- 1 Kings
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9
1 After Solomon had finished the Lord's Temple and the royal palace, having accomplished everything he'd wanted to do, 2 the Lord appeared to him a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3 The Lord told him, “I have heard your prayer and your request to me. I have dedicated this Temple you have built by placing my name on it forever; I will always watch over it and take care of it.
4 As for you, if you follow my ways as your father David did, doing everything I've told you to do, and if you keep my laws and regulations, 5 then I will make your throne secure forever. I made this agreement with your father David, telling him, ‘You will always have a descendant to rule over Israel.’
6 But if you or your descendants turn away and do not keep the laws and the commandments I have given you, and if you go and serve and worship other gods, 7 then I will cut Israel off from the land I have given them. I will banish from my presence this Temple I have dedicated to my honor, and I will make it an object lesson of ridicule among the nations. 8 This Temple will become a pile of rubble. All who pass by it will be appalled and will hiss, saying, ‘Why has the Lord acted in such a way to this land and this Temple?’ 9 The answer will come, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord their God, who brought their forefathers out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping them and serving them. That's why the Lord has brought all this trouble upon them.’ ”
10 It took twenty years for Solomon to construct the two buildings—the Temple of the Lord and his own palace. After this, 11 King Solomon gave twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, because Hiram had provided him with all the cedar and juniper and gold he wanted. 12 But when Hiram went from Tyre to see the cities that Solomon had given him, he was not happy with them. 13 “What are these towns you have given me, my brother?” asked Hiram. He called them the land of Cabul,*“The land of Cabul:” suggesting these towns were of no value. the name they are known by to this day. 14 Even so, Hiram sent the king 120 talents of gold in payment.
15 Here is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon imposed to build the Lord's Temple, his own palace, the terraces, and the wall of Jerusalem, as well as Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. 16 Pharaoh, king of Egypt, had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it on fire, and killed the Canaanites living in the town. He had then given it as a wedding dowry to his daughter, Solomon's wife. 17 Solomon rebuilt Gezer and lower Beth-horon, 18 Baalath and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land of Judah, 19 and all of Solomon's towns for storage, and the towns for his chariots and for his horsemen, plus whatever Solomon wanted to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and throughout his entire kingdom.
20 The descendants of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites (people who were not Israelites) 21 who remained in the land—those whom the Israelites were unable to destroy completely—were conscripted by Solomon to work as forced laborers, as they continue to do to this day. 22 But Solomon did not enslave any of the Israelites. They were his soldiers, officials, commanders, captains, chariot commanders, and horsemen. 23 They were also the chief officers in charge of Solomon's programs: 550 in command of the people who carried out the work.
24 Once Pharaoh's daughter had moved from the City of David to the palace that Solomon had built for her, he built the city terraces.
25 Three times each year Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings and friendship offerings on the altar he had built for the Lord, burning incense before the Lord with them, and so fulfilled what was required at the Temple.†“So fulfilled what was required at the Temple.” Some read this as “so he completed building the Temple,” however this has already been stated, and this verse begins by stating that Solomon sacrificed three times a year, clearly regular acts well after the completion of the Temple.
26 King Solomon built a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. 27 Hiram sent his sailors who knew the sea to serve in the fleet with Solomon's men. 28 They sailed to Ophir and brought back 420 talents of gold from there and delivered it to Solomon.

- 1 Kings
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*9:13 “The land of Cabul:” suggesting these towns were of no value.

†9:25 “So fulfilled what was required at the Temple.” Some read this as “so he completed building the Temple,” however this has already been stated, and this verse begins by stating that Solomon sacrificed three times a year, clearly regular acts well after the completion of the Temple.

© 2018 Dr. Jonathan Gallagher