1Ki 9 | HCSB | STEP | When Solomon finished building the temple of the Lord , the royal palace , and all that Solomon desired to do ,

1 Kings 9

The Lord’s Response

1 When Solomon finished building the temple of the Lord, ^a the royal palace, and all that Solomon desired to do, ^b 2 the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time just as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. ^c 3 The Lord said to him:

I have heard your prayer and petition you have made before Me. I have consecrated this temple you have built, to put My name there forever; ^d My eyes and My heart will be there at all times. ^e
4 As for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, with a heart of integrity and in what is right, doing everything I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and ordinances, ^f 5 I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised your father David: You will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel. ^g
6 If you or your sons turn away from following Me and do not keep My commands – My statutes that I have set before you – and if you go and serve other gods and worship them, ^h 7 I will cut off Israel from the land I gave them, ⁱ and I will reject ^{▼▼Lit send from My presence} the temple I have sanctified for My name. ^k Israel will become an object of scorn and ridicule among all the peoples. ^l 8 Though this temple is now exalted, ^{▼▼Some ancient versions read temple will become a ruin} everyone who passes by will be appalled and will mock. ^{▼▼Lit hiss} They will say: Why did the Lord do this to this land and this temple? ^o 9 Then they will say: Because they abandoned the Lord their God who brought their ancestors out of the land of Egypt. They clung to other gods and worshiped and served them. Because of this, the Lord brought all this ruin on them. ^p

King Hiram’s 20 Towns

10 At the end of 20 years during which Solomon had built the two houses, the Lord’s temple and the royal palace ^q – 11 Hiram king of Tyre ^r having supplied him with cedar and cypress logs and gold ^s for his every wish ^t – King Solomon gave Hiram 20 towns in the land of Galilee. 12 So Hiram went out from Tyre to look over the towns that Solomon had given him, but he was not pleased with them. 13 So he said, “What are these towns you’ve given me, my brother?” So he called them the Land of Cabul, ^{▼▼= Like Nothing} as they are still called today. ^v 14 Now Hiram had sent the king 9,000 pounds ^{▼▼Lit 120 talents} of gold. ^x

Solomon’s Forced Labor

15 This is the account of the forced labor ^y that King Solomon had imposed to build the Lord’s temple, his own palace, the supporting terraces, ^z the wall of Jerusalem, ^aa and Hazor, ^ab Megiddo, ^ac and Gezer. ^ad 16 Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He then burned it down, killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and gave it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife. ^ae 17 Then Solomon rebuilt Gezer, Lower Beth-horon, ^af 18 Baalath, ^ag Tamar ^{▼▼Alt Hb traditions, LXX, Syr, Tg, Vg read Tadmor; 2Ch 8:4
,} ^{▼▼Tamar was a city in southern Judah; Ezk 47:19; 48:28.} in the Wilderness of Judah, 19 all the storage cities that belonged to Solomon, the chariot cities, ^aj the cavalry cities, ^ak and whatever Solomon desired to build ^al in Jerusalem, Lebanon, or anywhere else in the land of his dominion.

20 As for all the peoples who remained of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not Israelites – 21 their descendants who remained in the land after them, those whom the Israelites were unable to ^{▼▼set apart for destruction/ completely destroy: In Canaan or its neighboring countries, this was the destruction during war of a city, its inhabitants, and their possessions, including livestock.}completely destroy ^an – Solomon imposed forced labor on them; it is this way until today. ^ao 22 But Solomon did not consign the Israelites to slavery; ^ap they were soldiers, his servants, his commanders, his captains, and commanders of his chariots and his cavalry. 23 These were the deputies ^aq who were over Solomon’s work: 550 who ruled over the people doing the work. ^ar

Solomon’s Other Activities

24 Pharaoh’s daughter moved from the city of David ^as to the house that Solomon had built for her; ^at he then built the terraces. ^au

25 Three times a year Solomon offered ^{▼▼burnt offering(s): Or holocaust, an offering completely burned to ashes; it was used in connection with worship, seeking God's favor, expiating sin, or averting judgment.}burnt offerings and ^{▼▼fellowship sacrifice(s) or offering(s): An animal offering was given to maintain and strengthen a person's relationship with God. It was not required as a remedy for impurity or sin but was an expression of thanksgiving for various blessings. An important function of this sacrifice was to provide meat for the priests and the participants in the sacrifice; it was also called the peace offering or the sacrifice of well-being.}fellowship offerings on the altar he had built for the Lord, and he burned incense with them in the Lord’s presence. ^ax So he completed the temple. ^ay

26 King Solomon put together a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, ^az which is near Eloth on the shore of the ^{▼▼Red Sea: Literally Sea of Reeds}Red Sea in the land of Edom. 27 With the fleet, Hiram sent his servants, experienced seamen, along with Solomon’s servants. 28 They went to Ophir ^bb and acquired gold there – 16 tons ^{▼▼Lit 420 talents} – and delivered it to Solomon. ^bd