May their blood be repaid to Joab and to his descendants forever, and may there be peace shown from the LORD forever to David, to his descendants, to his household, and to his throne."

Jehoiada's son Benaiah then approached Joab, attacked him, killed him, and had him buried at Joab's home in the wilderness.

The king appointed Jehoiada's son Benaiah in charge of the army to replace Joab and also appointed Zadok the priest to replace Abiathar.

The king sent for Shimei and told him, "Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, but don't go anywhere from there.

If you ever leave and cross the Kidron Brook, you can be sure that you'll die. You'll be responsible for your own death."

Somebody told Shimei, "Look! Your servants went to Gath!" So Shimei got up, saddled a donkey, and traveled to Gath to find his servants. He found them and brought them back from Gath.

Later, Solomon found out that Shimei had left Jerusalem, gone to Gath, and had returned,

so the king sent for Shimei and asked him, "Didn't I make a promise to the LORD and warn you, "The day you leave and go anywhere else, you can be sure you'll die'? And you told me, "What your majesty has decreed is acceptable to me.'

So why haven't you kept the oath you made to the LORD, and why didn't you obey my personal order to you?"

But King Solomon will be blessed, and David's throne will be established in the presence of the LORD forever."

So the king gave orders to Jehoiada's son Benaiah to go out, attack Shimei, and kill him. That is how the kingdom was established under Solomon's control.

Later, Solomon intermarried with the family of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt by taking his daughter and bringing her to the City of David to live until he had completed building his own palace, the LORD's Temple, and the wall around Jerusalem.

The people were sacrificing at various high places because the Temple had not yet been built and dedicated to the LORD.

Solomon loved the LORD, and lived according to the statutes that his father David obeyed, except that he sacrificed and burned offerings at the high places.

The LORD appeared to Solomon one night in a dream and told him, "Ask me for whatever you want and I'll give it to you."

"You have demonstrated abundant gracious love to your servant David, my father, as he lived in your presence truthfully, righteously, and uprightly in his heart. In addition, you have kept on showing this abundant gracious love by giving him a son to sit on his throne today. Now, LORD my God, you have set me as king to replace my father David, but I'm still young. I don't have any leadership skills.

So give your servant an understanding mind to govern your people, so I can discern between good and evil. Otherwise, how will I be able to govern this great people of yours?"

"Because you asked for this, and you didn't ask for a long life for yourself, and you didn't ask for the lives of your enemies, but instead you've asked for discernment so you can understand how to govern, look how I'm going to do precisely what you asked. I'm giving you a wise and discerning mind, so that there will have been no one like you before you and no one will arise after you like you.

I'm also giving you what you haven't requested: both riches and honor, so that no other king will be comparable to you during your lifetime.

If you will live life my way, keeping my statutes and my commands, just like your father David did, I'll also increase the length of your life."

Then Solomon woke up and realized that he had dreamed a dream. Then he went back to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the LORD's covenant, offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and threw a party for all of his servants.

Right about then, two prostitutes approached the king and requested an audience with him.

One woman said, "Your majesty, this woman and I live in the same house. I gave birth to a child while she was in the house.

She got up in the middle of the night, took my son from me while your servant was asleep, and laid him to her breast after laying her dead son next to me.

The next morning, I got up to nurse my son, and he was dead. But when I examined him carefully in the light of day, he turned out not to be my son whom I had borne!"

"Not so," claimed the other woman. "The living child is my son, and the dead one is yours." But the first woman said, "Not so! The dead child is your son and the living one is my son." This is what they testified before the king.

The king said, "One of them claims, "This living son is mine, and your son is the dead one' and the other claims "No. Your son is the dead one and my son is the living one.'

"Divide the living child in two!" he ordered. "Give half to the one and half to the other."

And so King Solomon ruled over all of Israel.

Shisha's sons Elihoreph and Ahijah were his secretaries, Ahilud's son Jehoshaphat was recorder,

Jehoiada's son Benaiah commanded the army, Zadok and Abiathar served as priests,

Ahishar supervised palace matters, and Abda's son Adoniram supervised conscripted labor.

Solomon also appointed twelve governors over all of Israel, each of whom were responsible for providing one month's food provisions to the king and to his administration during each year.

Ben-deker in Makaz, Shaalbim and Beth-shemesh and Elonbeth-hanan;

Ben-hesed served in Arubboth (where he supervised Socoh and all of the territory of Hepher);

Ahilud's son Baana served Taanach, Megiddo, and all of Beth-shean near Zarethan below Jezreel, including from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah as far as the other side of Jokmeam;

Hushai's son Baana served in Asher and Bealoth;

and Uri's son Geber served in the territory of Gilead, the territory formerly ruled by King Sihon of the Amorites and King Og of Bashan (he was the only governor over that territory).

Judah and Israel became as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They enjoyed abundance, and ate, drank, and rejoiced regularly.

Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the territory of the Philistines and south to the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon throughout his lifetime.

ten fattened oxen, 20 pasture-fed cattle, 100 sheep, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks, and domestic poultry.

He ruled over everything west of the Euphrates River from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all of the kings west of the Euphrates River, and he enjoyed peace on all sides around him.

Judah and Israel lived safely, and everyone enjoyed their own vine and fig tree from Dan to Beer-sheba through all of Solomon's life.

Solomon owned 40,000 stalls for the horses that drove his chariots, and he employed 12,000 men to drive them.

His officers supplied provisions for King Solomon and for everyone who visited King Solomon's palace, each in their respective month of service responsibility. Nothing ever ran out.

They also provided barley and straw for the horses and camels to their respective locations, each consistent with their responsibilities.

God gave Solomon wisdom and great discernment. His insights were as numerous as sand on the seashore.

Solomon was wiser than any of the eastern leaders and wiser than anyone in Egypt.

He was wiser than anyone of his day wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, and wiser than Mahol's sons Calcol and Darda.

His reputation was known throughout the surrounding nations. Solomon wrote 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs.

He described trees everything from cedars that grow in Lebanon to hyssop that grows on a garden wall. He described animals, birds, reptiles, and fish.

Now therefore please order that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me. My servants will work with your servants, and I will pay your servants whatever wages you set, because you know there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians do."

"I have read the letter that you sent me. I'll do what you've asked about the cedar and cypress timber.

My servants will transport them from Lebanon to the sea, where we'll make them into rafts and float them by sea to the port that you tell me to send them. We'll have them prepared for transport there and then you can carry them from there. You can meet my needs by providing provisions for my household."

That's how Hiram came to provide Solomon as much cedar and cypress timber as he needed.

In return, Solomon paid Hiram 20,000 kors of wheat as food for his household, and 20 kors of beaten oil. Solomon provided this amount every year during the construction.

The LORD continued giving Solomon wisdom, just as he had promised, and Hiram and Solomon entered into a peace treaty between themselves.

Solomon also employed 70,000 heavy-lift workers and 80,000 stonecutters in the hill country.

Solomon also employed 3,300 officials to supervise the work and to manage the people employed in the construction.

As a result, Solomon's builders worked with Hiram's builders, accompanied by the Gebalites, to quarry the stone and to prepare the timber and other stone for the Temple's construction.

The Temple for the LORD that Solomon was building was 60 cubits long and 20 cubits wide.

The lower structures were five cubits wide, the middle structures were six cubits wide and the third structures were seven cubits wide. Offsets were placed all around the Temple so that beams would not protrude through the walls of the Temple.

After Solomon built the Temple and finished it, he covered the Temple with beams and planks made of cedar.

He constructed this structure to adjoin the entire Temple, five cubits high, and fastened it to the Temple with cedar timbers.

"Concerning this Temple that you're building, if you live your life according to my statutes, carry out my ordinances, and keep all of my commands, and live according to them, then I will do what I promised to your father David.

I will reside among the Israelis and will never abandon my people Israel."

So Solomon kept on building the Temple and finished it.

Then he built the inside walls of the Temple, lining them from floor to ceiling with cedar boards, and overlaying the Temple floor with boards made of cypress wood.

Cedar carvings in the form of gourds and blooming flowers covered the entire interior of the Temple so that no stone could be seen.

The inner sanctuary was 20 cubits long, 20 cubits wide, and 20 cubits high, and overlaid with pure gold. The altar was also overlaid with cedar.

Solomon overlaid the inside of the Temple with pure gold, fastened gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, and overlaid it with gold.

Each wing of one cherub was five cubits long, and each wing of the other cherub was five cubits long, so that the distance from the end of one wing to the end of the other wing was ten cubits.

Each cherub was ten cubits high, and both were of the same size and shape,

Solomon placed the cherubim in the middle of the inner sanctuary, with their wings spread in such a way that the wing of one was touching the one wall and the opposite wing of the other cherub was touching the opposite wall. Furthermore, their wings in the center of the wall were touching each other wing-to-wing.

Solomon also inlaid all the inner walls of the Temple both the inner and outer sanctuaries with carved engravings of cherubim, palm trees, and blooming flowers.

He also overlaid the floor of the Temple with gold in both the inner and outer sanctuaries.

Solomon also provided doors, lintels, and five-sided doorposts for the entrance to the inner sanctuary.

He installed two doors made of olive wood, inlaying them with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and blooming flowers, and overlaying them with gold. Then he added more gold to cover the cherubim and palm trees.

Solomon also inlaid the doors with cherubim, palm trees, and blooming flowers. He overlaid them with gold that was carefully applied on the engraved work.

He constructed the inner court with three rows of precut stone and a row of cedar beams.

and the Temple was completely finished according to its plans and specifications in the eighth month of the eleventh year of Solomon's reign, that is, during the month of Bul. It took about seven years to build.

But Solomon took thirteen years to build his own palace, and finally finished it.

He built his own palace out of timber supplied from the forest of Lebanon. It was 100 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, 20 cubits tall, and was constructed on four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams interlocking the pillars.

All the doorways and doorposts had rectangular frames, with the doorways facing each other in three tiers.

There was also a hall of pillars 50 cubits long and 30 cubits wide, and a porch in front with pillars, and a canopy in front of the pillars.

All of these were made with expensive stones, pre-cut according to specifications, hand-sawed inside and out from the foundation to the coping, including from inside to the great court.

The foundation was made of expensive stone, including large stones ten cubits long and stones eight cubits long.

Above these were expensive stones cut according to specifications, and cedar.

So the great court was surrounded by three rows of cut stone, along with a row of cedar beams, just like the inner court of the LORD's Temple and the porch surrounding the Temple.

the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, whose father was from Tyre. A bronze worker, he was wise, knowledgeable, and was skilled in all sorts of bronze working. He went to King Solomon and did all of his work.

He also crafted two capitals of cast bronze and set them on top of the pillars. The height of one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits.

A network of latticework on top of the pillars was inlaid with ornamental wreaths and chains, the top of each pillar containing seven groups of ornamental structures.

with the capitals on the two pillars covered by 200 pomegranates in rows around both the capitals above and adjoining the rounded latticework.

Hiram also made a sea of cast metal ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in shape and five cubits and 30 cubits in its inner circumference.

The sea stood on top of twelve oxen. Three faced north, three faced west, three faced south, and three faced east. The sea was set on top of them, and their hind parts faced the center.

The reservoir, which held about 2,000 baths, stood about a handbreadth thick, and its rim looked like the brim of a cup or of a lily blossom.

Hiram also made ten bronze water carts. Each one was four cubits wide, four cubits long, and three cubits high.

and on the borders between the cross-pieces were lions, oxen, and cherubim. A pedestal was placed above the cross-pieces, and beneath the lions and oxen there were wreaths hanging down.

The four wheels were placed underneath the borders, and the axles for the wheels were on the stand. Each wheel stood one and a half cubits high.

The wheels resembled those of a chariot, with their axles, rims, spokes, and hubs made of cast bronze.