Solomon addressed all Israel, including those who commanded units of a thousand and a hundred, the judges, and all the leaders of all Israel who were heads of families.

Now grant me wisdom and knowledge so that I may lead these people, for who can judge this great people of Yours?”

God said to Solomon, “Since this was in your heart, and you have not requested riches, wealth, or glory, or for the life of those who hate you, and you have not even requested long life, but you have requested for yourself wisdom and knowledge that you may judge My people over whom I have made you king,

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.”

Solomon counted out seventy thousand men to bear burdens, and eighty thousand men who were stone cutters in the mountains, and three thousand and six hundred to oversee them.

But who is able to build a temple for Him, since even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain Him? Who am I then that I should build a temple for Him except as a place to burn incense before Him?

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.

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.

I have now sent Huram-abi, a skillful man who has understanding.

He is the son of a mother from the tribe of Dan, and his father is from Tyre. He's skilled in working with gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and timber, as well as in purple, blue, linen, and crimson materials. He is skilled in engravings, and can craft any design to which he may be assigned. He will work with your skilled artisans and with all of your craftsmen who have been assigned by my lord David, your father.

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.

He set seventy thousand of them to bear burdens, and eighty thousand who were stone cutters in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred overseers to set the people at work.

All the pots and the spades and the meat-hooks and their vessels, which Huram, who was as his father, made for King Solomon for the house of the Lord, were of polished brass.

King Solomon and the entire congregation of Israel who had gathered around him were in front of the ark sacrificing sheep and cattle that could not be counted or numbered because there were so many.

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

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 when the players on horns, and those who made melody in song, with one voice were sounding the praise and glory of the Lord; with loud voices and with wind instruments, and brass and corded instruments of music, praising the Lord and saying, He is good; his mercy is unchanging for ever: then the house was full of the cloud of the glory of the Lord,

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,

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.'

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.

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.

Then let your ear be open in heaven, and be the judge of your servants, giving punishment to the wrongdoer, so that his sin may come on his head; and, by your decision, keeping from evil him who has done no wrong.

[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,

then listen from your heavenly dwelling place, forgive their sin, and act favorably toward each one based on your evaluation of their motives. (Indeed you are the only one who can correctly evaluate the motives of all people.)

Even for the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel
but has come from a distant land
because of Your great name
and Your mighty hand and outstretched arm:
when he comes and prays toward this temple,

When they sin against You—
for there is no one who does not sin—
and You are angry with them
and hand them over to the enemy,
and their captors deport them
to a distant or nearby country,

may You hear their prayer and petitions in heaven,
Your dwelling place,
and uphold their cause.
May You forgive Your people
who sinned against You.

O Lord God, let him whom you have taken for yourself never be given up by you: keep in mind your mercies to David your servant.

The priests stood in their assigned spots, along with the Levites who had the musical instruments used for praising the Lord. (These were the ones King David made for giving thanks to the Lord and which were used by David when he offered praise, saying, "Certainly his loyal love endures.") Opposite the Levites, the priests were blowing the trumpets, while all Israel stood there.

So Solomon observed the feast at that time for seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly who came from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of Egypt.

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.

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 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.

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

their descendants who remained in the land after them, those the Israelites had not completely destroyed—Solomon imposed forced labor on them; it is this way today.

But, of the sons of Israel, were there none whom he delivered up as bondmen unto his work, - for, they, were men of war, and his captains and his heroes, and captains over his chariots, and his horsemen.

These were King Solomon’s deputies: 250 who ruled over the people.

And the daughter of Pharaoh hath Solomon brought up from the city of David to the house that he built for her, for he said, 'My wife doth not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, for they are holy unto whom hath come the ark of Jehovah.'

Huram sent him ships and servants who had knowledge of the sea by the hands of his servants; and they came with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and fetched from there four hundred fifty talents of gold, and brought them to king Solomon.

the food set at his table, his servants who waited on him, his ministers in attendance and how they were dressed, his personal staff and how they were dressed, and even his personal stairway by which he went up to the LORD's Temple, she was breathless!

How happy are your men. How happy are these servants of yours, who always stand in your presence hearing 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!"

In addition, Hiram’s servants and Solomon’s servants who brought gold from Ophir also brought algum wood and precious stones.

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.

And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was in Egypt, whither he had fled from the presence of Solomon the king, heard it, that Jeroboam returned from Egypt.

Then King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had served his father Solomon when he was alive, asking, “How do you advise me to respond to these people?”

But he rejected the advice of the elders who had advised him, and he consulted with the young men who had grown up with him, the ones serving him.

He asked them, “What message do you advise we send back to these people who said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?”

Then the young men who had grown up with him told him, “This is what you should say to the people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you, make it lighter on us!’ This is what you should say to them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins.

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 to death. However, King Rehoboam managed to get into his chariot to flee to Jerusalem.

When Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, one hundred eighty thousand chosen men, who were warriors, to fight against Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam.

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

Those from every tribe of Israel who had determined in their hearts to seek Yahweh their God followed the Levites to Jerusalem to sacrifice to Yahweh, the God of their ancestors.

Who bore him children, Jeush, and Shamariah, and Zaham.

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

with 1,200 chariots, 60,000 cavalrymen, and countless people who came with him from Egypt—Libyans, Sukkiim, and Cushites.

Then Shemaiah the prophet went to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah who were gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak. He said to them: “This is what the Lord says: ‘You have abandoned Me; therefore, I have abandoned you into the hand of Shishak.’”

King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place and committed them into the care of the captains of the royal escorts who guarded the entrance to the king’s palace.

Abijah joined battle with an army of valiant men of war, even four hundred thousand chosen men: and Jeroboam set the battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men, who were mighty men of valor.

Even so, Nebat's son Jeroboam, who used to serve David's son Solomon, rose in rebellion against his own master!

There were gathered to him worthless men, base fellows, who strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tenderhearted, and could not withstand them.

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.

But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him; and the priests, who minister to the LORD, are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites wait upon their business:

By whom burned offerings and perfumes are sent up in smoke before the Lord every morning and every evening; and they put out the holy bread on its table and the gold support for the lights with its lights burning every evening; for we keep the orders given to us by the Lord our God, but you have gone away from him.

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.

Asa cried to Yahweh his God, and said, "Yahweh, there is none besides you to help, between the mighty and him who has no strength. Help us, Yahweh our God; for we rely on you, and in your name are we come against this multitude. Yahweh, you are our God. Don't let man prevail against you."

Then Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as Gerar. The Cushites fell until they had no survivors, for they were crushed before Yahweh and His army. So the people of Judah carried off a great supply of loot.

They also attacked the tents of those who owned livestock and carried off lots of sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

In those times there was no peace for those who went about their daily activities because the residents of the lands had many conflicts.

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.

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

So Asa brought out the silver and gold from the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and the royal palace and sent it to Aram’s King Ben-hadad, who lived in Damascus, saying,

Certainly the Lord watches the whole earth carefully and is ready to strengthen those who are devoted to him. You have acted foolishly in this matter; from now on you will have war.

And in the third year to his kingdom he sent to his chiefs to the son of power, and to the servant of Jehovah, and to him Remembered of Jehovah, and to the Gift of God, and to Who as God, to teach in the cities of Judah.

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.

From Benjamin, Eliada, a skilled warrior, led 200,000 men who were equipped with bows and shields,

Near him was Jehozabad, who was accompanied by 180,000 soldiers equipped for warfare.

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

Then after some years, he went down to visit Ahab in Samaria. Ahab sacrificed many sheep and cattle for him and for the people who were with him. Then he persuaded him to march up to Ramoth-gilead,

But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no prophet of the Lord still here by whom we may inquire?”

And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, by whom we may inquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he never prophesied good unto me, but always evil: the same is Micaiah the son of Imla. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.

The messenger who went to call Micaiah instructed him, “Look, the words of the prophets are unanimously favorable for the king. So let your words be like theirs, and speak favorably.”

And the LORD said, Who shall entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one spoke saying after this manner, and another saying after that manner.

And the king of Aram hath commanded the heads of the charioteers whom he hath, saying, 'Ye do not fight with small or with great, except with the king of Israel by himself.'

So when the chariot commanders observed Jehoshaphat, they said by mistake, "It's the king of Israel!" and they turned aside to attack him. But Jehoshaphat cried out to the LORD, who helped him, and God diverted them from him.

Then Jehu son of Hanani the seer went out to confront him and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Do you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Because of this, the Lord’s wrath is on you.

And said to the judges, Take heed what you do: for you judge not for man, but for the LORD, who is with you in the judgment.

for every dispute that comes to you from your brothers who dwell in their cities—whether it regards differences of bloodguilt, law, commandment, statutes, or judgments—you are to warn them, so they will not incur guilt before the Lord and wrath will not come on you and your brothers. Do this, and you will not incur guilt.

“Note that Amariah, the chief priest, is over you in all matters related to the Lord, and Zebadiah son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, in all matters related to the king, and the Levites are officers in your presence. Be strong; may the Lord be with those who do what is good.”

Then some came who told Jehoshaphat, saying, "A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea from Syria. Behold, they are in Hazazon Tamar" (that is, En Gedi).

who gathered to seek the Lord. They even came from all the cities of Judah to seek Him.

He said:

Yahweh, the God of our ancestors, are You not the God who is in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand, and no one can stand against You.

Are not you our God, who did drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham your friend forever?

And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not;

O our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You.”

Ye shall not have to fight on this occasion: set yourselves, stand and see the salvation of Jehovah who is with you! Judah and Jerusalem, fear not nor be dismayed; to-morrow go out against them, and Jehovah will be with you.

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 to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, who were come against Judah; and they were defeated.