And he put the bronze altar which Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made before the tabernacle of Jehovah. And Solomon and the congregation of Jehovah sought to it.

Now, O Jehovah God, Your promise to David my father has been fulfilled. For You have made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude.

Give me now wisdom and knowledge that I may go out and come in before this people. For who can judge this Your great people?

And God said to Solomon, Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked riches, wealth, nor honor, nor the life of your enemies, nor yet have asked for long life but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself that you may judge My people, over whom I have made you king;

Behold, I am building a house to the name of Jehovah my God, to dedicate it to Him, and to burn before Him sweet incense, and for the continual showbread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts of Jehovah our God. This is an ordinance forever to Israel.

And the house which I am building is great. For our God is great above all gods.

And now send me a man skillful to work in gold, and in silver, and in bronze, and in iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, and one who is skillful to engrave with the skillful men who are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father provided.

And send me cedar trees, fir trees, and algum trees out of Lebanon. For I know that your servants are skillful to cut timber in Lebanon. And, behold, my servants shall be with your servants

the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre, skillful to work in gold, and in silver, in bronze, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson. He also can engrave any kind of engraving, and can invent every device which shall be put to him, with your skillful men, and with the skillful men of my lord David your father.

And Solomon numbered all the aliens in the land of Israel, according to the numbering with which David his father had numbered them. And they were found to be a hundred and fifty-three thousand and six hundred.

And Solomon began to build the house of Jehovah at Jerusalem in Mount Moriah, where He appeared to David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

And he began to build in the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.

Now these are the foundations Solomon laid, to build the house of God. The length by cubits according to the first measure, sixty cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits.

And the wings of the cherubs were twenty cubits long. One wing was five cubits, touching to the wall of the house; and the other wing five cubits, touching to the wing of the other cherub.

The wings of these cherubims spread themselves forth twenty cubits. And they stood on their feet, and their faces were inward.

And under it was the shape of oxen, under it and all around it for ten cubits, going all around the sea. Two rows of oxen were cast when it was cast.

It stood on twelve oxen, three facing the north, and three facing the west, and three facing the south, and three facing the east. And the sea was set above on them, and all their hinder parts were inward.

the two pillars, and the bowls, and the capitals on the tops of the two pillars, and the two wreaths to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the top of the pillars,

And they brought up the ark, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle. The priests and the Levites brought these up.

And King Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel that were gathered to him before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen which could not be counted nor numbered for multitude.

And they drew out the staves so that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark before the oracle. But they were not seen outside. And there it is until this day.

And it happened as the priests came out of the holy place, for all the priests present were sanctified, and did not wait by division.

and they were as one to the trumpeters and to the singers, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking Jehovah; and as they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised Jehovah, saying, For He is good, for His mercy endures forever, the house was filled with a cloud, the house of Jehovah,

And I have built a house for You to live in, and a place for Your dwelling forever.

But Jehovah said to David my father, Because it was in your heart to build a house for My name, you did well in that it was in your heart.

But you shall not build the house; but your son, who shall come forth out of your loins, shall build the house for My name.

And he said, O Jehovah, the God of Israel, there is no God like You in Heaven or in earth. You keep Your covenant and show mercy to Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts.

You have kept with Your servant David my father that which You have promised him. And You spoke with Your mouth, and have fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day.

And now, O Jehovah, the God of Israel, keep with Your servant David my father that which You have promised him, saying, There shall not fail you a man in My sight to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your sons take heed to their way to walk in My Law, as you have walked before Me.

And now, O Jehovah, the God of Israel, let Your Word be proven true, which You have spoken to Your servant David.

And You have turned toward the prayer of Your servant, and to his cry, O Jehovah my God, to listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant prays before You.

I pray that Your eyes may be open on this house day and night, on the place of which You have said that You would put Your name there, to listen to the prayer which Your servant prays toward this place.

And You will listen to the cries of Your servant, and of Your people Israel, which they shall pray toward this place, and You will hear from Your dwelling place, from Heaven, and shall hear and forgive.

If a man sins against his neighbor, and if an oath is laid on him to make him swear, and if the oath comes before Your altar in this house,

then hear from Heaven, and do, and judge Your servants by repaying the wicked, by bringing his way back on his own head, and by justifying the righteous, by giving to him according to his righteousness.

And if Your people Israel be put to the worse before the enemy because they have sinned against You, and if they shall return and confess Your name, and shall pray and cry before You in this house,

then hear from Heaven, and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them again into the land which You give to them and to their fathers.

When the heavens shall be shut up, and there is no rain because they have sinned against You; if they pray toward this place, and confess Your name, and turn from their sin when You afflict them,

then hear from Heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants and of Your people Israel, when You have taught them the good way in which they should walk. And send rain on Your land which You have given to Your people for an inheritance.

If there is famine in the land, if there is a plague, if blasting or mildew, locusts or ravagers, if their enemies have distressed them in the gates of their land, with any plague and any sickness;

whatever prayer, whatever cry shall be made by any man, or by all Your people Israel, when everyone shall know his own plague and his own grief, and shall spread forth his hands in this house;

then hear from Heaven, Your dwelling-place, and forgive, and give to every man according to all his ways, whose heart You know. For You only know the hearts of the sons of men.

Do this so that they may fear You, to walk in Your ways, as long as they live in the land which You gave to our fathers.

And also to the stranger who is not of Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for Your great name's sake, and Your mighty hand, and Your stretched out arm, if they come and pray in this house;

then hear from Heaven, from Your dwelling-place, and do according to all that the stranger calls to You for, so that all people of the earth may know Your name, and fear You, as Your people Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by Your name.

If Your people go out to war against their enemies by the way that You shall send them, and if they pray to You toward this city which You have chosen, and the house which I have built for Your name,

If they sin against You (for there is no man who does not sin), and if You are angry with them and deliver them up before their enemies, and they carry them away captives to a land far off or near,

yet if they think within themselves in the land where they are carried captive, and turn and pray to You in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done wrong and have dealt wickedly;

if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity where they have carried them captives, and if they pray toward their land which You gave to their fathers and toward the city which You have chosen, and toward the house which I have built for Your name;

then hear from Heaven, from Your dwelling-place, their prayer and their cries, and maintain their cause, and forgive Your people who have sinned against You.

Now, my God, I beseech You, let Your eyes be open and Your ears hear the prayer made in this place.

And now arise, O Jehovah God, into Your resting-place, You, and the ark of Your strength. Let Your priests, O Jehovah God, be clothed with salvation, and let Your saints rejoice in goodness.

O Jehovah God, do not turn away the face of Your anointed. Remember the good deeds of David Your servant.

And Jehovah appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him, I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place to Myself for a house of sacrifice.

If I shut up the heavens, and there is no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send a plague among My people;

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

And you, if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded you, and shall observe My statutes and My judgments,

then I will make the throne of your kingdom sure, as I have covenanted with David your father, saying, There shall not fail you a man to be ruler in Israel.

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

of their sons who were left after them in the land, whom the sons of Israel did not destroy, Solomon made them subject to forced labor until this day.

And of the sons of Israel, Solomon did not make any servants for his work. But they were men of war, and commanders of his officers, and commanders of his chariots, and his horsemen.

And these were the chief of King Solomon's officers, two hundred and fifty who bore rule over the people.

And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David to the house which he had built for her. For he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places into which the ark of Jehovah has come are holy.

even as the duty of every day required, 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.

And they did not depart from the command of the king to the priests and Levites concerning any matter, or concerning the treasures.

And she said to the king, The word that I heard in my own land of your acts and of your wisdom is true.

But I did not believe their words until I came, and my eyes had seen. And behold, the one half of the greatness of your wisdom was not told me. You are greater than the fame which I heard.

Happy are your men, and happy are these your servants who stand always before you and hear your wisdom.

Blessed be Jehovah your God, who delighted in you to set you on His throne to be king for Jehovah your God. Because your God loved Israel to establish them forever, therefore He made you king over them to do judgment and justice.

And the king made terraces to the house of Jehovah with the algum trees, and terraces to the king's palace, and lyres and harps for singers. And there were none such seen before in the land of Judah.

And the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold,

And there were six steps to the throne, with a footstool of gold, fastened to the throne. And there were stays on each side of the sitting place, and two lions standing by the stays.

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 prized in the days of Solomon.

And they each brought his present, vessels of silver and vessels of gold, and clothing, weapons, and spices, horses, and mules, a ration year by year.

And 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 of Shiloh, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat?

And it happened when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was in Egypt where he had fled from the presence of Solomon the king, heard it, Jeroboam returned out of Egypt.

Your father made our yoke heavy. And now lighten the heavy service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.

And they spoke to him saying, If you are kind to this people and please them, and speak good words to them, they will be your servants forever.

But he departed from the advice which the old men gave him and listened to the young men who were brought up with him, who stood before him.

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

And the young men who were brought up with him spoke to him saying, In this way shall you answer the people who spoke to you, saying, Your father made our yoke heavy, but you lighten our yoke, this you shall say to them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins.

And now my father put a heavy yoke on you, and I will surely add to your yoke. My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.

and answered them after 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 would not listen to them, and the people answered the king saying, What part do we have in David? And we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse! Every man to your tents, O Israel! Now, David, see to your own house. And all Israel went to their tents.

So says Jehovah, You shall not go up nor fight against your brothers. Let every man return to his house. For this thing is done by Me. And they obeyed the words of Jehovah, and returned from going against Jeroboam.

and Zorah, and Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and in Benjamin, fortified cities.

And he put in each separate city shields and spears, and made them very strong, and Judah and Benjamin were his.

And it happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had sinned against Jehovah

with twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen. And the people who came with him out of Egypt were without number: Lubim, the Sukkiim, and the Ethiopians.

And Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam, and to the rulers of Judah who were gathered to Jerusalem because of Shishak. And he said to them, So says Jehovah, You have forsaken Me, and therefore I also have left you in the hand of Shishak.

And the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, and Iddo the seer concerning genealogies? And the wars of Rehoboam and Jeroboam lasted all their days.

And in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah began to reign over Judah.

He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Michaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.

And Abijah set the battle in order with an army of mighty men of war, four hundred thousand chosen men. Jeroboam also set the battle in order against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men, mighty men of valor.

And there are gathered to him vain men, the sons of Belial, and have made themselves strong against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, and Rehoboam was young and tenderhearted and could not withstand them.

And now you think to withstand the kingdom of Jehovah in the hands of the sons of David. And you are a great multitude, and there are with you golden calves which Jeroboam made you for gods.

Have you not cast out the priests of Jehovah, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and have made priests to yourselves like the peoples of the lands? Whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams, he may be a priest of those who are no gods.

But as for us, Jehovah is our God, and we have not forsaken Him. And the priests who minister to Jehovah are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites in the work.

And they burn to the Lord every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense, and the showbread on the pure table, and the lampstand of gold with its lamps, to burn every evening. For we keep the charge of Jehovah our God. But you have forsaken Him.

And behold, God Himself is with us as Commander, and His priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O sons of Israel, do not fight against Jehovah, the God of your fathers, for you shall not prosper!