Thematic Bible


Thematic Bible



And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field: And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces: And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom from the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee: read more.
(But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:) Because they have forsaken me, and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in my eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father. Yet I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant's sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes: But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give it to thee, even ten tribes. And to his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light always before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for me to put my name there. And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel. And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken to all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to thee. And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not for ever.

Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin. Verse ConceptsBacksliding, Israel ExanplesSolomon, Character OfUnique Individuals

For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father. read more.
Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. And likewise did he for all his foreign wives, who burnt incense and sacrificed to their gods. And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded. Wherefore the LORD said to Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done by thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant. Notwithstanding, in thy days, I will not do it, for David thy father's sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. Yet, I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen. And the LORD stirred up an adversary to Solomon, Hadad the Edomite: he was of the king's seed in Edom. For it came to pass, when David was in Edom, and Joab the captain of the host had gone up to bury the slain, after he had smitten every male in Edom; (For six months did Joab remain there with all Israel, until he had cut off every male in Edom:) That Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father's servants with him, to go into Egypt; Hadad being yet a little child. And they arose out of Midian, and came to Paran: and they took men with them from Paran, and they came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt; who gave him a house, and appointed him victuals, and gave him land. And Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him for a wife the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen. And the sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh's house: and Genubath was in Pharaoh's household among the sons of Pharaoh. And when Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers, and that Joab the captain of the host was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, Let me depart, that I may go to my own country. Then Pharaoh said to him, But what hast thou lacked with me, that, behold, thou seekest to go to thy own country? And he answered, Nothing: yet, in any wise let me go. And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliadah, who fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah: And he gathered men to him, and became captain over a band, when David slew them of Zobah: and they went to Damascus, and dwelt in it, and reigned in Damascus. And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, besides the mischief that Hadad did: and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria. And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomon's servant, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow woman, even he raised his hand against the king. And this was the cause why he raised his hand against the king: Solomon built Millo, and repaired the breaches of the city of David his father. And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor: and Solomon, seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph. And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field: And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces: And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom from the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee: (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:) Because they have forsaken me, and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in my eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father. Yet I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant's sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes: But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give it to thee, even ten tribes. And to his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light always before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for me to put my name there. And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel. And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken to all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to thee. And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not for ever. Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field: And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces: And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom from the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee: read more.
(But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:) Because they have forsaken me, and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in my eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father. Yet I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant's sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes: But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give it to thee, even ten tribes. And to his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light always before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for me to put my name there.

So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not to them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thy own house, David. So Israel departed to their tents. But as for the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the tribute; and all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. Therefore king Rehoboam made speed to enter his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem. read more.
So Israel rebelled against the house of David to this day. And it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come again, that they sent and called him to the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only. And when Rehoboam had come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand chosen men, who were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.

And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field: And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces: And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom from the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee: read more.
(But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:) Because they have forsaken me, and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in my eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father. Yet I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant's sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes: But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give it to thee, even ten tribes. And to his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light always before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for me to put my name there. And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel. And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken to all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to thee. And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not for ever.

And the LORD said to Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee for her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shalt thou say to her: for it shall be, when she cometh in, that she will feign herself to be another woman. And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings. Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel, read more.
And rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it to thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in my eyes; But hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back: Therefore behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam the males, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it is all gone. Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat: for the LORD hath spoken it. Arise thou therefore, depart to thy own house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die. And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him: for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing towards the LORD God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam. Moreover, the LORD shall raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now. For the LORD will smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he will root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger. And he will give up Israel because of the sins of Jeroboam, who sinned, and who made Israel to sin.

And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomon's servant, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow woman, even he raised his hand against the king. And this was the cause why he raised his hand against the king: Solomon built Millo, and repaired the breaches of the city of David his father. And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor: and Solomon, seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph. read more.
And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field: And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces: And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom from the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee: (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:) Because they have forsaken me, and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in my eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father. Yet I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant's sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes: But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give it to thee, even ten tribes. And to his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light always before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for me to put my name there. And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel. And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken to all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to thee. And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not for ever. Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

Then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow to the LORD: Verse ConceptsGiftsChoicesOfferingsSacred PlacesAnimal Sacrifices, Heave OfferingBringing In The TitheRegulating SacrificesA Place For God's NameTithes And Offering

And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever: Verse ConceptsCovenant, God's with Davidelection, privileges ofJerusalem, Significance OfPollutions

For the LORD hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation. This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it. I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread.

Whatever prayer and supplication shall be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, who shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands towards this house: Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;) That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest to our fathers. read more.
Moreover, concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name's sake; (For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy out-stretched arm;) when he shall come and pray towards this house; Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name. If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shall pray to the LORD towards the city which thou hast chosen, and towards the house that I have built for thy name: Then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause. If they shall sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou shalt be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives to the land of the enemy, far or near; Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent and make supplication to thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness; And so return to thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, who led them away captive, and pray to thee towards their land, which thou gavest to their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name:

And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom from the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee: (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:) Because they have forsaken me, and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in my eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father. read more.
Yet I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant's sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes: But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give it to thee, even ten tribes. And to his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light always before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for me to put my name there.

And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house, of which the LORD said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever: Verse ConceptsCovenant, God's with Davidelection, privileges ofSculptureSacrilegeServing AsherahA Place For God's NameChristmas Tree

Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken to the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee: That thy eyes may be open upon this house day and night, upon the place of which thou hast said, that thou wouldst put thy name there; to hearken to the prayer which thy servant prayeth towards this place. Hearken therefore to the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall make towards this place: hear thou from thy dwelling-place, even from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive. read more.
If a man shall sin against his neighbor, and an oath be laid upon him to make him swear, and the oath shall come before thy altar in this house; Then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, by requiting the wicked, by recompensing his way upon his own head; and by justifying the righteous, by giving him according to his righteousness. And if thy people Israel shall be put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall return and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house; Then hear thou from the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again to the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers. When the heaven is shut, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; yet if they pray towards this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them; Then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou hast taught them the good way in which they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance. If there shall be dearth in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting, or mildew, locusts, or caterpillars; if their enemies shall besiege them in the cities of their land; whatever calamity, or whatever sickness there be: Then whatever prayer, or whatever supplication shall be made by any man, or by all the people of Israel, when every one shall know his own calamity, and his own grief, and shall spread forth his hands in this house: Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling-place, and forgive, and render to every man according to all his ways, whose heart thou knowest (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men:) That they may fear thee, to walk in thy ways, so long as they live in the land which thou gavest to our fathers. Moreover concerning the stranger, who is not of thy people Israel, but hath come from a distant country for thy great name's sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy out-stretched arm; if they come and pray in this house; Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling-place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; that all people of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee, as do thy people Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name. If thy people go out to war against their enemies by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray to thee towards this city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name; Then hear thou from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause. If they sin against thee, (for there is no man who sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives to a land far off or near; Yet if they bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn and pray to thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly; If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray towards their land which thou gavest to their fathers, and towards the city which thou hast chosen, and towards the house which I have built for thy name: Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling-place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people who have sinned against thee. Now, my God, let, I beseech thee, thy eyes be open, and let thy ears be attentive to the prayer that is made in this place.

That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, who were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said to me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and its gates are burned with fire. And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven, read more.
And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: Let thy ear now be attentive, and thy eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses. Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: But if ye turn to me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you driven to the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them to the place that I have chosen to set my name there.

Sing, and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD. And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me to thee. And the LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again. read more.
Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.

Then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow to the LORD: Verse ConceptsGiftsChoicesOfferingsSacred PlacesAnimal Sacrifices, Heave OfferingBringing In The TitheRegulating SacrificesA Place For God's NameTithes And Offering

And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom from the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee: (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:) Because they have forsaken me, and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in my eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father. read more.
Yet I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant's sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes: But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give it to thee, even ten tribes. And to his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light always before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for me to put my name there.

That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, who were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said to me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and its gates are burned with fire. And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven, read more.
And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: Let thy ear now be attentive, and thy eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses. Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: But if ye turn to me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you driven to the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them to the place that I have chosen to set my name there.

Yet have thou respect to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken to the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee this day: That thy eyes may be open towards this house night and day, even towards the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken to the prayer which thy servant shall make towards this place. And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray towards this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place: and when thou hearest, forgive. read more.
If any man shall trespass against his neighbor, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before thy altar in this house: Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness. When thy people Israel shall be smitten before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication to thee in this house: Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again to the land which thou gavest to their fathers. When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray towards this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them: Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou mayest teach them the good way in which they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance. If there shall be in the land famine, if there shall be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there shall be caterpillar; if their enemy shall besiege them in the land of their cities, whatever plague, whatever sickness there shall be; Whatever prayer and supplication shall be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, who shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands towards this house: Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;) That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest to our fathers. Moreover, concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name's sake; (For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy out-stretched arm;) when he shall come and pray towards this house; Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name.

And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all Solomon's desire which he was pleased to perform, That the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. And the LORD said to him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and my eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually.

And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD said, In Jerusalem will I put my name. Verse ConceptsBuilding AltarsA Place For God's Name

Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken to the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee: That thy eyes may be open upon this house day and night, upon the place of which thou hast said, that thou wouldst put thy name there; to hearken to the prayer which thy servant prayeth towards this place. Hearken therefore to the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall make towards this place: hear thou from thy dwelling-place, even from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive. read more.
If a man shall sin against his neighbor, and an oath be laid upon him to make him swear, and the oath shall come before thy altar in this house; Then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, by requiting the wicked, by recompensing his way upon his own head; and by justifying the righteous, by giving him according to his righteousness. And if thy people Israel shall be put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall return and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house; Then hear thou from the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again to the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers. When the heaven is shut, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; yet if they pray towards this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them; Then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou hast taught them the good way in which they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance. If there shall be dearth in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting, or mildew, locusts, or caterpillars; if their enemies shall besiege them in the cities of their land; whatever calamity, or whatever sickness there be: Then whatever prayer, or whatever supplication shall be made by any man, or by all the people of Israel, when every one shall know his own calamity, and his own grief, and shall spread forth his hands in this house: Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling-place, and forgive, and render to every man according to all his ways, whose heart thou knowest (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men:) That they may fear thee, to walk in thy ways, so long as they live in the land which thou gavest to our fathers. Moreover concerning the stranger, who is not of thy people Israel, but hath come from a distant country for thy great name's sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy out-stretched arm; if they come and pray in this house; Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling-place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; that all people of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee, as do thy people Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name. If thy people go out to war against their enemies by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray to thee towards this city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name; Then hear thou from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause. If they sin against thee, (for there is no man who sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives to a land far off or near; Yet if they bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn and pray to thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly; If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray towards their land which thou gavest to their fathers, and towards the city which thou hast chosen, and towards the house which I have built for thy name:

Also he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever. Verse ConceptsBuilding Altars

Thus saith the LORD; I have returned to Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain. Verse ConceptsNames For JerusalemNames And Titles For The ChurchGod's TruthGod Lives In Jerusalemjerusalemzion

But I say to you, Swear not at all: neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King,

For the LORD hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation. This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it. I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread.

And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom from the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee: (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:) Because they have forsaken me, and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in my eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father. read more.
Yet I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant's sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes: But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give it to thee, even ten tribes. And to his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light always before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for me to put my name there.

Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married to you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: And I will give you pastors according to my heart, who shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. And it shall come to pass, when ye shall be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more. read more.
At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem; neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.

And Zadok the priest took a horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save king Solomon. And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them. And Adonijah and all the guests that were with him heard it as they had made an end of eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, Why is this noise of the city being in an uproar? read more.
And while he yet spoke, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came: and Adonijah said to him, Come in; for thou art a valiant man, and bringest good tidings. And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, Verily our lord king David hath made Solomon king. And the king hath sent with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and they have caused him to ride upon the king's mule: And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon: and they have come from thence rejoicing, so that the city resounded. This is the noise that ye have heard. And also Solomon sitteth on the throne of the kingdom. And moreover the king's servants came to bless our lord king David, saying, God make the name of Solomon better than thy name, and make his throne greater than thy throne. And the king bowed himself upon the bed. And also thus said the king, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who hath given one to sit on my throne this day, my eyes even seeing it. And all the guests that were with Adonijah were afraid, and arose, and went every man his way. And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar. And it was told Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah feareth king Solomon: for lo, he hath caught hold on the horns of the altar, saying, Let king Solomon swear to me to-day that he will not slay his servant with the sword. And Solomon said, If he will show himself a worthy man, there shall not a hair of him fall to the earth: but if wickedness shall be found in him, he shall die. So king Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and bowed himself to king Solomon: and Solomon said to him, Go to thy house. Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying, I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man; And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself. That the LORD may continue his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel. Moreover, thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner, and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet. Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoary head go down to the grave in peace. But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table: for so they came to me when I fled because of Absalom thy brother. And behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjaminite of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I swore to him by the LORD, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword. Now therefore hold him not guiltless: for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do to him; but his hoary head do thou bring down to the grave with blood. So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David. And the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem. Then Solomon was seated upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly. And Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bath-sheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, Comest thou peaceably? and he said, Peaceably. He said moreover, I have somewhat to say to thee. And she said, Say on. And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign: but the kingdom is turned about, and hath become my brother's: for it was his from the LORD. And now I ask one petition of thee, deny me not. And she said to him, Say on. And he said, Speak, I pray thee, to Solomon the king, (for he will not say to thee no,) that he give me Abishag the Shunamite for a wife. And Bath-sheba said, Well; I will speak for thee to the king. Bath-sheba therefore went to king Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself to her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king's mother; and she sat on his right hand. Then she said, I desire one small petition of thee; I pray thee, deny me not. And the king said to her, Ask on, my mother: for I will not deny thee. And she said, Let Abishag the Shunamite be given to Adonijah thy brother for a wife. And king Solomon answered and said to his mother, And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunamite for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom also; for he is my elder brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah. Then king Solomon swore by the LORD, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah hath not spoken this word against his own life. Now therefore, as the LORD liveth, who hath established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and who hath made me a house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death this day. And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him that he died. And to Abiathar the priest said the king, Depart to Anathoth, to thy own fields; for thou art worthy of death: but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou didst bear the ark of the Lord GOD before David my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all in which my father was afflicted. So Solomon removed Abiathar from being priest to the LORD; that he might fulfill the word of the LORD, which he spoke concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh. Then tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab fled to the tabernacle of the LORD, and caught hold on the horns of the altar. And it was told to king Solomon that Joab had fled to the tabernacle of the LORD; and behold, he is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him. And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the LORD, and said to him, Thus saith the king, Come forth. And he said, No; but I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me. And the king said to him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the innocent blood which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of my father. And the LORD shall return his blood upon his own head, who fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, my father David not knowing of it, to wit, Abner the son of Ner captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah. Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever: but upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace forever from the LORD. So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went, and fell upon him, and slew him: and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the army: and Zadok the priest the king put in the room of Abiathar. And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, Build thee a house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence to any place whatever. For it shall be, that on the day thou shalt go out, and pass over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die: thy blood shall be upon thy own head. And Shimei said to the king, The saying is good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days. And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away to Achish son of Maachah king of Gath: and they told Shimei, saying, behold, thy servants are in Gath. And Shimei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants: and Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath. And it was told to Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and had returned. And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, Did I not make thee to swear by the LORD, and protest to thee, saying, Know for a certain, on the day thou goest out, and walkest any where abroad, that thou shalt surely die? and thou saidst to me, The word that I have heard is good. Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the LORD, and the commandment that I have charged thee with? The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness which thy heart is privy to, that thou didst to David my father: therefore the LORD will return thy wickedness upon thy own head; And king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever. So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; who went out, and fell upon him, that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon. And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem on every side. Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built to the name of the LORD, until those days. And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt-offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar. In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said, Thou hast shown to thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give therefore to thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. And God said to him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thy enemies: but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there hath been none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like to thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honor: so that there shall not be any among the kings like to thee all thy days, And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days. And Solomon awoke; and behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and offered up burnt-offerings, and offered peace-offerings, and made a feast to all his servants. Then came there two women, that were harlots, to the king, and stood before him. And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house. And it came to pass the third day after I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also: and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save us two in the house. And this woman's child died in the night; because she overlaid it. And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thy handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. And when I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I bore. And the other woman said, No; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spoke before the king. Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead; and the other saith, No; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living. And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king. And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other. Then spoke the woman whose the living child was to the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it. Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother of it. And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment. So king Solomon was king over all Israel. And these were the princes which he had; Azariah the son of Zadok the priest, Elihoreph and Ahiah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehosaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder. And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the army: and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests: And Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers: and Zabud the son of Nathan was principal officer, and the king's friend: And Ahishar was over the household: and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the tribute. And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided victuals for the king and his household: each man his month in a year made provision. And these are their names: The son of Hur, in mount Ephraim: The son of Dekar, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Beth-shemesh, and Elon-beth-hanan: The son of Hesed, in Aruboth; to him pertained Sochoh, and all the land of Hepher: The son of Abinadab, in all the region of Dor; who had Taphath the daughter of Solomon for a wife: Baana the son of Ahilud; to him pertained Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth-shean, which is by Zartanah beneath Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, even to the place that is beyond Jokneam: The son of Geber, in Ramoth-gilead; to him pertained the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; to him also pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and brazen bars: Ahinadab the son of Iddo had Mahanaim: Ahimaaz was in Naphtali; he also took Basmath the daughter of Solomon for a wife: Baanah the son of Hushai was in Asher and in Aloth: Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar: Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin: Geber the son of Uri was in the country of Gilead, in the country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only officer who was in the land. Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry. And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life. And Solomon's provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and sixty measures of meal. Ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and a hundred sheep, besides harts, and roebucks, and fallow-deer, and fatted fowls. For he had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from Tiphsah even to Azzah, over all the kings on this side of the river: and he had peace on all sides around him. And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig-tree, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, all the days of Solomon. And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. And those officers provided victuals for king Solomon, and for all that came to king Solomon's table, every man in his month: they lacked nothing. Barley also and straw for the horses and dromedaries they brought to the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge. And God gave Solomon great wisdom and understanding, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea-shore. And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. And he spoke three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five. And he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spoke also of beasts, and of fowls, and of creeping animals, and of fishes. And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom. And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David. And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, Thou knowest how that David my father could not build a house to the name of the LORD his God, for the wars which were about him on every side, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet. But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent. And behold, I purpose to build a house to the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spoke to David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build a house to my name. Now therefore command thou, that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants: and to thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that is skilled in hewing timber like the Sidonians. And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be the LORD this day, who hath given to David a wise son over this great people. And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for: and I will perform all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir. My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon to the sea: and I will convey them by sea in floats to the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be discharged there, and thou shalt receive them: and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household. So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all his desire. And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year. And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him: and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together. And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men. And he sent them to Lebanon ten thousand a month by courses; a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home. And Adoniram was over the levy. And Solomon had seventy thousand that bore burdens, and eighty thousand hewers in the mountains; Besides the chief of Solomon's officers who were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, who ruled over the people that wrought in the work. And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house. And Solomon's builders, and Hiram's builders did hew them, and the stone-squarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house. And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD. And the house which king Solomon built for the LORD, the length of it was sixty cubits, and the breadth of it twenty cubits, and the hight of it thirty cubits. And the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was the length of it, according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits was the breadth of it, before the house. And for the house he made windows of narrow lights. And against the wall of the house he built chambers round about, against the walls of the house round about, both of the temple and of the oracle: and he made chambers round about: The nethermost chamber was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad: for without in the wall of the house he made narrowed rests round about, that the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the house. And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither; so that there was neither hammer nor ax nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building. The door for the middle chamber was in the right side of the house: and they went up with winding stairs into the middle chamber, and out of the middle into the third; So he built the house and finished it; and covered the house with beams and boards of cedar. And then he built chambers against all the house, five cubits high: and they rested on the house with timber of cedar. And the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying, Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spoke to David thy father: And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel. So Solomon built the house, and finished it. And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar, both the floor of the house, and the walls of the ceiling: and he covered them on the inside with wood, and covered the floor of the house with planks of fir. And he built twenty cubits on the sides of the house, both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar: he even built them for it within, even for the oracle, even for the most holy place. And the house, that is, the temple before it, was forty cubits long. And the cedar of the house within was carved with knobs and open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen. And the oracle he prepared in the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of the LORD. And the oracle in the forepart was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the hight of it, and he overlaid it with pure gold; and so covered the altar which was of cedar. So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: and he made a partition by the chains of gold before the oracle; and he overlaid it with gold. And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the house: also the whole altar that was by the oracle he overlaid with gold. And within the oracle he made two cherubim of olive tree, each ten cubits high. And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the uttermost part of the one wing to the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits. And the other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubim were of one measure and one size. The hight of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was it of the other cherub. And he set the cherubim within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubim, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house. And he overlaid the cherubim with gold. And he carved all the walls of the house around with carved figures of cherubim, and palm trees, and open flowers, within and without. And the floor of the house he overlaid with gold, within and without. And for the entrance of the oracle he made doors of olive tree: the lintel and side-posts were a fifth part of the wall. The two doors also were of olive tree; and he carved upon them carvings of cherubim, and palm trees, and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and spread gold upon the cherubim, and upon the palm trees. So also he made for the door of the temple posts of olive tree a fourth part of the wall. And the two doors were of fir tree: the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding. And he carved thereon cherubim, and palm trees, and open flowers; and covered them with gold, fitted upon the carved work. And he built the inner court with three rows of hewn stone, and a row of cedar beams. In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the LORD laid, in the month Zif: And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul (which is the eighth month) was the house finished throughout all its parts, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it. But Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house. He built also the house of the forest of Lebanon; its length was a hundred cubits, and its breadth fifty cubits, and its hight thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars. And it was covered with cedar above upon the beams, that lay on forty-five pillars, fifteen in a row. And there were windows in three rows, and light was against light in three ranks. And all the doors and posts were square, with the windows: and light was against light in three ranks. And he made a porch of pillars; its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth thirty cubits: and the porch was before them: and the other pillars and the thick beams were before them. Then he made a porch for the throne where he might judge, even the porch of judgment: and it was covered with cedar from one side of the floor to the other. And his house where he dwelt had another court within the porch, which was of the like work. Solomon made also a house for Pharaoh's daughter, whom he had married, like to this porch. All these were of costly stones, according to the measures of hewn stones, sawed with saws, within and without, even from the foundation to the coping, and so on the outside towards the great court. And the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones; stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits. And above were costly stones, after the measures of hewn stones, and cedars. And the great court around was with three rows of hewn stones, and a row of cedar beams, both for the inner court of the house of the LORD, and for the porch of the house. And king Solomon sent and brought Hiram out of Tyre. He was a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and ingenious to work all works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all his work. For he cast two pillars of brass, each of eighteen cubits high: and a line of twelve cubits did encompass each of them. And he made two capitals of molten brass, to set upon the tops of the pillars: the hight of the one capital was five cubits, and the hight of the other capital was five cubits: And nets of checker-work, and wreaths of chain-work, for the capitals which were upon the top of the pillars; seven for the one capital, and seven for the other capital. And he made the pillars, and two rows around upon the one net-work, to cover the capitals that were upon the top, with pomegranates: and so he did for the other capital. And the capitals that were upon the top of the pillars were of lily-work in the porch, four cubits. And the capitals upon the two pillars had pomegranates also above, over against the belly which was by the net-work: and the pomegranates were two hundred in rows around upon the other capital. And he set up the pillars in the porch of the temple: and he set up the right pillar, and called its name Jachin: and he set up the left pillar, and called its name Boaz. And upon the top of the pillars was lily-work: so was the work of the pillars finished. And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was entirely round, and its hight was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits encompassed it. And under the brim of it around there were knobs compassing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea around: the knobs were cast in two rows, when it was cast. It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking towards the north, and three looking towards the west, and three looking towards the south, and three looking towards the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward. And it was a hand-breadth thick, and its brim was wrought like the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies: it contained two thousand baths. And he made ten bases of brass; four cubits was the length of one base, and four cubits the breadth of it, and three cubits the hight of it. And the work of the bases was in this manner: They had borders, and the borders were between the ledges: And on the borders that were between the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubim: and upon the ledges there was a base above: and beneath the lions and oxen were certain additions made of thin work. And every base had four brazen wheels, and plates of brass: and the four corners of it had undersetters: under the laver were undersetters molten, at the side of every addition. And the mouth of it within the capital and above was a cubit: but the mouth of it was round after the work of the base, a cubit and a half: and also upon the mouth of it were gravings with their borders, foursquare, not round. And under the borders were four wheels; and the axletrees of the wheels were joined to the base: and the hight of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit. And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel: their axletrees, and their naves, and their fellies, and their spokes, were all molten. And there were four undersetters to the four corners of one base: and the undersetters were of the very base itself. And in the top of the base was there a round compass of half a cubit high: and on the top of the base its ledges and its borders were of the same. For on the plates of its ledges, and on its borders, he graved cherubim, lions, and palm trees, according to the proportion of every one, and additions around. After this manner he made the ten bases: all of them had one casting, one measure, and one size. Then he made ten lavers of brass: one laver contained forty baths: and every laver was four cubits: and upon every one of the ten bases one laver. And he put five bases on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house: and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward over against the south. And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the basins. So Hiram made an end of doing all the work that he executed for king Solomon for the house of the LORD: The two pillars, and the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the two pillars; and the two net-works, to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were upon the top of the pillars; And four hundred pomegranates for the two net-works, even two rows of pomegranates for one net-work, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were upon the pillars; And the ten bases, and ten lavers on the bases; And one sea, and twelve oxen under the sea; And the pots, and the shovels, and the basins: and all these vessels which Hiram made to king Solomon for the house of the LORD, were of bright brass. In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarthan. And Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because they were very numerous: neither was the weight of the brass ascertained. And Solomon made all the vessels that pertained to the house of the LORD: the altar of gold, and the table of gold, upon which was the show-bread, And the candlesticks of pure gold, five on the right side, and five on the left, before the oracle, with the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs of gold, And the bowls, and the snuffers, and the basins, and the spoons, and the censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, to wit, of the temple. So was ended all the work that king Solomon made for the house of the LORD. And Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated; even the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, he placed among the treasures of the house of the LORD. Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, to king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. And all the men of Israel assembled themselves to king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark. And they brought the ark of the LORD, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring. And king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled to him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude. And the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubim. For the cherubim spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and the staffs thereof above. And they drew out the staffs, that the ends of the staffs were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and there they are to this day. There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses deposited there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. And it came to pass, when the priests had come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD. Then spoke Solomon, The LORD said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. I have surely built thee a house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever. And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the congregation of Israel: and all the congregation of Israel were standing. And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who spoke with his mouth to David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying, Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel from Egypt, I have chosen no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house, that my name might be therein; but I chose David to be over my people Israel. And it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. And the LORD said to David my father, Whereas it was in thy heart to build a house to my name, thou didst well that it was in thy heart. Nevertheless, thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house to my name. And the LORD hath performed his word that he spoke, and I have risen in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built a house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. And I have set there a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them from the land of Egypt. And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands towards Heaven: And he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart. Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou didst promise him: thou didst speak also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thy hand, as it is this day. Therefore now, LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou didst promise him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; provided thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me. And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou didst speak to thy servant David my father. But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have built? Yet have thou respect to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken to the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee this day: That thy eyes may be open towards this house night and day, even towards the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken to the prayer which thy servant shall make towards this place. And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray towards this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place: and when thou hearest, forgive. If any man shall trespass against his neighbor, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before thy altar in this house: Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness. When thy people Israel shall be smitten before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication to thee in this house: Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again to the land which thou gavest to their fathers. When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray towards this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them: Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou mayest teach them the good way in which they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance. If there shall be in the land famine, if there shall be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there shall be caterpillar; if their enemy shall besiege them in the land of their cities, whatever plague, whatever sickness there shall be; Whatever prayer and supplication shall be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, who shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands towards this house: Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;) That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest to our fathers. Moreover, concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name's sake; (For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy out-stretched arm;) when he shall come and pray towards this house; Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name. If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shall pray to the LORD towards the city which thou hast chosen, and towards the house that I have built for thy name: Then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause. If they shall sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou shalt be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives to the land of the enemy, far or near; Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent and make supplication to thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness; And so return to thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, who led them away captive, and pray to thee towards their land, which thou gavest to their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name: Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling-place, and maintain their cause, And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions in which they have transgressed against thee, and give them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them: For they are thy people, and thy inheritance, which thou broughtest out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron: That thy eyes may be open to the supplication of thy servant, and to the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken to them in all their supplications to thee. For thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth, to be thy inheritance, as thou didst speak by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord GOD. And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication to the LORD, he arose from before the altar of the LORD, from kneeling on his knees, with his hands spread up to heaven. And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying, Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant. The LORD our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us: That he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers. And let these my words with which I have made supplication before the LORD, be nigh to the LORD our God day and night, that he may maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require: That all the people of the earth may know, that the LORD is God, and that there is none else. Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day. And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the LORD. And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace-offerings, which he offered to the LORD, two and twenty thousand oxen, and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the LORD. The same day did the king consecrate the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD: for there he offered burnt-offerings, and meat-offerings, and the fat of the peace-offerings: because the brazen altar that was before the LORD was too little to receive the burnt-offerings, and meat-offerings, and the fat of the peace-offerings. And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great congregation, from the entrance into Hamath to the river of Egypt, before the LORD our God, seven days and seven days, even fourteen days. On the eighth day he sent the people away: and they blessed the king, and went to their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people. And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all Solomon's desire which he was pleased to perform, That the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. And the LORD said to him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and my eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually. And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments: Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel. But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them: Then will I cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and this house which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a by-word among all people: And at this house which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus to this land, and to this house? And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought forth their fathers from the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshiped them, and served them: therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil. And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD, and the king's house, (Now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and fir trees, and with gold, according to all his desire,) that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not. And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul to this day. And Hiram sent to the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold. And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised, to build the house of the LORD, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer. For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a present to his daughter, Solomon's wife. And Solomon built Gezer, and Beth-horon the nether, And Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land, And all the cities of store that Solomon had, and cities for his chariots, and cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not of the children of Israel, Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bond-service to this day. But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bond-men: but they were men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and his captains, and rulers of his chariots, and his horsemen. These were the chief of the officers that were over Solomon's work, five hundred and fifty, who bore rule over the people that wrought in the work. But Pharaoh's daughter came up from the city of David to her house which Solomon had built for her: then he built Millo. And three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt-offerings and peace-offerings upon the altar which he built to the LORD, and he burnt incense upon the altar that was before the LORD. So he finished the house. And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Ezion-geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon. And they came to Ophir, and imported from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon. And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions. And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bore spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she had come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the house that he had built, And the provisions of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cup-bearers, and his ascent by which he went up to the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her. And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in my own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom. Howbeit, I believed not the words, until I came, and my eyes had seen it: and behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame which I heard. Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, who stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom. Blessed be the LORD thy God, who delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the LORD loved Israel for ever, therefore he made thee king, to do judgment and justice. And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices a very great quantity, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon. And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious stones. And the king made of the almug trees pillars for the house of the LORD, and for the king's house, harps also and psalteries for singers: there came no such almug-trees, nor have they been seen to this day. And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she asked, besides that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants. Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty six talents of gold, Besides what he had of the merchants, and of the traffic of the spice-merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the country. And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of gold went to one target. And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three pounds of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. Moreover, the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold. The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were stays on either side on the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the stays. And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom. And all king Solomon's drinking vessels 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 nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon. For the king had at sea a navy of Tharshish with the navy of Hiram: once in three years came the navy of Tharshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks. So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom. And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armor, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year. And Solomon collected chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and with the king at Jerusalem. And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars he made to be as the sycamore trees that are in the vale, for abundance. And Solomon had horses brought from Egypt, and linen yarn: the king's merchants received the linen yarn at a price. And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty: and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, did they bring them out by their means. But king Solomon loved many foreign women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; Of the nations concerning which the LORD said to the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in to you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon cleaved to these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. And likewise did he for all his foreign wives, who burnt incense and sacrificed to their gods. And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded. Wherefore the LORD said to Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done by thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant. Notwithstanding, in thy days, I will not do it, for David thy father's sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. Yet, I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen. And the LORD stirred up an adversary to Solomon, Hadad the Edomite: he was of the king's seed in Edom. For it came to pass, when David was in Edom, and Joab the captain of the host had gone up to bury the slain, after he had smitten every male in Edom; (For six months did Joab remain there with all Israel, until he had cut off every male in Edom:) That Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father's servants with him, to go into Egypt; Hadad being yet a little child. And they arose out of Midian, and came to Paran: and they took men with them from Paran, and they came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt; who gave him a house, and appointed him victuals, and gave him land. And Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him for a wife the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen. And the sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh's house: and Genubath was in Pharaoh's household among the sons of Pharaoh. And when Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers, and that Joab the captain of the host was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, Let me depart, that I may go to my own country. Then Pharaoh said to him, But what hast thou lacked with me, that, behold, thou seekest to go to thy own country? And he answered, Nothing: yet, in any wise let me go. And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliadah, who fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah: And he gathered men to him, and became captain over a band, when David slew them of Zobah: and they went to Damascus, and dwelt in it, and reigned in Damascus. And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, besides the mischief that Hadad did: and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria. And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomon's servant, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow woman, even he raised his hand against the king. And this was the cause why he raised his hand against the king: Solomon built Millo, and repaired the breaches of the city of David his father. And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor: and Solomon, seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph. And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field: And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces: And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom from the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee: (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:) Because they have forsaken me, and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in my eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father. Yet I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant's sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes: But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give it to thee, even ten tribes. And to his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light always before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for me to put my name there. And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel. And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken to all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to thee. And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not for ever. Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon. And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon? And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.

Then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow to the LORD: Verse ConceptsGiftsChoicesOfferingsSacred PlacesAnimal Sacrifices, Heave OfferingBringing In The TitheRegulating SacrificesA Place For God's NameTithes And Offering

And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom from the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee: (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:) Because they have forsaken me, and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in my eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father. read more.
Yet I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant's sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes: But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give it to thee, even ten tribes. And to his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light always before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for me to put my name there.

That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, who were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said to me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and its gates are burned with fire. And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven, read more.
And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: Let thy ear now be attentive, and thy eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses. Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: But if ye turn to me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you driven to the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them to the place that I have chosen to set my name there.

And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all Solomon's desire which he was pleased to perform, That the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. And the LORD said to him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and my eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually.

And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD said, In Jerusalem will I put my name. Verse ConceptsBuilding AltarsA Place For God's Name

Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken to the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee: That thy eyes may be open upon this house day and night, upon the place of which thou hast said, that thou wouldst put thy name there; to hearken to the prayer which thy servant prayeth towards this place. Hearken therefore to the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall make towards this place: hear thou from thy dwelling-place, even from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive. read more.
If a man shall sin against his neighbor, and an oath be laid upon him to make him swear, and the oath shall come before thy altar in this house; Then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, by requiting the wicked, by recompensing his way upon his own head; and by justifying the righteous, by giving him according to his righteousness. And if thy people Israel shall be put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall return and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house; Then hear thou from the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again to the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers. When the heaven is shut, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; yet if they pray towards this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them; Then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou hast taught them the good way in which they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance. If there shall be dearth in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting, or mildew, locusts, or caterpillars; if their enemies shall besiege them in the cities of their land; whatever calamity, or whatever sickness there be: Then whatever prayer, or whatever supplication shall be made by any man, or by all the people of Israel, when every one shall know his own calamity, and his own grief, and shall spread forth his hands in this house: Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling-place, and forgive, and render to every man according to all his ways, whose heart thou knowest (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men:) That they may fear thee, to walk in thy ways, so long as they live in the land which thou gavest to our fathers. Moreover concerning the stranger, who is not of thy people Israel, but hath come from a distant country for thy great name's sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy out-stretched arm; if they come and pray in this house; Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling-place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; that all people of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee, as do thy people Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name. If thy people go out to war against their enemies by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray to thee towards this city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name; Then hear thou from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause. If they sin against thee, (for there is no man who sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives to a land far off or near; Yet if they bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn and pray to thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly; If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray towards their land which thou gavest to their fathers, and towards the city which thou hast chosen, and towards the house which I have built for thy name:

Also he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever. Verse ConceptsBuilding Altars

Now therefore so shalt thou say to my servant David, thus saith the LORD of hosts, I took thee from the sheep-cote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel: And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thy enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like to the name of the great men that are in the earth. Moreover, I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as formerly. read more.
And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thy enemies. Also the LORD telleth thee that he will make thee a house. And when thy days shall be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

Yet have thou respect to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken to the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee this day: That thy eyes may be open towards this house night and day, even towards the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken to the prayer which thy servant shall make towards this place. And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray towards this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place: and when thou hearest, forgive. read more.
If any man shall trespass against his neighbor, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before thy altar in this house: Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness. When thy people Israel shall be smitten before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication to thee in this house: Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again to the land which thou gavest to their fathers. When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray towards this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them: Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou mayest teach them the good way in which they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance. If there shall be in the land famine, if there shall be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there shall be caterpillar; if their enemy shall besiege them in the land of their cities, whatever plague, whatever sickness there shall be; Whatever prayer and supplication shall be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, who shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands towards this house: Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;) That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest to our fathers. Moreover, concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name's sake; (For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy out-stretched arm;) when he shall come and pray towards this house; Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name. If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shall pray to the LORD towards the city which thou hast chosen, and towards the house that I have built for thy name: Then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause. If they shall sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou shalt be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives to the land of the enemy, far or near; Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent and make supplication to thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness; And so return to thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, who led them away captive, and pray to thee towards their land, which thou gavest to their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name:

And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces: And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom from the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee: (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:)

And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomon's servant, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow woman, even he raised his hand against the king. And this was the cause why he raised his hand against the king: Solomon built Millo, and repaired the breaches of the city of David his father. And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor: and Solomon, seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph. read more.
And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field: And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces: And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom from the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee: (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:) Because they have forsaken me, and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in my eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father. Yet I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant's sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes: But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give it to thee, even ten tribes.