1 Kings 9
9
God Appears to Solomon Again
(2 Chr 7.11–22)
1After King Solomon had finished building the Temple and the palace and everything else he wanted to build, 2#1 Kgs 3.5; 2 Chr 1.7the LORD appeared to him again, as he had in Gibeon. 3The LORD said to him, “I have heard your prayer. I consecrate this Temple which you have built as the place where I shall be worshipped for ever. I will watch over it and protect it for all time. 4If you will serve me in honesty and integrity, as your father David did, and if you obey my laws and do everything I have commanded you, 5#1 Kgs 2.4I will keep the promise I made to your father David when I told him that Israel would always be ruled by his descendants. 6But if you or your descendants stop following me, if you disobey the laws and commands I have given you, and worship other gods, 7then I will remove my people Israel from the land that I have given them. I will also abandon this Temple which I have consecrated as the place where I am to be worshipped. People everywhere will ridicule Israel and treat her with contempt. 8#2 Kgs 25.9; 2 Chr 36.19This Temple will become a pile of ruins,#9.8 Some ancient translations a pile of ruins; Hebrew high. and everyone who passes by will be shocked and amazed. ‘Why did the LORD do this to this land and this Temple?’ they will ask. 9People will answer, ‘It is because they abandoned the LORD their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt. They gave their allegiance to other gods and worshipped them. That is why the LORD has brought this disaster on them.’ ”
Solomon's Agreement with Hiram
(2 Chr 8.1–2)
10It took Solomon twenty years to build the Temple and his palace. 11King Hiram of Tyre had provided him with all the cedar and pine and with all the gold he wanted for this work. After it was finished, King Solomon gave Hiram twenty towns in the region of Galilee. 12Hiram went to see them, and he did not like them. 13So he said to Solomon, “So these, my brother, are the towns you have given me!” For this reason the area is still called Cabul.#9.13 Cabul: This name sounds like “ke-bal”, the Hebrew for “worthless”. 14Hiram had sent Solomon more than four tonnes of gold.
Further Achievements of Solomon
(2 Chr 8.3–18)
15King Solomon used forced labour to build the Temple and the palace, to fill in land on the east side of the city, and to build the city wall. He also used it to rebuild the cities of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. 16(The king of Egypt had attacked Gezer and captured it, killing its inhabitants and setting fire to the city. Then he gave it as a wedding present to his daughter when she married Solomon, 17and Solomon rebuilt it.) Using his forced labour, Solomon also rebuilt Lower Beth Horon, 18Baalath, Tamar in the Judean wilderness, 19the cities where his supplies were kept, the cities for his horses and chariots, and everything else he wanted to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and elsewhere in his kingdom. 20-21For his forced labour Solomon used the descendants of the people of Canaan whom the Israelites had not killed when they took possession of their land. These included Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, whose descendants continue to be slaves down to the present time. 22Solomon did not make slaves of Israelites; they served as his soldiers, officers, commanders, chariot captains, and horsemen.
23There were 550 officials in charge of the forced labour working on Solomon's various building projects.
24Solomon filled in the land on the east side of the city, after his wife, the daughter of the king of Egypt, had moved from David's City to the palace Solomon built for her.
25 #
Ex 23.17; 34.23; Deut 16.16 Three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar he had built to the LORD. He also burnt incense#9.25 Hebrew has two additional words, the meaning of which is unclear. to the LORD. And so he finished building the Temple.
26King Solomon also built a fleet of ships at Eziongeber, which is near Elath, on the shore of the Gulf of Aqaba, in the land of Edom. 27King Hiram sent some experienced seamen from his fleet to serve with Solomon's men. 28They sailed to the land of Ophir, and brought back to Solomon more than fourteen tonnes of gold.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
1 Kings 9
9
The Lord Appears to Solomon Again
(2 Chronicles 7.11-22)
1The Lord's temple and Solomon's palace were now finished, and Solomon had built everything he wanted. 2#1 K 3.5; 2 Ch 1.7. Some time later the Lord appeared to him again in a dream, just as he had done at Gibeon. 3#3 Macc 2.9. The Lord said:
I heard your prayer and what you asked me to do. This temple you have built is where I will be worshiped forever. It belongs to me, and I will never stop watching over it.
4You must obey me, as your father David did, and be honest and fair. Obey my laws and teachings, 5#1 K 2.4. and I will keep my promise to David that someone from your family will always be king of Israel.
6But if you or any of your descendants disobey my commands or start worshiping foreign gods, 7I will no longer let my people Israel live in this land I gave them. I will desert this temple where I said I would be worshiped. Then people everywhere will think this nation is only a joke and will make fun of it. 8#2 K 25.9; 2 Ch 36.19. This temple will become a pile of rocks!#9.8 a pile of rocks: Some ancient translations; Hebrew “high.” Everyone who walks by will be shocked, and they will ask, “Why did the Lord do such a terrible thing to his people and to this temple?” 9Then they will answer, “We know why the Lord did this. The people of Israel rejected the Lord their God, who rescued their ancestors from Egypt, and they started worshiping other gods.”
Other Things Solomon Did
(2 Chronicles 8.1-18)
10It took 20 years for the Lord's temple and Solomon's palace to be built. 11Later, Solomon gave King Hiram of Tyre 20 towns in the region of Galilee to repay him for the cedar, pine, and gold he had given Solomon.
12When Hiram went to see the towns, he did not like them. 13He said, “Solomon, my friend, are these the kind of towns you want to give me?” So Hiram called the region Cabul because he thought it was worthless.#9.13 Cabul … worthless: Cabul sounds like the Hebrew word for “worthless.” 14He sent Solomon only five tons of gold in return.
15After Solomon's workers had finished the temple and the palace, he ordered them to fill in the land on the east side of Jerusalem,#9.15 fill … Jerusalem: The Hebrew text has “build the Millo,” which probably refers to a landfill to strengthen and extend the hill where the city was built. to build a wall around the city, and to rebuild the towns of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.
16Earlier, the king of Egypt had captured the town of Gezer; he burned it to the ground and killed the Canaanite people living there. Then he gave it to his daughter as a wedding present when she married Solomon. 17So Solomon had the town rebuilt.
Solomon ordered his workers to rebuild Lower Beth-Horon, 18Baalath, and Tamar in the desert of Judah. 19They also built towns where he could keep his supplies and his chariots and horses. Solomon ordered them to build whatever he wanted in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and anywhere in his kingdom.
20-22Solomon did not force the Israelites to do his work. They were his soldiers, officials, leaders, commanders, chariot captains, and chariot drivers. But he did make slaves of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites who were living in Israel. These were the descendants of those foreigners the Israelites could not destroy, and they remained Israel's slaves.
23Solomon appointed 550 officers to be in charge of his workers and to watch over his building projects.
24Solomon's wife, the daughter of the king of Egypt, moved from the older part of Jerusalem#9.24 the older … Jerusalem: See the note at 3.1. to her new palace. Then Solomon had the land on the east side of Jerusalem filled in.#9.24 the land … filled in: See the note at 9.15.
25 #
Ex 23.17; 34.23; Dt 16.16. Three times a year, Solomon burned incense and offered sacrifices to the Lord on the altar he had built.
Solomon had now finished building the Lord's temple.
26He also had a lot of ships at Ezion-Geber, a town in Edom near Eloth on the Red Sea.#9.26 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 13.11). 27-28King Hiram let some of his experienced sailors go to the country of Ophir#9.27,28 Ophir: The location of this place is not known. with Solomon's own sailors, and they brought back about 14 tons of gold for Solomon.
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