Revised Version 1885 (RV1885)

1 And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David.

2 And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying,

3 Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house for the name of theLordhis God for the wars which were about him on every side, until theLordput them under the soles of his feet.

4 But now theLordmy God hath given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary, nor evil occurrent.

5 And, behold, I purpose to build an house for the name of theLordmy God, as theLordspake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build the house for my name.

6 Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants; and I will give thee hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt say: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Zidonians.

7 And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be theLordthis day, which hath given unto David a wise son over this great people.

8 And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have heardthe messagewhich thou hast sent unto me: I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir.

9 My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea: and I will make them into rafts to go by sea unto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be broken up there, and thou shalt receive them: and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household.

10 So Hirah gave Solomon timber of cedar and timber of fir according to all his desire.

11 And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year.

12 And theLordgave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together.

13 And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men.

14 And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses: a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home: and Adoniram was over the levy.

15 And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand that were hewers in the mountains;

16 besides Solomon’s chief officers that were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, which bare rule over the people that wrought in the work.

17 And the king commanded, and they hewed out great stones, costly stones, to lay the foundation of the house with wrought stone.

18 And Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders and the Gebalites did fashion them, and prepared the timber and the stones to build the house.

1 And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Ziv, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of theLord.

2 And the house which king Solomon built for theLord, the length thereof was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof twentycubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits.

3 And the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house;andten cubits was the breadth thereof before the house.

4 And for the house he made windows of fixed lattice-work.

5 And against the wall of the house he built stories round about, against the walls of the house round about, both of the temple and of the oracle: and he made side-chambers round about:

6 The nethermost story was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad: for on the outside he made rebatementsin the wallof the house round about, thatthe beamsshould not have hold in the walls of the house.

7 And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready at the quarry: and there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.

8 The door for the middle side-chambers was in the right side of the house: and they went up by winding stairs into the middlechambers, and out of the middle into the third.

9 So he built the house, and finished it; and he covered the house with beams and planks of cedar.

10 And he built the stories against all the house, each five cubits high: and they rested on the house with timber of cedar.

11 And the word of theLordcame to Solomon, saying,

12 Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I establish my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father.

13 And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel.

14 So Solomon built the house, and finished it.

15 And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar; from the floor of the house unto the walls of the cieling, he covered them on the inside with wood: and he covered the floor of the house with boards of fir.

16 And he built twenty cubits on the hinder part of the house with boards of cedar from the floor unto the walls: he even builtthemfor it within, for an oracle, even for the most holy place.

17 And the house, that is, the temple beforethe oracle, was forty cubitslong.

18 And there was cedar on the house within, carved with knops and open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen.

19 And he prepared an oracle in the midst of the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of theLord.

20 And within the oracle wasa space oftwenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof; and he overlaid it with pure gold: and he covered the altar with cedar.

21 So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: and he drew chains of gold across before the oracle; and he overlaid it with gold.

22 And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until all the house was finished: also the whole altar that belonged to the oracle he overlaid with gold.

23 And in the oracle he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high.

24 And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits.

25 And the other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubim were of one measure and one form.

26 The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was it of the other cherub.

27 And he set the cherubim within the inner house: and the wings of the cherubim were stretched forth, 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.

28 And he overlaid the cherubim with gold.

29 And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, within and without.

30 And the floor of the house he overlaid with gold, within and without.

31 And for the entering of the oracle he made doors of olive wood: the lintelanddoor posts were a fifth partof the wall.

32 Sohe madetwo doors of olive wood; and he carved upon them carvings of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold; and he spread the gold upon the cherubim, and upon the palm trees.

33 So also made he for the entering of the temple door posts of olive wood, out of a fourth partof the wall;

34 and two doors of fir wood; the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding.

35 And he carvedthereoncherubim and palm trees and open flowers: and he overlaid them with gold fitted upon the graven work.

36 And he built the inner court with three rows of hewn stone, and a row of cedar beams.

37 In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of theLordlaid, in the month Ziv.

38 And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.

1 And Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house.

2 For he built the house of the forest of Lebanon; the length thereof was an hundred cubits, and the breadth thereof fifty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars.

3 And it was covered with cedar above over the forty and five beams, that were upon the pillars; fifteen in a row.

4 And there were prospects in three rows, and light was over against light in three ranks.

5 And all the doors and posts were square in prospect: and light was over against light in three ranks.

6 And he made the porch of pillars; the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth thereof thirty cubits; and a porch before them; and pillars and thick beams before them.

7 And he made the porch of the throne where he might judge, even the porch of judgment: and it was covered with cedar from floor to floor.

8 And his house where he might dwell, the other court within the porch, was of the like work. He made also an house for Pharaoh’s daughter, (whom Solomon had taken to wife,) like unto this porch.

9 All these were of costly stones, even of hewn stone, according to measure, sawed with saws, within and without, even from the foundation unto the coping, and so on the outside unto the great court.

10 And the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones, stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits.

11 And above were costly stones, even hewn stone, according to measure, and cedar wood.

12 And the great court round about had three rows of hewn stone, and a row of cedar beams; like as the inner court of the house of theLord, and the porch of the house.

13 And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre.

14 He was the son of a widow woman of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass; and he was filled with wisdom and understanding and cunning, to work all works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all his work.

15 For he fashioned the two pillars of brass, of eighteen cubits high apiece: and a line of twelve cubits compassed either of them about.

16 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.

17 There were nets of checker work, and wreaths of chain work, for the chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars; seven for the one chapiter, and seven for the other chapiter.

18 So he made the pillars; and there were two rows round about upon the one network, to cover the chapiters that were upon the top of the pillars: and so did he for the other chapiter.

19 And the chapiters that were upon the top of the pillars in the porch were of lily work, four cubits.

20 And there were chapiters above also upon the two pillars, close by the belly which was beside the network: and the pomegranates were two hundred, in rows round about upon the other chapiter.

21 And he set up the pillars at the porch of the temple: and he set up the right pillar, and called the name thereof Jachin: and he set up the left pillar, and called the name thereof Boaz.

22 And upon the top of the pillars was lily work: so was the work of the pillars finished.

23 And he made the molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and the height thereof was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits compassed it round about.

24 And under the brim of it round about there were knops which did compass it, for ten cubits, compassing the sea round about: the knops were in two rows, cast when it was cast.

25 It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set upon them above, and all their hinder parts were inward.

26 And it was an handbreadth thick; and the brim thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily: it held two thousand baths.

27 And he made the ten bases of brass; four cubits was the length of one base, and four cubits the breadth thereof, and three cubits the height of it.

28 And the work of the bases was on this manner: they had borders; and there were borders between the ledges:

29 and on the borders that were between the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubim; and upon the ledges there was a pedestal above: and beneath the lions and oxen were wreaths of hanging work.

30 And every base had four brasen wheels, and axles of brass: and the four feet thereof had undersetters: beneath the laver were the undersetters molten, with wreaths at the side of each.

31 And the mouth of it within the chapiter and above was a cubit: and the mouth thereof was round after the work of a pedestal, a cubit and an half: and also upon the mouth of it were gravings, and their borders were foursquare, not round.

32 And the four wheels were underneath the borders; and the axletrees of the wheels were in the base: and the height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit.

33 And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel: their axletrees, and their felloes, and their spokes, and their naves, were all molten.

34 And there were four undersetters at the four corners of each base: the undersetters thereof were of the base itself.

35 And in the top of the base was there a round compass of half a cubit high: and on the top of the base the stays thereof and the borders thereof were of the same.

36 And on the plates of the stays thereof, and on the borders thereof, he graved cherubim, lions, and palm tress, according to the space of each, with wreaths round about.

37 After this manner he made the ten bases: all of them had one casting, one measure, and one form.

38 And he made ten lavers of brass: one laver contained forty baths: and every laver was four cubits: and upon every one of the ten bases one laver.

39 And he set the bases, five on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house: and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward, toward the south.

40 And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the basons. So Hiram made an end of doing all the work that he wrought for king Solomon in the house of theLord:

41 the two pillars, and the two bowls of the chapiters that were on the top of the pillars; and the two networks to cover the two bowls of the chapiters that were on the top of the pillars;

42 and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks; two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters that were upon the pillars;

43 and the ten bases, and the ten lavers on the bases;

44 and the one sea, and the twelve oxen under the sea;

45 and the pots, and the shovels, and the basons: even all these vessels, which Hiram made for king Solomon, in the house of theLord, were of burnished brass.

46 In the Plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan.

47 And Solomon left all the vesselsunweighed, because they were exceeding many: the weight of the brass could not be found out.

48 And Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of theLord: the golden altar, and the table whereupon the shewbread was, of gold;

49 and the candlesticks, five on the right side, and five on the left, before the oracle, of pure gold; and the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs, of gold;

50 and the cups, and the snuffers, and basons, and the spoons, and the firepans, of pure gold; and the hinges, both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house,to wit, of the temple, of gold.

51 Thus all the work that king Solomon wrought in the house of theLordwas finished. And Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated,eventhe silver, and the gold, and the vessels, and put them in the treasuries of the house of theLord.

1 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the princes of the fathers’housesof the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of theLordout of the city of David, which is Zion.

2 And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast, in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.

3 And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.

4 And they brought up the ark of theLord, and the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the Tent; even these did the priests and the Levites bring up.

5 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 told nor numbered for multitude.

6 And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of theLordunto its place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubim.

7 For the cherubim spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and the staves thereof above.

8 And the staves were so long that the ends of the staves were seen from the holy place before the oracle; but they were not seen without: and there they are, unto this day.

9 There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, when theLordmade a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.

10 And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of theLord,

11 so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of theLordfilled the house of theLord.

12 Then spake Solomon, TheLordhath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

13 I have surely built thee an house of habitation, a place for thee to dwell in for ever.

14 And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the congregation of Israel: and all the congregation of Israel stood.

15 And he said, Blessed be theLord, the God of Israel, which spake with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying,

16 Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build an house, that my name might be there; but I chose David to be over my people Israel.

17 Now it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of theLord, the God of Israel.

18 But theLordsaid unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house for my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart:

19 nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house for my name.

20 And theLordhath established his word that he spake; for I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as theLordpromised, and have built the house for the name of theLord, the God of Israel.

21 And there have I set a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of theLord, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.

22 And Solomon stood before the altar of theLordin the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven:

23 and he said, OLord, the God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath; who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants, that walk before thee with all their heart:

24 who hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou didst promise him: yea, thou spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.

25 Now therefore, OLord, the God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; if only thy children take heed to their way to walk before me as thou hast walked before me.

26 Now therefore, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father.

27 But will God in very deed dwell on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded!

28 Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, OLordmy God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee this day:

29 that thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place whereof thou hast said, My name shall be there: to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall pray toward this place.

30 And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: yea, hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place; and when thou hearest, forgive.

31 If a man sin against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and he comeandswear before thine altar in this house:

32 then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his own head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.

33 When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; if they turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication unto thee in this house:

34 then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers;

35 When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them:

36 then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou teachest them the good way wherein they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance.

37 If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, if there be blastingormildew, locustorcaterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be;

38 what prayer and supplication soever be made by any man,orby all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house:

39 then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and render unto every man according to all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;)

40 that they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.

41 Moreover concerning the stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, when he shall come out of a far country for thy name’s sake;

42 (for they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy mighty hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house;

43 hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; that all the peoples of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name.

44 If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatsoever way thou shalt send them, and they pray unto theLordtoward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name:

45 then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.

46 If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captive unto the land of the enemy, far off or near;

47 yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn again, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captive, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have dealt wickedly;

48 if they return unto thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, which carried them captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name:

49 then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause;

50 and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee; and give them compassion before those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them:

51 For they be thy people, and thine inheritance which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron:

52 that thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them whensoever they cry unto thee.

53 For thou didst separate them from among all the peoples of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O LordGOD

54 And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto theLord, he arose from before the altar of theLord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread forth toward heaven.

55 And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying,

56 Blessed be theLord, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.

57 TheLordour God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us:

58 that he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers.

59 And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before theLord, be nigh unto theLordour God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel, as every day shall require:

60 that all the peoples of the earth may know that theLord, he is God; there is none else.

61 Let your heart therefore be perfect with theLordour God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.

62 And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before theLord.

63 And Solomon offered for the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered unto theLord, two and twenty thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of theLord.

64 The same day did the king hallow the middle of the court that was before the house of theLord: for there he offered the burnt offering, and the meal offering, and the fat of the peace offerings: because the brasen altar that was before theLordwas too little to receive the burnt offering, and the meal offering, and the fat of the peace offerings.

65 So Solomon held the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the brook of Egypt, before theLordour God, seven days and seven days, even fourteen days.

66 On the eighth day he sent the people away, and they blessed the king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that theLordhad shewed unto David his servant, and to Israel his people.

1 And it came to pass when Solomon had finished the building of the house of theLord, and the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he was pleased to do,

2 that theLordappeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon.

3 And theLordsaid unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.

4 And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments;

5 then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom over Israel for ever; according as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.

6 But if ye shall turn away from following me, ye or your children and not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but shall go and serve other gods, and worship them:

7 then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all peoples:

8 And though this house be so high, yet shall every one that passeth by be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath theLorddone thus unto this land, and to this house?

9 and they shall answer, Because they forsook theLordtheir God, which brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath theLordbrought all this evil upon them.

10 And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, wherein Solomon had built the two houses, the house of theLordand the king’s house,

11 (now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and fir trees, and with gold, according to all his desire,) that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.

12 And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not.

13 And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul, unto this day.

14 And Hiram sent to the king sixscore talents of gold.

15 And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised; for to build the house of theLord, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer.

16 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 portion unto his daughter, Solomon’s wife.

17 Solomon built Gezer, and Beth-horon the nether,

18 and Baalath, and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land,

19 and all the store cities that Solomon had, and the cities for his chariots, and the cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build for his pleasure in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.

20 As for all the people that were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which were not of the children of Israel;

21 their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel were not able utterly to destroy, of them did Solomon raise a levy of bondservants, unto this day.

22 But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondservants: but they were the men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and his captains, and rulers of his chariots and of his horsemen.

23 These were the chief officers that were over Solomon’s work, five hundred and fifty, which bare rule over the people that wrought in the work.

24 But Pharaoh’s daughter came up out of the city of David unto her house whichSolomonhad built for her: then did he build Millo.

25 And three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt offerings and peace offerings upon the altar which he built unto theLord, burning incense therewith,upon the altarthat was before theLord. So he finished the house.

26 And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Ezion-geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom.

27 And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.

28 And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.

1 And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of theLord, she came to prove him with hard questions.

2 And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare 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.

3 And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any thing hid from the king which he told her not.

4 And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built,

5 and the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of theLord; there was no more spirit in her.

6 And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thine acts, and of thy wisdom.

7 Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard.

8 Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee,andthat hear thy wisdom.

9 Blessed be theLordthy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because theLordloved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice.

10 And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.

11 And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees and precious stones.

12 And the king made of the almug trees pillars for the house of theLord, and for the king’s house, harps also and psalteries for the singers: there came no such almug trees, nor were seen, unto this day.

13 And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned, and went to her own land, she and her servants.

14 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold,

15 besidethat whichthe chapmenbrought, and the traffic of the merchants, and of all the kings of the mingled people, and of the governors of the country.

16 And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundredshekelsof gold went to one target.

17 Andhe madethree hundred shields of beaten gold; three pounds of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon;

18 Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the finest gold.

19 There were six steps to the throne, and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were stays on either side by the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the stays.

20 And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom.

21 And all king Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold: none were of silver; it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon.

22 For the king had at sea a navy of Tarshish with the navy of Hiram: once every three years came the navy of Tarshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.

23 So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom.

24 And all the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.

25 And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and raiment, and armour, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.

26 And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, which he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.

27 And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycomore trees that are in the lowland, for abundance.

28 And the horses which Solomon had were brought out of Egypt; and the king’s merchants received them in droves, each drove at a price.

29 And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundredshekelsof silver, and an horse for an hundred and fifty: and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, did they bring them out by their means.

1 Now king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites;

2 of the nations concerning which theLordsaid unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go among them, neither shall they come among you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love.

3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.

4 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 theLordhis God, as was the heart of David his father.

5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.

6 And Solomon did that which was evil in the sight of theLord, and went not fully after theLord, as did David his father.

7 Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, in the mount that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the children of Ammon.

8 And so did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.

9 And theLordwas angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned away from theLord, the God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice,

10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which theLordcommanded.

11 Wherefore theLordsaid unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant.

12 Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it, for David thy father’s sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son.

13 Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but I will give one tribe to thy son, for David my servant’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake which I have chosen.

14 And theLordraised up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite: he was of the king’s seed in Edom.

15 For it came to pass, when David was in Edom, and Joab the captain of the host was gone up to bury the slain, and had smitten every male in Edom;

16 (for Joab and all Israel remained there six months, until he had cut off every male in Edom;)

17 that Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father’s servants with him, to go into Egypt; Hadad being yet a little child.

18 And they arose out of Midian, and came to Paran: and they took men with them out of Paran, and they came to Egypt unto Pharaoh king of Egypt; which gave him an house, and appointed him victuals, and gave him land.

19 And Hadad found great favour in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him to wife the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen,

20 And the sister of Tahpenes bare him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh’s house: and Genubath was in Pharaoh’s house among the sons of Pharaoh.

21 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 mine own country.

22 Then Pharaoh said unto him, But what hast thou lacked with me, that, behold, thou seekest to go to thine own country? And he answered, Nothing: howbeit let me depart in any wise.

23 And God raised upanotheradversary unto him, Rezon the son of Eliada, which had fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah:

24 And he gathered men unto him, and became captain over a troop, when David slew themof Zobah: and they went to Damascus, and dwelt therein, and reigned in Damascus.

25 And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, beside the mischief that Hadaddid: and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria.

26 And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite of Zeredah, a servant of Solomon, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow woman, he also lifted up his hand against the king.

27 And this was the cause that he lifted up his hand against the king: Solomon built Millo, and repaired the breach of the city of David his father.

28 And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour: and Solomon saw the young man that he was industrious, and he gave him charge over all the labour of the house of Joseph.

29 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; nowAhijahhad clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field.

30 And Ahijah laid hold of the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces.

31 And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith theLord, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee:

32 (but he shall have one tribe, for my servant David’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:)

33 because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon; and they have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, andto keepmy statutes and my judgments, as did David his father.

34 Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life, for David my servant’s sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes:

35 but I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand, and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes.

36 And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a lamp alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there.

37 And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel.

38 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 mine eyes, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and will build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee.

39 And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not for over.

40 Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam: but Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, unto Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

41 Now 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?

42 And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.

43 And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.

1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king.

2 And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it, (for he was yet in Egypt, wither he had fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt,

3 and they sent and called him;) that Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying,

4 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.

5 And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed.

6 And king Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, that had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, What counsel give ye me to return answer to this people?

7 And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever.

8 But he forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him, and took counsel with the young men that were grown up with him, that stood before him.

9 And he said unto them, What counsel give ye, that we may return answer to this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke that thy father did put upon us lighter?

10 And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou say unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou speak unto them, My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins.

11 And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.

12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king bade, saying, Come to me again the third day.

13 And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him;

14 and spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions;

15 So the king hearkened not unto the people; for it was a thing brought about of theLord, that he might establish his word, which theLordspake by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

16 And when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents.

17 But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.

18 Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the levy; and all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. And king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.

19 So Israel rebelled against the house of David, unto this day.

20 And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was returned, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.

21 And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, and the tribe of Benjamin, an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.

22 But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying,

23 Speak unto Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, saying,

24 Thus saith theLord, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is of me. So they hearkened unto the word of theLord, and returned and went their way, according to the word of theLord.

25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and he went out from thence, and built Penuel.

26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David:

27 if this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of theLordat Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah; and they shall kill me, and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.

28 Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold; and he said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

29 And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other put he in Dan.

30 And this thing became a sin: for the people wentto worshipbefore the one, even unto Dan.

31 And he made houses of high places, and made priests from among all the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.

32 And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he went up unto the altar; so did he in Beth-el, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Beth-el the priests of the high places which he had made.

33 And he went up unto the altar which he had made in Beth-el on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart: and he ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and went up unto the altar, to burn incense.

1 And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of theLordunto Beth-el: and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense.

2 And he cried against the altar by the word of theLord, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith theLord: Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall they burn upon thee.

3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which theLordhath spoken: Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.

4 And it came to pass, when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Beth-el, that Jeroboam put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back again to him.

5 The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of theLord.

6 And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Entreat now the favour of theLordthy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God entreated theLord, and the king’s hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.

7 And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.

8 And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place:

9 for so was it charged me by the word of theLord, saying, Thou shalt eat no bread, nor drink water, neither return by the way that thou camest.

10 So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Beth-el.

11 Now there dwelt an old prophet in Beth-el; and one of his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Beth-el: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them also they told unto their father.

12 And their father said unto them, What way went he? Now his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah.

13 And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon.

14 And he went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am.

15 Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread.

16 And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place:

17 for it was said to me by the word of theLord, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest.

18 And he said unto him, I also am a prophet as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of theLord, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water.Buthe lied unto him.

19 So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.

20 And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of theLordcame unto the prophet that brought him back:

21 and he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith theLord, Forasmuch as thou hast been disobedient unto the mouth of theLord, and hast not kept the commandment which theLordthy God commanded thee,

22 but camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place of the which he said to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.

23 And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass,to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back.

24 And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it; the lion also stood by the carcase.

25 And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.

26 And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the mouth of theLord: therefore theLordhath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of theLord, which he spake unto him.

27 And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled it.

28 And he went and found his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had not eaten the carcase, nor torn the ass.

29 And the prophet took up the carcase of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and he came to the city of the old prophet, to mourn, and to bury him.

30 And he laid his carcase in his own grave; and they mourned over him,saying, Alas, my brother!

31 And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones.

32 For the saying which he cried by the word of theLordagainst the altar in Beth-el, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass.

33 After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again from among all the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, that there might be priests of the high places.

34 And this thing became sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth.

1 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick.

2 And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam: and get thee to Shiloh; behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, which spake concerning me that I should be king over this people.

3 And take with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a cruse of honey, and go to him: he shall tell thee what shall become of the child.

4 And Jeroboam’s wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.

5 And theLordsaid unto Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to inquire of thee concerning her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shalt thou say unto her: for it shall be, when she cometh in, that she shall feign herself to be another woman.

6 And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings.

7 Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith theLord, the God of Israel: Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel,

8 and rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes;

9 but hast done evil above all that were before thee, and hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back:

10 therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam every man child, him that is shut up and him that is left at large in Israel, and will utterly sweep away the house of Jeroboam, as a man sweepeth away dung, till it be all gone.

11 Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat: for theLordhath spoken it.

12 Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine house:andwhen thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die.

13 And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him; for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave: because in him there is found some good thing toward theLord, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam.

14 Moreover theLordshall raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now.

15 For theLordshall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water; and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the River; because they have made their Asherim, provoking theLordto anger.

16 And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he hath sinned, and wherewith he hath made Israel to sin.

17 And Jeroboam’s wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah:andas she came to the threshold of the house, the child died.

18 And all Israel buried him, and mourned for him; according to the word of theLord, which he spake by the hand of his servant Ahijah the prophet.

19 And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.

20 And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years: and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his stead.

21 And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah, Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which theLordhad chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there: and his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess.

22 And Judah did that which was evil in the sight of theLord; and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they committed, above all that their fathers had done.

23 For they also built them high places, and pillars, and Asherim, on every high hill, and under every green tree;

24 and there were also sodomites in the land: they did according to all the abominations of the nations which theLorddrave out before the children of Israel.

25 And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem: o

26 and he took away the treasures of the house of theLord, and the treasures of the king’s house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made.

27 And king Rehoboam made in their stead shields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard, which kept the door of the king’s house.

28 And it was so, that as oft as the king went into the house of theLord, the guard bare them, and brought them back into the guard chamber.

29 Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

30 And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.

31 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead.