2 Chronicles 1–2

Solomon Requests Wisdom

1Now ^aSolomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and ^bthe Lord his God was with him and ^cexalted him exceedingly.

²And Solomon spoke to all Israel, to ^dthe captains of thousands and of hundreds, to the judges, and to every leader in all Israel, the heads of the fathers’ houses. ³Then Solomon, and all the assembly with him, went to ¹the high place that was at ^eGibeon; for the tabernacle of meeting with God was there, which Moses the servant of the Lord had ^fmade in the wilderness. ^4gBut David had brought up the ark of God from Kirjath Jearim to the place David had prepared for it, for he had pitched a tent for it at Jerusalem. ⁵Now ^hthe bronze altar that ⁱBezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, ²he put before the tabernacle of the Lord; Solomon and the assembly sought Him there. ⁶And Solomon went up there to the bronze altar before the Lord, which was at the tabernacle of meeting, and ^joffered a thousand burnt offerings on it.

^7kOn that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, “Ask! What shall I give you?”

⁸And Solomon said to God: “You have shown great ^lmercy to David my father, and have made me ^mking in his place. ⁹Now, O Lord God, let Your promise to David my father be established, ⁿfor You have made me king over a people like the ^odust of the earth in multitude. ^10pNow give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may ^qgo out and come in before this people; for who can judge this great people of Yours?”

^11rThen God said to Solomon: “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked riches or wealth or honor or the life of your enemies, nor have you asked long life—but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself, that you may judge My people over whom I have made you king—¹²wisdom and knowledge are granted to you; and I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as ^snone of the kings have had who were before you, nor shall any after you have the like.”

Solomon’s Military and Economic Power

¹³So Solomon came to Jerusalem from ³the high place that was at Gibeon, from before the tabernacle of meeting, and reigned over Israel. ^14tAnd Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; he had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. ^15uAlso the king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars as abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland. ^16vAnd Solomon had horses imported from Egypt and Keveh; the king’s merchants bought them in Keveh at the current price. ¹⁷They also acquired and imported from Egypt a chariot for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for one hundred and fifty; thus, ⁴through their agents, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.

Solomon Prepares to Build the Temple

2Then Solomon ^adetermined to build a temple for the name of the Lord, and a royal house for himself. ^2bSolomon selected seventy thousand men to bear burdens, eighty thousand to quarry stone in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred to oversee them.

³Then Solomon sent to ¹Hiram king of Tyre, saying:

^cAs you have dealt with David my father, and sent him cedars to build himself a house to dwell in, so deal with me. ⁴Behold, ^dI am building a temple for the name of the Lord my God, to dedicate it to Him, ^eto burn before Him ²sweet incense, for ^fthe continual showbread, for ^gthe burnt offerings morning and evening, on the ^hSabbaths, on the New Moons, and on the ³set feasts of the Lord our God. This is an ordinance forever to Israel.

⁵And the temple which I build will be great, for ⁱour God is greater than all gods. ^6jBut who is able to build Him a temple, since heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him? Who am I then, that I should build Him a temple, except to burn sacrifice before Him?

⁷Therefore send me at once a man skillful to work in gold and silver, in bronze and iron, in purple and crimson and blue, who has skill to engrave with the skillful men who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem, ^kwhom David my father provided. ^8lAlso send me cedar and cypress and algum logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants have skill to cut timber in Lebanon; and indeed my servants will be with your servants, ⁹to prepare timber for me in abundance, for the ⁴temple which I am about to build shall be great and wonderful.

^10mAnd indeed I will give to your servants, the woodsmen who cut timber, twenty thousand kors of ground wheat, twenty thousand kors of barley, twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.

¹¹Then Hiram king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon:

ⁿBecause the Lord loves His people, He has made you king over them.

¹²⁵Hiram also said:

^oBlessed be the Lord God of Israel, ^pwho made heaven and earth, for He has given King David a wise son, endowed with prudence and understanding, who will build a temple for the Lord and a royal house for himself!

¹³And now I have sent a skillful man, endowed with understanding, ⁶Huram my ⁷master craftsman ^14q(the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre), skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, purple and blue, fine linen and crimson, and to make any engraving and to accomplish any plan which may be given to him, with your skillful men and with the skillful men of my lord David your father.

¹⁵Now therefore, the wheat, the barley, the oil, and the wine which ^rmy lord has spoken of, let him send to his servants. ^16sAnd we will cut wood from Lebanon, as much as you need; we will bring it to you in rafts by sea to ⁸Joppa, and you will carry it up to Jerusalem.

^17tThen Solomon numbered all the aliens who were in the land of Israel, after the census in which ^uDavid his father had numbered them; and there were found to be one hundred and fifty-three thousand six hundred. ¹⁸And he made ^vseventy thousand of them bearers of burdens, eighty thousand stonecutters in the mountain, and three thousand six hundred overseers to make the people work.