1 Kings 9

1 Now when Solomon [the king of Israel, successor of David] had finished [completed, come to the end of] building [constructing, establishing] the house [temple, dwelling place] of the LORD [Yehovah, the Lord God] and the royal [king’s, sovereign] palace, and had achieved [finished, fulfilled] all that he had desired [longed for, had pleasure in] to do [accomplish, make], word study 2 the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] appeared [came to him in a vision, as a provider] to him a second [again, like the first time] time, as He had appeared [been seen, looked after] to him at Gibeon [the city of Gibeon, a Levitical city]. word study 3 And the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] said to him: “I have heard [listened attentively to, given heed to] your prayer [supplication, request for favor] and petition [humble request for grace] before Me. I have consecrated [set apart as holy, dedicated] this temple [house, dwelling place] you have built [constructed, established] by putting My Name [identity, character] there forever [for all eternity, perpetually]; My eyes [watchful care, attention] and My heart [innermost being] will be there [in that place, present with you] for all time [throughout all the days, perpetually]. word study 4 And as for you, if you walk [in obedience, following my ways] before Me as your father David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] walked, with a heart [the innermost part of a person, including mind, will, and emotions] of integrity [moral purity, innocence] and uprightness [morally straight, doing what is right], doing all I have commanded [given orders, appointed] you, and if you keep [obey, protect, attend to] My statutes [decrees, laws given by God] and ordinances [judgments, regulations], word study 5 then I will establish [securely confirm, make firm] your royal throne [seat of power, authority] over Israel [the descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen people] forever [for all eternity, perpetually], as I promised [vowed, swore] your father David [the king of Israel, my servant] when I said [spoke, declared], ‘You will never fail [be cut off, come to an end] to have a man [a descendant, a ruler] on the throne [seat of authority] of Israel [the nation, the people].’ word study 6 But if indeed you [or your descendants] or your sons turn away [to return, to turn back] from following Me [after my ways, in my footsteps] and do not keep [to obey, to guard] the commandments [laws, decrees] and statutes [ordinances, regulations] I have set [given, established] before you [in your presence], and if you go off [to walk, to proceed] to serve [to work, to worship] and worship [to bow down, to reverence] other [different, strange] gods [deities, idols], word study 7 then I will cut off [utterly destroy, remove] Israel from the land [the earth, the promised territory] that I have given them, and I will banish [send away, abandon] from My presence [My face, My sight] this temple [the house, the sacred place] I have sanctified [set apart, consecrated] for My Name [My identity, My character]. Then Israel will become an object of scorn [a proverb, a byword] and ridicule [a taunt, a mockery] among all [every, the whole of] peoples [nations, tribes]. word study 8 And when this temple [this sacred dwelling place, the house of God] has become a heap of rubble [a mass of broken walls, utterly destroyed], all who pass by it [every passerby, everyone who sees it] will be appalled [astonished, overcome with wonder] and will hiss [whistle, express scorn] and say, ‘Why has the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] done such a thing [thus, in this way] to this land [the earth, the territory] and to this temple [this house, the dwelling place of God]?’ word study 9 And others will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken [abandoned, turned away from] the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] their God [Elohim, the supreme God] who brought their fathers [ancestors, forefathers] out of the land [country, territory] of Egypt, and have embraced [taken hold of, laid hold on] other gods [foreign deities, idols], worshiping [bowing down to, serving] and serving [working for, obeying] them—because of this [on account of this, as a result], the LORD has brought all this disaster [evil, calamity] upon them.’” word study 10 Now at the end [of a twenty-year period, after two decades] of the twenty years [a score of years, two decades] during which Solomon [the king of peace] built [constructed, established] these two houses [dwellings, temples], the house [the temple, the sanctuary] of the LORD [Yehovah] and the royal [king’s, sovereign] palace [residence, dwelling place], word study 11 King Solomon [the peaceful ruler] gave twenty towns [cities, settlements] in the land [region, territory] of Galilee [a northern area of Palestine] to Hiram [a king of Tyre, a Phoenician city] king of Tyre [a major city on the Mediterranean coast], who had supplied him with cedar [a strong and durable tree] and cypress [an evergreen tree] logs and gold [a valuable metal] for his every desire [pleasure, delight, all his needs]. word study 12 So Hiram [the king of Tyre] went out from Tyre [a major Phoenician city] to inspect [to see, to look after] the towns [cities, settlements] that Solomon [the king of Israel] had given [to give, to put, to set] him, but he was not pleased [not smooth, not right] with them [they did not meet his expectations]. word study 13 “What [in the world, of such poor quality] are these towns [cities, settlements] you have given me, my brother [close relative, friend]?” asked Hiram, and he called them the Land [region, territory] of Cabul [a place of restriction, worthlessness], as they are called [known, referred to] to this day [until now, to the present time]. word study 14 And Hiram [a king of Tyre, the Phoenician king] had sent [dispatched, given] the king [the monarch, ruler] 120 [a hundred and twenty, sixscore] talents [units of weight, currency] of gold [a valuable metal]. word study 15 This is the account [record, chronicle] of the forced labor [taskwork, levy] that King Solomon [the peaceful ruler] imposed to build [construct, establish] the house [temple, dwelling place] of the LORD [Yehovah, the eternal God], his own palace [royal residence], the supporting terraces [Millo, the citadel], and the wall [rampart, barrier] of Jerusalem [the city of peace], as well as [including] Hazor [the fortified city], Megiddo [the place of troops], and Gezer [the portion, the divided city]. word study 16 Pharaoh [a powerful leader] king of Egypt had attacked [gone up, taken by force] and captured [seized, taken control of] Gezer [a city in Palestine, a special city]. He had set it on fire [burned with fire, kindled flames], killed [slain, put to death] the Canaanites [the people of Canaan, merchants and traders] who lived [dwelt, remained] in the city, and given it as a dowry [a parting gift, a wedding present] to his daughter [a female child, a woman], Solomon’s wife [the woman, the wife of Solomon]. word study 17 So Solomon [the king of Israel, successor of David] rebuilt [to build again, restore] Gezer [a city in Palestine, a portion], Lower [nether, bottommost] Beth-horon [house of hollowness, a place in Palestine], word study 18 Baalath [a town in Dan, meaning mistress], and Tamar [palm tree, a place in Judah] in the Wilderness [desert, open field] of Judah [the land, a region in Israel], word study 19 as well as all [every single one] the store cities [cities for supplies, storage places] that Solomon [the king of peace] had for his chariots [vehicles, teams of horses] and horses [cavalry, horsemen] —whatever [all that, everything] he desired [longed for, had a strong passion for] to build [construct, establish] in Jerusalem [the city of peace, the capital of Judah], Lebanon [the white mountain, a region of Israel], and throughout [in all parts of] the land [the earth, the territory] of his dominion [rule, kingdom, authority]. word study 20 As for all [every single one, the whole] the people who remained [were left, survived] of the Amorites [descendants of Canaan], Hittites [people of Heth], Perizzites [inhabitants of the countryside], Hivites [a Canaanite tribe], and Jebusites [residents of Jebus, Jerusalem] (the people who were not [did not belong to] Israelites [descendants of Jacob])— word study 21 their descendants [sons or offspring] who remained [were left behind, to stay] in the land [the earth, territory], those whom the Israelites [the children of Israel] were unable [lacked the power, could not] to devote [utterly destroy, completely eliminate] to destruction—Solomon [the king of Israel] conscripted [raised a levy, forced into service] these people to be forced laborers [taskworkers, bondservants], as they are to this day [until now, continually]. word study 22 But Solomon [the king of peace] did not consign [make or appoint] any of the Israelites [sons of Israel, descendants of Jacob] to slavery [bondage, servitude], because they were his men of war [soldiers, warriors], his servants [attendants, ministers], his officers [princes, rulers], his captains [commanders, leaders], and the commanders [rulers, overseers] of his chariots [vehicles, cavalry] and cavalry [horsemen, riders]. word study 23 They were also the chief [ruling, high-ranking] officers [overseers, leaders] over Solomon’s [king of Israel] projects: 550 [five hundred and fifty] supervisors [rulers, those in charge] over the people [nation, workforce] who did the [labour, occupation] work [employment, task, assignment]. word study 24 As soon as Pharaoh’s daughter [the king of Egypt’s child, a woman of royal lineage] had come up [ascended, gone up] from the City of David [the town, the settlement] to the palace [her house, the dwelling place] that Solomon had built [constructed, established] for her, he built [constructed, established] the supporting terraces [Millo, the citadel or rampart]. word study 25 Three times [thrice] a year Solomon [the king of peace] offered [caused to ascend, presented] burnt offerings [completely consumed by fire, a total dedication] and peace offerings [voluntary sacrifices, expressions of gratitude] on the altar [a place of sacrifice] he had built [constructed, established] for the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God], burning [offering, perfuming] incense [a fragrant offering] with them before [in the presence of, facing] the LORD [the divine presence]. So he completed [finished, brought to perfection] the temple [the house of God, a sacred dwelling place]. word study 26 King Solomon [the peaceful ruler] also assembled [made, constructed] a fleet [navy, collection] of ships at Ezion-geber [backbone of a man, a place on the Red Sea], which is near [beside, close to] Eloth [Elath, a grove of lofty trees] in Edom [the land of Esau’s descendants], on the shore [edge, border] of the Red Sea [the Sea of Suph, the sea of reeds]. word study 27 And Hiram [king of Tyre] sent his servants [faithful attendants], men [experienced individuals] who knew [were familiar with] the sea [the Mediterranean, a large body of water], to serve [work together, assist] in the fleet [navy, collection of ships] with Solomon’s [successor of David] servants [loyal workers]. word study 28 They sailed [traveled by sea] to Ophir [a region in southern Arabia known for its gold] and imported [brought in, fetched] gold [a valuable metal] from there—420 talents [a unit of weight or currency, about 16 tons]—and delivered [brought, took] it to Solomon [the king of Israel, a wise ruler]. word study