Thematic Bible
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Government » Monarchical » By solomon
And Jezebel, his wife, said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? Arise and eat bread and let thy heart be merry; I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth of Jezreel. So she wrote letters in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city dwelling with Naboth. And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people read more.
and set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out and stone him that he may die. And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them. They proclaimed a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people. Then the two men, sons of Belial, came in and sat before him; and those men of Belial witnessed against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth blasphemed God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones that he died. Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth has been stoned and is dead. And it came to pass when Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead that she said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth of Jezreel which he refused to give thee for money, for Naboth is not alive, but dead. And it came to pass when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth of Jezreel, to take possession of it.
and set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out and stone him that he may die. And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them. They proclaimed a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people. Then the two men, sons of Belial, came in and sat before him; and those men of Belial witnessed against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth blasphemed God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones that he died. Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth has been stoned and is dead. And it came to pass when Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead that she said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth of Jezreel which he refused to give thee for money, for Naboth is not alive, but dead. And it came to pass when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth of Jezreel, to take possession of it.
Then King Solomon swore by the LORD, saying, God do so to me and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life. Now, therefore, as the LORD lives, who has confirmed me, and set me on the throne of David, my father, and who has made me a house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death today. Then King Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him that he died.
And the news came to Joab, for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he had not turned after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD and caught hold on the horns of the altar. And it was told King Solomon that Joab had fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD and that he was by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him. And Benaiah entered into the tabernacle of the LORD and said unto 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. read more.
And the king said unto him, Do as he has said and fall upon him and bury him that thou may take away from me and from the house of my father the blood which Joab shed without a cause. 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 without my father David knowing of it: 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 for ever from the LORD. So Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, went up and fell upon him and slew him, and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.
And the king said unto him, Do as he has said and fall upon him and bury him that thou may take away from me and from the house of my father the blood which Joab shed without a cause. 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 without my father David knowing of it: 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 for ever from the LORD. So Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, went up and fell upon him and slew him, and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.
Afterward the king sent and called for Shimei and said unto him, Build thee a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go forth from there anywhere. For it shall be that on the day thou goest out and passest over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die; thy blood shall be upon thine own head. And Shimei said unto the king, The word is good as my lord the king has said, so will thy slave do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days. read more.
But it came to pass at the end of three years that two of the slaves of Shimei ran away unto Achish, son of Maachah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy slaves are in Gath. And Shimei arose and saddled his ass and went to Gath to Achish to seek his slaves. Shimei went, therefore, and brought his slaves from Gath. And it was told Solomon how Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had come again. Then the king sent and called for Shimei and said unto him, Did I not make thee to swear by the LORD and protested unto thee, saying, Know for certain, on the day thou goest out and walkest abroad anywhere that thou shalt surely die? And thou didst say unto 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 knoweth well that thou didst to David my father; therefore, the LORD has turned thy wickedness upon thine own head; and King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever. Then the king commanded Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, who went out and fell upon him that he died. And the kingdom was confirmed in the hand of Solomon.
But it came to pass at the end of three years that two of the slaves of Shimei ran away unto Achish, son of Maachah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy slaves are in Gath. And Shimei arose and saddled his ass and went to Gath to Achish to seek his slaves. Shimei went, therefore, and brought his slaves from Gath. And it was told Solomon how Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had come again. Then the king sent and called for Shimei and said unto him, Did I not make thee to swear by the LORD and protested unto thee, saying, Know for certain, on the day thou goest out and walkest abroad anywhere that thou shalt surely die? And thou didst say unto 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 knoweth well that thou didst to David my father; therefore, the LORD has turned thy wickedness upon thine own head; and King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever. Then the king commanded Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, who went out and fell upon him that he died. And the kingdom was confirmed in the hand of Solomon.
And Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. And it came to pass, when Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it (for he had fled from the presence of King Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt), that they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came and spoke unto Rehoboam, saying, read more.
Thy father made our yoke grievous; now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee. And he said unto them, Depart, and in three days come again to me. And the people departed. Then King Rehoboam consulted with the old men that had stood before Solomon, his father, while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people? And they spoke unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a slave unto this people this day and wilt serve them and answer them by speaking good words unto them, then they will be thy slaves for ever. But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him and who stood before him. And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father put upon us lighter? And the young men that were grown up with him spoke unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spoke unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them: My little finger is thicker than my father's loins. And now whereas my father ladened you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke; my father has chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the third day. And the king answered the people roughly and forsook the old men's counsel that they gave him and spoke to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke; my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. Therefore, the king did not hearken unto the people, for the cause was from the LORD, to confirm his word, which the LORD spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. So when all Israel saw that the king did not hearken unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? There is no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents.
Thy father made our yoke grievous; now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee. And he said unto them, Depart, and in three days come again to me. And the people departed. Then King Rehoboam consulted with the old men that had stood before Solomon, his father, while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people? And they spoke unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a slave unto this people this day and wilt serve them and answer them by speaking good words unto them, then they will be thy slaves for ever. But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him and who stood before him. And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father put upon us lighter? And the young men that were grown up with him spoke unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spoke unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them: My little finger is thicker than my father's loins. And now whereas my father ladened you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke; my father has chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the third day. And the king answered the people roughly and forsook the old men's counsel that they gave him and spoke to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke; my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. Therefore, the king did not hearken unto the people, for the cause was from the LORD, to confirm his word, which the LORD spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. So when all Israel saw that the king did not hearken unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? There is no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents.
Homicide » Instances of felonious » Solomon
Then King Solomon swore by the LORD, saying, God do so to me and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life. Now, therefore, as the LORD lives, who has confirmed me, and set me on the throne of David, my father, and who has made me a house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death today. Then King Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him that he died. read more.
And unto Abiathar, the priest, the king said, Go to Anathoth, unto thine own inheritance, for thou art worthy of death; but I will not put thee to death today because thou didst bare the ark of the Lord GOD before David, my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted. So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the LORD that he might fulfil the word of the LORD, which he spoke concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh. And the news came to Joab, for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he had not turned after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD and caught hold on the horns of the altar. And it was told King Solomon that Joab had fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD and that he was by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him. And Benaiah entered into the tabernacle of the LORD and said unto 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 unto him, Do as he has said and fall upon him and bury him that thou may take away from me and from the house of my father the blood which Joab shed without a cause. 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 without my father David knowing of it: 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 for ever from the LORD. So Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, went up 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 place over the host; and Zadok, the priest, the king put in the place of Abiathar. Afterward the king sent and called for Shimei and said unto him, Build thee a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go forth from there anywhere. For it shall be that on the day thou goest out and passest over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die; thy blood shall be upon thine own head. And Shimei said unto the king, The word is good as my lord the king has said, so will thy slave do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days. But it came to pass at the end of three years that two of the slaves of Shimei ran away unto Achish, son of Maachah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy slaves are in Gath. And Shimei arose and saddled his ass and went to Gath to Achish to seek his slaves. Shimei went, therefore, and brought his slaves from Gath. And it was told Solomon how Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had come again. Then the king sent and called for Shimei and said unto him, Did I not make thee to swear by the LORD and protested unto thee, saying, Know for certain, on the day thou goest out and walkest abroad anywhere that thou shalt surely die? And thou didst say unto 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 knoweth well that thou didst to David my father; therefore, the LORD has turned thy wickedness upon thine own head; and King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever. Then the king commanded Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, who went out and fell upon him that he died. And the kingdom was confirmed in the hand of Solomon.
And unto Abiathar, the priest, the king said, Go to Anathoth, unto thine own inheritance, for thou art worthy of death; but I will not put thee to death today because thou didst bare the ark of the Lord GOD before David, my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted. So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the LORD that he might fulfil the word of the LORD, which he spoke concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh. And the news came to Joab, for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he had not turned after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD and caught hold on the horns of the altar. And it was told King Solomon that Joab had fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD and that he was by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him. And Benaiah entered into the tabernacle of the LORD and said unto 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 unto him, Do as he has said and fall upon him and bury him that thou may take away from me and from the house of my father the blood which Joab shed without a cause. 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 without my father David knowing of it: 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 for ever from the LORD. So Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, went up 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 place over the host; and Zadok, the priest, the king put in the place of Abiathar. Afterward the king sent and called for Shimei and said unto him, Build thee a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go forth from there anywhere. For it shall be that on the day thou goest out and passest over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die; thy blood shall be upon thine own head. And Shimei said unto the king, The word is good as my lord the king has said, so will thy slave do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days. But it came to pass at the end of three years that two of the slaves of Shimei ran away unto Achish, son of Maachah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy slaves are in Gath. And Shimei arose and saddled his ass and went to Gath to Achish to seek his slaves. Shimei went, therefore, and brought his slaves from Gath. And it was told Solomon how Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had come again. Then the king sent and called for Shimei and said unto him, Did I not make thee to swear by the LORD and protested unto thee, saying, Know for certain, on the day thou goest out and walkest abroad anywhere that thou shalt surely die? And thou didst say unto 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 knoweth well that thou didst to David my father; therefore, the LORD has turned thy wickedness upon thine own head; and King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever. Then the king commanded Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, who went out and fell upon him that he died. And the kingdom was confirmed in the hand of Solomon.
Kings » Who reigned over all israel » Solomon
And Zadok, the priest, took the horn of the oil of the tabernacle and anointed Solomon. And they blew the shofar, and all the people said, Long live king Solomon. Afterward all the people came up following him, and the people sang with flutes and rejoiced with great joy so that it seemed the earth rent with the sound of them. And Adonijah and all the guests that were with him heard it when they had finished eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the shofar, 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 unto 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 has made Solomon king. And the king has 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 are come up from there rejoicing, so that the city rang again. This is the noise that ye have heard. And also Solomon has been seated on the throne of the kingdom. And moreover, the king's slaves 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 worshipped upon the bed. And also thus said the king, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who has given one to sit on my throne today, mine eyes even seeing it. And all the guests that were with Adonijah were afraid and rose up and went each one his way. And Adonijah, fearing the presence of Solomon, arose and went and caught hold on the horns of the altar. And it was told Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah fears King Solomon, for he has caught hold on the horns of the altar, saying, Let King Solomon swear unto me today that he will not slay his slave with the sword. And Solomon said, If he will show himself virtuous, there shall not one hair of him fall to the ground, 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 unto him, Go to thy house. Now the days of David drew near 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. Keep the charge of the LORD thy God, walking in his ways, keeping his statutes and his commandments and his rights and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou may have understanding in all that thou doest and in everything that thou dost undertake, that the LORD may confirm the word which he spoke concerning me, saying, If thy sons take heed to their way, walking 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 host of Israel, unto Abner, the son of Ner and unto Amasa, the son of Jether, whom he slew, shedding the blood of war in peace and putting 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 hoar head go down to Sheol in peace. But show mercy unto the sons of Barzillai, the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table, for they came thus unto me when I fled because of Absalom, thy brother. And, behold, thou hast with thee Shimei, the son of Gera, a Benjamite 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 the Jordan, and I swore to him by the LORD, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword. Now therefore do not hold him guiltless, for thou art a wise man and knowest what thou should do with him, but thou shalt bring his hoar head down to Sheol with blood. And David slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David. The days that David reigned over Israel were forty years; he reigned seven years in Hebron, and he reigned thirty-three years in Jerusalem. Then Solomon sat upon the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was established greatly. Then Adonijah, the son of Haggith, came to Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon. And she said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably. He said moreover, I have a word to say unto thee. And she said, Say on. And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine and that all Israel had set their faces on me that I should reign, but the kingdom is turned about and is become my brother's, for by the LORD it was his. And now I ask one petition of thee, do not deny me. And she said unto him, Say on. Then he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king (for he will not deny thee) that he give me Abishag, the Shunammite to wife. And Bathsheba said, Well, I will speak for thee unto the king. Bathsheba, therefore, went unto King Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her and bowed himself unto 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, do not deny me. And the king said unto her, Ask on, my mother, for I will not deny thee. And she said, Let Abishag, the Shunammite, be given to Adonijah, thy brother, to wife. And King Solomon answered and said unto his mother, And why dost thou ask Abishag, the Shunammite, for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also, for he is my elder brother and he also has Abiathar, the priest, and Joab, the son of Zeruiah. Then King Solomon swore by the LORD, saying, God do so to me and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life. Now, therefore, as the LORD lives, who has confirmed me, and set me on the throne of David, my father, and who has made me a house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death today. Then King Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him that he died. And unto Abiathar, the priest, the king said, Go to Anathoth, unto thine own inheritance, for thou art worthy of death; but I will not put thee to death today because thou didst bare the ark of the Lord GOD before David, my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted. So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the LORD that he might fulfil the word of the LORD, which he spoke concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh. And the news came to Joab, for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he had not turned after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD and caught hold on the horns of the altar. And it was told King Solomon that Joab had fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD and that he was by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him. And Benaiah entered into the tabernacle of the LORD and said unto 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 unto him, Do as he has said and fall upon him and bury him that thou may take away from me and from the house of my father the blood which Joab shed without a cause. 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 without my father David knowing of it: 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 for ever from the LORD. So Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, went up 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 place over the host; and Zadok, the priest, the king put in the place of Abiathar. Afterward the king sent and called for Shimei and said unto him, Build thee a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go forth from there anywhere. For it shall be that on the day thou goest out and passest over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die; thy blood shall be upon thine own head. And Shimei said unto the king, The word is good as my lord the king has said, so will thy slave do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days. But it came to pass at the end of three years that two of the slaves of Shimei ran away unto Achish, son of Maachah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy slaves are in Gath. And Shimei arose and saddled his ass and went to Gath to Achish to seek his slaves. Shimei went, therefore, and brought his slaves from Gath. And it was told Solomon how Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had come again. Then the king sent and called for Shimei and said unto him, Did I not make thee to swear by the LORD and protested unto thee, saying, Know for certain, on the day thou goest out and walkest abroad anywhere that thou shalt surely die? And thou didst say unto 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 knoweth well that thou didst to David my father; therefore, the LORD has turned thy wickedness upon thine own head; and King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever. Then the king commanded Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, who went out and fell upon him that he died. And the kingdom was confirmed in the hand of Solomon. And Solomon became a relative of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, for he took Pharaoh's daughter to wife and brought her into the city of David until he had finished building his own house, and the house of the LORD and the wall of Jerusalem round about. Until then the people sacrificed in high places because there was still no house built unto 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 you wish that I shall give thee. And Solomon said, Thou hast shown unto thy slave David, my father, great mercy, according to the way he walked before thee in truth and in righteousness and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great mercy 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 slave king instead of David my father; and I am but a tender young man; I do not know how to go out or come in. And thy slave is in the midst of thy people whom thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give, therefore, thy slave a hearing heart to judge thy people that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this thy so great a people? And the speech pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. And God said unto 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 thine enemies, but hast asked for thyself understanding to hear judgment, behold, I have done according to thy words: behold, I have given thee a wise and understanding heart so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches and glory so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee in all thy days. And if thou wilt walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments as thy father David walked, then I will lengthen thy days. And when Solomon awoke, he beheld 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 banquet for all his slaves. In that season two women, that were harlots, came unto 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, except the two of us in the house. And this woman's child died in the night because she lay on top of him. 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 give my child suck, behold, it was dead; but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I had given birth to. And the other woman said, No, but my son is alive, and thy son is dead. And this one said, No, but thy son is dead, and my son is alive. Thus they spoke before the king. Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that is alive, and thy son is dead. And the other saith, No; but thy son is dead, and my son is alive. 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 the woman, of whom the living child was, spoke unto 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, for she is its mother. And all Israel heard of that judgment which the king had judged, and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to judge. 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, Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, writer of the chronicles; Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, was over the host; and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests; Azariah, the son of Nathan, was over the officers; and Zabud, the son of Nathan, was the priest and special companion of the king; 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 maintained the king and his household. Each one of them made provision for one month in the year. And these are their names: The son of Hur, in Mount Ephraim; the son of Dekar, in Makaz and in Shaalbim and in Bethshemesh and in Elon and in Bethhanan; 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, to wife; Baana, the son of Ahilud; to him pertained Taanach and Megiddo and all Bethshean, which is by Zartanah beneath Jezreel, from Bethshean to Abelmeholah, even unto the place that is beyond Jokneam; the son of Geber, in Ramothgilead; to him pertained the towns of Jair, the son of Manasseh, which were in Gilead; to him also pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and brasen bars; Ahinadab, the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim; Ahimaaz was in Naphtali; he also took Basmath, the daughter of Solomon, to 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 land of Gilead, in the land of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and of Og, king of Bashan; and in addition to these there was an officer over all 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 unto the land of the Philistines and unto the border of Egypt, and 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 one hundred sheep beside harts and roebucks and fallowdeer and fatted fowl. For he had dominion over all the region on the other side of the river and from Tiphsah even to Gaza, over all the kings on the other side of the river, and he had peace on all sides round about him. And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, each one under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon. And Solomon had forty thousand horses in his stables for his chariots and twelve thousand horsemen. And these officers maintained King Solomon and all that came unto king Solomon's table, each one in his month; they made sure nothing was lacking. They also brought barley and straw for the horses and beasts of burden unto the place where he was, each one according to his charge. And God gave Solomon exceedingly great wisdom and intelligence and magnanimity of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the sons of the east and all the wisdom of the Egyptians. For he was wiser than all men, than Ethan, the Ezrahite, and Heman and Chalcol and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and he was named in all nations round about. 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 unto the hyssop that springs out of the wall. He also spoke of animals and of fowl and of serpents and of fishes. And they came from all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom. Hiram, king of Tyre, also sent his slaves unto Solomon when he heard that they had anointed him king in the place of his father; for Hiram had always loved David. Then Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, Thou knowest how David, my father, could not build a house unto the name of the LORD his God, for the wars which were about him on every side, until the LORD put his enemies under the soles of his feet. Now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side so that there is neither adversary nor evil encounter. And, therefore, I have determined to build a house unto the name of the LORD my God as the LORD spoke unto David, my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy place, he shall build a house unto my name. Command, therefore, now that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon, and my slaves shall be with thy slaves, and I will give thee for thy slaves the hire that thou shalt appoint, for thou knowest that there is no one among us with the skill to hew 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 has given unto David a wise son over this great people. And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have heard that which thou didst send to tell me, and I will do all thy desire concerning the timber of cedar and concerning the timber of fir. My slaves shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea, and I will convey them by sea in rafts unto 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 thousand measures of pure oil; this 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 the two made a covenant together. And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel, and the levy was thirty thousand men, whom he sent to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses; they were a month 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 Solomon's chief officers who were over the work, there were three thousand three hundred who ruled over the people that did the work. And the king commanded that they bring great stones, costly stones, for the foundation of the house, and hewed stones. And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders hewed them, and the stonesquarers; so they prepared timber and stones to build the house. And it came to pass in the year four hundred and eighty after the sons of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of the beginning of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month 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, was sixty cubits long and twenty cubits wide and thirty cubits high. And the porch before the temple of the house was twenty cubits long, according to the width of the house; and its width was ten cubits before the house. And for the house he made windows broad within and narrow without. And against the wall of the house, he built wings 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 lower wing was five cubits wide, and the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide, for without in the wall of the house, he had made narrowed rests round about, that the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the house. And the house, when it was built, was put together of perfect stones made ready before they were brought there; so that there was no hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was being built. The door for the middle wing was in the right side of the house; and they went up with winding stairs into the middle wing and out of the middle into the third. So he built the house and finished it and covered the house with work of cedar placed in order. And then he built the wing 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 building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes and execute my rights and keep all my commandments to walk in them, then I will perform my word with thee, which I spoke unto David thy father; and I will dwell among the sons 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 end of the house, both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar; and he built an oracle in the house, which is the holy of holies. And the house, that is, the temple before it, was forty cubits long. And the cedar of the house within was carved with wild gourds and open flowers. All was cedar; no stone was seen. And he prepared the oracle 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 wide and twenty cubits high, and he overlaid it with pure gold and likewise covered the altar which was of cedar. So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold, and he closed the door of the oracle with chains of gold, 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 in front of the oracle he overlaid with gold. And within the oracle he made two cherubims of olive wood, each ten cubits high. And one wing of the cherub was five cubits, and the other wing of the cherub five cubits; from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits. Likewise, the other cherub was ten cubits, for both the cherubims were of one measure and one size. The height of one cherub was ten cubits, and so was the other cherub. And he set the cherubims within the inner house, and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, 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 cherubims with gold. And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, within and without. And the floor of the house he overlaid with gold, within and without. And at the entrance of the oracle he made doors of olive wood; the lintel and side posts had five sides. The two doors were of olive wood, and he carved upon them carvings of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers and overlaid them with gold and covered the cherubims and the palm trees with gold. In the same manner he made posts of olive wood at the entrance of the temple with four sides. The two doors were of fir; the two sides of the one door were rounded, and the two leaves of the other door were rounded. And he carved thereon cherubims and palm trees and open flowers and covered them with gold fitted upon the carved work. And he built the inner court with three orders of hewed stone and an order of cedar beams. In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid, in the month Zif. And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished throughout all its parts and with everything necessary. So he was seven years in building it. But Solomon built his own house in thirteen years, and he finished all his house. He also built the house of the forest of Lebanon, which was one hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high, 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 orders, one against another in three orders. And all the doors and posts were square, with some windows opposite the other windows in three orders. And he made a porch of pillars, which was fifty cubits long and thirty cubits wide, and the porch was before those others, with its corresponding pillars and thick beams. Then he made a porch for the throne where he was to 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 like work. Solomon also made a house for Pharaoh's daughter, whom he had taken to wife, like unto this porch. All these works were of costly stones, cut and sawed with saws according to the measurements, within and without, even from the foundation unto the coping, and so on the outside unto 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 also costly stones, hewed according to their measurements, and work of cedar. And the great court round about had three orders of hewed stones and an order of cedar beams, and likewise the inner court of the house of the LORD and the porch of the house. And King Solomon sent and brought Hiram out of Tyre, who was a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father had been of Tyre. A worker in brass, full of wisdom and intelligence and knowledge in all work of brass. And he came to King Solomon and did all his work. He made two pillars of brass, of eighteen cubits high apiece, and a line of twelve cubits did compass each of them about. And he made two chapiters of molten brass, to set upon the tops of the pillars; the height of the one chapiter was five cubits, and the height of the other chapiter was five cubits. And nets of checker work and wreaths of chain work for the chapiters which were to be placed upon the top of the pillars, seven for the one chapiter and seven for the other chapiter. And when he had made the pillars, he also made two orders of pomegranates round about upon the network to cover the chapiters that were upon the heads of the pillars with the pomegranates, and so did he for the other chapiter. And the chapiters that were upon the top of the pillars were in the form of lilies like those seen in the porch, for four cubits. And the chapiters upon the two pillars had two hundred pomegranates in two orders round about in each chapiter, on top of the belly of the chapiter, this belly being in front of the network. And he stood up the pillars in the porch of the temple. And when he had set up the right pillar, he called the name of it Jachin; ; and in standing up the left pillar, he called its name Boaz. And upon the top of the pillars was lily work, and so the work of the pillars was finished. Likewise, he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other; it was perfectly round, and its height was five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about. And under the brim of it round about there were knops like gourds compassing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about in two orders, which were made when it was cast. It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north and three looking toward the west and three looking toward the Negev and three looking toward the east; and upon them the sea rested, and all their hinder parts were inward. And it was a hand breadth thick, and its lip was made like the lip of a cup, with flowers of lilies; it contained two thousand baths. He also made ten bases of brass; four cubits was the length of each base and four cubits the width and three cubits the height. And the work of the bases was like this: they had borders, and the borders were between mouldings; and upon the borders that were between the mouldings were lions, oxen, and cherubim; and upon the mouldings of the base, above and beneath the lions and oxen were certain additions made of bevelled work. And each base had four brasen wheels and cardinals of brass, and in its four corners it had shoulderpieces, which were molten at the side of each addition, to be under the laver. Its mouth entered into the chapiter (in the joint that came out of the base) one cubit above, and its mouth was rounded like the workmanship (of the same joint) in the base, of a cubit and a half. There were also engravings upon the mouth of it with their borders, which were square, not round. And under the borders were the four wheels, and the axletrees of the wheels came forth from the same base. The height of each wheel was one and a half cubits. And the workmanship of the wheels was like the workmanship of a chariot wheel, their axletrees and their rims and their spokes and their hubs were all molten. Likewise, the four shoulderpieces to the four corners of each base, and the shoulderpieces were of the very base itself. And in the top of the base there was a rounded compass of half a cubit high and on the top of the base, its mouldings and borders which were part of it. For on the tables of the mouldings and on the borders thereof, he made cherubim, lions, and palm trees, in front of the additions of each one round about. After this manner he made ten bases cast in the same manner, of the same size and of the same shape. Then he also made ten lavers of brass; each laver contained forty baths, and each laver measured four cubits; and he set a laver upon each one of the ten bases. 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 to the east towards the Negev. Hiram made the lavers and the shovels and the basins likewise. So Hiram finished all the work that he made King Solomon for the house of the LORD: That is, the two pillars and the two bowls of the chapiters that were on the top of the two pillars and the two networks, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters which were upon the head of the pillars, and four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, even two orders of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters that were upon the heads of the pillars, and the ten bases and ten lavers upon the bases, and one sea and twelve oxen under the sea, and the pots and the shovels and the basins and all the other vessels, which Hiram made to King Solomon for the house of the LORD of bright brass. And the king caused them all to be cast in the plain of the Jordan, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarthan. And Solomon did not inquire the weight of the brass of all the vessels because they were exceeding many. And Solomon made all the vessels that pertained unto the house of the LORD: an altar of gold, and a table upon which the showbread was, also of gold, and the lampstands of pure gold, five on the right hand, and five on the left, in front of the oracle, with the flowers and the lamps and the tongs of gold, likewise the bowls and the snuffers and the basins and the spoons and the censers of pure gold, also the hinges of gold, both for the doors of the inner house, the holy of holies, and for the doors of the house of the temple. So all the work that King Solomon made for the house of the LORD was complete. And Solomon brought in the things which David, his father, had dedicated, even the silver and the gold and the vessels, and he kept it all in the treasury of the house of the LORD. Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the princes of the families of the sons of Israel, unto King Solomon in Jerusalem that they might bring up 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 unto King Solomon in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month, on the solemn day. And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark. And they brought up the ark of the LORD and the tabernacle of the testimony and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, which the priests and the Levites carried. And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled unto him were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be counted nor numbered for multitude. And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, into the oracle of the house, in the holy of holies, under the wings of the cherubim. For the cherubim had their wings extended over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and its staves from above. And they drew out the staves so that the ends of the staves could be seen out in the holy place in front of the oracle, but they could not be seen from outside, and thus they remained until today. There was nothing in the ark except the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD cut a covenant with the sons of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. And when the priests came out of the holy place, the cloud filled the house of the LORD. And 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 Solomon said, The LORD has 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 unto David my father, and with his hand has fulfilled it, saying, Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I have chosen no city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, that my name might be there, 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. But the LORD said unto David, my father, Whereas it was in thy heart to build a house unto 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 a house unto my name. And the LORD has established his word that he spoke, and I have risen up in the place of David, my father, and sit on the throne of Israel as the LORD had said 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 out of the land of Egypt. And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and extending his hands toward heaven, he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in the heavens above or on earth beneath, who keeps the covenant and mercy with thy slaves that walk before thee with all their heart, who hast kept unto thy slave David, my father, what thou didst declare unto him; thou didst say it with thy mouth and hast fulfilled it with thy hand, as we see this day. Therefore, now, LORD God of Israel, fulfill unto thy slave David, my father, what thou didst promise him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel, if thy sons keep 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 made firm, which thou didst speak unto thy slave David, my father. But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heavens, the heavens of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have built? Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy slave and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy slave prays before thee today, that thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there that thou may hearken unto the prayer which thy slave shall make in this place. Therefore, thou shalt hearken unto the supplication of thy slave and of thy people Israel when they shall pray in this place and hear in thy dwelling place, from the heavens; please hear and forgive. When anyone shall have sinned against his neighbour, and an oath is laid upon him to cause him to swear and the oath comes before thy altar in this house, thou shalt hear from heaven and do and judge thy slaves, 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 are smitten down before the enemy because they have sinned against thee and shall turn again to thee and confess thy name and pray and make supplication with humility unto thee in this house, then thou shalt hear in the heavens and forgive the sin of thy people Israel and bring them again unto the land which thou didst give unto their fathers. When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against thee, if they pray in this place and confess thy name and turn from their sin when thou hast afflicted them, then thou shalt hear in the heavens and forgive the sin of thy slaves and of thy people Israel, teaching them the good way in which they should walk and shalt give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance. When there is famine in the land or pestilence or blasting or mildew or locusts or caterpillars, if their enemy besieges them in the land of their gates, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, every prayer and every supplication made by any man or by all thy people Israel, when anyone knows the plague of his own heart and spreads forth his hands toward this house, then thou shalt hear in the heavens, in the habitation of thy dwelling place, and forgive and do and give to each one according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the sons of men), that they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou didst give unto our fathers. Likewise concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but comes out of a far country for thy name's sake (for they shall have heard of thy great name and of thy strong hand and of thy stretched out arm), when he shall come to pray in this house, thou shalt hear in the heavens, in the habitation of thy dwelling place, and do according to all that for which the stranger shall have called unto thee, that all peoples of the earth may know thy name and fear thee as do thy people Israel and that they may know that thy name is invoked upon this house, which I have built. If thy people go out to battle against their enemies by the way which thou shalt send them and shall pray unto the LORD toward the city which thou hast chosen and toward the house that I have built for thy name, thou shalt hear in the heavens their prayer and their supplication and do their judgment. If they have sinned against thee (for there is no man that does not sin) and thou should be angry with them and deliver them to the enemy so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near, and they return unto their heart in the land where they were carried captives and return and make supplication unto thee in the land of those that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned and have done iniquity, we have committed wickedness; and so convert themselves unto thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who led them away captive and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou didst give unto their fathers, toward the city which thou hast chosen and the house which I have built for thy name, thou shalt hear in the heavens, in the habitation of thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplication and do what is right unto them and forgive thy people that have sinned against thee and all their rebellions by which they have rebelled against thee and cause those who carried them captive to have mercy on them, for they are thy people and thy inheritance, which thou didst bring forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the iron furnace. Let thine eyes be open unto the supplication of thy slave and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in all that they call for unto thee. For thou didst separate them from among all the peoples of the earth, to be thy inheritance, as thou didst speak by the hand of Moses, thy slave, when thou didst bring 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 unto the LORD he arose from before the altar of the LORD, from kneeling on his knees with his hands extended toward heaven. And he stood and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying, Blessed be the LORD that has given rest unto his people Israel according to all that he had said; not one word has failed of all his good word, which he spoke by the hand of Moses, his slave. 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 unto him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his rights, which he commanded our fathers. And let these my words, with which I have made supplication before the LORD, be near unto the LORD our God day and night that he maintain the judgment of his slave and the cause of his people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require; that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God, and that there is no other. Let your heart, therefore, be perfect with the LORD our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day. Then the king and all Israel with him, offered sacrifices before the LORD. And Solomon offered sacrifices of peace, which he offered unto the LORD, which were twenty-two thousand oxen and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the sons of Israel dedicated the house of the LORD. That same day the king sanctified the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD, for there he offered the burnt offerings and the presents and the fat of the peace offerings because the brasen altar that was before the LORD was too small to receive the burnt offerings and the presents 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 entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt, before the LORD our God, for seven days and another seven days, even fourteen days. On the eighth day he sent the people away, and they, blessing the king, went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD had done unto David, his slave, and unto Israel his people. And 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 do, the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon. And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication that thou hast made in my presence. I have sanctified this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever, and my eyes and my heart shall be there all the days. 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, keeping my statutes and my rights, then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever as I spoke unto David, thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel. But if ye shall obstinately turn from following me, ye or your sons, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, I will cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them, and this house, which I have sanctified unto my name, I will cast out of my sight, and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all peoples; and at this house, which was high, any one that passes by it shall be astonished and shall hiss, and they shall say, Why has the LORD done thus unto this land and to this house? And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt and have taken hold upon other gods and have worshipped them and served them; for this the LORD has brought upon them all this evil. And it came to pass at the end of twenty years in which Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD and the king's house (for which 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 did not please him. And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And they called them the land of Cabul unto this day. And Hiram had sent the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold. And this is the account 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 gift unto his daughter, Solomon's wife. And Solomon built Gezer and Bethhoron, the lower, and Baalath and Tadmor in the land of the wilderness, likewise 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 peoples that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of the sons of Israel, their children that were left after them in the land, whom the sons of Israel were not able utterly to destroy, upon those Solomon levied a tribute of bondservice unto this day. But of the sons of Israel, Solomon did not impose service, but they were men of war, or his slaves or his princes or his captains or rulers of his chariots or his horsemen. And those that Solomon had made princes and officers over Solomon's work were five hundred and fifty, who bore rule over the people that wrought in the work. But Pharaoh's daughter came up out of the city of David unto her house which Solomon had built for her; then he built Millo. And three times in a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings upon the altar which he built unto the LORD, and he burnt incense upon the altar that was before the LORD, after the house was finished. And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Eziongeber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom. And Hiram sent in the navy his slaves, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the slaves of Solomon. And they went to Ophir and brought gold from there, 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 enigmas. 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 was 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 did not tell her. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom and the house that he had built, likewise the food of his table and the sitting of his slaves and the attendance of his ministers and their apparel, and his butlers and his burnt offering which he sacrificed in 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 words and of thy wisdom. But I did not believe it until I came, and my eyes have seen that not even the half was told me. Thy wisdom and good exceeds the fame which I heard. Blessed are thy men, blessed are these thy slaves, 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 has always loved Israel, therefore he made thee king, to do justice and righteousness. And she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold and a very great store of spices and precious stones; never again did there come such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. And the navy of Hiram, that had brought the gold from Ophir, also brought in from Ophir a great plenty of brazil wood and precious stones. And the king made of the brazil wood banisters for the house of the LORD and for the king's houses, harps also and psalteries for the singers; there never had been such brazil wood, nor was it seen again unto this day. And King Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her slaves. 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 from the merchantmen and from the trade of the spice merchants and from all the kings of Arabia and from the princes of the land. And King Solomon made two hundred shields of beaten gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. Likewise he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three pounds of gold went into each shield; and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. The king also made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with the purest 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 other kingdom. And all King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and likewise all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; there was no silver, for in the days of Solomon it was not esteemed. For the king had at sea a navy of Tarshish with the navy of Hiram; once every three years the navy of Tarshish came, bringing gold, 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 see the face of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. And they each one brought his presents each year, vessels of gold and vessels of silver and garments and arms and spices, horses, and mules. And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen, and he had a thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he put in the cities of the chariots and with the king at Jerusalem. And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars to be as the sycamore trees that are in the vale, for abundance. And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt and linen yarn, for the king's merchants bought the horses and yarn. And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for one hundred and fifty, and so by their hand they supplied all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria. But King Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites, of the Gentiles concerning which the LORD had said unto the sons of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods. Solomon clave unto 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 mount that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the sons of Ammon. And he did likewise for all his strange wives, who burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods. And the LORD became angry with Solomon because his heart was turned aside from the LORD God of Israel, who had appeared unto him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep that which the LORD had commanded him. Therefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Because this has been in thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee and will give it to thy slave. But I will not do it in thy days for David, thy father's sake, but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. However, I will not rend away all the kingdom, but will give one tribe to thy son for David, my slave's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen. And the LORD stirred up an adversary unto 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 Joab dwelt there six months with all Israel until he had cut off every male in Edom), that Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father's slaves with him, to go into Egypt, Hadad being yet a little child. And they arose out of Midian and came to Paran; and taking men with them out of Paran, they came to Egypt, unto Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who gave him a house and appointed him food and gave him land. And Hadad found great grace in the sight of Pharaoh so that he gave him to wife the sister of his own wife, the sister of Queen Tahpenes. 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 land. Then Pharaoh said unto him, But what hast thou lacked with me that, behold, thou seekest to go to thy own land? And he answered, Nothing; however, let me go anyway. 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 unto him and became captain over a band, when David slew those of Zobah; and they went to Damascus and dwelt there, and they made him king in Damascus. And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, besides the evil that Hadad did, and he abhorred Israel and reigned over Syria. Likewise Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomon's slave, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow woman, lifted up his hand against the king. And this was why he lifted up his hand against the king: Solomon in building Millo, closed the breach of the city of David, his father. And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour, and Solomon, seeing that the young man 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 was covered with a new garment; and the 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 ten pieces for thyself, for thus hath said the LORD God of Israel, Behold, I rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to thee; and he shall have one tribe for my slave 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 worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh, the god of the Moabites, and Milcom, the god of the sons 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 rights, as did David his father. But I will not take any of his kingdom out of his hand, for I will make him prince all the days of his life for David, my slave'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 unto thee, even ten tribes. And unto his son I will give one tribe, that David my slave may have a lamp always before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name in her. And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desires and shalt be king over Israel. And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee and wilt walk in my ways and do that which is right in my sight, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David, my slave, did, that I will be with thee and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee. And I will afflict the seed of David because of this, but not for ever. Solomon sought, therefore, to kill Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose and fled into Egypt unto 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 days 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.
And while he yet spoke, behold, Jonathan, the son of Abiathar, the priest, came; and Adonijah said unto 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 has made Solomon king. And the king has 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 are come up from there rejoicing, so that the city rang again. This is the noise that ye have heard. And also Solomon has been seated on the throne of the kingdom. And moreover, the king's slaves 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 worshipped upon the bed. And also thus said the king, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who has given one to sit on my throne today, mine eyes even seeing it. And all the guests that were with Adonijah were afraid and rose up and went each one his way. And Adonijah, fearing the presence of Solomon, arose and went and caught hold on the horns of the altar. And it was told Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah fears King Solomon, for he has caught hold on the horns of the altar, saying, Let King Solomon swear unto me today that he will not slay his slave with the sword. And Solomon said, If he will show himself virtuous, there shall not one hair of him fall to the ground, 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 unto him, Go to thy house. Now the days of David drew near 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. Keep the charge of the LORD thy God, walking in his ways, keeping his statutes and his commandments and his rights and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou may have understanding in all that thou doest and in everything that thou dost undertake, that the LORD may confirm the word which he spoke concerning me, saying, If thy sons take heed to their way, walking 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 host of Israel, unto Abner, the son of Ner and unto Amasa, the son of Jether, whom he slew, shedding the blood of war in peace and putting 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 hoar head go down to Sheol in peace. But show mercy unto the sons of Barzillai, the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table, for they came thus unto me when I fled because of Absalom, thy brother. And, behold, thou hast with thee Shimei, the son of Gera, a Benjamite 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 the Jordan, and I swore to him by the LORD, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword. Now therefore do not hold him guiltless, for thou art a wise man and knowest what thou should do with him, but thou shalt bring his hoar head down to Sheol with blood. And David slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David. The days that David reigned over Israel were forty years; he reigned seven years in Hebron, and he reigned thirty-three years in Jerusalem. Then Solomon sat upon the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was established greatly. Then Adonijah, the son of Haggith, came to Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon. And she said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably. He said moreover, I have a word to say unto thee. And she said, Say on. And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine and that all Israel had set their faces on me that I should reign, but the kingdom is turned about and is become my brother's, for by the LORD it was his. And now I ask one petition of thee, do not deny me. And she said unto him, Say on. Then he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king (for he will not deny thee) that he give me Abishag, the Shunammite to wife. And Bathsheba said, Well, I will speak for thee unto the king. Bathsheba, therefore, went unto King Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her and bowed himself unto 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, do not deny me. And the king said unto her, Ask on, my mother, for I will not deny thee. And she said, Let Abishag, the Shunammite, be given to Adonijah, thy brother, to wife. And King Solomon answered and said unto his mother, And why dost thou ask Abishag, the Shunammite, for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also, for he is my elder brother and he also has Abiathar, the priest, and Joab, the son of Zeruiah. Then King Solomon swore by the LORD, saying, God do so to me and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life. Now, therefore, as the LORD lives, who has confirmed me, and set me on the throne of David, my father, and who has made me a house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death today. Then King Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him that he died. And unto Abiathar, the priest, the king said, Go to Anathoth, unto thine own inheritance, for thou art worthy of death; but I will not put thee to death today because thou didst bare the ark of the Lord GOD before David, my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted. So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the LORD that he might fulfil the word of the LORD, which he spoke concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh. And the news came to Joab, for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he had not turned after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD and caught hold on the horns of the altar. And it was told King Solomon that Joab had fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD and that he was by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him. And Benaiah entered into the tabernacle of the LORD and said unto 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 unto him, Do as he has said and fall upon him and bury him that thou may take away from me and from the house of my father the blood which Joab shed without a cause. 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 without my father David knowing of it: 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 for ever from the LORD. So Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, went up 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 place over the host; and Zadok, the priest, the king put in the place of Abiathar. Afterward the king sent and called for Shimei and said unto him, Build thee a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go forth from there anywhere. For it shall be that on the day thou goest out and passest over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die; thy blood shall be upon thine own head. And Shimei said unto the king, The word is good as my lord the king has said, so will thy slave do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days. But it came to pass at the end of three years that two of the slaves of Shimei ran away unto Achish, son of Maachah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy slaves are in Gath. And Shimei arose and saddled his ass and went to Gath to Achish to seek his slaves. Shimei went, therefore, and brought his slaves from Gath. And it was told Solomon how Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had come again. Then the king sent and called for Shimei and said unto him, Did I not make thee to swear by the LORD and protested unto thee, saying, Know for certain, on the day thou goest out and walkest abroad anywhere that thou shalt surely die? And thou didst say unto 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 knoweth well that thou didst to David my father; therefore, the LORD has turned thy wickedness upon thine own head; and King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever. Then the king commanded Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, who went out and fell upon him that he died. And the kingdom was confirmed in the hand of Solomon. And Solomon became a relative of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, for he took Pharaoh's daughter to wife and brought her into the city of David until he had finished building his own house, and the house of the LORD and the wall of Jerusalem round about. Until then the people sacrificed in high places because there was still no house built unto 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 you wish that I shall give thee. And Solomon said, Thou hast shown unto thy slave David, my father, great mercy, according to the way he walked before thee in truth and in righteousness and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great mercy 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 slave king instead of David my father; and I am but a tender young man; I do not know how to go out or come in. And thy slave is in the midst of thy people whom thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give, therefore, thy slave a hearing heart to judge thy people that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this thy so great a people? And the speech pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. And God said unto 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 thine enemies, but hast asked for thyself understanding to hear judgment, behold, I have done according to thy words: behold, I have given thee a wise and understanding heart so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches and glory so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee in all thy days. And if thou wilt walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments as thy father David walked, then I will lengthen thy days. And when Solomon awoke, he beheld 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 banquet for all his slaves. In that season two women, that were harlots, came unto 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, except the two of us in the house. And this woman's child died in the night because she lay on top of him. 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 give my child suck, behold, it was dead; but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I had given birth to. And the other woman said, No, but my son is alive, and thy son is dead. And this one said, No, but thy son is dead, and my son is alive. Thus they spoke before the king. Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that is alive, and thy son is dead. And the other saith, No; but thy son is dead, and my son is alive. 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 the woman, of whom the living child was, spoke unto 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, for she is its mother. And all Israel heard of that judgment which the king had judged, and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to judge. 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, Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, writer of the chronicles; Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, was over the host; and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests; Azariah, the son of Nathan, was over the officers; and Zabud, the son of Nathan, was the priest and special companion of the king; 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 maintained the king and his household. Each one of them made provision for one month in the year. And these are their names: The son of Hur, in Mount Ephraim; the son of Dekar, in Makaz and in Shaalbim and in Bethshemesh and in Elon and in Bethhanan; 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, to wife; Baana, the son of Ahilud; to him pertained Taanach and Megiddo and all Bethshean, which is by Zartanah beneath Jezreel, from Bethshean to Abelmeholah, even unto the place that is beyond Jokneam; the son of Geber, in Ramothgilead; to him pertained the towns of Jair, the son of Manasseh, which were in Gilead; to him also pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and brasen bars; Ahinadab, the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim; Ahimaaz was in Naphtali; he also took Basmath, the daughter of Solomon, to 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 land of Gilead, in the land of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and of Og, king of Bashan; and in addition to these there was an officer over all 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 unto the land of the Philistines and unto the border of Egypt, and 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 one hundred sheep beside harts and roebucks and fallowdeer and fatted fowl. For he had dominion over all the region on the other side of the river and from Tiphsah even to Gaza, over all the kings on the other side of the river, and he had peace on all sides round about him. And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, each one under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon. And Solomon had forty thousand horses in his stables for his chariots and twelve thousand horsemen. And these officers maintained King Solomon and all that came unto king Solomon's table, each one in his month; they made sure nothing was lacking. They also brought barley and straw for the horses and beasts of burden unto the place where he was, each one according to his charge. And God gave Solomon exceedingly great wisdom and intelligence and magnanimity of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the sons of the east and all the wisdom of the Egyptians. For he was wiser than all men, than Ethan, the Ezrahite, and Heman and Chalcol and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and he was named in all nations round about. 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 unto the hyssop that springs out of the wall. He also spoke of animals and of fowl and of serpents and of fishes. And they came from all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom. Hiram, king of Tyre, also sent his slaves unto Solomon when he heard that they had anointed him king in the place of his father; for Hiram had always loved David. Then Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, Thou knowest how David, my father, could not build a house unto the name of the LORD his God, for the wars which were about him on every side, until the LORD put his enemies under the soles of his feet. Now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side so that there is neither adversary nor evil encounter. And, therefore, I have determined to build a house unto the name of the LORD my God as the LORD spoke unto David, my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy place, he shall build a house unto my name. Command, therefore, now that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon, and my slaves shall be with thy slaves, and I will give thee for thy slaves the hire that thou shalt appoint, for thou knowest that there is no one among us with the skill to hew 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 has given unto David a wise son over this great people. And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have heard that which thou didst send to tell me, and I will do all thy desire concerning the timber of cedar and concerning the timber of fir. My slaves shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea, and I will convey them by sea in rafts unto 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 thousand measures of pure oil; this 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 the two made a covenant together. And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel, and the levy was thirty thousand men, whom he sent to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses; they were a month 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 Solomon's chief officers who were over the work, there were three thousand three hundred who ruled over the people that did the work. And the king commanded that they bring great stones, costly stones, for the foundation of the house, and hewed stones. And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders hewed them, and the stonesquarers; so they prepared timber and stones to build the house. And it came to pass in the year four hundred and eighty after the sons of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of the beginning of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month 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, was sixty cubits long and twenty cubits wide and thirty cubits high. And the porch before the temple of the house was twenty cubits long, according to the width of the house; and its width was ten cubits before the house. And for the house he made windows broad within and narrow without. And against the wall of the house, he built wings 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 lower wing was five cubits wide, and the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide, for without in the wall of the house, he had made narrowed rests round about, that the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the house. And the house, when it was built, was put together of perfect stones made ready before they were brought there; so that there was no hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was being built. The door for the middle wing was in the right side of the house; and they went up with winding stairs into the middle wing and out of the middle into the third. So he built the house and finished it and covered the house with work of cedar placed in order. And then he built the wing 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 building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes and execute my rights and keep all my commandments to walk in them, then I will perform my word with thee, which I spoke unto David thy father; and I will dwell among the sons 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 end of the house, both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar; and he built an oracle in the house, which is the holy of holies. And the house, that is, the temple before it, was forty cubits long. And the cedar of the house within was carved with wild gourds and open flowers. All was cedar; no stone was seen. And he prepared the oracle 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 wide and twenty cubits high, and he overlaid it with pure gold and likewise covered the altar which was of cedar. So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold, and he closed the door of the oracle with chains of gold, 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 in front of the oracle he overlaid with gold. And within the oracle he made two cherubims of olive wood, each ten cubits high. And one wing of the cherub was five cubits, and the other wing of the cherub five cubits; from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits. Likewise, the other cherub was ten cubits, for both the cherubims were of one measure and one size. The height of one cherub was ten cubits, and so was the other cherub. And he set the cherubims within the inner house, and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, 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 cherubims with gold. And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, within and without. And the floor of the house he overlaid with gold, within and without. And at the entrance of the oracle he made doors of olive wood; the lintel and side posts had five sides. The two doors were of olive wood, and he carved upon them carvings of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers and overlaid them with gold and covered the cherubims and the palm trees with gold. In the same manner he made posts of olive wood at the entrance of the temple with four sides. The two doors were of fir; the two sides of the one door were rounded, and the two leaves of the other door were rounded. And he carved thereon cherubims and palm trees and open flowers and covered them with gold fitted upon the carved work. And he built the inner court with three orders of hewed stone and an order of cedar beams. In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid, in the month Zif. And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished throughout all its parts and with everything necessary. So he was seven years in building it. But Solomon built his own house in thirteen years, and he finished all his house. He also built the house of the forest of Lebanon, which was one hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high, 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 orders, one against another in three orders. And all the doors and posts were square, with some windows opposite the other windows in three orders. And he made a porch of pillars, which was fifty cubits long and thirty cubits wide, and the porch was before those others, with its corresponding pillars and thick beams. Then he made a porch for the throne where he was to 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 like work. Solomon also made a house for Pharaoh's daughter, whom he had taken to wife, like unto this porch. All these works were of costly stones, cut and sawed with saws according to the measurements, within and without, even from the foundation unto the coping, and so on the outside unto 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 also costly stones, hewed according to their measurements, and work of cedar. And the great court round about had three orders of hewed stones and an order of cedar beams, and likewise the inner court of the house of the LORD and the porch of the house. And King Solomon sent and brought Hiram out of Tyre, who was a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father had been of Tyre. A worker in brass, full of wisdom and intelligence and knowledge in all work of brass. And he came to King Solomon and did all his work. He made two pillars of brass, of eighteen cubits high apiece, and a line of twelve cubits did compass each of them about. And he made two chapiters of molten brass, to set upon the tops of the pillars; the height of the one chapiter was five cubits, and the height of the other chapiter was five cubits. And nets of checker work and wreaths of chain work for the chapiters which were to be placed upon the top of the pillars, seven for the one chapiter and seven for the other chapiter. And when he had made the pillars, he also made two orders of pomegranates round about upon the network to cover the chapiters that were upon the heads of the pillars with the pomegranates, and so did he for the other chapiter. And the chapiters that were upon the top of the pillars were in the form of lilies like those seen in the porch, for four cubits. And the chapiters upon the two pillars had two hundred pomegranates in two orders round about in each chapiter, on top of the belly of the chapiter, this belly being in front of the network. And he stood up the pillars in the porch of the temple. And when he had set up the right pillar, he called the name of it Jachin; ; and in standing up the left pillar, he called its name Boaz. And upon the top of the pillars was lily work, and so the work of the pillars was finished. Likewise, he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other; it was perfectly round, and its height was five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about. And under the brim of it round about there were knops like gourds compassing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about in two orders, which were made when it was cast. It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north and three looking toward the west and three looking toward the Negev and three looking toward the east; and upon them the sea rested, and all their hinder parts were inward. And it was a hand breadth thick, and its lip was made like the lip of a cup, with flowers of lilies; it contained two thousand baths. He also made ten bases of brass; four cubits was the length of each base and four cubits the width and three cubits the height. And the work of the bases was like this: they had borders, and the borders were between mouldings; and upon the borders that were between the mouldings were lions, oxen, and cherubim; and upon the mouldings of the base, above and beneath the lions and oxen were certain additions made of bevelled work. And each base had four brasen wheels and cardinals of brass, and in its four corners it had shoulderpieces, which were molten at the side of each addition, to be under the laver. Its mouth entered into the chapiter (in the joint that came out of the base) one cubit above, and its mouth was rounded like the workmanship (of the same joint) in the base, of a cubit and a half. There were also engravings upon the mouth of it with their borders, which were square, not round. And under the borders were the four wheels, and the axletrees of the wheels came forth from the same base. The height of each wheel was one and a half cubits. And the workmanship of the wheels was like the workmanship of a chariot wheel, their axletrees and their rims and their spokes and their hubs were all molten. Likewise, the four shoulderpieces to the four corners of each base, and the shoulderpieces were of the very base itself. And in the top of the base there was a rounded compass of half a cubit high and on the top of the base, its mouldings and borders which were part of it. For on the tables of the mouldings and on the borders thereof, he made cherubim, lions, and palm trees, in front of the additions of each one round about. After this manner he made ten bases cast in the same manner, of the same size and of the same shape. Then he also made ten lavers of brass; each laver contained forty baths, and each laver measured four cubits; and he set a laver upon each one of the ten bases. 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 to the east towards the Negev. Hiram made the lavers and the shovels and the basins likewise. So Hiram finished all the work that he made King Solomon for the house of the LORD: That is, the two pillars and the two bowls of the chapiters that were on the top of the two pillars and the two networks, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters which were upon the head of the pillars, and four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, even two orders of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters that were upon the heads of the pillars, and the ten bases and ten lavers upon the bases, and one sea and twelve oxen under the sea, and the pots and the shovels and the basins and all the other vessels, which Hiram made to King Solomon for the house of the LORD of bright brass. And the king caused them all to be cast in the plain of the Jordan, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarthan. And Solomon did not inquire the weight of the brass of all the vessels because they were exceeding many. And Solomon made all the vessels that pertained unto the house of the LORD: an altar of gold, and a table upon which the showbread was, also of gold, and the lampstands of pure gold, five on the right hand, and five on the left, in front of the oracle, with the flowers and the lamps and the tongs of gold, likewise the bowls and the snuffers and the basins and the spoons and the censers of pure gold, also the hinges of gold, both for the doors of the inner house, the holy of holies, and for the doors of the house of the temple. So all the work that King Solomon made for the house of the LORD was complete. And Solomon brought in the things which David, his father, had dedicated, even the silver and the gold and the vessels, and he kept it all in the treasury of the house of the LORD. Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the princes of the families of the sons of Israel, unto King Solomon in Jerusalem that they might bring up 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 unto King Solomon in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month, on the solemn day. And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark. And they brought up the ark of the LORD and the tabernacle of the testimony and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, which the priests and the Levites carried. And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled unto him were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be counted nor numbered for multitude. And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, into the oracle of the house, in the holy of holies, under the wings of the cherubim. For the cherubim had their wings extended over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and its staves from above. And they drew out the staves so that the ends of the staves could be seen out in the holy place in front of the oracle, but they could not be seen from outside, and thus they remained until today. There was nothing in the ark except the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD cut a covenant with the sons of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. And when the priests came out of the holy place, the cloud filled the house of the LORD. And 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 Solomon said, The LORD has 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 unto David my father, and with his hand has fulfilled it, saying, Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I have chosen no city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, that my name might be there, 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. But the LORD said unto David, my father, Whereas it was in thy heart to build a house unto 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 a house unto my name. And the LORD has established his word that he spoke, and I have risen up in the place of David, my father, and sit on the throne of Israel as the LORD had said 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 out of the land of Egypt. And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and extending his hands toward heaven, he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in the heavens above or on earth beneath, who keeps the covenant and mercy with thy slaves that walk before thee with all their heart, who hast kept unto thy slave David, my father, what thou didst declare unto him; thou didst say it with thy mouth and hast fulfilled it with thy hand, as we see this day. Therefore, now, LORD God of Israel, fulfill unto thy slave David, my father, what thou didst promise him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel, if thy sons keep 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 made firm, which thou didst speak unto thy slave David, my father. But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heavens, the heavens of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have built? Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy slave and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy slave prays before thee today, that thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there that thou may hearken unto the prayer which thy slave shall make in this place. Therefore, thou shalt hearken unto the supplication of thy slave and of thy people Israel when they shall pray in this place and hear in thy dwelling place, from the heavens; please hear and forgive. When anyone shall have sinned against his neighbour, and an oath is laid upon him to cause him to swear and the oath comes before thy altar in this house, thou shalt hear from heaven and do and judge thy slaves, 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 are smitten down before the enemy because they have sinned against thee and shall turn again to thee and confess thy name and pray and make supplication with humility unto thee in this house, then thou shalt hear in the heavens and forgive the sin of thy people Israel and bring them again unto the land which thou didst give unto their fathers. When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against thee, if they pray in this place and confess thy name and turn from their sin when thou hast afflicted them, then thou shalt hear in the heavens and forgive the sin of thy slaves and of thy people Israel, teaching them the good way in which they should walk and shalt give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance. When there is famine in the land or pestilence or blasting or mildew or locusts or caterpillars, if their enemy besieges them in the land of their gates, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, every prayer and every supplication made by any man or by all thy people Israel, when anyone knows the plague of his own heart and spreads forth his hands toward this house, then thou shalt hear in the heavens, in the habitation of thy dwelling place, and forgive and do and give to each one according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the sons of men), that they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou didst give unto our fathers. Likewise concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but comes out of a far country for thy name's sake (for they shall have heard of thy great name and of thy strong hand and of thy stretched out arm), when he shall come to pray in this house, thou shalt hear in the heavens, in the habitation of thy dwelling place, and do according to all that for which the stranger shall have called unto thee, that all peoples of the earth may know thy name and fear thee as do thy people Israel and that they may know that thy name is invoked upon this house, which I have built. If thy people go out to battle against their enemies by the way which thou shalt send them and shall pray unto the LORD toward the city which thou hast chosen and toward the house that I have built for thy name, thou shalt hear in the heavens their prayer and their supplication and do their judgment. If they have sinned against thee (for there is no man that does not sin) and thou should be angry with them and deliver them to the enemy so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near, and they return unto their heart in the land where they were carried captives and return and make supplication unto thee in the land of those that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned and have done iniquity, we have committed wickedness; and so convert themselves unto thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who led them away captive and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou didst give unto their fathers, toward the city which thou hast chosen and the house which I have built for thy name, thou shalt hear in the heavens, in the habitation of thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplication and do what is right unto them and forgive thy people that have sinned against thee and all their rebellions by which they have rebelled against thee and cause those who carried them captive to have mercy on them, for they are thy people and thy inheritance, which thou didst bring forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the iron furnace. Let thine eyes be open unto the supplication of thy slave and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in all that they call for unto thee. For thou didst separate them from among all the peoples of the earth, to be thy inheritance, as thou didst speak by the hand of Moses, thy slave, when thou didst bring 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 unto the LORD he arose from before the altar of the LORD, from kneeling on his knees with his hands extended toward heaven. And he stood and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying, Blessed be the LORD that has given rest unto his people Israel according to all that he had said; not one word has failed of all his good word, which he spoke by the hand of Moses, his slave. 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 unto him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his rights, which he commanded our fathers. And let these my words, with which I have made supplication before the LORD, be near unto the LORD our God day and night that he maintain the judgment of his slave and the cause of his people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require; that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God, and that there is no other. Let your heart, therefore, be perfect with the LORD our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day. Then the king and all Israel with him, offered sacrifices before the LORD. And Solomon offered sacrifices of peace, which he offered unto the LORD, which were twenty-two thousand oxen and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the sons of Israel dedicated the house of the LORD. That same day the king sanctified the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD, for there he offered the burnt offerings and the presents and the fat of the peace offerings because the brasen altar that was before the LORD was too small to receive the burnt offerings and the presents 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 entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt, before the LORD our God, for seven days and another seven days, even fourteen days. On the eighth day he sent the people away, and they, blessing the king, went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD had done unto David, his slave, and unto Israel his people. And 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 do, the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon. And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication that thou hast made in my presence. I have sanctified this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever, and my eyes and my heart shall be there all the days. 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, keeping my statutes and my rights, then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever as I spoke unto David, thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel. But if ye shall obstinately turn from following me, ye or your sons, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, I will cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them, and this house, which I have sanctified unto my name, I will cast out of my sight, and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all peoples; and at this house, which was high, any one that passes by it shall be astonished and shall hiss, and they shall say, Why has the LORD done thus unto this land and to this house? And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt and have taken hold upon other gods and have worshipped them and served them; for this the LORD has brought upon them all this evil. And it came to pass at the end of twenty years in which Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD and the king's house (for which 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 did not please him. And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And they called them the land of Cabul unto this day. And Hiram had sent the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold. And this is the account 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 gift unto his daughter, Solomon's wife. And Solomon built Gezer and Bethhoron, the lower, and Baalath and Tadmor in the land of the wilderness, likewise 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 peoples that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of the sons of Israel, their children that were left after them in the land, whom the sons of Israel were not able utterly to destroy, upon those Solomon levied a tribute of bondservice unto this day. But of the sons of Israel, Solomon did not impose service, but they were men of war, or his slaves or his princes or his captains or rulers of his chariots or his horsemen. And those that Solomon had made princes and officers over Solomon's work were five hundred and fifty, who bore rule over the people that wrought in the work. But Pharaoh's daughter came up out of the city of David unto her house which Solomon had built for her; then he built Millo. And three times in a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings upon the altar which he built unto the LORD, and he burnt incense upon the altar that was before the LORD, after the house was finished. And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Eziongeber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom. And Hiram sent in the navy his slaves, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the slaves of Solomon. And they went to Ophir and brought gold from there, 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 enigmas. 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 was 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 did not tell her. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom and the house that he had built, likewise the food of his table and the sitting of his slaves and the attendance of his ministers and their apparel, and his butlers and his burnt offering which he sacrificed in 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 words and of thy wisdom. But I did not believe it until I came, and my eyes have seen that not even the half was told me. Thy wisdom and good exceeds the fame which I heard. Blessed are thy men, blessed are these thy slaves, 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 has always loved Israel, therefore he made thee king, to do justice and righteousness. And she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold and a very great store of spices and precious stones; never again did there come such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. And the navy of Hiram, that had brought the gold from Ophir, also brought in from Ophir a great plenty of brazil wood and precious stones. And the king made of the brazil wood banisters for the house of the LORD and for the king's houses, harps also and psalteries for the singers; there never had been such brazil wood, nor was it seen again unto this day. And King Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her slaves. 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 from the merchantmen and from the trade of the spice merchants and from all the kings of Arabia and from the princes of the land. And King Solomon made two hundred shields of beaten gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. Likewise he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three pounds of gold went into each shield; and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. The king also made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with the purest 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 other kingdom. And all King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and likewise all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; there was no silver, for in the days of Solomon it was not esteemed. For the king had at sea a navy of Tarshish with the navy of Hiram; once every three years the navy of Tarshish came, bringing gold, 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 see the face of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. And they each one brought his presents each year, vessels of gold and vessels of silver and garments and arms and spices, horses, and mules. And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen, and he had a thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he put in the cities of the chariots and with the king at Jerusalem. And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars to be as the sycamore trees that are in the vale, for abundance. And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt and linen yarn, for the king's merchants bought the horses and yarn. And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for one hundred and fifty, and so by their hand they supplied all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria. But King Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites, of the Gentiles concerning which the LORD had said unto the sons of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods. Solomon clave unto 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 mount that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the sons of Ammon. And he did likewise for all his strange wives, who burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods. And the LORD became angry with Solomon because his heart was turned aside from the LORD God of Israel, who had appeared unto him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep that which the LORD had commanded him. Therefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Because this has been in thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee and will give it to thy slave. But I will not do it in thy days for David, thy father's sake, but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. However, I will not rend away all the kingdom, but will give one tribe to thy son for David, my slave's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen. And the LORD stirred up an adversary unto 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 Joab dwelt there six months with all Israel until he had cut off every male in Edom), that Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father's slaves with him, to go into Egypt, Hadad being yet a little child. And they arose out of Midian and came to Paran; and taking men with them out of Paran, they came to Egypt, unto Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who gave him a house and appointed him food and gave him land. And Hadad found great grace in the sight of Pharaoh so that he gave him to wife the sister of his own wife, the sister of Queen Tahpenes. 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 land. Then Pharaoh said unto him, But what hast thou lacked with me that, behold, thou seekest to go to thy own land? And he answered, Nothing; however, let me go anyway. 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 unto him and became captain over a band, when David slew those of Zobah; and they went to Damascus and dwelt there, and they made him king in Damascus. And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, besides the evil that Hadad did, and he abhorred Israel and reigned over Syria. Likewise Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomon's slave, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow woman, lifted up his hand against the king. And this was why he lifted up his hand against the king: Solomon in building Millo, closed the breach of the city of David, his father. And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour, and Solomon, seeing that the young man 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 was covered with a new garment; and the 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 ten pieces for thyself, for thus hath said the LORD God of Israel, Behold, I rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to thee; and he shall have one tribe for my slave 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 worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh, the god of the Moabites, and Milcom, the god of the sons 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 rights, as did David his father. But I will not take any of his kingdom out of his hand, for I will make him prince all the days of his life for David, my slave'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 unto thee, even ten tribes. And unto his son I will give one tribe, that David my slave may have a lamp always before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name in her. And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desires and shalt be king over Israel. And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee and wilt walk in my ways and do that which is right in my sight, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David, my slave, did, that I will be with thee and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee. And I will afflict the seed of David because of this, but not for ever. Solomon sought, therefore, to kill Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose and fled into Egypt unto 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 days 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.
Punishments » Were inflicted » By order of kings
And David said unto the young man that told him, From where art thou? And he answered, I am the son of a stranger, an Amalekite. And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the LORD's anointed? Then David called one of the young men and said, Go near and fall upon him. And he smote him that he died. read more.
And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head, for thy mouth has testified against thee, saying, I have slain the LORD's anointed.
And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head, for thy mouth has testified against thee, saying, I have slain the LORD's anointed.
Then King Solomon swore by the LORD, saying, God do so to me and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life. Now, therefore, as the LORD lives, who has confirmed me, and set me on the throne of David, my father, and who has made me a house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death today. Then King Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him that he died. read more.
And unto Abiathar, the priest, the king said, Go to Anathoth, unto thine own inheritance, for thou art worthy of death; but I will not put thee to death today because thou didst bare the ark of the Lord GOD before David, my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted. So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the LORD that he might fulfil the word of the LORD, which he spoke concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh. And the news came to Joab, for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he had not turned after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD and caught hold on the horns of the altar. And it was told King Solomon that Joab had fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD and that he was by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him. And Benaiah entered into the tabernacle of the LORD and said unto 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 unto him, Do as he has said and fall upon him and bury him that thou may take away from me and from the house of my father the blood which Joab shed without a cause. 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 without my father David knowing of it: 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 for ever from the LORD. So Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, went up 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 place over the host; and Zadok, the priest, the king put in the place of Abiathar. Afterward the king sent and called for Shimei and said unto him, Build thee a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go forth from there anywhere. For it shall be that on the day thou goest out and passest over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die; thy blood shall be upon thine own head. And Shimei said unto the king, The word is good as my lord the king has said, so will thy slave do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days. But it came to pass at the end of three years that two of the slaves of Shimei ran away unto Achish, son of Maachah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy slaves are in Gath. And Shimei arose and saddled his ass and went to Gath to Achish to seek his slaves. Shimei went, therefore, and brought his slaves from Gath. And it was told Solomon how Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had come again. Then the king sent and called for Shimei and said unto him, Did I not make thee to swear by the LORD and protested unto thee, saying, Know for certain, on the day thou goest out and walkest abroad anywhere that thou shalt surely die? And thou didst say unto 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 knoweth well that thou didst to David my father; therefore, the LORD has turned thy wickedness upon thine own head; and King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever. Then the king commanded Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, who went out and fell upon him that he died. And the kingdom was confirmed in the hand of Solomon.
And unto Abiathar, the priest, the king said, Go to Anathoth, unto thine own inheritance, for thou art worthy of death; but I will not put thee to death today because thou didst bare the ark of the Lord GOD before David, my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted. So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the LORD that he might fulfil the word of the LORD, which he spoke concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh. And the news came to Joab, for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he had not turned after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD and caught hold on the horns of the altar. And it was told King Solomon that Joab had fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD and that he was by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him. And Benaiah entered into the tabernacle of the LORD and said unto 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 unto him, Do as he has said and fall upon him and bury him that thou may take away from me and from the house of my father the blood which Joab shed without a cause. 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 without my father David knowing of it: 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 for ever from the LORD. So Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, went up 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 place over the host; and Zadok, the priest, the king put in the place of Abiathar. Afterward the king sent and called for Shimei and said unto him, Build thee a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go forth from there anywhere. For it shall be that on the day thou goest out and passest over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die; thy blood shall be upon thine own head. And Shimei said unto the king, The word is good as my lord the king has said, so will thy slave do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days. But it came to pass at the end of three years that two of the slaves of Shimei ran away unto Achish, son of Maachah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy slaves are in Gath. And Shimei arose and saddled his ass and went to Gath to Achish to seek his slaves. Shimei went, therefore, and brought his slaves from Gath. And it was told Solomon how Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had come again. Then the king sent and called for Shimei and said unto him, Did I not make thee to swear by the LORD and protested unto thee, saying, Know for certain, on the day thou goest out and walkest abroad anywhere that thou shalt surely die? And thou didst say unto 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 knoweth well that thou didst to David my father; therefore, the LORD has turned thy wickedness upon thine own head; and King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever. Then the king commanded Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, who went out and fell upon him that he died. And the kingdom was confirmed in the hand of Solomon.
Shimei » A benjamite » Curses david; david's magnanimity toward
And Shimei, the son of Gera, son of Jemini, who was of Bahurim, hastened and came down with the men of Judah to meet King David.
Verse Concepts
And when King David came to Bahurim, behold, a man of the family of the house of Saul came forth, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera; he came forth cursing and casting stones at David and at all the slaves of King David; and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Come out, come out, thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial; read more.
the LORD has returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and the LORD has delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom, thy son; and, behold, thou art taken in thy evil because thou art a bloody man. Then Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, said unto the king, Why should this dead dog curse, my lord the king? Let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head. And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? So let him curse, because the LORD has said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Why hast thou done so? And David said to Abishai, and to all his slaves, Behold, my son, who came forth of my bowels, seeks my life; how much more now a son of Jemini? Let him alone, and let him curse, for the LORD has bidden him. It may be that the LORD will look on my affliction and that the LORD will requite me good for his cursing this day. And as David and his men went by the way, Shimei went along on the side of the mountain over against him and cursed as he went and threw stones at him and cast dust.
the LORD has returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and the LORD has delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom, thy son; and, behold, thou art taken in thy evil because thou art a bloody man. Then Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, said unto the king, Why should this dead dog curse, my lord the king? Let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head. And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? So let him curse, because the LORD has said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Why hast thou done so? And David said to Abishai, and to all his slaves, Behold, my son, who came forth of my bowels, seeks my life; how much more now a son of Jemini? Let him alone, and let him curse, for the LORD has bidden him. It may be that the LORD will look on my affliction and that the LORD will requite me good for his cursing this day. And as David and his men went by the way, Shimei went along on the side of the mountain over against him and cursed as he went and threw stones at him and cast dust.
Afterward the king sent and called for Shimei and said unto him, Build thee a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go forth from there anywhere. For it shall be that on the day thou goest out and passest over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die; thy blood shall be upon thine own head. And Shimei said unto the king, The word is good as my lord the king has said, so will thy slave do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days. read more.
But it came to pass at the end of three years that two of the slaves of Shimei ran away unto Achish, son of Maachah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy slaves are in Gath. And Shimei arose and saddled his ass and went to Gath to Achish to seek his slaves. Shimei went, therefore, and brought his slaves from Gath. And it was told Solomon how Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had come again. Then the king sent and called for Shimei and said unto him, Did I not make thee to swear by the LORD and protested unto thee, saying, Know for certain, on the day thou goest out and walkest abroad anywhere that thou shalt surely die? And thou didst say unto 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 knoweth well that thou didst to David my father; therefore, the LORD has turned thy wickedness upon thine own head; and King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever. Then the king commanded Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, who went out and fell upon him that he died. And the kingdom was confirmed in the hand of Solomon.
But it came to pass at the end of three years that two of the slaves of Shimei ran away unto Achish, son of Maachah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy slaves are in Gath. And Shimei arose and saddled his ass and went to Gath to Achish to seek his slaves. Shimei went, therefore, and brought his slaves from Gath. And it was told Solomon how Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had come again. Then the king sent and called for Shimei and said unto him, Did I not make thee to swear by the LORD and protested unto thee, saying, Know for certain, on the day thou goest out and walkest abroad anywhere that thou shalt surely die? And thou didst say unto 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 knoweth well that thou didst to David my father; therefore, the LORD has turned thy wickedness upon thine own head; and King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever. Then the king commanded Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, who went out and fell upon him that he died. And the kingdom was confirmed in the hand of Solomon.