2 Chronicles 1; 2 Chronicles 2; 2 Chronicles 3; 2 Chronicles 4; 2 Chronicles 5; 2 Chronicles 6; 2 Chronicles 7; 2 Chronicles 8; 2 Chronicles 9

2 Chronicles 1

1 Shlomo the son of David grew stronger in his rulership; ADONAI his God was with him, making him greater and greater.

2 Shlomo spoke to all Isra'el - to the captains of thousands and of hundreds, to the judges and to every leader in all Isra'el, the heads of clans.

3 Shlomo and the whole community with him went to the high place at Giv'on, because in that place was God's tent of meeting, which Moshe the servant of ADONAI had made in the desert.

4 But the ark of God David had brought up from Kiryat-Ye'arim to the place he had prepared for it - he had set up a tent for it in Yerushalayim.

5 The bronze altar crafted by B'tzal'el the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had been placed before the tabernacle of ADONAI; and there Shlomo and the community consulted him.

6 On the bronze altar at the tent of meeting Shlomo offered a thousand burnt offerings before ADONAI.

7 That night God appeared to Shlomo and said to him, "Tell me what I should give you."

8 Shlomo said to God, "You showed much grace to your servant David my father and have made me king in his place.

9 Now, ADONAI, God, you have been faithful to your promise to David my father; for you have made me king over a people as numerous as the grains of dust on the earth.

10 So now, give me wisdom and knowledge; so that I will be able to lead this people. For who is equal to judging this great people of yours?"

11 God said to Shlomo, "Because you set your heart on this - because, instead of asking for riches, wealth, honor, the death of those who hate you, or long life, you asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself, so that you would be able to judge my people, over whom I made you king -

12 not only are wisdom and knowledge being given to you, but I will also give you riches, wealth and honor such as no king before you has ever had; and no king after you will have as much."

13 So Shlomo came away from the high place at Giv'on, from in front of the tent of meeting, to Yerushalayim; and he ruled over Isra'el.

14 Shlomo amassed chariots and horsemen; he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen; he placed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Yerushalayim.

15 The king made silver and gold in Yerushalayim as common as stones, and he made cedars as abundant as sycamore-fig trees in the Sh'felah.

16 Shlomo's horses had been brought from Egypt and from Keve, with the king's agents having bought them from the dealers in Keve at the going price.

17 A chariot brought from Egypt cost fifteen pounds of silver shekels and a horse three-and-three quarters pounds [of shekels]; all the kings of the Hittim and the kings of Aram purchased them at these prices through Shlomo's agents.

2 Chronicles 2

1 Shlomo then decided to build a house for the name of ADONAI and a royal palace for himself.

2 Shlomo enlisted 70,000 men who carried loads, another 80,000 men who were stonecutters in the hills and

3 ,600 supervising them.3 Then Shlomo sent this message to Huram the king of Tzor: "[Deal with me] as you dealt with David my father when you sent him cedar logs, so that he could build himself a palace to live in.

4 Here, I am about to build a house for the name of ADONAI my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before Him incense made of sweet spices; the house will also be for the continuing showbread and for the burnt offerings presented every morning and evening, on the shabbats, at every Rosh-Hodesh, and at the designated times of ADONAI our God. This is a perpetual regulation for Isra'el.

5 The house I will build will be great, because our God is greater than all gods.

6 But who is equal to building him a house? Why, heaven itself, even the heaven of heavens, cannot contain him; so who am I to build him a house, except to offer sacrifices before him?

7 "Now, therefore, send me a man skilled at working with gold, silver, bronze and iron; dealing with purple, crimson, and blue dyed materials; and capable of doing all kinds of engraving. He will be with the skilled craftsmen I have with me in Y'hudah and Yerushalayim, whom David my father provided.

8 Also send me cedar, cypress and sandalwood logs from the L'vanon; for I know that your servants are skilled in cutting timber in the L'vanon. I will have my servants work together with your servants

9 to prepare me an abundant supply of timber, for the house I am about to build must be magnificent and wonderful.

10 I will give your servants, the woodcutters who cut the timber, 100,000 bushels of cracked wheat, 100,000 bushels of barley, 100,000 gallons of wine, and 100,000 gallons of olive oil."

11 Huram the king of Tzor wrote this answer and sent it to Shlomo: "Because the Lord loves his people, he has made you king over them."

12 Huram continued, "Blessed be ADONAI, the God of Isra'el, who made heaven and earth, who has given David the king a wise, knowledgeable son with common sense to build a house for ADONAI and a royal palace for himself.

13 Now I am sending a man of skill and understanding, my master craftsman Huram,

14 the son of a woman who was one of the daughters of Dan, while his father was a man from Tzor. He is skilled in working gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and timber, as well as purple and blue dyed materials, fine linen and crimson material; he can do any kind of engraving; and he can make all the equipment necessary to accomplish any task assigned to him, with the help of your craftsmen and those of my lord David your father.

15 Therefore let my lord send his servants the wheat, barley, oil and wine he has spoken of;

16 and we will cut wood from the L'vanon, as much as you need; we will float it to you as rafts by sea to Yafo, and you will take it up to Yerushalayim."

17 Shlomo took a census of all the foreigners in the land of Isra'el, following the pattern of the census of David his father; they were found to number 153,600.

18 He appointed 70,000 of them to carry loads, 80,000 to be stonecutters in the hills and 3,600 as supervisors to assign the people their work.

2 Chronicles 3

1 Then Shlomo began to build the house of ADONAI in Yerushalayim on Mount Moriyah, where ADONAI had appeared to David his father. Provision had been made for this at the place David had chosen, the threshing-floor of Ornan the Y'vusi.

2 He began building in the fourth year of his reign, on the second day of the second month.

3 These are the foundations Shlomo laid for building the house of God: the length in old-standard cubits was sixty cubits [105 feet] and the width twenty cubits [thirty-five feet].

4 The length of the hall fronting the house was the same as the house's width, thirty-five feet and the height 210 [feet]; and he overlaid it with pure gold.

5 The larger house he covered with cypress-wood, which he overlaid with fine gold and embossed with palm trees and chains.

6 He also decorated the building with precious stones and gold from Parvayim,

7 overlaying the house and its beams, thresholds, walls and doors with gold and carving k'ruvim on the walls.

8 Then he made the Especially Holy Place; its length matched the width of the house, thirty-five feet, and its width was thirty-five feet. He overlaid it with twenty tons of fine gold.

9 The weight of the nails was one-and-a-quarter pounds of gold, and he overlaid the upper rooms with gold.

10 Inside the Especially Holy Place he made two k'ruvim of cast metal, and they overlaid them with gold.

11 The wings of the k'ruvim were thirty-five feet long - the wing of the one keruv was eight-and-three-quarters feet long and touched the wall of the house; the other wing was also eight-and-three-quarters feet long, so that it touched the wing of the other keruv.

12 The wing of the other keruv was eight-and-three-quarters feet long, touching the wall of the house; and the other wing was also eight-and-three-quarters feet long, touching the wing of the first keruv.

13 The wings of these k'ruvim spread out over thirty-five feet. They stood on their feet with their faces turned inward.

14 He made the curtain of blue, purple and crimson material and of fine linen, with a design of k'ruvim worked into it.

15 In front of the house he made two columns sixty-one-and-a-quarter feet high, with a capital of eight-and-three-quarters feet on top of each.

16 He made chains in the sanctuary and added them to the tops of the columns, and he made a hundred pomegranates and attached them to the chains.

17 He erected the columns in front of the temple, one on the right and the other on the left; the one on the right he called Yakhin, and the one on the left he called Bo'az.

2 Chronicles 4

1 He made an altar of bronze thirty-five feet long, thirty-five feet wide and seventeen-and-a-half feet high.

2 He made the cast metal "Sea" circular, seventeen-and-a-half feet from rim to rim, eight-and-three quarters feet high and fifty-two-and-a-half feet in circumference.

3 Below the rim a ring of ox-like figures encircled it, ten for every twenty-one inches all the way around the Sea. The oxen were in two rows; they were cast when the Sea was cast.

4 It rested on twelve oxen, three looking north, three looking west, three looking south and three looking east, all with their hindquarters toward the center. The Sea was set on top of them.

5 It was a handbreadth thick, its rim was made like the rim of a cup, like the flower of a lily; and its capacity was 16,500 gallons.

6 He also made ten basins for washing and put five on the right and five on the left. Items needed for the burnt offerings would be cleansed in these, but the Sea was for the cohanim to wash in.

7 He made the ten menorahs of gold in accordance with their specifications and set them in the temple, five on the right and five on the left.

8 He also made ten tables and put them in the temple, five on the right and five on the left. And he made a hundred basins of gold.

9 He made the courtyard for the cohanim and the great courtyard, also the doors to the courtyard, which he overlaid with bronze.

10 The Sea he placed on the right side [of the house], toward the southeast.

11 Huram made the ash pots, shovels and sprinkling basins. With that, Huram completed the work he had been doing for King Shlomo in the house of God -

12 the two columns, the two moldings, the two capitals on top of the columns, the two nettings covering the two moldings of the capitals atop the columns,

13 and the 400 pomegranates for the two nettings, two rows of pomegranates for each netting, to cover the two moldings of the capitals atop the columns.

14 He also made the trolleys, the basins on the trolleys,

15 the one Sea, the twelve oxen under it,

16 the ash pots, the shovels, the forks and all the other equipment for it. All these articles that Huram the master craftsman made for King Shlomo in the house of ADONAI were of brilliant bronze.

17 The king cast them in the plain of the Yarden, in the clay ground between Sukkot and Tz'redah.

18 Shlomo made so many of these objects that the total weight of the bronze could not be determined.

19 Shlomo made all the objects that were inside the house of God: the gold altar; the table on which the showbread was displayed;

20 the menorahs with their lamps to burn in front of the sanctuary as specified, of pure gold;

21 the flowers, lamps and tongs of gold, solid gold;

22 and the snuffers, bowls, cups and fire pans of pure gold. As for the entryway to the house, the inner doors for the Especially Holy Place and the doors of the house (that is, of the temple) were of gold.

2 Chronicles 5

1 Thus all the work that Shlomo did for the house of ADONAI was finished. Then Shlomo brought in the gifts which David his father had consecrated - the silver, the gold and all the utensils - and put them in the treasuries of the house of God.

2 Shlomo assembled all the leaders of Isra'el and all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the paternal clans of the people of Isra'el, to Yerushalayim, to bring the ark for the covenant of ADONAI out of the City of David, also known as Tziyon.

3 All the people of Isra'el assembled before the king at the festival in the seventh month.

4 All the leaders of Isra'el came. The L'vi'im took the ark

5 and brought up the ark, the tent of meeting and all the holy utensils that were in the tent; these are what the cohanim and L'vi'im brought up.

6 King Shlomo and the whole community of Isra'el who had assembled in his presence were in front of the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen in numbers beyond counting or recording.

7 The cohanim brought the ark for the covenant of ADONAI in to its place inside the sanctuary of the house, to the Especially Holy Place, under the wings of the k'ruvim.

8 For the k'ruvim spread out their wings over the place for the ark, covering the ark and its poles from above.

9 The poles were so long that their ends could be seen [extending] from the ark into the sanctuary, but they could not be seen from outside; they are there to this day.

10 There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets Moshe put there at Horev, when ADONAI made the covenant with the people of Isra'el at the time of their leaving Egypt.

11 When the cohanim came out of the Holy Place (for all the cohanim who were present had consecrated themselves; they didn't keep to their divisions;

12 also the L'vi'im who were the singers, all of them - Asaf, Heman, Y'dutun and their sons and relatives - dressed in fine linen, with cymbals, lutes and lyres, stood on the east side of the altar; and with them 120 cohanim sounding trumpets),

13 then, when the trumpeters and singers were playing in concord, to be heard harmoniously praising and thanking ADONAI, and they lifted their voices together with the trumpets, cymbals and other musical instruments to praise ADONAI: "for he is good, for his grace continues forever"- then, the house, the house of ADONAI, was filled with a cloud;

14 so that because of the cloud, the cohanim could not stand up to perform their service; for the glory of ADONAI filled the house of God.

2 Chronicles 6

1 Shlomo said, "ADONAI said he would live in thick darkness.

2 But I have built you a magnificent house, a place where you can live forever."

3 Then the king turned around and blessed the whole community of Isra'el. The whole community of Isra'el stood

4 as he said, "Blessed be ADONAI, the God of Isra'el, who spoke to my father David with his mouth and fulfilled his promise with his hand. He said,

5 'Since the day I brought my people out of Egypt, I chose no city from any of the tribes of Isra'el to build a house, so that my name might be there; nor did I choose anyone to be the leader of my people Isra'el.

6 But now I have chosen Yerushalayim, so that my name can be there; and I have chosen David to be over my people Isra'el.'

7 It was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of ADONAI the God of Isra'el;

8 but ADONAI said to David my father, 'Although it was in your heart to build a house for my name, and you did well that it was in your heart,

9 nevertheless you will not build the house. Rather, you will father a son, and it will be he who will build the house for my name.'

10 Now ADONAI has fulfilled this spoken word of his; for I have succeeded my father and sit on the throne of Isra'el, as ADONAI promised; and I have built the house for the name of ADONAI the God of Isra'el.

11 And there I have placed the ark containing the covenant of ADONAI, which he made with the people of Isra'el."

12 Then he stood before the altar of ADONAI in the presence of the whole community of Isra'el, spread out his hands -

13 for Shlomo had made a bronze platform eight-and-three quarters feet long, eight-and-three-quarters feet wide and five-and-a-quarter feet high and had set it up in the middle of the courtyard. He stood on it, then got down on his knees before the whole community, spread out his hands toward heaven,

14 and said, "ADONAI, God of Isra'el, there is no God like you in heaven or on earth. You keep covenant with your servants and show them grace, provided they live in your presence with all their heart.

15 You have kept your promise to your servant David, my father; you spoke with your mouth and fulfilled it with your hand; so it is today.

16 Now therefore, ADONAI, God of Isra'el, keep what you promised to your servant David, my father, when you said, 'You will never lack a man in my presence to sit on the throne of Isra'el, if only your children are careful about what they do, so that they live by my Torah, just as you have lived in my presence.'

17 Now therefore, ADONAI, God of Isra'el, please let your word, which you spoke to your servant David, my father, be confirmed.

18 "But can God actually live with human beings on the earth? Why, heaven itself, even the heaven of heavens, cannot contain you; so how much less this house I have built?

19 Even so, ADONAI my God, pay attention to your servant's prayer and plea, listen to the cry and prayer that your servant is praying before you,

20 that your eyes will be open toward this house day and night - toward the place where you said you would put your name - to listen to the prayer your servant will pray toward this place.

21 Yes, listen to the pleas of your servant, and also those of your people Isra'el when they pray toward this place. Hear from where you live, from heaven; and when you hear, forgive!

22 "If a person sins against a fellow member of the community, and he is made to swear under oath, and he comes and swears before your altar in this house;

23 then hear from heaven, act and judge your servants, paying back the wicked, so that his way of life devolves on his own head, and vindicating the one who is right, giving him what his righteousness deserves.

24 "If your people Isra'el sin against you and in consequence are defeated by an enemy; then if they turn back to you, acknowledge your name, and pray and make their plea to you in this house,

25 hear from heaven, forgive the sin of your people Isra'el, and bring them back to the land you gave to them and their ancestors.

26 "When they sin against you, and in consequence the sky is shut, so that there is no rain; then if they pray toward this place, acknowledge your name and turn from their sin when you have brought them low;

27 hear in heaven, forgive the sin of your servants and of your people Isra'el - since you keep teaching them the good way by which they should live -and send down rain on your land, which you have given your people as their inheritance.

28 "If there is famine in the land, or blight, windstorm, mildew, locusts or shearer-worms; or if their enemies besiege them in any of their cities - no matter what kind of plague or sickness it is;

29 then, regardless of what prayer or plea anyone among all your people Isra'el makes -for each individual will know his own plague and his own pain -and the person spreads out his hands toward this house;

30 then hear from heaven where you live, and forgive; also, since you know what is in each one's heart, give each person what his conduct deserves (because you, and only you, know human hearts),

31 so that they will fear you and therefore live according to your ways throughout the time they live in the land you gave our ancestors.

32 "Also the foreigner who does not belong to your people Isra'el -when he comes from a distant country because of your great reputation, your mighty hand and your outstretched arm, when they come and pray toward this house;

33 then hear from heaven, from where you live; and act in accordance with everything about which the foreigner is calling to you; so that all the peoples of the earth will know your name and fear you, as does your people Isra'el, and so that they will know that this house which I have built bears your name.

34 "If your people go out to fight their enemies, no matter by which way you send them, and they pray to you toward the city you chose and the house I built for your name;

35 then, from heaven, hear their prayer and plea, and uphold their cause.

36 "If they sin against you - for there is no one who doesn't sin - and you are angry with them and hand them over to the enemy, so that they carry them off captive to a land far away or nearby;

37 then, if they come to their senses in the land where they have been carried away captive, turn back and make their plea to you in the land where they are being held captive, saying, 'We sinned, we acted wrongly, we behaved wickedly,'

38 if, in the land where they were brought and are being held captive, they return to you with all their heart and being and pray to you toward their own land, which you gave to their ancestors, toward the city you chose and toward the house I have built for your name;

39 then, from heaven, from where you live, hear their prayer and pleas, uphold their cause, and forgive your people who have sinned against you.

40 "Now, my God, please, let your eyes be open, and let your ears pay attention to the prayer being made in this place.

41 "Now go up, ADONAI, God, to your place of rest, you and the ark through which you give strength. "May your cohanim, ADONAI, God, be clothed with salvation; may those loyal to you take joy in good.

42 "ADONAI, God, don't turn away the face of your anointed one; remember the mercies of your servant David."

2 Chronicles 7

1 When Shlomo had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of ADONAI filled the house,

2 so that the cohanim could not enter the house of ADONAI; because the glory of ADONAI filled ADONAI's house.

3 All the people of Isra'el saw when the fire came down, and the glory of ADONAI was on the house; they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the flooring; prostrating themselves, they gave thanks to ADONAI, "for he is good, for his grace continues forever."

4 Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before ADONAI.

5 King Shlomo offered a sacrifice of 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. Thus the king and all the people dedicated the house of God.

6 The cohanim stood at their appointed stations, while the L'vi'im used the instruments that David the king had provided for making music to ADONAI in order to "give thanks to ADONAI, for his grace continues forever,"by means of the praises David had composed. Opposite them the cohanim sounded trumpets; and all Isra'el stood up.

7 Shlomo also consecrated the center of the courtyard in front of the house of ADONAI; because he had to offer the burnt offerings and the fat of the peace offerings there. For the bronze altar which Shlomo had made could not receive the burnt offering, the grain offering and the fat.

8 So Shlomo celebrated the festival at that time for seven days, together with all Isra'el, an enormous gathering; [they had come all the way] from the entrance of Hamat to the Vadi [of Egypt].

9 On the eighth day they held a solemn assembly, having observed the dedication of the altar for seven days and the festival for seven days.

10 Then, on the twenty-third day of the seventh month, he sent the people away to their tents full of joy and glad of heart for all the goodness ADONAI had shown to David, to Shlomo and to Isra'el his people.

11 Thus Shlomo finished the house of ADONAI and the royal palace. Everything that Shlomo had set his heart on making in the house of ADONAI and in his own palace he accomplished successfully.

12 ADONAI appeared to Shlomo by night and said to him, "I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice.

13 If I shut up the sky, so that there is no rain; or if I order locusts to devour the land; or if I send an epidemic of sickness among my people;

14 then, if my people, who bear my name, will humble themselves, pray, seek my face and turn from their evil ways, I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin and heal their land.

15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears will pay attention to the prayer made in this place.

16 For now I have chosen and consecrated this house, so that my name can be there forever; my eyes and heart will always be there.

17 As for you, if you will live in my presence, as did David your father, doing everything I have ordered you to do, and keeping my laws and rulings;

18 then I will establish the throne of your rulership, as I covenanted with David your father when I said, 'You will never lack a man to be ruler in Isra'el.'

19 But if you turn away and abandon my regulations and mitzvot which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods, worshipping them;

20 then I will pull them up by the roots out of the land I have given them. This house, which I consecrated for my name, I will eject from my sight; and I will make it an example to avoid and an object of scorn among all peoples.

21 This house, now so exalted - everyone passing by will be shocked at the sight of it and will ask, 'Why has ADONAI done this to this land and to this house?'

22 But the answer will be, 'It's because they abandoned ADONAI the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and took hold of other gods, worshipping and serving them; this is why [ADONAI] brought all these calamities on them.'"

2 Chronicles 8

1 At the end of twenty years, during which time Shlomo had built the house of ADONAI and his own palace,

2 Shlomo built up the cities which Huram had given to Shlomo and had the people of Isra'el live there.

3 Then Shlomo attacked Hamat-Tzovah and defeated it.

4 He built Tadmor in the desert and all the cities for storing supplies that he built in Hamat.

5 He also built Upper Beit-Horon and Lower Beit-Horon, fortified cities with walls, gates and bars;

6 Ba'alat; and all the cities that Shlomo had for storing supplies, all the cities for his chariots, the cities for his horsemen, and all the other buildings Shlomo wanted to build in Yerushalayim, in the L'vanon and throughout the land he ruled.

7 As for all the people still left from the Hitti, Emori, P'rizi, Hivi, and Y'vusi, who were not part of Isra'el,

8 from their descendants remaining after them in the land, whom the people of Isra'el did not exterminate - from them Shlomo levied [his forced laborers], as it is to this day.

9 But Shlomo did not raise any of his slaves from the people of Isra'el; rather, these were the soldiers, his chief commanders, and the officials in charge of his chariots and horsemen.

10 King Shlomo had 250 chief officers in charge of the people.

11 Shlomo brought up Pharaoh's daughter from the City of David to the house he had built for her; because he said, "No wife of mine is going to live in the house of David king of Isra'el, since the [buildings] where the ark of ADONAI has been are holy."

12 Then Shlomo offered burnt offerings to ADONAI on the altar of ADONAI that he had built in front of the vestibule,

13 as each day required, offering according to the mitzvah of Moshe on Shabbats, at Rosh-Hodesh and at the designated times three times a year - the festivals of Matzah, Shavu'ot and Sukkot.

14 As David his father had ordered, he appointed the divisions of the cohanim for their service and the L'vi'im to their tasks - to praise and to perform their service in the presence of the cohanim according to each day's requirements. He also appointed the gatekeepers by their divisions to be at every gate, for David the man of God had so ordered.

15 They did not deviate from the king's order to the cohanim and L'vi'im in any matter or in regard to the supplies.

16 All the work of Shlomo was organized in this way from the day ground was broken for the house of ADONAI until everything had been accomplished, and the house of ADONAI had been completed.

17 Shlomo went to 'Etzyon-Gever and Elot on the shore of the sea in the land of Edom.

18 Huram sent some of his servants with ships, and others that were experienced sailors who understood the sea; they went with Shlomo's servants to Ofir and took from there fifteen tons of gold, which they brought back to King Shlomo.

2 Chronicles 9

1 When the queen of Sh'va heard what was being said about Shlomo, she came to test him with difficult questions in Yerushalayim, accompanied by a very great retinue, including camels bearing spices and gold in abundance, and precious stones. When she appeared before Shlomo, she spoke with him about everything on her heart;

2 and Shlomo answered all her questions; nothing was hidden from the king that he could not explain to her.

3 After the queen of Sh'va had seen Shlomo's wisdom, the palace he had built,

4 the food at his table, the manner of seating his officials, the manner in which his staff served him and how they were dressed, his personal servants and how they were dressed, and his manner of going up to the house of ADONAI, it left her breathless.

5 She said to the king, "What I heard in my own country about your deeds and your wisdom is true,

6 but I couldn't believe the report until I came and saw for myself. Actually, they didn't tell me even half of how great your wisdom is. In reality, you surpass the reports I heard.

7 How happy your people must be, how happy these servants of yours who are always here attending you and get to hear your wisdom!

8 Blessed be ADONAI your God, who took pleasure in you to put you on his throne, so that you could be king for ADONAI your God. Because of your God's love for Isra'el, to establish them forever, he has made you king over them, to administer law and judgment."

9 Then she gave the king four tons of gold, spices in great abundance, and precious stones; there had never been spices like those the queen of Sh'va gave to King Shlomo.

10 Huram's servants and Shlomo's servants, who had brought the gold from Ofir, now brought sandalwood and precious stones.

11 The king used the sandalwood to make walkways for the house of ADONAI and for the royal palace, also lyres and lutes for the singers. None like these had been seen before in the land of Y'hudah.

12 King Shlomo gave the queen of Sh'va everything she wanted, whatever she asked, more than what she had brought to the king. After this, she returned and went back to her own country, she and her servants.

13 The weight of the gold Shlomo received annually came to twenty-two tons,

14 besides that which came from customs duties and sales taxes; also all the Arab kings and regional governors brought gold and silver to Shlomo.

15 King Shlomo made 200 large shields of hammered gold; fifteen pounds of hammered gold went into one shield.

16 He made 300 more shields of hammered gold, with seven-and-a-half pounds going into one shield; the king put these in the House of the L'vanon Forest.

17 The king also made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with pure gold.

18 The throne had six steps and a gold footstool; these were fastened to the throne. There were arms on either side of the seat, two lions standing beside the arms,

19 and twelve more lions standing on each side of the six steps. Nothing like it had ever been made in any kingdom.

20 All King Shlomo's drinking vessels were of gold; and all the utensils in the House of the L'vanon Forest were of pure gold; for in Shlomo's time, silver was regarded as having little value.

21 The king had ships that could go to Tarshish with Huram's servants; once every three years the "Tarshish" ships came in, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes and peacocks.

22 So King Shlomo surpassed all the kings on earth in both wealth and wisdom.

23 All the kings on earth sought to have an audience with Shlomo, in order to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.

24 Each one brought his present - articles of silver, articles of gold, clothing, armor, spices, horses and mules; and this continued year after year.

25 Shlomo also had 4,000 stalls of horses for his chariots and his 12,000 horsemen; he assigned them to the chariot cities and to the king in Yerushalayim.

26 He ruled over all the kingdoms from the [Euphrates] River through the land of the P'lishtim to the border of Egypt.

27 The king made silver in Yerushalayim as common as stones, and he made cedars as abundant as sycamore-fig trees are in the Sh'felah.

28 They brought horses for Shlomo from Egypt and from all countries.

29 Other activities of Shlomo, from beginning to end, are written in the records of Natan the prophet, in the prophecy of Achiyah of Shiloh and in the visions of Ye'do the seer concerning Yarov'am the son of N'vat.

30 Shlomo reigned in Yerushalayim over all Isra'el for forty years.

31 Then Shlomo slept with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David his father, and Rechav'am his son became king in his place.