When Solomon became old, his wives shifted his allegiance to ¹  other gods; he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord his God, as his father David had been. ² 

Solomon was wiser than all the men of the east and all the sages of Egypt. ¹ 

The Lord ¹  said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord. Look, the Lord is ready to pass by.” A very powerful wind went before the Lord, digging into the mountain and causing landslides, ²  but the Lord was not in the wind. After the windstorm there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.

He also made the large bronze basin called “The Sea.” ¹  It measured 15 feet ²  from rim to rim, was circular in shape, and stood seven-and-a-half feet ³  high. Its circumference was 45 feet. ⁴ 

There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets Moses had placed there in Horeb. ¹  It was there that ²  the Lord made an agreement with the Israelites after he brought them out of the land of Egypt.

He also made a throne room, called “The Hall of Judgment,” where he made judicial decisions. ¹  It was paneled with cedar from the floor to the rafters. ² 

The young woman was very beautiful; she became the king’s nurse and served him, but the king did not have sexual relations with her. ¹ 

After this ¹  the son of the woman who owned the house got sick. His illness was so severe he could no longer breathe.

When David was close to death, ¹  he told ²  Solomon his son:

In the month Ziv ¹  of the fourth year of Solomon’s reign ²  the foundation was laid for the Lord’s temple.

May the Lord our God be with us, as he was with our ancestors. May he not abandon us or leave us.

He was Israel’s enemy throughout Solomon’s reign and, like Hadad, caused trouble. He loathed ¹  Israel and ruled over Syria.

The district governors acquired supplies for King Solomon and all who ate in his royal palace. ¹  Each was responsible for one month in the year; they made sure nothing was lacking.

These were their names: Ben-Hur was in charge of the hill country of Ephraim.

Ben-Deker was in charge of Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan.

The Lord was angry with Solomon because he had shifted his allegiance ¹  away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him on two occasions ² 

(There had never been anyone like Ahab, who was firmly committed ¹  to doing evil in the sight of ²  the Lord, urged on by his wife Jezebel. ³ 

The roof above the beams supported by the pillars was also made of cedar; there were forty-five beams, fifteen per row.

She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your wise sayings and insight ¹  was true!

When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, ¹  he got up and went down to take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.