THE BOOK OF SECOND CHRONICLES
King James Version
1 ¶ And Solomon the son of David was
strengthened in his kingdom, and the LORD his God was with him, and magnified
him exceedingly.
2 Then Solomon
spake unto all Israel, to the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and to the
judges, and to every governor in all Israel, the chief of the fathers.
3 So Solomon, and
all the congregation with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon; for there was the tabernacle of the congregation of
God, which Moses the servant of the LORD had made in the wilderness.
4 But the ark of
God had David brought up from Kirjathjearim to the place which David had
prepared for it: for he had pitched a tent for it at Jerusalem.
5 Moreover the
brasen altar, that Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, he put before the tabernacle of the LORD: and Solomon and the
congregation sought unto it.
6 And Solomon
went up thither to the brasen altar before the LORD, which was at the
tabernacle of the congregation, and offered a thousand burnt offerings upon it.
7 In that night
did God appear unto Solomon, and said unto him, Ask what I shall give thee.
8 And Solomon
said unto God, Thou hast shewed great mercy unto David my father, and hast made
me to reign in his stead.
9 Now, O LORD
God, let thy promise unto David my father be established: for thou hast made me
king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude.
10
Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before
this people: for who can judge this thy people, that is so great?
11 And God said
to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches,
wealth, or honour, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long
life; but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king:
12 Wisdom and
knowledge is granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and
honour, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither
shall there any after thee have the like.
13 ¶ Then Solomon came from his journey to the high place
that was at Gibeon to Jerusalem, from before the tabernacle
of the congregation, and reigned over Israel.
14 And Solomon
gathered chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred
chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, which he placed in the chariot cities,
and with the king at Jerusalem.
15 And the king
made silver and gold at Jerusalem as plenteous as stones, and cedar
trees made he as the sycomore trees that are in the vale for abundance.
16 And Solomon
had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king's merchants received
the linen yarn at a price.
17 And they
fetched up, and brought forth out of Egypt a chariot for six hundred shekels of
silver, and an horse for an hundred and fifty: and so brought they out horses for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of
Syria, by their means.
1 ¶ And Solomon determined to build an house for the name
of the LORD, and an house for his kingdom.
2 And Solomon
told out threescore and ten thousand men to bear burdens, and fourscore
thousand to hew in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred to oversee
them.
3 And Solomon
sent to Huram the king of Tyre, saying, As thou didst deal with David my
father, and didst send him cedars to build him an house to dwell therein, even
so deal with me.
4
Behold, I build an house to the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it
to him, and to burn before him sweet incense, and for the continual shewbread,
and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the
new moons, and on the solemn feasts of the LORD our God. This is an ordinance
for ever to Israel.
5 And the house
which I build is great: for great is our God above all gods.
6
But who is able to build him an house, seeing the heaven and heaven of
heavens cannot contain him? who am I then, that I should build him an house,
save only to burn sacrifice before him?
7 Send me now
therefore a man cunning to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in
iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, and that can skill to grave with the cunning men that are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem,
whom David my father did provide.
8 Send me also cedar
trees, fir trees, and algum trees, out of Lebanon: for I know that thy servants
can skill to cut timber in Lebanon; and, behold, my servants shall be with thy
servants,
9
Even to prepare me timber in abundance: for the house which I am about
to build shall be wonderful great.
10 And, behold, I
will give to thy servants, the hewers that cut timber, twenty thousand measures
of beaten wheat, and twenty thousand measures of barley, and twenty thousand
baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.
11 ¶ Then Huram the king of Tyre
answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon, Because the LORD hath loved his
people, he hath made thee king over them.
12 Huram said
moreover, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, that made heaven and earth, who
hath given to David the king a wise son, endued with prudence and
understanding, that might build an house for the LORD, and an house for his kingdom.
13 And now I have
sent a cunning man, endued with understanding, of Huram my father's,
14 The son of a
woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre, skilful to
work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson; also to
grave any manner of graving, and to find out every device which shall be put to
him, with thy cunning men, and with the cunning men of my lord David thy
father.
15 Now therefore
the wheat, and the barley, the oil, and the wine, which my lord hath spoken of,
let him send unto his servants:
16
And we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as thou shalt need: and we
will bring it to thee in floats by sea to Joppa; and thou shalt carry it up to
Jerusalem.
17 And Solomon
numbered all the strangers that were in the land of Israel, after the numbering
wherewith David his father had numbered them; and they were found an hundred
and fifty thousand and three thousand and six hundred.
18
And he set threescore and ten thousand of them to be bearers of burdens,
and fourscore thousand to be hewers in the mountain, and three thousand and six
hundred overseers to set the people a work.
1 ¶ Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at
Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the LORD appeared unto
David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of
Ornan the Jebusite.
2 And he began to
build in the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.
3 Now these are
the things wherein Solomon was instructed for the building of the house of God. The length by cubits after the first measure was
threescore cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits.
4 And the porch
that was in the front of the house, the length of it was according to the
breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the height was an hundred and twenty:
and he overlaid it within with pure gold.
5
And the greater house he cieled with fir tree, which he overlaid with
fine gold, and set thereon palm trees and chains.
6 And he
garnished the house with precious stones for beauty: and the gold was gold of
Parvaim.
7 He overlaid
also the house, the beams, the posts, and the walls thereof, and the doors thereof, with gold; and graved cherubims on the walls.
8 And he made the
most holy house, the length whereof was according to the breadth of the house,
twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits: and he overlaid it with
fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents.
9 And the weight
of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold.
10 ¶ And in the most holy house he made two cherubims of
image work, and overlaid them with gold.
11 And the wings
of the cherubims were twenty cubits long: one wing of the one cherub was five
cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was likewise five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other
cherub.
12 And one wing
of the other cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the
other wing was five cubits also, joining to the wing of the other cherub.
13 The wings of
these cherubims spread themselves forth twenty cubits: and they stood on their feet, and their faces were inward.
14 And he made
the vail of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought
cherubims thereon.
15 Also he made
before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits high, and the chapiter
that was on the top of each of them was five cubits.
16
And he made chains, as in the oracle, and put them on the heads of the
pillars; and made an hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains.
17 And he reared
up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand, and the other on the
left; and called the name of that on the right hand Jachin, and the name of
that on the left Boaz.
1 ¶ Moreover he made an altar of brass, twenty cubits the
length thereof, and twenty cubits the breadth thereof, and ten cubits the
height thereof.
2 Also he made a
molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and five cubits
the height thereof; and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.
3 And under it
was the similitude of oxen, which did compass it round about: ten in a cubit,
compassing the sea round about. Two rows of oxen were cast, when it was cast.
4 It stood upon
twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward
the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the
east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were
inward.
5 And the
thickness of it was an handbreadth, and the brim of it like the work of the
brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies; and it received and held three thousand
baths.
6
He made also ten lavers, and put five on the right hand, and five on the
left, to wash in them: such things as they offered for the burnt offering they
washed in them; but the sea was for the priests to wash in.
7 And he made ten
candlesticks of gold according to their form, and set them in the temple, five
on the right hand, and five on the left.
8
He made also ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the
right side, and five on the left. And he made an hundred basons of gold.
9 Furthermore he
made the court of the priests, and the great court, and doors for the court,
and overlaid the doors of them with brass.
10 And he set the
sea on the right side of the east end, over against the south.
11 ¶ And Huram made the pots, and the
shovels, and the basons. And Huram finished the work that he was to make for
king Solomon for the house of God;
12 To wit, the
two pillars, and the pommels, and the chapiters which were on the top of the
two pillars, and the two wreaths to cover the two pommels of the chapiters
which were on the top of the pillars;
13
And four hundred pomegranates on the two wreaths; two rows of
pomegranates on each wreath, to cover the two pommels of the chapiters which
were upon the pillars.
14 He made also
bases, and lavers made he upon the bases;
15 One sea, and
twelve oxen under it.
16
The pots also, and the shovels, and the fleshhooks, and all their
instruments, did Huram his father make to king Solomon for the house of the
LORD of bright brass.
17 In the plain
of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and
Zeredathah.
18 Thus Solomon
made all these vessels in great abundance: for the weight of the brass could not be found out.
19 And Solomon
made all the vessels that were for the house of God, the golden altar also, and
the tables whereon the shewbread was set;
20 Moreover the
candlesticks with their lamps, that they should burn after the manner before
the oracle, of pure gold;
21
And the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs, made he of gold, and that
perfect gold;
22 And the
snuffers, and the basons, and the spoons, and the censers, of pure gold: and
the entry of the house, the inner doors thereof for the most holy place, and
the doors of the house of the temple, were of gold.
1 ¶ Thus all the
work that Solomon made for the house of the LORD was finished: and Solomon
brought in all the things that David his father had dedicated; and the silver,
and the gold, and all the instruments, put he among the treasures of the house
of God.
2
Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the
tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto Jerusalem, to
bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is
Zion.
3 Wherefore all
the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the feast which was in
the seventh month.
4
And all the elders of Israel came; and the Levites took up the ark.
5 And they
brought up the ark, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy
vessels that were in the tabernacle, these did the priests and the Levites
bring up.
6 Also king
Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled unto him before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen, which could not
be told nor numbered for multitude.
7 And the priests
brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, to the oracle of
the house, into the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims:
8
For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark,
and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.
9 And they drew
out the staves of the ark, that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark
before the oracle; but they were not seen without. And there it is unto this
day.
10
There was nothing in the ark save the two tables which Moses put therein
at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they
came out of Egypt.
11 ¶ And it came to pass, when the priests were come out
of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and
did not then wait by course:
12
Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman,
of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen,
having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar,
and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:)
13 It came even
to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when
they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of
musick, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth
for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the
LORD;
14 So that the
priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.
1 ¶ Then said Solomon, The LORD hath said that he would
dwell in the thick darkness.
2 But I have
built an house of habitation for thee, and a place for thy dwelling for ever.
3 And the king
turned his face, and blessed the whole congregation of Israel: and all the
congregation of Israel stood.
4 And he said,
Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who hath with his hands fulfilled that which
he spake with his mouth to my father David, saying,
5
Since the day that I brought forth my people out of the land of Egypt I
chose no city among all the tribes of Israel to build an house in, that my name
might be there; neither chose I any man to be a ruler over my people Israel:
6 But I have
chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over
my people Israel.
7
Now it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the
name of the LORD God of Israel.
8 But the LORD
said to David my father, Forasmuch as it was in thine heart to build an house
for my name, thou didst well in that it was in thine heart:
9 Notwithstanding
thou shalt not build the house; but thy son which shall come forth
out of thy loins, he shall build the house for my name.
10 The LORD
therefore hath performed his word that he hath spoken: for I am risen up in the
room of David my father, and am set on the throne of Israel, as the LORD
promised, and have built the house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.
11 And in it have
I put the ark, wherein is the covenant of the LORD, that he made with the children of Israel.
12 ¶ And he stood before the altar of the LORD in the
presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands:
13 For Solomon
had made a brasen scaffold, of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and
three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court: and upon it he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees before all the
congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven,
14 And said, O
LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth;
which keepest covenant, and shewest mercy unto thy servants, that walk before
thee with all their hearts:
15
Thou which hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou
hast promised him; and spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine
hand, as it is this day.
16 Now therefore,
O LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou
hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit upon the throne of Israel; yet so that thy
children take heed to their way to walk in my law, as thou hast walked before
me.
17 Now then, O
LORD God of Israel, let thy word be verified, which thou hast spoken unto thy
servant David.
18 But will God
in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this
house which I have built!
19 Have respect
therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God,
to hearken unto the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee:
20 That thine
eyes may be open upon this house day and night, upon the place whereof
thou hast said that thou wouldest put thy name there; to hearken unto the
prayer which thy servant prayeth toward this place.
21 Hearken
therefore unto the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel,
which they shall make toward this place: hear thou from thy dwelling place,
even from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive.
22
If a man sin against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to make
him swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house;
23 Then hear thou
from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, by requiting the wicked, by
recompensing his way upon his own head; and by justifying the righteous, by
giving him according to his righteousness.
24
And if thy people Israel be put to the worse before the enemy, because
they have sinned against thee; and shall return and confess thy name, and pray
and make supplication before thee in this house;
25 Then hear thou
from the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again
unto the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers.
26
When the heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have
sinned against thee; yet if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name,
and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them;
27 Then hear thou
from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel,
when thou hast taught them the good way, wherein they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given unto thy
people for an inheritance.
28 If there be
dearth in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting, or mildew,
locusts, or caterpillers; if their enemies besiege them in the cities of their
land; whatsoever sore or whatsoever sickness there be:
29
Then what prayer or what supplication soever shall be made of any man,
or of all thy people Israel, when every one shall know his own sore and his own
grief, and shall spread forth his hands in this house:
30 Then hear thou
from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man
according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men:)
31 That they may
fear thee, to walk in thy ways, so long as they live in the land which thou
gavest unto our fathers.
32 Moreover
concerning the stranger, which is not of thy people Israel, but is come from a
far country for thy great name's sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy stretched out arm; if they come and pray in this house;
33 Then hear thou
from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, and do according to all that
the stranger calleth to thee for; that all people of the earth may know thy
name, and fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and may know that this house
which I have built is called by thy name.
34 If thy people go out to war against their enemies by the way that
thou shalt send them, and they pray unto thee toward this city which thou hast
chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name;
35 Then hear thou
from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.
36
If they sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not,) and
thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they
carry them away captives unto a land far off or near;
37 Yet if they
bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn and
pray unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly;
38 If they return
to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their
captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land,
which thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast
chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name:
39
Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, their
prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy
people which have sinned against thee.
40 Now, my God,
let, I beseech thee, thine eyes be open, and let thine ears be attent unto the
prayer that is made in this place.
41
Now therefore arise, O LORD God, into thy resting place, thou, and the
ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation,
and let thy saints rejoice in goodness.
42 O LORD God,
turn not away the face of thine anointed: remember the mercies of David thy
servant.
1 ¶ Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire
came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and
the glory of the LORD filled the house.
2 And the priests
could not enter into the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD'S house.
3 And when all
the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD
upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the
pavement, and worshipped, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his
mercy endureth for ever.
4
Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the LORD.
5 And king
Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty and two thousand oxen, and an hundred and
twenty thousand sheep: so the king and all the people dedicated the house of
God.
6 And the priests
waited on their offices: the Levites also with instruments of musick
of the LORD, which David the king had made to praise the LORD, because his
mercy endureth for ever, when David praised by their ministry; and the priests
sounded trumpets before them, and all Israel stood.
7 Moreover
Solomon hallowed the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD:
for there he offered burnt offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the brasen altar which Solomon had made was not able
to receive the burnt offerings, and the meat offerings, and the fat.
8 Also at the
same time Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very
great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt.
9 And in the
eighth day they made a solemn assembly: for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days.
10 And on the
three and twentieth day of the seventh month he sent the people away into their
tents, glad and merry in heart for the goodness that the LORD had shewed unto
David, and to Solomon, and to Israel his people.
11 Thus Solomon
finished the house of the LORD, and the king's house: and all that
came into Solomon's heart to make in the house of the LORD, and in his own
house, he prosperously effected.
12 ¶ And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said
unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an
house of sacrifice.
13 If I shut up
heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;
14 If my people,
which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my
face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will
forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
15 Now mine eyes
shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.
16 For now have I
chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine
eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.
17 And as for
thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, and do according
to all that I have commanded thee, and shalt observe my statutes and my judgments;
18 Then will I
stablish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David
thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel.
19 But if ye turn
away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you,
and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them;
20
Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given
them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of
my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations.
21 And this
house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it;
so that he shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and unto this house?
22 And it shall
be answered, Because they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought
them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and
worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath he brought all this evil upon
them.
1 ¶ And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, wherein
Solomon had built the house of the LORD, and his own house,
2 That the cities
which Huram had restored to Solomon, Solomon built them, and caused the
children of Israel to dwell there.
3
And Solomon went to Hamathzobah, and prevailed against it.
4 And he built
Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the store cities, which he built in Hamath.
5 Also he built
Bethhoron the upper, and Bethhoron the nether, fenced cities, with walls,
gates, and bars;
6
And Baalath, and all the store cities that Solomon had, and all the
chariot cities, and the cities of the horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to
build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and throughout all the land of his
dominion.
7 As for all the
people that were left of the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites,
and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which were not of Israel,
8
But of their children, who were left after them in the land, whom the
children of Israel consumed not, them did Solomon make to pay tribute until
this day.
9 But of the
children of Israel did Solomon make no servants for his work; but they were men
of war, and chief of his captains, and captains of his chariots and horsemen.
10
And these were the chief of king Solomon's officers, even two hundred
and fifty, that bare rule over the people.
11 And Solomon
brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David unto the house that
he had built for her: for he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of
David king of Israel, because the places are holy, whereunto the ark of the
LORD hath come.
12 ¶ Then Solomon offered burnt offerings unto the LORD
on the altar of the LORD, which he had built before the porch,
13 Even after a
certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the
sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the
feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles.
14 And he
appointed, according to the order of David his father, the courses of the
priests to their service, and the Levites to their charges, to praise and
minister before the priests, as the duty of every day required: the porters
also by their courses at every gate: for so had David the
man of God commanded.
15 And they
departed not from the commandment of the king unto the priests and Levites
concerning any matter, or concerning the treasures.
16 Now all the
work of Solomon was prepared unto the day of the foundation of the house of the
LORD, and until it was finished. So the house of the LORD was perfected.
17 Then went
Solomon to Eziongeber, and to Eloth, at the sea side in the land of Edom.
18 And Huram sent
him by the hands of his servants ships, and servants that had knowledge of the sea;
and they went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and took
thence four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and brought them to king
Solomon.
1 ¶ And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of
Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a
very great company, and camels that bare spices, and gold
in abundance, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she
communed with him of all that was in her heart.
2 And Solomon
told her all her questions: and there was nothing hid from Solomon which he
told her not.
3 And when the
queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that
he had built,
4 And the meat of
his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his
ministers, and their apparel; his cupbearers also, and their apparel; and his
ascent by which he went up into the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit
in her.
5 And she said to
the king, It was a true report which I heard in mine own land of thine acts, and of thy wisdom:
6 Howbeit I
believed not their words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold,
the one half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me: for thou exceedest
the fame that I heard.
7 Happy are thy
men, and happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before
thee, and hear thy wisdom.
8 Blessed be the
LORD thy God, which delighted in thee to set thee on his throne, to be king for
the LORD thy God: because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever,
therefore made he thee king over them, to do judgment and justice.
9 And she gave
the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices great abundance, and precious stones: neither was there any such
spice as the queen of Sheba gave king Solomon.
10 And the
servants also of Huram, and the servants of Solomon, which brought gold from
Ophir, brought algum trees and precious stones.
11 And the king
made of the algum trees terraces to the house of the LORD, and to the king's palace, and harps and psalteries for singers: and
there were none such seen before in the land of Judah.
12 And king
Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside
that which she had brought unto the king. So she turned, and went away to her
own land, she and her servants.
13 ¶ Now the weight of gold that came
to Solomon in one year was six hundred and threescore and six talents of gold;
14 Beside that
which chapmen and merchants brought. And all the kings of Arabia and governors
of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon.
15 And king
Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels
of beaten gold went to one target.
16 And three
hundred shields made he of beaten gold: three hundred shekels of gold went to
one shield. And the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.
17 Moreover the
king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold.
18 And there were
six steps to the throne, with a footstool of gold, which were fastened
to the throne, and stays on each side of the sitting place, and two lions
standing by the stays:
19 And twelve
lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps. There
was not the like made in any kingdom.
20 And all the
drinking vessels of king Solomon were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold: none
were of silver; it was not any thing accounted of in the days of Solomon.
21 For the king's
ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram: every three years once came
the ships of Tarshish bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.
22
And king Solomon passed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.
23 And all the
kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, that God
had put in his heart.
24 And they
brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and
raiment, harness, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.
25
And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve
thousand horsemen; whom he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at
Jerusalem.
26 And he reigned
over all the kings from the river even unto the land of the Philistines, and to
the border of Egypt.
27
And the king made silver in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar trees made he
as the sycomore trees that are in the low plains in abundance.
28 And they
brought unto Solomon horses out of Egypt, and out of all lands.
29 Now the rest
of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of
Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat?
30 And Solomon
reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.
31 And Solomon
slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the city of David his father: and
Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.