2 Chronicles 8

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

It had taken twenty years for Solomon to build the Temple of the Lord and his own palace.

2 that the cities which Huram had given to Solomon, Solomon built them, and caused the children of Israel to dwell there.

Solomon rebuilt the towns Hiram had given him, and sent Israelites to live there.

3 And Solomon went to Hamath-zobah, and prevailed against it.

Then Solomon attacked Hamath-zobah and captured it.

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

He built Tadmor in the wilderness and also built all the storehouse towns in Hamath.

5 Also he built Beth-horon the upper, and Beth-horon the nether, fortified cities, with walls, gates, and bars;

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

6 and Baalath, and all the store-cities that Solomon had, and all the cities for his chariots, and the cities for his horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to build for his pleasure in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.

and also Baalath. He built all the storehouse towns that belonged to him, and all the towns where he kept his chariots and horses. He built everything he wanted to in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and throughout his entire kingdom.

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

There were some people who remained in the land: the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—people who were not Israelites.

8 of their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel consumed not, of them did Solomon raise a levy of bondservants, unto this day.

They were the remaining descendants of the peoples that the Israelites had not destroyed. Solomon made them work as forced laborers, as they are to this day.

9 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 rulers of his chariots and of his horsemen.

But Solomon did not make any of the Israelites work as slaves. Instead, they were his military men, his officers, and commanders of his chariots and horsemen.

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

They were also King Solomon's chief officers, 250 men who supervised the people.

11 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: 'No wife of mine shall dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places are holy, whereunto the ark of the LORD hath come.'

Solomon moved Pharaoh's daughter from the City of David to the palace he had built for her. For he said, “My wife cannot live in the palace of David king of Israel, because wherever the Ark of the Lord has gone are holy places.”

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

Then Solomon presented burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of the Lord he had built in front of the Temple's porch.

13 even as the duty of every day required, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the appointed seasons, three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles.

He followed the requirement for daily offerings as Moses had ordered for Sabbaths, new moons, and the three annual festivals—the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Shelters.

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

Following the instructions of his father David, he assigned the divisions of the priests for their service, and the Levites in their responsibilities to offer praise, and to help the priests in their daily duties. He also assigned gatekeepers by their divisions at each gate as David, the man of God, had instructed.

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

They followed David's instructions exactly regarding the priests, the Levites, and anything to do with the treasuries.

16 So all the work of Solomon was set in order from the day of the foundation of the house of the LORD, and until it was finished. So the house of the LORD was perfected.

This is how all Solomon's work was carried out, from the day the foundation was laid for the Lord's Temple until it was finished. So the Lord's Temple was completed.

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

After this Solomon went to Ezion-geber and to Eloth on the coast of the land of Edom.

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

Hiram sent him ships under the command of his own officers, along with experienced sailors. They went with Solomon's men to Ophir where they loaded 450 talents of gold, which they then brought back to King Solomon.