New King James Version (NKJV)

Solomon Prepares to Build the Temple

1 NowHiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, because he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father,for Hiram had always loved David.

2 ThenSolomon sent to Hiram, saying:

3 You know how my father David could not build a house for the name of theLordhis Godbecause of the wars which were fought against him on every side, until theLordputhisfoesunder the soles of his feet.

4 But now theLordmy God has given merest on every side;thereisneither adversary nor evil occurrence.

5 And behold, I propose to build a house for the name of theLordmy God,as theLordspoke to my father David, saying, “Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, he shall build the house for My name.”

6 Now therefore, command that they cut downcedars for me from Lebanon; and my servants will be with your servants, and I will pay you wages for your servants according to whatever you say. For you knowthereisnone among us who has skill to cut timber like the Sidonians.

7 So it was, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly and said,

BlessedbetheLordthis day, for He has given David a wise son over this great people!

8 Then Hiram sent to Solomon, saying:

I have consideredthemessagewhich you sent me,andI will do all you desire concerning the cedar and cypress logs.

9 My servants shall bringthemdownfrom Lebanon to the sea; I will float them in rafts by sea to the place you indicate to me, and will have them broken apart there; then you can takethemaway. And you shall fulfill my desireby giving food for my household.

10 Then Hiram gave Solomon cedar and cypress logsaccordingtoall his desire.

11 And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand kors of wheatasfood for his household, and twenty kors of pressed oil. Thus Solomon gave to Hiram year by year.

12 So theLordgave Solomon wisdom,as He had promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty together.

13 Then King Solomon raised up a labor force out of all Israel; and the labor force was thirty thousand men.

14 And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month in shifts: they were one month in Lebanonandtwo months at home;Adoniramwasin charge of the labor force.

15 Solomon had seventy thousand who carried burdens, and eighty thousand who quarriedstonein the mountains,

16 besides three thousand three hundred from thechiefs of Solomon’s deputies, who supervised the people who labored in the work.

17 And the king commanded them to quarry large stones, costly stones,andhewn stones, to lay the foundation of the temple.

18 So Solomon’s builders, Hiram’s builders, and the Gebalites quarriedthem;and they prepared timber and stones to build the temple.

Solomon Builds the Temple

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

2 Nowthe house which King Solomon built for theLord, its lengthwassixty cubits, its width twenty, and its height thirty cubits.

3 The vestibule in front of the sanctuary of the housewastwenty cubits long across the width of the house,andthe width ofthevestibuleextendedten cubits from the front of the house.

4 And he made for the housewindows with beveled frames.

5 Against the wall of the temple he builtchambers all around,againstthe walls of the temple, all around the sanctuaryand the inner sanctuary. Thus he made side chambers all around it.

6 The lowest chamberwasfive cubits wide, the middlewassix cubits wide, and the thirdwasseven cubits wide; for he made narrow ledges around the outside of the temple, so thatthesupportbeamswould not be fastened into the walls of the temple.

7 Andthe temple, when it was being built, was built with stone finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or chiselorany iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.

8 The doorway for the middle storywason the right side of the temple. They went up by stairs to the middlestory,and from the middle to the third.

9 So he built the temple and finished it, and he paneled the temple with beams and boards of cedar.

10 And he built side chambers against the entire temple, each five cubits high; they were attached to the temple with cedar beams.

11 Then the word of theLordcame to Solomon, saying:

12 “Concerningthis temple which you are building,if you walk in My statutes, execute My judgments, keep all My commandments, and walk in them, then I will perform My word with you,which I spoke to your father David.

13 AndI will dwell among the children of Israel, and will notforsake My people Israel.”

14 So Solomon built the temple and finished it.

15 And he built the inside walls of the temple with cedar boards; from the floor of the temple to the ceiling he paneled the inside with wood; and he covered the floor of the temple with planks of cypress.

16 Then he built the twenty-cubit room at the rear of the temple, from floor to ceiling, with cedar boards; he builtitinside as the inner sanctuary, as theMost HolyPlace.

17 And in front of it the temple sanctuary was forty cubitslong.

18 The inside of the temple was cedar, carved with ornamental buds and open flowers. Allwascedar; there was no stonetobeseen.

19 And he prepared the inner sanctuary inside the temple, to set the ark of the covenant of theLordthere.

20 The inner sanctuarywastwenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high. He overlaid it with pure gold, and overlaid the altar of cedar.

21 So Solomon overlaid the inside of the temple with pure gold. He stretched gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, and overlaid it with gold.

22 The whole temple he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the temple; also he overlaid with goldthe entire altar thatwasby the inner sanctuary.

23 Inside the inner sanctuaryhe made two cherubimofolive wood,eachten cubits high.

24 One wing of the cherubwasfive cubits, and the other wing of the cherub five cubits: ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other.

25 And the other cherubwasten cubits; both cherubimwereof the same size and shape.

26 The height of one cherubwasten cubits, and sowasthe other cherub.

27 Then he set the cherubim inside the inner room; andthey stretched out the wings of the cherubim so that the wing of the one touchedonewall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall. And their wings touched each other in the middle of the room.

28 Also he overlaid the cherubim with gold.

29 Then he carved all the walls of the temple all around, both the inner and outersanctuaries,with carvedfigures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers.

30 And the floor of the temple he overlaid with gold, both the inner and outersanctuaries.

31 For the entrance of the inner sanctuary he made doorsofolive wood; the lintelanddoorpostswereone-fifthofthewall.

32 The two doorswereofolive wood; and he carved on them figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and overlaidthemwith gold; and he spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees.

33 So for the door of the sanctuary he also made doorpostsofolive wood, one-fourthofthewall.

34 And the two doorswereofcypress wood;two panelscomprisedone folding door, and two panelscomprisedthe other folding door.

35 Then he carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowersonthem,and overlaidthemwith gold applied evenly on the carved work.

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

37 In the fourth year the foundation of the house of theLordwas laid, in the month of Ziv.

38 And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its details and according to all its plans. So he wasseven years in building it.

Solomon’s Other Buildings

1 But Solomon tookthirteen years to build his own house; so he finished all his house.

2 He also built theHouse of the Forest of Lebanon; its lengthwasone hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits, with four rows of cedar pillars, and cedar beams on the pillars.

3 Anditwaspaneled with cedar above the beams thatwereon forty-five pillars, fifteentoa row.

4 Therewerewindowswithbeveledframesinthree rows, and windowwasopposite windowinthree tiers.

5 And all the doorways and doorpostshadrectangular frames; and windowwasopposite windowinthree tiers.

6 He also made the Hall of Pillars: its lengthwasfifty cubits, and its width thirty cubits; and in front of themwasa portico with pillars, and a canopywasin front of them.

7 Then he made a hall for the throne, the Hall of Judgment, where he might judge; anditwaspaneled with cedar from floor to ceiling.

8 And the house where he dwelthadanother court inside the hall, of like workmanship. Solomon also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter,whom he had takenaswife.

9 All thesewereofcostly stones cut to size, trimmed with saws, inside and out, from the foundation to the eaves, and also on the outside to the great court.

10 The foundationwasofcostly stones, large stones, some ten cubits and some eight cubits.

11 And abovewerecostly stones, hewn to size, and cedar wood.

12 The great courtwasenclosed with three rows of hewn stones and a row of cedar beams. So were theinner court of the house of theLordand the vestibule of the temple.

Hiram the Craftsman

13 Now King Solomon sent and brought Huram from Tyre.

14 Hewasthe son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, andhis fatherwasa man of Tyre, a bronze worker;he was filled with wisdom and understanding and skill in working with all kinds of bronze work. So he came to King Solomon and did all his work.

The Bronze Pillars for the Temple

15 And he casttwo pillars of bronze, each one eighteen cubits high, and a line of twelve cubits measured the circumference of each.

16 Then he made two capitalsofcast bronze, to set on the tops of the pillars. The height of one capitalwasfive cubits, and the height of the other capitalwasfive cubits.

17 Hemadea lattice network, with wreaths of chainwork, for the capitals whichwereon top of the pillars: seven chains for one capital and seven for the other capital.

18 So he made the pillars, and two rows of pomegranates above the network all around to cover the capitals thatwereon top; and thus he did for the other capital.

19 The capitals whichwereon top of the pillars in the hallwerein the shape of lilies, four cubits.

20 The capitals on the two pillars alsohadpomegranatesabove, by the convex surface whichwasnext to the network; and thereweretwo hundred such pomegranates in rows on each of the capitals all around.

21 Then he set up the pillars by the vestibule of the temple; he set up the pillar on the right and called its name Jachin, and he set up the pillar on the left and called its name Boaz.

22 The tops of the pillars were in the shape of lilies. So the work of the pillars was finished.

The Sea and the Oxen

23 And he madethe Sea of cast bronze, ten cubits from one brim to the other;itwascompletely round. Its heightwasfive cubits, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference.

24 Below its brimwereornamental buds encircling it all around, ten to a cubit,all the way around the Sea. The ornamental budswerecast in two rows when it was cast.

25 It stood ontwelve oxen: three looking toward the north, three looking toward the west, three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east; the Seawassetupon them, and all their back partspointedinward.

26 Itwasa handbreadth thick; and its brim was shaped like the brim of a cup,likea lily blossom. It contained two thousand baths.

The Carts and the Lavers

27 He also made ten carts of bronze; four cubitswasthe length of each cart, four cubits its width, and three cubits its height.

28 And thiswasthe design of the carts: They had panels, and the panelswerebetween frames;

29 on the panels thatwerebetween the frameswerelions, oxen, and cherubim. And on the frameswasa pedestal on top. Below the lions and oxenwerewreaths of plaited work.

30 Every cart had four bronze wheels and axles of bronze, and its four feet had supports. Under the laverweresupports of castbronzebeside each wreath.

31 Its opening inside the crown at the topwasone cubit in diameter; and the openingwasround, shapedlikea pedestal, one and a half cubits in outside diameter; and also on the openingwereengravings, but the panels were square, not round.

32 Under the panelswerethe four wheels, and the axles of the wheelswerejoinedto the cart. The height of a wheelwasone and a half cubits.

33 The workmanship of the wheelswaslike the workmanship of a chariot wheel; their axle pins, their rims, their spokes, and their hubswereall of castbronze.

34 Andtherewerefour supports at the four corners of each cart; its supportswerepart of the cart itself.

35 On the top of the cart, at the height of half a cubit,itwasperfectly round. And on the top of the cart, its flanges and its panelswereof the same casting.

36 On the plates of its flanges and on its panels he engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees, wherever there was a clear space on each, with wreaths all around.

37 Thus he made the ten carts. All of them were of the same mold, one measure,andone shape.

38 Thenhe made ten lavers of bronze; each laver contained forty baths,andeach laverwasfour cubits. On each of the ten cartswasa laver.

39 And he put five carts on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house. He set the Sea on the right side of the house, toward the southeast.

Furnishings of the Temple

40 Huram made the lavers and the shovels and the bowls. So Huram finished doing all the work that he was to do for King Solomonforthe house of theLord:

41 the two pillars, thetwobowl-shaped capitals thatwereon top of the two pillars; the twonetworks covering the two bowl-shaped capitals whichwereon top of the pillars;

42 four hundred pomegranates for the two networks (two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowl-shaped capitals thatwereon top of the pillars);

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

44 one Sea, and twelve oxen under the Sea;

45 the pots, the shovels, and the bowls.

All these articles which Huram made for King Solomonforthe house of theLordwereofburnished bronze.

46 In the plain of Jordan the king had them cast in clay molds, betweenSuccoth andZaretan.

47 And Solomon did not weigh all the articles, becausetherewereso many; the weight of the bronze was notdetermined.

48 Thus Solomon had all the furnishings made for the house of theLord:the altar of gold, andthe table of gold on whichwasthe showbread;

49 the lampstands of pure gold, five on the rightsideand five on the left in front of the inner sanctuary, with the flowers and the lamps and the wick-trimmers of gold;

50 the basins, the trimmers, the bowls, the ladles, and the censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold,bothfor the doors of the inner room (the Most HolyPlace)andfor the doors of the main hall of the temple.

51 So all the work that King Solomon had done for the house of theLordwas finished; and Solomon brought in the thingswhich his father David had dedicated: the silver and the gold and the furnishings. He put them in the treasuries of the house of theLord.

The Ark Brought into the Temple

1 NowSolomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem,that they might bringup the ark of the covenant of theLordfrom the City of David, whichisZion.

2 Therefore all the men of Israel assembled with King Solomon at thefeast in the month of Ethanim, whichisthe seventh month.

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

4 Then they brought up the ark of theLord,the tabernacle of meeting, and all the holy furnishings thatwerein the tabernacle. The priests and the Levites brought them up.

5 Also King Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled with him,werewith him before the ark,sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted or numbered for multitude.

6 Then the priestsbrought in the ark of the covenant of theLordtoits place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the Most HolyPlace,under the wings of the cherubim.

7 For the cherubim spreadtheirtwo wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles.

8 The polesextended so that the ends of the poles could be seen from the holyplace,in front of the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day.

9 Nothingwasin the arkexcept the two tablets of stone which Mosesput there at Horeb,when theLordmadeacovenantwith the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.

10 And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holyplace,that the cloudfilled the house of theLord,

11 so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for theglory of theLordfilled the house of theLord.

12 Then Solomon spoke:

# “TheLordsaid He would dwellin the dark cloud.

13 I have surely built You an exalted house,

# And a place for You to dwell in forever.”

Solomon’s Speech at Completion of the Work

14 Then the king turned around andblessed the whole assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing.

15 And he said:“BlessedbetheLordGod of Israel, whospoke with His mouth to my father David, and with His hand has fulfilledit,saying,

16 ‘Since the day that I brought My people Israel out of Egypt, I have chosen no city from any tribe of Israelinwhichto build a house, thatMy name might be there; but I choseDavid to be over My people Israel.’

17 Nowit was in the heart of my father David to build a temple for the name of theLordGod of Israel.

18 But theLordsaid to my father David, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a temple for My name, you did well that it was in your heart.

19 Neverthelessyou shall not build the temple, but your son who will come from your body, he shall build the temple for My name.’

20 So theLordhas fulfilled His word which He spoke; and I have filled the position of my father David, and sit on the throne of Israel,as theLordpromised; and I have built a temple for the name of theLordGod of Israel.

21 And there I have made a place for the ark, in whichisthe covenant of theLordwhich He made with our fathers, when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.”

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication

22 Then Solomon stood beforethe altar of theLordin the presence of all the assembly of Israel, andspread out his hands toward heaven;

23 and he said: “LordGod of Israel,thereisno God in heaven above or on earth below like You,who keepYourcovenant and mercy with Your servants whowalk before You with all their hearts.

24 You have kept what You promised Your servant David my father; You have both spoken with Your mouth and fulfilleditwith Your hand, asitisthis day.

25 Therefore,LordGod of Israel, now keep what You promised Your servant David my father, saying,‘You shall not fail to have a man sit before Me on the throne of Israel, only if your sons take heed to their way, that they walk before Me as you have walked before Me.’

26 And now I pray, O God of Israel, let Your word come true, which You have spoken to Your servant David my father.

27 “Butwill God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and theheaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!

28 Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, OLordmy God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You today:

29 that Your eyes may be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said,‘My name shall bethere,’ that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makestoward this place.

30 And may You hear the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Hear in heaven Your dwelling place; and when You hear, forgive.

31 “When anyone sins against his neighbor, and is forced to takean oath, and comesandtakes an oath before Your altar in this temple,

32 then hear in heaven, and act, and judge Your servants,condemning the wicked, bringing his way on his head, and justifying the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness.

33 “When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, andwhen they turn back to You and confess Your name, and pray and make supplication to You in this temple,

34 then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave to theirfathers.

35 “When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, when they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and turn from their sin because You afflict them,

36 then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, that You mayteach themthe good way in which they should walk; and send rain on Your land which You have given to Your people as an inheritance.

37 “When there is famine in the land, pestilenceorblightormildew, locustsorgrasshoppers; when their enemy besieges them in the land of their cities; whatever plague or whatever sicknessthereis;

38 whatever prayer, whatever supplication is made by anyone,orby all Your people Israel, when each one knows the plague of his own heart, and spreads out his hands toward this temple:

39 then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and act, and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know (for You aloneknow the hearts of all the sons of men),

40 that they may fear You all the days that they live in the land which You gave to our fathers.

41 “Moreover, concerning a foreigner, whoisnot of Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for Your name’s sake

42 (for they will hear of Your great name and Yourstrong hand and Your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this temple,

43 hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You,that all peoples of the earth may know Your name andfear You, asdoYour people Israel, and that they may know that this temple which I have built is called by Your name.

44 “When Your people go out to battle against their enemy, wherever You send them, and when they pray to theLordtoward the city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name,

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

46 “When they sin against You(forthereisno one who does not sin), and You become angry with them and deliver them to the enemy, and they take them captiveto the land of the enemy, far or near;

47 yetwhen they come to themselves in the land where they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication to You in the land of those who took them captive,saying, ‘We have sinned and done wrong, we have committed wickedness’;

48 andwhentheyreturn to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who led them away captive, andpray to You toward their land which You gave to their fathers, the city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name:

49 then hear in heaven Your dwelling place their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause,

50 and forgive Your people who have sinned against You, and all their transgressions which they have transgressed against You; andgrant them compassion before those who took them captive, that they may have compassion on them

51 (fortheyareYour people and Your inheritance, whom You brought out of Egypt,out of the iron furnace),

52 that Your eyes may be open to the supplication of Your servant and the supplication of Your people Israel, to listen to them whenever they call to You.

53 For You separated them from among all the peoples of the earthtobeYour inheritance,as You spoke by Your servant Moses, when You brought our fathers out of Egypt, O LordGod.”

Solomon Blesses the Assembly

54 And so it was, when Solomon had finished praying all this prayer and supplication to theLord, that he arose from before the altar of theLord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven.

55 Then he stoodand blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying:

56 “BlessedbetheLord, who has givenrest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised.There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses.

57 May theLordour God be with us, as He was with our fathers.May He not leave us nor forsake us,

58 that He mayincline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers.

59 And may these words of mine, with which I have made supplication before theLord, be near theLordour God day and night, that He may maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, as each day may require,

60 that all the peoples of the earth may know thattheLordisGod;thereisno other.

61 Let yourheart therefore be loyal to theLordour God, to walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, as at this day.”

Solomon Dedicates the Temple

62 Thenthe king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before theLord.

63 And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered to theLord, twenty-two thousand bulls and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of theLord.

64 Onthe same day the king consecrated the middle of the court thatwasin front of the house of theLord; for there he offered burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because thebronze altar thatwasbefore theLordwastoo small to receive the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.

65 At that time Solomon helda feast, and all Israel with him, a great assembly fromthe entrance of Hamath tothe Brook of Egypt, before theLordour God,seven days and sevenmoredays—fourteen days.

66 On the eighth day he sent the people away; and they blessed the king, and went to their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the good that theLordhad done for His servant David, and for Israel His people.

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.

The Queen of Sheba’s Praise of Solomon

1 Now when thequeen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of theLord, she cameto test him with hard questions.

2 She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels that bore spices, very much gold, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart.

3 So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing so difficult for the king that he could not explainitto her.

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

5 the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers,and his entryway by which he went up to the house of theLord, there was no more spirit in her.

6 Then she said to the king: “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom.

7 However I did not believe the words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame of which I heard.

8 Happyareyour men and happyarethese your servants, who stand continually before youandhear your wisdom!

9 Blessed be theLordyour God, whodelighted in you, setting you on the throne of Israel! Because theLordhas loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king,to do justice and righteousness.”

10 Then shegave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, spices in great quantity, and precious stones. There never again came such abundance of spices as the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

11 Also, the ships of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought great quantities of almug wood and precious stones from Ophir.

12 And the king made steps of the almug wood for the house of theLordand for the king’s house, also harps and stringed instruments for singers. There never again came suchalmug wood, nor has the like been seen to this day.

13 Now King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked, besides what Solomon had given her according to the royal generosity. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.

Solomon’s Great Wealth

14 The weight of gold that came to Solomon yearly was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold,

15 besidesthatfrom thetraveling merchants, from the income of traders,from all the kings of Arabia, and from the governors of the country.

16 And King Solomon made two hundred large shieldsofhammered gold; six hundredshekelsof gold went into each shield.

17 He alsomadethree hundred shieldsofhammered gold; three minas of gold went into each shield. The king put them in theHouse of the Forest of Lebanon.

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

19 The throne had six steps, and the top of the thronewasround at the back;therewerearmrests on either side of the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the armrests.

20 Twelve lions stood there, one on each side of the six steps; nothing likethishad been made for anyotherkingdom.

21 All King Solomon’s drinking vesselsweregold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanonwerepure gold. Notonewassilver, for this was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon.

22 For the king hadmerchant ships at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the merchantships came bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and monkeys.

23 SoKing Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.

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

25 Each man brought his present: articles of silver and gold, garments, armor, spices, horses, and mules, at a set rate year by year.

26 And Solomongathered chariots and horsemen; he had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem.

27 The king made silverascommonin Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar trees as abundant as the sycamores whicharein the lowland.

28 Also Solomon had horses imported from Egypt and Keveh; the king’s merchants bought them in Keveh at thecurrentprice.

29 Now a chariot that was imported from Egypt cost six hundredshekelsof silver, and a horse one hundred and fifty;and thus, through their agents, they exportedthemto all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.

Solomon’s Heart Turns from the Lord

1 ButKing Solomon lovedmany foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians,andHittites—

2 from the nations of whom theLordhad said to the children of Israel,“You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.” Solomon clung to 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 was so, when Solomon was old,that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and hisheart was not loyal to theLordhis God,aswasthe heart of his father David.

5 For Solomon went afterAshtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and afterMilcom the abomination of theAmmonites.

6 Solomon did evil in the sight of theLord, and did not fully follow theLord, asdidhis father David.

7 Then Solomon built a high place forChemosh the abomination of Moab, onthe hill thatiseast of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon.

8 And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

9 So theLordbecame angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from theLordGod of Israel,who had appeared to him twice,

10 andhad commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep what theLordhad commanded.

11 Therefore theLordsaid to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you,I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to yourservant.

12 Nevertheless I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David; I will tear it out of the hand of your son.

13 However I will not tear away the whole kingdom; I will giveone tribe to your sonfor the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalemwhich I have chosen.”

Adversaries of Solomon

14 Now theLordraised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; hewasa descendant of the king in Edom.

15 For it happened, when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of the army had gone up to bury the slain,after he had killed every male in Edom

16 (because for six months Joab remained there with all Israel, until he had cut down every male in Edom),

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

18 Then they arose from Midian and came to Paran; and they took men with them from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house, apportioned food for him, and gave him land.

19 And Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him as wife the sister of his own wife, that is, the sister of Queen Tahpenes.

20 Then the sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh’s house. And Genubath was in Pharaoh’s household among the sons of Pharaoh.

21 So when Hadad heard in Egypt that David rested with his fathers, and that Joab the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me depart, that I may go to my own country.”

22 Then Pharaoh said to him, “But what have you lacked with me, that suddenly you seek to go to your own country?”

So he answered, “Nothing, but do let me go anyway.”

23 And God raised upanotheradversary against him, Rezon the son of Eliadah, who had fled from his lord,Hadadezer king of Zobah.

24 So he gathered men to him and became captain over a bandofraiders,when David killed thoseofZobah.And they went to Damascus and dwelt there, and reigned in Damascus.

25 He was an adversary of Israel all the days of Solomon (besides the trouble that Hadadcaused); and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria.

Jeroboam’s Rebellion

26 Then Solomon’s servant,Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite from Zereda, whose mother’s namewasZeruah, a widow,alsorebelled against the king.

27 And thisiswhat caused him to rebel against the king:Solomon had built the Milloandrepaired the damages to the City of David his father.

28 The man Jeroboamwasa mighty man of valor; and Solomon, seeing that the young man wasindustrious, made him the officer over all the labor force of the house of Joseph.

29 Now it happened at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophetAhijah the Shilonite met him on the way; and he had clothed himself with a new garment, and the twowerealone in the field.

30 Then Ahijah took hold of the new garment thatwason him, andtore itintotwelve pieces.

31 And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces, forthus says theLord, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to you

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

33 because they have forsaken Me, and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the people of Ammon, and have not walked in My ways to dowhatisright in My eyes andkeepMy statutes and My judgments, asdidhis father David.

34 However I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, because I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of My servant David, whom I chose because he kept My commandments and My statutes.

35 ButI will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand and give it to you—ten tribes.

36 And to his son I will give one tribe, thatMy servant David may always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for Myself, to put My name there.

37 So I will take you, and you shall reign over all your heart desires, and you shall be king over Israel.

38 Then it shall be, if you heed all that I command you, walk in My ways, and dowhatisright in My sight, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, thenI will be with you andbuild for you an enduring house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to you.

39 And I will afflict the descendants of David because of this, but not forever.’ ”

40 Solomon therefore sought to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled to Egypt, toShishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

Death of Solomon

41 Nowthe rest of the acts of Solomon, all that he did, and his wisdom,arethey not written in the book of the acts of Solomon?

42 And the period that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israelwasforty years.

43 Then Solomon rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in hisplace.

The Revolt Against Rehoboam

1 AndRehoboam went toShechem, for all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king.

2 So it happened, whenJeroboam the son of Nebat heardit(he was still inEgypt, for he had fled from the presence of King Solomon and had been dwelling in Egypt ),

3 that they sent and called him. Then Jeroboam and the whole assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying,

4 “Your father made ouryoke heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.”

5 So he said to them, “Departforthree days, then come back to me.” And the people departed.

6 Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who stood before his father Solomon while he still lived, and he said, “How do you advisemeto answer these people?”

7 And they spoke to him, saying,“If you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.”

8 But he rejected the advice which the elders had given him, and consulted the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him.

9 And he said to them, “What advice do you give? How should we answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke which your father put on us’?”

10 Then the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, “Thus you should speak to this people who have spoken to you, saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you makeitlighter on us’—thus you shall say to them: ‘My littlefingershall be thicker than my father’s waist!

11 And now, whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!’ ”

12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had directed, saying, “Come back to me the third day.”

13 Then the king answered the people roughly, and rejected the advice which the elders had given him;

14 and he spoke to them according to the advice 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 scourges!”

15 So the king did not listen to the people; forthe turnofeventswas from theLord, that He might fulfill His word, which theLordhadspoken by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

16 Now when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying:

# “What share have we in David?

Wehaveno inheritance in the son of Jesse.

To your tents, O Israel!

Now, see to your own house, O David!”

So Israel departed to their tents.

17 But Rehoboam reigned overthe children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah.

18 Then King Rehoboamsent Adoram, whowasin charge of the revenue; but all Israel stoned him with stones, and he died. Therefore King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in haste to flee to Jerusalem.

19 SoIsrael has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

20 Now it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come back, they sent for him and called him to the congregation, and made him king over allIsrael. There was none who followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judahonly.

21 And whenRehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah with the tribe ofBenjamin, one hundred and eighty thousand chosenmenwho were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, that he might restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.

22 Butthe word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,

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

24 ‘Thus says theLord: “You shall not go up nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel. Let every man return to his house,for this thing is from Me.” ’ ” Therefore they obeyed the word of theLord, and turned back, according to the word of theLord.

Jeroboam’s Gold Calves

25 Then Jeroboambuilt Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim, and dwelt there. Also he went out from there and builtPenuel.

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

27 If these peoplego up to offer sacrifices in the house of theLordat Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn back to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and go back to Rehoboam king of Judah.”

28 Therefore the king asked advice,made two calves of gold, and said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem.Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!”

29 And he set up one inBethel, and the other he put inDan.

30 Now this thing becamea sin, for the people wenttoworshipbefore the one as far as Dan.

31 He made shrines on the high places,and made priests from every class of people, who were not of the sons of Levi.

32 Jeroboam ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, likethe feast thatwasin Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did at Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made.And at Bethel he installed the priests of the high places which he had made.

33 So he made offerings on the altar which he had made at Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he haddevised in his own heart. And he ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and offered sacrifices on the altar andburned incense.

The Message of the Man of God

1 And behold,a man of God went from Judah to Bethel by the word of theLord,and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.

2 Then he cried out against the altar by the word of theLord, and said, “O altar, altar! Thus says theLord: ‘Behold, a child,Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men’s bones shall beburned on you.’ ”

3 And he gavea sign the same day, saying, “Thisisthe sign which theLordhas spoken: Surely the altar shall split apart, and the ashes on it shall be poured out.”

4 So it came to pass when King Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, who cried out against the altar in Bethel, that he stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Arrest him!” Then his hand, which he stretched out toward him, withered, so that he could not pull it back to himself.

5 The altar also was split apart, 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 Then the king answered and said to the man of God, “Pleaseentreat the favor of theLordyour God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.”

So the man of God entreated theLord, and the king’s hand was restored to him, and became as before.

7 Then the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, andI will give you a reward.”

8 But the man of God said to the king,“If you were to give me half your house, I would not go in with you; nor would I eat bread nor drink water in this place.

9 For so it was commanded me by the word of theLord, saying,‘You shall not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the same way you came.’ ”

10 So he went another way and did not return by the way he came to Bethel.

Death of the Man of God

11 Now anold prophet dwelt in Bethel, and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel; they also told their father the words which he had spoken to the king.

12 And their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” For his sons had seen which way the man of God went who came from Judah.

13 Then he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him; and he rode on it,

14 and went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak. Then he said to him, “Areyou the man of God who came from Judah?”

And he said, “Iam.”

15 Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.”

16 And he said,“I cannot return with you nor go in with you; neither can I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place.

17 For I have been toldby the word of theLord, ‘You shall not eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by going the way you came.’ ”

18 He said to him, “I tooama prophet as youare,and an angel spoke to me by the word of theLord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’ ” (He was lying to him.)

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

20 Now it happened, as they sat at the table, that the word of theLordcame to the prophet who had brought him back;

21 and he cried out to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, “Thus says theLord: ‘Because you have disobeyed the word of theLord, and have not kept the commandment which theLordyour God commanded you,

22 but you came back, ate bread, and drank water in theplace of whichtheLordsaid to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water,” your corpse shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.’ ”

23 So it was, after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, that he saddled the donkey for him, the prophet whom he had brought back.

24 When he was gone,a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his corpse was thrown on the road, and the donkey stood by it. The lion also stood by the corpse.

25 And there, men passed by and saw the corpse thrown on the road, and the lion standing by the corpse. Then they went and tolditin the city where the old prophet dwelt.

26 Now when the prophet who had brought him back from the way heardit,he said, “Itisthe man of God who was disobedient to the word of theLord. Therefore theLordhas delivered him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word of theLordwhich He spoke to him.”

27 And he spoke to his sons, saying, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddledit.

28 Then he went and found his corpse thrown on the road, and the donkey and the lion standing by the corpse. The lion had not eaten the corpse nor torn the donkey.

29 And the prophet took up the corpse of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back. So the old prophet came to the city to mourn, and to bury him.

30 Then he laid the corpse in his own tomb; and they mourned over him,saying,“Alas, my brother!”

31 So it was, after he had buried him, that he spoke to his sons, saying, “When I am dead, then bury me in the tomb where the man of Godisburied;lay my bones beside his bones.

32 For the saying which he cried out by the word of theLordagainst the altar in Bethel, and against all the shrines on the high places whicharein the cities ofSamaria, will surely come to pass.”

33 After this event Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but again he made priests from every class of people for the high places; whoever wished, he consecrated him, and he becameoneof the priests of the high places.

34 And this thing was the sin of the house of Jeroboam, so asto exterminate and destroyitfrom the face of the earth.

Judgment on the House of Jeroboam

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

2 And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Please arise, and disguise yourself, that they may not recognize you as the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Indeed, Ahijah the prophetisthere, who told me thatIwouldbeking over this people.

3 Also take with you ten loaves,somecakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him; he will tell you what will become of the child.”

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

5 Now theLordhad said to Ahijah, “Here is the wife of Jeroboam, coming to ask you something about her son, for heissick. Thus and thus you shall say to her; for it will be, when she comes in, that she will pretendtobeanotherwoman.”

6 And so it was, when Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps as she came through the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretendtobeanotherperson?For Ihavebeensent to youwithbadnews.

7 Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘Thus says theLordGod of Israel:“Because I exalted you from among the people, and made you ruler over My people Israel,

8 andtore the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it to you; andyetyou have not been as My servant David,who kept My commandments and who followed Me with all his heart, to do onlywhatwasright in My eyes;

9 but you have done more evil than all who were before you,for you have gone and made for yourself other gods and molded images to provoke Me to anger, andhave cast Me behind your back—

10 therefore behold!I will bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam, andwill cut off from Jeroboam every male in Israel,bond and free; I will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as one takes away refuse until it is all gone.

11 The dogs shall eatwhoever belongs to Jeroboam and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field; for theLordhas spoken!” ’

12 Arise therefore, go to your own house.When your feet enter the city, the child shall die.

13 And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he is the only one of Jeroboam who shall come to the grave, because in himthere is found something good toward theLordGod of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.

14 “Moreover theLordwill raise up for Himself a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam; this is the day. What? Even now!

15 For theLordwill strike Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water. He willuproot Israel from thisgood land which He gave to their fathers, and will scatter thembeyond the River,because they have made their wooden images, provoking theLordto anger.

16 And He will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam,who sinned and who made Israel sin.”

17 Then Jeroboam’s wife arose and departed, and came toTirzah.When she came to the threshold of the house, the child died.

18 And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him,according to the word of theLordwhich He spoke through His servant Ahijah the prophet.

Death of Jeroboam

19 Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how hemade war and how he reigned, indeed theyarewritten in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.

20 The period that Jeroboam reignedwastwenty-two years. So he rested with his fathers.Then Nadab his son reigned in his place.

Rehoboam Reigns in Judah

21 And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah.Rehoboamwasforty-one years old when he became king. He reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the citywhich theLordhad chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put His name there.His mother’s namewasNaamah, an Ammonitess.

22 Now Judah did evil in the sight of theLord, and theyprovoked Him to jealousy with their sins which they committed, more than all that their fathers had done.

23 For they also built for themselveshigh places,sacredpillars, andwooden images on every high hill andunder every green tree.

24 And there were also perverted persons in the land. They did according to all theabominations of the nations which theLordhad cast out before the children ofIsrael.

25 It happened in the fifth year of King RehoboamthatShishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem.

26 And he took away the treasures of the house of theLordand the treasures of the king’s house; he took away everything. He also took away all the gold shieldswhich Solomon had made.

27 Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place, and committedthemto the hands of the captains of the guard, who guarded the doorway of the king’s house.

28 And whenever the king entered the house of theLord, the guards carried them, then brought them back into the guardroom.

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

30 And there waswar between Rehoboam and Jeroboam alltheirdays.

31 So Rehoboam rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David.His mother’s namewasNaamah, an Ammonitess. ThenAbijam his son reigned in his place.