2 Chronicles 8

1 It had taken twenty years for Solomon to build the Temple of the Lord and his own palace.

And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the house of the Lord, and his own house,

2 Solomon rebuilt the towns Hiram had given him, and sent Israelites to live there.

That [as regardeth] the cities which Churam had restored to Solomon, Solomon built them, and caused the children of Israel to dwell there.

3 Then Solomon attacked Hamath-zobah and captured it.

And Solomon went to Chamath-zobah, and prevailed against it.

4 He built Tadmor in the wilderness and also built all the storehouse towns in Hamath.

And he built Thadmor in the wilderness, and all the treasure-cities, which he built in Chamath.

5 He rebuilt Upper and Lower Beth-horon, fortified cities with walls and barred gates,

And he built the upper Beth-choron, and the lower Beth-choron, fortified cities, with walls, gates, and bars;

6 and also Baalath. He built all the storehouse towns that belonged to him, and all the towns where he kept his chariots and horses. He built everything he wanted to in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and throughout his entire kingdom.

And Ba'alath, and all the treasure-cities that Solomon had, and all the cities for chariots, and the cities for horsemen, and all the [other] desire of Solomon which he desired to build in Jerusalem, and in the Lebanon, and throughout all the land of his dominion.

7 There were some people who remained in the land: the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—people who were not Israelites.

All the people that were left of the Hittites, and the Emorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of Israel,

8 They were the remaining descendants of the peoples that the Israelites had not destroyed. Solomon made them work as forced laborers, as they are to this day.

Out of their children, who were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel had not destroyed—these did Solomon levy as tributary [laborers] until this day.

9 But Solomon did not make any of the Israelites work as slaves. Instead, they were his military men, his officers, and commanders of his chariots and horsemen.

Yet of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen for his work; but they were men of war, and chiefs of his captains; and officers of his chariots and of his horsemen.

10 They were also King Solomon's chief officers, 250 men who supervised the people.

And these were the chiefs of the superintendents whom king Solomon had, [even] two hundred and fifty, who ruled over the people.

11 Solomon moved Pharaoh's daughter from the City of David to the palace he had built for her. For he said, “My wife cannot live in the palace of David king of Israel, because wherever the Ark of the Lord has gone are holy places.”

And the daughter of Pharaoh did Solomon bring up out of the city of David unto the house that he had built for her; for he said, No wife of mine shall dwell in a house of David the king of Israel, because they are holy, because there came [once] unto them the ark of the Lord.

12 Then Solomon presented burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of the Lord he had built in front of the Temple's porch.

Then did Solomon offer burnt-offerings unto the Lord on the altar of the Lord, which he had built before the porch,

13 He followed the requirement for daily offerings as Moses had ordered for Sabbaths, new moons, and the three annual festivals—the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Shelters.

Even according to what was the due of [every] day on its day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new-moons, and on the stated festivals, three times in the year, on the feast of unleavened bread, and on the feast of weeks, and on the feast of tabernacles.

14 Following the instructions of his father David, he assigned the divisions of the priests for their service, and the Levites in their responsibilities to offer praise, and to help the priests in their daily duties. He also assigned gatekeepers by their divisions at each gate as David, the man of God, had instructed.

And he stationed, according to the prescription of David his father, the divisions of the priests at their service, and the Levites at their stations, to praise and minister next to the priests, in the requirement of every day on its day, and the gate-keepers in their divisions at every gate; for so was the charge of David the man of God.

15 They followed David's instructions exactly regarding the priests, the Levites, and anything to do with the treasuries.

And they departed not from the charge of the king concerning the priests and Levites respecting every matter, and respecting the treasuries.

16 This is how all Solomon's work was carried out, from the day the foundation was laid for the Lord's Temple until it was finished. So the Lord's Temple was completed.

And [so] was all the work of Solomon successful from the day of founding the house of the Lord, even until it was finished. [So] was perfected the house of the Lord.

17 After this Solomon went to Ezion-geber and to Eloth on the coast of the land of Edom.

Then went Solomon to 'Ezyon-geber, and to Eloth, at the sea-shore in the land of Edom.

18 Hiram sent him ships under the command of his own officers, along with experienced sailors. They went with Solomon's men to Ophir where they loaded 450 talents of gold, which they then brought back to King Solomon.

And Churam sent him by means of his servants ships, and servants that had knowledge of the sea; and they went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and they fetched away thence four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and brought the same to king Solomon.