Solomon

12The LORD came to Solomon at night. He said, "I have heard your prayer. I have chosen this place for myself. It will be a house where people bring me offerings.

And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice.

13"Sometimes I close up the sky so that no rain falls. Sometimes I send locusts, bugs that eat up all the plants. Sometimes I send a sickness that spreads among my people.

If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;

NoteIn that country almost no rain fell for part of every year. If the rain did not come at the right time, the crops died. Then there was no food. That is why no rain was so frightening.

14"My people are called by my name. If they become humble and pray, if they look for me and turn away from their wrong ways, then I will listen from heaven. I will forgive their sin. I will make their land well again.

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Note"Look for me" is an old way of saying: try to be close to God and ask him for help. To "become humble" means to stop acting big and important. It means saying honestly that you need help.

15"From now on my eyes will be open. My ears will listen to the prayers said in this place.

Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.

16"I have chosen this house and made it holy. My name will be here forever. My eyes and my heart will always be here.

For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.

Note"Holy" means set apart and kept special, only for God.

17"Now about you, Solomon. Live the way your father David lived. Do everything I have told you to do. Keep my rules and my laws.

And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and shalt observe my statutes and my judgments;

18"If you do, I will keep your family ruling as kings. That is the promise I made to your father David. I told him that a man from his family would always rule Israel.

Then will I stablish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel.

19"But you may turn away from me. You may stop keeping the rules and commands I gave you. You may go and serve other gods and worship them.

But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them;

20"If you do that, I will pull Israel out of the land I gave them. It will be like pulling a plant up by its roots. I will push this house away from me, even though I made it holy for my name. All the nations will talk about it and make fun of it.

Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations.

21"People will be shocked when they walk past this house. They will say, 'Why did the LORD do this to this land and to this house?'

And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and unto this house?

22"Others will answer, 'They left the LORD, the God of their families. He is the one who brought them out of Egypt. They took hold of other gods and worshiped and served them. That is why he brought all this trouble on them.'"

And it shall be answered, Because they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath he brought all this evil upon them.

NoteLong before this, the families of Israel were slaves in Egypt. God brought them out and made them free. "The God of their families" means the God their grandparents and great-grandparents had worshiped.

1Twenty years went by. In that time Solomon finished the LORD's house and his own house.

And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, wherein Solomon had built the house of the LORD, and his own house,

NoteThe LORD's house means the temple. A temple is a special building where people worshiped God. LORD in big letters stands for God's own name.

2Solomon rebuilt the towns that King Huram had given him. Then he sent people from Israel to live in them.

That the cities which Huram had restored to Solomon, Solomon built them, and caused the children of Israel to dwell there.

NoteHuram was the king of Tyre, a city by the sea. He was Solomon's friend and helped him build.

3Solomon went to the town of Hamath-zobah and took it in battle.

And Solomon went to Hamathzobah, and prevailed against it.

NoteHamath-zobah was a place far to the north of Israel. Kings often fought to take land like this.

4He built the town of Tadmor out in the dry, empty land. He also built storage towns in Hamath to keep food and supplies.

And he built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the store cities, which he built in Hamath.

NoteStorage towns held extra food, oil, and weapons. Kings kept supplies there in case they were needed.

5He rebuilt Upper Beth-horon and Lower Beth-horon. Both had strong walls, gates, and heavy bars to lock them.

Also he built Bethhoron the upper, and Bethhoron the nether, fenced cities, with walls, gates, and bars;

NoteTowns had thick walls to keep enemies out. Heavy bars held the gates shut, like a big lock.

6He also built Baalath and all his storage towns. He built towns for his chariots and towns for his horses. He built whatever he wanted in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and everywhere he ruled.

And Baalath, and all the store cities that Solomon had, and all the chariot cities, and the cities of the horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and throughout all the land of his dominion.

NoteA chariot is a small cart pulled by horses. Soldiers rode in chariots when they went to fight. Lebanon was the land to the north with tall trees.

7Some people were still living in the land who were not Israelites. They were Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

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

NoteThese were groups of people who lived in the land before Israel came. Each group had its own family name, like Hittites or Jebusites.

8Their children and grandchildren still lived there, because Israel had not destroyed them. Solomon made those people do hard work for him. They still do that work today.

But of their children, who were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel consumed not, them did Solomon make to pay tribute until this day.

NoteThis hard work was called forced labor. The king made them work for him without paying them. "Today" means back when this book was written, long ago.

9Solomon did not make any Israelites do that hard labor. Instead they were his soldiers, his officers, and the leaders of his chariots and horsemen.

But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no servants for his work; but they were men of war, and chief of his captains, and captains of his chariots and horsemen.

NoteAn officer is a leader who tells soldiers what to do. Horsemen were soldiers who rode on horses.

10Solomon also had 250 chief officers. They were in charge of the people.

And these were the chief of king Solomon’s officers, even two hundred and fifty, that bare rule over the people.

11Solomon had married the daughter of the king of Egypt. He moved her out of the City of David and into the house he built for her. He said, "My wife must not live in the house of King David of Israel. Those rooms are holy, because the ark of the LORD was brought there."

And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David unto the house that he had built for her: for he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places are holy, whereunto the ark of the LORD hath come.

NoteThe City of David was the oldest part of Jerusalem. King David had lived there. The ark was a special box covered in gold. It held the rules God gave Moses. Holy means set apart just for God.

12Then Solomon gave burnt offerings to the LORD. He gave them on the altar he had built in front of the temple porch.

Then Solomon offered burnt offerings unto the LORD on the altar of the LORD, which he had built before the porch,

NoteA burnt offering was an animal given to God as a gift. It was burned on an altar, a big stone table. The porch was the covered doorway at the front of the temple.

13He gave the right offering each day, just as Moses had commanded. He did this on the Sabbath days, on the first day of each month, and at the three big feasts each year. Those feasts were the Feast of Bread Without Yeast, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Shelters.

Even after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles.

NoteMoses was the leader who long ago gave Israel God's rules. The Sabbath was a rest day each week. The Feast of Bread Without Yeast remembered when Israel left Egypt in a hurry. The Feast of Weeks said thank you for the harvest. At the Feast of Shelters, families camped in little huts made of branches.

14Solomon followed the plan his father David had made. He put the priests into groups for their work at the temple. He gave the Levites, the helpers at the temple, their own jobs. They sang praise and helped the priests each day. He also put the gatekeepers in groups at each gate. David, the man of God, had commanded all of this.

And he appointed, according to the order of David his father, the courses of the priests to their service, and the Levites to their charges, to praise and minister before the priests, as the duty of every day required: the porters also by their courses at every gate: for so had David the man of God commanded.

NotePriests were men who served God at the temple. They brought the people's gifts to God. Levites came from one family group and helped the priests. There were too many to all work at once. So they took turns in groups. Gatekeepers stood at the temple doors and watched who came in. "The man of God" means someone who served God and spoke for him.

15The priests and Levites did just what the king said. They obeyed him about their work and about the storerooms too.

And they departed not from the commandment of the king unto the priests and Levites concerning any matter, or concerning the treasures.

NoteThe storerooms held the temple's gold, silver, and other gifts. Someone had to keep track of it all.

16All of Solomon's work was carried out well. It went from the day the temple floor was laid until the last day. So the LORD's house was finished.

Now all the work of Solomon was prepared unto the day of the foundation of the house of the LORD, and until it was finished. So the house of the LORD was perfected.

NoteThe foundation is the strong stone base under a building. Builders lay it first, before any walls go up.

17Then Solomon went to the towns of Ezion-geber and Eloth. They sit by the sea, in the land of Edom.

Then went Solomon to Eziongeber, and to Eloth, at the sea side in the land of Edom.

NoteEdom was the land south of Israel. Ezion-geber and Eloth sat by the water. Ships could dock and load there.

18King Huram sent Solomon ships and sailors who knew the sea well. They sailed with Solomon's men to a place called Ophir. There they got 450 talents of gold and brought it back to King Solomon.

And Huram sent him by the hands of his servants ships, and servants that had knowledge of the sea; and they went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and took thence four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and brought them to king Solomon.

NoteOphir was a faraway land known for its gold. Nobody today is sure where it was. A talent was a way to weigh things. One talent was about 75 pounds, as heavy as a big dog. So this was a huge pile of gold.

1The queen of Sheba heard how famous Solomon was. She came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. She brought a very large group with her. Her camels carried spices, lots of gold, and jewels. She met Solomon and talked with him about everything on her mind.

And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels that bare spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.

NoteSheba was a rich land far away, probably in Arabia. The trip took many weeks by camel. Camels can walk a long way without water, so people used them to cross deserts. Spices are seeds, leaves, and bark that smell sweet and flavor food. Back then they cost a lot of money. "Hard questions" means riddles and puzzles. Rulers tested each other this way to see who was truly wise.

2Solomon answered every one of her questions. Nothing was too hard for him to explain to her.

And Solomon told her all her questions: and there was nothing hid from Solomon which he told her not.

3The queen saw how wise Solomon was. She saw the palace he had built.

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

4She saw the food on his table. She saw where his helpers sat, and how they served. She saw their clothes, and the clothes of the men who poured his drinks. She saw the offerings he brought to the LORD's house. It took her breath away.

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

NoteThe men who poured the king's drinks had an important job. They tasted the drink first to make sure it was safe. An offering is a gift given to God. People burned animals or grain on a stone table called an altar. The LORD's house was the temple in Jerusalem, the special building where people came to worship God.

5She said to the king, "What I heard back home about you is true. People told me about your words and your wisdom.

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

6But I did not believe it until I came and saw it myself. I was not told even half of how wise you are. You are much greater than the stories I heard.

Howbeit I believed not their words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the one half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me: for thou exceedest the fame that I heard.

7Your people must be very happy. So must these helpers who stand near you every day. They get to hear your wise words.

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

8Praise the LORD your God! He was pleased with you and put you on his throne. You are king for the LORD your God. Your God loves Israel and wants them to last forever. That is why he made you their king, to rule in a fair and right way."

Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee to set thee on his throne, to be king for the LORD thy God: because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever, therefore made he thee king over them, to do judgment and justice.

NoteA throne is the special chair a king sits on when he rules. The queen calls it God's throne because she says God chose Solomon to sit there.

9Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold. She also gave him many spices and jewels. No one had ever brought spices like the ones she gave King Solomon.

And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices great abundance, and precious stones: neither was there any such spice as the queen of Sheba gave king Solomon.

NoteA talent was a way of weighing things, about 75 pounds. So 120 talents of gold weighed about as much as three grown men. It was a giant gift.

10Huram's workers and Solomon's workers brought gold from a place called Ophir. They also brought algum wood and jewels.

And the servants also of Huram, and the servants of Solomon, which brought gold from Ophir, brought algum trees and precious stones.

NoteHuram was the king of Tyre, a city by the sea. He and Solomon were friends who traded with each other. Ophir was a faraway land known for its very fine gold. Nobody today knows exactly where it was. Algum wood was a rare wood that people brought in by ship.

11The king used the algum wood to make steps for the LORD's house and for his own palace. He also made harps and other stringed instruments for the singers. Nothing like them had ever been seen in Judah before.

And the king made of the algum trees terraces to the house of the LORD, and to the king’s palace, and harps and psalteries for singers: and there were none such seen before in the land of Judah.

12King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she wanted. He gave her whatever she asked for. It was even more than she had brought to him. Then she and her helpers went back home.

And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which she had brought unto the king. So she turned, and went away to her own land, she and her servants.

13Each year Solomon received 666 talents of gold.

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

NoteA talent was about 75 pounds. So 666 talents was around 50,000 pounds of gold every year. That is more gold than most kings ever saw.

14That did not count what traders and sellers brought him. All the kings of Arabia and the rulers of the land brought him gold and silver too.

Beside that which chapmen and merchants brought. And all the kings of Arabia and governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon.

15King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold. Each one used six hundred shekels of gold.

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

NoteA shekel was a small weight, about as heavy as four paper clips. Six hundred shekels of gold weighed around 15 pounds. "Hammered gold" means workers pounded the gold thin with tools. These shields were for showing off, not for fighting.

16He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold. Each one used three hundred shekels of gold. The king put them all in the building called the House of the Forest of Lebanon.

And three hundred shields made he of beaten gold: three hundred shekels of gold went to one shield. And the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.

NoteThe House of the Forest of Lebanon was a huge hall in Solomon's palace. It had rows and rows of tall wooden posts inside. They looked like trees, so people called it a forest.

17The king also made a big throne out of ivory. He covered it with pure gold.

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

NoteIvory is the smooth white part of an elephant's tusk. It was rare and cost a lot, so only kings had it.

18The throne had six steps. A gold footstool was attached to it. There were arm rests on both sides of the seat. A lion stood beside each arm rest.

And there were six steps to the throne, with a footstool of gold, which were fastened to the throne, and stays on each side of the sitting place, and two lions standing by the stays:

19Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at each end of every step. No other kingdom had ever made anything like it.

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.

20All of King Solomon's cups were made of gold. Every dish in the House of the Forest of Lebanon was pure gold. Nothing was made of silver. In Solomon's days silver was not worth much.

And all the drinking vessels of king Solomon 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 not any thing accounted of in the days of Solomon.

21The king had big trading ships that sailed with Huram's workers. Once every three years the ships came back. They brought gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

For the king’s ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram: every three years once came the ships of Tarshish bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.

NoteTarshish was a port very far away across the sea. "Ships of Tarshish" meant big ships strong enough for long trips. Apes are animals like monkeys. Peacocks are birds with long, bright tail feathers. Both came from faraway lands, so they were special gifts.

22King Solomon had more riches and more wisdom than any other king on earth.

And king Solomon passed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.

23Kings from everywhere came to see Solomon. They wanted to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart.

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

24Year after year, each visitor brought a gift. They brought silver and gold dishes, clothes, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.

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

NoteA mule is born from a horse and a donkey. Mules are strong and steady, and good at carrying heavy loads.

25Solomon had 4,000 stalls for horses and chariots. He had 12,000 horses. He kept them in the chariot cities and with him in Jerusalem.

And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; whom he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.

NoteA chariot is a small cart with wheels, pulled by horses. Soldiers rode in chariots to fight. A stall is a small room in a barn where one horse stays. The chariot cities were towns where the king kept his horses and chariots ready.

26He ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines. His rule reached all the way to the border of Egypt.

And he reigned over all the kings from the river even unto the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt.

NoteThe Euphrates is a very long river far to the north. The Philistines were a people who lived by the sea, west of Israel. They and Israel fought each other many times.

27In Jerusalem the king made silver as common as stones. He made cedar wood as easy to find as sycamore trees in the hills.

And the king made silver in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar trees made he as the sycomore trees that are in the low plains in abundance.

NoteCedar is a tall tree from Lebanon. Its wood smells good and lasts a long time, so it cost a lot. Sycamore trees grew everywhere and their wood was cheap. So this says fancy things became as easy to find as plain ones.

28Horses were brought to Solomon from Egypt and from many other lands.

And they brought unto Solomon horses out of Egypt, and out of all lands.

29The other things Solomon did, from start to finish, are written in other books. They are in the records of Nathan the prophet, a man who told people what God said. They are also in the writings of Ahijah from Shiloh, and in the visions of Iddo the seer about Jeroboam son of Nebat.

Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat?

NoteA seer was someone God showed pictures to, called visions. He would tell people what the pictures meant. Shiloh was a town in Israel, so Ahijah is called "the Shilonite." Jeroboam worked for Solomon. Later he became king over part of Israel.

30Solomon was king in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years.

And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.

31Then Solomon died, like his family before him. He was buried in the City of David, the city of his father. His son Rehoboam became king after him.

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

NoteThe King James Bible says Solomon "slept with his fathers." That was a gentle way of saying he died and was buried near his family. The City of David was the oldest part of Jerusalem. King David, Solomon's father, had lived there.

23In those days I also saw Jewish men who had married women from other places. The women came from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.

In those days also saw I Jews that had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab:

NoteAshdod was a city by the sea. Ammon and Moab were lands next to Israel. All were outside Israel.

24Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or of another people. They could not speak the language of Judah at all.

And their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews’ language, but according to the language of each people.

NoteThe language of Judah was Hebrew. Their prayers and holy books were in it.

25I spoke sharply to those men and called down curses on them. I hit some of them and pulled out their hair. Then I made them promise before God. I said, "Do not let your daughters marry their sons. Do not take their daughters as wives for your sons or for yourselves."

And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves.

NoteCalling down a curse meant asking God to punish them. Pulling out a man's hair was a way to shame him. A promise made before God was the strongest promise of all.

26"King Solomon of Israel sinned in just this way. No king among the nations was like him. God loved him and made him king over all Israel. Even so, women from other lands led him into sin."

Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin.

NoteSolomon was a famous king of Israel long before this time. People remembered him as very wise.

27"Should we listen to you and let this great evil happen? By marrying foreign women you are turning away from our God."

Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil, to transgress against our God in marrying strange wives?