The priests and Levites carried the ark of the Lord, the tent of meeting, and all the holy items in the tent.

He said, “The Lord God of Israel is worthy of praise because he has fulfilled what he promised my father David.

The Lord told my father David, ‘It is right for you to have a strong desire to build a temple to honor me.

“God does not really live on the earth! Look, if the sky and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this temple I have built!

But respond favorably to your servant’s prayer and his request for help, O Lord my God. Answer the desperate prayer your servant is presenting to you today.

“When someone is accused of sinning against his neighbor and the latter pronounces a curse on the alleged offender before your altar in this temple, be willing to forgive the accused if the accusation is false.

“The time will come when your people Israel are defeated by an enemy because they sinned against you. If they come back to you, renew their allegiance to you, and pray for your help in this temple,

then listen from heaven, forgive the sin of your people Israel, and bring them back to the land you gave to their ancestors.

“Foreigners, who do not belong to your people Israel, will come from a distant land because of your reputation.

When your people come to their senses in the land where they are held prisoner, they will repent and beg for your mercy in the land of their imprisonment, admitting, ‘We have sinned and gone astray; we have done evil.’

May he make us submissive, so we can follow all his instructions and obey the commandments, rules, and regulations he commanded our ancestors.

After Solomon finished building the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and all the other construction projects he had planned,

You must serve me with integrity and sincerity, just as your father David did. Do everything I commanded and obey my rules and regulations.

After twenty years, during which Solomon built the Lord’s temple and the royal palace,

When Hiram went out from Tyre to inspect the cities Solomon had given him, he was not pleased with them.

Hiram asked, “Why did you give me these cities, my friend?” He called that area the region of Cabul, a name which it has retained to this day.

Now several non-Israelite peoples were left in the land after the conquest of Joshua, including the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

These men were also in charge of Solomon’s work projects; there were a total of 550 men who supervised the workers.

Solomon built the terrace as soon as Pharaoh’s daughter moved up from the city of David to the palace Solomon built for her.

King Solomon also built ships in Ezion Geber, which is located near Elat in the land of Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea.