Now, give to me wisdom and knowledge that I may go out and come in before this people, for who can judge this, your great people?"

Then God said to Solomon, "Because this was with your heart and you did not ask for wealth, possessions, honor, and the lives of your enemies, and also did not ask for {long life}, but have asked for wisdom and knowledge that you might judge my people over whom I have made you king,

wisdom and knowledge is given to you. And I will [also] give to you wealth, possessions, and honor, the like of which was not had by the kings who [were] before you, nor will there be the like after you."

Now who indeed has adequate strength to build a house for him? For the heavens and {the highest heavens} are not able to contain him. Now who [am] I that I would build a house for him, except to burn incense before him?

So then, send to me skilled men to work with gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and with purple, crimson, and blue fabric, knowledgeable in engraving, with the skilled men who [are] with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father has established.

Now see, I will provide twenty thousand dry measures of crushed wheat, twenty thousand dry measures of barley, twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil to the woodcarvers and those who cut timber."

Then Huram said, "Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who has made the heavens and the earth, who has given to King David a wise son knowing discretion and understanding, who will build for Yahweh a house and a royal palace for himself.

Then Solomon counted all the resident alien men who [were] in the land of Israel after the census that David his father had taken of them. And there were found one hundred and fifty-three thousand.

And when the priests came out of the sanctuary (for all the priests who were present sanctified themselves without keeping their divisions)

and all the Levitical singers--Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, their sons, their brothers, dressed [in] fine linen, with cymbals, harps, and stringed instruments--[they] were standing to the east of the altar. And with them outside [were] one hundred and twenty priests [who were] trumpet blowers.

And he said, "Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who spoke with his mouth with David my father, and with his hands he has fulfilled [it], saying,

but you yourself will not build the house, but your son who will proceed from your loins; he himself will build the house for my name.'

And he said, "O Yahweh, God of Israel, there is none like you, a God in the heavens and on the earth, keeping the covenant and loyal love with your servants who walk before you with all their heart,

[then] any prayer, any plea that is [made] by any person and by all your people Israel, each one who knows his own affliction and his own anguish and [who] spreads out his hands to this house,

"And also, with respect to the foreigner, he who [is] not of your people Israel, but comes from a distant land, for the sake of your great name and your powerful hand and outstretched arm, when he comes and prays to this house,

When they sin against you--for there is no person who does not sin--and you become angry with them and place them before their enemy that they carry them away as captives to a land far or near,

then may you hear their prayer and their pleas from the heavens, from your dwelling place, and uphold their case and forgive your people who sinned against you.

[then if] my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and will pray and will seek my face and will turn from their evil ways, then I myself shall hear from the heavens and will forgive their sins and heal their land.

And [as for] this house, which was exalted, all who pass by it will be appalled and will say, 'Why has Yahweh done thus to this land and to this house?'

Then they will say, 'Because they forsook Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out from the land of Egypt, and [they] laid hold of other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore he has brought upon them all this evil.'"

All the people who remained from the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites who were not from Israel,

from the descendants who were left over after them in the land, whom the Israelites had not destroyed, Solomon conscripted them as forced labor until this day.

And these [were] the commanders of the garrisons that belonged to King Solomon, two hundred and fifty who exercised authority over the people.

Blessed [are] your men, and blessed [are] these your servants who stand before you regularly and hear your wisdom!

Blessed be Yahweh your God who took delight in you, to put you on his throne as king for Yahweh your God! Because your God loved Israel, he established him forever and has put you over them as king to do justice and righteousness!"

Moreover the servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon who brought gold from Ophir brought algum wood and precious stones.

Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the elders who had been {serving} before Solomon his father when he was alive, saying, "What word do you advise to answer this people?"

But he forsook the advice of the elders that advised him and took counsel of the young men who had grown up with him who were {serving} before him.

And he said to them, "What do you advise that we should say in return to this people, who said to me, 'Lighten the yoke that your father has put upon us'?"

Then the young men who had grown up with him said to him, "Thus you should say to this people who have said to you, 'Your father made our yoke heavy, so you yourself should lighten [it] for us.' Thus you should say to them, 'My little finger [is] thicker than the loins of my father.

But as for the {Israelites} who were living in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam ruled over them.

Then King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was {in charge of} the forced labor, but the {Israelites} stoned him with stones, and he died. Then King Rehoboam hastily went up into the chariot to flee to Jerusalem.

Now the priests and the Levites who [were] throughout all Israel took their stand with him from all their territories.

Then after them, from all the tribes of Israel, those who set their heart to seek Yahweh, the God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to offer to Yahweh, the God of their ancestors.

And after her he took Maacah the daughter of Absalom, who bore to him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.

with one thousand two hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen. And there was no number to the people who came up with him from Egypt--Libyans, Sukkites, and Cushites.

Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the princes of Judah who had gathered at Jerusalem from before Shishak. And he said to them, "Thus says Yahweh: 'You yourselves have abandoned me, and I myself have surely abandoned you into the hand of Shishak.'"

And King Rehoboam made small shields of bronze in their place and committed them into the hand of the commanders of the guards who were keeping the entrance of the house of the king.

Did you not drive out the priests of Yahweh, the sons of Aaron, the Levites? Have you [not] made for yourselves priests like all the peoples of the lands? All who come {to be consecrated for priestly service} with a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest of [what is] not a god.

And Asa had an army [of] three hundred thousand from Judah, bearing shields and spears, and two hundred and eighty thousand from Benjamin [who] carried shields and drew bows. All of these [were] mighty warriors of strength.

but all who will not seek Yahweh the God of Israel should be killed, from young to old, from men to women.

Then Asa brought out silver and gold from the storehouses of the house of Yahweh and the house of the king, and he sent [them] to Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, saying,

and at his side, Amasiah the son of Zicri, who had made a freewill offering to Yahweh, and with him [were] two hundred thousand mighty armed warriors.

These were serving the king, besides [those] whom the king had placed in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.

And {after some years} he went down to Ahab in Samaria. And Ahab slaughtered many sheep and cattle for him and for the people who [were] with him, and urged him to go up against Ramoth-Gilead.

Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "[There is] yet one man by whom to seek Yahweh, but I hate him, because he never prophesies good concerning me, but {always} disaster. He [is] Micaiah the son of Imlah." Then Jehoshaphat said, "Let not the king say thus."

Then the messenger who went to call Micaiah said to him, "Behold, the words of the prophets [are] good with one voice to the king. Please let your word be as one with them and speak good."

And Yahweh said, 'Who will entice Ahab the king of Israel that he would go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead?' And one said this, and another said that.

And Jehu son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him. And he said to King Jehoshaphat, "Should you [be] a help to the wicked and love those who hate Yahweh? On account of this, wrath [has come] against you from Yahweh.

Any legal dispute that comes before you from your brothers who live in their cities concerning bloodguilt, law, commandment, statutes, and justice, you must warn them, so that they do not incur guilt before Yahweh, and that wrath may not come upon you and your brothers. Thus you must do that you do not incur guilt.

And he said, "O Yahweh, God of our ancestors, are you not God in heaven? Now you rule in all the kingdoms of the nations, and in your hand [are] power and might, and there is none [who can] resist against you.

And now, look, the people of Moab and Ammon and Mount Seir whom you did not allow Israel to come against when they came from Egypt, from whom they turned aside and did not destroy,

And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed singers to Yahweh [who were] giving praise to the splendor of [his] holiness when they went out before the army. And they said, "Give thanks to Yahweh, for his loyal love [is] everlasting!"

And {when} they began with singing and praise, Yahweh set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who were coming against Judah. And they were defeated

And Judah came against the watchtower of the wilderness. And they looked at the crowd, and behold, corpses were lying on the ground. There was none [who had] escaped.

And afterward Jehoshaphat the king of Judah joined with Ahaziah the king of Israel, who acted wickedly.

Then Jehoram passed over with his commanders and all the chariots with him, and when night came he struck Edom who [was] all around him and the commanders of his chariots.

but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel and have enticed Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to be unfaithful like the unfaithfulness of the house of Ahab, and have also murdered your brothers of the house of your father who [were] better than you,

And Yahweh stirred up the spirit of the Philistines and the Arabs who [were] {near} the Cushites against Jehoram.

And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in his place, for the band of men who had come with the Arabs to the camp had murdered all the older sons. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, the king of Judah, reigned.

But the downfall of Ahaziah was from God, [and intended] to come to Joram. And when he came, he went out with Jehoram to Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom Yahweh had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab.

And it happened [that] when Jehu was judging the house of Ahab, he found the princes of Judah and the sons of the brothers of Ahaziah who ministered to Ahaziah, and he killed them.

And he searched for Ahaziah and captured him. And he was hiding in Samaria. And they brought him to Jehu and put him to death. And they buried him, for they said, "He [is] the descendant of Jehoshaphat, who sought Yahweh with his whole heart." And the house of Ahab had no one to exercise power over the kingdom.

But Jehosheba the daughter of the king took Joash, the son of Ahaziah, and kidnapped him away from the sons of the king who were to be put to death. And she put him and his nurse in a private bedroom. So Jehosheba the daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest, because she was a sister of Ahaziah, hid him from before Athaliah so that she did not put him to death.

And the Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. And they each took his men [who were] {coming off duty on the Sabbath} with {the ones going out to duty on the Sabbath}, for Jehoiada the priest did not dismiss the working groups.

And Jehoiada placed appointees [at] the house of Yahweh under the hand of the Levitical priests whom David had allotted to the house of Yahweh to offer burnt offerings to Yahweh as was written in the law of Moses, with joy and with song, according to the {order of David}.

And the king and Jehoiada gave it to those who did the work of the service of the house of Yahweh. And they hired stonemasons and skilled craftsmen to restore the house of Yahweh, and also workers in iron and bronze to repair the house of Yahweh.

Now these [are] the ones who conspired against him: Zabad the son of Shimeath, the Ammonite, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith, the Moabite.

And it happened [that] as his reign was strengthened, he killed his servants who had killed his father the king.

So {Yahweh became very angry} with Amaziah and sent a prophet to him, and he said to him, "Why have you sought the gods of the people who could not deliver their own people from your hand?"

And he began to seek God in the days of Zechariah who was teaching in visions of God. And {whenever} he sought Yahweh God made him have success.

And God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabs who were living in Gur-Baal and Meunim.

And under their hand [were] army troops [numbering] three hundred and seven thousand five hundred who could make war with power and strength to help the king against an enemy.

And they stood against King Uzziah and said to him, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to Yahweh, but [it is] for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have acted unfaithfully. There will be no honor for you from Yahweh God."

And he himself burned incense in the valley of Ben-Hinnom and burned his sons in the fire, according to the detestable [practices] of the nations whom Yahweh drove out before the Israelites.

Then Yahweh his God gave him into the hand of the king of Aram who defeated him and captured many captives from him and brought [them to] Damascus. Moreover, he was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, and he defeated him by a great attack.

So now, listen to me and return the captives of your brothers whom you have taken captive, for the fierce anger of Yahweh [is] against you."

Then the men designated by name arose and took the captives and from the plunder clothed all their nakedness. So they clothed them, gave them sandals, gave them food to eat, gave them water to drink, anointed them, and guided them with the donkeys [provided] for all those who stumbled, and brought them to Jericho, the city of the palm trees, next to their brothers. Then they returned to Samaria.

And when the offering was finished, the king and all who were found with him knelt down and bowed themselves.

Then Hezekiah answered and said, "Now {you have consecrated yourselves} to Yahweh. Come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of Yahweh!" And the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all [who were] willing in heart [brought] burnt offerings.

And the runners went with the letter from the hand of the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah according to the command of the king, saying, "O sons of Israel, return to Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that he may turn again to the remnant of you who escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria.

Do not be like your fathers and like your brothers, who acted unfaithfully before Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, so that he made them as a desolation, as you see.

For [there were] many in the assembly who did not consecrate themselves, so the Levites [were] over the killing of the Passover sacrifices for all who [were] not clean, to consecrate [them] to Yahweh.

And the {Israelites} who were found in Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great joy. And the Levites and the priests were offering praise to Yahweh day by day, with powerful instruments to Yahweh.

And Hezekiah spoke to the heart of all the Levites {who were skilled at service} to Yahweh. So they ate the feast seven days, offering peace offerings and giving thanks to Yahweh, the God of their ancestors.

And the whole assembly of Judah, the priests and the Levites, all the assembly who had come from the land of Israel, and those living in Judah rejoiced.

And when all this was finished, all Israel who were found in the cities of Judah went out and shattered the stone pillars, cut down the Asherahs, and destroyed the high places and the altars from all Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh {to the very last one}. Then all the Israelites returned, each to his own property [and] to their cities.

Then the people of Israel and Judah who were living in the cities of Judah, they also brought a tithe of cattle and sheep and a tithe of consecrated objects to Yahweh their God. And they gave heaps [upon] heaps.

besides their enrollment by genealogy, to males from three years old and upward, to all who came into the house of Yahweh, {as each day required} for their service in their posts according to their working groups.

And for the descendants of Aaron, the priests, [who were] in the fields of the pasturelands of their cities, {in each and every one of their cities} [were] men who were designated by name to give shares to every male among the priests and to everyone enrolled among the Levites.

Who among all the gods of those nations whom my ancestors utterly destroyed was able to save his people from my hand, that your God will be able to save you from my hand?

And he wrote letters to treat Yahweh the God of Israel with contempt and spoke against him, saying, "As the gods of the nations of the earth who did not save their people from my hand, so likewise the God of Hezekiah will not save his people from my hand."

Then they called with a great voice in Judean to the people of Jerusalem who [were] upon the wall to frighten them and terrify them, so that they could take the city captive.

And thus [in the matter of] the envoys of the commanders of Babylon who had been sent to him to seek the sign that had happened in the land, God forsook him, to test him [and] to know all [that was] in his heart.

And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh according to the detestable things of the nations whom Yahweh drove out before the {Israelites}.

Now the remainder of the words of Manasseh and his prayer to his God and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel, behold, they [are] in the words of the kings of Israel.

But the people of the land struck down all who conspired against King Amon. And the people of the land made his son Josiah king in his place.

And he destroyed before him the altars for the Baals, and he cut down the incense stands above them. And the Asherahs, the idols, and the images he smashed. And he ground [them] to powder and sprinkled [the dust] over the burial sites of those who sacrificed to them.

And they delivered [it] into the hand of the workmen who were appointed in the house of Yahweh, and they [in turn] gave it to those doing the work who [were] at work in the house of Yahweh, to repair [and] restore the house.

And the men did the work faithfully. Over them as supervisors [were] appointed Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites from the Merarites, and Zechariah and Meshullam from the Kohathites. And [other] Levites, all who were skilled in instruments of song,