1 Kings 9-10

The LORD Appears to Solomon 1When Solomon had finished building the temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and had achieved all he had desired to do, 2the LORD appeared to him a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon.

3The LORD said to him: “I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there. 4“As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws,

5I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’ 6“But if you The Hebrew is plural. or your descendants turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you The Hebrew is plural. and go off to serve other gods and worship them, 7then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. 8This temple will become a heap of rubble. All See some Septuagint manuscripts, Old Latin, Syriac, Arabic and Targum; Hebrew And though this temple is now imposing, all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff and say, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’

9People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the LORD their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why the LORD brought all this disaster on them.’ ”

Solomon’s Other Activities 10At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built these two buildings—the temple of the LORD and the royal palace— 11King Solomon gave twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, because Hiram had supplied him with all the cedar and juniper and gold he wanted. 12But when Hiram went from Tyre to see the towns that Solomon had given him, he was not pleased with them. 13“What kind of towns are these you have given me, my brother?” he asked. And he called them the Land of Kabul, Kabul sounds like the Hebrew for good-for-nothing. a name they have to this day.

14Now Hiram had sent to the king 120 talents That is, about 4 1/2 tons or about 4 metric tons of gold. 15Here is the account of the forced labor King Solomon conscripted to build the LORD ’s temple, his own palace, the terraces, Or the Millo; also in verse 24 the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer. 16(Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it on fire. He killed its Canaanite inhabitants and then gave it as a wedding gift to his daughter, Solomon’s wife. 17And Solomon rebuilt Gezer.) He built up Lower Beth Horon, 18Baalath, and Tadmor The Hebrew may also be read Tamar. in the desert, within his land,

19as well as all his store cities and the towns for his chariots and for his horses Or charioteers —whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled. 20There were still people left from the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites (these peoples were not Israelites). 21Solomon conscripted the descendants of all these peoples remaining in the land—whom the Israelites could not exterminate The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them. —to serve as slave labor, as it is to this day. 22But Solomon did not make slaves of any of the Israelites; they were his fighting men, his government officials, his officers, his captains, and the commanders of his chariots and charioteers.

23They were also the chief officials in charge of Solomon’s projects—550 officials supervising those who did the work.

24After Pharaoh’s daughter had come up from the City of David to the palace Solomon had built for her, he constructed the terraces.

25Three times a year Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar he had built for the LORD, burning incense before the LORD along with them, and so fulfilled the temple obligations. 26King Solomon also built ships at Ezion Geber, which is near Elath in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea. Or the Sea of Reeds 27And Hiram sent his men—sailors who knew the sea—to serve in the fleet with Solomon’s men. 28They sailed to Ophir and brought back 420 talents That is, about 16 tons or about 14 metric tons of gold, which they delivered to King Solomon.

The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon 1When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relationship to the LORD, she came to test Solomon with hard questions. 2Arriving at Jerusalem 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 that she had on her mind. 3Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. 4When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had built,

5the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he made at Or the ascent by which he went up to the temple of the LORD, she was overwhelmed. 6She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. 7But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard. 8How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!

9Praise be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD ’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice and righteousness.”

10And she gave the king 120 talents That is, about 4 1/2 tons or about 4 metric tons of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. 11(Hiram’s ships brought gold from Ophir; and from there they brought great cargoes of almugwood Probably a variant of algumwood; also in verse 12 and precious stones.

12The king used the almugwood to make supports The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain. for the temple of the LORD and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. So much almugwood has never been imported or seen since that day.)

13King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.

Solomon’s Splendor 14The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents, That is, about 25 tons or about 23 metric tons

15not including the revenues from merchants and traders and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of the territories. 16King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels That is, about 15 pounds or about 6.9 kilograms; also in verse 29 of gold went into each shield.

17He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three minas That is, about 3 3/4 pounds or about 1.7 kilograms; or perhaps reference is to double minas, that is, about 7 1/2 pounds or about 3.5 kilograms. of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. 18Then the king made a great throne covered with ivory and overlaid with fine gold. 19The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. 20Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom. 21All 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 days.

22The king had a fleet of trading ships Hebrew of ships of Tarshish at sea along with the ships of Hiram. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons. 23King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth. 24The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart.

25Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift—articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules. 26Solomon accumulated chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses, Or charioteers which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. 27The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills. 28Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue Probably Cilicia —the royal merchants purchased them from Kue at the current price. 29They imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. That is, about 3 3/4 pounds or about 1.7 kilograms They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and of the Arameans.