2 Chronicles 8
King James Version
8 And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, wherein Solomon had built the house of the Lord, and his own house,
2 That the cities which Huram had restored to Solomon, Solomon built them, and caused the children of Israel to dwell there.
3 And Solomon went to Hamathzobah, and prevailed against it.
4 And he built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the store cities, which he built in Hamath.
5 Also he built Bethhoron the upper, and Bethhoron the nether, fenced cities, with walls, gates, and bars;
6 And Baalath, and all the store cities that Solomon had, and all the chariot cities, and the cities of the horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and throughout all the land of his dominion.
7 As for all the people that were left of the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which were not of Israel,
8 But of their children, who were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel consumed not, them did Solomon make to pay tribute until this day.
9 But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no servants for his work; but they were men of war, and chief of his captains, and captains of his chariots and horsemen.
10 And these were the chief of king Solomon's officers, even two hundred and fifty, that bare rule over the people.
11 And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David unto the house that he had built for her: for he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places are holy, whereunto the ark of the Lord hath come.
12 Then Solomon offered burnt offerings unto the Lord on the altar of the Lord, which he had built before the porch,
13 Even after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles.
14 And he appointed, according to the order of David his father, the courses of the priests to their service, and the Levites to their charges, to praise and minister before the priests, as the duty of every day required: the porters also by their courses at every gate: for so had David the man of God commanded.
15 And they departed not from the commandment of the king unto the priests and Levites concerning any matter, or concerning the treasures.
16 Now all the work of Solomon was prepared unto the day of the foundation of the house of the Lord, and until it was finished. So the house of the Lord was perfected.
17 Then went Solomon to Eziongeber, and to Eloth, at the sea side in the land of Edom.
18 And Huram sent him by the hands of his servants ships, and servants that had knowledge of the sea; and they went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and took thence four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and brought them to king Solomon.
2 Chronicles 8
Living Bible
8 It was now twenty years since Solomon had become king, and the great building projects of the Lord’s Temple and his own royal palace were completed. 2 He now turned his energies to rebuilding the cities that King Hiram of Tyre had given to him, and he relocated some of the people of Israel into them. 3 It was at this time, too, that Solomon fought against the city of Hamath-zobah and conquered it. 4 He built Tadmor in the desert and built cities in Hamath as supply centers. 5 He fortified the cities of upper Beth-horon and lower Beth-horon, both being supply centers, building their walls and installing barred gates. 6 He also built Baalath and other supply centers at this time and constructed cities where his chariots and horses were kept. He built to his heart’s desire in Jerusalem and Lebanon and throughout the entire realm.
7-8 He began the practice that still continues of conscripting as slave laborers the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—the descendants of those nations that the Israelis had not completely wiped out. 9 However, he didn’t make slaves of any of the Israeli citizens, but used them as soldiers, officers, charioteers, and cavalrymen; 10 also, 250 of them were government officials who administered all public affairs.
11 Solomon now moved his wife (she was Pharaoh’s daughter) from the City of David sector of Jerusalem to the new palace he had built for her. For he said, “She must not live in King David’s palace for the Ark of the Lord was there, and it is holy ground.”
12 Then Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar he had built in front of the porch of the Temple. 13 The number of sacrifices differed from day to day in accordance with the instructions Moses had given; there were extra sacrifices on the Sabbaths, on new moon festivals, and at the three annual festivals—the Passover celebration, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Tabernacles. 14 In assigning the priests to their posts of duty he followed the organizational chart prepared by his father David; he also assigned the Levites to their work of praise and of helping the priests in each day’s duties; and he assigned the gatekeepers to their gates. 15 Solomon did not deviate in any way from David’s instructions concerning these matters and concerning the treasury personnel. 16 Thus Solomon successfully completed the construction of the Temple.
17-18 Then he went to the seaport towns of Ezion-geber and Eloth, in Edom, to launch a fleet presented to him by King Hiram. These ships, with King Hiram’s experienced crews working alongside Solomon’s men, went to Ophir and brought back to him several million dollars worth of gold on each trip!
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