Bible in 90 Days
19 “They confronted me on the day of my calamity. But the LORD was my Stay,
20 “and brought me forth into a large place. He delivered me, because He favored me.
21 “The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness. According to the pureness of my hands, He brought me back.
22 “For I kept the ways of the LORD and did not do wickedly against my God.
23 “For all His Laws were before me, and His Statutes. I did not depart from them.
24 “I was also upright toward Him and have kept myself from my wickedness.
25 “Therefore, the LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my pureness before His Eyes.
26 “With the godly, You will show Yourself godly. With the upright man, You will show Yourself upright.
27 “With the pure, You will show Yourself pure. And with the crooked, You will show Yourself a Wrestler.
28 “Thus You will save the poor people. But Your Eyes are upon the haughty, to humble.
29 “Surely, You are my Light, O LORD! And the LORD will lighten my darkness!
30 “For by You have I broken through an army. And by my God have I leapt over a wall.
31 “The way of God is complete. The Word of the LORD is tested. He is a Shield to all who trust in Him.
32 “For who is God besides the LORD? And who is mighty, except our God?
33 “God is my strength in battle and makes my way upright.
34 “He makes my feet like hinds’ and has set me upon my high places.
35 “He teaches my hands to fight, so that a bowl of bronze is broken with my arms.
36 “You have also given me the Shield of Your Salvation, and Your loving kindness has caused me to increase.
37 “You have enlarged my steps under me. And my heels have not slid.
38 “I have pursued my enemies and destroyed them and have not turned back until I had consumed them.
39 “Yea, I have consumed them and thrust them through. And they shall not arise but shall fall under my feet.
40 “For You have girded me with power to battle. Those who rose against me You have subdued under me.
41 “And You have given me the necks of my enemies, so that I might destroy those who hate me.
42 “They looked around but there was no one to save, to the LORD but He did not answer them.
43 “Then I beat them as small as the dust of the earth. I tread them flat as the clay of the street and scattered them.
44 “You have also delivered me from the contentions of my people. You have preserved me to be the head over nations. The people whom I did not know, serve me.
45 “Strangers shall be in subjection to me. As soon as they hear, they shall obey me.
46 “Strangers shall shrink away and fear in their strongholds.
47 “Let the LORD live! And blessed be my Strength and God! The Force of my Salvation be exalted!
48 “It is God Who gives me power, to revenge me and subdue the people under me
49 “and rescue me from my enemies! You also have lifted me up from those who rose against me. You have delivered me from the cruel man!
50 “Therefore I will praise You, O LORD, among the nations, and will sing to Your Name!
51 “He is the Tower of Salvation for His king, and shows mercy to His anointed, to David and to his seed, forever.”
23 These, also, are the last words of David. David, the son of Jesse, says. The man who was set up on high. The anointed of the God of Jacob and the sweet singer of Israel, says,
2 “The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me. And His Word was in my tongue.
3 “The God of Israel spoke to me, the Strength of Israel said: ‘Bear rule over men, being just, ruling in the fear of God,
4 ‘as the morning light when the Sun rises. Be as the morning, I say, without clouds, as the grass of the earth by the bright rain.’
5 “For my House shall not be so with God. For He has made with me an everlasting Covenant, perfect in all points, and sure. It is with all my health and whole desire. Will He not make it grow?
6 “But every one of the wicked shall be as thorns thrust away, because they cannot be taken with hands.
7 “But the man who shall touch them must be filled with iron, or with the shaft of a spear. And they shall be burnt with fire in the same place.”
8 These are the names of the mighty men whom David has. He who sat in the seat of wisdom, being chief of the princes, was Adino of Ezni. He killed eight hundred at one time.
9 And after him was Eleazar, the son of Dodo, the son of Ahohi, one of the three worthies with David when they defied the Philistines gathered there to battle when the men of Israel had gone up.
10 He arose and struck the Philistines, until his hand was weary, and his hand clung to the sword. And the LORD gave great victory that same day. And the people returned after him only to plunder.
11 After him was Shammah, the son of Agee the Hararite. For the Philistines assembled at a town where there was a piece of a field full of lentils. And the people fled from the Philistines.
12 But he stood in the midst of the field and defended it and killed the Philistines. So, the LORD gave great victory.
13 Afterward, thirty-three of the captains went down and came to David in the harvest time, to the cave of Adullam. And the army of the Philistines camped in the Valley of Rephaim.
14 And David was then in a stronghold. And the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.
15 And David longed, and said, “Oh, that one would give me a drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate!”
16 Then the three mighty men broke through the army of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and took and brought it to David, who would not drink of it, but poured it out to the LORD,
17 and said, “O LORD! Far be it from me that I should do this! Is not this the blood of the men who went in jeopardy of their lives?” Therefore, he would not drink it. These things these three mighty men did.
18 And Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief among the three. And he lifted up his spear against three hundred and killed them. And he had the name among the three.
19 For he was most excellent of the three and was their captain. But he did not aspire to be in the first three.
20 And Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done many acts, killed two strong men of Moab. He also went down and killed a lion in the midst of a pit, in the time of snow.
21 And he killed an Egyptian, a man of great stature. And the Egyptian had a spear in his hand. But he went down to him with a staff and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear.
22 These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did and had the name among the three worthies.
23 He was honorable among thirty, but he did not aspire to be in the first three. And David made him one of his counsel.
24 Asahel, the brother of Joab, was one of the thirty; and Elhanan, the son of Dodo of Bethlehem,
25 Shammoth the Harorite, Elika the Harodite,
26 Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite,
27 Abiezer the Anathothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite,
28 Zalmon an Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite,
29 Heleb the son of Baanah a Netophathite, Ittai the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the children of Benjamin,
30 Benaiah the Pirathonite, Hiddai of the river of Gaash,
31 Abi-Albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite,
32 Eliahba the Shaalbonite of the sons of Jashen, Jonathan,
33 Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Hararite,
34 Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of Maachathi, Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite,
35 Hezrai the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite,
36 Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite,
37 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite, the armor-bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah,
38 Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite,
39 and Uriah the Hittite, thirty-seven in all.
24 And the wrath of the LORD was again kindled against Israel. And He moved David against them, in that He said: “Go! Count Israel and Judah.”
2 So the king said to Joab, the captain of the army who was with him, “Go speedily now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and count the people, so that I may know the number of the people.”
3 And Joab said to the king, “May the LORD your God increase the people a hundredfold more than they are. And may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king desire this thing?”
4 Nevertheless, the king’s word prevailed against Joab and against the captains of the army. Therefore, Joab and the captains of the army went out from the presence of the king to count the people of Israel.
5 And they passed over Jordan and camped in Aroer, at the right side of the city that is in the midst of the Valley of Gad and toward Jazer.
6 Then they came to Gilead and to Tahtim Hodshi. So, they came to Dan Jaan, and so about to Sidon,
7 and came to the fortress of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and of the Canaanites and went toward the southern part of Judah, to Beersheba.
8 So when they had gone around all the land, they returned to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.
9 And Joab delivered the number and sum of the people to the king. And there were eight hundred thousand strong men who drew swords in Israel. And the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.
10 Then David’s heart struck him, after he had counted the people. And David said to the LORD, “I have sinned exceedingly in what I have done! Therefore now, LORD, I pray, take away the trespass of Your servant! For I have done very foolishly!”
11 And when David was up in the morning, the Word of the LORD came to the Prophet Gad, David’s Seer, saying:
12 “Go and say to David, ‘Thus says the LORD: “I offer you three things. Choose for yourself which of them I shall do to you.”’”
13 So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, “Would you rather that seven years famine come upon you in your land, or would you rather flee for three months before your enemies (they following you) or that there were three days pestilence in my land? Now be advised and consider what answer I shall give to Him Who sent me.”
14 And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us fall now into the hand of the LORD (for His mercies are great) and let me not fall into the hand of man.”
15 So the LORD sent a pestilence in Israel, from the morning to the time appointed. And of the people from Dan to Beersheba, there died seventy thousand men.
16 And when the Angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem, to destroy it, the LORD relented and said to the Angel that destroyed the people: “It is sufficient. Restrain your hand now.” And the Angel of the LORD was by the threshing place of Araunah the Jebusite.
17 And David spoke to the LORD (when he saw the Angel that struck the people) and said, “Behold, I have sinned. Yea, I have done wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Please, I pray, let Your hand be against me and against my father’s House.”
18 So the same day, Gad came to David and said to him, “Go up. Raise an Altar to the LORD in the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”
19 And David (according to the saying of Gad) went up, as the LORD had Commanded.
20 And Araunah looked and saw the king and his servants coming toward him. And Araunah went out and bowed himself before the king, on his face, to the ground.
21 And Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” Then David answered, “To buy your threshing floor in order to build an Altar to the LORD, so that the plague may cease from the people.”
22 Then Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer what seems good to him in his eyes. Behold the oxen for the Burnt Offering, and chariots and the instruments of the oxen for wood.”
23 (All these things Araunah gave to the king, as a king.) And Araunah said to the king, “The LORD your God be favorable to you.”
24 Then the king said to Araunah, “Not so. But I will buy it from you at a price and will not offer Burnt Offering to the LORD my God of that which cost me nothing.” So, David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
25 And David built an Altar to the LORD there and offered Burnt Offerings and Peace Offerings. And the LORD was appeased toward the land. And the plague ceased from Israel.
1 Now when King David was old and stricken in years, they covered him with clothes, but no heat came to him.
2 Therefore, his servants said to him, “Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin. And let her stand before the king and care for him. And let her lie in your bosom, so that my lord the king may get warm.”
3 So they sought for a fair young maid throughout all the territory of Israel, and found one Abishag, a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.
4 And the maid was exceedingly fair and cared for the king and ministered to him. But the king did not know her.
5 Then Adonijah, the son of Haggith, exalted himself, saying, “I will be king!” And he got himself chariots and horsemen and fifty men to run before him.
6 And his father had never disciplined him since his childhood, to say, “Why have you done this?” And he was a very pleasant man, born next after Absalom.
7 And he took counsel from Joab, the son of Zeruiah, and from Abiathar the Priest. And they looked after Adonijah.
8 But Zadok the Priest, and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the Prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the men of might who were with David, were not with Adonijah.
9 Then, Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by En Rogel, and called all his brethren the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah the king’s servants.
10 But Nathan the Prophet and Benaiah and the mighty men and Solomon, his brother, he did not call.
11 Therefore, Nathan spoke to Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon, saying, “Have you not heard that Adonijah, the son of Haggith, reigns, and David our lord does not know it?
12 “Now, therefore, come. I will now give you counsel, how to save your own life and the life of your son, Solomon.
13 “Go, and get yourself in to King David, and say to him, ‘Did you not swear to your handmaid, my lord, O king, saying, “Assuredly, Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne?” Why, then, is Adonijah king?’
14 “Behold, while you are still talking there with the king, I will also come in after you and confirm your words.”
15 So, Bathsheba went in to the king, into the chamber. And the king was very old. And Abishag the Shunammite ministered to the king.
16 And Bathsheba bowed and prostrated herself to the king. And the king said, “What is your wish?”
17 And she answered him, “My lord, you swore by the LORD your God to your handmaid, ‘Assuredly Solomon (your son) shall reign after me. And he shall sit upon my throne.’
18 “And behold, now Adonijah is king. And now, my lord, O king, you do not know it.
19 “And he has offered many oxen and fat cattle and sheep, and has called all the sons of the king and Abiathar the Priest and Joab the captain of the army. But Solomon, your servant, he has not called.
20 “And you, my lord, O king, know that the eyes of all Israel are on you, that you would tell them who would sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.
21 “For otherwise, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, I and my son Solomon shall have reputations as offenders.”
22 And lo, while she still talked with the king, Nathan the Prophet also came in.
23 And they told the king, saying, “Behold, Nathan the Prophet.” And when he had come in to the king, he prostrated himself before the king upon his face, to the ground.
24 And Nathan said, “My lord, O king, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall reign after me and he shall sit upon my throne?’
25 “For he has gone down this day and has killed many oxen and fat cattle and sheep and has called all the king’s sons and the captains of the army and Abiathar the Priest. And behold, they eat and drink before him, and say, ‘God save King Adonijah!’
26 “But me, your servant, and Zadok the Priest and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon he has not called.
27 “Is this thing done by my lord the king and you have not told your servant who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”
28 Then, King David answered, and said, “Call Bathsheba.” And she came into the king’s presence and stood before the king.
29 And the king swore, saying, “As the LORD lives, Who has redeemed my soul out of all adversity,
30 “just as I swore to you by the LORD God of Israel, saying, ‘Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me and he shall sit upon my throne in my place,’ so will I certainly do this day.”
31 Then Bathsheba bowed her face to the earth and did reverence to the king, and said, “God save my lord King David forever.”
32 And King David said, “Call Zadok the Priest and Nathan the Prophet and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada.” And they came before the king.
33 Then the king said to them, “Take the servants of your lord with you and have Solomon, my son, ride upon my own mule. And carry him down to Gihon.
34 “And let Zadok the Priest and Nathan the Prophet anoint him king over Israel there. And blow the trumpet, and say, ‘God save King Solomon!’
35 “Then come up after him, so that he may come and sit upon my throne. And he shall be king in my place. For I have appointed him to be prince over Israel and over Judah.”
36 Then Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, answered the king, and said, “So be it. The LORD, God of my lord the king, ratify it.
37 “As the LORD has been with my lord the king, so may he be with Solomon, and exalt his throne above the throne of my lord, King David.”
38 So Zadok the Priest and Nathan the Prophet and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride upon King David’s mule and brought him to Gihon.
39 And Zadok the Priest took a horn of oil out of the Tabernacle and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet. And all the people said, “God save King Solomon!”
40 And all the people came up after him. And the people played on flutes and rejoiced with great joy, so that the Earth rang with the sound of them.
41 And Adonijah, and all the guests who were with him, heard it (and they had finished eating). And when Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, “What does this noise and uproar in the city mean?”
42 And as he spoke, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the Priest came. And Adonijah said, “Come in. For you are a worthy man, and bring good news.”
43 And Jonathan answered, and said to Adonijah, “No. Our lord, King David, has made Solomon king.
44 “And the king has sent Zadok the Priest with him, and Nathan the Prophet and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites. And they have had him ride upon the king’s mule.
45 “And Zadok the Priest and Nathan the Prophet have anointed him king in Gihon. And they have gone up from there with joy. And the city is moved. This is the noise that you have heard.
46 “And Solomon also sits on the throne of the kingdom.
47 “And moreover, the king’s servants came to bless our lord, King David, saying, ‘God make the name of Solomon more famous than your name, and exalt his throne above your throne.’ Therefore, the king worshipped upon the bed.
48 “And thus said the king also, ‘Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who has made one to sit on my throne this day, even in my sight.’”
49 Then all the guests who were with Adonijah were afraid and rose up and each man went his way.
50 And Adonijah, fearing the presence of Solomon, arose and went and took hold of the horns of the Altar.
51 And someone told Solomon, saying, “Behold, Adonijah fears King Solomon. For lo, he has caught hold of the horns of the Altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me this day that he will not kill his servant with the sword.’”
52 Then Solomon said, “If he will show himself a worthy man, there shall not a hair of him fall to the earth. But if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.”
53 Then King Solomon sent, and they brought him from the altar. And he came and bowed down before King Solomon. And Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.”
2 Then the days of David drew near, that he should die. And he charged Solomon, his son, saying,
2 “I go the way of all the Earth. Be strong, therefore, and show yourself to be a man,
3 “and keep the charge of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and keep His Statutes and His Commandments and His Judgments and His Testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all that you do, and in everything to which you turn,
4 “so that the LORD may confirm His Word which He spoke to me, saying, ‘If your sons guard their way, so that they walk before Me in truth, with all their hearts and with all their souls, you shall not (said He) lack one of yours upon the throne of Israel.’
5 “You also know what Joab, the son of Zeruiah, did to me, and what he did to the two captains to the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed and shed blood of battle in peace. And he put the blood of war upon his girdle that was around his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet.
6 “Do, therefore, according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray head go down to the grave in peace.
7 “But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite. And let them be among those who eat at your table. For so they came to me when I fled from Absalom, your brother.
8 “And behold, with you is Shimei, the son of Gera, the son of Benjamin of Bahurim, who cursed me with a horrible curse on the day when I went to Mahanaim. But he came down to meet me at Jordan and I swore to him by the LORD, saying, ‘I will not kill you with the sword.’
9 “But you shall not count him innocent. For you are a wise man, and know what you ought to do to him. Therefore, you shall cause his gray head to go down to the grave with blood.”
10 So David slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David.
11 And the days which David reigned upon Israel were forty years. For seven years he reigned in Hebron and for thirty-three years he reigned in Jerusalem.
12 Then Solomon sat upon the throne of David, his father. And his kingdom was established mightily.
13 And Adonijah, the son of Haggith, came to Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon. And she said, “Do you come peaceably?” And he said, “Yea.”
14 Moreover he said, “I have something to say to you.” And she said, “Say on.”
15 Then he said, “You know that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, so that I should reign. However, the kingdom has turned away and is my brother’s. For it came to him by the LORD.
16 “Now, therefore, I ask one request of you. Do not refuse me.” And she said to him, “Say on.”
17 And he said, “Please speak to Solomon the king, (for he will not say no to you) so that he gives me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife.”
18 And Bathsheba said, “Well, I will speak to the king for you.”
19 Bathsheba, therefore, went to King Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king rose to meet her, and bowed himself to her, and sat down on his throne. And he had a seat prepared for the king’s mother. And she sat at his right hand.
20 Then she said, “I desire a small request of you. Do not turn away.” Then the king said to her, “Ask on, my mother. For I will not turn away.”
21 Then she said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as a wife.”
22 But king Solomon answered and said to his mother, “And why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also (for he is my elder brother) and for him both Abiathar the Priest and Joab the son of Zeruiah!”
23 Then King Solomon swore by the LORD, saying, “God do so to me and more also if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life!
24 “Now, therefore, as the LORD lives, Who has established me and set me on the throne of David, my father, Who has also made me a House (as He promised), Adonijah shall surely die this day!”
25 And King Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada. And he struck him so that he died.
26 Then the king said to Abiathar the Priest, “Go to Anathoth, to your own fields. For you are worthy of death. But I will not kill you this day, because you bear the Ark of the LORD God before David, my father, and because you have suffered in all in which my father has been afflicted.”
27 So Solomon cast out Abiathar from being Priest to the LORD, so that he might fulfill the words of the LORD which He spoke against the House of Eli in Shiloh.
28 Then news came to Joab (for Joab had followed Adonijah, but he had not followed Absalom). And Joab fled to the Tabernacle of the LORD and took hold of the horns of the Altar.
29 And it was told to King Solomon that Joab had fled to the Tabernacle of the LORD and, behold, was by the Altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, fall upon him!”
30 And Benaiah came to the Tabernacle of the LORD, and said to him, “Thus says the king, ‘Come out!’” And he said, “No! But I will die here!” Then Benaiah brought word back to the king, saying, “Thus said Joab and thus he answered me.”
31 And the king said to him, “Do as he has said, and strike him, and bury him, so that you may take away from me and from the House of my father the innocent blood which Joab shed.
32 “And the LORD shall bring his blood upon his own head. For he struck two men more righteous and better than he and killed them with the sword —Abner the son of Ner, captain of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the army of Judah—though my father David did not know it.
33 “Therefore, their blood shall return upon the head of Joab, and on the head of his seed, forever. But upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his House and upon his throne, there shall be peace forever from the LORD.”
34 So Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, went up and struck him and killed him. And he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.
35 And the king put Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, in his room over the army. And the king set Zadok the Priest in the room of Abiathar.
36 Afterward, the king sent and called Shimei, and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem, and dwell there. And do not go anywhere from there.
37 “For the day that you go out and pass over the river of Kidron, know assuredly that you shall die the death. Your blood shall be upon your own head.”
38 And Shimei said to the king, “The thing is good. As my lord the king has said, so will your servant do.” So Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem for many days.
39 And after three years, two of the servants of Shimei fled away to Achish, son of Maachah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, “Behold, your servants are in Gath.”
40 And Shimei arose and saddled his donkey and went to Gath, to Achish, to seek his servants. And Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath.
41 And it was told to Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had come back.
42 And the king sent and called Shimei, and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the LORD, and solemnly say to you, ‘The day that you go out and walk anywhere, know assuredly that you shall die the death?’ And you said to me, ‘The thing is good. I have heard.’
43 “Why then have you not kept the oath of the LORD, and the commandment with which I charged you?”
44 The king also said to Shimei, “You know all the wickedness which your heart perceives that you did to David, my father. Therefore, the LORD shall bring your wickedness upon your own head.
45 “And let King Solomon be blessed, and the throne of David established before the LORD, forever.”
46 So the king commanded Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, who went out and struck him so that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.
3 Solomon then made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And he took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her into the City of David until he had finished building his own house, and the House of the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem all around.
2 The people still sacrificed in the high places, because there was no House built to the Name of the LORD until those days.
3 And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the ordinances of David his father. Except, he sacrificed and offered incense in the high places.
4 And the king went to Gibeon, to sacrifice there, for that was the chief high place. Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings upon that altar.
5 In Gibeon, the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream, by night. And God said, “Ask what I shall give you.”
6 And Solomon said, “You have shown to Your servant David, my father, great mercy when he walked before You in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You. And You have kept this great mercy for him and have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.
7 “And now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king instead of David, my father. And I am but a young child and do not know how to go out and in.
8 “And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, who cannot be told nor numbered for multitude.
9 “Give, therefore, to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, so that I may discern between good and bad. For who is able to judge this, Your mighty people?”
10 And this pleased the LORD well, that Solomon had desired this thing.
11 And God said to him, “Because you have asked for this thing—and have not asked for long life for yourself or for riches for yourself or for the life of your enemies—but have asked for understanding for yourself, to hear judgment,
12 “behold, I have done according to your words. Lo, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has been no one like you before. Nor shall there arise anyone like you after you.
13 And I have also given you that for which you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that among the kings there shall be no one like you all your days.
14 “And if you will walk in My ways, to keep My Ordinances and My Commandments, as your father David walked, I will prolong your days.”
15 And when Solomon awoke, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem and stood before the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD and offered Burnt Offerings, and made Peace Offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.
16 Then two harlots came to the king and stood before him.
17 And one woman said, “Oh my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house. And I delivered a child with her in the house.
18 “And the third day after I had delivered, this woman delivered also. And we were in the house together. No stranger was with us in the house except us two.
19 “And this woman’s son died in the night. For she lay on him.
20 “And she rose at midnight and took my son from my side while your handmaid slept and laid him in her bosom and laid her dead son in my bosom.
21 ‘And when I arose in the morning to nurse my son, behold, he was dead. And when I had looked closely at him in the morning, behold, it was not my son whom I had borne.”
22 Then the other woman said, “No! But my son lives! And your son is dead!” Again, she said, “No! But your son is dead and mine alive!” Thus they spoke before the king.
23 Then the king said, “She says, ‘This who lives is my son, and the dead is your son.’ And the other says, ‘No, but the dead is your son, and the living is my son.’”
24 Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” And they brought out a sword before the king.
25 And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give one half to one, and the other half to the other.”
26 Then, the woman whose child was living spoke to the king, for her compassion was kindled toward her son. And she said, “Oh my lord, give her the living child and do not kill him!” But the other said, “Let it be neither mine nor yours, but divide it.”
27 Then the king answered, and said, “Give her the living child, and do not kill him. This is his mother.”
28 And all Israel heard the judgment which the king had judged. And they feared the king. For they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do justice.
4 And King Solomon was king over all Israel.
2 And these were his princes: Azariah the son of Zadok the Priest,
3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha were scribes. Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, was the recorder.
4 Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, was over the army. And Zadok and Abiathar were Priests.
5 And Azariah, the son of Nathan, was over the officers. And Zabud the son of Nathan, Priest, was the king’s friend.
6 And Ahishar was over the household. And Adoniram, the son of Abda, was over the tribute.
7 And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household: each man had a month in the year to provide food.
8 And these are their names: the son of Hur on mount Ephraim,
9 the son of Deker in Makaz and Shaalbim and Beth Shemesh and Elon and Beth Hanan,
10 the son of Hesed in Arubboth (to whom belonged Sochoh and all the land of Hepher),
11 the son of Abinadab in all the region of Dor (who had Taphath, the daughter of Solomon, as a wife),
12 Baana, the son of Ahilud in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth Shean (which is by Zaretan, beneath Jezreel, from Beth Shean to Abel Meholah, as far as the other side of Jokneam,
13 the son of Geber in Ramoth Gilead (and his were the towns of Jair), the son of Manasseh (who are in Gilead), and under him was the region of Argob (which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bars of bronze),
14 Ahinadab, the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim,
15 Ahimaaz in Naphtali (and he took Basemath, the daughter of Solomon, as a wife),
16 Baanah, the son of Hushai, in Asher and Aloth,
17 Jehoshaphat, the son of Paruah, in Issachar,
18 Shimei, the son of Elah, in Benjamin,
19 Geber, the son of Uri, in the country of Gilead, the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan (and was officer alone in the land).
20 Judah and Israel were many—as the sand of the sea in number—eating, drinking and making merry.
21 And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms, from the river to the land of the Philistines to the border of Egypt. And they brought presents and served Solomon all the days of his life.
22 And Solomon’s food for one day were thirty measures of fine flour, sixty measures of meal,
23 ten fat oxen, twenty oxen of the pastures, and a hundred sheep (besides deer, bucks, gazelles, and fat fowl).
24 For he ruled in all the region on the other side of the river, from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kings on the other side the river. And he had peace all around him on every side.
25 And Judah and Israel dwelt without fear, each man under his vine, and under his fig tree, from Dan to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.
26 And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.
27 And these officers provided food for King Solomon, and for all who came to King Solomon’s table, every man his month. They lacked nothing.
28 Also, they brought barley and straw for the horses and mules to the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge.
29 And God gave Solomon very much wisdom and understanding and a large heart, as the sand that is on the seashore.
30 And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the East, and all the wisdom of Egypt.
31 For he was wiser than any man: Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, Chalcol, or Darda, the sons of Mahol. And he was famous throughout all nations all around.
32 And Solomon spoke three thousand proverbs and a thousand five songs.
33 And he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that springs out of the wall. He also spoke of beasts, and of birds, and of creeping things, and of fish.
34 And people came from all nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the Earth who had heard of his wisdom.
5 And Hiram, king of Tyre, sent his servants to Solomon (for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father) because Hiram had always loved David.
2 And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying,
3 “You know that David, my father, could not build a House to the Name of the LORD his God because of the wars which were around him on every side, until the LORD had put them under the soles of his feet.
4 “But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side. There is neither adversary nor evil to resist.
5 “And behold, I intend to build a House to the Name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spoke to David my father, saying, ‘Your son, whom I will set upon your throne for you, he shall build a House to My Name.’
6 “Now, therefore, command that they cut me cedar trees out of Lebanon. And my servants shall be with your servants, and I will give you the wages for your servants, according to all that you shall appoint. For you know that there are none among us who can cut timber like the Sidonians!”
7 And when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly, and said, “Blessed be the LORD this day, Who has given David a wise son over this mighty people!”
8 And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, “I have considered the things for which you sent to me, and will accomplish all your desire concerning the cedar trees and fir trees.
9 “My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon to the sea. And I will transport them by sea in rafts to the place that you shall tell me and will have them discharged there. And you shall receive them. And you shall do me the pleasure of ministering food for my family.”
10 So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees, his full desire.
11 And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures of beaten oil. Thus, Solomon gave much to Hiram year after year.
12 And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as He promised him. And there was peace between Hiram and Solomon. And those two made a covenant.
13 And King Solomon raised a sum from all Israel. And the sum was thirty thousand men,
14 whom he sent to Lebanon, ten thousand a month, changing regularly. They were a month in Lebanon, and two months at home. And Adoniram was over the sum.
15 And Solomon had seventy thousand who bore burdens, and eighty thousand masons on the mountain
16 (besides the princes whom Solomon appointed over the work, three thousand three hundred, who ruled the people who fashioned the work).
17 And the king commanded them, and they brought great stones and costly stones to make the foundations of the House: hewn stones.
18 And Solomon’s workmen and the workmen of Hiram and the masons cut and prepared timber and stones for the building of the House.
6 And in the four hundred eightieth year (after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt), in the fourth year of the reign of Solomon over Israel, in the month Ziv (which is the second month), he built the House of the LORD.
2 And the House which King Solomon built for the LORD was sixty cubits long, twenty wide, and thirty cubits high.
3 And the porch in front of the Temple of the House was twenty cubits long, according to the width of the House, and ten cubits wide in front of the House.
4 And he made windows in the House, wide and narrow.
5 And he made galleries by the wall of the House, all around, by the walls of the House all around the Temple and the oracle and made chambers all around.
6 And the lowest gallery was five cubits wide, and the middle six cubits wide, and the third seven cubits wide; for he made rests all around the outside of the House, so that the beams would not be fastened in the walls of the House.
7 And when the House was built, it was built of stone finished before it was brought, so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the House while it was being built.
8 The door of the middle chamber was on the right side of the House. And men went up, with winding stairs, into the middle and out of the middle, into the third.
9 So he built the House and finished it and ceiled the House, being vaulted with a ceiling of cedar trees.
10 And he built the galleries upon all the House of five cubits in height. And they were joined to the House with beams of cedar.
11 And the Word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying:
12 “Concerning this House which you build, if you will walk in My Ordinances and execute My Judgments and keep all My Commandments, to walk in them, then will I perform My promise to you which I promised to David, your father.
13 “And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake My people, Israel.”
14 So Solomon built the House and finished it,
15 and built the inside walls of the House with boards of cedar, from the pavement of the House to the walls of the ceiling. And he covered them inside with wood and covered the floor of the House with planks of fir.
16 And he built twenty cubits on the sides of the House with boards of cedar, from the floor to the walls. And he prepared a place within it for the oracle, the Most Holy Place.
17 But the House, that is, the Temple before it, was forty cubits.
18 And the cedar inside the House was carved with gourds, and engraved with flowers, all cedar. No stone was seen.
19 Also, he prepared the place of the oracle inside, in the midst of the House, to set the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD there.
20 And the place of the oracle inside was twenty cubits long and twenty cubits wide and twenty cubits high. And he covered it with pure gold and covered the Altar with cedar.
21 So, Solomon covered the House inside with pure gold. And he shut the place of the oracle with chains of gold and covered it with gold.
22 And he overlaid all the House with gold, until all the House was made perfect. Also, he covered the whole Altar that was before the oracle with gold.
23 And inside the oracle he made two Cherubim of olive, ten cubits high.
24 Also, the wing of one Cherub was five cubits. And the wing of the other Cherub was five cubits. From the outermost part of one of his wings to the outermost part of the other of his wings, was ten cubits.
25 Also, the other Cherub was ten cubits. Both the Cherubim were of the same measure and size.
26 The height of one Cherub was ten cubits and so was the other Cherub.
27 And he put the Cherubim inside the inner House. And the Cherubim stretched out their wings, so that the wing of one touched one wall and the wing of the other Cherub touched the other wall. And their other wings touched one another in the midst of the House.
28 And he overlaid the Cherubim with gold.
29 And he carved all the walls of the House, all around, with engraved figures of Cherubim and of palm trees and engraved flowers, inside and outside.
30 And he covered the floor of the House with gold, inside and outside.
31 And in the entrance to the oracle he made two doors of olive. The upper post and side posts were five square.
32 The two doors were also of olive. And he engraved them with engravings of Cherubim and palm trees and engraved flowers and covered them with gold and laid thin gold upon the Cherubim and upon the palm trees.
33 And so he made foursquare posts of olive for the door of the Temple.
34 But the two doors were of fir. The two sides of one door were round, and the two sides of the other door were round.
35 And he engraved Cherubim and palm trees and carved flowers, and covered the carved work with finely-worked gold.
36 And he built the court inside with three rows of hewn stone, and one row of beams of cedar.
37 In the fourth year, the foundation of the House of the LORD was laid, in the month of Ziv.
38 And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul (which is the eighth month), he finished the House, with all its furniture, and in every point. So, he was seven years in building it.
7 But Solomon was building his own house for thirteen years, and finished all his house.
2 He also built a house called The Forest of Lebanon, a hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars.
3 And it was covered above with cedar, upon the beams that lay on the forty-five pillars, fifteen in a row.
4 And the windows were in three rows. And window was against window, in three ranks.
5 And all the doors, and the side posts with the windows, were foursquare. And window was facing window, in three ranks.
6 And he made a porch of pillars, fifty cubits long and thirty cubits wide. And the porch was in front of them, with thirty pillars in front of them.
7 Then he made a porch for the throne where he judged, a Porch of Judgment. And it was covered with cedar from floor to floor.
8 And in his house where he dwelt was another hall, more inward than the porch, which was of the same work. Also, Solomon made a house for Pharaoh’s daughter (whom he had taken as a wife) similar to this porch.
9 All these were of costly stones, hewn by measure, sawed with saws, inside and outside from the foundation to the coping, and on the outside to the great court.
10 And the foundation was of costly stones, great stones, stones of ten cubits and stones of eight cubits.
11 Also above were costly stones, squared by rule, and boards of cedar.
12 And the great court all around was with three rows of hewn stones, and a row of cedar beams. So it was to the inner court of the House of the LORD, and to the porch of the House.
13 Then King Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre.
14 He was a widow’s son, of the tribe of Naphtali, his father being a man of Tyre, who worked in bronze. He was full of wisdom and understanding and knowledge, to work all manner of work in bronze. He came to King Solomon and wrought all his work.
15 For he cast two pillars of bronze. The height of a pillar was eighteen cubits, and a thread of twelve cubits surrounded each of the pillars.
16 And he made two chapiters of molten bronze, to set on the tops of the pillars. The height of one of the chapiters was five cubits, and the height of the other chapiter was five cubits.
17 He made grates like network and wreathen work like chains for the chapiters that were on the top of the pillars, seven for one chapiter and seven for the other chapiter.
18 So he made the pillars and two rows of pomegranates all around, in one grate, to cover the chapiters that were on the top. And he did this for the other chapiter.
19 And the chapiters that were on the top of the pillars were like lilywork on the porch, four cubits.
20 And the chapiters upon the two pillars also had pomegranates above, opposite the belly, within the network. For two hundred pomegranates were in the two ranks around each of the chapiters.
21 And he set up the pillars on the porch of the Temple. And when he had set up the right pillar, he called its name, ‘Jachin’. And when he had set up the left pillar, he called its name, ‘Boaz’.
22 And upon the top of the pillars was work of lilies. So, the workmanship of the pillars was finished.
23 And he made a molten sea of ten cubits wide from brim to brim, round in shape and five cubits high. And a line of thirty cubits in circumference.
24 And under the brim of it were gourds like wild cucumbers, encircling it all around, ten in one cubit, encircling the sea all around. And when it was melted, the two rows of gourds were cast.
25 It stood on twelve bulls, three looking toward the North, and three toward the West, and three toward the South, and three toward the East. And the sea stood above, upon them. And all their hind parts were inward.
26 It was a handbreadth thick. And its brim was like the work of the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies. It contained two thousand baths.
27 And he made ten bases of bronze. One base was four cubits long and four cubits wide and three cubits high.
28 And the work of the bases was like this: They had borders. And the borders were between the ledges.
29 And on the borders that were between the ledges were lions, bulls and Cherubim. And upon the ledges there was a base above. And beneath the lions and bulls were additions made of thin work.
30 And every base had four bronze wheels, and plates of bronze. And the four corners had shoulders. Under the caldron were shoulders, cast at the side of every addition.
31 And the mouth of it was inside the chapiter and above, to measure by the cubit. For its mouth was round, made like a base, and it was a cubit and half a cubit. And also, upon its mouth were engraved works whose borders were foursquare, not round.
32 And under the borders were four wheels. And the axles of the wheels joined to the base. And the height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit.
33 And the fashion of the wheels was like the fashion of a chariot wheel, their axles and their rims and their hubs and their spokes were all cast.
34 And four shoulders were upon the four corners of one base. The shoulders of it were part of the base.
35 And in the top of the base was a round form of half a cubit high, all around. And upon the top of the base, its ledges and its borders were of the same.
36 And upon the tables of its ledges, and on its borders, he engraved Cherubim, lions and palm trees, on the side of each one, and additions all around.
37 Thus he made the ten bases. All had one casting, one measure, one size.
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