New International Version NIV
New International Reader's Version NIRV
1 When Solomon had finished building the temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and had achieved all he had desired to do,
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Solomon finished building the LORD's temple and the royal palace. He had accomplished everything he had planned to do.
2 the LORD appeared to him a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon.
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The LORD appeared to him a second time. He had already appeared to him at Gibeon.
3 The LORD said to him: “I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.
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The LORD said to him, "I have heard you pray to me. I have heard you ask me to show you my favor. You have built this temple. I have set it apart for myself. My Name will be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.
4 “As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws,
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"But you must walk with me, just as your father David did. Your heart must be honest. It must be without blame. Do everything I command you to do. Obey my rules and laws.
5 I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’
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Then I will set up your royal throne over Israel forever. I promised your father David I would do that. I said to him, 'You will always have a man on the throne of Israel.'
6 “But if you or your descendants turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them,
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"But suppose all of you turn away from me. Or your sons turn away from me. You refuse to obey the commands and rules I have given you. And you go off to serve other gods and worship them.
7 then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples.
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Then I will cut Israel off from the land. It is the land I gave them. I will turn my back on this temple. I will do it even though I have set it apart for my Name to be there. Then Israel will be hated by all of the nations. They will laugh and joke about Israel.
8 This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and will scoff and say, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’
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"This temple is now grand and beautiful. But the time is coming when all those who pass by it will be shocked. They will make fun of it. And they will say, 'Why has the LORD done a thing like this to this land and temple?'
9 People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the LORD their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why the LORD brought all this disaster on them.’ ”
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"People will answer, 'Because they have deserted the LORD their God. He brought their people out of Egypt. But they have been holding on to other gods. They've been worshiping them. They've been serving them. That's why the LORD has brought all of this horrible trouble on them.' "
10 At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built these two buildings—the temple of the LORD and the royal palace—
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Solomon built the LORD's temple and the royal palace. It took him 20 years to construct those two buildings.
11 King Solomon gave twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, because Hiram had supplied him with all the cedar and juniper and gold he wanted.
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King Solomon gave 20 towns in Galilee to Hiram. That's because Hiram had provided him with all of the cedar and pine logs he wanted. He had also provided him with all of the gold he wanted. Hiram was king of Tyre.
12 But when Hiram went from Tyre to see the towns that Solomon had given him, he was not pleased with them.
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Hiram went from Tyre to see the towns Solomon had given him. But he wasn't pleased with them.
13 “What kind of towns are these you have given me, my brother?” he asked. And he called them the Land of Kabul, a name they have to this day.
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"My friend," he asked, "what have you given me? What kind of towns are these?" So he called them the Land of Cabul. And that's what they are still called to this very day.
14 Now Hiram had sent to the king 120 talents of gold.
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Hiram had sent four and a half tons of gold to Solomon.
15 Here is the account of the forced labor King Solomon conscripted to build the LORD’s temple, his own palace, the terraces, the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer.
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King Solomon forced people to work hard for him. Here is a record of what they did. They built the LORD's temple and Solomon's palace. They filled in the low places. They rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem. They built up Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer.
16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it on fire. He killed its Canaanite inhabitants and then gave it as a wedding gift to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.
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Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, had attacked Gezer and captured it. He had set it on fire. He had killed the Canaanites who lived there. Then he had given Gezer as a wedding gift to his daughter. She was Solomon's wife.
17 And Solomon rebuilt Gezer.) He built up Lower Beth Horon,
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Solomon rebuilt Gezer. He built up Lower Beth Horon
18 Baalath, and Tadmor in the desert, within his land,
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and Baalath. He built up Tadmor in the desert. All of those towns were in his land.
19 as well as all his store cities and the towns for his chariots and for his horses —whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled.
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He built up all of the cities where he could store things. He also built up the towns for his chariots and horses. He built anything he wanted to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon and all of the territory he ruled over.
20 There were still people left from the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites (these peoples were not Israelites).
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There were still many people left in the land who weren't Israelites. They included Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.
21 Solomon conscripted the descendants of all these peoples remaining in the land—whom the Israelites could not exterminate —to serve as slave labor, as it is to this day.
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They were children of the people who had lived in the land before the Israelites came. Those people had been set apart to the LORD in a special way to be destroyed. But the Israelites hadn't been able to kill all of them. Solomon had forced them to work very hard as his slaves. And they still work for Israel to this very day.
22 But Solomon did not make slaves of any of the Israelites; they were his fighting men, his government officials, his officers, his captains, and the commanders of his chariots and charioteers.
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But Solomon didn't force any of the men of Israel to work as his slaves. Instead, some were his fighting men. Others were his government officials, his officers and his captains. Others were commanders of his chariots and chariot drivers.
23 They were also the chief officials in charge of Solomon’s projects—550 officials supervising those who did the work.
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Still others were the chief officials who were in charge of his projects. There were 550 officials in charge of those who did the work.
24 After Pharaoh’s daughter had come up from the City of David to the palace Solomon had built for her, he constructed the terraces.
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Pharaoh's daughter moved from the City of David up to the palace Solomon had built for her. After that, he filled in the low places near the palace.
25 Three times a year Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar he had built for the LORD, burning incense before the LORD along with them, and so fulfilled the temple obligations.
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Three times a year Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings and friendship offerings. He sacrificed them on the altar he had built to honor the Lord. Along with the offerings, he burned incense to the Lord. So he carried out his duties for the temple.
26 King Solomon also built ships at Ezion Geber, which is near Elath in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea.
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King Solomon also built ships at Ezion Geber. It's near Elath in Edom. It's on the shore of the Red Sea.
27 And Hiram sent his men—sailors who knew the sea—to serve in the fleet with Solomon’s men.
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Hiram sent his men to serve on the ships together with Solomon's men. Hiram's sailors knew the sea.
28 They sailed to Ophir and brought back 420 talents of gold, which they delivered to King Solomon.
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All of them sailed to Ophir. They brought back 16 tons of gold. They gave it to King Solomon.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.
Holy Bible, New International Reader's Version® Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by Biblica.  All rights reserved worldwide.