God’s Second Appearance to Solomon
1 Andit came to pass, when Solomon had finished building the house of theLordand the king’s house, andall Solomon’s desire which he wanted to do,
2 that theLordappeared to Solomon the second time,as He had appeared to him at Gibeon.
3 And theLordsaid to him:“I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have builtto put My name there forever, andMy eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.
4 Now if youwalk before Meas your father David walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you,andif youkeep My statutes and My judgments,
5 then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever,as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’
6 Butif you or your sons at all turn from following Me, and do not keep My commandmentsandMy statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them,
7 then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and this house which I have consecratedfor My name I will cast out of My sight.Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples.
8 Andasforthis house,whichis exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and will hiss, and say,‘Why has theLorddone thus to this land and to this house?’
9 Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook theLordtheir God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore theLordhas brought all thiscalamity on them.’ ”
Solomon and Hiram Exchange Gifts
10 Nowit happened at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of theLordand the king’s house
11 (Hiram the king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and cypress and gold, as much as he desired),thatKing Solomon then gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.
12 Then Hiram went from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him, but they did not please him.
13 So he said, “Whatkindofcitiesarethese which you have given me, my brother?”And he called them the land of Cabul, as they are to this day.
14 Then Hiram sent the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold.
Solomon’s Additional Achievements
15 And thisisthe reason forthe labor force which King Solomon raised: to build the house of theLord, his own house, theMillo, the wall of Jerusalem,Hazor,Megiddo, andGezer.
16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and taken Gezer and burned it with fire,had killed the Canaanites who dwelt in the city, and had given itasa dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.)
17 And Solomon built Gezer, LowerBeth Horon,
18 Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the landofJudah,
19 all the storage cities that Solomon had, cities forhis chariots and cities for hiscavalry, and whatever Solomondesired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.
20 All the peoplewhowereleft of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, whowerenot of the children of Israel—
21 that is, their descendantswho were left in the land after them,whom the children of Israel had not been able to destroy completely—from these Solomon raisedforced labor, as it is to this day.
22 But of the children of Israel Solomonmade no forced laborers, because theyweremen of war and his servants: his officers, his captains, commanders of his chariots, and his cavalry.
23 Otherswerechiefs of the officials whowereover Solomon’s work:five hundred and fifty, who ruled over the people who did the work.
24 ButPharaoh’s daughter came up from the City of David toher house whichSolomonhad built for her.Then he built the Millo.
25 Now three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he had built for theLord, and he burned incense with themonthealtarthatwasbefore theLord. So he finished the temple.
26 King Solomon also built a fleet of ships atEzion Geber, whichisnear Elath on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom.
27 Then Hiram sent his servants with the fleet, seamen who knew the sea, to work with the servants of Solomon.
28 And they went toOphir, and acquired four hundred and twenty talents of gold from there, and broughtitto King Solomon.