2 Chronicles 8
8
Other Things Solomon Did
(1 Kings 9.10-28)
1It took 20 years for the Lord's temple and Solomon's palace to be built. 2After that, Solomon had his workers rebuild the towns that Hiram had given him. Then Solomon sent Israelites to live in those towns.
3Solomon attacked and captured the town of Hamath-Zobah. 4He ordered his workers to build the town of Tadmor in the desert and some towns in Hamath where he could keep his supplies. 5He strengthened Upper Beth-Horon and Lower Beth-Horon by adding walls and gates that could be locked. 6He did the same thing to the town of Baalath and to the cities where he kept supplies, chariots, and horses. Solomon ordered his workers to build whatever he wanted in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and anywhere else in his kingdom.
7-9Solomon did not force the Israelites to do his work. Instead, they were his soldiers, officers, army commanders, and cavalry troops. But he did make slaves of the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites who were living in Israel. These were the descendants of those foreigners the Israelites did not destroy, and they remained Israel's slaves.
10Solomon appointed 250 officers to be in charge of his workers.
11Solomon's wife, the daughter of the king of Egypt, moved from the part of Jerusalem called David's City to her new palace that Solomon had built. The sacred chest had been kept in David's City, which made his palace sacred, and so Solomon's wife could no longer live there.
12Solomon offered sacrifices to the Lord on the altar he had built in front of the temple porch. 13#Nu 28.9,10; Nu 28.11-15; Ex 23.14-17; 34.22,23; Nu 28.16—29.39; Dt 16.16. He followed the requirements that Moses had given for sacrifices offered on the Sabbath, on the first day of each month, the Festival of Thin Bread, the Harvest Festival, and the Festival of Shelters.
14Solomon then assigned the priests and the Levites their duties at the temple, and he followed the instructions that his father, the man of God, had given him. Some of the Levites were to lead music and help the priests in their duties, and others were to guard the temple gates 15and the storage rooms. The priests and Levites followed these instructions exactly.
16Everything Solomon had planned to do was now finished—from the laying of the temple's foundation to its completion.
17Solomon went to Ezion-Geber and Eloth, two Edomite towns on the Red Sea.#8.17 Red Sea: Hebrew yam suph, here referring to the Gulf of Aqaba, since the term is extended to include the northeastern arm of the Red Sea (see also the note at Exodus 13.18). 18Hiram sent him ships and some of his experienced sailors. They went with Solomon's own sailors to the country of Ophir#8.18 Ophir: The location of this place is not known. and brought back more than 15 tons of gold for Solomon.
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2 Chronicles 8: CEVDCI
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
2 Chronicles 8
8
Solomon’s Many Achievements
1It took Solomon twenty years to build the Lord’s Temple and his own royal palace. At the end of that time, 2Solomon turned his attention to rebuilding the towns that King Hiram#8:2 Hebrew Huram, a variant spelling of Hiram; also in 8:18. had given him, and he settled Israelites in them.
3Solomon also fought against the town of Hamath-zobah and conquered it. 4He rebuilt Tadmor in the wilderness and built towns in the region of Hamath as supply centers. 5He fortified the towns of Upper Beth-horon and Lower Beth-horon, rebuilding their walls and installing barred gates. 6He also rebuilt Baalath and other supply centers and constructed towns where his chariots and horses#8:6 Or and charioteers. could be stationed. He built everything he desired in Jerusalem and Lebanon and throughout his entire realm.
7There were still some people living in the land who were not Israelites, including the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 8These were descendants of the nations whom the people of Israel had not destroyed. So Solomon conscripted them for his labor force, and they serve as forced laborers to this day. 9But Solomon did not conscript any of the Israelites for his labor force. Instead, he assigned them to serve as fighting men, officers in his army, commanders of his chariots, and charioteers. 10King Solomon appointed 250 of them to supervise the people.
11Solomon moved his wife, Pharaoh’s daughter, from the City of David to the new palace he had built for her. He said, “My wife must not live in King David’s palace, for the Ark of the Lord has been there, and it is holy ground.”
12Then Solomon presented burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar he had built for him in front of the entry room of the Temple. 13He offered the sacrifices for the Sabbaths, the new moon festivals, and the three annual festivals—the Passover celebration, the Festival of Harvest,#8:13 Or Festival of Weeks. and the Festival of Shelters—as Moses had commanded.
14In assigning the priests to their duties, Solomon followed the regulations of his father, David. He also assigned the Levites to lead the people in praise and to assist the priests in their daily duties. And he assigned the gatekeepers to their gates by their divisions, following the commands of David, the man of God. 15Solomon did not deviate in any way from David’s commands concerning the priests and Levites and the treasuries.
16So Solomon made sure that all the work related to building the Temple of the Lord was carried out, from the day its foundation was laid to the day of its completion.
17Later Solomon went to Ezion-geber and Elath,#8:17a As in Greek version (see also 2 Kgs 14:22; 16:6); Hebrew reads Eloth, a variant spelling of Elath. ports along the shore of the Red Sea#8:17b As in parallel text at 1 Kgs 9:26; Hebrew reads the sea. in the land of Edom. 18Hiram sent him ships commanded by his own officers and manned by experienced crews of sailors. These ships sailed to Ophir with Solomon’s men and brought back to Solomon almost seventeen tons#8:18 Hebrew 450 talents [15.3 metric tons]. of gold.
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