6:1 In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites left Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, during the month Ziv 1 (the second month), he began building the Lord’s temple. 6:2 The temple King Solomon built for the Lord was 90 feet 2 long, 30 feet 3 wide, and 45 feet 4 high. 6:3 The porch in front of the main hall of the temple was 30 feet 5 long, corresponding to the width of the temple. It was 15 feet 6 wide, extending out from the front of the temple. 6:4 He made framed windows for the temple. 6:5 He built an extension all around the walls of the temple’s main hall and holy place and constructed side rooms in it. 7 6:6 The bottom floor of the extension was seven and a half feet 8 wide, the middle floor nine feet 9 wide, and the third floor ten and a half 10 feet wide. He made ledges 11 on the temple’s outer walls so the beams would not have to be inserted into the walls. 12 6:7 As the temple was being built, only stones shaped at the quarry 13 were used; the sound of hammers, pickaxes, or any other iron tool was not heard at the temple while it was being built. 6:8 The entrance to the bottom 14 level of side rooms was on the south side of the temple; stairs went up 15 to the middle floor and then on up to the third 16 floor. 6:9 He finished building the temple 17 and covered it 18 with rafters 19 and boards made of cedar. 20 6:10 He built an extension all around the temple; it was seven and a half feet high 21 and it was attached to the temple by cedar beams.
6:11 22 The Lord said 23 to Solomon: 6:12 “As for this temple you are building, if you follow 24 my rules, observe 25 my regulations, and obey all my commandments, 26 I will fulfill through you the promise I made to your father David. 27 6:13 I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel.”
6:14 So Solomon finished building the temple. 28 6:15 He constructed the walls inside the temple with cedar planks; he paneled the inside with wood from the floor of the temple to the rafters 29 of the ceiling. He covered the temple floor with boards made from the wood of evergreens. 6:16 He built a wall 30 feet in from the rear of the temple as a partition for an inner sanctuary that would be the most holy place. 30 He paneled the wall with cedar planks from the floor to the rafters. 31 6:17 The main hall in front of the inner sanctuary was 60 feet long. 32 6:18 The inside of the temple was all cedar and was adorned with carvings of round ornaments and of flowers in bloom. Everything was cedar; no stones were visible. 33
6:19 He prepared the inner sanctuary inside the temple so that the ark of the covenant of the Lord could be placed there. 6:20 The inner sanctuary was 30 feet 34 long, 30 feet wide, and 30 feet high. He plated it with gold, 35 as well as the cedar altar. 36 6:21 Solomon plated the inside of the temple with gold. 37 He hung golden chains in front of the inner sanctuary and plated the inner sanctuary 38 with gold. 6:22 He plated the entire inside of the temple with gold, as well as the altar inside the inner sanctuary. 39
6:23 In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubs of olive wood; each stood 15 feet 40 high. 6:24 Each of the first cherub’s wings was seven and a half feet long; its entire wingspan was 15 feet. 41 6:25 The second cherub also had a wingspan of 15 feet; it was identical to the first in measurements and shape. 42 6:26 Each cherub stood 15 feet high. 43 6:27 He put the cherubs in the inner sanctuary of the temple. 44 Their wings were spread out. One of the first cherub’s wings touched one wall and one of the other cherub’s wings touched the opposite wall. The first cherub’s other wing touched the second cherub’s other wing in the middle of the room. 45 6:28 He plated the cherubs with gold.
6:29 On all the walls around the temple, inside and out, 46 he carved 47 cherubs, palm trees, and flowers in bloom. 6:30 He plated the floor of the temple with gold, inside and out. 48 6:31 He made doors of olive wood at the entrance to the inner sanctuary; the pillar on each doorpost was five-sided. 49 6:32 On the two doors made of olive wood he carved 50 cherubs, palm trees, and flowers in bloom, and he plated them with gold. 51 He plated the cherubs and the palm trees with hammered gold. 52 6:33 In the same way he made doorposts of olive wood for the entrance to the main hall, only with four-sided pillars. 53 6:34 He also made 54 two doors out of wood from evergreens; each door had two folding leaves. 55 6:35 He carved cherubs, palm trees, and flowers in bloom and plated them with gold, leveled out over the carvings. 6:36 He built the inner courtyard with three rows of chiseled stones and a row of cedar beams.
6:37 In the month Ziv 56 of the fourth year of Solomon’s reign 57 the foundation was laid for the Lord’s temple. 6:38 In the eleventh year, in the month Bul 58 (the eighth month) the temple was completed in accordance with all its specifications and blueprints. It took seven years to build. 59
7:13 King Solomon sent for Hiram 60 of Tyre. 61 7:14 He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, 62 and his father was a craftsman in bronze from Tyre. He had the skill and knowledge 63 to make all kinds of works of bronze. He reported to King Solomon and did all the work he was assigned.
7:15 He fashioned two bronze pillars; each pillar was 27 feet 64 high and 18 feet 65 in circumference.
2:1 When David was close to death, 71 he told 72 Solomon his son: 2:2 “I am about to die. 73 Be strong and become a man! 2:3 Do the job the Lord your God has assigned you 74 by following his instructions 75 and obeying 76 his rules, commandments, regulations, and laws as written in the law of Moses. Then you will succeed in all you do and seek to accomplish, 77 2:4 and the Lord will fulfill his promise to me, 78 ‘If your descendants watch their step 79 and live faithfully in my presence 80 with all their heart and being, 81 then,’ he promised, 82 ‘you will not fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’ 83
2:5 “You know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me – how he murdered two commanders of the Israelite armies, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. 84 During peacetime he struck them down like he would in battle; 85 when he shed their blood as if in battle, he stained his own belt and the sandals on his feet. 86 2:6 Do to him what you think is appropriate, 87 but don’t let him live long and die a peaceful death. 88
2:7 “Treat fairly 89 the sons of Barzillai of Gilead and provide for their needs, 90 because they helped me 91 when I had to flee from your brother Absalom.
2:8 “Note well, you still have to contend with Shimei son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, 92 who tried to call down upon me a horrible judgment when I went to Mahanaim. 93 He came down and met me at the Jordan, and I solemnly promised 94 him by the Lord, ‘I will not strike you down 95 with the sword.’ 2:9 But now 96 don’t treat him as if he were innocent. You are a wise man and you know how to handle him; 97 make sure he has a bloody death.” 98
2:10 Then David passed away 99 and was buried in the city of David. 100 2:11 David reigned over Israel forty years; he reigned in Hebron seven years, and in Jerusalem 101 thirty-three years.
2:12 Solomon sat on his father David’s throne, and his royal authority 102 was firmly solidified.
2:13 Haggith’s son Adonijah visited Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. She asked, “Do you come in peace?” He answered, “Yes.” 103 2:14 He added, 104 “I have something to say to you.” She replied, “Speak.” 2:15 He said, “You know that the kingdom 105 was mine and all Israel considered me king. 106 But then the kingdom was given to my brother, for the Lord decided it should be his. 107 2:16 Now I’d like to ask you for just one thing. Please don’t refuse me.” 108 She said, “Go ahead and ask.” 109 2:17 He said, “Please ask King Solomon if he would give me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife, for he won’t refuse you.” 110 2:18 Bathsheba replied, “That’s fine, 111 I’ll speak to the king on your behalf.”
2:19 So Bathsheba visited King Solomon to speak to him on Adonijah’s behalf. The king got up to greet 112 her, bowed to her, and then sat on his throne. He ordered a throne to be brought for the king’s mother, 113 and she sat at his right hand. 2:20 She said, “I would like to ask you for just one small favor. 114 Please don’t refuse me.” 115 He said, 116 “Go ahead and ask, my mother, for I would not refuse you.” 2:21 She said, “Allow Abishag the Shunammite to be given to your brother Adonijah as a wife.” 2:22 King Solomon answered his mother, “Why just request Abishag the Shunammite for him? 117 Since he is my older brother, you should also request the kingdom for him, for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab son of Zeruiah!”
2:23 King Solomon then swore an oath by the Lord, “May God judge me severely, 118 if Adonijah does not pay for this request with his life! 119 2:24 Now, as certainly as the Lord lives (he who made me secure, allowed me to sit on my father David’s throne, and established a dynasty 120 for me as he promised), Adonijah will be executed today!” 2:25 King Solomon then sent 121 Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he killed Adonijah. 122
2:26 The king then told Abiathar the priest, “Go back to your property 123 in Anathoth. You deserve to die, 124 but today I will not kill you because you did carry the ark of the sovereign Lord before my father David and you suffered with my father through all his difficult times.” 125 2:27 Solomon dismissed Abiathar from his position as priest of the Lord, 126 fulfilling the decree of judgment the Lord made in Shiloh against the family of Eli. 127
2:28 When the news reached Joab (for Joab had supported 128 Adonijah, although he had not supported Absalom), he 129 ran to the tent of the Lord and grabbed hold of the horns of the altar. 130 2:29 When King Solomon heard 131 that Joab had run to the tent of the Lord and was right there beside the altar, he ordered Benaiah son of Jehoiada, 132 “Go, strike him down.” 2:30 When Benaiah arrived at the tent of the Lord, he said to him, “The king says, ‘Come out!’” But he replied, “No, I will die here!” So Benaiah sent word to the king and reported Joab’s reply. 133 2:31 The king told him, “Do as he said! Strike him down and bury him. Take away from me and from my father’s family 134 the guilt of Joab’s murderous, bloody deeds. 135 2:32 May the Lord punish him for the blood he shed; 136 behind my father David’s back he struck down and murdered with the sword two men who were more innocent and morally upright than he 137 – Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army. 2:33 May Joab and his descendants be perpetually guilty of their shed blood, but may the Lord give perpetual peace to David, his descendants, his family, 138 and his dynasty.” 139 2:34 So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up and executed Joab; 140 he was buried at his home in the wilderness. 2:35 The king appointed Benaiah son of Jehoiada to take his place at the head of 141 the army, and the king appointed Zadok the priest to take Abiathar’s place. 142
2:36 Next the king summoned 143 Shimei and told him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem 144 and live there – but you may not leave there to go anywhere! 145 2:37 If you ever do leave and cross the Kidron Valley, know for sure that you will certainly die! You will be responsible for your own death.” 146 2:38 Shimei said to the king, “My master the king’s proposal is acceptable. 147 Your servant will do as you say.” 148 So Shimei lived in Jerusalem for a long time. 149
2:39 Three years later two of Shimei’s servants ran away to King Achish son of Maacah of Gath. Shimei was told, “Look, your servants are in Gath.” 2:40 So Shimei got up, saddled his donkey, and went to Achish at Gath to find his servants; Shimei went and brought back his servants from Gath. 2:41 When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had then returned, 2:42 the king summoned 150 Shimei and said to him, “You will recall 151 that I made you take an oath by the Lord, and I solemnly warned you, ‘If you ever leave and go anywhere, 152 know for sure that you will certainly die.’ You said to me, ‘The proposal is acceptable; I agree to it.’ 153 2:43 Why then have you broken the oath you made before the Lord and disobeyed the order I gave you?” 154 2:44 Then the king said to Shimei, “You are well aware of the way you mistreated my father David. 155 The Lord will punish you for what you did. 156 2:45 But King Solomon will be empowered 157 and David’s dynasty 158 will endure permanently before the Lord.” 2:46 The king then gave the order to Benaiah son of Jehoiada who went and executed Shimei. 159
So Solomon took firm control of the kingdom. 160
3:1 Solomon made an alliance by marriage with Pharaoh, king of Egypt; he married Pharaoh’s daughter. He brought her to the City of David 161 until he could finish building his residence and the temple of the Lord and the wall around Jerusalem. 162 3:2 Now the people were offering sacrifices at the high places, 163 because in those days a temple had not yet been built to honor the Lord. 164 3:3 Solomon demonstrated his loyalty to the Lord by following 165 the practices 166 of his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places.
3:4 The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for it had the most prominent of the high places. 167 Solomon would offer up 168 a thousand burnt sacrifices on the altar there. 3:5 One night in Gibeon the Lord appeared 169 to Solomon in a dream. God said, “Tell 170 me what I should give you.” 3:6 Solomon replied, “You demonstrated 171 great loyalty to your servant, my father David, as he served 172 you faithfully, properly, and sincerely. 173 You have maintained this great loyalty to this day by allowing his son to sit on his throne. 174 3:7 Now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in my father David’s place, even though I am only a young man and am inexperienced. 175 3:8 Your servant stands 176 among your chosen people; 177 they are a great nation that is too numerous to count or number. 3:9 So give your servant a discerning mind 178 so he can make judicial decisions for 179 your people and distinguish right from wrong. 180 Otherwise 181 no one is able 182 to make judicial decisions for 183 this great nation of yours.” 184 3:10 The Lord 185 was pleased that Solomon made this request. 186 3:11 God said to him, “Because you asked for the ability to make wise judicial decisions, and not for long life, or riches, or vengeance on your enemies, 187 3:12 I 188 grant your request, 189 and give 190 you a wise and discerning mind 191 superior to that of anyone who has preceded or will succeed you. 192 3:13 Furthermore, I am giving 193 you what you did not request – riches and honor so that you will be the greatest king of your generation. 194 3:14 If you follow my instructions 195 by obeying 196 my rules and regulations, just as your father David did, 197 then I will grant you long life.” 198 3:15 Solomon then woke up and realized it was a dream. 199 He went to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord’s covenant, offered up burnt sacrifices, presented peace offerings, 200 and held a feast for all his servants.
3:16 Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 3:17 One of the women said, “My master, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was with me in the house. 3:18 Then three days after I had my baby, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one else in the house except the two of us. 201 3:19 This woman’s child suffocated 202 during the night when she rolled 203 on top of him. 3:20 She got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side, while your servant was sleeping. She put him in her arms, and put her dead son in my arms. 3:21 I got up in the morning to nurse my son, and there he was, 204 dead! But when I examined him carefully in the morning, I realized it was not my baby.” 205 3:22 The other woman said, “No! My son is alive; your son is dead!” But the first woman replied, “No, your son is dead; my son is alive.” Each presented her case before the king. 206
3:23 The king said, “One says, ‘My son is alive; your son is dead,’ while the other says, ‘No, your son is dead; my son is alive.’” 3:24 The king ordered, “Get me a sword!” So they placed a sword before the king. 3:25 The king then said, “Cut the living child in two, and give half to one and half to the other!” 3:26 The real mother 207 spoke up to the king, for her motherly instincts were aroused. 208 She said, “My master, give her the living child! Whatever you do, don’t kill him!” 209 But the other woman said, “Neither one of us will have him! Let them cut him in two!” 3:27 The king responded, “Give the first woman the living child; don’t kill him. She is the mother.” 3:28 When all Israel heard about the judicial decision which the king had rendered, they respected 210 the king, for they realized 211 that he possessed supernatural wisdom 212 to make judicial decisions.
4:1 King Solomon ruled over all Israel. 4:2 These were his officials:
Azariah son of Zadok was the priest.
4:3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, wrote down what happened. 213
Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was in charge of the records.
4:4 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was commander of 214 the army.
Zadok and Abiathar were priests.
4:5 Azariah son of Nathan was supervisor of 215 the district governors.
Zabud son of Nathan was a priest and adviser to 216 the king.
4:6 Ahishar was supervisor of the palace. 217
Adoniram son of Abda was supervisor of 218 the work crews. 219
4:7 Solomon had twelve district governors appointed throughout Israel who acquired supplies for the king and his palace. Each was responsible for one month in the year. 4:8 These were their names:
Ben-Hur was in charge of the hill country of Ephraim.
4:9 Ben-Deker was in charge of Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan.
4:10 Ben-Hesed was in charge of Arubboth; he controlled Socoh and all the territory of Hepher.
4:11 Ben-Abinadab was in charge of Naphath Dor. (He was married to Solomon’s daughter Taphath.)
4:12 Baana son of Ahilud was in charge of Taanach and Megiddo, 220 as well as all of Beth Shan next to Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth Shan to Abel Meholah and on past Jokmeam.
4:13 Ben-Geber was in charge of Ramoth Gilead; he controlled the tent villages of Jair son of Manasseh in Gilead, as well as the region of Argob in Bashan, including sixty large walled cities with bronze bars locking their gates.
4:14 Ahinadab son of Iddo was in charge of Mahanaim.
4:15 Ahimaaz was in charge of Naphtali. (He married Solomon’s daughter Basemath.)
4:16 Baana son of Hushai was in charge of Asher and Aloth.
4:17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah was in charge of Issachar.
4:18 Shimei son of Ela was in charge of Benjamin.
4:19 Geber son of Uri was in charge of the land of Gilead (the territory which had once belonged to King Sihon of the Amorites and to King Og of Bashan). He was sole governor of the area.
4:20 The people of Judah and Israel were as innumerable as the sand on the seashore; they had plenty to eat and drink and were happy. 4:21 (5:1) 221 Solomon ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River 222 to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These kingdoms paid tribute as Solomon’s subjects throughout his lifetime. 223 4:22 Each day Solomon’s royal court consumed 224 thirty cors 225 of finely milled flour, sixty cors of cereal,
1 sn During the month Ziv. This would be April-May, 966
2 tn Heb “sixty cubits.” A cubit was a unit of measure roughly equivalent to 18 inches or 45 cm. Measurements in vv. 2-10 have been converted to feet in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Heb “twenty cubits.”
4 tn Heb “thirty cubits.”
5 tn Heb “twenty cubits.”
6 tn Heb “ten cubits.”
7 tn Heb “and he built on the wall of the temple an extension all around, the walls of the temple all around, for the main hall and for the holy place, and he made side rooms all around.”
8 tn Heb “five cubits.”
9 tn Heb “six cubits.”
10 tn Heb “seven cubits.”
11 tn Or “offsets” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “offset ledges.”
12 tn Heb “so that [the beams] would not have a hold in the walls of the temple.”
13 tn Heb “finished stone of the quarry,” i.e., stones chiseled and shaped at the time they were taken out of the quarry.
14 tc The Hebrew text has “middle,” but the remainder of the verse suggests this is an error.
15 tn Heb “by stairs they went up.” The word translated “stairs” occurs only here. Other options are “trapdoors” or “ladders.”
16 tc The translation reads with a few medieval Hebrew
17 tn Heb “ built the house and completed it.”
18 tn Heb “the house.”
19 tn The word occurs only here; the precise meaning is uncertain.
20 tn Heb “and rows with cedar wood.”
21 tn Heb “five cubits.” This must refer to the height of each floor or room.
22 tc The LXX lacks vv. 11-14.
23 tn Heb “the word of the
24 tn Heb “walk in.”
25 tn Heb “do.”
26 tn Heb “and keep all my commandments by walking in them.”
27 tn Heb “I will establish my word with you which I spoke to David your father.”
28 tn Heb “ built the house and completed it.”
29 tc The MT reads קִירוֹת (qirot, “walls”), but this should be emended to קוֹרוֹת (qorot, “rafters”). See BDB 900 s.v. קוֹרָה.
30 tn Heb “He built twenty cubits from the rear areas of the temple with cedar planks from the floor to the walls, and he built it on the inside for an inner sanctuary, for a holy place of holy places.”
31 tc The MT has קְלָעִים (qÿla’im, “curtains”), but this should be emended to קוֹרוֹת (qorot, “rafters”). See BDB 900 s.v. קוֹרָה.
32 tn Heb “and the house was forty cubits, that is, the main hall before it.”
33 tn Heb “Cedar was inside the temple, carvings of gourds (i.e., gourd-shaped ornaments) and opened flowers; the whole was cedar, no stone was seen.”
34 tn Heb “twenty cubits” (this measurement occurs three times in this verse).
35 tn Heb “with plated gold” (or perhaps, “with pure gold”).
36 tn Heb “he plated [the] altar of cedar.”
37 tn Heb “with plated gold” (or perhaps, “with pure gold”).
38 tn Heb “it.”
39 tn Heb “all the temple he plated with gold until all the temple was finished; and the whole altar which was in the inner sanctuary he plated with gold.”
40 tn Heb “ten cubits” (a cubit was a unit of measure roughly equivalent to 18 inches or 45 cm).
41 tn Heb “The first wing of the [one] cherub was five cubits, and the second wing of the cherub was five cubits, ten cubits from the tips of his wings to the tips of his wings.”
42 tn Heb “and the second cherub was ten cubits, the two cherubs had one measurement and one shape.”
43 tn Heb “the height of the first cherub was ten cubits; and so was the second cherub.”
44 tn Heb “in the midst of the inner house,” i.e., in the inner sanctuary.
45 tn Heb “and their wings were in the middle of the room, touching wing to wing.”
46 sn Inside and out probably refers to the inner and outer rooms within the building.
47 tn Heb “carved engravings of carvings.”
48 sn Inside and out probably refers to the inner and outer rooms within the building.
49 tn Heb “the pillar, doorposts, a fifth part” (the precise meaning of this description is uncertain).
50 tn Heb “carved carvings of.”
51 tn Heb “he plated [with] gold” (the precise object is not stated).
52 tn Heb “and he hammered out the gold on the cherubs and the palm trees.”
53 tn Heb “and so he did at the entrance of the main hall, doorposts of olive wood, from a fourth.”
54 tn The words “he also made” are added for stylistic reasons.
55 tc Heb “two of the leaves of the first door were folding, and two of the leaves of the second door were folding.” In the second half of the description, the MT has קְלָעִים (qÿla’im, “curtains”), but this is surely a corruption of צְלָעִים (tsÿla’im, “leaves”) which appears in the first half of the statement.
56 sn In the month Ziv. This would be April-May, 966
57 tn The words “of Solomon’s reign” are added for clarification. See v. 1.
58 sn In the month Bul. This would be October-November 959
59 tn Heb “he built it in seven years.”
60 tn Heb “King Solomon sent and took Hiram from Tyre.” In 2 Chr 2:13 (MT v. 12) and 4:11, 16 his name is spelled “Huram.”
61 map For location see Map1-A2; Map2-G2; Map4-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.
62 tn 2 Chr 2:14 (13 HT) says “from the daughters of Dan.”
63 tn Heb “he was filled with the skill, understanding, and knowledge.”
64 tn Heb “eighteen cubits.”
65 tn Heb “twelve cubits.”
66 tn Heb “he built.”
67 sn The Palace of the Lebanon Forest. This name was appropriate because of the large amount of cedar, undoubtedly brought from Lebanon, used in its construction. The cedar pillars in the palace must have given it the appearance of a forest.
68 tn Heb “one hundred cubits.”
69 tn Heb “fifty cubits.”
70 tn Heb “thirty cubits.”
71 tn Heb “and the days of David approached to die.”
72 tn Or “commanded.”
73 tn Heb “going the way of all the earth.”
74 tn Heb “keep the charge of the
75 tn Heb “by walking in his ways.”
76 tn Or “keeping.”
77 tn Heb “then you will cause to succeed all which you do and all which you turn there.”
78 tn Heb “then the
79 tn Heb “guard their way.”
80 tn Heb “by walking before me in faithfulness.”
81 tn Or “soul.”
82 tn Heb “saying.”
83 tn Heb “there will not be cut off from you a man from upon the throne of Israel.”
84 tn Heb “what he did to the two commanders…and he killed them.”
85 tn Heb “he shed the blood of battle in peace.”
86 tn Heb “and he shed the blood of battle when he killed which is on his waist and on his sandal[s] which are on his feet.” That is, he covered himself with guilt and his guilt was obvious to all who saw him.
87 tn Heb “according to your wisdom.”
88 tn Heb “and do not bring down his grey hair in peace [to] Sheol.”
89 tn Heb “do loyalty with”; or “act faithfully toward.”
90 tn Heb “and let them be among the ones who eat [at] your table.”
91 tn Heb “drew near to.”
92 tn Heb “Look, with you is Shimei….”
93 tn Heb “and he cursed me with a horrible curse on the day I went to Mahanaim.”
94 tn Or “swore an oath to.”
95 tn Heb “kill you.”
96 tc The Lucianic recension of the Old Greek and the Vulgate have here “you” rather than “now.” The two words are homonyms in Hebrew.
97 tn Heb “what you should do to him.”
98 tn Heb “bring his grey hair down in blood [to] Sheol.”
99 tn Heb “and David lay down with his fathers.”
100 sn The phrase the city of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
101 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
102 tn Or “kingship.”
103 tn Heb “[in] peace.”
104 tn Heb “and he said.”
105 tn Or “kingship.”
106 tn Heb “set their face to me to be king.”
107 tn Heb “and the kingdom turned about and became my brother’s, for from the
108 tn Heb “Do not turn back my face.”
109 tn Heb “She said, ‘Speak!’”
110 tn Heb “Say to Solomon the king, for he will not turn back your face, that he might give to me Abishag the Shunammite for a wife.”
111 tn Heb “[It is] good!”
112 tn Or “meet.”
113 tn Heb “he set up a throne for the mother of the king.”
114 tn Or “I’d like to make just one request of you.”
115 tn Heb “Do not turn back my face.”
116 tn Heb “and the king said to her.”
117 tn Heb “for Adonijah.”
118 tn Heb “So may God do to me, and so may he add.”
119 tn Heb “if with his life Adonijah has not spoken this word.”
120 tn Heb “house.”
121 tn The Hebrew text adds, “by the hand of.”
122 tn Heb “and he struck him and he died.”
123 tn Or “field.”
124 tn Heb “you are a man of death.”
125 tn Heb “and because you suffered through all which my father suffered.”
126 tn Heb “Solomon drove out Abiathar from being a priest to the
127 tn Heb “fulfilling the word of the
128 tn Heb “turned after” (also later in this verse).
129 tn Heb “Joab.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
130 sn Grabbed hold of the horns of the altar. The “horns” of the altar were the horn-shaped projections on the four corners of the altar (see Exod 27:2). By going to the holy place and grabbing hold of the horns of the altar, Joab was seeking asylum from Solomon.
131 tn Heb “and it was related to King Solomon.”
132 tn Heb “so Solomon sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada, saying.”
133 tn Heb “saying, “In this way Joab spoke and in this way he answered me.”
134 tn Heb “house.”
135 tn Heb “take away the undeserved bloodshed which Joab spilled from upon me and from upon the house of my father.”
136 tn Heb “The
137 tn Heb “because he struck down two men more innocent and better than he and he killed them with the sword, and my father David did not know.”
138 tn Heb “house.”
139 tn Heb “his throne.”
140 tn Heb “struck him and killed him.” The referent (Joab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
141 tn Heb “over.”
142 tc The Old Greek translation includes after v. 35 some fourteen verses that are absent from the MT.
143 tn Heb “sent and summoned.”
144 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
145 tn Heb “and you may not go out from there here or there.”
146 tn Heb “your blood will be upon your head.”
147 tn Heb “Good is the word, as my master the king has spoken.”
148 tn Heb “so your servant will do.”
149 tn Heb “many days.”
150 tn Heb “sent and summoned.”
151 tn Heb “Is it not [true]…?” In the Hebrew text the statement is interrogative; the rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course it is.”
152 tn Heb “here or there.”
153 tn Heb “good is the word; I have heard.”
154 tn Heb “Why have you not kept the oath [to] the
155 tn Heb “You know all the evil, for your heart knows, which you did to David my father.”
156 tn Heb “The
157 tn Or “blessed.”
158 tn Heb “throne.”
159 tn “The king commanded Benaiah son of Jehoiada and he went out and struck him down and he died.”
160 tn “And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.”
161 sn The phrase City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
162 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
163 sn Offering sacrifices at the high places. The “high places” were places of worship that were naturally or artificially elevated.
164 tn Heb “for the name of the
165 tn Heb “Solomon loved the
166 tn Or “policies, rules.”
167 tn Heb “for it was the great high place.”
168 tn The verb form is an imperfect, which is probably used here in a customary sense to indicate continued or repeated action in past time. See GKC 314 §107.b.
169 tn Or “revealed himself.”
170 tn Heb “ask.”
171 tn Heb “did.”
172 tn Heb “walked before.”
173 tn Heb “in faithfulness and in innocence and in uprightness of heart with you.”
174 tn Heb “and you have kept to him this great loyalty and you gave to him a son [who] sits on his throne as this day.”
175 tn Heb “and I do not know going out or coming in.”
176 tn There is no verb expressed in the Hebrew text; “stands” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
177 tn Heb “your people whom you have chosen.”
178 tn Heb “a hearing heart.” (The Hebrew term translated “heart” often refers to the mental faculties.)
179 tn Heb “to judge.”
180 tn Heb “to understand between good and evil.”
181 tn Heb “for”; the word “otherwise” is used to reflect the logical sense of the statement.
182 tn Heb “who is able?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “no one.”
183 tn Heb “to judge.”
184 tn Heb “your numerous people.”
185 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in v.15 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
186 tn Heb “And the thing was good in the eyes of the Lord, for Solomon asked for this thing.”
187 tn Heb “because you asked for this thing, and did not ask for yourself many days and did not ask for yourself riches and did not ask for the life of your enemies, but you asked for yourself understanding to hear judgment.”
188 tn This statement is introduced in the Hebrew text by the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) which draws attention to and emphasizes what follows.
189 tn Heb “I am doing according to your words.” The perfect tense is sometimes used of actions occurring at the same time a statement is made.
190 tn This statement is introduced by the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) which draws attention to and emphasizes what follows. The translation assumes that the perfect tense here indicates that the action occurs as the statement is made (i.e., “right now I give you”).
191 tn Heb “heart.” (The Hebrew term translated “heart” often refers to the mental faculties.)
192 tn Heb “so that there has not been one like you prior to you, and after you one will not arise like you.”
193 tn The translation assumes that the perfect tense here indicates that the action occurs as the statement is made.
194 tn Heb “so that there is not one among the kings like you all your days.” The LXX lacks the words “all your days.”
195 tn Heb “walk in my ways.”
196 tn Or “keeping.”
197 tn Heb “walked.”
198 tn Heb “I will lengthen your days.”
199 tn Heb “and look, a dream.”
200 tn Or “tokens of peace”; NIV, TEV “fellowship offerings.”
201 sn There was no one else in the house except the two of us. In other words, there were no other witnesses to the births who could identify which child belonged to which mother.
202 tn Heb “died.”
203 tn Heb “lay, slept.”
204 tn Heb “look.”
205 tn Heb “look, it was not my son to whom I had given birth.”
206 tn Heb “they spoke before the king.” Another option is to translate, “they argued before the king.”
207 tn Heb “the woman whose son was alive.”
208 tn Heb “for her compassions grew warm for her son.”
209 tn The infinitive absolute before the negated jussive emphasizes the main verb.
210 tn Heb “feared,” perhaps in the sense, “stood in awe of.”
211 tn Heb “saw.”
212 tn Heb “the wisdom of God within him.”
213 tn Heb “were scribes”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “secretaries”; TEV, NLT “court secretaries.”
214 tn Heb “was over.”
215 tn Heb “was over.”
216 tn Heb “close associate of”; KJV, ASV, NASB “the king’s friend” (a title for an adviser, not just an acquaintance).
217 tn Heb “over the house.”
218 tn Heb “was over.”
219 sn The work crews. This Hebrew word (מַס, mas) refers to a group of laborers conscripted for royal or public service.
220 map For location see Map1-D4; Map2-C1; Map4-C2; Map5-F2; Map7-B1.
221 sn Beginning with 4:21, the verse numbers through 5:18 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 4:21 ET = 5:1 HT, 4:22 ET = 5:2 HT, etc., through 5:18 ET = 5:32 HT. Beginning with 6:1 the numbering of verses in the English Bible and the Hebrew text is again the same.
222 tn Heb “the River” (also in v. 24). This is the standard designation for the Euphrates River in biblical Hebrew.
223 tn Heb “[They] were bringing tribute and were serving Solomon all the days of his life.”
224 tn Heb “the food of Solomon for each day was.”
225 tn As a unit of dry measure a cor was roughly equivalent to six bushels.
226 sn This great king of Israel would, of course, be Solomon.