So Benaiah reported to the king what Joab had said and how he had answered.

31 The king answered, "Do as he said. Kill him, and bury him. You can remove the innocent blood-the blood which Joab shed-from me and my father's family. 32 Yahweh will repay him for the slaughter he caused. Joab killed two honorable men who were better than he was. He used his sword to kill Abner (who was the son of Ner and the commander of Israel's army) and Amasa (who was the son of Jether and the commander of Judah's army). Joab did this without my father's knowledge. 33 The responsibility for their blood will fall on Joab and his descendants forever. But may David, his descendants, family, and throne always receive peace from Yahweh."

34 Then Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, went and attacked Joab, killed him, and buried him at his home in the desert. 35 The king then appointed Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, to replace Joab as commander of the army. King Solomon also replaced Abiathar with the priest Zadok.

36 The king summoned Shimei and said to him, "Build a house for yourself in Jerusalem, and stay there. Don't leave the city to go anywhere else. 37 But the day you leave and cross the brook in the Kidron Valley, you can be certain that you will die. You will be responsible for your own death."

38 "Very well," Shimei answered. "I'll do just what Your Majesty said."

So Shimei stayed in Jerusalem for a long time. 39 But after three years, two of Shimei's slaves fled to Gath's King Achish, son of Maacah. Shimei was told that his slaves were in Gath, 40 so he saddled his donkey and went to Achish in Gath to search for his slaves. Shimei went to Gath and got his slaves.

41 After Solomon heard that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and back, 42 he summoned Shimei. Solomon asked him, "Didn't I make you take an oath by Yahweh? Didn't I warn you that if you left the city to go anywhere, you could be certain that you would die? Didn't you say to me, 'Very well. I'll do just what you said'? 43 Why didn't you keep your oath to Yahweh and obey the command I gave you? 44 Shimei, you know in your heart all the evil that you did to my father David. Yahweh is going to pay you back for the evil you have done. 45 But King Solomon is blessed, and David's dynasty will always be firmly established by Yahweh ."

46 Then the king gave orders to Benaiah, son of Jehoiada. He went to attack and kill Shimei.

Solomon's power as king was now firmly established.

Solomon

The son of David and Bathsheba and heir to his father's throne, Solomon asked for wisdom to rule the kingdom of Israel. He called God Elohim (1 Kings 2:23) Yahweh (1 Kings 2:24) Adonay Yahweh (1 Kings 8:53)

Solomon's Marriage-2 Chronicles 1:1 3 1 Solomon became the son-in-law of Pharaoh (the king of Egypt). After marrying Pharaoh's daughter, Solomon brought her to the City of David until he finished building his own house, Yahweh's house, and the wall around Jerusalem.

2 The people were still sacrificing at other worship sites because a temple for the name of Yahweh had not yet been built. 3 Solomon loved Yahweh and lived by his father David's rules. However, he still sacrificed and burned incense at these other worship sites.

Solomon Requests Wisdom from God-2 Chronicles 1:2-13 4 King Solomon went to Gibeon to sacrifice because it was the most important place of worship. Solomon sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings on that altar.

5 In Gibeon Yahweh appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. Elohim said, "What can I give you?"

6 Solomon responded, "You've shown great love to my father David, who was your servant. He lived in your presence with truth, righteousness, and commitment. And you continued to show him your great love by giving him a son to sit on his throne today.

7 "Yahweh my Elohim, although I'm young and inexperienced, you've made me king in place of my father David. 8 I'm among your people whom you have chosen. They are too numerous to count or record. 9 Give me a heart that listens so that I can judge your people and tell the difference between good and evil. After all, who can judge this great people of yours?"

10 Adonay a was pleased that Solomon asked for this. 11 Elohim replied, "You've asked for this and not for a long life, or riches for yourself, or the death of your enemies. Instead, you've asked for understanding so that you can do what is right. 12 So I'm going to do what you've asked. I'm giving you a wise and understanding heart so that there will never be anyone like you. 13 I'm also giving you what you haven't asked for-riches and honor-so that no other king will be like you as long as you live. 14 And if you follow me and obey my laws and commands as your father David did, then I will also give you a long life."

15 Solomon woke up and realized it had been a dream. He went to Jerusalem and stood in front of the ark of Adonay's promise. He sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings and held a banquet for all his officials.

Solomon's Wisdom in Action 16 A short time later two prostitutes came to the king and stood in front of him. 17 One woman said to him, "Sir, this woman and I live in the same house. I gave birth to a son while she was with me in the house. 18 Two days later this woman also gave birth to a son. We were alone. No one else was with us. Just the two of us were in the house. 19 That night this woman's son died because she rolled over on top of him. 20 So she got up during the night and took my son, who was beside me, while I was asleep. She held him in her arms. Then she laid her dead son in my arms. 21 When I got up in the morning to nurse my son, he was dead! I took a good look at him and realized that he wasn't my son at all!"

22 The other woman said, "No! My son is alive-your son is dead."

The first woman kept on saying, "No! Your son is dead-my son is alive." So they argued in front of the king.

23 The king said, "This one keeps saying, 'My son is alive-your son is dead,' and that one keeps saying, 'No! Your son is dead-my son is alive.'"

24 So the king told his servants to bring him a sword. When they brought it, 25 he said, "Cut the living child in two. Give half to the one and half to the other."

26 Then the woman whose son was still alive was deeply moved by her love for the child. She said to the king, "Please, sir, give her the living child. Please don't kill him!"

But the other woman said, "He won't be mine or yours. Cut him in two."

27 The king replied, "Give the living child to the first woman. Don't kill him. She is his mother."

28 All Israel heard about the decision the king made. They respected the king very highly, because they saw he possessed wisdom from Elohim to do what was right.

Solomon's Administration-2 Chronicles 9:26 4 1 When King Solomon was the king of all Israel, 2 these were his officials: Azariah, son of Zadok, was the chief priest.

3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, were scribes.

Jehoshaphat, son of Ahilud, was the royal historian.

4 Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, was commander of the army.

Zadok and Abiathar were priests.

5 Azariah, son of Nathan, was in charge of the district governors.

Zabud, son of Nathan, was the king's adviser.

6 Ahishar was in charge of the palace.

Adoniram, son of Abda, was in charge of forced labor.

7 Solomon appointed 12 district governors in Israel. They were to provide food for the king and his palace. Each one had to supply food for one month every year. 8 Their names were Benhur, who was in charge of the hills of Ephraim, 9 Bendeker, who was in charge of Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan, and 10 Benhesed, who was in charge of Arubboth, Socoh, and the entire region of Hepher.

11 Benabinadab had the entire region of Dor.

(Solomon's daughter Taphath was his wife.) 12 Baana, son of Ahilud, had Taanach, Megiddo, and all of Beth Shean.

(This was near Zarethan, below Jezreel, from Beth Shean to Abel Meholah and over to Jokmeam.) 13 Bengeber was in charge of Ramoth Gilead; he had the settlements of Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, in Gilead.

He also had the territory of Argob in Bashan, 60 large cities with walls and bronze bars across their gates.

14 Ahinadab, son of Iddo, was in charge of Mahanaim.

15 Ahimaaz was in charge of Naphtali.

(He also married Solomon's daughter Basemath.) 16 Baana, son of Hushai, was in charge of Asher and Aloth.

17 Jehoshaphat, son of Paruah, was in charge of Issachar.

18 Shimei, son of Ela, was in charge of Benjamin.

19 Geber, son of Uri, was in charge of Gilead, the territory of King Sihon the Amorite and King Og of Bashan. (There was only one governor in that territory.)a 20 The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They ate and drank and lived happily.b 21 Solomon ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the country of the Philistines and as far as the Egyptian border. These kingdoms paid taxes and were subject to Solomon as long as he lived.

22 Solomon's food supply for one day was 180 bushels of flour, 360 bushels of coarse flour, 23 10 fattened cows, 20 cows from the pasture, and 100 sheep in addition to deer, gazelles, fallow deer, and fattened birds. 24 He controlled all the territory west of the Euphrates River from Tiphsah to Gaza and all of its kings. So he lived in peace with all the neighboring countries. 25 As long as Solomon lived, Judah and Israel (from Dan to Beersheba) lived securely, everyone under his own vine and fig tree.

26 Solomon had stalls for 40,000 chariot horses. He also had 12,000 chariot soldiers.c 27 Each of the governors provided food for one month every year for King Solomon and all who ate at his table. The governors saw to it that nothing was in short supply. 28 They brought their quota of barley and straw for the chariot horses to the proper places.

Solomon's Wisdom 29 Elohim gave Solomon wisdom-keen insight and a mind as limitless as the sand on the seashore. 30 Solomon's wisdom was greater than that of all the eastern people and all the wisdom of the Egyptians. 31 He was wiser than anyone, than Ethan the Ezrahite, or Heman, Calcol, or Darda, Mahol's sons. His fame spread to all the nations around him.

32 Solomon spoke 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs. 33 He described and classified trees-from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop growing out of the wall. He described and classified animals, birds, reptiles, and fish. 34 People came from every nation to hear his wisdom; they came from all the kings of the earth who had heard about his wisdom.

Preparations for Building the Temple-2 Chronicles 2:1-13, 15-18 5 a1 King Hiram of Tyre sent his officials to Solomon when he heard that Solomon had been anointed king to succeed his father. Hiram had always been David's friend.

2 Solomon sent word to Hiram, by saying, 3 "You know that my father David was surrounded by war. He couldn't build a temple for the name of Yahweh our Elohim until Yahweh let him defeat his enemies. 4 But Yahweh my Elohim has surrounded me with peace. I have no rival and no trouble. 5 Now I'm thinking of building a temple for the name of Yahweh my Elohim as Yahweh spoke to my father David: 'Your son, whom I will put on your throne to succeed you, will build a temple for my name.' 6 So order men to cut down cedars from Lebanon for me. My workers will work with your workers. I will pay you whatever wages you ask for your workers. You know we don't have any skilled lumberjacks like those from Sidon."

7 Hiram was very glad to hear what Solomon had said. Hiram responded, "May Yahweh be praised today. He has given David a wise son to rule this great nation."

8 Hiram sent men to Solomon to say, "I've received the message you sent me. I will do everything you want in regard to the cedar and cypress logs. 9 My workers will bring logs from Lebanon to the sea, and I will have them make them into rafts to go by sea to any place you specify. There I will have them taken apart, and you can use them. You can pay me by providing food for my palace." 10 So Hiram gave Solomon all the cedar and cypress wood he wanted. 11 Solomon gave Hiram 120,000 bushels of wheat and 120,000 gallons of pure olive oil. Solomon paid Hiram this much every year.

12 Yahweh gave Solomon wisdom as he had promised. There was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and they made a treaty with one another.

13 King Solomon forced 30,000 men from all over Israel to work for him. 14 He sent a shift of 10,000 men to Lebanon for a month. They would spend one month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of forced labor.

15 Solomon had 70,000 men who carried heavy loads, 70,000 who quarried stone in the mountains, 16 and 3,300 foremen who were in charge of the workers. 17 The king commanded them to quarry large, expensive blocks of stone in order to provide a foundation of cut stone for the temple. 18 Solomon's workmen, Hiram's workmen, and men from Gebal quarried the stone and prepared the logs and stone to build the temple.

The Temple Built in Seven Years-2 Chronicles 3:1-14 6 1 Solomon began to build Yahweh's temple 480 years after Israel left Egypt. He began building in the month of Ziv (the second month) of the fourth year of his reign over Israel. 2 The temple that King Solomon built for Yahweh was 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high. 3 The entrance hall in front of the main room of the temple was the same length as the shorter side of the temple. It extended 15 feet in front of the temple. 4 He also made latticed windows for the temple.

5 He built an annex containing side rooms all around the temple. This annex was next to the walls of the main building and the inner sanctuary. 6 The interior of the lowest story of the annex was 7 feet wide, the second story was 9 feet wide, and the third story was 10 feet wide. Solomon made ledges all around the temple so that this annex would not be fastened to the walls of the temple.

7 The temple was built with stone blocks that were finished at the quarry. No hammer, chisel, or any other iron tool made a sound at the temple construction site.

8 The entrance to the first storya was on the south side of the temple. A staircase went up to the middle story and then to the third story.

9 When he had finished building the walls, he roofed the temple with rows of cedar beams and planks.b 10 He built each story of the annex 7 feet high alongside the entire temple. Its cedar beams were attached to the temple.

11 Yahweh spoke to Solomon, saying, 12 "This concerns the temple you are building: If you live by my laws, follow my rules, and keep my commands, I will fulfill the promise I made about you to your father David. 13 I will live among the Israelites and never abandon my people."

14 When Solomon had finished building the temple's frame, 15 he began to line the inside walls of the temple with cedar boards. He paneled the inside of the temple with wood from floor to ceiling. He covered the floor of the temple with cypress planks.

16 He sectioned off a 30-foot-long room at the rear of the temple with cedar boards from the floor to the rafters. He built it to serve as an inner room, the most holy place. 17 The 60-foot-long room at the front of the temple served as the main hall. 18 Gourds and flowers were carved into the cedar paneling inside the temple. Everything was covered with cedar. No stone could be seen.

19 He prepared the inner room of the temple in order to put the ark of Yahweh's promise there. 20 The inner room was 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 30 feet high. Solomon covered it and the cedar altar with pure gold. 21 He covered the inside of the temple with pure gold. He put golden chains across the front of the inner room which was covered with gold. 22 He covered the entire inside of the temple with gold. He also covered the entire altar in the inner room with gold.

23 In the inner room he made two 15-foot-tall angelsc out of olive wood. 24 Each wing of the angels was 7 feet long. The distance from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other was 15 feet. 25 Both angels had a 15-foot wingspan. Both had the same measurements and the same shape. 26 Each was 15 feet high. 27 Solomon put the angels in the inner room of the temple. The wings of the angels extended so that the wing of one of the angels touched the one wall, and the wing of the other touched the other wall. Their remaining wings touched each other in the center of the room. 28 He covered the angels with gold.

29 He carved angels, palm trees, and flowers into the walls all around the inner and outer rooms of the temple. 30 He covered the floor of the inner and outer rooms of the temple with gold.

31 He made doors for the entrance to the inner room out of olive wood. The doorposts had five sides. 32 The two doors were made out of olive wood. He carved angels, palm trees, and flowers into them and covered them with gold. The gold was hammered onto the angels and the palm trees.

33 In the same way he made square doorposts out of olive wood for the temple's entrance. 34 He made two doors from cypress. Each of the doors had two folding panels. 35 On them he carved angels, palm trees, and flowers. He evenly covered them with gold.

36 He built the inner courtyard with three courses of finished stones and a course of finished cedar beams.

37 In the month of Ziv of the fourth year of Solomon's reign, the foundation of Yahweh's temple was laid. 38 In the month of Bul (the eighth month) of the eleventh year of his reign, the temple was finished according to all its plans and specifications. He spent seven years building it.

The Palace Built in 13 Years 7 1 Solomon took 13 years to finish building his palace. 2 He built a hall named the Forest of Lebanon. It was 150 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. It had four rows of cedar pillars supporting cedar beams. 3 The hall was covered with cedar above the side rooms, which were supported by 45 pillars (15 per row).a 4 The windows were in three rows facing each other on opposite sides of the palace. 5 All the doors and doorframes were square. There were three doors facing each other on opposite sides of the palace.

6 Solomon made the Hall of Pillars 75 feet long and 45 feet wide. In front of the hall was an entrance hall with pillars.

7 He made the Hall of Justice, where he sat on his throne and served as judge. The hall was covered with cedar from floor to ceiling.b 8 His own private quarters were in a different location than the Hall of Justice, but they were similar in design. Solomon also built private quarters like this for his wife, Pharaoh's daughter.

9 From the foundation to the roof, all these buildings, including the large courtyard, were built with high-grade stone blocks. The stone blocks were cut to size and trimmed with saws on their inner and outer faces. 10 The foundation was made with large, high-grade stones (some 12 feet long, others 15 feet long). 11 Above the foundation were cedar beams and high-grade stone blocks, which had been cut to size. 12 The large courtyard had three layers of cut stone blocks and a layer of cedar beams, like the inner courtyard of Yahweh's temple and the entrance hall.

The Temple Furnishings-2 Chronicles 2:13-14; 3:15-5:1 13 King Solomon had Hiram brought from Tyre. 14 Hiram was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali. His father, a native of Tyre, was a skilled bronze craftsman. Hiram was highly skilled, resourceful, and knowledgeable about all kinds of bronze craftsmanship. He came to King Solomon and did all his bronze work.

15 He made two bronze pillars. Each was 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference. 16 He made two capitals of cast bronze to put on top of the pillars. Each capital was 7 feet high. 17 He also made seven rows of filigree and chains for each capital. 18 After he made the pillars, he made two rows of decorations around the filigree to cover the capitals which were above the pillars.c He made the capitals identical to each other. 19 The capitals on top of the pillars in the entrance hall were lily-shaped. Each was six feet high. 20 Two hundred pomegranates in rows were directly above the bowl-shaped parts around the filigree on the capitals on both pillars.

21 Hiram set up the pillars in the temple's entrance hall. He set up the pillar on the right and named it Jachin [He Establishes]. Then he set up the pillar on the left and named it Boaz [In Him Is Strength]. 22 There were lily-shaped capitals at the top of the pillars. He finished the work on the pillars.

23 Hiram made a pool from cast metal. It was 15 feet in diameter. It was round, 7 feet high, and had a circumference of 45 feet. 24 Under the rim were two rows of gourds all around the 45-foot circumference of the pool. They were cast in metal when the pool was cast. 25 The pool was set on 12 metal bulls. Three bulls faced north, three faced west, three faced south, and three faced east. The pool was set on them, and their hindquarters were toward the center of the pool. 26 The pool was three inches thick. Its rim was like the rim of a cup, shaped like a lily's bud. It held 12,000 gallons.

27 He made ten bronze stands. Each stand was 6 feet square and 4 feet high. 28 The stands were made this way: They had side panels set in frames. 29 On the panels set in frames were lions, oxen, and angels.a These were also on the frames. Above and below the lions and the cattle were engraved designs. 30 Each stand had four bronze wheels on bronze axles and four supports beneath the basin. The supports were made of cast metal with designs on the sides. 31 Each had a 1-foot-deep opening in the center to the circular frame on top. The opening was round, formed like a pedestal, and was two feet wide. Around the opening there were engravings. But the panels were square, not round. 32 The four wheels were under the panels, and the axles were attached to the stand. Each wheel was two feet high. 33 The wheels were made like chariot wheels. The axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were all cast metal. 34 The four supports at the four corners of each stand were part of the stand. 35 The top of each stand had a round, nine-inch-high band. Above the stand were supports which were part of the panels. 36 Hiram engraved angels, lions, palm trees, and designs in every available space on the supports and panels. 37 This is the way he made the ten stands. All of them were cast in the same mold, identical in size and shape.

38 Hiram also made ten bronze basins. Each basin held 240 gallons. Every basin was six feet wide. There was one basin on each of the ten stands. 39 He put five stands on the south side of the temple and five on the north side of the temple. He set the pool on the south side of the temple in the southeast corner. 40 Hiram also made pots, shovels, and bowls.

So Hiram finished all the work for King Solomon on Yahweh's temple: 41 2 pillars, the bowl-shaped capitals on top of the 2 pillars, and 2 sets of filigree to cover the 2 bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars, 42 400 pomegranates for the 2 sets of filigree (2 rows of pomegranates for each filigree to cover the 2 bowl-shaped capitals on the pillars), 43 10 stands and 10 basins on the stands, 44 1 pool, 12 bulls under the pool, 45 pots, shovels, and bowls. Hiram made all these utensils out of polished bronze for Yahweh's temple at King Solomon's request. 46 The king cast them in foundries in the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zarethan. 47 Solomon left all the products unweighed because so much bronze was used. No one tried to determine how much the bronze weighed.