Catholic Public Domain Version (CPDV)

1 And Solomon resolved to build a house to the name of the Lord, and a palace for himself.

2 And he numbered seventy thousand men to carry upon shoulders, and eighty thousand who were hewing stones in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred as their overseers.

3 Also, he sent to Hiram, the king of Tyre, saying: “Just as you did for my father David, when you sent him cedar wood, so that he might build a house for himself, in which he then lived,

4 do so also for me, so that I may build a house to the name of the Lord my God, so that I may consecrate it for the burning of incense before him, and for the smoke of aromatics, and for the perpetual bread of the presence, and for the holocausts, in morning and in evening, as well as on the Sabbaths and new moons and solemnities of the Lord our God forever, which have been commanded to Israel.

5 For the house that I desire to build is great. For our God is great, above all gods.

6 So then, who will be able prevail, so that he may build a worthy house for him? If heaven and the heavens of heavens cannot contain him, what am I that I would be able to build a house to him? But let it be for this only, so that incense may be burned before him.

7 Therefore, send to me a learned man, who knows how to work with gold and silver, with brass and iron, with purple, scarlet, and hyacinth, and who knows how to carve engravings, along with these artisans that I have with me in Judea and Jerusalem, whom my father David has prepared.

8 Then too, send to me cedar wood, and juniper, and pine from Lebanon. For I know that your servants know how to cut timber from Lebanon, and my servants will be with your servants,

9 so that very much wood may be prepared for me. For the house that I desire to build is exceedingly great and glorious.

10 In addition, I will give to your servants, the workers who will cut down the trees, for provisions: twenty thousand cor of wheat, and the same number of cor of barley, and twenty thousand measures of wine, as well as twenty thousand good measures of oil.”

11 Then Hiram, the king of Tyre, said, by a letter that had been sent to Solomon: “Because the Lord loved his people, for this reason he appointed you to reign over them.”

12 And he added, saying: “Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, who gave to king David a son who is wise, and learned, and intelligent as well as prudent, so that he may build a house to the Lord, and a palace for himself.

13 Therefore, I have sent my father Hiram to you; he is a prudent and very knowledgeable man,

14 the son of a woman from the daughters of Dan, whose father was a Tyrian, who knows how to work with gold and silver, with brass and iron, and with marble and timber, as well as with purple, and hyacinth, and fine linen, and scarlet. And he knows how to carve every kind of engraving, and how to devise prudently whatever may be necessary to the work, with your artisans and with the artisans of my lord David, your father.

15 Therefore, send the wheat and barley and oil and wine, which you, my lord, have promised, to your own servants.

16 Then we will cut down as much wood from Lebanon as you will need, and we will convey them as rafts by sea to Joppa. Then it will be for you to transfer them to Jerusalem.”

17 And so Solomon numbered all the new converts who were in the land of Israel, after the numbering that David his father had done, and they were found to be one hundred fifty thousand and three thousand six hundred.

18 And he appointed seventy thousand of them, who would carry burdens on shoulders, and eighty thousand who would hew stones in the mountains, then three thousand and six hundred as overseers of the work of the people.

1 And Solomon began to build the house of the Lord, in Jerusalem on mount Moriah, as it had been shown to David his father, at the place which David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

2 Now he began to build in the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.

3 And these are the foundations, which Solomon set forth so that he might build the house of God: the length in cubits by the first measure sixty, the width in cubits twenty.

4 Truly, at the front, the portico, which was extended in length according to the measure of the width of the house, was of twenty cubits. Then the height was of one hundred twenty cubits. And he overlaid it on the interior with the purest gold.

5 Also, he covered the greater house with wooden panels of spruce, and he affixed layers of refined gold through it all. And he engraved in them palm trees, and the likeness of little chains interlaced with one another.

6 Also, he paved the floor of the temple with the most precious marble, of great beauty.

7 Now the gold, with which he covered in layers the house and its beams and posts and walls and doors, was highly refined. And he engraved cherubim on the walls.

8 Also, he made the house of the Holy of Holies. Its length, in accord with the width of the temple, was of twenty cubits. And its width, similarly, was of twenty cubits. And he covered it with layers of gold, of about six hundred talents.

9 Then he also made nails of gold, such that each nail weighed fifty shekels. Also, he covered the upper rooms in gold.

10 Now he also made, in the house of the Holy of Holies, two cherubim as a work of statues. And he covered them with gold.

11 The wings of the cherubim extended for twenty cubits, such that one wing had five cubits and it touched the wall of the house, and the other, having five cubits, touched the wing of the other cherub.

12 Similarly, the wing of the other cherub was five cubits, and it touched the wall, and his other wing of five cubits also touched the wing of the other cherub.

13 And so the wings of both cherubim were stretched out and extended for twenty cubits. Now they were standing upright on their feet, and their faces were turned toward the exterior house.

14 Also, he made a veil from hyacinth, purple, scarlet, and fine linen. And he wove within it cherubim.

15 And also, before the doors of the temple, there were two pillars, having a height of thirty-five cubits. But their heads were of five cubits.

16 Then too, there were something like little chains on the oracle, and he placed these upon the heads of the pillars. And there were one hundred pomegranates, which he placed between the little chains.

17 Also, he placed these pillars in the vestibule of the temple, one to the right, and the other to the left. The one that was on the right, he called Jachin; and the one that was on the left, Boaz.

1 Also, he made a brass altar of twenty cubits in length, and of twenty cubits in width, and of ten cubits in height,

2 as well as a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in its circumference. It had five cubits in height, and a line of thirty cubits went around it on all sides.

3 Also, under it there was the likeness of oxen. And certain engravings encircled the cavity of the sea, along ten cubits of the outside, as if in two rows. Now the oxen were molten.

4 And the sea itself was placed upon the twelve oxen, three of which were looking toward the north, and another three toward the west, then another three toward the south, and the three that remained toward the east, having the sea imposed upon them. But the posteriors of the oxen were toward the interior, under the sea.

5 Now its thickness had the measure of the palm of a hand, and its brim was like the lip of a cup, or like the outturned petal of a lily. And it held three thousand measures.

6 Also, he made ten basins. And he placed five on the right, and five on the left, so that they might wash in them all the things that they were to offer as holocausts. But the priests were to be washed in the sea.

7 Then he also made ten gold lampstands, according to the form by which they had been ordered to be made. And he set them in the temple, five on the right, and five on the left.

8 Moreover, there were also ten tables. And he placed them in the temple, five on the right, and five on the left. Also, there were one hundred gold bowls.

9 Then too, he made the court of the priests, and a great hall, and doors in the hall, which he covered with brass.

10 Now he placed the sea on the right side, facing the east, toward the south.

11 Then Hiram made cooking pots and hooks and bowls. And he completed every work of the king in the house of God,

12 that is, the two pillars, and the crossbeams, and the heads, and something like a little net, which would cover the heads above the crossbeams,

13 and also four hundred pomegranates, and two little nets, so that two rows of pomegranates were joined to each net, which would cover the crossbeams and the heads of the pillars.

14 He also made bases; and basins that he placed upon the bases;

15 one sea, and twelve oxen under the sea;

16 and cooking pots and hooks and bowls. Hiram, his father, made all the vessels for Solomon, in the house of the Lord, from the purest brass.

17 The king cast these in the region near the Jordan, in the clay soil between Succoth and Zeredah.

18 Now the multitude of the vessels was innumerable, so much so that the weight of the brass was unknown.

19 And Solomon made all the vessels for the house of God, and the gold altar, and the tables upon which were the bread of the presence;

20 and also, of the purest gold, the lampstands with their lamps, to shine before the oracle, according to the rite;

21 and certain flowers, and lamps, and gold tongs. All these were made from the purest gold.

22 Also, the vessels for the perfumes, and the censers, and the bowls, and the little mortars were from the purest gold. And he engraved the doors of the inner temple, that is, for the Holy of Holies. And the doors of the outer temple were of gold. And so, every work was completed that Solomon made in the house of the Lord.

1 Then Solomon brought in all the things that David his father had vowed, the silver, and the gold, and all the vessels, which he placed in the treasuries of the house of God.

2 After this, he gathered together those greater by birth of Israel, and all the leaders of the tribes, and the heads of the families, from the sons of Israel, to Jerusalem, so that they might bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the City of David, which is Zion.

3 And so, all the men of Israel went to the king, on the solemn day of the seventh month.

4 And when all the elders of Israel had arrived, the Levites carried the ark,

5 and they brought it in, along with all the equipment of the tabernacle. Then too, the priests with the Levites carried the vessels of the sanctuary, which were in the tabernacle.

6 Now king Solomon, and the entire assembly of Israel, and all who had gathered together before the ark, were immolating rams and oxen without any number, for so great was the multitude of the victims.

7 And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, that is, to the oracle of the temple, in the Holy of Holies, under the wings of the cherubim,

8 so that the cherubim extended their wings over the place where the ark was positioned, and they covered the ark itself and its bars.

9 But concerning the bars by which the ark was carried, because they were a little longer, the ends were able to be seen before the oracle. Yet truly, if anyone were a little ways toward the exterior, he would not be able to see them. And so the ark has been in that place, even to the present day.

10 And there was nothing else in the ark, except the two tablets, which Moses had placed there at Horeb when the Lord gave the law to the sons of Israel, at the departure from Egypt.

11 And having gone out from the Sanctuary, the priests (for all the priests who were able to be found there were sanctified, and in that time the turns and orders of the ministries had not yet been divided among them)

12 with both the Levites and the singing men, that is, those who were under Asaph, and those who were under Heman, and those who were under Jeduthun, with their sons and brothers, clothed in fine linen, sounded out with cymbals, and psalteries, and harps, standing toward the eastern side of the altar. And with them were one hundred twenty priests, sounding out with trumpets.

13 And when they all sounded out together, with trumpets, and voice, and cymbals, and pipes, and with various kinds of musical instruments, lifting their voice on high, the sound was heard from far away, so that when they had begun to praise the Lord, and to say, “Confess to the Lord, for he is good; for his mercy is eternal,” the house of God was filled with a cloud.

14 Neither were the priests able to stand and to minister, because of the cloud. For the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God.

1 Then Solomon said: “The Lord has promised that he would dwell in a cloud.

2 But I have built a house to his name, so that he may dwell there forever.”

3 And the king turned his face, and he blessed the entire multitude of Israel, (for the whole crowd was standing and attentive) and he said:

4 “Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, who has completed the work that he spoke to David my father, saying:

5 ‘From the day when I led my people away from the land of Egypt, I did not choose a city from all the tribes of Israel, so that a house would be built in it to my name. And I did not choose any other man, so that he would be the ruler of my people Israel.

6 But I chose Jerusalem, so that my name would be in it. And I chose David, so that I might appoint him over my people Israel.’

7 And though David, my father, had decided that he would build a house to the name of the Lord God of Israel,

8 the Lord said to him: ‘In so far as it was your will that you build a house to my name, certainly you have done well in having such a will.

9 But you shall not build the house. Truly, your son, who will go forth from your loins, shall build a house to my name.’

10 Therefore, the Lord has accomplished his word, which he had spoken. And I have risen up in place of my father David, and I sit upon the throne of Israel, just as the Lord spoke. And I have built a house to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.

11 And I have placed in it the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord that he formed with the sons of Israel.”

12 Then he stood before the altar of the Lord, facing the entire multitude of Israel, and he extended his hands.

13 For indeed, Solomon had made a bronze base, and he had positioned it in the midst of the hall; it held five cubits in length, and five cubits in width, and three cubits in height. And he stood upon it. And next, kneeling down while facing the entire multitude of Israel, and lifting up his palms towards heaven,

14 he said: “O Lord God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven or on earth. You preserve covenant and mercy with your servants, who walk before you with all their hearts.

15 You fulfilled for your servant David, my father, whatsoever you had said to him. And you carried out the deed that you promised with your mouth, just as the present time proves.

16 Now then, O Lord God of Israel, fulfill for your servant David, my father, whatsoever you said to him, saying: ‘There shall not fail to be a man from you before me, who will sit upon the throne of Israel, yet only if your sons will guard their ways, and will walk in my law, just as you also have walked before me.’

17 And now, O Lord God of Israel, let your word be confirmed that you spoke to your servant David.

18 How then is it to be believe that God would dwell with men upon the earth? If heaven and the heavens of the heavens do not contain you, how much less this house that I have built?

19 But it has been done for this only, so that you may look with favor upon the prayer of your servant, and on his supplication, O Lord my God, and so that you may hear the prayers which your servant pours out before you,

20 and so that you may open your eyes over this house, day and night, over the place where you promised that your name would be invoked,

21 and so that you may heed the prayer which your servant is praying within it, and so that you may heed the prayers of your servant and of your people Israel. Whoever will pray in this place, listen from your habitation, that is, from heaven, and forgive.

22 If anyone will have sinned against his neighbor, and he arrives to swear against him, and to bind himself with a curse before the altar in this house,

23 you will hear him from heaven, and you will execute justice for your servants, so that you return, to the iniquitous man, his own way upon his own head, and so that you vindicate the just man, repaying him according to his own justice.

24 If your people Israel will have been overwhelmed by their enemies, (for they will sin against you) and having been converted will do penance, and if they will have beseeched your name, and will have prayed in this place,

25 you will heed them from heaven, and you will forgive the sin of your people Israel, and you will lead them back into the land that you gave to them and to their fathers.

26 If the heavens have been closed, so that rain does not fall, because of the sin of the people, and if they will petition you in this place, and confess to your name, and be converted from their sins when you will afflict them,

27 heed them from heaven, O Lord, and forgive the sins of your servants and of your people Israel, and teach them the good way, by which they may advance, and give rain to the land that you gave to your people as a possession.

28 If a famine will have risen up in the land, or pestilence, or fungus, or mildew, or locusts, or beetles, or if enemies will have laid waste to the countryside and will have besieged the gates of the cities, or whatever scourge or infirmity will have pressed upon them,

29 if anyone from your people Israel, knowing his own scourge and infirmity, will have made supplication and will have extended his hands in this house,

30 you will heed him from heaven, indeed from your sublime habitation, and you will forgive, and you will repay each one according to his ways, which you know him to hold in his heart. For you alone know the hearts of the sons of men.

31 So may they fear you, and so may they walk in your ways, during all the days that they live upon the face of the land, which you gave to our fathers.

32 Also, if the outsider, who is not from your people Israel, will have arrived from a far away land, because of your great name, and because of your robust hand and your outstretched arm, and if he will adore in this place,

33 you will heed him from heaven, your most firm habitation, and you will accomplish all the things about which this sojourner will have called out to you, so that all the people of the earth may know your name, and may fear you, just as your people Israel do, and so that they may know that your name is invoked over this house, which I have built.

34 If, having gone out to war against their adversaries along the way that you will send them, your people adore you facing in the direction of this city, which you have chosen, and of this house, which I have built to your name,

35 you will heed their prayers from heaven, and their supplications, and you will vindicate them.

36 But if they will have sinned against you (for there is no man who does not sin) and you will have become angry against them, and if you will have delivered them to their enemies, and so they lead them away as captives to a far away land, or even to one that is near,

37 and if, having been converted in their heart in the land to which they had been led as captives, they will do penance, and beseech you in the land of their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned; we have committed iniquity; we have acted unjustly,’

38 and if they will have returned to you, with their whole heart and with their whole soul, in the land of their captivity to which they were led away, and if they will adore you in the direction of their own land, which you gave to their fathers, and of the city, which you have chosen, and of the house, which I have built to your name,

39 from heaven, that is, from your firm habitation, you will heed their prayers, and you will accomplish judgment, and you will forgive your people, even though they are sinners.

40 For you are my God. Let your eyes be open, I beg you, and let your ears be attentive to the prayer that is made in this place.

41 Now therefore, rise up, O Lord God, to your resting place, you and the ark of your strength. Let your priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation, and let your holy ones rejoice in what is good.

42 O Lord God, may you not turn away from the face of your Christ. Remember the mercies of your servant, David.”

1 And when Solomon had completed pouring out his prayers, fire descended from heaven, and it devoured the holocausts and the victims. And the majesty of the Lord filled the house.

2 Neither were the priests able to enter into the temple of the Lord, because the majesty of the Lord had filled the temple of the Lord.

3 Moreover, all the sons of Israel saw the fire descending, and the glory of the Lord upon the house. And falling prone upon the ground, on the layer of pavement stones, they adored and praised the Lord: “For he is good. For his mercy is everlasting.”

4 Then the king and all the people were immolating victims before the Lord.

5 And so, king Solomon slaughtered victims: twenty-two thousand oxen, and one hundred twenty thousand rams. And the king and the entire people dedicated the house of God.

6 Then the priests and the Levites were standing in their offices, with the instruments of music for the Lord, which king David made in order to praise the Lord: “For his mercy is eternal.” And they were playing the hymns of David with their hands. And the priests were sounding out with trumpets before them, and all of Israel was standing.

7 Also, Solomon sanctified the middle of the atrium in front of the temple of the Lord. For he had offered the holocausts and the fat of peace offerings in that place because the bronze altar, which he had made, had not been able to support the holocausts and the sacrifices and the fat.

8 Therefore, Solomon kept the solemnity, at that time, for seven days, and all of Israel with him, a very great assembly, from the entrance of Hamath, even to the torrent of Egypt.

9 And on the eighth day, he held a solemn gathering, because he had dedicated the altar over seven days, and he had celebrated the solemnity over seven days.

10 And so, on the twenty-third day of the seventh month, he dismissed the people to their dwellings, joyful and glad over the good that the Lord had done for David, and for Solomon, and for his people Israel.

11 And Solomon completed the house of the Lord, and the house of the king, and all that he had resolved in his heart to do for the house of the Lord, and for his own house. And he prospered.

12 Then the Lord appeared to him by night, and said: “I have heard your prayer, and I have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice.

13 If I close up heaven, so that no rain will fall, or if I order and instruct the locust to devour the land, or if I send a pestilence among my people,

14 and if my people, over whom my name has been invoked, being converted, will have petitioned me and sought my face, and will have done penance for their wicked ways, then I will heed them from heaven, and I will forgive their sins, and I will heal their land.

15 Also, my eyes will be open, and my ears will be attentive, to the prayer of him who shall pray in this place.

16 For I have chosen and sanctified this place, so that my name may be there continually, and so that my eyes and my heart may remain there, for all days.

17 And as for you, if you will walk before me, just as your father David walked, and if you will act in accord with all that I have instructed you, and if you will observe my justices and judgments,

18 I will raise up the throne of your kingdom, just as I promised to your father David, saying: ‘There shall not be taken away a man from your stock who will be ruler in Israel.’

19 But if you will have turned away, and will have forsaken my justices and my precepts, which I have set before you, and going astray, you serve strange gods, and you adore them,

20 I will uproot you from my land, which I gave to you, and from this house, which I sanctified to my name, and I will cast it away from before my face, and I will deliver it to be a parable and an example for all the peoples.

21 And this house will be like a proverb to all who pass by. And being astonished, they shall say: ‘Why has the Lord acted this way toward this land and toward this house?’

22 And they shall respond: ‘Because they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who led them away from the land of Egypt, and they took hold of foreign gods, and they adored and worshipped them. Therefore, all these evils have overwhelmed them.’ “

1 Then, twenty years having passed since Solomon built the house of the Lord and his own house,

2 he built the cities that Hiram had given to Solomon, and he caused the sons of Israel to live there.

3 Also, he went to Hamath Zobah, and he obtained it.

4 And he built Palmira in the desert, and he built very fortified cities in Hamath.

5 And he built upper Beth-horon and lower Beth-horon, as walled cities, having gates and bars and locks,

6 as well as Baalath, and all the very strong cities which were of Solomon, and all the cities of the chariots, and the cities of the horsemen. Everything whatsoever that Solomon willed and decided, he built in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and throughout the entire land of his authority.

7 All the people who had been left from the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, those who were not from the stock of Israel,

8 those of their sons and their posterity whom the sons of Israel had not put to death, Solomon subjugated as tributaries, even to this day.

9 But he did not appoint anyone from the sons of Israel to serve in the works of the king. For they were men of war, and first rulers, and commanders of his chariots and horsemen.

10 Now all the leaders of the army of king Solomon were two hundred fifty, who were instructing the people.

11 Truly, he transferred the daughter of Pharaoh, from the City of David, to the house that he had built for her. For the king said: “My wife shall not live in the house of David, king of Israel, for it has been sanctified. For the ark of the Lord has entered into it.”

12 Then Solomon offered holocausts to the Lord on the altar of the Lord, which he had constructed before the portico,

13 so that every day there would be an offering on it, in accord with precept of Moses, on the Sabbaths, and on the new moons, and three times a year on the feast days, that is, on the solemnity of unleavened bread, and on the solemnity of weeks, and in the solemnity of tabernacles.

14 And he appointed, in accord with the plan of his father David, the offices of the priests in their ministries; and those of the Levites, in their orders, so that they might praise and minister before the priests according to the ritual of each day; and the porters, in their divisions, from gate to gate. For so had David, the man of God, instructed.

15 Neither the priests, nor the Levites, transgressed against the commands of the king, in all that he had instructed, and in the keeping of the treasuries.

16 Solomon had all the expenses prepared, from the day on which he founded the house of the Lord, even until the day when he perfected it.

17 Then Solomon went away to Eziongeber, and to Eloth, on the coast of the Red Sea, which is in the land of Edom.

18 And Hiram sent to him ships, by the hands of his servants, sailors and skillful navigators of the sea, and they went away with the servants of Solomon to Ophir. And they took from there four hundred fifty talents of gold, and they brought it to king Solomon.

1 Also, when the queen of Sheba had heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem, with great riches and with camels which were carrying aromatics, and very much gold, and precious gems, so that she might test him with enigmas. And when she had approached Solomon, she spoke to him all that was in her heart.

2 And Solomon explained for her all that she had proposed. And there was nothing that he did not make clear to her.

3 And after she saw these things, specifically, the wisdom of Solomon, and the house which he had built,

4 indeed also the foods of his table, and the habitations of the servants, and the duties of his ministers, and their apparel, and also his cupbearers and their garments, and the victims which he was immolating in the house of the Lord, there was no longer any spirit in her, due to astonishment.

5 And she said to the king: “The word is true, which I had heard in my own land, about your virtues and wisdom.

6 I did not believe those who described it, until I had arrived and my eyes had seen, and I had proven that not even half of your wisdom had been described to me. You have exceeded your fame with your virtue.

7 Blessed are your men, and blessed are your servants, who stand before you at all times and listen to your wisdom.

8 Blessed is the Lord your God, who willed to set you upon his throne as a king for the Lord your God. Since God loves Israel, he wishes to preserve them unto eternity. For this reason, he appointed you as king over them, so that you may accomplish judgment and justice.”

9 Then she gave to the king one hundred twenty talents of gold, and an exceedingly great abundance of aromatics, and very precious gems. Never were there such aromatics as those that the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.

10 Then too, the servants of Hiram, with the servants of Solomon, brought gold from Ophir, and wood from thyine trees, and very precious gems.

11 And the king made, from this particular thyine wood, steps in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king, and also harps and psalteries for the singing men. Never was there seen such wood in the land of Judah.

12 Then king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, and all that she requested, and much more than what she had brought to him. And returning, she went away to her own land with her servants.

13 Now the weight of the gold, which was being brought to Solomon throughout each year, was six hundred sixty-six talents of gold,

14 apart from the sum that the legates of various nations and the merchants were accustomed to bring, and apart from the gold and silver that all the kings of Arabia, and the princes of the lands, were bringing together for Solomon.

15 And so, king Solomon made two hundred gold spears, from six hundred gold pieces, the amount used for each spear,

16 and also three hundred gold shields, from three hundred gold pieces, which covered each shield. And the king placed them in the armory, which was situated in a forest.

17 Also, the king made a great ivory throne, and he clothed it with the purest gold.

18 And there were six steps, by which he would ascend to the throne, and a footstool of gold, and two arms, one on each side, and two lions standing beside the arms.

19 Moreover, there were twelve additional little lions standing upon the six steps on both sides. There was no similar throne in all the kingdoms.

20 Also, all the vessels for the feasts of the king were of gold, and the vessels of the forest house of Lebanon were from the purest gold. For silver in those days was considered as nothing.

21 For indeed, the ships of the king went to Tarshish, with the servants of Hiram, once every three years. And they brought from there gold, and silver, and ivory, and primates, and peacocks.

22 And so, Solomon was magnified above all the kings of the earth in wealth and glory.

23 And all the kings of the lands were desiring to see the face of Solomon, so that they might hear the wisdom that God had granted to his heart.

24 And they were bringing to him gifts, vessels of silver and of gold, and garments, and armor, and aromatics, and horses, and mules, throughout each year.

25 Also, Solomon had forty thousand horses in the stables, and twelve thousand chariots and horsemen, and he appointed them to the cities of the chariots, and where the king was in Jerusalem.

26 Now he also exercised authority over all the kings from the river Euphrates as far as the land of the Philistines, and as far as the borders of Egypt.

27 And he brought forth so much silver that it was as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones. And cedar trees were as great in number as the sycamores that spring up in the plains.

28 And horses were brought to him from Egypt and from every region.

29 Now the rest of the works of Solomon, the first and the last, have been written in the words of Nathan, the prophet, and in the books of Ahijah, the Shilonite, as well as in the vision of Iddo, the seer, against Jeroboam, the son of Nabat.

30 And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem, over all of Israel, for forty years.

31 And he slept with his fathers. And they buried him in the City of David. And his son, Rehoboam, reigned in his place.

1 Now Rehoboam set out for Shechem. For in that place all of Israel had convened, so that they might appoint him as king.

2 But when Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, who was in Egypt, (indeed he had fled to that place from Solomon) had heard it, he promptly returned.

3 And they summoned him, and he arrived with all of Israel. And they spoke to Rehoboam, saying:

4 “Your father pressed upon us a very difficult yoke. You should govern us more lightly than your father, who imposed on us a heavy servitude, and so lift up some of the burden, so that we may serve you.”

5 But he said, “Return to me after three days.” And when the people had gone away,

6 he took counsel with the elders, who had stood before his father Solomon while he was still living, saying, “What counsel would you give to me, so that I may respond to the people?”

7 And they said to him, “If you please this people, and if you soothe them with words of clemency, they will be your servants for all days.”

8 But he set aside the counsel of the elders, and he began to have discussion with the youth, who had been raised with him and who were among his companions.

9 And he said to them: “How does it seem to you? Or how should I respond to this people, who have said to me, ‘Lift up the yoke that your father imposed upon us?’ “

10 But they responded like youths, having been raised with him in luxury, and they said: “So shall you speak to the people, who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy; you should lighten it,’ and so shall you respond to them: ‘My little finger is thicker than the back of my father.

11 My father imposed a heavy yoke upon you, and I will place more weight upon it. My father cut you with whips; truly, I will beat you with scorpions.’ “

12 Then Jeroboam, and the entire people, went to Rehoboam on the third day, just as he had instructed them.

13 And the king responded harshly, abandoning the counsel of the elders.

14 And he spoke according to the will of the youths: “My father imposed a heavy yoke upon you, which I will make heavier. My father cut you with whips; truly, I will beat you with scorpions.”

15 And he did not acquiesce to the pleadings of the people. For it was the will of God that his word be fulfilled, which he had spoken by the hand of Ahijah, the Shilonite, to Jeroboam, the son of Nabat.

16 Then the entire people, speaking more harshly to the king, spoke to him in this way: “There is no portion for us in David, and there is no inheritance in the son of Jesse. Return to your dwellings, O Israel. Then you, O David, shall pasture your own house.” And Israel went away to their dwellings.

17 But Rehoboam reigned over the sons of Israel who were living in the cities of Judah.

18 And king Rehoboam sent Aduram, who was in charge of the tributes. And the sons of Israel stoned him, and he died. And so king Rehoboam hurried to climb into the chariot, and he fled to Jerusalem.

19 And Israel withdrew from the house of David, even to this day.

1 Then Rehoboam went to Jerusalem, and he called together the entire house of Judah and of Benjamin, one hundred eighty thousand elect men of war, so that he might contend against Israel, and turn back his kingdom to himself.

2 And the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, the man of God, saying:

3 “Speak to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, the king of Judah, and to all of Israel who are of Judah, or of Benjamin:

4 Thus says the Lord: You shall not ascend and fight against your brothers. Let each one return to his own house. For it is by my will that this has happened.” And when they had heard the word of the Lord, they turned back, and they did not continue on against Jeroboam.

5 Then Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem, and he built fortified cities in Judah.

6 And he built up Bethlehem, and Etam, and Tekoa,

7 and also Bethzur, and Soco, and Adullam,

8 indeed also Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph,

9 then too Adoram, and Lachish, and Azekah,

10 as well as Zorah, and Aijalon, and Hebron, which were very fortified cities in Judah and in Benjamin.

11 And when he had enclosed them with walls, he placed in them rulers, and storehouses of provisions, that is, of oil and wine.

12 Moreover, in each city he made an armory of shields and spears, and he strengthened them with the utmost diligence. And he ruled over Judah and Benjamin.

13 Then the priests and Levites, who were in all of Israel, came to him from all their settlements,

14 leaving behind their suburbs and possessions, and crossing over to Judah and to Jerusalem. For Jeroboam and his followers had cast them out, so that they could not exercise the priestly office to the Lord.

15 And he appointed for himself priests of high places, and of demons, and of calves that he had made.

16 Moreover, out of all the tribes of Israel, whosoever would give their heart so that they sought the Lord God of Israel, they went to Jerusalem to immolate their victims before the Lord, the God of their fathers.

17 And they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and they confirmed Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, for three years. For they walked in the ways of David and of Solomon, but only for three years.

18 Then Rehoboam took as wife Mahalath, the daughter of Jerimoth, son of David, and also Abihail, the daughter of Eliab, son of Jesse.

19 They bore sons for him: Jeush, and Shemariah, and Zaham.

20 And also after her, he married Maacah, the daughter of Absalom, who bore for him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith.

21 But Rehoboam loved Maacah, the daughter of Absalom, above all his wives and concubines. For he had taken eighteen wives and sixty concubines. And he conceived twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.

22 Truly, he appointed as the head, Abijah, the son of Maacah, to be the ruler over all his brothers. For he thought to make him king,

23 since he was wiser and more powerful than all his sons, even in all the regions of Judah and Benjamin, and in all the fortified cities. And he provided them with very much food, and he sought many wives.