But the princes of the {Ammonites} said to Hanun, "{Do you think} because David sent comforters to you [that] David honors your father? Is it not for the purpose of exploring [so as] to overthrow and spy out the land that his servants have come to you?"

And when the {Ammonites} saw that they made themselves odious to David, Hanun and the {Ammonites} sent one thousand talents of silver to hire for themselves horses and chariots from Aram-Naharaim, Aram-Maacah, and Zobah.

When Joab saw that [there was] {a battle line} against him at the front and the back, he chose from among the chosen [men] in Israel and arranged [them] to meet Aram.

And when the {Ammonites} saw that Aram had fled, they also fled before Abishai his brother, and they came to the city. Then Joab came to Jerusalem.

And when Aram saw that they were defeated before Israel, they sent messengers and brought out Aram, who [was from] beyond the Euphrates, with Shophach the commander of the army of Hadadezer before them.

And when the servants of Hadadezer saw that they were defeated before Israel, they made peace with David and became servants to him. So Aram was no longer willing to help the {Ammonites}.

And it happened [that] {in the spring time of year}, the time [when] kings go out [to battle], Joab led the troops of the army and destroyed the land of the {Ammonites}. And he came and besieged Rabbah, but David remained in Jerusalem. And Joab struck Rabbah and destroyed it.

So David said to Joab and to the commanders of the nation, "Go, count Israel from Beersheba to Dan and bring a report to me that I might know their number."

And Joab gave the number of the enrollment of the people to David. And it happened [that] all Israel [was] one million one hundred thousand men drawing a sword, and in Judah [were] four hundred and seventy thousand men drawing a sword.

Then David said to God, "I have sinned severely [in] that I have done this thing. But now, please forgive the sin of your servant, for I have been very foolish."

"Go, you must speak to David, saying, 'Thus says Yahweh: "Three [choices] I offer to you. Choose one of them for yourself that I will do to you." '"

Now the angel of Yahweh had spoken to Gad to say to David that David should go up [and] erect an altar for Yahweh.

So David went up at the word of Gad that he had spoken in the name of Yahweh.

Then David said to Ornan, "Please give me the place, the threshing floor, that I might build an altar on it to Yahweh; at full price please give it to me, that the plague against the people might be stopped."

At that time, when David saw that Yahweh answered him at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there.

Now the tabernacle of Yahweh that Moses had made in the desert and the altar of burnt offering [were] at that time at the high place of Gibeon.

And David provided much iron for nails for the doors of the gates and for the seams, and abundant copper [that] could not be weighed,

but it happened [that] the word of Yahweh [came] over me, saying, 'You have shed much blood and have made much war; you shall not build a house for my name because you have shed much blood upon the ground before me.

Now, my son, Yahweh will be with you, that you may succeed and build the house of Yahweh your God as he has spoken concerning you.

Only may Yahweh give to you understanding and insight that he might give you charge over Israel and the keeping of the law of Yahweh your God.

Now see, with great effort I have made provision for the house of Yahweh: 100,000 talents of gold, 1,000,000 talents of silver, and bronze and iron [that] cannot be weighed, for there is an abundance. Also timber and stone I have provided, but to these you should add.

Now set your heart and mind to seek Yahweh your Go, and arise and build the sanctuary of Yahweh God, that the ark of the covenant of Yahweh and the holy vessels of God might be brought into the house built for the name of Yahweh.

four thousand gatekeepers, [and] four thousand offering praise with the instruments that I have made for praise."

For Shuppim and Hosah [it went out] for the west, at the gate of Shalleketh, on the road that goes up, guard for guard.

That Shelomoth and his brothers [were] over all the treasuries of the sanctified objects that King David and the heads of the {families} to the commanders of thousands and hundreds and the commanders of the army had dedicated.

And all that Samuel the seer, and Saul the son of Kish, and Abner the son of Ner, and Joab the son of Zeruiah had dedicated--all the dedicated gifts [were] under the hand of Shelomith and his brothers.

And as for the number of the {Israelites}, the heads of {families}, the commanders of thousands and hundreds, and their officials who serve the king in all matters of the working groups that came and went, month by month, throughout all the months of the year, each working group: twenty-four thousand.

And over the olive trees and the sycamore trees that [were] in the Shephelah [was] Baal-Hanan the Gederite. And over the treasury houses of olive oil [was] Joash.

So now in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of Yahweh, and in the hearing of our God, observe and seek all the commandments of Yahweh your God so that you may take possession of this good land and bestow [it] as an inheritance to your children after you forever."

and the plan of all {that he had in mind} for the courtyards of the house of Yahweh and for all the surrounding storage rooms, the treasuries of the house of God, and the treasuries for sanctified objects,

And moreover, with respect to my provisions for the house of my God I have a treasure of gold and silver that I have given to the house of my God above all that I have provided for the holy house:

And indeed, who [am] I, and who [are] my people that we retain power to offer according to these [offerings] willingly? For everything [is] from you, and from your hand we have given to you.

O Yahweh our God, all this abundance that we have provided to build for you a house for your holy name is from your hand, and all [of it] is yours.

And I know, my God, that you yourself test the heart and are pleased with uprightness. I, in the uprightness of my heart, have willingly offered all these [things], and now I have seen your people who are found here willingly offer to you.

And they offered sacrifices to Yahweh, and on that next day they offered burnt offerings to Yahweh: one thousand bulls, one thousand rams, one thousand lambs, with their libations and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel.

And they ate and drank before Yahweh on that day with great joy. And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and they anointed [him] commander for Yahweh, and Zadok the priest.

And Yahweh made Solomon exceedingly great in the sight of all Israel, and he bestowed upon him royal splendor that was not [bestowed] upon any king before him in Israel.

And the days that he reigned over Israel [were] forty years. In Hebron he reigned seven years, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years.

with all [the accounts of] his kingdom, his power, and the times that came upon him, and upon Israel, and upon all the kingdoms of the earth.

And Solomon and the whole assembly with him went to the high place that [was] at Gibeon, for the tent of assembly of God that Moses the servant of Yahweh had made in the desert was there.

And the bronze altar that Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made [was] there before the tabernacle of Yahweh. And Solomon and the assembly sought it out.

On that night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, "Ask what I shall give to you."

Now, give to me wisdom and knowledge that I may go out and come in before this people, for who can judge this, your great people?"

Then God said to Solomon, "Because this was with your heart and you did not ask for wealth, possessions, honor, and the lives of your enemies, and also did not ask for {long life}, but have asked for wisdom and knowledge that you might judge my people over whom I have made you king,

And the king made silver and gold in Jerusalem like the stones. And he made cedar as abundant as the sycamore fig trees that [were] in the Shephelah.

And the house that I am building [will be] great, for our God [is] greater than all gods.

Now who indeed has adequate strength to build a house for him? For the heavens and {the highest heavens} are not able to contain him. Now who [am] I that I would build a house for him, except to burn incense before him?

Send me trees of cedar, cypress, and algum from Lebanon, for I myself know that your servants [are] knowledgeable in cutting the trees of Lebanon. Now see, my servants [will be] with your servants

to prepare trees in abundance for me, for the house that I am building [will be] great and wonderful.

a son of a woman from the daughters of Dan, and his father [was] a man of Tyre, knowledgeable for working with gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, and with purple, blue, and crimson fabric, and with fine linen, for engraving any engraving and devising any plan that is given to him, with your skilled men and the skilled men of my lord David your father.

Now as for the wheat, barley, oil, and wine that my lord mentioned, let him send [that] to his servants.

And we ourselves will cut trees from Lebanon according to all your need, and we will bring them to you on rafts over the sea to Joppa, so that you may bring them up to Jerusalem."

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.

Then Solomon began to build the house of Yahweh in Jerusalem, on Mount Moriah, where Yahweh had appeared to David his father, at the place that David had established, on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

{The length of the portico that [was] in front was the same as the front of the width of the house}: twenty cubits. And its height [was] one hundred and twenty cubits. And he overlaid it on the inside with pure gold.

And Huram made the pots, the shovels, and the drinking bowls. So Hiram finished making the work that he made on the house of God for King Solomon:

the two columns, the bowls, and the two capitals on top of the columns, and the two latticeworks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that [were] on top of the columns,

and the four hundred pomegranates for the two latticeworks, two rows of pomegranates for the latticework, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that [were] before the columns.

So Solomon made all the objects that [were in] the house of God: the altar of gold; the tables upon which [was] the bread of the presence;

and the blossoms, the lamps, and the tongs that [were] of solid gold;

When all the work that Solomon did for the house of Yahweh was finished, Solomon brought the holy objects of David his father: the silver, the gold, and all the objects he had put into the storehouses of the house of God.

And all the men of Israel assembled before the king at the feast that [is in] the seventh month.

And they brought up the ark, the tent of assembly, and all the holy objects that [were] in the tent; the Levitical priests brought them up.

And King Solomon and the whole community of Israel that was assembled before him [were] before the ark, sacrificing sheep and cattle that could not be counted nor numbered for abundance.

The cherubim were spreading [their] wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim were covering the ark and over its poles [from] above.

But the poles were [so] long that the ends of the poles from the ark were seen from before the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from the outside. And they are there until this day.

There was nothing in the ark but the two stone tablets that Moses had put [inside] at Horeb [on] which Yahweh had {made} a covenant with the {Israelites} when they went out from Egypt.

'From the day that I brought my people out of the land of Egypt I did not choose a city among all the tribes of Israel to build a house in order for my name [to be] there. Nor did I choose a man to be leader over my people Israel.

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

Now Yahweh has fulfilled his word that he spoke. I have risen in the place of David my father and am seated on the throne of Israel as Yahweh has spoken. I have built the house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

And I have there the ark [in] which [is] the covenant of Yahweh that he {made} with the {Israelites}."

that you have kept for your servant David my father what you spoke to him. You spoke with your mouth, and by your hand you have fulfilled [it] on this day.

And now, O Yahweh, God of Israel, let your word that you have spoken to your servant David be confirmed.

"But will God indeed dwell with humankind upon the earth? Look, the heavens and {the highest heavens} cannot contain you! Surely then this house that I have built [will not contain you!]

But turn to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Yahweh my God, to hearken to the pleading and to the prayer that your servant is praying before you,

that your eyes may be open day and night to this house, to the place that you have promised to place your name there, that you may hear the prayer that your servant has prayed to this place.

And listen to the pleas of your servant and your people Israel when they pray toward this place, that you yourself might hear from the place of your dwelling, from the heavens, that you might hear and forgive.

then may you yourself hear from the heavens and forgive the sin of your people Israel and again bring them back to the land that you gave to them and to their ancestors.

then may you yourself hear from the heavens and forgive the sin of your servants and your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk, and give rain upon your land that you have given to your people as an inheritance.

"If there is a famine in the land; if there is disease, blight, mildew, locust, and caterpillar; if it happens that his enemy lays siege to him in the land [and] his gates; any kind of plague, any kind of disease,

[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,

that they may fear you [and] walk in your ways all the days that they [are] alive upon the face of the land that you have given to our ancestors.

then may you yourself hear from the heavens, from your dwelling place, and do according to all that the foreigner asks of you, so that all peoples of earth will know of your name and fear you, as [do] your people Israel, and that they may know that your name {possesses} this house that I have built.

"When your people go out to battle against their enemy according to the way that you have sent them, and they pray to you toward this city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name,

When they sin against you--for there is no person who does not sin--and you become angry with them and place them before their enemy that they carry them away as captives to a land far or near,

and we return to you,' with their whole heart and with all their inmost being in the land of their captivity where they took them captive, and [if] they pray toward their land that you have given to their ancestors and the city that you have chosen and to the house that I have built for your name,

And the priests stood at their posts with the Levites, with the instruments of the song of Yahweh that King David had made to give thanks to Yahweh--for his loyal love [is] everlasting--whenever David offered praise by their hand. Now the priests sounded trumpets [standing] opposite them, and all Israel stood.

And Solomon consecrated the middle of the courtyard that [was] before the house of Yahweh, for there he had made the burnt offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings, for the bronze altar that Solomon had made was not able to hold the burnt offerings, cereal offerings, and the fat.

And Solomon held a feast at that time [of] seven days. And all Israel [was] with him, a very great assembly, from Lebo-Hamath to the river of Egypt.

And on the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their tents rejoicing and festive of heart on account of the goodness that Yahweh had done for David, Solomon, and Israel his people.

And Solomon finished the house of Yahweh and the house of the king. And all that came into the heart of Solomon to do with respect to the house of Yahweh and his own house he accomplished.

When I hold back the heavens so that there is not rain, and when I command the locust to devour the earth, and if I send disease among my people,

Now [as for] you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked and do according to all that I have commanded you and will keep my ordinances and judgments,

then I will uproot them from upon my land that I have given to them, and this house that I have consecrated for my name I will send away from before my face, and I will make it a proverb and a taunt among all the nations.

And it happened [that] at the end of twenty years [in] which Solomon had built the house of Yahweh and his own house,

Solomon also built the cities that Huram had given to him, and he settled the {Israelites} in them.

Baalath and all the storage cities that belonged to Solomon; all the cities for chariots and cities for horses; and any desire of Solomon that he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.

And these [were] the commanders of the garrisons that belonged to King Solomon, two hundred and fifty who exercised authority over the people.

And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh from the city of David to the house that he had built for her, for he said, "My wife shall not dwell in the house of David, king of Israel, for those [places] to which the ark of Yahweh has come [are] holy.

Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to Yahweh on the altar of Yahweh that he had built before the portico,