2 Chronicles 8–9

Solomon’s Accomplishments

8ⁿAt the end of twenty years, in which Solomon had built the house of the Lord and his own house, ²Solomon rebuilt the cities that Hiram had given to him, and settled the people of Israel in them.

³And Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and took it. ⁴He built Tadmor in the wilderness and all the store cities that he built in Hamath. ⁵He also built ^oUpper Beth-horon and Lower Beth-horon, ^pfortified cities ^pwith walls, gates, and bars, ⁶and Baalath, and all the store cities that Solomon had and all the cities for his chariots and the cities for his horsemen, and whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. ^7qAll the people who were left of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of Israel, ⁸from their descendants who were left after them in the land, whom the people of Israel had not destroyed—these Solomon drafted ^ras forced labor, and so they are to this day. ⁹But of the people of Israel Solomon made no slaves for his work; they were soldiers, and his officers, the commanders of his chariots, and his horsemen. ¹⁰And these were the chief officers of King Solomon, 250, who exercised authority over the people.

^11sSolomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter up from the city of David to the house that he had built for her, for he said, “My wife shall not live in the house of David king of Israel, for the places to which the ark of the Lord has come are holy.”

¹²Then Solomon offered up burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of the Lord ^tthat he had built before the vestibule, ^13uas the duty of each day required, offering ^vaccording to the commandment of Moses for the Sabbaths, the new moons, and the ^wthree annual feasts—the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Booths. ¹⁴According to the ruling of David his father, he appointed ^xthe divisions of the priests for their service, ^yand the Levites for their offices of praise and ^zministry before the priests ^uas the duty of each day required, and ^athe gatekeepers in their divisions at each gate, for so David ^bthe man of God had commanded. ¹⁵And they did not turn aside from what the king had commanded the priests and Levites concerning any matter and concerning the treasuries.

¹⁶Thus was accomplished all the work of Solomon from¹ the day the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid until it was finished. So the house of the Lord was completed.

¹⁷Then Solomon went to ^cEzion-geber and ^dEloth on the shore of the sea, in the land of Edom. ¹⁸And Hiram sent to him by the hand of his servants ships and servants familiar with the sea, and they went to Ophir together with the servants of Solomon and brought from there ^e450 talents² of gold and brought it to King Solomon.

The Queen of Sheba

9^fNow when ^gthe queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions, having a very great retinue and camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. ²And Solomon answered all her questions. There was nothing hidden from Solomon that he could not explain to her. ³And when ^gthe queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, ⁴the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, and their clothing, his cupbearers, and their clothing, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more breath in her.

⁵And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, ⁶but I did not believe the¹ reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, half the greatness of your wisdom was not told me; you surpass the report that I heard. ⁷Happy are your men! Happy are these your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! ⁸Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you ^hand set you on his throne as king for the Lord your God! ⁱBecause your God loved Israel and would establish them forever, he has made you king over them, that you may execute justice and righteousness.” ⁹Then she gave the king 120 talents² of gold, and a very great quantity of spices, and precious stones. There were no spices such as those that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

¹⁰Moreover, the servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon, ^jwho brought gold from Ophir, brought algum wood and precious stones. ¹¹And the king made from the algum wood ^ksupports for the house of the Lord and for the king’s house, lyres also and harps for the singers. There never was seen the like of them before in the land of Judah.

¹²And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked ^lbesides what she had brought to the king. So she turned and went back to her own land with her servants.

Solomon’s Wealth

^13mNow the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, ¹⁴besides that which the explorers and merchants brought. ⁿAnd all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land brought gold and silver to Solomon. ¹⁵King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold; 600 shekels³ of beaten gold went into each shield. ¹⁶And he made 300 shields of beaten gold; ^o300 shekels of gold went into each shield; and the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. ¹⁷The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with pure gold. ¹⁸The throne had six steps and a footstool of gold, which were attached to the throne, and on each side of the seat were armrests and two lions standing beside the armrests, ¹⁹while twelve lions stood there, one on each end of a step on the six steps. Nothing like it was ever made for any kingdom. ²⁰All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. Silver was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon. ²¹For the king’s ships went to ^pTarshish with the servants of Hiram. Once every three years the ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.⁴

²²Thus King Solomon ^qexcelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. ²³And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind. ²⁴Every one of them brought his present, articles of silver and of gold, garments, myrrh,⁵ spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year. ²⁵And Solomon had ^r4,000 stalls for horses and chariots, and 12,000 horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. ^26sAnd he ruled over all the kings ^tfrom the Euphrates⁶ to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. ^27uAnd the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the Shephelah. ^28vAnd horses were imported for Solomon from Egypt and from all lands.

Solomon’s Death

^29wNow the rest of the acts of Solomon, from ^xfirst to last, are they not written in the history of ^yNathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of ^zAhijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of ^aIddo ^bthe seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat? ³⁰Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. ³¹And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in ^cthe city of David his father, and Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.