1 And ait came to pass, when Solomon had finished building the house of the Lordband the king’s house, and call Solomon’s desire which he wanted to do,
2 that the Lord appeared to Solomon the second time, aas He had appeared to him at Gibeon.
3 And the Lord said to him: a“I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built bto put My name there forever, and cMy eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.
4 Now if you awalk before Me bas your father David walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you ckeep My statutes and My judgments,
5 then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, aas I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’
6aBut if you or your sons at all1 turn from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them,
7athen I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and this house which I have consecrated bfor My name I will cast out of My sight. cIsrael will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples.
8 And asforathis house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and will hiss, and say, b‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’
9 Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore the Lord has brought all this acalamity on them.’ ”
Solomon and Hiram Exchange Gifts
10 Now ait happened at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the Lord and the king’s house
11a(Hiram the king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and cypress and gold, as much as he desired), that King Solomon then gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.
12 Then Hiram went from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him, but they did not please him.
13 So he said, “What kindof cities are these which you have given me, my brother?” aAnd he called them the land of1 Cabul, as they are to this day.
14 Then Hiram sent the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold.
Solomon’s Additional Achievements
15 And this is the reason for athe labor force which King Solomon raised: to build the house of the Lord, his own house,1 the bMillo, the wall of Jerusalem, cHazor, dMegiddo, and eGezer.
16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and taken Gezer and burned it with fire, ahad killed the Canaanites who dwelt in the city, and had given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.)
18aBaalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land ofJudah,
19 all the storage cities that Solomon had, cities for ahis chariots and cities for his bcavalry, and whatever Solomon cdesired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.
20aAll the people whowere left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not of the children of Israel—
21 that is, their descendants awho were left in the land after them, bwhom the children of Israel had not been able to destroy completely—cfrom these Solomon raised dforced labor, as it is to this day.
22 But of the children of Israel Solomon amade no forced laborers, because they were men of war and his servants: his officers, his captains, commanders of his chariots, and his cavalry.
23 Others were chiefs of the officials who were over Solomon’s work: afive hundred and fifty, who ruled over the people who did the work.
24 But aPharaoh’s daughter came up from the City of David to bher house which Solomon had built for her. cThen he built the Millo.
25aNow three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he had built for the Lord, and he burned incense with them onthealtar that was before the Lord. So he finished the temple.
26aKing Solomon also built a fleet of ships at bEzion Geber, which is near Elath on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom.
27aThen Hiram sent his servants with the fleet, seamen who knew the sea, to work with the servants of Solomon.
28 And they went to aOphir, and acquired four hundred and twenty talents of gold from there, and brought it to King Solomon.
God's answer to Solomon. (1-9) The presents of Solomon and Hiram. (10-14) Solomon's buildings, His trade. (15-28)
Verses 1-9 God warned Solomon, now he had newly built and dedicated the temple, that he and his people might not be high-minded, but fear. After all the services we can perform, we stand upon the same terms with the Lord as before. Nothing can purchase for us liberty to sin, nor would the true believer desire such a licence. He would rather be chastened of the Lord, than be allowed to go on with ease and prosperity in sin.
Verses 10-14 Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities. Hiram did not like them. If Solomon would gratify him, let it be in his own element, by becoming his partner in trade, as he did. See how the providence of God suits this earth to the various tempers of men, and the dispositions of men to the earth, and all for the good of mankind in general.
Verses 15-28 Here is a further account of Solomon's greatness. He began at the right end, for he built God's house first, and finished that before he began his own; then God blessed him, and he prospered in all his other buildings. Let piety begin, and profit follow; leave pleasure to the last. Whatever pains we take for the glory of God, and to profit others, we are likely to have the advantage. Canaan, the holy land, the glory of all lands, had no gold in it; which shows that the best produce is that which is for the present support of life, our own and others; such things did Canaan produce. Solomon got much by his merchandise, and yet has directed us to a better trade, within reach of the poorest. Wisdom is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold, proverbs 3:14 .
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