2 Chronicles 8
8
1 Then, twenty years having passed since Solomon built the house of the Lord and his own house,
2 he built the cities that Hiram had given to Solomon, and he caused the sons of Israel to live there.
3 Also, he went to Hamath Zobah, and he obtained it.
4 And he built Palmira in the desert, and he built very fortified cities in Hamath.
5 And he built upper Beth-horon and lower Beth-horon, as walled cities, having gates and bars and locks,
6 as well as Baalath, and all the very strong cities which were of Solomon, and all the cities of the chariots, and the cities of the horsemen. Everything whatsoever that Solomon willed and decided, he built in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and throughout the entire land of his authority.
7 All the people who had been left from the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, those who were not from the stock of Israel,
8 those of their sons and their posterity whom the sons of Israel had not put to death, Solomon subjugated as tributaries, even to this day.
9 But he did not appoint anyone from the sons of Israel to serve in the works of the king. For they were men of war, and first rulers, and commanders of his chariots and horsemen.
10 Now all the leaders of the army of king Solomon were two hundred fifty, who were instructing the people.
11 Truly, he transferred the daughter of Pharaoh, from the City of David, to the house that he had built for her. For the king said: "My wife shall not live in the house of David, king of Israel, for it has been sanctified. For the ark of the Lord has entered into it."
12 Then Solomon offered holocausts to the Lord on the altar of the Lord, which he had constructed before the portico,
13 so that every day there would be an offering on it, in accord with precept of Moses, on the Sabbaths, and on the new moons, and three times a year on the feast days, that is, on the solemnity of unleavened bread, and on the solemnity of weeks, and in the solemnity of tabernacles.
14 And he appointed, in accord with the plan of his father David, the offices of the priests in their ministries; and those of the Levites, in their orders, so that they might praise and minister before the priests according to the ritual of each day; and the porters, in their divisions, from gate to gate. For so had David, the man of God, instructed.
15 Neither the priests, nor the Levites, transgressed against the commands of the king, in all that he had instructed, and in the keeping of the treasuries.
16 Solomon had all the expenses prepared, from the day on which he founded the house of the Lord, even until the day when he perfected it.
17 Then Solomon went away to Eziongeber, and to Eloth, on the coast of the Red Sea, which is in the land of Edom.
18 And Hiram sent to him ships, by the hands of his servants, sailors and skillful navigators of the sea, and they went away with the servants of Solomon to Ophir. And they took from there four hundred fifty talents of gold, and they brought it to king Solomon.
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2 Chronicles 8: CPDV
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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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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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