2 Chronicles 8

1 It came about at the end of twenty years, during which Solomon had built the house of Yahweh and his own house,

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

2 that Solomon rebuilt the towns that Hiram had given to him, and he settled the people of Israel in them.

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.

3 Solomon attacked Hamathzobah and defeated it.

And Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and overcame it.

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

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

5 Also he built Beth Horon the Upper and Beth Horon the Lower, cities fortified with walls, gates, and bars.

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

6 He built Baalath and all the store cities that he possessed, and all the cities for his chariots and the cities for his horsemen, and whatever he wished to build for his pleasure in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the lands under his rule.

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.

7 As for all the people who were left of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who did not belong to Israel,

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:

8 their descendants who were left after them in the land, whom the people of Israel had not destroyed—Solomon made them into forced laborers, which they are to this day.

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;

9 However, Solomon made no forced laborers of the people of Israel. Instead, they became his soldiers, his commanders, his officers, and commanders of his chariot forces and his horsemen.

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.

10 These were also the chief officers managing the supervisors who belonged to King Solomon, 250 of them, who supervised the people who did the work.

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

11 Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David to the house that he had built for her, for he said, “My wife must not live in the house of David king of Israel, because wherever the ark of Yahweh has come is holy.”

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.

12 Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to Yahweh on his altar that he had built in front of the portico.

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,

13 He offered sacrifices just as the daily schedule required; he offered them, following the directions found in the commandment of Moses, on the Sabbath days, the new moons, and on the set festivals three times every year: the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Shelters.

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.

14 In keeping with the decrees of his father David, Solomon appointed the divisions of the priests to their work, and the Levites to their positions, in order to praise God and to serve before the priests, as the daily schedule required. He also appointed the gatekeepers by their divisions to every gate, for David, the man of God, had also commanded this.

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.

15 These people did not deviate from the commands of the king to the priests and Levites concerning any matter, or concerning the storerooms.

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

16 All the work ordered by Solomon was completed, from the day the foundation of the house of Yahweh was laid until it was finished. The house of Yahweh was completed.

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.

17 Then Solomon went to Ezion Geber and then to Elath on the coast, in the land of Edom.

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

18 Hiram sent him ships commanded by his own officers, men who knew the sea, and with the servants of Solomon they went to Ophir and they took from there 450 talents of gold and brought it to King Solomon.

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.