Bible in 90 Days

23 Here are David’s last words:

⁸ Following are the names of David’s warrior-heroes:

Yoshev-Bashevet the Tach’kmoni, chief of the three, also known as ‘Adino the ‘Etzni; he is the one who came against 800 men, whom he killed in a single encounter.

⁹ After him was El‘azar the son of Dodo the son of Achochi, one of the three warriors with David when they put their lives in jeopardy against the P’lishtim who were there assembled for battle, while the men of Isra’el had gone away. ¹⁰ He stood firm and attacked the P’lishtim until his hand went into spasm, so that he couldn’t let go of his sword. Adonai accomplished a great victory that day; but the people didn’t return until he had finished, and then only to plunder the bodies of the dead.

¹¹ After him was Shammah the son of Age the Harari. The P’lishtim had assembled at Lechi, where there was a plot of ground full of lentils; and the people fled from the P’lishtim. ¹² But he stood in the middle of the plot and defended it, killing the P’lishtim; and Adonai brought about a great victory.

¹³ During harvest season three of the thirty leaders went down and came to David at the cave of ‘Adulam when a company of P’lishtim had set up camp in the Refa’im Valley. ¹⁴ At that time David was in the fortress, and the garrison of the P’lishtim was in Beit-Lechem. ¹⁵ David had a craving and said, “I wish someone could give me water to drink from the well by the gate of Beit-Lechem!” ¹⁶ The three warrior-heroes broke through the army of the P’lishtim, drew water from the well by the gate of Beit-Lechem, took it and brought it to David. But he wouldn’t drink it. Instead, he poured it out to Adonai ¹⁷ and said, “Adonai! Heaven forbid that I should do such a thing! Am I to drink the blood of men who went and put their lives in jeopardy?”— and he would not consent to drink it. These are the things the three warrior-heroes did. ¹⁸ Avishai the brother of Yo’av, the son of Tz’ruyah, was chief of these three. He raised his spear against 300 men and killed them; thus he had a reputation even among the three. ¹⁹ He had the most honor of these three and was therefore made their leader; however, he did not achieve the status of the first three.

²⁰ B’nayah the son of Y’hoyada, the son of a valiant man of Kavtze’el, was a man of many exploits. He struck down two lion-hearted men of Mo’av. One day when it was snowing, he went down into a pit and killed a lion. ²¹ Here is how he killed an Egyptian, a man of intimidating appearance: the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, and he went down to him with only a stick, seized the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. ²² These are things that B’nayah the son of Y’hoyada did that earned him a name among the three warrior-heroes. ²³ He had more honor than the thirty, but he did not achieve the status of the first three. David put him in command of his personal guard.

thirty-seven in all.

24 The anger of Adonai blazed up against Isra’el, so he moved David to act against them by saying, “Go, take a census of Isra’el and Y’hudah.” ² The king said to Yo’av the commander of the army, who was with him, “Go systematically through all the tribes of Isra’el, from Dan to Be’er-Sheva; and take a census of the population; so that I can know how many people there are.” ³ Yo’av said to the king, “May Adonai your God add to the people a hundredfold, no matter how many there are; and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king take pleasure in doing this?” ⁴ However, the king’s word prevailed against Yo’av and the army officers. So Yo’av and the army officers went out from the king’s presence to take a census of the people of Isra’el.

⁵ They crossed the Yarden and pitched camp in ‘Aro‘er, to the south of the city in the Vadi of Gad; went on to Ya‘zer; ⁶ came to Gil‘ad and continued to the land of Tachtim-Hodshi. Then they arrived at Dan-Ya‘an, went around to Tzidon ⁷ and came to the stronghold of Tzor. They went on to the cities of the Hivi and of the Kena‘ani, and finished in the south of Y’hudah, at Be’er-Sheva. ⁸ When they were done going through all the land, they came back to Yerushalayim; it had taken nine months and twenty days. ⁹ Yo’av reported the results of the census to the king: there were in Isra’el 800,000 valiant men who could handle a sword, while the men of Y’hudah numbered 500,000.

¹⁰ But after he had taken the census, David was conscience-stricken. David said to Adonai, “I have greatly sinned in what I have done. But now, Adonai, please! Put aside your servant’s sin, for I have done a very foolish thing.” ¹¹ When David got up in the morning, this word of Adonai came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer: ¹² “Go and say to David that this is what Adonai says: ‘I am giving you a choice of three punishments. Choose one of them, and I will execute it against you.” ¹³ Gad came to David and told him; he said: “Do you want seven years of famine in your land? or do you want to flee before your enemies for three months while they pursue you? or do you want three days of plague in your land? Think about it, and tell me what to answer the one who sent me.”

¹⁴ David said to Gad, “This is very hard for me. Let us fall into the hand of Adonai, because his mercies are great, rather than have me fall into the hand of man.” ¹⁵ So Adonai sent a plague on Isra’el from that morning until the end of the specified time; 70,000 of the people died between Dan and Be’er-Sheva. ¹⁶ But when the angel stretched out his hand toward Yerushalayim to destroy it, Adonai changed his mind about causing such distress and said to the angel destroying the people, “Enough! Now withdraw your hand.” The angel of Adonai was at the threshing-floor of Aravnah the Y’vusi.

¹⁷ David spoke to Adonai when he saw the angel striking the people; he said, “Here, I have sinned, I have done wrong. But these sheep, what have they done? Please! Let your hand be against me and against my father’s family!”

¹⁸ Gad came to David that day and said to him, “Go, set up an altar to Adonai on the threshing-floor of Aravnah the Y’vusi.” ¹⁹ David went up and did what Gad had said, as Adonai had ordered. ²⁰ Aravnah looked out and saw the king and his servants coming toward him. Aravnah went out and prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground. ²¹ Then Aravnah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” David said, “To buy your threshing-floor, in order to build an altar to Adonai, so that the plague will be lifted from the people.” ²² Aravnah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up anything that seems good to him. Here are the oxen for the burnt offering; you can use the threshing-sledges and the yokes for the oxen as firewood. ²³ All this, O king, Aravnah gives to the king.” Then Aravnah said to the king, “May Adonai your God accept you.”

²⁴ But the king said to Aravnah, “No; I insist on buying it from you at a price. I refuse to offer to Adonai my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing-floor and the oxen for one-and-a-quarter pounds of silver shekels. ²⁵ Then David built an altar to Adonai there and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. After this, Adonai took pity on the land and lifted the plague from Isra’el.

1 King David grew old, the years took their toll, and he couldn’t get warm even when they covered him with bedclothes. ² His servants said to him, “Let us try to find a young virgin for my lord the king. She can wait on the king and be a companion for him, and she can lie next to you, so that my lord the king will get some heat.” ³ After looking through all of Isra’el’s territory for a beautiful girl, they found Avishag the Shunamit and brought her to the king. ⁴ The girl was very beautiful and became a companion for the king. She took care of him, but the king did not have sexual relations with her.

⁵ Adoniyah the son of Haggit was beginning to claim that he would be king; to this end he organized chariots and horsemen, with fifty men to run ahead of him. ⁶ (His father had never in his life confronted him by asking, “Why are you behaving this way?” Moreover, he was a very handsome man; he was born next after Avshalom.) ⁷ He conferred with Yo’av the son of Tz’ruyah and Evyatar the cohen; and they both supported Adoniyah. ⁸ But Tzadok the cohen, B’nayah the son of Y’hoyada, Natan the prophet, Shim‘i, Re‘i and David’s elite guard were not on Adoniyah’s side.

⁹ One day Adoniyah killed sheep, oxen and fattened calves at the Stone of Zochelet, by ‘Ein-Rogel. He summoned all his brothers the king’s sons, and all the men of Y’hudah the king’s servants; ¹⁰ but he did not summon Natan the prophet, B’nayah, the elite guard or Shlomo his brother.

¹¹ Natan went to Bat-Sheva the mother of Shlomo and said, “Haven’t you heard that Adoniyah the son of Haggit has become king without the knowledge of David our lord? ¹² Now, come, please let me give you advice, so that you can save both your own life and that of your son Shlomo. ¹³ Go, get in to see King David, and say to him, ‘My lord, king, didn’t you swear to your servant, “Your son Shlomo will be king after me; he will sit on my throne”? So why is Adoniyah king?’ ¹⁴ Right then, while you are still talking with the king, I will also come in after you and confirm what you are saying.”

¹⁵ Bat-Sheva went in to the king in his room. (The king was very old; Avishag the Shunamit was in attendance on the king.) ¹⁶ Bat-Sheva bowed, prostrating herself to the king. The king asked, “What do you want?” ¹⁷ She answered him, “My lord, you swore by Adonai your God to your servant, ‘Your son Shlomo will be king after me; he will sit on my throne.’ ¹⁸ But now, here is Adoniyah ruling as king; and you, my lord the king, don’t know anything about it. ¹⁹ He has killed oxen, fattened calves and sheep in great numbers; and he has summoned all the sons of the king, Evyatar the cohen and Yo’av the commander of the army; but he didn’t summon Shlomo your servant. ²⁰ As for you, my lord the king, all Isra’el is watching you; they are waiting for you to tell them who is to sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. ²¹ If you don’t, then, when my lord the king sleeps with his ancestors, I and my son Shlomo will be considered criminals.”

²² Right then, while she was still talking with the king, Natan the prophet entered. ²³ They told the king, “Natan the prophet is here.” After coming into the king’s presence, he prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground. ²⁴ Natan said, “My lord king, did you say, ‘Adoniyah is to be king after me; he will sit on my throne’? ²⁵ For he has gone down today and killed oxen, fattened calves and sheep in great numbers; and he has summoned all the king’s sons, the commanders of the army and Evyatar the cohen; right now they are eating and drinking in his presence and proclaiming, ‘Long live King Adoniyah!’ ²⁶ But he didn’t summon me your servant, or Tzadok the cohen, or B’nayah the son of Y’hoyada or your servant Shlomo. ²⁷ Is this authorized by my lord the king without your having told your servant who would sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”

²⁸ King David answered by saying, “Summon Bat-Sheva to me.” She entered the king’s presence and stood before the king. ²⁹ Then the king swore an oath: “As Adonai lives, who has delivered me from all adversity, ³⁰ as I swore to you by Adonai the God of Isra’el, ‘Your son Shlomo will be king after me; he will sit on my throne in my place,’ so will I do today.” ³¹ Bat-Sheva bowed with her face to the ground, prostrating herself to the king, and said, “Let my lord King David live forever.”

³² King David said, “Summon Tzadok the cohen, Natan the prophet and B’nayah the son of Y’hoyada.” They came before the king. ³³ The king said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord, have Shlomo my son ride on my own mule and bring him down to Gichon. ³⁴ There Tzadok the cohen and Natan the prophet are to anoint him king over Isra’el. Sound the shofar and say, “Long live King Shlomo!” ³⁵ Then escort him back; he is to come and sit on my throne; for he is to take my place as king. I have appointed him to rule over Isra’el and Y’hudah.” ³⁶ B’nayah responded to the king by saying, “Amen! May Adonai, the God of my lord the king, confirm it! ³⁷ Just as Adonai has been with my lord the king, so may he be with Shlomo and make his throne even greater than the throne of my lord King David!”

³⁸ So Tzadok the cohen, Natan the prophet, B’nayah the son of Y’hoyada and the K’reti and P’leti went down, had Shlomo ride on King David’s mule and brought him to Gichon. ³⁹ Tzadok the cohen took the horn of olive oil out of the tent and anointed Shlomo. They sounded the shofar, and all the people shouted, “Long live King Shlomo!” ⁴⁰ All the people escorted him back, playing flutes and rejoicing greatly, so that the earth shook with the sound.

⁴¹ Adoniyah and all his guests heard it while they were finishing their meal; but it was Yo’av who, when he heard the blast on the shofar, asked, “That noise — what’s the meaning of this uproar in the city?” ⁴² While he was still speaking, there came Yonatan the son of Evyatar the cohen. Adoniyah said, “Come in! You’re a worthy man, so you must be bringing good news!” ⁴³ Yonatan answered Adoniyah, “The truth is, our lord King David has made Shlomo king. ⁴⁴ Moreover, the king sent with him Tzadok the cohen, Natan the prophet, B’nayah the son of Y’hoyada and the K’reti and P’leti; they had him ride on the king’s mule; ⁴⁵ and Tzadok the cohen and Natan the prophet anointed him king in Gichon. Then they escorted him back from there rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar; this is the noise you’ve been hearing. ⁴⁶ Moreover, Shlomo is now sitting on the throne of the kingdom. ⁴⁷ More than that, the king’s servants came and blessed our lord King David with these words: ‘May God make the name of Shlomo better than your name and his throne greater than your throne,’ after which the king bowed down on the bed. ⁴⁸ Finally, the king said, ‘Blessed be Adonai the God of Isra’el, who has given someone to sit on my throne today, when my own eyes can see it.’”

⁴⁹ At this all Adoniyah’s guests grew frightened; they got up, everyone going his own way. ⁵⁰ Adoniyah too was afraid because of Shlomo; he got up, went and took hold of the horns of the altar. ⁵¹ Shlomo was told, “Here, Adoniyah is terrified of King Shlomo; he has grabbed hold of the horns of the altar and is saying, ‘First let King Shlomo swear to me that he will not have his servant executed.’” ⁵² Shlomo said, “If he will demonstrate that he is a worthy man, not a hair of his will fall to the earth. But if he is found making trouble, he will die.” ⁵³ So King Shlomo sent, and they brought him down from the altar. He came and prostrated himself before King Shlomo; and Shlomo said to him, ‘Go on home.’”

2 The time came near for David to die; so he commissioned Shlomo his son as follows: ² “I am going the way of all the earth. Therefore, be strong; show yourself a man. ³ Observe the charge of Adonai your God to go in his ways and keep his regulations, mitzvot, rulings and instructions in accordance with what is written in the Torah of Moshe; so that you will succeed in all you do and wherever you go. ⁴ If you do, Adonai will fulfill what he promised me when he said, ‘If your children pay attention to how they live, conducting themselves before me honestly with all their heart and being, you will never lack a man on the throne of Isra’el.’

⁵ “Moreover, you are aware of what Yo’av the son of Tz’ruyah did to me, that is, what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Isra’el, Avner the son of Ner and ‘Amasa the son of Yeter — he killed them, shedding the blood of war in peacetime, putting the blood of war on the belt around his waist and the shoes on his feet. ⁶ Therefore, act according to your wisdom; don’t let his gray head go down to the grave in peace.

⁷ “But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gil‘adi. Include them with those who eat at your table, because they came and stood with me when I was fleeing from Avshalom your brother.

⁸ “Finally, you have with you Shim‘i the son of Gera the Binyamini, from Bachurim. He laid a terrible curse on me when I was on my way to Machanayim; but he came down to meet me at the Yarden; so I swore to him by Adonai that I would not have him put to death with the sword. ⁹ Now, however, you should not let him go unpunished. You are a wise man, and you will know what you should do to him — you will bring his gray head down to the grave with blood.”

¹⁰ Then David slept with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. ¹¹ David had ruled Isra’el for forty years — seven years in Hevron and thirty-three years in Yerushalayim.

¹² Shlomo sat on the throne of David his father; and his rule had become firmly established, ¹³ when Adoniyah the son of Haggit came to Bat-Sheva the mother of Shlomo. She asked, “Have you come as a friend?” He answered, “Yes, as a friend.” ¹⁴ Then he continued, “I have something to say to you.” She said, “Go on.” ¹⁵ He said, “You know that the kingdom should have been mine, that all Isra’el was looking to me to be their ruler. No matter; the kingdom has turned around and become my brother’s, because Adonai gave it to him. ¹⁶ But now I ask one favor of you; don’t deny me.” “Go on,” she said. ¹⁷ He said, “Please speak to Shlomo the king — for he won’t say ‘No’ to you — and ask him to give me Avishag the Shunamit as my wife.” ¹⁸ Bat-Sheva said, “All right, I will speak to the king on your behalf.”

¹⁹ So Bat-Sheva went to King Shlomo to speak to him on behalf of Adoniyah. The king rose to meet her and bowed down to her. Then he sat down on his throne and had a throne set up for the king’s mother, so that she sat at his right. ²⁰ She said, “I am asking one small favor of you; don’t deny me.” The king said to her, “Ask, mother; I won’t deny you.” ²¹ She said, “Let Avishag the Shunamit be given to Adoniyah your brother as his wife.” ²² King Shlomo answered his mother, “Why are you asking Avishag the Shunamit for Adoniyah? Ask the kingdom for him too! After all, he’s my older brother! Yes, for him, and for Evyatar the cohen and for Yo’av the son of Tz’ruyah!” ²³ Then King Shlomo swore by Adonai, “May God do terrible things to me and worse if Adoniyah hasn’t condemned himself to death with this request! ²⁴ Now therefore, as Adonai lives, who has established me, put me on the throne of David my father and set up a dynasty for me, as he promised, Adoniyah will certainly be put to death today.” ²⁵ King Shlomo commissioned B’nayah the son of Y’hoyada, and he struck him down, so that he died.

²⁶ To Evyatar the cohen the king said, “You, get yourself to ‘Anatot, to your own fields. You deserve to die; but I won’t put you to death just now; since you did carry the ark of Adonai Elohim before David my father; and you suffered together with my father in everything he suffered.” ²⁷ So Shlomo forced Evyatar out of his task as cohen to Adonai, so that what Adonai had said in Shiloh about the family of ‘Eli might be fulfilled.

²⁸ When the news came to Yo’av, he fled to the tent of Adonai and took hold of the horns of the altar; for Yo’av had given his support to Adoniyah, even though he had not supported Avshalom. ²⁹ King Shlomo was told, “Yo’av has fled to the tent of Adonai; he’s there by the altar.” Shlomo sent B’nayah the son of Y’hoyada with the order, “Go, strike him down.” ³⁰ B’nayah came to the tent of Adonai and said to him, “The king says: leave!” He answered, “No, I’d rather die here.” B’nayah brought the message back to the king, “This is what Yo’av said to me.” ³¹ The king answered him, “Do what he said — strike him down, and bury him. In this way you will take away from me and my father’s family the blood which Yo’av shed for no reason. ³² Adonai will bring his blood back on his own head, because he struck down two men more righteous and better than he — he killed them with the sword without my father David’s awareness: Avner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Isra’el, and ‘Amasa the son of Yeter, commander of the army of Y’hudah. ³³ In this way their blood will return on the head of Yo’av and his descendants forever; but for David, his descendants, his family and his throne there will be peace forever from Adonai.” ³⁴ So B’nayah the son of Y’hoyada went up, struck him down and killed him; he was buried in his own house in the desert. ³⁵ The king put B’nayah the son of Y’hoyada in charge of the army instead of him, and the king replaced Evyatar with Tzadok the cohen.

³⁶ The king summoned Shim‘i and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Yerushalayim, and live there; don’t go outside the city walls. ³⁷ Know for a fact that on the day you go out and cross Vadi Kidron, you will certainly die; your blood will be on your own head.” ³⁸ Shim‘i answered the king, “What you have said is good; as my lord the king has said, so will your servant do.” So Shim‘i lived in Yerushalayim for a long time.

³⁹ But after three years, two of Shim‘i’s slaves ran away and went to Akhish son of Ma‘akhah, king of Gat. They told Shim‘i, “Your slaves are in Gat.” ⁴⁰ So Shim‘i set out, saddled his donkey and went to Akhish in Gat to look for his slaves; then Shim‘i returned, bringing his slaves from Gat.

⁴¹ Shlomo was told that Shim‘i had gone from Yerushalayim to Gat and back. ⁴² The king summoned Shim‘i and said to him, “Didn’t I have you swear by Adonai and forewarn you by telling you, ‘Know for a fact that on the day you leave and go anywhere outside the city, you will certainly die’? and you answered me, ‘What you’re saying is good; I hear it.’ ⁴³ Why, then, haven’t you kept the oath of Adonai and the mitzvah I charged you with?” ⁴⁴ Moreover, the king said to Shim‘i, “You know in your own heart all the terrible things you did to David my father; therefore Adonai will bring back your wickedness on your own head. ⁴⁵ But King Shlomo will be blessed, and the throne of David will be established before Adonai forever.” ⁴⁶ So the king gave the order to B’nayah the son of Y’hoyada, and he went out and struck him down, so that he died.

Thus the kingdom was established in Shlomo’s hands.

3 Shlomo formed an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt by marrying Pharaoh’s daughter. He brought her into the City of David, [where she lived] until he had finished building his own palace, the house of Adonai and the wall around Yerushalayim. ² The people, however, were still sacrificing on the high places, because no house had yet been built for the name of Adonai. ³ Shlomo loved Adonai, living according to the regulations set forth by David his father; nevertheless, he sacrificed and made offerings on the high places.

⁴ One time the king went to Giv‘on to sacrifice there, because that was the main high place. Shlomo offered a thousand burnt offerings on the altar there. ⁵ At Giv‘on Adonai appeared to Shlomo in a dream at night; God said, “Tell me what I should give you.” ⁶ Shlomo said, “You showed your servant David my father much grace, as he lived before you honestly and righteously, having an upright heart with you. You preserved this great grace for him by giving him a son to sit on his throne, as is the case today. ⁷ So now, Adonai my God, you have made your servant king in the place of David my father; but I am a mere child — I don’t know how to lead! ⁸ Moreover your servant is among your people, whom you chose, a great people so numerous that they cannot be counted. ⁹ Therefore, give your servant an understanding heart able to administer justice to your people, so that I can discern between good and bad — for who is equal to judging this great people of yours?”

¹⁰ What Shlomo had said in making this request pleased Adonai. ¹¹ God said to him, “Because you have made this request instead of asking long life or riches for yourself, or your enemies’ death, but rather asked for yourself understanding to discern justice; ¹² I am doing what you requested. I am giving you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has never been anyone like you, nor will there ever again be anyone like you. ¹³ I am also giving you what you didn’t ask for, riches and honor greater than that of any other king throughout your life. ¹⁴ More than that, if you will live according to my ways, obeying my laws and mitzvot like your father David, I will give you a long life.”

¹⁵ Shlomo awoke and found it had been a dream. But he went to Yerushalayim, stood before the ark for the covenant of Adonai and offered up burnt offerings and peace offerings. He also made a feast for all his servants.

¹⁶ After this, there came to the king two women who were prostitutes. After presenting themselves to him, ¹⁷ one of the women said, “My lord, I and this woman live in the same house; and when she was in the house, I gave birth to a baby. ¹⁸ Three days after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. We were there together; there was no one else with us in the house except the two of us. ¹⁹ During the night this woman’s child died, because she rolled over on top of it. ²⁰ So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from next to me, while your servant was sleeping, and put it in her arms; and she laid her dead child in my arms. ²¹ When I awoke in the morning to feed my child from my breast, there it was, dead. But when I took a closer look later in the morning, why, it wasn’t my son at all — not the one I gave birth to!” ²² The other woman broke in, “No! The living one is my son, and the dead one is your son!” The first one said, “No! The dead one is your son and the living one is my son!” This is how they spoke in the presence of the king.

²³ Then the king said, “This woman says, ‘The living one is my son; your son is the dead one’; while the other says, ‘No, the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.’ ²⁴ Bring me a sword,” said the king. They brought a sword to the king. ²⁵ The king said, “Cut the living child in two; give half to the one and half to the other.” ²⁶ At this, the woman to whom the living child belonged addressed the king, because she felt so strongly toward her son: “Oh, my lord, give her the living child; you mustn’t kill it!” But the other one said, “It will be neither yours nor mine. Divide it up!” ²⁷ Then the king answered, “Give the living child to the first woman, don’t kill it, because she is its mother.” ²⁸ All Isra’el heard of the decision the king had made and held the king in awe, for they saw that God’s wisdom was in him, enabling him to render justice properly.

4 King Shlomo was king over all Isra’el, ² and these were his high officials:

⁷ Shlomo had twelve officers over all Isra’el who were in charge of providing food and supplies for the king and his household; each one was in charge of provisions for one month out of the year. ⁸ They were:

Over all these, there was one administrator in the land.

²⁰ Y’hudah and Isra’el were as numerous as sand grains on the seashore; they ate, drank and enjoyed themselves.

5 ^(4:21) Shlomo ruled over all the kingdoms from the [Euphrates] River through the land of the P’lishtim to the border of Egypt; they paid tribute and served Shlomo as long as he lived. ^2 (4:22) Shlomo’s provisions for one day consisted of 150 bushels of fine flour, 310 bushels of meal, ^3 (4:23) ten fattened oxen, twenty pasture-fed oxen and one hundred sheep, in addition to deer, gazelles, roebucks and fattened poultry. ^4 (4:24) For he ruled all the area this side of the [Euphrates] River, from Tifsach to ‘Azah. He was over all the kings on this side of the River; and he had peace all around him, on every side. ^5 (4:25) From Dan to Be’er-Sheva, Y’hudah and Isra’el lived securely, every man under his vine and fig tree, throughout the lifetime of Shlomo. ^6 (4:26) Shlomo also had 40,000 stalls for the horses used with his chariots and 12,000 horsemen.

^7 (4:27) Those officers [named above] supplied food and other materials for King Shlomo and for everyone for whom Shlomo provided. Each was responsible for his month’s supplies; they saw to it that nothing was lacking. ^8 (4:28) They also made sure there was barley and straw where it was needed for the horses and draft animals; each filled his quota.

^9 (4:29) God gave Shlomo exceptional wisdom and understanding, as well as a heart as vast as the sandy beach by the sea. ^10 (4:30) Shlomo’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of the people from the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. ^11 (4:31) For he was wiser than everyone — wiser than Eitan the Ezrachi and wiser than Heiman, Kalkol and Darda the sons of Machol; so that his fame spread to all the surrounding nations. ^12 (4:32) He composed 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs. ^13 (4:33) He could discuss trees, from the cedar in the L’vanon to the hyssop growing out of the wall; he could discuss wild animals, poultry, reptiles and fish. ^14 (4:34) People from all nations came to hear the wisdom of Shlomo, including kings from all over the earth who had heard of his wisdom.

^15 (1) Hiram king of Tzor sent his servants to Shlomo, because he had heard that they had anointed him king in his father’s place, and Hiram had always loved David. ^16 (2) Shlomo returned this message to Hiram: ^17 (3) “You know that David my father wasn’t able to build a house for the name of Adonai his God, because of the wars that beset him from every side, until Adonai put his enemies under the soles of my feet. ^18 (4) But now Adonai my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor calamity. ^19 (5) So now I intend to build a house for the name of Adonai my God, in keeping with what Adonai said to David my father, ‘Your son, whom I will put on your throne in your place, will be the one to build the house for my name.’ ^20 (6) Therefore, order your people to cut down cedar trees from the L’vanon for me. My servants will be with your servants. I will pay your servants according to everything you say; for you know that we have no one among us as skilled in felling trees as the Tzidonim.”

^21 (7) When Hiram heard Shlomo’s message, he was very happy and said, “Blessed be Adonai today, who has given David a wise son to rule this great people.” ^22 (8) Then Hiram sent Shlomo this message: “I have heard the message you sent me, and I will do everything you want concerning cedar logs and cypress logs. ^23 (9) My servants will bring them down from the L’vanon to the sea. I will make them into rafts to go by sea to whatever place you tell me and will have them broken up there, and you will receive them. You will compensate me by providing food for my household.”

^24 (10) So Hiram gave Shlomo all the cedar logs and cypress logs he wanted; ^25 (11) and Shlomo gave Hiram 100,000 bushels of wheat as food for his household and a thousand gallons of oil from pressed olives — this is what Shlomo gave Hiram each year. ^26 (12) Adonai gave Shlomo wisdom, as he had promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Shlomo — the two of them formed an alliance together.

^27 (13) King Shlomo conscripted 30,000 men from all Isra’el for forced labor. ^28 (14) He sent them to the L’vanon in monthly relays of 10,000; they would stay a month in the L’vanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor.

^29 (15) Shlomo had 70,000 men to carry loads and another 80,000 stonecutters in the hills, ^30 (16) besides Shlomo’s 3,300 supervisors who were in charge of the people doing the work. ^31 (17) The king gave orders; and they quarried large stones, expensive stones, to lay the foundation of the house with cut stone. ^32 (18) Shlomo’s and Hiram’s builders, along with the men from G’val, worked the stones and prepared the timber and stones for building the house.

6 It was in the 480th year after the people of Isra’el had left the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Shlomo’s reign over Isra’el, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of Adonai. ² The house which King Shlomo built for Adonai was 105 feet long, thirty-five feet wide and fifty-two-and-a-half feet high. ³ The hall fronting the temple of the house was thirty-five feet long, the same as the width of the house itself, so that its seventeen-and-a-half-foot width extended frontward from the house. ⁴ The windows he made for the house were wide on the inside and narrow on the outside. ⁵ Against the wall of the house he built an annex all the way around; it went all the way around the walls of the house, including both the temple and the sanctuary. ⁶ The lowest floor of the annex was eight-and-three-quarters feet wide, the middle floor ten-and-a-half feet wide and the third floor twelve-and-a-quarter feet wide; for he had made the outer part of the wall of the house step-shaped, so that the beams of the annex would not have to be attached to the house walls. ⁷ For the house, when under construction, was built of stone prepared at the quarry; so that no hammer, chisel or iron tool of any kind was heard in the house while it was being built. ⁸ The entrance to the lowest floor was on the south side of the house; a spiral staircase went up to the middle floor and on to the third. ⁹ So he built the house, and after finishing it, he put its roof on — cedar planks over beams. ¹⁰ Each floor of the annex surrounding the house was eight-and-three-quarters feet high and was attached to the house with beams of cedar.

¹¹ Then this word of Adonai came to Shlomo: ¹² “Concerning this house which you are building: if you will live according to my regulations, follow my rulings and observe all my mitzvot and live by them, then I will establish with you my promise that I made to David your father — ¹³ I will live in it among the people of Isra’el, and I will not abandon my people Isra’el.”

¹⁴ So Shlomo finished building the house. ¹⁵ The insides of the walls of the house he built with boards of cedar: from the floor of the house to the joists of the ceiling he covered them on the inside with wood, and he covered the floor of the house with boards of cypress. ¹⁶ The thirty-five-foot back portion of the house he built with boards of cedar from the floor to the joists and reserved this part of the house to be a sanctuary, the Especially Holy Place; ¹⁷ while the rest of the house, that is, the temple in front, was seventy feet long. ¹⁸ The cedar covering the house was carved with gourds and open flowers; all was cedar; no stone was visible. ¹⁹ In the inner part of the house he set up the sanctuary, so that the ark for the covenant of Adonai could be placed there. ²⁰ This sanctuary was thirty-five feet long, wide and high; and it was overlaid with pure gold. In front of it he set an altar, which he covered with cedar. ²¹ Shlomo overlaid the interior of the house with pure gold and had chains of gold placed before the sanctuary, which itself he overlaid with gold. ²² The entire house he overlaid with gold until it was completely covered with it. He also overlaid with gold the entire altar that belonged to the sanctuary.

²³ Inside the sanctuary he made two k’ruvim of olive-wood, each seventeen-and-a-half feet high. ²⁴ Each of the two wings of one of the k’ruvim was eight-and-three quarters feet long, so that the distance from the end of one wing to the end of the other was seventeen-and-a-half feet. ²⁵ Likewise the [wingspread of the] other keruv was seventeen-and-a-half feet; both k’ruvim were identical in shape and size. ²⁶ The height of the one keruv was seventeen-and-a-half feet, likewise that of the other. ²⁷ He set the k’ruvim in the inner house; the wings of the k’ruvim were stretched out, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other keruv touched the other wall; their wings touched each other in the middle of the house. ²⁸ He overlaid the k’ruvim with gold. ²⁹ All around the walls of the house, both inside the sanctuary and outside it, he carved figures of k’ruvim, palm trees and open flowers. ³⁰ He overlaid the floor of the house with gold, both inside the sanctuary and outside it.

³¹ For the entrance to the sanctuary he made doors of olive-wood, set within a five-sided door-frame. ³² On the two olive-wood doors he carved figures of k’ruvim, palm trees and open flowers. He overlaid the doors with gold, forcing the gold into the shapes of the k’ruvim and palm trees as well. ³³ For the entrance to the temple he also made doorposts of olive-wood, set within a rectangular door-frame, ³⁴ and two doors of cypress-wood; the two leaves of the one door were folding, as were the two leaves of the other. ³⁵ On them he carved k’ruvim, palm trees and open flowers, overlaying them with gold fitted to the carved work. ³⁶ He built the inner courtyard with three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams.

³⁷ The foundation of the house of Adonai was laid in the fourth year, in the month of Ziv. ³⁸ In the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, all parts of the house were completed exactly as designed. Thus he was seven years building it.

7 Shlomo built a palace for himself, taking thirteen years to finish it. ² For he built the House of the L’vanon Forest 175 feet long, eighty-seven-and-a-half feet wide and fifty-two-and-a-half feet high, on four rows of cedar posts, with cedar beams on the posts. ³ It had a roof made of cedar and supported by beams lying on forty-five posts, fifteen in a row. ⁴ There were three rows of window openings, placed so that the windows on facing walls were opposite each other at all three levels. ⁵ All the doors and doorways were rectangular and opposite each other at all three levels.

⁶ He made the columned hall eighty-seven-and-a-half feet long and fifty-two-and-a-half feet wide, with a columned, corniced porch in front of it.

⁷ He made the Hall of the Throne his place for dispensing justice, that is, the Hall of Judgment; it was covered with cedar from floor to ceiling.

⁸ His own living quarters, in the other courtyard, set back from the Hall, were similarly designed. He also made a house like this Hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom Shlomo had taken as his wife.

⁹ All these buildings were made of expensive stone blocks, cut to measure and finished by saws on the inner surfaces as well as the outer ones. These stones were used from the foundation to the eaves and outward from the buildings all the way to the Great Courtyard. ¹⁰ The foundation was of expensive stone blocks, very large ones — stones fourteen to eighteen feet long. ¹¹ Above these were costly stones, cut to measure, and cedar-wood. ¹² The surrounding Great Courtyard had three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams like the inner courtyard of the house of Adonai and the courtyard by the hall of the house.

¹³ King Shlomo sent for Hiram and brought him from Tzor. ¹⁴ He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naftali, but his father was from Tzor, a bronze-worker filled with wisdom, understanding and skill for all kinds of bronze craftsmanship. He came to King Shlomo and did all his bronzework. ¹⁵ He made the two bronze columns, each one thirty-one-and-a-half feet high and twenty-one feet in circumference. ¹⁶ He made two capitals of melted bronze to set on the tops of the columns; each capital was eight-and-three-quarters feet high; ¹⁷ he also made checker-work nets and chained wreaths, seven for the top of each capital. ¹⁸ When he made the columns, he made two rows of pomegranates to put at the top of each column around the netting covering its capital. ¹⁹ The capitals on the columns in the hall had shapes like lilies and were seven feet high. ²⁰ As for the capitals on the two columns, there were 200 pomegranates in rows around each capital near the molding by the netting. ²¹ He erected the columns in the hall of the temple; on erecting the right column he gave it the name “Yakhin,” and on erecting the left column he named it “Bo‘az.” ²² On the tops of the columns were shapes like lilies; thus the work of the columns was finished.

²³ He made the cast metal “Sea” circular, seventeen-and-a-half feet from rim to rim, eight-and-three quarter feet high and fifty-two-and-a-half feet in circumference. ²⁴ Under its rim, three hundred gourds encircled it in two rows; they were cast when the Sea was cast. ²⁵ It rested on twelve oxen, three looking north, three looking west, three looking south and three looking east, all with their hindquarters toward the center. The Sea was set on top of them. ²⁶ It was a handbreadth thick, its rim was made like the rim of a cup, like the flower of a lily; and its capacity was 11,000 gallons.

²⁷ He made ten bronze trolleys, each one seven feet long, seven feet wide, and five-and-a-quarter feet high. ²⁸ They were designed with panels that were set between the corner-posts, ²⁹ and on the panels between the corner-posts were lions, oxen and k’ruvim. The corner-posts above were similarly designed. Below the lions and oxen were wreaths of hammered work. ³⁰ Every trolley had four bronze wheels and bronze axles, and its four legs each had cast supports which were under the basin, with wreaths next to each. ³¹ The opening of the stand into which the basin was inserted was eighteen inches high; the stand was round, resembling a pedestal, and it was two-and-a-half feet in diameter. On the stand were carvings, and the outside was square, not round. ³² The four wheels were under the panels, and the axles for the wheels were attached to the trolleys; each wheel was two-and-a-half feet. ³³ The wheels were made like chariot wheels; their axles, rims, spokes and hubs were all cast metal. ³⁴ There were four supports at the four corners of each trolley; the supports were attached to the trolley itself. ³⁵ In the top of the trolley was a circular support ten-and-a-half inches high, and the trolley’s corner-posts and panels were attached to its top. ³⁶ On the sides of the panels and on its corners he carved k’ruvim, lions and palm trees, according to the amount of space each required, with wreaths surrounding. ³⁷ According to this design he made the ten trolleys; all of them were cast from a single mold, so that they had the same size and shape.