1 Kings 9

1 And it cometh to pass, at Solomon's finishing to build the house of Jehovah, and the house of the king, and all the desire of Solomon that he delighted to do,

After Solomon had finished building the house of Yahweh and the king's palace, and after he had accomplished all that he wanted to do,

2 that Jehovah appeareth unto Solomon a second time, as He appeared unto him in Gibeon,

Yahweh appeared to Solomon a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon.

3 and Jehovah saith unto him, 'I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication with which thou hast made supplication before Me; I have hallowed this house that thou hast built to put My name there — unto the age, and Mine eyes and My heart have been there all the days.

Then Yahweh said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your request that you have made before me. I have set apart this house, which you have built, to myself, to put my name there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time.

4 'And thou — if thou dost walk before Me as David thy father walked, in simplicity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee — My statutes and My judgments thou dost keep —

As for you, if you walk before me as David your father walked in integrity of heart and in uprightness, obeying all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my decrees,

5 then I have established the throne of thy kingdom over Israel — to the age, as I spake unto David thy father, saying, There is not cut off to thee a man from [being] on the throne of Israel.

then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, 'A descendant of yours will never fail to be on the throne of Israel.'

6 'If ye at all turn back — you and your sons — from after Me, and keep not My commands — My statutes, that I have set before you, and ye have gone and served other gods, and bowed yourselves to them,

But if you turn away, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have placed before you, and if you go and worship other gods and bow down to them,

7 then I have cut off Israel from the face of the ground that I have given to them, and the house that I have hallowed for My name I send away from My presence, and Israel hath been for a simile and for a byword among all the peoples;

then will I cut off Israel from off the ground that I have given them; and this house that I have set apart to my name, I will cast it out of my sight, and Israel will become an example to be mocked and an object of ridicule among all peoples.

8 as to this house, [that] is high, every one passing by it is astonished, and hath hissed, and they have said, Wherefore hath Jehovah done thus to this land and to this house?

This temple will become a heap of ruins, and everyone who passes by it will be shocked and will hiss. They will ask, 'Why has Yahweh done this to this land and to this house?'

9 and they have said, Because that they have forsaken Jehovah their God, who brought out their fathers from the land of Egypt, and they lay hold on other gods, and bow themselves to them, and serve them; therefore hath Jehovah brought in upon them all this evil.'

Others will answer, 'Because they forsook Yahweh, their God, who had brought their ancestors out of the land of Egypt, and they laid hold of other gods and bowed down to them and worshiped them. That is why Yahweh has brought all this disaster on them.'”

10 And it cometh to pass, at the end of twenty years, that Solomon hath built the two houses, the house of Jehovah, and the house of the king.

It came about at the end of twenty years that Solomon had finished building the two buildings, the temple of Yahweh and the king's palace.

11 Hiram king of Tyre hath assisted Solomon with cedar-trees, and with fir-trees, and with gold, according to all his desire; then doth king Solomon give to Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.

Now Hiram, the king of Tyre, had furnished Solomon with cedar and cypress trees, and with gold—all that Solomon desired—so King Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.

12 And Hiram cometh out from Tyre to see the cities that Solomon hath given to him, and they have not been right in his eyes,

Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities that Solomon had given him, but they did not please him.

13 and he saith, 'What [are] these cities that thou hast given to me, my brother?' and one calleth them the land of Cabul unto this day.

So Hiram said, “What cities are these which you have given me, my brother?” Hiram called them the Land of Kabul, which they are still called today.

14 And Hiram sendeth to the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold.

Hiram had sent to the king 120 talents of gold.

15 And this [is] the matter of the tribute that king Solomon hath lifted up, to build the house of Jehovah, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer,

This is the account of the forced labor which King Solomon imposed to build the temple of Yahweh and his own palace, the Millo, the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer.

16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt hath gone up and doth capture Gezer, and doth burn it with fire, and the Canaanite who is dwelling in the city he hath slain, and giveth it [with] presents to his daughter, wife of Solomon.)

Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and taken Gezer. He burned it and killed the Canaanites in the city. Then Pharaoh gave the city to his daughter, Solomon's wife, as a wedding gift.

17 And Solomon buildeth Gezer, and Beth-Horon the lower,

So Solomon rebuilt Gezer and Beth Horon the Lower,

18 and Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land;

Baalath and Tamar in the wilderness in the land of Judah,

19 and all the cities of stores that king Solomon hath, and the cities of the chariots, and the cities of the horsemen, and the desire of Solomon that he desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.

and all the store cities that he possessed, and 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.

20 The whole of the people that is left of the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, who [are] not of the sons of Israel —

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

21 their sons who are left behind them in the land, whom the sons of Israel have not been able to devote — he hath even lifted up [on] them a tribute of service unto this day.

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

22 And out of the sons of Israel Solomon hath not appointed a servant, for they [are] the men of war, and his servants, and his heads, and his captains, and the heads of his chariots, and his horsemen.

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

23 These [are] the heads of the officers who [are] over the work of Solomon, fifty and five hundred, those ruling among the people who are labouring in the work.

These were also the chief officers managing the supervisors who were over Solomon's works, 550 of them, who supervised the people who did the work.

24 Only, the daughter of Pharaoh went up out of the city of David unto her house that [Solomon] built for her; then he built Millo.

Pharaoh's daughter moved from the city of David to the house that Solomon had built for her. Later, Solomon built the Millo.

25 And Solomon caused to ascend, three times in a year, burnt-offerings and peace-offerings on the altar that he built to Jehovah, and he perfumed it with that which [is] before Jehovah, and finished the house.

Three times each year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar that he built for Yahweh, burning incense with them on the altar that was before Yahweh. So he completed the temple and was now using it.

26 And a navy hath king Solomon made in Ezion-Geber, that is beside Eloth, on the edge of the Sea of Suph, in the land of Edom.

King Solomon built a fleet of ships in Ezion Geber, which is near Elath on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom.

27 And Hiram sendeth in the navy his servants, shipmen knowing the sea, with servants of Solomon,

Hiram sent servants to Solomon's fleet, sailors who were familiar with the sea, with Solomon's own servants.

28 and they come in to Ophir and take thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and bring [it] in unto king Solomon.

They went to Ophir with servants of Solomon. From there they brought back 420 talents of gold for King Solomon.