2 Chronicles 8:1–22:12
Solomon’s Accomplishments and Deeds
8 And it happened that at the end of twenty years in which Solomon had built the house of Yahweh and his own house, 2 Solomon also built the cities that Hurama had given to him, and he settled the ⌊Israelites⌋b in them. 3 And Solomon went to Hamath-Zobah and laid siege upon it. 4 And he built Tadmor in the desert, and he built all the storage cities in Hamath. 5 He also built Upper Beth-Horon and Lower Beth-Horon, fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars; 6 Baalath and all the storage cities that belonged to Solomon; all the cities for chariotsc and cities for horses; and any desire of Solomon that he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. 7 All the people who remained from the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites who were not from Israel, 8 from the descendantsd who were left over after them in the land, whom the Israelites had not destroyed, Solomon conscripted them as forced labor until this day. 9 But from the ⌊Israelites⌋e Solomon did not give as servants for his work, but they were men of war, his commanders of his officers, and commanders of his chariotsf and his horses. 10 And these were the commanders of the garrisons that belonged to King Solomon, two hundred and fifty who exercised authority over the people.
11 And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh from the city of David to the house that he had built for her, for he said, “My wife shall not dwell in the house of David, king of Israel, for those places to which the ark of Yahweh has come are holy. 12 Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to Yahweh on the altar of Yahweh that he had built before the portico, 13 ⌊as was the daily requirement⌋,g to offer up according to the commandments of Moses for Sabbaths, new moon festivals, and the three ⌊annual⌋h feasts: the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Booths. 14 And in accord with the ordinance of David his father he appointed working groups of priests for their service, Levites for their responsibilities for praise and cultic service before the priests ⌊according to the daily requirement⌋,i and the gatekeepers in their working groups, gate by gate. For thus David the man of God had commanded. 15 And they did not turn aside from the commandment of the king concerning the priests and the Levites concerning anything, and concerning the treasury rooms. 16 And Solomon accomplished all the work from the day the foundation stone was laid for the house of Yahweh until its completion, and the house of Yahweh was finished. 17 Then Solomon went to Ezion-Geber, and to Elath, on the edge of the sea in the land of Edom. 18 And Huramj sent to him, by the hand of his servants, ships and servants knowledgeable of the sea. And they went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and from there they collected four hundred and fifty talents of gold and brought it to King Solomon.
Solomon and the Queen of Sheba
9 Now the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, and she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with hard questions, with much wealth and camels, bearing spices and much gold and precious stones. And she came to Solomon and told him all that was ⌊on her mind⌋.a 2 And Solomon ⌊answered all her questions⌋.b Not a word was hidden from Solomon that he did not answer for her. 3 When the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon and the house he had built, 4 and the food of his table, and the position of his officers, the duty of his servants and their clothing, his cupbearers and their clothing, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of Yahweh, there was no longer any breathc in her. 5 And she said to the king, “The word which I heard in my land concerning your words and your wisdom is true, 6 but I did not believe their words until I came and saw with my own eyes. And behold, half the greatness of your wisdom was not reported to me; you surpass the rumors that I had heard. 7 Blessed are your men, and blessed are these your servants who stand before you regularly and hear your wisdom! 8 Blessed be Yahweh your God who took delight in you, to put you on his throne as king for Yahweh your God! Because your God loved Israel, he established him forever and has put you over them as king to do justice and righteousness!” 9 And she gave to the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold and a very great amount of spices and precious stones. And there were no spices such as those that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
10 Moreover the servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon who brought gold from Ophir brought algum wood and precious stones. 11 And the king made steps for the house of Yahweh and the house of the king, and lyres and harps for the singers from the algum wood. And there was not seen anything like them before in the land of Judah. 12 Now King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba every desired thing she asked, besides what she had brought to the king. Then she turned and went to her land, she and her servants.
13 And it happened that the weight of the gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold, 14 besides that which traders and merchants brought, and all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land brought gold and silver to Solomon. 15 And King Solomon made two hundred shields of beaten gold; six hundred shekels of beaten gold went into each shield. 16 And he made three hundred small shields of beaten gold; three hundred shekels went into each small shield. And the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. 17 And the king made a large ivory throne and overlaid it with pure gold. 18 And the throne had six steps, and a footstool of gold was attached to the throne. And there were armrests ⌊on each side⌋.d And by ⌊the seat⌋e were two lions standing beside the armrests. 19 And twelve lions were standing there on each of the six steps ⌊on each end⌋.f And there was nothing like it made in all the kingdom. 20 And all the drinking vessels of King Solomon were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. Silver was not valued as anything in the days of Solomon. 21 For the ships of the king went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram.g Once ⌊every three years⌋h the ships of Tarshish came carrying gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
22 Thus King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth in wealth and wisdom. 23 And all the kings of the earth sought the face of Solomon to hear his wisdom that God put in his heart. 24 And each of them brought his gifts, objects of silver, objects of gold, cloaks, myrrh, spices, horses, and mules, as an amount year by year. 25 And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. And he stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 26 And he ruled over all the kings from the Riveri to the land of the Philistines, to the boundary of Egypt. 27 And the king made silver in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar as the sycamore trees that are in the Shephelah for abundance. 28 And the horses were imported from Egypt and from all lands for Solomon.
29 As for the remainder of the words of Solomon from the first to the last, are they not written in the chroniclesj of Nathan the prophet and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer, concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat? 30 And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. 31 And Solomon slept with his ancestors,k and they buried him in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.
10 Then Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. 2 And it happened that when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard it—now he was in Egypt, where he had fled from the presence of King Solomon—Jeroboam returned from Egypt. 3 And they sent and called him. Then Jeroboam and all Israel went, and they spoke to Rehoboam, saying, 4 “Your father made our yoke heavy. Now, therefore, lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, and we will serve you.” 5 And he said to them, “In three days return to me again.” And the people went away.
6 Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the elders who had been ⌊serving⌋a before Solomon his father when he was alive, saying, “What word do you advise to answer this people?” 7 And they said to him, “If you will be good to this people and please them, then speak good words to them. Then they will be your servants ⌊forever⌋.”b 8 But he forsook the advice of the elders that advised him and took counsel of the young men who had grown up with him who were ⌊serving⌋c before him. 9 And he said to them, “What do you advise that we should say in return to this people, who said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke that your father has put upon us’?” 10 Then the young men who had grown up with him said to him, “Thus you should say to this people who have said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, so you yourself should lighten it for us.’ Thus you should say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than the loins of my father. 11 So now, my father laid upon you a heavy yoke, but I myself will add to the yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I myself will do so with scorpions.’ ”
12 Then Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day as the king had spoken, saying, “Return to me on the third day.” 13 And the king answered them harshly, and King Rehoboam forsook the advice of the elders. 14 And he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, “I will make your yoke heavy, and I myself will add to it. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will do so with scorpions.” 15 So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turning of events from God, so that Yahweh might fulfill his word that he had …