So Hiram supplied the cedars and evergreens Solomon needed,

He made framed windows for the temple.

Above the foundation the best stones, chiseled to the right size, were used along with cedar.

The king of Israel went home to Samaria bitter and angry.

Furthermore, I am giving you what you did not request – riches and honor so that you will be the greatest king of your generation.

He plated the entire inside of the temple with gold, as well as the altar inside the inner sanctuary.

He engraved ornamental cherubs, lions, and palm trees on the plates of the supports and frames wherever there was room, with wreaths all around.

“May you be attentive to your servant’s and your people Israel’s requests for help and may you respond to all their prayers to you.

Furthermore, on the hill east of Jerusalem Solomon built a high place for the detestable Moabite god Chemosh and for the detestable Ammonite god Milcom.

He was Israel’s enemy throughout Solomon’s reign and, like Hadad, caused trouble. He loathed Israel and ruled over Syria.

This sin caused Jeroboam’s dynasty to come to an end and to be destroyed from the face of the earth.

The jar of flour was never empty and the jug of oil never ran out, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.

Each one struck down an enemy soldier; the Syrians fled and Israel chased them. King Ben Hadad of Syria escaped on horseback with some horsemen.

The Lord said, ‘Who will deceive Ahab, so he will attack Ramoth Gilead and die there?’ One said this and another that.

Zedekiah son of Kenaanah approached, hit Micaiah on the jaw, and said, “Which way did the Lord’s spirit go when he went from me to speak to you?”

Solomon made an alliance by marriage with Pharaoh, king of Egypt; he married Pharaoh’s daughter. He brought her to the City of David until he could finish building his residence and the temple of the Lord and the wall around Jerusalem.

(Now his father had never corrected him by saying, “Why do you do such things?” He was also very handsome and had been born right after Absalom.)

But now don’t treat him as if he were innocent. You are a wise man and you know how to handle him; make sure he has a bloody death.”

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,

I grant your request, and give you a wise and discerning mind superior to that of anyone who has preceded or will succeed you.