Solomon’s Other Activities
1At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built the temple of the Lord and his own palace, 2Solomon rebuilt the villages that Hiram8:2 Hebrew Huram, a variant of Hiram; also in verse 18 had given him, and settled Israelites in them. 3Solomon then went to Hamath Zobah and captured it. 4He also built up Tadmor in the desert and all the store cities he had built in Hamath. 5He rebuilt Upper Beth Horon and Lower Beth Horon as fortified cities, with walls and with gates and bars, 6as well as Baalath and all his store cities, and all the cities for his chariots and for his horses8:6 Or charioteers—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled.
7There were still people left from the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites (these people were not Israelites). 8Solomon conscripted 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. 9But 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. 10They were also King Solomon’s chief officials—two hundred and fifty officials supervising the men.
11Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter 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.”
12On the altar of the Lord that he had built in front of the portico, Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings to the Lord, 13according to the daily requirement for offerings commanded by Moses for the Sabbaths, the New Moons and the three annual festivals—the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks and the Festival of Tabernacles. 14In keeping with the ordinance of his father David, he appointed the divisions of the priests for their duties, and the Levites to lead the praise and to assist the priests according to each day’s requirement. He also appointed the gatekeepers by divisions for the various gates, because this was what David the man of God had ordered. 15They did not deviate from the king’s commands to the priests or to the Levites in any matter, including that of the treasuries.
16All 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.
17Then Solomon went to Ezion Geber and Elath on the coast of Edom. 18And 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 talents8:18 That is, about 17 tons or about 15 metric tons of gold, which they delivered 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.
