1 Kings 9

1And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD, and the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he was pleased to do,

2That the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon.

3And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.

4And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments:

5Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.

6But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them:

7Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people:

8And at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and to this house?

9And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil.

10And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD, and the king’s house,

11(Now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and fir trees, and with gold, according to all his desire,) that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.

12And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not.footnote a

13And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul unto this day.footnote b

14And Hiram sent to the king sixscore talents of gold.

15And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised; for to build the house of the LORD, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer.

16For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a present unto his daughter, Solomon’s wife.

17And Solomon built Gezer, and Beth-horon the nether,

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

19And all the cities of store that Solomon had, and cities for his chariots, and cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.footnote c

20And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of the children of Israel,

21Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bondservice unto this day.

22But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen: but they were men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and his captains, and rulers of his chariots, and his horsemen.

23These were the chief of the officers that were over Solomon’s work, five hundred and fifty, which bare rule over the people that wrought in the work.

24But Pharaoh’s daughter came up out of the city of David unto her house which Solomon had built for her: then did he build Millo.

25And three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt offerings and peace offerings upon the altar which he built unto the LORD, and he burnt incense upon the altar that was before the LORD. So he finished the house.footnote d

26And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Ezion-geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom.footnote e

27And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.

28And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.

The LORD’s Response to Solomon

1Now when Solomon had finished building the house of the LORD and the royal palace, and had achieved all that he had desired to do, 2the LORD appeared to him a second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3And the LORD said to him:
“I have heard your prayer and petition before Me. I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting My Name there forever; My eyes and My heart will be there for all time.

4And as for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, with a heart of integrity and uprightness, doing all I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and ordinances, 5then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised your father David when I said, ‘You will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’

6But if indeed you or your sons turn away from following Me and do not keep the commandments and statutes I have set before you, and if you go off to serve and worship other gods, 7then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and I will banish from My presence this temple I have sanctified for My Name. Then Israel will become an object of scorn and ridicule among all peoples.

8And when this temple has become a heap of rubble,footnote a all who pass by it will be appalled and will hiss and say, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ 9And others will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the LORD their God who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—because of this, the LORD has brought all this disaster upon them.’”

Solomon’s Additional Achievements

10Now at the end of the twenty years during which Solomon built these two houses, the house of the LORD and the royal palace, 11King Solomon gave twenty towns in the land of Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, who had supplied him with cedar and cypressfootnote b logs and gold for his every desire. 12So Hiram went out from Tyre to inspect the towns that Solomon had given him, but he was not pleased with them.

13“What are these towns you have given me, my brother?” asked Hiram, and he called them the Land of Cabul,footnote c as they are called to this day.

14And Hiram had sent the king 120 talents of gold.footnote d

15This is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon imposed to build the house of the LORD, his own palace, the supporting terraces,footnote e and the wall of Jerusalem, as well as Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.

16Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it on fire, killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife. 17So Solomon rebuilt Gezer, Lower Beth-horon, 18Baalath, and Tamarfootnote f in the Wilderness of Judah,footnote g 19as well as all the store cities that Solomon had for his chariots and horsesfootnote h—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and throughout the land of his dominion.

20As for all the people who remained of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites (the people who were not Israelites)— 21their descendants who remained in the land, those whom the Israelites were unable to devote to destructionfootnote i—Solomon conscripted these people to be forced laborers, as they are to this day.

22But Solomon did not consign any of the Israelites to slavery, because they were his men of war, his servants, his officers, his captains, and the commanders of his chariots and cavalry. 23They were also the chief officers over Solomon’s projects: 550 supervisors over the people who did the work.

24As soon as Pharaoh’s daughter had come up from the City of David to the palace that Solomon had built for her, he built the supporting terraces.

25Three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar he had built for the LORD, burning incense with them before the LORD. So he completed the temple.

26King Solomon also assembled a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, which is near Elothfootnote j in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea.footnote k 27And Hiram sent his servants, sailors who knew the sea, to serve in the fleet with Solomon’s servants. 28They sailed to Ophir and imported gold from there—420 talentsfootnote l—and delivered it to Solomon.