2 Chronicles 8

1 Now at the end of twenty years, in which time Solomon had put up the house of the Lord and a house for himself,

Now at the end of the twenty years during which Solomon had built the house of the LORD and his own palace,

2 He took in hand the building up of the towns which Huram had given him, causing the children of Israel to make living-places for themselves there.

Solomon rebuilt the cities Hiram had given him and settled Israelites there.

3 And Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and overcame it.

Then Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and captured it.

4 And he put up the buildings of Tadmor in the waste land, and of all the store-towns in Hamath;

He built Tadmor in the wilderness, in addition to all the store cities that he had built in Hamath.

5 And of Beth-horon the higher and the lower, walled towns with walls and doorways and locks;

He rebuilt Upper and Lower Beth-horon as fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars,

6 And of Baalath, and all the store-towns which Solomon had, and the towns where he kept his war-carriages and his horse men, and everything which it was his pleasure to put up in Jerusalem and in Lebanon and in all the land under his rule.

as well as Baalath, all the store cities that belonged to Solomon, and all the cities for his chariots and horses —whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and throughout the land of his dominion.

7 As for all the rest of the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, who were not of Israel:

As for all the people who remained of the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites (the people who were not Israelites)—

8 Their men who were still living in the land, and whom the children of Israel had not put an end to, these Solomon put to forced work, as is done to this day;

their descendants who remained in the land, those whom the Israelites were unable to destroy—Solomon conscripted these people to be forced laborers, as they are to this day.

9 But Solomon did not make use of the children of Israel as servants for his work; they were men of war, his chiefs and his captains, and captains of his war-carriages and his horsemen.

But Solomon did not consign any of the Israelites to slave labor, because they were his men of war, his officers and captains, and the commanders of his chariots and cavalry.

10 Now these were the chief men in authority whom King Solomon had: two hundred and fifty of them, in authority over the people.

They were also the chief officers for King Solomon: 250 supervisors.

11 Then Solomon made Pharaoh's daughter come up from the town of David to the house which he had made for her; for he said, I will not have my wife living in the house of David, king of Israel, because those places where the ark of the Lord has come are holy.

Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh up from the City of David to the palace he had built for her. For he said, “My wife must not live in the house of David king of Israel, because the places the ark of the LORD has entered are holy.”

12 Then Solomon made burned offerings to the Lord on the altar of the Lord which he had put up in front of the covered way,

At that time Solomon offered burnt offerings to the LORD on the altar of the LORD he had built in front of the portico.

13 Offering every day what had been ordered by Moses, on the Sabbaths and at the new moon and at the regular feasts three times a year, that is at the feast of unleavened bread, the feast of weeks, and the feast of tents.

He observed the daily requirement for offerings according to the commandment of Moses for Sabbaths, New Moons, and the three annual appointed feasts—the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles.

14 And he gave the divisions of the priests their places for their work, as ordered by his father David, and to the Levites he gave their work of praise and waiting on the priests, to do what was needed day by day; and he gave the door-keepers their places in turn at every door; for so David, the man of God, had given orders.

In keeping with the ordinances of his father David, Solomon appointed the divisions of the priests over their service, and the Levites for their duties to offer praise and to minister before the priests according to the daily requirement. He also appointed gatekeepers by their divisions at each gate, for this had been the command of David, the man of God.

15 All the orders given by the king to the priests and Levites, in connection with any business or stores, were done with care.

They did not turn aside from the king’s command regarding the priests or the Levites or any matter concerning the treasuries.

16 And all the work of Solomon was complete, from the day when he put the base of the Lord's house in position, till Solomon had come to the end of building the Lord's house.

Thus all the work of Solomon was carried out, from the day the foundation was laid for the house of the LORD until it was finished. So the house of the LORD was completed.

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

Then Solomon went to Ezion-geber and to Eloth on the coast of Edom.

18 And Huram sent him, by his servants, ships and experienced seamen, who went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir and came back with four hundred and fifty talents of gold, which they took to King Solomon.

So Hiram sent him ships captained by his servants, along with crews of experienced sailors. They went with Solomon’s servants to Ophir and acquired from there 450 talents of gold, which they delivered to King Solomon.