| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Now at the end of the twenty years during which Solomon had built the house of the LORD and his own palace, | 1It took Solomon twenty years to build the LORD’s Temple and his own royal palace. At the end of that time, |
| 2Solomon rebuilt the cities Hiram had given him and settled Israelites there. | 2Solomon turned his attention to rebuilding the towns that King Hiram had given him, and he settled Israelites in them. |
| 3Then Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and captured it. | 3Solomon also fought against the town of Hamath-zobah and conquered it. |
| 4He built Tadmor in the wilderness, in addition to all the store cities that he had built in Hamath. | 4He rebuilt Tadmor in the wilderness and built towns in the region of Hamath as supply centers. |
| 5He rebuilt Upper and Lower Beth-horon as fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars, | 5He fortified the towns of Upper Beth-horon and Lower Beth-horon, rebuilding their walls and installing barred gates. |
| 6as well as Baalath, all the store cities that belonged to Solomon, and all the cities for his chariots and horses—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and throughout the land of his dominion. | 6He also rebuilt Baalath and other supply centers and constructed towns where his chariots and horses could be stationed. He built everything he desired in Jerusalem and Lebanon and throughout his entire realm. |
| 7As for all the people who remained of the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites (the people who were not Israelites)— | 7There were still some people living in the land who were not Israelites, including the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. |
| 8their descendants who remained in the land, those whom the Israelites were unable to destroy—Solomon conscripted these people to be forced laborers, as they are to this day. | 8These were descendants of the nations whom the people of Israel had not destroyed. So Solomon conscripted them for his labor force, and they serve as forced laborers to this day. |
| 9But Solomon did not consign any of the Israelites to slave labor, because they were his men of war, his officers and captains, and the commanders of his chariots and cavalry. | 9But Solomon did not conscript any of the Israelites for his labor force. Instead, he assigned them to serve as fighting men, officers in his army, commanders of his chariots, and charioteers. |
| 10They were also the chief officers for King Solomon: 250 supervisors. | 10King Solomon appointed 250 of them to supervise the people. |
| 11Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh up from the City of David to the palace he had built for her. For he said, “My wife must not live in the house of David king of Israel, because the places the ark of the LORD has entered are holy.” | 11Solomon moved his wife, Pharaoh’s daughter, from the City of David to the new palace he had built for her. He said, “My wife must not live in King David’s palace, for the Ark of the LORD has been there, and it is holy ground.” |
| 12At that time Solomon offered burnt offerings to the LORD on the altar of the LORD he had built in front of the portico. | 12Then Solomon presented burnt offerings to the LORD on the altar he had built for him in front of the entry room of the Temple. |
| 13He observed the daily requirement for offerings according to the commandment of Moses for Sabbaths, New Moons, and the three annual appointed feasts—the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. | 13He offered the sacrifices for the Sabbaths, the new moon festivals, and the three annual festivals—the Passover celebration, the Festival of Harvest, and the Festival of Shelters—as Moses had commanded. |
| 14In keeping with the ordinances of his father David, Solomon appointed the divisions of the priests over their service, and the Levites for their duties to offer praise and to minister before the priests according to the daily requirement. He also appointed gatekeepers by their divisions at each gate, for this had been the command of David, the man of God. | 14In assigning the priests to their duties, Solomon followed the regulations of his father, David. He also assigned the Levites to lead the people in praise and to assist the priests in their daily duties. And he assigned the gatekeepers to their gates by their divisions, following the commands of David, the man of God. |
| 15They did not turn aside from the king’s command regarding the priests or the Levites or any matter concerning the treasuries. | 15Solomon did not deviate in any way from David’s commands concerning the priests and Levites and the treasuries. |
| 16Thus all the work of Solomon was carried out, from the day the foundation was laid for the house of the LORD until it was finished. So the house of the LORD was completed. | 16So Solomon made sure that all the work related to building the Temple of the LORD was carried out, from the day its foundation was laid to the day of its completion. |
| 17Then Solomon went to Ezion-geber and to Eloth on the coast of Edom. | 17Later Solomon went to Ezion-geber and Elath, ports along the shore of the Red Sea in the land of Edom. |
| 18So Hiram sent him ships captained by his servants, along with crews of experienced sailors. They went with Solomon’s servants to Ophir and acquired from there 450 talents of gold, which they delivered to King Solomon. | 18Hiram sent him ships commanded by his own officers and manned by experienced crews of sailors. These ships sailed to Ophir with Solomon’s men and brought back to Solomon almost seventeen tons of gold. |
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