II Chronicles 6-10

II Chronicles 6

¹Then said Solomon, ‘Jehovah said -- to dwell in thick darkness,

²and I -- I have built a house of habitation for Thee, and a fixed place for Thy dwelling to the ages.'

³And the king turneth round his face, and blesseth the whole assembly of Israel, and the whole assembly of Israel is standing,

⁴and he saith, ‘Blessed is Jehovah, God of Israel, who hath spoken with His mouth with David my father, and with His hands hath fulfilled it, saying:

⁵‘From the day that I brought out My people from the land of Egypt, I have not fixed on a city out of any of the tribes of Israel to build a house for my name being there, and I have not fixed on a man to be leader over My people Israel;

⁶and I fix on Jerusalem for My name being there, and I fix on David to be over My people Israel.

⁷‘And it is with the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of Jehovah God of Israel,

⁸and Jehovah saith unto David my father, Because that it hath been with thy heart to build a house for My name, thou hast done well that it hath been with thy heart,

⁹but thou dost not build the house, for thy son who cometh forth out from thy loins, he doth build the house for My name.

¹⁰‘And Jehovah doth establish His word that He spake, and I rise up in the stead of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as Jehovah spake, and I build the house for the name of Jehovah, God of Israel,

¹¹and I place there the ark, where is the covenant of Jehovah that He made with the sons of Israel.'

¹²And he standeth before the altar of Jehovah, over-against all the assembly of Israel, and spreadeth out his hand, --

¹³for Solomon hath made a scaffold of brass, and putteth it in the midst of the court, five cubits its length, and five cubits its breadth, and three cubits its height, and he standeth upon it, and kneeleth on his knees over-against all the assembly of Israel, and spreadeth forth his hands towards the heavens --

¹⁴and saith, ‘O Jehovah God of Israel, there is not like Thee a god in the heavens and in the earth, keeping the covenant and the kindness for Thy servants who are walking before Thee with all their heart;

¹⁵who hast kept for Thy servant David my father that which Thou didst speak to him; yea, Thou dost speak with Thy mouth, and with Thy hand hast fulfilled it, as at this day.

¹⁶‘And now, O Jehovah, God of Israel, keep for Thy servant David my father that which Thou didst speak to him, saying, There is not cut off to thee a man from before Me, sitting on the throne of Israel, only, if thy sons watch their way to walk in My law, as thou hast walked before Me.

¹⁷‘And now, O Jehovah, God of Israel, is Thy word stedfast that Thou hast spoken to Thy servant, to David,

¹⁸(for is it true? -- God dwelleth with man on the earth! Lo, the heavens, and the heavens of the heavens, do not contain Thee, how much less this house that I have built?)

¹⁹‘And Thou hast turned unto the prayer of Thy servant, and unto his supplication, O Jehovah my God, to hearken unto the cry and unto the prayer that Thy servant is praying before Thee,

²⁰for Thine eyes being open towards this house by day and by night, towards the place that Thou hast said to put Thy name there, to hearken unto the prayer that Thy servant prayeth towards this place.

²¹‘And Thou hast hearkened unto the supplications of Thy servant, and of Thy people Israel, that they pray towards this place, and Thou dost hear from the place of Thy dwelling, from the heavens, and hast hearkened, and forgiven.

²²‘If a man doth sin against his neighbour, and he hath lifted up on him an oath to cause him to swear, and the oath hath come in before Thine altar in this house --

²³then Thou dost hear from the heavens, and hast done, and hast judged Thy servants, to give back to the wicked, to put his way on his head, and to declare righteous the righteous, to give to him according to his righteousness.

²⁴‘And if Thy people Israel is smitten before an enemy, because they sin against Thee, and they have turned back and confessed Thy name, and prayed and made supplication before Thee in this house --

²⁵then Thou dost hear from the heavens, and hast forgiven the sin of Thy people Israel, and caused them to turn back unto the ground that Thou hast given to them, and to their fathers.

²⁶‘In the heavens being restrained, and there is no rain, because they sin against Thee, and they have prayed towards this place, and confessed Thy name -- from their sin they turn back because Thou dost afflict them --

²⁷then Thou dost hear in the heavens, and hast forgiven the sin of Thy servants, and of Thy people Israel, because Thou directest them unto the good way in which they walk, and hast given rain on Thy land that Thou hast given to Thy people for an inheritance.

²⁸‘Famine, when it is in the land, pestilence, when it is, blasting, and mildew, locust, and caterpillar, when they are, when its enemies have distressed it in the land -- its gates, any plague and any sickness;

²⁹any prayer, any supplication that is for any man, and for all Thy people Israel, when they know each his own plague, and his own pain, and he hath spread out his hands towards this house:

³⁰then Thou dost hear from the heavens, the settled place of Thy dwelling, and hast forgiven, and hast given to each according to all his ways (because Thou knowest his heart, for Thou -- Thou only -- hast known the heart of the sons of men),

³¹so that they fear Thee, to walk in Thy ways, all the days that they are living on the face of the ground that Thou hast given to our fathers.

³²‘And also, unto the stranger who is not of Thy people Israel, and he hath come from a land afar off for the sake of Thy great name, and Thy strong hand, and Thy stretched-out arm, and they have come in and prayed towards this house:

³³then Thou dost hear from the heavens, from the settled place of Thy dwelling, and hast done according to all that the stranger calleth unto Thee for: so that all the peoples of the earth do know Thy name, so as to fear Thee, as Thy people Israel, and to know that Thy name is called on this house that I have built.

³⁴‘When Thy people doth go out to battle against its enemies in the way that Thou dost send them, and they have prayed unto Thee the way of this city that Thou hast fixed on, and the house that I have built for Thy name:

³⁵then Thou hast heard from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and hast maintained their cause.

³⁶‘When they sin against Thee -- for there is not a man who sinneth not -- and Thou hast been angry with them, and hast given them before an enemy, and taken them captive have their captors, unto a land far off or near;

³⁷and they have turned it back unto their heart in the land whither they have been taken captive, and have turned back, and made supplication unto Thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done perversely, and have done wickedly;

³⁸yea, they have turned back unto Thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their captivity, whither they have taken them captive, and they have prayed the way of their land that Thou hast given to their fathers, and of the city that Thou hast chosen, and of the house that I have built for Thy name:

³⁹then Thou hast heard from the heavens, from the settled place of Thy dwelling, their prayer and their supplications, and hast maintained their cause, and forgiven Thy people who have sinned against Thee.

⁴⁰‘Now, my God, let, I beseech Thee, Thine eyes be open, and Thine ears attentive, to the prayer of this place:

⁴¹and now, rise, O Jehovah God, to Thy rest, Thou, and the ark of Thy strength; Thy priests, O Jehovah God, are clothed with salvation, and Thy saints rejoice in the goodness,

⁴²O Jehovah God, turn not back the face of Thine anointed, be mindful of the kind acts of David Thy servant.'

II Chronicles 7

¹And at Solomon's finishing to pray, then the fire hath come down from the heavens, and consumeth the burnt-offering and the sacrifices, and the honour of Jehovah hath filled the house,

²and the priests have not been able to go in unto the house of Jehovah, because the honour of Jehovah hath filled the house of Jehovah.

³And all the sons of Israel are looking on the descending of the fire, and the honour of Jehovah on the house, and they bow -- faces to the earth -- on the pavement, and do obeisance, and give thanks to Jehovah, for good, for to the age is His kindness.

⁴And the king and all the people are sacrificing a sacrifice before Jehovah,

⁵and king Solomon sacrificeth the sacrifice of the herd, twenty and two thousand, and of the flock, a hundred and twenty thousand, and the king and all the people dedicate the house of God.

⁶And the priests over their charges are standing, and the Levites with instruments of the song of Jehovah -- that David the king made, to give thanks to Jehovah, for to the age is His kindness, in David's praising by their hand -- and the priests are blowing trumpets over-against them, and all Israel are standing.

⁷And Solomon sanctifieth the middle of the court that is before the house of Jehovah, for he hath made there the burnt-offerings, and the fat of the peace-offerings: for the altar of brass that Solomon made hath not been able to contain the burnt-offering, and the present, and the fat.

⁸And solomon maketh the feast at that time seven days, and all Israel with him -- a very great assembly -- from the entering in of Hamath unto the brook of Egypt.

⁹And they make on the eighth day a restraint, because the dedication of the altar they have made seven days, and the feast seven days.

¹⁰And on the twenty and third day of the seventh month he hath sent the people to their tents, rejoicing, and glad in heart, for the goodness that Jehovah hath done to David, and to Solomon, and to Israel His people.

¹¹And Solomon finisheth the house of Jehovah, and the house of the king; and all that hath come on the heart of Solomon to do in the house of Jehovah, and in his own house, he hath caused to prosper.

¹²And Jehovah appeareth unto Solomon by night, and saith to him, ‘I have heard thy prayer, and have fixed on this place to Me for a house of sacrifice.

¹³If I restrain the heavens and there is no rain, and if I lay charge on the locust to consume the land, and if I send pestilence among My people --

¹⁴and My people on whom My name is called be humbled, and pray, and seek My face, and turn back from their evil ways, then I -- I hear from the heavens, and forgive their sin, and heal their land.

¹⁵‘Now, Mine eyes are open, and Mine ears attentive, to the prayer of this place;

¹⁶and now, I have chosen and sanctified this house for My name being there unto the age; yea, Mine eyes and My heart have been there all the days.

¹⁷‘And thou, if thou dost walk before Me as David thy father walked, even to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and My statutes and My judgments dost keep --

¹⁸then I have established the throne of thy kingdom, as I covenanted with David thy father, saying, There is not cut off a man to thee -- a ruler in Israel;

¹⁹and if ye turn back -- ye -- and have forsaken My statutes, and My commands, that I have placed before you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed yourselves to them -- then I have plucked them from off My ground that I have given to them,

²⁰and this house that I have sanctified for My name, I cast from before My face, and make it for a proverb, and for a byword, among all the peoples.

²¹‘And this house that hath been high, to every one passing by it, is an astonishment, and he hath said, Wherefore hath Jehovah done thus to this land, and to this house?

²²and they have said, Because that they have forsaken Jehovah, God of their fathers, who brought them out from the land of Egypt, and lay hold on other gods, and bow themselves to them, and serve them, therefore He hath brought upon them all this evil.'

II Chronicles 8

¹And it cometh to pass, at the end of twenty years, that Solomon hath built the house of Jehovah, and his own house.

²As to the cities that Huram hath given to Solomon, Solomon hath built them, and there he causeth the sons of Israel to dwell.

³And Solomon goeth to Hamath-Zobah, and layeth hold upon it;

⁴and he buildeth Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the cities of store that he hath built in Hamath.

⁵And he buildeth Beth-Horon the upper, and Beth-Horon the lower -- cities of defence, with walls, two-leaved doors, and bar --

⁶and Baalath, and all the cities of store that Solomon had, and all the cities of the chariot, and the cities of the horsemen, and all the desire of Solomon that he desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.

⁷All the people who are left of the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, who are not of Israel --

⁸of their sons who have been left after them in the land, whom the sons of Israel consumed not -- doth Solomon lift up a tribute unto this day.

⁹And none of the sons of Israel hath Solomon made servants for his work, but they are men of war, and heads of his captains, and heads of his charioteers, and of his horsemen;

¹⁰and these are heads of the officers whom king Solomon hath, two hundred and fifty who are rulers among the people.

¹¹And the daughter of Pharaoh hath Solomon brought up from the city of David to the house that he built for her, for he said, ‘My wife doth not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, for they are holy unto whom hath come the ark of Jehovah.'

¹²Then hath Solomon caused to ascend burnt-offerings to Jehovah on the altar of Jehovah that he built before the porch,

¹³even by the matter of a day in its day, to cause to ascend according to the command of Moses, on sabbaths, and on new moons, and on appointed seasons, three times in a year -- in the feast of unleavened things, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of booths.

¹⁴And he establisheth, according to the ordinance of David his father, the courses of the priests over their service, and of the Levites over their charges, to praise and to minister over-against the priests, according to the matter of a day in its day, and the gatekeepers in their courses at gate and gate, for so is the command of David the man of God.

¹⁵And they have not turned aside from the command of the king concerning the priests and the Levites, in reference to any matter, and to the treasures.

¹⁶And all the work of Solomon is prepared till the day of the foundation of the house of Jehovah, and till its completion; perfect is the house of Jehovah.

¹⁷Then hath Solomon gone to Ezion-Geber, and unto Elath, on the border of the sea, in the land of Edom;

¹⁸and Huram sendeth to him, by the hand of his servants, ships and servants knowing the sea, and they go with servants of Solomon to Ophir, and take thence four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and bring in unto king Solomon.

II Chronicles 9

¹And the queen of Sheba hath heard of the fame of Solomon, and cometh in to try Solomon with acute sayings, to Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels bearing spices and gold in abundance, and precious stone; and she cometh in unto Solomon, and speaketh with him all that hath been with her heart,

²and Solomon declareth to her all her matters, and there hath not been hid a thing from Solomon that he hath not declared to her.

³And the queen of Sheba seeth the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he hath built,

⁴and the food of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the standing of his ministers, and their clothing, and his stewards, and their clothing, an his burnt-offering that he offered up in the house of Jehovah, and there hath not been any more spirit in her.

⁵And she saith unto the king, ‘True is the word that I heard in my land concerning thy matters and concerning thy wisdom,

⁶and I have given no credence to their words, till that I have come, and mine eyes see, and lo, there hath not been declared to me the half of the abundance of thy wisdom -- thou hast added unto the report that I heard.

⁷‘O the happiness of thy men, and the happiness of thy servants -- these -- who are standing before thee continually, and hearing thy wisdom.

⁸Let Jehovah thy God be blessed who hath delighted in thee, to put thee on His throne for king for Jehovah thy God; in the love of thy God to Israel, to establish it to the age, He hath put thee over them for king, to do judgment and righteousness.'

⁹And she giveth to the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and spices in great abundance, and precious stone; and there hath not been any such spice as the queen of Sheba hath given to king Solomon.

¹⁰And also, servants of Huram, and servants of Solomon, who brought in gold from Ophir, have brought in algum-trees and precious stone.

¹¹And the king maketh the algum-trees staircases for the house of Jehovah, and for the house of the king, and harps and psalteries for singers; and there have been none seen like these before in the land of Judah.

¹²And king Solomon hath given to the queen of Sheba all her desire that she asked, apart from that which she had brought unto the king, and she turneth and goeth to her land, she and her servants.

¹³And the weight of the gold that is coming to Solomon in one year is six hundred and sixty and six talents of gold,

¹⁴apart from what the tourists, and the merchants, are bringing in; and all the kings of Arabia, and the governors of the land, are bringing in gold and silver to Solomon.

¹⁵And king Solomon maketh two hundred targets of alloyed gold, six hundred shekels of alloyed gold he causeth to go up on the one target;

¹⁶and three hundred shields of alloyed gold, three hundred shekels of gold he causeth to go up on the one shield, and the king putteth them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.

¹⁷And the king maketh a great throne of ivory, and overlayeth it with pure gold;

¹⁸and six steps are to the throne, and a footstool of gold, to the throne they are fastened, and hands are on this side and on that on the place of the sitting, and two lions are standing near the hands,

¹⁹and twelve lions are standing there on the six steps on this side, and on that: it hath not been made so for any kingdom.

²⁰And all the drinking vessels of king Solomon are of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon are of refined gold -- silver is not reckoned in the days of Solomon for anything;

²¹for ships of the king are going to Tarshish, with servants of Huram: once in three years come do the ships of Tarshish bearing gold, and silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

²²And king Solomon becometh greater than any of the kings of the earth for riches and wisdom;

²³and all the kings of the earth are seeking the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom that God hath put in his heart,

²⁴and they are bringing in each his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, harness, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.

²⁵And there are to Solomon four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, and he placed them in cities of the chariot, and with the king in Jerusalem.

²⁶And he is ruling over all the kings from the River even unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt.

²⁷And the king maketh the silver in Jerusalem as stones, and the cedars he hath made as sycamores, that are in the low country, for abundance,

²⁸and they are bringing out horses from Egypt to Solomon, and from all the lands.

²⁹And the rest of the matters of Solomon, the first and the last, are they not written beside the matters of Nathan the prophet, and beside the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and with the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat?

³⁰And Solomon reigneth in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years,

³¹and Solomon lieth with his fathers, and they bury him in the city of David his father, and reign doth Rehoboam his son in his stead.

II Chronicles 10

¹And Rehoboam goeth to Shechem, for to Shechem have all Israel come to cause him to reign.

²And it cometh to pass, at Jeroboam son of Nebat's -- who is in Egypt because he hath fled from the face of Solomon the king -- hearing, that Jeroboam turneth back out of Egypt;

³and they send and call for him, and Jeroboam cometh in, and all Israel, and speak unto Rehoboam, saying,

⁴‘Thy father made our yoke sharp, and now, make light somewhat of the sharp service of thy father, and of his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we serve thee.'

⁵And he saith unto them, ‘Yet three days -- then return ye unto me;' and the people go.

⁶And king Rehoboam consulteth with the aged men who have been standing before Solomon his father in his being alive, saying, ‘How are ye counselling to answer this people?'

⁷And they speak unto him, saying, ‘If thou dost become good to this people, and hast been pleased with them, and spoken unto them good words, then they have been to thee servants all the days.'

⁸And he forsaketh the counsel of the aged men that they counselled him, and consulteth with the lads who have grown up with him, those standing before him,

⁹and he saith unto them, ‘What are ye counselling, and we answer this people that have spoken unto me, saying, Make light somewhat of the yoke that thy father put upon us?'

¹⁰And the lads who have grown up with him, speak with him, saying, ‘Thus dost thou say to the people who have spoken unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, and thou, make light somewhat of our yoke; thus dost thou say unto them, My little finger is thicker than the loins of my father;

¹¹and now, my father laid on you a heavy yoke, and I -- I add unto your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, and I -- with scorpions.'

¹²And Jeroboam cometh in, and all the people, unto Rehoboam on the third day, as the king spake, saying, ‘Return unto me on the third day.'

¹³And the king answereth them sharply, and king Rehoboam forsaketh the counsel of the aged men,

¹⁴and speaketh unto them according to the counsel of the lads, saying, ‘My father made your yoke heavy, and I -- I add unto it; my father chastised you with whips, and I -- with scorpions.'

¹⁵And the king hath not hearkened unto the people, for the revolution hath been from God, for the sake of Jehovah's establishing His word that He spake by the hand of Abijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam son of Nebat.

¹⁶And all Israel have seen that the king hath not hearkened to them, and the people send back to the king, saying, ‘What portion have we in David? yea, there is no inheritance in a son of Jesse; each to thy tents, O Israel; now, see thy house -- David,' and all Israel go to their tents.

¹⁷As to the sons of Israel who are dwelling in the cities of Judah -- Rehoboam reigneth over them.

¹⁸And king Rehoboam sendeth Hadoram, who is over the tribute, and the sons of Israel cast at him stones, and he dieth; and king Rehoboam hath strengthened himself to go up into a chariot to flee to Jerusalem;

¹⁹and Israel transgress against the house of David unto this day.