2 Chronicles 7–9

7TH CHAPTER

Solomon Offers Sacrifices—1 Kings 8:62–66

¹When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offerings and the other sacrifices, and the Lord’s glory filled the temple. ²The priests couldn’t go into the Lord’s temple because the Lord’s glory had filled the Lord’s temple. ³When all the Israelites saw the fire come down and the Lord’s glory on the temple, they knelt down with their faces on the pavement. They worshiped and praised the Lord, ⸤by saying,⸥ “He is good; his mercy endures forever.” 

⁴Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices to the Lord. ⁵King Solomon offered 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep as sacrifices to the Lord. So the king and all the people dedicated God’s temple. 

⁶The priests were standing at their posts. So were the Levites who had the Lord’s musical instruments which King David made for praising the Lord with “his mercy endures forever” and which he used to offer praise. The priests were opposite the Levites blowing trumpets while all Israel was standing ⸤there⸥. 

⁷Solomon designated the courtyard in front of the Lord’s temple as a holy place. He sacrificed the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat because the bronze altar that he had made and that was in front of the Lord was not able to hold all of them. 

⁸At that time Solomon and all Israel celebrated the Festival ⸤of Booths⸥. A very large crowd had come from ⸤the territory between⸥ the border of Hamath and the River of Egypt. ⁹On the eighth day there was an assembly. They had observed the dedication of the altar for seven days and celebrated the festival for ⸤another⸥ seven days. ¹⁰On the twenty-third day of the seventh month, Solomon dismissed the people to their tents. They rejoiced with cheerful hearts for all the blessings the Lord had given David, Solomon, and his people Israel. 

The Lord Answers Solomon’s Prayer—1 Kings 9:1–9

¹¹Solomon finished the Lord’s temple and the royal palace and completed everything he had in mind for the Lord’s temple and his own palace. ¹²Then the Lord appeared to him at night. He said to Solomon, 

“I have heard your prayer 

and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices. 

¹³I may shut the sky so that there is no rain, 

or command grasshoppers to devour the countryside, 

or send an epidemic among my people. 

¹⁴However, if my people, who are called by my name, 

will humble themselves, 

pray, search for me, and turn from their evil ways, 

then I will hear ⸤their prayer⸥ from heaven, forgive their sins, 

and heal their country. 

¹⁵My eyes will be open, 

and my ears will pay attention to those prayers at this place. 

¹⁶I have chosen and declared this temple holy 

so that my name may be placed there forever. 

My eyes and my heart will always be there. 

¹⁷“If you will be faithful to me as your father David was, 

do everything I command, 

and obey my laws and rules, 

¹⁸then I will establish your royal dynasty 

as I said in a promise to your father David, 

‘You will never fail to have an heir ruling Israel.’ 

¹⁹But if you and your descendants turn away from me 

and abandon my commands and laws that I gave you, 

and follow and serve other gods and worship them, 

²⁰then I will uproot Israel from the land I gave them. 

I will reject this temple that I declared holy for my name. 

I will make it an example 

and an object of ridicule for all the people of the world. 

²¹Everyone passing by this impressive temple will be appalled. 

They will ask, 

‘Why did the Lord do these things to this land and this temple?’ 

²²They will answer ⸤themselves⸥, 

‘They abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors, 

who brought them out of Egypt. 

They adopted other gods, worshiped, and served them. 

That is why he brought this disaster on them.’ ” 

8TH CHAPTER

Solomon Completes His Construction—1 Kings 9:10–28

¹It took Solomon 20 years to build the Lord’s house and his own house. ²He rebuilt the cities Huram gave him, and he had Israelites live in them. 

³Then Solomon went to Hamath Zobah and conquered it. ⁴He rebuilt Tadmor in the desert and built all the storage cities in Hamath. ⁵He rebuilt Upper Beth Horon and Lower Beth Horon into cities fortified with walls, double-door gates, and bars. ⁶⸤He also rebuilt⸥ Baalath and all the storage cities that he owned. He built all the cities for his chariots, all the cities for his war horses, and whatever ⸤else⸥ he wanted to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, or the entire territory that he governed. 

⁷The Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites had been left ⸤in the land⸥ because the Israelites had not been able to destroy them.^aThey were not Israelites, ⁸but they had descendants who were still in the land. Solomon drafted them for slave labor. (They are still ⸤slaves⸥ today.) ⁹But Solomon didn’t make any of the Israelites slaves for his projects. Instead, they were the soldiers, officers, generals, and commanders of his chariot and cavalry units. 

¹⁰These were the officers in charge of King Solomon’s projects: 250 foremen for the people who did the work. 

¹¹Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter from the City of David to a palace he had built for her. He said, “My wife will not live in the palace of King David of Israel because these places where the Lord’s ark has come are holy.” 

¹²Then Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings to the Lord on the Lord’s altar that he built in front of the entrance hall. ¹³He sacrificed every day, on weekly days of rest—holy days, on the New Moon Festivals, and on the three annual festivals (the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Booths) as Moses had commanded. ¹⁴As Solomon’s father David had directed, he set up the divisions of priests for their service and the ⸤divisions of⸥ Levites for their appointed places. ⸤The Levites⸥ were to lead in praising ⸤the Lord⸥ and to serve beside the priests by doing whatever needed to be done each day. Solomon also set up divisions of doorkeepers at every gate because this is what David, the man of God, had commanded. ¹⁵No one neglected the king’s orders to the priests or the Levites in any matter, including the ⸤temple’s⸥ finances. ¹⁶All of Solomon’s work was carried out from the day the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid until it was completed. The Lord’s temple was ⸤now⸥ finished. 

¹⁷Then Solomon went to the coast near Ezion Geber and Elath in Edom. ¹⁸Huram sent his own servants and his experienced sailors with ships to Solomon. They went with Solomon’s servants to Ophir, got 33,750 pounds of gold, and brought it to King Solomon. 

9TH CHAPTER

The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon—1 Kings 10:1–13

¹The queen of Sheba heard about Solomon’s reputation. So she came to Jerusalem to test him with riddles. She arrived with a large group of servants, with camels carrying spices, a large quantity of gold, and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she talked to him about everything she had on her mind. ²Solomon answered all her questions. No question was too difficult for Solomon to answer. 

³When the queen of Sheba saw Solomon’s wisdom, the palace he built, ⁴the food on his table, his officers’ seating arrangement, the organization of his officials and the uniforms they wore, his cupbearers^aand their uniforms, and the burnt offerings that he sacrificed at the Lord’s temple, she was breathless. ⁵She told the king, “What I heard in my country about your words and your wisdom is true!⁶But I didn’t believe the reports until I came and saw it with my own eyes. I wasn’t even told about half of the extent of your wisdom. You’ve surpassed the stories I’ve heard. ⁷How blessed your men must be! How blessed these servants of yours must be because they are always stationed in front of you and listen to your wisdom! ⁸Thank the Lord your God, who is pleased with you. He has put you on his throne to be king on behalf of the Lord your God. Because of your God’s love for the people of Israel, he has established them permanently and made you king over them so that you would maintain justice and righteousness.” 

⁹She gave the king 9,000 pounds of gold, a very large quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never was there such a large quantity of spices ⸤in Israel⸥ as those that the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon. 

¹⁰Huram’s servants and Solomon’s servants who brought gold from Ophir also brought sandalwood and precious stones. ¹¹With the sandalwood the king made gateways to the Lord’s temple and the royal palace, and lyres and harps for the singers. No one had ever seen anything like them in Judah. 

¹²King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba anything she wanted, whatever she asked for, more than what she had brought him. Then she and her servants went back to her country. 

Solomon’s Wealth—1 Kings 5:1; 10:14–29

¹³The gold that came to Solomon in one year weighed 49,950 pounds, ¹⁴not counting ⸤the gold⸥ which the merchants and traders brought. All the Arab kings and governors of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon. 

¹⁵King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold, using 15 pounds of gold on each shield. ¹⁶He also made 300 small shields of hammered gold, using 7½ pounds of gold on each shield. The king put them in the hall ⸤named⸥ the Forest of Lebanon. 

¹⁷The king also made a large ivory throne and covered it with pure gold. ¹⁸Six steps led to the throne, which had a gold footstool attached to it. There were armrests on both sides of the seat. Two lions stood beside the armrests. ¹⁹Twelve lions stood on six steps, one on each side. Nothing like this had been made for any other kingdom. 

²⁰All King Solomon’s cups were gold, and all the utensils for the hall ⸤named⸥ the Forest of Lebanon were fine gold. (Silver wasn’t considered valuable in Solomon’s time.) ²¹The king had ships going to Tarshish with Huram’s sailors. Once every three years the Tarshish ships would bring gold, silver, ivory, apes, and monkeys. 

²²In wealth and wisdom King Solomon was greater than all the ⸤other⸥ kings of the world. ²³All the kings of the world…