I have also given you what you have not asked, both wealth and honor, so that there will not be anyone equal to you among the kings, for all your days.

Now this woman’s son died during the night, because she lay on him [and smothered him].

Then the king said, “Give the first woman [who is pleading for his life] the living child, and by no means kill him. She is his mother.”

When all [the people of] Israel heard about the judgment which the king had made, they [were in awe and reverently] feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was within him to administer justice.

Azariah the son of Nathan was in charge of the deputies; Zabud the son of Nathan was priest and was the king’s friend [and trusted advisor];

Ben-abinadab, in all the hills of Dor (Taphath, Solomon’s daughter, was his wife);

Ahimaaz, in [the tribe of] Naphtali (he also married Basemath, Solomon’s daughter);

[The people of] Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand that is in abundance by the sea; they were eating and drinking and rejoicing.

Solomon’s food [for the royal household] for one day was thirty kors of finely milled flour, sixty kors of wheat flour,

Judah and Israel lived in security, every man under his vine and fig tree [in peace and prosperity], from Dan [in the north] to Beersheba [in the south], during all the days of Solomon.

Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the sons of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt.

But now that the Lord my God has given me rest [from war] on every side, there is neither adversary nor misfortune [confronting me].

So now, command that they cut cedar trees from Lebanon for me, and my servants will join your servants, and I will give you whatever wages you set for your servants. For you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the men of Sidon.”

My servants will bring the logs down from Lebanon to the [Mediterranean] sea, and I will have them made into rafts to go by sea to the place (port) that you direct me; then I will have them broken up there, and you shall carry them away. Then you shall return the favor by providing food for my household.”

So Hiram gave Solomon all the cedar and cypress timber he desired,

besides Solomon’s 3,300 chief deputies who were in charge of the project and who were in charge of the people doing the work.

So Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders and the men of Gebal cut and chiseled the stones, and prepared the timber and the stones to build the house (temple).

Now it came about in the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv (April-May) which is the second month, that he began to build the Lord’s house (temple).

The lowest story was five cubits wide, the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for he made offsets (niches) in the walls all around on the outside of the house so that the supporting beams would not be inserted into the walls of the house.

So Solomon built the house (temple) and finished it, and roofed the house with beams and boards of cedar.

So Solomon built the house (temple) and finished it.

He put the cherubim [above the ark] inside the innermost room of the house, and their wings were spread out so that the wing of the one touched one wall, and the wing of the other cherub was touching the other wall; and their inner wings were touching each other in the middle of the house.

In the fourth year [of King Solomon’s reign] the foundation of the Lord’s house was laid, in the [second] month, Ziv (April-May).

In the eleventh year [of King Solomon’s reign] in the month of Bul (October-November), that is, the eighth month, the house was finished throughout all its parts and in accordance with all its specifications. So he built it in seven years.

His house where he was to live, the other courtyard behind the hall, was of similar workmanship. Solomon also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had married.

He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a craftsman in bronze. Hiram was filled with wisdom, understanding, and skill for doing any [kind of] work in bronze. So he came to King Solomon and did all his [bronze] work.

So Hiram made the pillars [in this manner], and two rows around on the one network to cover the capitals which were on the top of the pomegranates; and he did the same for the other capital.

The capitals were on the two pillars and also above and close to the rounded projection which was beside the network. There were two hundred pomegranates in rows around both capitals.

On the tops of the pillars was lily work (design). So the work of the pillars was finished.

Now he made the Sea (basin) of cast metal, ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in form, five cubits high and thirty cubits in circumference.

Under its brim were gourds encircling it ten to a cubit, completely surrounding the Sea; the gourds were in two rows, cast in one piece with it.

It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three west, three south, and three east; the Sea was set on top of them, and all their rear parts pointed inward.

Then he placed the bases, five on the right [or south] side of the house and five on the left [or north] side; and he set the Sea [of cast metal] on the right side of the house toward the southeast.

Now Hiram made the basins and the shovels and the bowls. So Hiram finished all the work which he did for King Solomon on the house of the Lord:

one Sea (basin), and the twelve oxen under the Sea;

Solomon left all the utensils unweighed, because there were so many; the weight of the bronze could not be determined.

Solomon made all the [other] furniture which was in the house of the Lord: the [incense] altar of gold; the table of gold on which was the bread of the Presence;

So all the work that King Solomon did on the house of the Lord was completed. Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated—the silver, the gold, and the utensils—and he put them in the treasuries of the Lord’s house.

King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, so many that they could not be counted or numbered.

The poles were so long that the ends of the poles were visible from the Holy Place that was in front of the Holy of Holies, but they were not visible from the outside; they are there to this day (the date of this writing).

Now it happened that when the priests had come out of the Holy Place, the cloud filled the Lord’s house,

so the priests could not stand [in their positions] to minister because of the cloud, for the glory and brilliance of the Lord had filled the Lord’s house (temple).

Then Solomon stood [in the courtyard] before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven.

hear in heaven, Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls upon (prays to) You, so that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You [with reverence and awe], as do Your people Israel, and that they may know [without any doubt] that this house which I have built is called by Your name.

“When they sin against You (for there is no man who does not sin) and You are angry with them and hand them over to the enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the enemy’s land, [whether] far away or near;

When Solomon finished offering this entire prayer and supplication to the Lord, he arose from before the Lord’s altar, where he had knelt down with his hands stretched toward heaven.

so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no one else.

Solomon offered as peace offerings to the Lord: 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated the house (temple) of the Lord.

On that same day the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard that was in front of the house (temple) of the Lord; for he offered there the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar that was before the Lord was too small to hold [all] the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat of the peace offerings.

So at that time Solomon held the feast, and all Israel with him, a great assembly, from the entrance of Hamath [on the northern border of Israel] to the Brook of Egypt [at Israel’s southern border], before the Lord our God, for seven days and seven more days [beyond the prescribed period for the Feast of Booths], fourteen days in all.

Now it happened when Solomon had finished building the house (temple) of the Lord and the king’s house (palace), and all else which he was pleased to do,

This house (temple) will become a heap of ruins; everyone who passes by will be appalled and sneer and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this house?’

Now at the end of twenty years, in which Solomon had built the two houses, the temple of the Lord and the palace of the king

So Hiram came from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him, and they did not please him.

He said, “What are these cities [good for] which you have given me, my brother?” So they have been called the land of Cabul (like nothing, unproductive) to this day.

For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and taken Gezer, burned it with fire and killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and he had given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.

So Solomon rebuilt [and fortified] Gezer and Lower Beth-horon,

These were the chief officers who were over Solomon’s work, five hundred and fifty, who ruled over the people doing the work.

As soon as Pharaoh’s daughter came up from the City of David to her house which Solomon had built for her, then he built the Millo (fortification).

Three times a year [during the major annual festivals] Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar he had built to the Lord, and he burned incense with them before the Lord. So he finished the house [of the Lord].

King Solomon built a fleet of ships in Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea (Sea of Reeds), in the land of Edom.

And Hiram [king of Tyre] sent his servants with the fleet, sailors who knew the sea, along with the servants of Solomon.

When the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house (palace) which he had built,

From the almug wood (sandalwood) the king made pillars for the house of the Lord and for the king’s palace, and also lyres and harps for the singers. Such almug wood did not come in [to Israel] again, nor has it been seen to this day.

King Solomon [in turn] gave to the queen of Sheba everything that she wanted, whatever she asked, besides what he gave to her from his royal bounty. So she returned to her own country, she and her servants.

All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were of silver; it was not considered valuable in the days of Solomon.

For the king had at sea the [large cargo] ships of Tarshish with the ships of Hiram. Once every three years the ships of Tarshish came bringing gold, silver, ivory, monkeys, and peacocks.

So King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in wealth and in wisdom.

Every man brought a gift [of tribute]: articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year.

Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue, and the king’s merchants acquired them from Kue, for a price.

A chariot could be imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty; and in the same way they exported them, by the king’s merchants, to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram (Syria).

And he did the same for all of his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

However, I will not do it in your lifetime, for the sake of your father David, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son (Rehoboam).

However, I will not tear away all the kingdom; I will give one tribe (Judah) to your son for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.”

For it came about, when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of the army had gone up to bury those killed [in battle] and had struck down every male in Edom

that Hadad escaped to Egypt, he and some Edomites from his father’s servants with him, while Hadad was [still] a little boy.

Hadad found great favor with Pharaoh, so that he gave Hadad in marriage the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen.

The sister of Tahpenes gave birth to Genubath, Hadad’s son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh’s house; and Genubath was in Pharaoh’s household among the sons of Pharaoh.

But when Hadad heard in Egypt that David had died and that Joab the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me leave, so that I may go to my own country.”

Jeroboam, Solomon’s servant, the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zeredah whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow, also rebelled against the king.

but he [and his descendants] shall have one tribe (Benjamin was annexed to Judah), for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel—

However, I will not take the entire kingdom out of his hand; but I will make him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of My servant David, whom I chose because he kept My commandments and My statutes.

But I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand and give it to you: ten tribes.

Rehoboam replied to them, “Leave for three days, then come back to me [for my decision].” So the people left.

The young men who had grown up with him answered, “This is what you should say to this people who told you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but as for you, make our yoke lighter’—say this to them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins [and my reign will be even more severe].

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

So the king did not listen to the people; for the situation was from the Lord, so that He might fulfill His word which He spoke through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

So when all [the ten northern tribes of] Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people replied to the king, saying,“What portion do we have in David?
We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse;
To your tents, O Israel!
Look now after your own house, David!” Then Israel went back to their tents.

Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was in charge of the forced labor [to represent him], and all Israel stoned him to death. And King Rehoboam quickly mounted his chariot to escape to Jerusalem.

So Israel (the ten northern tribes) has rebelled against the house (royal line) of David to this day (the date of this writing).

‘Thus says the Lord, “You shall not go up and fight against your brothers, the sons of Israel. Let every man return to his house, for this thing has come about from Me.”’” So they listened to the word of the Lord and returned to go home, in accordance with the word of the Lord.

So the king took counsel [and followed bad advice] and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “It is too much for you to go [all the way] up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”

Jeroboam held a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast which is kept in Judah, and he went up to the altar; he did this in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves which he had made. And he stationed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.

So he went up to the altar which he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he had devised in his own heart [in defiance of God’s commandments]; and he held a feast for the Israelites and he went up to the altar to burn incense [in defiance of God’s law.]

The man cried out against the [idolatrous] altar by the word of the Lord, “O altar, altar, thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and on you shall he sacrifice [the bodies of] the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’”

When the king heard the words which the man of God cried out against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam put out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him!” And his hand which he had put out against him withered, so that he was unable to pull it back to himself.

The king answered and said to the man of God, “Please entreat [the favor of] the Lord your God and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.” So the man of God entreated the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him and became as it was before.

So he went another way and did not return by the way that he came to Bethel.

He said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him and he rode away on it,

So the man of God went back with him, and ate bread in his house and drank water.