1And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, wherein Solomon had built the house of the LORD, and his own house, 2That the cities which Huram had restored to Solomon, Solomon built them, and caused the children of Israel to dwell there. 3And Solomon went to Hamath-zobah, and prevailed against it. 4And he built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the store cities, which he built in Hamath. 5Also he built Beth-horon the upper, and Beth-horon the nether, fenced cities, with walls, gates, and bars; 6And 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.8.6 all that…: Heb. all the desire of Solomon which he desired to build
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, 8But 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. 9But 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. 10And 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.8.11 holy: Heb. holiness
12¶ Then Solomon offered burnt offerings unto the LORD on the altar of the LORD, which he had built before the porch, 13Even 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.8.14 so had David…: Heb. so was the commandment of David the man of God 15And they departed not from the commandment of the king unto the priests and Levites concerning any matter, or concerning the treasures. 16Now 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 Ezion-geber, and to Eloth, at the sea side in the land of Edom.8.17 Eloth: also called, Elath 18And 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.
Other Things Solomon Did
1Solomon built the Lord’s temple and his own palace. It took him 20 years to build them. After that, 2Solomon rebuilt the villages Hiram had given him. Solomon had Israelites make their homes in them. 3Then Solomon went to Hamath Zobah. He captured it. 4He also built up Tadmor in the desert. He built up all the cities in Hamath where he could store things. 5He rebuilt Upper Beth Horon and Lower Beth Horon. He put up high walls around them. He made their city gates secure with heavy metal bars. 6He rebuilt Baalath and all the cities where he could store things. He also rebuilt all the cities for his chariots and horses. Solomon built anything he wanted in Jerusalem, Lebanon and all the territory he ruled.
7There were still many people left in the land who weren’t Israelites. They included Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 8They were children of the people who had lived in the land before the Israelites came. The people of Israel hadn’t destroyed them. Solomon forced them to work very hard as his slaves. And they still work for Israel to this day. 9But Solomon didn’t force the Israelites to work as his slaves. Instead, some were his fighting men. Others were commanders of his captains, chariots and chariot drivers. 10Still others were King Solomon’s chief officials. There were 250 officials in charge of the other men.
11Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter up from the City of David to the palace he had built for her. Solomon said, “My wife must not live in the palace of David, who was the king of Israel. It’s one of the places the ark of the Lord has entered. That makes it holy.”
12Solomon had built the Lord’s altar. It stood in front of the temple porch. On that altar Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings to the Lord. 13Each day he sacrificed what the Law of Moses required. He sacrificed the required offerings every Sabbath day. He also sacrificed them at each New Moon feast and during the three yearly feasts. Those three were the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Booths. 14Solomon followed the orders his father David had given him. He appointed the groups of priests for their duties. He appointed the Levites to lead the people in praising the Lord. They also helped the priests do their required tasks each day. Solomon appointed the groups of men who guarded all the gates. That’s what David, the man of God, had ordered. 15The king’s commands were followed completely. They applied to the priests and Levites. They also applied to the temple treasure.
16All of Solomon’s work was carried out. It started the day the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid. It ended when the Lord’s temple was finished.
17Solomon went to Ezion Geber and Elath on the coast of Edom. 18Hiram sent him ships that his own officers commanded. They were sailors who knew the sea. Together with Solomon’s men they sailed to Ophir. They brought back 17 tons of gold. They gave it to King Solomon.
