1 Kings 4–5

Solomon’s Administration

4So King Solomon was king over all Israel. ²And these were his officials: Azariah the son of Zadok, the priest; ³Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, ¹scribes; ^aJehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder; ^4bBenaiah the son of Jehoiada, over the army; Zadok and ^cAbiathar, the priests; ⁵Azariah the son of Nathan, over ^dthe officers; Zabud the son of Nathan, ^ea priest and ^fthe king’s friend; ⁶Ahishar, over the household; and ^gAdoniram the son of Abda, over the labor force.

⁷And Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household; each one made provision for one month of the year. ⁸These are their names: ²Ben-Hur, in the mountains of Ephraim; ⁹³Ben-Deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan; ¹⁰⁴Ben-Hesed, in Arubboth; to him belonged Sochoh and all the land of Hepher; ¹¹⁵Ben-Abinadab, in all the regions of Dor; he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon as wife; ¹²Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth Shean, which is beside Zaretan below Jezreel, from Beth Shean to Abel Meholah, as far as the other side of Jokneam; ¹³⁶Ben-Geber, in Ramoth Gilead; to him belonged ^hthe towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, in Gilead; to him also belonged ⁱthe region of Argob in Bashan—sixty large cities with walls and bronze gate-bars; ¹⁴Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim; ^15jAhimaaz, in Naphtali; he also took Basemath the daughter of Solomon as wife; ¹⁶Baanah the son of ^kHushai, in Asher and Aloth; ¹⁷Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar; ^18lShimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin; ¹⁹Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, in ^mthe country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan. He was the only governor who was in the land.

Prosperity and Wisdom of Solomon’s Reign

²⁰Judah and Israel were as numerous ⁿas the sand by the sea in multitude, ^oeating and drinking and rejoicing. ²¹So ^pSolomon reigned over all kingdoms from ^qthe ⁷River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. ^rThey brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.

^22sNow Solomon’s ⁸provision for one day was thirty ⁹kors of fine flour, sixty kors of meal, ²³ten fatted oxen, twenty oxen from the pastures, and one hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fatted fowl.

²⁴For he had dominion over all the region on this side of ¹the River from Tiphsah even to Gaza, namely over ^tall the kings on this side of the River; and ^uhe had peace on every side all around him. ²⁵And Judah and Israel ^vdwelt ²safely, ^weach man under his vine and his fig tree, ^xfrom Dan as far as Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.

^26ySolomon had ³forty thousand stalls of ^zhorses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. ²⁷And ^athese governors, each man in his month, provided food for King Solomon and for all who came to King Solomon’s table. There was no lack in their supply. ²⁸They also brought barley and straw to the proper place, for the horses and steeds, each man according to his charge.

²⁹And ^bGod gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. ³⁰Thus Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men ^cof the East and all ^dthe wisdom of Egypt. ³¹For he was ^ewiser than all men—^fthan Ethan the Ezrahite, ^gand Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. ^32hHe spoke three thousand proverbs, and his ⁱsongs were one thousand and five. ³³Also he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish. ³⁴And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, ^jcame to hear the wisdom of Solomon.

Solomon Prepares to Build the Temple

5Now ^aHiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, because he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, ^bfor Hiram had always loved David. ²Then ^cSolomon sent to Hiram, saying:

^3dYou know how my father David could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God ^ebecause of the wars which were fought against him on every side, until the Lord put ¹his foes under the soles of his feet.

⁴But now the Lord my God has given me ^frest ²on every side; there is neither adversary nor ³evil occurrence.

^5gAnd behold, ⁴I propose to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, ^has the Lord spoke to my father David, saying, “Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, he shall build the house for My name.”

⁶Now therefore, command that they cut down ⁱcedars for me from Lebanon; and my servants will be with your servants, and I will pay you wages for your servants according to whatever you say. For you know there is none among us who has skill to cut timber like the Sidonians.

⁷So it was, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly and said,

Blessed be the Lord this day, for He has given David a wise son over this great people!

⁸Then Hiram sent to Solomon, saying:

I have considered the message which you sent me, and I will do all you desire concerning the cedar and cypress logs.

⁹My servants shall bring them down ^jfrom Lebanon to the sea; I will float them in rafts by sea to the place you indicate to me, and will have them broken apart there; then you can take them away. And you shall fulfill my desire ^kby giving food for my household.

¹⁰Then Hiram gave Solomon cedar and cypress logs according to all his desire. ^11lAnd Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand ⁵kors of wheat as food for his household, and ⁶twenty kors of pressed oil. Thus Solomon gave to Hiram year by year.

¹²So the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, ^mas He had promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty together.

¹³Then King Solomon raised up a labor force out of all Israel; and the labor force was thirty thousand men. ¹⁴And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month in shifts: they were one month in Lebanon and two months at home; ⁿAdoniram was in charge of the labor force. ^15oSolomon had seventy thousand who carried burdens, and eighty thousand who quarried stone in the mountains, ¹⁶besides three thousand ⁷three hundred from the ^pchiefs of Solomon’s deputies, who supervised the people who labored in the work. ¹⁷And the king commanded them to quarry large stones, costly stones, and ^qhewn stones, to lay the foundation of the ⁸temple. ¹⁸So Solomon’s builders, Hiram’s builders, and the Gebalites quarried them; and they prepared timber and stones to build the ⁹temple.