Then Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, to the judges, and to every leader in all Israel—the heads of the families.

Solomon and the whole assembly with him went to the high place that was in Gibeon because God’s tent of meeting, which the Lord’s servant Moses had made in the wilderness, was there.

wisdom and knowledge are given to you. I will also give you riches, wealth, and glory, unlike what was given to the kings who were before you, or will be given to those after you.”

A chariot could be imported from Egypt for 15 pounds of silver and a horse for about four pounds. In the same way, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram through their agents.

The temple that I am building will be great, for our God is greater than any of the gods.

Therefore, send me a craftsman who is skilled in engraving to work with gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and with purple, crimson, and blue yarn. He will work with the craftsmen who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem, appointed by my father David.

Also, send me cedar, cypress, and algum logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants know how to cut the trees of Lebanon. Note that my servants will be with your servants

to prepare logs for me in abundance because the temple I am building will be great and wonderful.

I will give your servants, the woodcutters who cut the trees, 100,000 bushels of wheat flour, 100,000 bushels of barley, 110,000 gallons of wine, and 110,000 gallons of oil.

Hiram also said:

May the Lord God of Israel, who made the heavens and the earth, be praised! He gave King David a wise son with insight and understanding, who will build a temple for the Lord and a royal palace for himself.

He is the son of a woman from the daughters of Dan. His father is a man of Tyre. He knows how to work with gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, with purple, blue, crimson yarn, and fine linen. He knows how to do all kinds of engraving and to execute any design that may be given him. I have sent him to be with your craftsmen and the craftsmen of my lord, your father David.

Now, let my lord send the wheat, barley, oil, and wine to his servants as promised.

We will cut logs from Lebanon, as many as you need, and bring them to you as rafts by sea to Joppa. You can then take them up to Jerusalem.

Solomon took a census of all the foreign men in the land of Israel, after the census that his father David had conducted, and the total was 153,600.

The overall length of the wings of the cherubim was 30 feet: the wing of one was 7½ feet, touching the wall of the room; its other wing was 7½ feet, touching the wing of the other cherub.

The wing of the other cherub was 7½ feet, touching the wall of the room; its other wing was 7½ feet, reaching the wing of the other cherub.

It stood on 12 oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The reservoir was on top of them and all their hindquarters were toward the center.

the pots, the shovels, the forks, and all their utensils—Huram-abi made them for King Solomon for the Lord’s temple. All these were made of polished bronze.

Solomon made all these utensils in such great abundance that the weight of the bronze was not determined.

Solomon also made all the equipment in God’s temple: the gold altar; the tables on which to put the bread of the Presence;

So all the work Solomon did for the Lord’s temple was completed. Then Solomon brought the consecrated things of his father David—the silver, the gold, and all the utensils—and put them in the treasuries of God’s temple.

At that time Solomon assembled at Jerusalem the elders of Israel—all the tribal heads, the ancestral chiefs of the Israelites—in order to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord up from the city of David, that is, Zion.

So all the men of Israel were assembled in the king’s presence at the festival; this was in the seventh month.

All the elders of Israel came, and the Levites picked up the ark.

Now all the priests who were present had consecrated themselves regardless of their divisions. When the priests came out of the holy place,

Then the king turned and blessed the entire congregation of Israel while they were standing.

But I have chosen Jerusalem
so that My name will be there,
and I have chosen David
to be over My people Israel.”

However, Yahweh said to my father David,
“Since it was your desire to build a temple for My name,
you have done well to have this desire.

Yet, you are not the one to build the temple,
but your son, your own offspring,
will build the temple for My name.”

He said:

Lord God of Israel,
there is no God like You
in heaven or on earth,
keeping His gracious covenant
with Your servants who walk before You
with their whole heart.

Therefore, Lord God of Israel,
keep what You promised
to Your servant, my father David:
“You will never fail to have a man
to sit before Me on the throne of Israel,
if only your sons guard their way to walk in My Law
as you have walked before Me.”

But will God indeed live on earth with man?
Even heaven, the highest heaven, cannot contain You,
much less this temple I have built.

may You hear in heaven, Your dwelling place,
and may You forgive and repay the man
according to all his ways, since You know his heart,
for You alone know the human heart,

so that they may fear You
and walk in Your ways
all the days they live on the land
You gave our ancestors.

may You hear in heaven in Your dwelling place,
and do all the foreigner asks You.
Then all the peoples of the earth will know Your name,
to fear You as Your people Israel do
and know that this temple I have built
is called by Your name.

and when they return to You with their whole mind and heart
in the land of their captivity where they were taken captive,
and when they pray in the direction of their land
that You gave their ancestors,
and the city You have chosen,
and toward the temple I have built for Your name,

All the Israelites were watching when the fire descended and the glory of the Lord came on the temple. They bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground. They worshiped and praised the Lord:

For He is good,
for His faithful love endures forever.

The king and all the people were offering sacrifices in the Lord’s presence.

King Solomon offered a sacrifice of 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep. In this manner the king and all the people dedicated God’s temple.

The priests and the Levites were standing at their stations. The Levites had the musical instruments of the Lord, which King David had made to praise the Lord—“for His faithful love endures forever”—when he offered praise with them. Across from the Levites, the priests were blowing trumpets, and all the people were standing.

So Solomon and all Israel with him—a very great assembly, from the entrance to Hamath to the Brook of Egypt—observed the festival at that time for seven days.

and My people who are called by My name humble themselves, pray and seek My face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.

My eyes will now be open and My ears attentive to prayer from this place.

And I have now chosen and consecrated this temple so that My name may be there forever; My eyes and My heart will be there at all times.

I will establish your royal throne, as I promised your father David: You will never fail to have a man ruling in Israel.

then I will uproot Israel from the soil that I gave them, and this temple that I have sanctified for My name I will banish from My presence; I will make it an object of scorn and ridicule among all the peoples.

As for this temple, which was exalted, everyone who passes by will be appalled and will say: Why did the Lord do this to this land and this temple?

Then they will say: Because they abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors who brought them out of the land of Egypt. They clung to other gods and worshiped and served them. Because of this, He brought all this ruin on them.

He built Tadmor in the wilderness along with all the storage cities that he built in Hamath.

Baalath, all the storage cities that belonged to Solomon, all the chariot cities, the cavalry cities, and everything Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, or anywhere else in the land of his dominion.

As for all the peoples who remained of the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not from Israel—

All of Solomon’s work was carried out from the day the foundation was laid for the Lord’s temple until it was finished. So the Lord’s temple was completed.

So Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too difficult for Solomon to explain to her.

besides what was brought by the merchants and traders. All the Arabian kings and governors of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon.

All of King Solomon’s drinking cups were gold, and all the utensils of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver, since it was considered as nothing in Solomon’s time,

King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the world in riches and wisdom.

All the kings of the world wanted an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart.

He ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines and as far as the border of Egypt.

They were bringing horses for Solomon from Egypt and from all the countries.

Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel for 40 years.

Then Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king.

So they summoned him. Then Jeroboam and all Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam:

“Your father made our yoke difficult. Therefore, lighten your father’s harsh service and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”

They replied, “If you will be kind to these people and please them by speaking kind words to them, they will be your servants forever.”

Now therefore, my father burdened you with a heavy yoke, but I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I, with barbed whips.’”

So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, just as the king had ordered, saying, “Return to me on the third day.”

and spoke to them according to the young men’s advice, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it; my father disciplined you with whips, but I, with barbed whips.”

When all Israel saw that the king had not listened to them, the people answered the king:

What portion do we have in David?
We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse.
Israel, each man to your tent;
David, look after your own house now!

So all Israel went to their tents.

“Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah, to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people:

He strengthened their fortifications and put leaders in them with supplies of food, oil, and wine.

The priests and Levites from all their regions throughout Israel took their stand with Rehoboam,

Rehoboam loved Maacah daughter of Absalom more than all his wives and concubines. He acquired 18 wives and 60 concubines and was the father of 28 sons and 60 daughters.

Rehoboam also showed discernment by dispersing some of his sons to all the regions of Judah and Benjamin and to all the fortified cities. He gave them plenty of provisions and sought many wives for them.

When Rehoboam had established his sovereignty and royal power, he abandoned the law of the Lord—he and all Israel with him.

When the Lord saw that they had humbled themselves, the Lord’s message came to Shemaiah: “They have humbled themselves; I will not destroy them but will grant them a little deliverance. My wrath will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak.

However, they will become his servants so that they may recognize the difference between serving Me and serving the kingdoms of other lands.”

King Rehoboam established his royal power in Jerusalem. Rehoboam was 41 years old when he became king and reigned 17 years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord had chosen from all the tribes of Israel to put His name. Rehoboam’s mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite.

Then Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, “Jeroboam and all Israel, hear me.

They offer a burnt offering and fragrant incense to the Lord every morning and every evening, and they set the rows of the bread of the Presence on the ceremonially clean table. They light the lamps of the gold lampstand every evening. We are carrying out the requirements of Yahweh our God, while you have abandoned Him.

Look, God and His priests are with us at our head. The trumpets are ready to sound the charge against you. Israelites, don’t fight against the Lord God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed.”

and the men of Judah raised the battle cry. When the men of Judah raised the battle cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.

He also removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah, and the kingdom experienced peace under him.

Asa had an army of 300,000 from Judah bearing large shields and spears, and 280,000 from Benjamin bearing regular shields and drawing the bow. All these were brave warriors.

Then they attacked all the cities around Gerar because the terror of the Lord was on them. They also plundered all the cities, since there was a great deal of plunder in them.

So he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Asa and all Judah and Benjamin, hear me. The Lord is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you abandon Him, He will abandon you.

When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he took courage and removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He renovated the altar of the Lord that was in front of the portico of the Lord’s temple.

Then he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, as well as those from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had settled among them, for they had defected to him from Israel in great numbers when they saw that Yahweh his God was with him.

At that time they sacrificed to the Lord 700 cattle and 7,000 sheep from all the plunder they had brought.

Then they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their ancestors with all their mind and all their heart.

All Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn it with all their mind. They had sought Him with all their heart, and He was found by them. So the Lord gave them rest on every side.

“There’s a treaty between me and you, between my father and your father. Look, I have sent you silver and gold. Go break your treaty with Israel’s King Baasha so that he will withdraw from me.”

Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies to the cities of Israel. They attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, and all the storage cities of Naphtali.

Then King Asa brought all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and the timbers Baasha had built it with. Then he built Geba and Mizpah with them.

For the eyes of Yahweh roam throughout the earth to show Himself strong for those whose hearts are completely His. You have been foolish in this matter. Therefore, you will have wars from now on.”

So the Lord established the kingdom in his hand. Then all Judah brought him tribute, and he had riches and honor in abundance.

The terror of the Lord was on all the kingdoms of the lands that surrounded Judah, so they didn’t fight against Jehoshaphat.

These were the ones who served the king, besides those he stationed in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.

for Israel’s King Ahab asked Judah’s King Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to Ramoth-gilead?”

He replied to him, “I am as you are, my people as your people; we will be with you in the battle.”

But Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “First, please ask what the Lord’s will is.”

So the king of Israel gathered the prophets, 400 men, and asked them, “Should we go to Ramoth-gilead for war or should I refrain?”

They replied, “March up, and God will hand it over to the king.”