2 Chronicles 8

1 Solomon’s [workers] worked for 20 years to build the temple and the king’s palace.

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

2 Then his [workers] rebuilt the cities that [King] Hiram had given back to Solomon, and Solomon sent Israelis to live in those cities.

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

3 Solomon’s [army] then went to Hamath-Zobah [town] and captured it.

Then Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and captured it.

4 His workers also rebuilt walls around Tadmor [town] in the desert, and in [the] Hamath [region] in all the towns where they kept supplies.

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

5 They rebuilt Upper Beth-Horon [town] and Lower Beth-Horon [city], and built walls around them with gates [in the walls] and bars [to fasten the gates].

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

6 They also rebuilt Baalath [town] and all the cities where supplies were kept and the cities where Solomon’s chariots and horses were kept. Solomon’s [workers] built whatever he wanted them to build, in Jerusalem and in Lebanon, and in other places in the area that he ruled.

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 Solomon forced people from many other groups who were not Israelis to work for him like slaves. They were people from the Heth, Amor, Periz, Hiv, and Jebus people-groups.

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

8 They were descendants of groups whom the Israelis had not completely destroyed. Solomon forced them to become his slaves, and they are still slaves.

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 force Israelis to work for him. Israelis became his soldiers and commanders of his chariots and his chariot-drivers.

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 They were also King Solomon’s chief officials. There were 250 of them, and they supervised the workers.

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

11 Solomon moved his wife, who was the daughter of the king of Egypt, from [the place outside Jerusalem called] ‘The City of David’ to the place that his workers had built for her. He said, “I do not want my wife to live in the palace that [my father] King David’s workers built, because the Sacred Chest [was in that palace for a while], and any place where the Sacred Chest has been is 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 On the altar that Solomon’s [workers] had built in front of the entrance [to the temple], Solomon sacrificed many offerings that were to be completely burned.

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 He did that to obey the rules about what sacrifices Moses had declared should be made. These included sacrifices for every day and for the Sabbath days and to celebrate each day on which there was a new moon and for the three other festivals that were celebrated each year. Those festivals were the Festival of Eating Unleavened Bread, the Harvest Festival, and the Festival of Living in Temporary Shelters.

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 Obeying what his father David had commanded, he appointed the groups of priests for their work, and he appointed the descendants of Levi to lead the people while they sang to praise Yahweh and while they assisted the priests in their daily work. He also appointed groups of them to guard all the gates, because that was also what David, the man who pleased God [very well], had commanded.

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 The priests and other descendants of Levi obeyed completely everything that the king commanded, including [taking care of] the storerooms.

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

16 They did all the work [of building the temple] that Solomon told them to do, until it was all completed. So they finishing building the temple.

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 some of Solomon’s men went to Ezion-Geber and Elath [cities] on the coast of the Red Sea, an area that belonged to the Edom people-group.

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

18 King Hiram sent to Solomon from [Tyre city] some ships that were commanded by his officers. They were men who were experienced sailors. These men went in the ships with Solomon’s men to [the] Ophir [region] and brought back about 17 tons of gold, which they delivered 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.