Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom

3 ^vSolomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt. He took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her into ^wthe city of David until he had finished ^xbuilding his own house ^yand the house of the Lord ^zand the wall around Jerusalem. 2 ^aThe people were sacrificing at the high places, however, because no house had yet been built for the name of the Lord.

3 Solomon ^bloved the Lord, ^cwalking in the statutes of David his father, only he sacrificed and made offerings at the high places. 4 And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, ^dfor that was the great high place. Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5 ^eAt Gibeon ^fthe Lord appeared to Solomon ^gin a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.” 6 And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because ^hhe walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and ⁱhave given him a son to sit on his throne this day. 7 And now, O Lord my God, ^jyou have made your servant king in place of David my father, ^kalthough I am but a little child. I do not know ^lhow to go out or come in. 8 ^mAnd your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, ⁿtoo many to be numbered or counted for multitude. 9 ^oGive your servant therefore an understanding mind ^pto govern your people, that I may ^qdiscern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”

10 It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. 11 And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, 12 behold, ^rI now do according to your word. Behold, ^sI give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. 13 ^tI give you also what you have not asked, ^uboth riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days. 14 And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, ^vas your father David walked, then ^wI will lengthen your days.”

15 And Solomon ^xawoke, and behold, it was a dream. Then he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt offerings and peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.

Solomon’s Wisdom

16 Then two prostitutes came to the king ^yand stood before him. 17 The one woman said, “Oh, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house. 18 Then on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. And we were alone. There was no one else with us in the house; only we two were in the house. 19 And this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him. 20 And she arose at midnight and took my son from beside me, while your servant slept, and laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast. 21 When I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, he was dead. But when I looked at him closely in the morning, behold, he was not the child that I had borne.” 22 But the other woman said, “No, the living child is mine, and the dead child is yours.” The first said, “No, the dead child is yours, and the living child is mine.” Thus they spoke before the king.

23 Then the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son that is alive, and your son is dead’; and the other says, ‘No; but your son is dead, and my son is the living one.’” 24 And the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So a sword was brought before the king. 25 And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.” 26 Then the woman whose son was alive said to the king, because ^zher heart yearned for her son, “Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him to death.” But the other said, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him.” 27 Then the king answered and said, “Give the living child to the first woman, and by no means put him to death; she is his mother.” 28 And all Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered, and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that ^athe wisdom of God was in him to do justice.

Solomon’s Officials

4 King Solomon was king over all Israel, 2 and these were his high officials: Azariah the son of Zadok was ^bthe priest; 3 Elihoreph and Ahijah the sons of Shisha were secretaries; ^cJehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; 4 ^dBenaiah the son of Jehoiada was in command of the army; ^eZadok and Abiathar were priests; 5 Azariah the son of Nathan was over ^fthe officers; Zabud the son of Nathan was priest and ^gking’s friend; 6 Ahishar was in charge of the palace; and ^hAdoniram the son of Abda was in charge of ⁱthe forced labor.

7 Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household. Each man had to make provision for one month in the year. 8 These were their names: Ben-hur, in ^jthe hill country of Ephraim; 9 Ben-deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elonbeth-hanan; 10 Ben-hesed, in Arubboth (to him belonged Socoh and all the land of Hepher); 11 Ben-abinadab, in all ^kNaphath-dor (he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon as his wife); 12 Baana the son of Ahilud, in ^lTaanach, Megiddo, and all ^lBeth-shean that is beside Zarethan below Jezreel, and from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, as far as the other side of Jokmeam; 13 Ben-geber, ^min Ramoth-gilead (he had ⁿthe villages of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead, and he had ^othe region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars); 14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim; 15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he had taken Basemath the daughter of Solomon as his wife); 16 Baana the son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth; 17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar; 18 ^pShimei the son of Ela, in Benjamin; 19 Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, ^qthe country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan. And there was one governor who was over the land.

Solomon’s Wealth and Wisdom

20 Judah and Israel were as many ^ras the sand by the sea. They ate and drank and were happy. ¹ 21 ^sSolomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the ^tEuphrates² to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. ^uThey brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.

22 Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty cors³ of fine flour and sixty cors of meal, 23 ten fat oxen, and twenty pasture-fed cattle, a hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened fowl. 24 For he had dominion over all the region west of the Euphrates⁴ from Tiphsah to ^vGaza, over all the kings west of the Euphrates. ^wAnd he had peace on all sides around him. 25 And Judah and Israel ^xlived in safety, ^yfrom Dan even to Beersheba, ^zevery man under his vine and under his fig tree, all the days of Solomon. 26 ^aSolomon also had 40,000⁵ stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 horsemen. 27 And those officers supplied provisions for King Solomon, and for all who came to King Solomon’s table, each one in his month. They let nothing be lacking. 28 Barley also and straw for the horses and ^bswift steeds they brought to the place where it was required, each according to his duty.

29 ^cAnd God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind ^dlike the sand on the seashore, 30 so that Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all ^ethe people of the east ^fand all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 For he was ^cwiser than all other men, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol, and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. 32 ^gHe also spoke 3,000 proverbs, ^hand his songs were 1,005. 33 He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall. He spoke also of beasts, and of birds, and of reptiles, and of fish. 34 And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from ⁱall the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.

Preparations for Building the Temple

5 ¹ Now ^jHiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, ^kfor Hiram always loved David. 2 And Solomon sent word to Hiram, 3 ^l“You know that David my father could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God ^mbecause of the warfare with which his enemies surrounded him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. 4 ⁿBut now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side. There is neither adversary nor misfortune. 5 And so I intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, ^oas the Lord said to David my father, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, shall build the house for my name.’ 6 Now therefore command that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me. And my servants will join your servants, and I will pay you for your servants such wages as you set, for you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”

7 As soon as Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the Lord this day, who has given to David a wise son to be over this great people.” 8 And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, “I have heard the message that you have sent to me. I am ready to do all you desire in the matter of cedar and cypress timber. 9 My servants shall bring it down to the sea from Lebanon, and I will make it into rafts to go by sea to the place you direct. And I will have them broken up there, and you shall receive it. And you shall meet my wishes ^pby providing food for my household.” 10 So Hiram supplied Solomon with all the timber of cedar and cypress that he desired, 11 while Solomon gave Hiram 20,000 cors² of wheat as food for his household, and 20,000³ cors of beaten oil. Solomon gave this to Hiram year by year. 12 And the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, ^qas he promised him. And there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.

13 King Solomon drafted ^rforced labor out of all Israel, and the draft numbered 30,000 men. 14 And he sent them to Lebanon, 10,000 a month in shifts. They would be a month in Lebanon and two months at home. ^sAdoniram was in charge of the draft. 15 Solomon also ^thad 70,000 burden-bearers and 80,000 stonecutters in the hill country, 16 besides Solomon’s 3,300 ^uchief officers who were over the work, ^vwho had charge of the people who carried on the work. 17 At the king’s command ^wthey quarried out great, costly stones in order to lay the foundation of the house with dressed stones. 18 So Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders and ^xthe men of Gebal did the cutting and prepared the timber and the stone to build the house.

Solomon Builds the Temple

6 ^yIn the four hundred and eightieth year after the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, ^zhe began to build the house of the Lord. 2 ^aThe house that King Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits¹ long, twenty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high. 3 The vestibule in front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits long, equal to the width of the house, and ten cubits deep in front of the house. 4 And ^bhe made for the house windows with recessed frames.² 5 ^cHe also built a structure³ against the wall of the house, running around the walls of the house, both the nave and ^dthe inner sanctuary. And he made ^eside chambers all around. 6 The lowest story⁴ was five cubits broad, the middle one was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad. For around the outside of the house he made offsets on the wall in order that the supporting beams should not be inserted into the walls of the house.

7 When the house was built, ^fit was with stone prepared at the quarry, so that neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was being built.

8 The entrance for the lowest⁵ story was on the south side of the house, and one went up by stairs to the middle story, and from the middle story to the third. 9 ^gSo he built the house and finished it, and he made the ceiling of the house of beams and planks of cedar. 10 He built the structure against the whole house, five cubits high, and it was joined to the house with timbers of cedar.

11 Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon, 12 “Concerning this house that you are building, ^hif you will walk in my statutes and obey my rules and keep all my commandments and walk in them, then I will establish my word with you, ⁱwhich I spoke to David your father. 13 And ^jI will dwell among the children of Israel ^kand will not forsake my people Israel.”

14 ^lSo Solomon built the house and finished it. 15 He lined the walls of the house on the inside with boards of cedar. From the floor of the house to the walls of the ceiling, he covered them on the inside with wood, ^mand he covered the floor of the house with boards of cypress. 16 ⁿHe built twenty cubits of the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the walls, and he built this within as an inner sanctuary, as ^othe Most Holy Place. 17 The house, that is, the nave in front of the inner sanctuary, was forty cubits long. 18 The cedar within the house was carved in the form of ^pgourds and open flowers. All was cedar; no stone was seen. 19 The inner sanctuary he prepared in the innermost part of the house, to set there the ark of the covenant of the Lord. 20 The inner sanctuary⁶ was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high, and he overlaid it with pure gold. He also overlaid⁷ an altar of cedar. 21 And Solomon overlaid the inside of the house with pure gold, and he drew chains of gold across, in front of the inner sanctuary, and overlaid it with gold. 22 And he overlaid the whole house with gold, until all the house was finished. ^qAlso the whole altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold.

23 ^rIn the inner sanctuary ^she made two cherubim of olivewood, each ten cubits high. 24 Five cubits was the length of one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the length of the other wing of the cherub; it was ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other. 25 The other cherub also measured ten cubits; both cherubim had the same measure and the same form. 26 The height of one cherub was ten cubits, and so was that of the other cherub. 27 He put the cherubim in the innermost part of the house. ^tAnd the wings of the cherubim were spread out so that a wing of one touched the one wall, and a wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; their other wings touched each other in the middle of the house. 28 And he overlaid the cherubim with gold.

29 Around all the walls of the house he carved engraved figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, in the inner and outer rooms. 30 The floor of the house he overlaid with gold in the inner and outer rooms.

31 For the entrance to the inner sanctuary he made doors of olivewood; the lintel and the doorposts were five-sided.⁸ 32 He covered the two doors of olivewood with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. He overlaid them with gold and spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees.

33 So also he made for the entrance to the nave doorposts of olivewood, in the form of a square, 34 and two doors of cypress wood. ^uThe two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding. 35 On them he carved cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, and he overlaid them with gold evenly applied on the carved work. 36 ^vHe built the inner court with three courses of cut stone and one course of cedar beams.

37 ^wIn the fourth year the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid, in the month of Ziv. 38 And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its parts, and according to all its specifications. He was seven years in building it.

Solomon Builds His Palace

7 Solomon was ^xbuilding his own house thirteen years, and he finished his entire house.

2 He built ^ythe House of the Forest of Lebanon. Its length was a hundred cubits¹ and its breadth fifty cubits and its height thirty cubits, and it was built on four² rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams on the pillars. 3 And it was covered with cedar above the chambers that were on the forty-five pillars, fifteen in each row. 4 There were window frames in three rows, and window opposite window in three tiers. 5 All the doorways and windows³ had square frames, and window was opposite window in three tiers.

6 And he made ^zthe Hall of Pillars; its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth thirty cubits. There was a porch in front with pillars, and ^aa canopy in front of them.

7 And he made the Hall of the Throne where he was to pronounce judgment, even the Hall of Judgment. ^bIt was finished with cedar from floor to rafters.⁴

8 His own house where he was to dwell, in the other court back of the hall, was of like workmanship. Solomon also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter ^cwhom he had taken in marriage.

9 All these were made of costly stones, cut according to measure, sawed with saws, back and front, even from the foundation to the coping, and from the outside to the great court. 10 The foundation was of costly stones, huge stones, stones of eight and ten cubits. 11 And above were costly stones, cut according to measurement, and cedar. 12 ^dThe great court had three courses of cut stone all around, and a course of cedar beams; so had the inner court of the house of the Lord and ^ethe vestibule of the house.

The Temple Furnishings

13 And King Solomon sent and brought ^fHiram from Tyre. 14 He was the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze. And ^ghe was full of wisdom, understanding, and skill for making any work in bronze. He came to King Solomon and did all his work.

15 ^hHe cast ⁱtwo pillars of bronze. ^jEighteen cubits was the height of one pillar, and a line of twelve cubits measured its circumference. It was hollow, and its thickness was four fingers. The second pillar was the same.⁵ 16 He also made two capitals of cast bronze to set on the tops of the pillars. The height of the one capital was five cubits, and ^jthe height of the other capital was five cubits. 17 There were lattices of checker work with wreaths of chain work for the capitals on the tops of the pillars, a lattice⁶ for the one capital and a lattice for the other capital. 18 Likewise he made pomegranates⁷ in two rows around the one latticework to cover the capital that was on the top of the pillar, and he did the same with the other capital. 19 Now the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars in the vestibule were of lily-work, four cubits. 20 The capitals were on the two pillars and also above the rounded projection which was beside the latticework. There were ^ktwo hundred pomegranates in two rows all around, and so with the other capital. 21 ^lHe set up the pillars at the vestibule of the temple. He set up the pillar on the south and called its name Jachin, and he set up the pillar on the north and called its name Boaz. 22 And on the tops of the pillars was lily-work. Thus the work of the pillars was finished.