The Second of Chronicles
8 And it came about at the end of twenty years,+ in which Solʹo·mon had built the house of Jehovah+ and his own house,+ 2 that the cities that Hiʹram*+ had given to Solʹo·mon—Solʹo·mon rebuilt them and then caused the sons of Israel to dwell there. 3 Furthermore, Solʹo·mon went to Haʹmath-zoʹbah and prevailed over it. 4 Then he rebuilt Tadʹmor* in the wilderness and all the storage+ cities that he had built in Haʹmath.+ 5 And he went on to build Upper Beth-hoʹron+ and Lower Beth-hoʹron,+ fortified cities with walls,+ doors and bar,+ 6 and Baʹal·ath+ and all the storage cities that had become Solʹo·mon’s and all the chariot cities+ and the cities for the horsemen+ and every desirable thing of Solʹo·mon+ that he had desired to build in Jerusalem and in Lebʹa·non+ and in all the land of his dominion.
7 As for all the people that were left over of the Hitʹtites+ and the Amʹor·ites+ and the Perʹiz·zites+ and the Hiʹvites+ and the Jebʹu·sites,+ who were no part of Israel,+ 8 from their sons that had been left behind them in the land, whom the sons of Israel had not exterminated,+ Solʹo·mon kept levying+ men* for forced labor until this day.+ 9 But there were none out of the sons of Israel that Solʹo·mon constituted slaves for his work;+ for they were warriors+ and chiefs of his adjutants and chiefs of his charioteers+ and of his horsemen.+ 10 These were the chiefs of the deputies+ that belonged to King Solʹo·mon, two hundred and fifty, the foremen over the people.+
11 And Pharʹaoh’s daughter+ Solʹo·mon brought up out of the City of David+ to the house that he had built for her,+ for he said: “Although a wife of mine, she should not dwell in the house of David the king of Israel, for the places to which the ark of Jehovah has come are something holy.”+
12 It was then that Solʹo·mon offered up burnt sacrifices+ to Jehovah upon the altar+ of Jehovah that he had built before the porch,+ 13 even as a daily+ matter of course to make offerings according to the commandment of Moses for the sabbaths+ and for the new moons+ and for the appointed festivals+ three times in the year,+ at the festival of unfermented cakes+ and at the festival of the weeks+ and at the festival of the booths.+ 14 Further, he set the divisions+ of the priests over their services according to the rule of David his father,+ and the Levites+ at their posts of duty, to praise+ and to minister+ in front of the priests as a daily matter of course,+ and the gatekeepers in their divisions for the different gates,+ for such was the commandment of David the man of the [true] God.* 15 And they did not turn aside from the king’s commandment to the priests and the Levites concerning any matter and concerning the supplies.+ 16 So Solʹo·mon’s work was all in a prepared+ state from the day of the foundation-laying of the house of Jehovah until it was finished.+ [So] the house of Jehovah was complete.+
17 It was then that Solʹo·mon went to Eʹzi·on-geʹber+ and to Eʹloth+ upon the shore of the sea in the land of Eʹdom.+ 18 And Hiʹram+ regularly sent to him by means of his servants ships and servants having a knowledge of the sea,+ and they would come with Solʹo·mon’s servants to Oʹphir+ and take from there four hundred and fifty talents*+ of gold+ and bring it to King Solʹo·mon.+