Solomon Worships at Gibeon

1 ^aSolomon the son of David established himself in his kingdom, ^band the Lord his God was with him and made him exceedingly great.

2 Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the ^ccommanders of thousands and of hundreds, to the judges, and to all the leaders in all Israel, the heads of fathers’ houses. 3 And Solomon, and all the assembly with him, went to ^dthe high place that was at Gibeon, ^efor ^fthe tent of meeting of God, which Moses the servant of the Lord had made in the wilderness, was there. 4 ^g(But David had brought up the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim to the place that David had prepared for it, for he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem.) 5 Moreover, ^hthe bronze altar that ⁱBezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, had made, was there before the tabernacle of the Lord. And Solomon and the assembly ^jsought it¹ out. 6 And Solomon went up there to the bronze altar before the Lord, which was at the tent of meeting, ^kand offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.

Solomon Prays for Wisdom

7 ^lIn that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, “Ask what I shall give you.” 8 And Solomon said to God, “You have shown great and steadfast love to David my father, ^mand have made me king in his place. 9 O Lord God, ⁿlet your word to David my father be now fulfilled, for you have made me king over a people as numerous ^oas the dust of the earth. 10 Give me now wisdom and knowledge to ^pgo out and come in before this people, for who can govern this people of yours, which is so great?” 11 God answered Solomon, “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked for ^qpossessions, wealth, honor, or the life of those who hate you, and have not even asked for long life, but have asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself that you may govern my people over whom I have made you king, 12 wisdom and knowledge are granted to you. I will also give you ^qriches, possessions, and honor, ^rsuch as none of the kings had who were before you, and none after you shall have the like.” 13 So Solomon came from² the ^shigh place at Gibeon, from before ^tthe tent of meeting, to Jerusalem. And he reigned over Israel.

Solomon Given Wealth

14 ^uSolomon gathered together chariots and horsemen. ^vHe had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, whom he stationed ^win the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 15 And the king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the Shephelah. 16 And Solomon’s import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king’s traders would buy them from Kue for a price. 17 They imported a chariot from Egypt for 600 shekels³ of silver, and a horse for 150. Likewise through them these were exported to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.

Preparing to Build the Temple

1 ^xNow Solomon purposed to build a temple for the name of the Lord, and a royal palace for himself. ⁵ 2 ^yAnd Solomon assigned 70,000 men to bear burdens and 80,000 to quarry in the hill country, and ^z3,600 to oversee them. 3 ^aAnd Solomon sent word to Hiram the king of Tyre: ^b“As you dealt with David my father and sent him cedar to build himself a house to dwell in, so deal with me. 4 Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of the Lord my God and dedicate it to him for the burning of ^cincense of sweet spices before him, and for ^dthe regular arrangement of the showbread, and for ^eburnt offerings morning and evening, ^fon the Sabbaths and the new moons and the appointed feasts of the Lord our God, as ordained forever for Israel. 5 The house that I am to build will be great, ^gfor our God is greater than all gods. 6 ^hBut who is able to build him a house, since ^hheaven, even highest heaven, cannot contain him? Who am I to build a house for him, except as a place to make offerings before him? 7 So now ⁱsend me a man skilled to work in gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and in purple, crimson, and blue fabrics, trained also in engraving, to be with the skilled workers who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem, ^jwhom David my father provided. 8 Send me also cedar, cypress, and algum timber from Lebanon, for I know that ^kyour servants know how to cut timber in Lebanon. And my servants will be with your servants, 9 to prepare timber for me in abundance, for the house I am to build will be great and wonderful. 10 ^lI will give for your servants, the woodsmen who cut timber, 20,000 cors⁶ of crushed wheat, 20,000 cors of barley, 20,000 baths⁷ of wine, and 20,000 baths of oil.”

11 Then Hiram the king of Tyre answered in a letter that he sent to Solomon, ^m“Because the Lord loves his people, he has made you king over them.” 12 Hiram also said, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, ⁿwho made heaven and earth, who has given King David a wise son, who has discretion and understanding, ^owho will build a temple for the Lord and a royal palace for himself.

13 “Now I have sent a skilled man, who has understanding, Huram-abi, 14 ^pthe son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre. He is ^qtrained to work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, and in purple, blue, and crimson fabrics and fine linen, and to do all sorts of engraving and execute any design that may be assigned him, with your craftsmen, the craftsmen of my lord, David your father. 15 Now therefore the wheat and barley, oil and wine, ^rof which my lord has spoken, let him send to his servants. 16 ^sAnd we will cut whatever timber you need from Lebanon and bring it to you in rafts by sea to ^tJoppa, so that you may take it up to Jerusalem.”

17 Then Solomon counted all the resident aliens who were in the land of Israel, ^uafter the census of them that David his father had taken, and there were found 153,600. 18 ^vSeventy thousand of them he assigned to bear burdens, 80,000 to quarry in the hill country, and 3,600 as overseers to make the people work.

Solomon Builds the Temple

1 ^wThen Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem ^xon Mount Moriah, where the Lord⁸ had appeared to David his father, at the place that David had appointed, ^yon the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 2 He began to build in the second month of the fourth year of his reign. 3 These are Solomon’s ^zmeasurements⁹ for building the house of God: ^athe length, in cubits¹⁰ of the old standard, was sixty cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits. 4 The vestibule in front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits long, equal to the width of the house,¹¹ and its height was 120 cubits. He overlaid it on the inside with pure gold. 5 ^bThe nave he lined with cypress and covered it with fine gold ^cand made palms and chains on it. 6 He adorned the house with settings of precious stones. The gold was gold of Parvaim. 7 So he lined the house with gold—its beams, its thresholds, its walls, and its doors—^cand he carved cherubim on the walls.

8 ^dAnd he made the Most Holy Place. Its length, corresponding to the breadth of the house, was twenty cubits, and its breadth was twenty cubits. He overlaid it with 600 talents¹² of fine gold. 9 The weight of gold for the nails was fifty shekels.¹³ And he overlaid ^ethe upper chambers with gold.

10 ^fIn the Most Holy Place he made two cherubim of wood¹⁴ and overlaid¹⁵ them with gold. 11 The wings of the cherubim together extended twenty cubits: one wing of the one, of five cubits, touched the wall of the house, and its other wing, of five cubits, touched the wing of the other cherub; 12 and of this cherub, one wing, of five cubits, touched the wall of the house, and the other wing, also of five cubits, was joined to the wing of the first cherub. 13 The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits. The cherubim¹⁶ stood on their feet, ^gfacing the nave. 14 ^hAnd he made the veil of blue and purple and crimson fabrics and fine linen, and he worked cherubim on it.

15 ⁱIn front of the house he made two pillars thirty-five cubits high, with a capital of five cubits on the top of each. 16 He made chains like a necklace¹⁷ and put them on the tops of the pillars, and he made a hundred pomegranates and put them on the chains. 17 ^jHe set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the south, the other on the north; that on the south he called Jachin, and that on the north Boaz.

The Collection for the Saints

1 Now concerning^{1 e}the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. 2 On ^fthe first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, ^gas he may prosper, ^hso that there will be no collecting when I come. 3 And when I arrive, I will send ⁱthose whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. 4 If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.

Plans for Travel

5 ^jI will visit you after passing through ^kMacedonia, for ^lI intend to pass through Macedonia, 6 and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may ^mhelp me on my journey, wherever I go. 7 For I do not want to see you now ⁿjust in passing. I hope to spend some time with you, ^oif the Lord permits. 8 But I will stay in Ephesus until ^pPentecost, 9 for ^qa wide door for effective work has opened to me, and ^rthere are many adversaries.

10 ^sWhen Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for ^the is doing ^uthe work of the Lord, as I am. 11 So ^vlet no one despise him. ^wHelp him on his way ^xin peace, that he may return to me, for I am expecting him with the brothers.

Final Instructions

12 Now concerning ^your brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will² to come now. He will come when he has opportunity.

13 ^zBe watchful, ^astand firm in the faith, ^bact like men, ^cbe strong. 14 ^dLet all that you do be done in love.

15 Now I urge you, brothers³—you know that ^ethe household⁴ of Stephanas were ^fthe first converts in Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves ^gto the service of the saints— 16 ^hbe subject to such as these, and to every fellow worker and laborer. 17 I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have made up for ⁱyour absence, 18 for they ^jrefreshed my spirit as well as yours. ^kGive recognition to such people.

Greetings

19 The churches of Asia send you greetings. ^lAquila and Prisca, together with ^mthe church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord. 20 All the brothers send you greetings. ⁿGreet one another with a holy kiss.

21 I, Paul, write ^othis greeting with my own hand. 22 If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be ^paccursed. Our Lord, come!⁵ 23 ^qThe grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. 24 My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.