1 Kings 9

THE LORD’S RESPONSE
When Solomon finished building the temple of the Lord, the royal palace, and all that Solomon desired to do,
2 the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time just as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3 The Lord said to him:

I have heard your prayer and petition you have made before me. I have consecrated this temple you have built, to put my name there forever; my eyes and my heart will be there at all times.

4 As for you, if you walk before me as your father David walked, with a heart of integrity and in what is right, doing everything I have commanded you, and if you keep my statutes and ordinances, 5 I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised your father David: You will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.

6 If you or your sons turn away from following me and do not keep my commands ​— ​my statutes that I have set before you ​— ​and if you go and serve other gods and bow in worship to them, 7 I will cut off Israel from the land I gave them, and I will reject the temple I have sanctified for my name. Israel will become an object of scorn and ridicule among all the peoples. 8 Though this temple is now exalted, everyone who passes by will be appalled and will scoff. They will say, “Why did the Lord do this to this land and this temple?” 9 Then they will say, “Because they abandoned the Lord their God who brought their ancestors out of the land of Egypt. They held on to other gods and bowed in worship to them and served them. Because of this, the Lord brought all this ruin on them.”

KING HIRAM’S TWENTY TOWNS
10 At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon had built the two houses, the Lord’s temple and the royal palace ​— ​11 King Hiram of Tyre having supplied him with cedar and cypress logs and gold for his every wish ​— ​King Solomon gave Hiram twenty towns in the land of Galilee. 12 So Hiram went out from Tyre to look over the towns that Solomon had given him, but he was not pleased with them. 13 So he said, “What are these towns you’ve given me, my brother? ” So he called them the Land of Cabul, as they are still called today. 14 Now Hiram had sent the king nine thousand pounds of gold.

SOLOMON’S FORCED LABOR
15 This is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon had imposed to build the Lord’s temple, his own palace, the supporting terraces, the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. 16 Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He then burned it, killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and gave it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife. 17 Then Solomon rebuilt Gezer, Lower Beth-horon, 18 Baalath, Tamar in the Wilderness of Judah, 19 all the storage cities that belonged to Solomon, the chariot cities, the cavalry cities, and whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, or anywhere else in the land of his dominion.

20 As for all the peoples who remained of the Amorites, Hethites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not Israelites ​— ​21 their descendants who remained in the land after them, those whom the Israelites were unable to destroy completely ​— ​Solomon imposed forced labor on them; it is still this way today. 22 But Solomon did not consign the Israelites to slavery; they were soldiers, his servants, his commanders, his captains, and commanders of his chariots and his cavalry. 23 These were the deputies who were over Solomon’s work: 550 who supervised the people doing the work.

SOLOMON’S OTHER ACTIVITIES
24 Pharaoh’s daughter moved from the city of David to the house that Solomon had built for her; he then built the terraces.

25 Three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar he had built for the Lord, and he burned incense with them in the Lord’s presence. So he completed the temple.

26 King Solomon put together a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea in the land of Edom. 27 With the fleet, Hiram sent his servants, experienced seamen, along with Solomon’s servants. 28 They went to Ophir and acquired gold there ​— ​sixteen tons ​— ​and delivered it to Solomon.

2 Chronicles 8

SOLOMON’S LATER BUILDING PROJECTS
At the end of twenty years during which Solomon had built the Lord’s temple and his own palace ​— ​
2 Solomon had rebuilt the cities Hiram gave him and settled Israelites there ​— ​3 Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and seized it. 4 He built Tadmor in the wilderness along with all the storage cities that he built in Hamath. 5 He built Upper Beth-horon and Lower Beth-horon ​— ​fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars ​— ​6 Baalath, all the storage cities that belonged to Solomon, all the chariot cities, the cavalry cities, and everything Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, or anywhere else in the land of his dominion.

7 As for all the peoples who remained of the Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not from Israel ​— ​8 their descendants who remained in the land after them, those the Israelites had not completely destroyed ​— ​Solomon imposed forced labor on them; it is this way today. 9 But Solomon did not consign the Israelites to be slaves for his work; they were soldiers, commanders of his captains, and commanders of his chariots and his cavalry. 10 These were King Solomon’s deputies: 250 who supervised the people.

11 Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh from the city of David to the house he had built for her, for he said, “My wife must not live in the house of King David of Israel because the places the ark of the Lord has come into are holy.”

PUBLIC WORSHIP ESTABLISHED AT THE TEMPLE
12 At that time Solomon offered burnt offerings to the Lord on the Lord’s altar he had made in front of the portico. 13 He followed the daily requirement for offerings according to the commandment of Moses for Sabbaths, New Moons, and the three annual appointed festivals: the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Shelters. 14 According to the ordinances of his father David, he appointed the divisions of the priests over their service, of the Levites over their responsibilities to offer praise and to minister before the priests following the daily requirement, and of the gatekeepers by their divisions with respect to each temple gate, for this had been the command of David, the man of God. 15 They did not turn aside from the king’s command regarding the priests and the Levites concerning any matter or concerning the treasuries. 16 All of Solomon’s work was carried out from the day the foundation was laid for the Lord’s temple until it was finished. So the Lord’s temple was completed.

SOLOMON’S FLEET
17 At that time Solomon went to Ezion-geber and to Eloth on the seashore in the land of Edom. 18 So Hiram sent ships to him by his servants along with crews of experienced seamen. They went with Solomon’s servants to Ophir, took from there seventeen tons of gold, and delivered it to King Solomon.

Proverbs 25

HEZEKIAH’S COLLECTION
These too are proverbs of Solomon,
which the men of King Hezekiah of Judah copied.
2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter
and the glory of kings to investigate a matter.
3 As the heavens are high and the earth is deep,
so the hearts of kings cannot be investigated.
4 Remove impurities from silver,
and material will be produced for a silversmith.
5 Remove the wicked from the king’s presence,
and his throne will be established in righteousness.
6 Don’t boast about yourself before the king,
and don’t stand in the place of the great;
7 for it is better for him to say to you, “Come up here! ”
than to demote you in plain view of a noble.
8 Don’t take a matter to court hastily.
Otherwise, what will you do afterward
if your opponent humiliates you?
9 Make your case with your opponent
without revealing another’s secret;
10 otherwise, the one who hears will disgrace you,
and you’ll never live it down.
11 A word spoken at the right time
is like gold apples in silver settings.
12 A wise correction to a receptive ear
is like a gold ring or an ornament of gold.
13 To those who send him, a trustworthy envoy
is like the coolness of snow on a harvest day;
he refreshes the life of his masters.
14 The one who boasts about a gift that does not exist
is like clouds and wind without rain.
15 A ruler can be persuaded through patience,
and a gentle tongue can break a bone.
16 If you find honey, eat only what you need;
otherwise, you’ll get sick from it and vomit.
17 Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house;
otherwise, he’ll get sick of you and hate you.
18 A person giving false testimony against his neighbor
is like a club, a sword, or a sharp arrow.
19 Trusting an unreliable person in a difficult time
is like a rotten tooth or a faltering foot.
20 Singing songs to a troubled heart
is like taking off clothing on a cold day
or like pouring vinegar on soda.
21 If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat,
and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,
22 for you will heap burning coals on his head,
and the Lord will reward you.
23 The north wind produces rain,
and a backbiting tongue, angry looks.
24 Better to live on the corner of a roof
than to share a house with a nagging wife.
25 Good news from a distant land
is like cold water to a parched throat.
26 A righteous person who yields to the wicked
is like a muddied spring or a polluted well.
27 It is not good to eat too much honey
or to seek glory after glory.
28 A person who does not control his temper
is like a city whose wall is broken down.

Proverbs 26

Like snow in summer and rain at harvest,
honor is inappropriate for a fool.
2 Like a flitting sparrow or a fluttering swallow,
an undeserved curse goes nowhere.
3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,
and a rod for the backs of fools.
4 Don’t answer a fool according to his foolishness
or you’ll be like him yourself.
5 Answer a fool according to his foolishness
or he’ll become wise in his own eyes.
6 The one who sends a message by a fool’s hand
cuts off his own feet and drinks violence.
7 A proverb in the mouth of a fool
is like lame legs that hang limp.
8 Giving honor to a fool
is like binding a stone in a sling.
9 A proverb in the mouth of a fool
is like a stick with thorns,
brandished by the hand of a drunkard.
10 The one who hires a fool or who hires those passing by
is like an archer who wounds everyone indiscriminately.
11 As a dog returns to its vomit,
so also a fool repeats his foolishness.
12 Do you see a person who is wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
13 The slacker says, “There’s a lion in the road —
a lion in the public square! ”
14 A door turns on its hinges,
and a slacker, on his bed.
15 The slacker buries his hand in the bowl;
he is too weary to bring it to his mouth!
16 In his own eyes, a slacker is wiser
than seven who can answer sensibly.
17 A person who is passing by and meddles in a quarrel that’s not his
is like one who grabs a dog by the ears.
18 Like a madman who throws flaming darts and deadly arrows,
19 so is the person who deceives his neighbor
and says, “I was only joking! ”
20 Without wood, fire goes out;
without a gossip, conflict dies down.
21 As charcoal for embers and wood for fire,
so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife.
22 A gossip’s words are like choice food
that goes down to one’s innermost being.
23 Smooth lips with an evil heart
are like glaze on an earthen vessel.
24 A hateful person disguises himself with his speech
and harbors deceit within.
25 When he speaks graciously, don’t believe him,
for there are seven detestable things in his heart.
26 Though his hatred is concealed by deception,
his evil will be revealed in the assembly.
27 The one who digs a pit will fall into it,
and whoever rolls a stone —
it will come back on him.
28 A lying tongue hates those it crushes,
and a flattering mouth causes ruin.

— 1 Kings 9; 2 Chronicles 8; Proverbs 25-26 (CSB)