But the ark of God had David brought up from Kirjath-jearim to the place that David had prepared for it; for he had spread a tent for it at Jerusalem.

And Solomon offered there upon the brazen altar before Jehovah which was at the tent of meeting; and he offered up a thousand burnt-offerings upon it.

In that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, Ask what I shall give thee.

Now, Jehovah Elohim, let thy word unto David my father be firm; for thou hast made me king over a people numerous as the dust of the earth.

Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this thy great people?

And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thy heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of them that hate thee, neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked for thyself wisdom and knowledge, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king:

wisdom and knowledge are 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 any after thee have the like.

And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; and he had a thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen; and he placed them in the chariot-cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.

And the exportation of horses that Solomon had was from Egypt: a caravan of the king's merchants fetched a drove of horses, at a price.

And they fetched up and brought forth out of Egypt a chariot for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty; and so they brought them by their means, for all the kings of the Hittites and for the kings of Syria.

And Solomon purposed to build a house for the name of Jehovah, and a house for his kingdom.

And Solomon sent to Huram king of Tyre, saying, As thou didst deal with David my father, and didst send him cedars to build him a house to dwell therein so do for me.

Behold, I build a house unto the name of Jehovah my God to dedicate it to him, to burn before him sweet incense, and for the continual arrangement of the shewbread, and for the morning and evening burnt-offerings and on the sabbaths and on the new moons, and on the set feasts of Jehovah our God. This is an ordinance for ever to Israel.

And the house that I will build is great; for great is our God above all gods.

But who is able to build him a house, seeing the heavens and the heaven of heavens cannot contain him? And who am I that I should build him a house, except to burn sacrifice before him?

And now send me a man skilful to work in gold, and in silver, and in bronze, and in iron, and in purple and crimson and blue, and experienced in carving, besides the skilful men that are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father provided.

Send me also cedar-trees, cypress-trees, and sandal-wood trees, out of Lebanon; for I know that thy servants are experienced in cutting timber in Lebanon; and behold, my servants shall be with thy servants,

even to prepare me timber in abundance: for the house that I build shall be great and wonderful.

And behold, I will give to thy servants the hewers that fell 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.

And Huram said, Blessed be Jehovah the God of Israel, that made the heavens and the earth, who has given to David the king a wise son, endued with prudence and understanding, who will build a house for Jehovah and a house for his kingdom.

And now, I send a skilful man, endued with understanding, Huram Abi,

the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and whose father was a man of Tyre, experienced in working in gold, and in silver, in bronze, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in byssus, and in crimson, and for doing any manner of engraving, and for inventing every device which shall be put to him, besides thy skilful men, and the skilful men of my lord David thy father.

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.

And Solomon numbered all the strangers that were in the land of Israel, after the account that David his father had taken of them, and there were found a hundred and fifty-three thousand six hundred.

And the porch which was in front was twenty cubits in length, in front of the house broadways, and the height was a hundred and twenty; and he overlaid it within with pure gold.

And he made chains as in the oracle, and he put them on the top of the pillars; and he made a hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains.

And he made a brazen altar: its length was twenty cubits, and its breadth twenty cubits, and its height ten cubits.

And he made the sea, molten, ten cubits from brim to brim, round all about; and its height was five cubits; and a line of thirty cubits encompassed it round about.

And under it was the similitude of oxen, encompassing it round about, ten in a cubit enclosing the sea round about, two rows of oxen, cast when it was cast.

And its thickness was a hand-breadth, and its brim like the work of the brim of a cup, with lily-blossoms; in capacity it held three thousand baths.

And he made ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right hand and five on the left. And he made a hundred golden bowls.

There was nothing in the ark save the two tables which Moses put there at Horeb, when Jehovah made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.

and the Levites the singers, all they of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, clad in byssus, with cymbals and lutes and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them a hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets),

But I have built a house of habitation for thee, even a settled place for thee to abide in for ever.

And he said: Blessed be Jehovah the God of Israel, who spoke with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hands fulfilled it, saying,

Since the day that I brought forth my people out of the land of Egypt I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house in, that my name might be there; neither chose I any man to be prince over my people Israel:

but I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.

And it was in the heart of David my father to build a house unto the name of Jehovah the God of Israel.

But Jehovah said to David my father, Whereas it was in thy heart to build a house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thy heart;

And Jehovah has performed his word which he spoke; and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as Jehovah promised, and I have built the house unto the name of Jehovah the God of Israel.

And in it have I put the ark, wherein is the covenant of Jehovah, which he made with the children of Israel.

For Solomon had made a platform of bronze, 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 he kneeled down on his knees before the whole congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward the heavens,

and said, Jehovah, God of Israel! there is no God like thee, in the heavens or on the earth, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart;

who hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou didst promise him; thou spokest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thy hand as at this day.

And now, Jehovah, 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 on the throne of Israel, if only thy sons take heed to their way to walk in my law, as thou hast walked before me.

But will God indeed dwell with man on the earth? behold, the heavens and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!

If a man have sinned against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to adjure him, and the oath come before thine altar in this house;

then hear thou from the heavens, and do, and judge thy servants, requiting the wicked, to bring his way upon his own head; and justifying the righteous, giving him according to his righteousness.

then hear thou in the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou teachest them the good way wherein they should walk; and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance.

And as to the stranger also, who is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy great name's sake, and thy mighty hand and thy stretched-out arm; when they shall come and pray toward this house,

then hear thou from the heavens, the settled place of thy dwelling, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; in order that all peoples of the earth may know thy name, and may fear thee as do thy people Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name.

If thy people go out to battle against their enemies by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray unto thee toward this city that thou hast chosen, and the house that I have built unto thy name;

If they have sinned against thee (for there is no man that sinneth not), and thou be angry with them, and give them up to the enemy, and they have carried them away captives unto a land far off or near;

and if they shall take it to heart in the land whither they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done iniquity and have dealt perversely;

and if they return unto 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 the city that thou hast chosen, and the house that I have built unto thy name;

Now, my God, I beseech thee, let thine eyes be open and let thine ears be attentive unto the prayer that is made in this place.

Jehovah Elohim, turn not away the face of thine anointed: remember mercies to David thy servant.

And king Solomon sacrificed a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand oxen, and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God.

And at that time Solomon held the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great congregation, from the entrance of Hamath unto the torrent of Egypt.

And on the eighth day they held a solemn assembly; for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days.

And on the three and twentieth day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their tents, joyful and glad of heart for the goodness that Jehovah had done to David and to Solomon, and to Israel his people.

Then Jehovah appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: I have heard thy prayer, and I have chosen for myself this place for a house of sacrifice.

If I shut up the heavens that there be no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;

and my people, who are called by my name, humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from the heavens, and forgive their sin, and heal their land.

for I have now chosen and hallowed this house, that my name may be there for ever; and mine eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually.

And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and mine ordinances;

then will I establish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to rule over Israel.

But if ye turn away and forsake my statutes and my commandments which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them;

then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed to my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.

And they shall say, Because they forsook Jehovah the God of their fathers, who brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and have attached themselves to other gods, and have worshipped them and served them; therefore he has brought upon them all this evil.

All the people that were left of the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of Israel,

And the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, and came to Jerusalem to prove Solomon with enigmas; with a very great train, and camels that bore spices and gold in great abundance, and precious stones; and she came to Solomon, and spoke with him of all that was in her heart.

And Solomon explained to her all she spoke of, and there was not a thing hidden from Solomon that he did not explain to her.

And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thine affairs and of thy wisdom;

but I gave no credit to their words, until I came and mine eyes had seen; and behold, the half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me: thou exceedest the report that I heard.

Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servants, who stand continually before thee and hear thy wisdom!

Blessed be Jehovah thy God, who delighted in thee, to set thee on his throne, to be king to Jehovah thy God! Because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever, therefore did he make thee king over them, to do judgment and justice.

And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and spices in very great abundance, and precious stones; neither was there any such spice as that which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.

(And the servants also of Huram, and the servants of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, brought sandal-wood and precious stones.

And the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold;

and the throne had six steps, with a footstool of gold fastened to the throne; and there were arms on each side at the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the arms;

And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver and vessels of gold, and clothing, armour, and spices, horses and mules, a rate year by year.

Thy father made our yoke grievous; and now lighten the grievous servitude of thy father, and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve thee.

And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, How do ye advise to return answer to this people?

But he forsook the advice of the old men which they had given him, and consulted with the young men, who had grown up with him, that stood before him.

And he said to them, What advice give ye that we may return answer to this people, who have spoken to me saying, Lighten the yoke which thy father put upon us?

And the young men that had grown up with him spoke to him saying, Thus shalt thou say to the people who have spoken to thee saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, and lighten thou it for us, thus shalt thou say to them: My little finger is thicker than my father's loins;

and whereas my father laid a heavy yoke upon you, I will add to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.

and spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.

And all Israel saw that the king hearkened not to them; and the people answered the king saying, What portion have we in David? and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to your tents, O Israel. Now see to thine own house, David! And all Israel went to their tents.

And king Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was over the levy; but the children of Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. And king Rehoboam hastened to mount his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.

And Rehoboam came to Jerusalem; and he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand chosen men apt for war, to fight against Israel, that he might bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam.

And they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong three years; for during three years they walked in the way of David and Solomon.

And he dealt wisely, and dispersed of all his sons throughout all the lands of Judah and Benjamin, to all the fortified cities; and he gave them food in abundance. And he desired for them a multitude of wives.

And Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and to the princes of Judah that had gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, Thus saith Jehovah: Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak.

And when Jehovah saw that they humbled themselves, the word of Jehovah came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves: I will not destroy them, but I will grant them a little deliverance; and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.

And Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and the treasures of the king's house; he took away all; and he took away the shields of gold that Solomon had made.

And king Rehoboam made in their stead shields of bronze, and committed them to the hands of the chief of the couriers who kept the entrance of the king's house.

And when he humbled himself, the anger of Jehovah turned away from him, that he would not destroy him altogether; and also in Judah there were good things.

Ought ye not to know that Jehovah the God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt?