1 Kings 9:1–10:29

And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of Jehovah, and the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he was pleased to do, 2that Jehovah appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon. 3And Jehovah said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually. 4And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and mine ordinances; 5then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom over Israel for ever, according as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel. 6But if ye shall turn away from following me, ye or your children, and not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but shall go and serve other gods, and worship them; 7then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 8And though this house is so high, yet shall every one that passeth by it be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath Jehovah done thus unto this land, and to this house? 9and they shall answer, Because they forsook Jehovah their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath Jehovah brought all this evil upon them.

10And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, wherein Solomon had built the two houses, the house of Jehovah and the king’s house 11(now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar-trees and fir-trees, and with gold, according to all his desire), that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. 12And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not. 13And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul unto this day. 14And Hiram sent to the king sixscore talents of gold.

15And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised, to build the house of Jehovah, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer. 16Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a portion unto his daughter, Solomon’s wife. 17And Solomon built Gezer, and Beth-horon the nether, 18and Baalath, and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land, 19and all the store-cities that Solomon had, and the cities for his chariots, and the cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build for his pleasure in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. 20As for all the people that were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the children of Israel; 21their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel were not able utterly to destroy, of them did Solomon raise a levy of bondservants unto this day. 22But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondservants; but they were the men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and his captains, and rulers of his chariots and of his horsemen.

23These were the chief officers that were over Solomon’s work, five hundred and fifty, who bare rule over the people that wrought in the work.

24But Pharaoh’s daughter came up out of the city of David unto her house which Solomon had built for her: then did he build Millo.

25And three times a year did Solomon offer burnt-offerings and peace-offerings upon the altar which he built unto Jehovah, burning incense therewith, upon the altar that was before Jehovah. So he finished the house.

26And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Ezion-geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. 27And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon. 28And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.

10 And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of Jehovah, she came to prove him with hard questions. 2And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones; and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. 3And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not anything hid from the king which he told her not. 4And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, 5and the food of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of Jehovah; there was no more spirit in her. 6And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thine acts, and of thy wisdom. 7Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me; thy wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame which I heard. 8Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, that stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom. 9Blessed be Jehovah thy God, who delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because Jehovah loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do justice and righteousness. 10And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.

11And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug-trees and precious stones. 12And the king made of the almug-trees pillars for the house of Jehovah, and for the king’s house, harps also and psalteries for the singers: there came no such almug-trees, nor were seen, unto this day.

13And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, besides that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned, and went to her own land, she and her servants.

14Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold, 15besides that which the traders brought, and the traffic of the merchants, and of all the kings of the mingled people, and of the governors of the country. 16And king Solomon made two hundred bucklers of beaten gold; six hundred shekels of gold went to one buckler. 17And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three pounds of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. 18Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the finest gold. 19There were six steps to the throne, and the top of the throne was round behind; and there were stays on either side by the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the stays. 20And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom. 21And all king Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold: none were of silver; it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon. 22For the king had at sea a navy of Tarshish with the navy of Hiram: once every three years came the navy of Tarshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.

23So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. 24And all the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. 25And they brought every man his tribute, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and raiment, and armor, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.

26And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, that he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem. 27And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycomore-trees that are in the lowland, for abundance. 28And the horses which Solomon had were brought out of Egypt; and the king’s merchants received them in droves, each drove at a price. 29And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty; and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, did they bring them out by their means.