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And at Solomon's finishing to pray, then the fire hath come down from the heavens, and consumeth the burnt-offering and the sacrifices, and the honour of Jehovah hath filled the house,

and the priests have not been able to go in unto the house of Jehovah, because the honour of Jehovah hath filled the house of Jehovah.

And all the sons of Israel are looking on the descending of the fire, and the honour of Jehovah on the house, and they bow -- faces to the earth -- on the pavement, and do obeisance, and give thanks to Jehovah, for good, for to the age [is] His kindness.

And the king and all the people are sacrificing a sacrifice before Jehovah,

and king Solomon sacrificeth the sacrifice of the herd, twenty and two thousand, and of the flock, a hundred and twenty thousand, and the king and all the people dedicate the house of God.

And the priests over their charges are standing, and the Levites with instruments of the song of Jehovah -- that David the king made, to give thanks to Jehovah, for to the age [is] His kindness, in David's praising by their hand -- and the priests are blowing trumpets over-against them, and all Israel are standing.

And Solomon sanctifieth the middle of the court that [is] before the house of Jehovah, for he hath made there the burnt-offerings, and the fat of the peace-offerings: for the altar of brass that Solomon made hath not been able to contain the burnt-offering, and the present, and the fat.

And solomon maketh the feast at that time seven days, and all Israel with him -- a very great assembly -- from the entering in of Hamath unto the brook of Egypt.

And they make on the eighth day a restraint, because the dedication of the altar they have made seven days, and the feast seven days.

10 And on the twenty and third day of the seventh month he hath sent the people to their tents, rejoicing, and glad in heart, for the goodness that Jehovah hath done to David, and to Solomon, and to Israel His people.

11 And Solomon finisheth the house of Jehovah, and the house of the king; and all that hath come on the heart of Solomon to do in the house of Jehovah, and in his own house, he hath caused to prosper.

12 And Jehovah appeareth unto Solomon by night, and saith to him, `I have heard thy prayer, and have fixed on this place to Me for a house of sacrifice.

13 If I restrain the heavens and there is no rain, and if I lay charge on the locust to consume the land, and if I send pestilence among My people --

14 and My people on whom My name is called be humbled, and pray, and seek My face, and turn back from their evil ways, then I -- I hear from the heavens, and forgive their sin, and heal their land.

15 `Now, Mine eyes are open, and Mine ears attentive, to the prayer of this place;

16 and now, I have chosen and sanctified this house for My name being there unto the age; yea, Mine eyes and My heart have been there all the days.

17 `And thou, if thou dost walk before Me as David thy father walked, even to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and My statutes and My judgments dost keep --

18 then I have established the throne of thy kingdom, as I covenanted with David thy father, saying, There is not cut off a man to thee -- a ruler in Israel;

19 and if ye turn back -- ye -- and have forsaken My statutes, and My commands, that I have placed before you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed yourselves to them -- then I have plucked them from off My ground that I have given to them,

20 and this house that I have sanctified for My name, I cast from before My face, and make it for a proverb, and for a byword, among all the peoples.

21 `And this house that hath been high, to every one passing by it, is an astonishment, and he hath said, Wherefore hath Jehovah done thus to this land, and to this house?

22 and they have said, Because that they have forsaken Jehovah, God of their fathers, who brought them out from the land of Egypt, and lay hold on other gods, and bow themselves to them, and serve them, therefore He hath brought upon them all this evil.'

And it cometh to pass, at the end of twenty years, that Solomon hath built the house of Jehovah, and his own house.

As to the cities that Huram hath given to Solomon, Solomon hath built them, and there he causeth the sons of Israel to dwell.

And Solomon goeth to Hamath-Zobah, and layeth hold upon it;

and he buildeth Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the cities of store that he hath built in Hamath.

And he buildeth Beth-Horon the upper, and Beth-Horon the lower -- cities of defence, with walls, two-leaved doors, and bar --

and Baalath, and all the cities of store that Solomon had, and all the cities of the chariot, and the cities of the horsemen, and all the desire of Solomon that he desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.

All the people who are left of the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, who are not of Israel --

of their sons who have been left after them in the land, whom the sons of Israel consumed not -- doth Solomon lift up a tribute unto this day.

And none of the sons of Israel hath Solomon made servants for his work, but they [are] men of war, and heads of his captains, and heads of his charioteers, and of his horsemen;

10 and these [are] heads of the officers whom king Solomon hath, two hundred and fifty who are rulers among the people.

11 And the daughter of Pharaoh hath Solomon brought up from the city of David to the house that he built for her, for he said, `My wife doth not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, for they are holy unto whom hath come the ark of Jehovah.'

12 Then hath Solomon caused to ascend burnt-offerings to Jehovah on the altar of Jehovah that he built before the porch,

13 even by the matter of a day in its day, to cause to ascend according to the command of Moses, on sabbaths, and on new moons, and on appointed seasons, three times in a year -- in the feast of unleavened things, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of booths.

14 And he establisheth, according to the ordinance of David his father, the courses of the priests over their service, and of the Levites over their charges, to praise and to minister over-against the priests, according to the matter of a day in its day, and the gatekeepers in their courses at gate and gate, for so [is] the command of David the man of God.

15 And they have not turned aside [from] the command of the king concerning the priests and the Levites, in reference to any matter, and to the treasures.

16 And all the work of Solomon is prepared till the day of the foundation of the house of Jehovah, and till its completion; perfect is the house of Jehovah.

17 Then hath Solomon gone to Ezion-Geber, and unto Elath, on the border of the sea, in the land of Edom;

18 and Huram sendeth to him, by the hand of his servants, ships and servants knowing the sea, and they go with servants of Solomon to Ophir, and take thence four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and bring in unto king Solomon.

And the queen of Sheba hath heard of the fame of Solomon, and cometh in to try Solomon with acute sayings, to Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels bearing spices and gold in abundance, and precious stone; and she cometh in unto Solomon, and speaketh with him all that hath been with her heart,

and Solomon declareth to her all her matters, and there hath not been hid a thing from Solomon that he hath not declared to her.

And the queen of Sheba seeth the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he hath built,

and the food of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the standing of his ministers, and their clothing, and his stewards, and their clothing, an his burnt-offering that he offered up in the house of Jehovah, and there hath not been any more spirit in her.

And she saith unto the king, `True [is] the word that I heard in my land concerning thy matters and concerning thy wisdom,

and I have given no credence to their words, till that I have come, and mine eyes see, and lo, there hath not been declared to me the half of the abundance of thy wisdom -- thou hast added unto the report that I heard.

`O the happiness of thy men, and the happiness of thy servants -- these -- who are standing before thee continually, and hearing thy wisdom.

Let Jehovah thy God be blessed who hath delighted in thee, to put thee on His throne for king for Jehovah thy God; in the love of thy God to Israel, to establish it to the age, He hath put thee over them for king, to do judgment and righteousness.'

And she giveth to the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and spices in great abundance, and precious stone; and there hath not been any such spice as the queen of Sheba hath given to king Solomon.

10 And also, servants of Huram, and servants of Solomon, who brought in gold from Ophir, have brought in algum-trees and precious stone.

11 And the king maketh the algum-trees staircases for the house of Jehovah, and for the house of the king, and harps and psalteries for singers; and there have been none seen like these before in the land of Judah.

12 And king Solomon hath given to the queen of Sheba all her desire that she asked, apart from that which she had brought unto the king, and she turneth and goeth to her land, she and her servants.

13 And the weight of the gold that is coming to Solomon in one year is six hundred and sixty and six talents of gold,

14 apart from [what] the tourists, and the merchants, are bringing in; and all the kings of Arabia, and the governors of the land, are bringing in gold and silver to Solomon.

15 And king Solomon maketh two hundred targets of alloyed gold, six hundred [shekels] of alloyed gold he causeth to go up on the one target;

16 and three hundred shields of alloyed gold, three hundred [shekels] of gold he causeth to go up on the one shield, and the king putteth them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.

17 And the king maketh a great throne of ivory, and overlayeth it with pure gold;

18 and six steps [are] to the throne, and a footstool of gold, to the throne they are fastened, and hands [are] on this [side] and on that on the place of the sitting, and two lions are standing near the hands,

19 and twelve lions are standing there on the six steps on this [side], and on that: it hath not been made so for any kingdom.

20 And all the drinking vessels of king Solomon [are] of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon [are] of refined gold -- silver is not reckoned in the days of Solomon for anything;

21 for ships of the king are going to Tarshish, with servants of Huram: once in three years come do the ships of Tarshish bearing gold, and silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

22 And king Solomon becometh greater than any of the kings of the earth for riches and wisdom;

23 and all the kings of the earth are seeking the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom that God hath put in his heart,

24 and they are bringing in each his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, harness, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.

25 And there are to Solomon four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, and he placed them in cities of the chariot, and with the king in Jerusalem.

26 And he is ruling over all the kings from the River even unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt.

27 And the king maketh the silver in Jerusalem as stones, and the cedars he hath made as sycamores, that [are] in the low country, for abundance,

28 and they are bringing out horses from Egypt to Solomon, and from all the lands.

29 And the rest of the matters of Solomon, the first and the last, are they not written beside the matters of Nathan the prophet, and beside the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and with the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat?

30 And Solomon reigneth in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years,

31 and Solomon lieth with his fathers, and they bury him in the city of David his father, and reign doth Rehoboam his son in his stead.

The Dedication of the Temple(A)

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) The priests could not enter(E) the temple of the Lord because the glory(F) of the Lord filled it. 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)

Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the Lord. 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. 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.

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.

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) 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)

At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built the temple of the Lord and his own palace,(AT) Solomon rebuilt the villages that Hiram[d] had given him, and settled Israelites in them. Solomon then went to Hamath Zobah and captured it. He also built up Tadmor in the desert and all the store cities he had built in Hamath.(AU) He rebuilt Upper Beth Horon(AV) and Lower Beth Horon as fortified cities, with walls and with gates and bars, 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.

There were still people left from the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites(AX) (these people were not Israelites). 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. 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)

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. Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for him to explain to her. When the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon,(BQ) as well as the palace he had built, 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.

She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. 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. How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 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.”

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