8 aAt the end of twenty years, during which Solomon constructed the House of the LORD and his palace—2Solomon also rebuilt the cities that Huram had given to him,b and settled Israelites in them—3Solomon marched against Hamath-zobah and overpowered it. 4He built Tadmor in the desert and all the garrison towns that he built in Hamath. 5He built Upper Bethhoron and Lower Beth-horon as fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars, 6as well as Baalath and all of Solomon’s garrison towns, chariot towns, and cavalry towns—everything that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem and in the Lebanon, and throughout the territory that he ruled. 7All the people that were left of the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, none of whom were of Israelite stock—8those of their descendants who were left after them in the land, whom the Israelites had not annihilated—these Solomon subjected to forced labor, as is still the case. 9But the Israelites, none of whom Solomon enslaved for his works, served as soldiers and as his chief officers, and as commanders of his chariotry and cavalry. 10These were King Solomon’s prefects—250 foremen over the people. 11Solomon brought up Pharaoh’s daughter from the City of David to the palace that he had built for her, for he said, “No wife of mine shall dwell in a palace of King David of Israel, for [the area] is sacred since the Ark of the LORD has entered it.”
12At that time, Solomon offered burnt offerings on the altar that he had built in front of the porch. 13What was due for each day he sacrificed according to the commandment of Moses for the sabbaths, the new moons, and the thrice-yearly festivals—the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Booths. 14Following the prescription of his father David, he set up the divisions of the priests for their duties, and the Levites for their watches, to praise and to serve alongside the priests, according to each day’s requirement, and the gatekeepers in their watches, gate by gate, for such was the commandment of David, the man of God. 15They did not depart from the commandment of the king relating to the priests and the Levites in all these matters and also relating to the treasuries. 16And all of Solomon’s work was well executed from the day the House of the LORD was founded until the House of the LORD was completed to perfection.
17At that time Solomon went to Ezion-geber and to Eloth on the seacoast of the land of Edom. 18Huram sent him, under the charge of servants, a fleet with a crew of expert seamen; they went with Solomon’s men to Ophir, and obtained gold there in the amount of 450 talents, which they brought to King Solomon.
9 aThe queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, and came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with hard questions, accompanied by a very large retinue, including camels bearing spices, a great quantity of gold, and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she spoke to him of all that she had on her mind. 2Solomon had answers for all her questions; there was nothing that Solomon did not know, nothing to which he could not give her an answer.
3When the queen of Sheba saw how wise Solomon was and the palace he had built, 4the fare of his table, the seating of his courtiers, the service and attire of his attendants, his butlers and their attire, and the procession with which he went up to the House of the LORD, it took her breath away. 5She said to the king, “What I heard in my own land about you and your wisdom was true. 6I did not believe what they said until I came and saw with my own eyes that not even the half of your great wisdom had been described to me; you surpass the report that I heard. 7How fortunate are your men and how fortunate are these courtiers of yours who are always in attendance on you and can hear your wisdom! 8Blessed is the LORD your God, who favored you and set you on His throne as a king before the LORD. It is because of your God’s love for Israel and in order to establish them forever that He made you king over them to execute righteous justice.”
9She presented the king with 120 talents of gold, and a vast quantity of spices and precious stones. There were no such spices as those which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon—10also, the servants of Huram and Solomon who brought gold from Ophir brought algum-wood and precious stones. 11The king made of the algum-wood ramps for the House of the LORD and for the royal palace, and lyres and harps for the musicians, whose like had never before been seen in the land of Judah—12King Solomon, in turn, gave the queen of Sheba everything she expressed a desire for, exceeding a return for what she had brought to the king. Then she and her courtiers left and returned to her own land.
13The gold that Solomon received every year weighed 666 gold talents, 14besides what traders and merchants brought, and the gold and silver that all the kings of Arabia and governors of the regions brought to Solomon. 15King Solomon made 200 shields of beaten gold—600 shekels of beaten gold for each shield, 16and 300 bucklers of beaten gold—300 [shekels] of gold for each buckler. The king placed them in the Lebanon Forest House. 17The king also made a large throne of ivory, overlaid with pure gold. 18Six steps led up to the throne; and the throne had a golden footstool attached to it, and arms on either side of the seat. Two lions stood beside the arms, 19and twelve lions stood on the six steps, six on either side. None such was ever made for any other kingdom. 20All of King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the utensils of the Lebanon Forest House were of pure gold; silver counted for nothing in Solomon’s days. 21The king’s fleet traveled to Tarshish with Huram’s servants. Once every three years, the Tarshish fleet came in, bearing gold and silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
22King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in wealth and wisdom. 23All the kings of the earth came to pay homage to Solomon and to listen to the wisdom with which God had endowed him. 24Each brought his tribute—silver and gold objects, robes, weapons, and spices, horses and mules—in the amount due each year. 25Solomon had 4,000 stalls for horses and chariots, and 12,000 horsemen, which he stationed in the chariot towns and with the king in Jerusalem. 26He ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. 27The king made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars as plentiful as sycamores in the Shephelah. 28Horses were brought for Solomon from Egypt and all the lands. 29The other events of Solomon’s reign, early and late, are recorded in the chronicle of the prophet Nathan and in the prophecies of Ahijah the Shilonite and in the visions of Jedo the seer concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat. 30Solomon reigned forty years over all Israel in Jerusalem. 31Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David; his son Rehoboam succeeded him as king.
10 aRehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to acclaim him king. 2Jeroboam son of Nebat learned of it while he was in Egypt where he had fled from King Solomon, and Jeroboam returned from Egypt. 3They sent for him; and Jeroboam and all Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam as follows: 4“Your father made our yoke heavy. Now lighten
