)

12 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for; he gave her more than she had brought to him. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.

Solomon’s Splendor(BW)

13 The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents,[j] 14 not including the revenues brought in by merchants and traders. Also all the kings of Arabia(BX) and the governors of the territories brought gold and silver to Solomon.

15 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels[k] of hammered gold went into each shield. 16 He also made three hundred small shields(BY) of hammered gold, with three hundred shekels[l] of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.(BZ)

17 Then the king made a great throne covered with ivory(CA) and overlaid with pure gold. 18 The throne had six steps, and a footstool of gold was attached to it. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. 19 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. 20 All King Solomon’s goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s day. 21 The king had a fleet of trading ships[m] manned by Hiram’s[n] servants. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.

22 King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth.(CB) 23 All the kings(CC) of the earth sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. 24 Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift(CD)—articles of silver and gold, and robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.

25 Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots,(CE) and twelve thousand horses,[o] which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. 26 He ruled(CF) over all the kings from the Euphrates River(CG) to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt.(CH) 27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills. 28 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from all other countries.

Solomon’s Death(CI)

29 As for the other events of Solomon’s reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the records of Nathan(CJ) the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah(CK) the Shilonite and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam(CL) son of Nebat? 30 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. 31 Then he rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David(CM) his father. And Rehoboam his son succeeded him as king.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 7:19 The Hebrew is plural.
  2. 2 Chronicles 7:19 The Hebrew is plural.
  3. 2 Chronicles 7:21 See some Septuagint manuscripts, Old Latin, Syriac, Arabic and Targum; Hebrew And though this temple is now so imposing, all
  4. 2 Chronicles 8:2 Hebrew Huram, a variant of Hiram; also in verse 18
  5. 2 Chronicles 8:6 Or charioteers
  6. 2 Chronicles 8:18 That is, about 17 tons or about 15 metric tons
  7. 2 Chronicles 9:4 Or and the ascent by which he went up to
  8. 2 Chronicles 9:9 That is, about 4 1/2 tons or about 4 metric tons
  9. 2 Chronicles 9:10 Probably a variant of almugwood
  10. 2 Chronicles 9:13 That is, about 25 tons or about 23 metric tons
  11. 2 Chronicles 9:15 That is, about 15 pounds or about 6.9 kilograms
  12. 2 Chronicles 9:16 That is, about 7 1/2 pounds or about 3.5 kilograms
  13. 2 Chronicles 9:21 Hebrew of ships that could go to Tarshish
  14. 2 Chronicles 9:21 Hebrew Huram, a variant of Hiram
  15. 2 Chronicles 9:25 Or charioteers
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