2 Chronicles 8
1 And it came to pass after twenty
years, in which Solomon built the house of the Lord, and his own house,
2 that Solomon rebuilt the cities
which Chiram had given to Solomon, and caused the children of Israel to dwell
in them.
3 And Solomon came to Bæsoba, and
fortified it. 4 And he built Thoedmor
in the wilderness, and all the strong cities which he built in Emath.
5 And he built Bæthoron the upper, and
Bæthoron the lower, strong cities,—they had walls, gates, and bars;
6 and Balaath, and all the strong
cities which Solomon had, and all his chariot cities, and cities of horsemen,
and all things that Solomon desired according to his desire of building, in
Jerusalem, and in Libanus, and in all his kingdom.
7 As for all
the people that was left of the Chettites, and the Amorites, and the
Pherezites, and the Evites, and the Jebusites, who are not of Israel,
8 but were of the children of them
whom the children of Israel destroyed not, that were left after them in the
land, even them did Solomon make tributaries to this day.
9 But Solomon did not make any of the
children of Israel servants in his kingdom; for, behold,
they were warriors and rulers, and mighty
men, and captains of chariots and horsemen.
10 And these are the chiefs of the
officers of king Solomon, two hundred and fifty overseeing the work among the
people.
11 And Solomon brought up the
daughter of Pharao from the city of David to the house which he had built for
her: for he said, My wife shall not dwell in the city of David, the king of
Israel, for the place is holy into which the ark of
the Lord has entered.
12 Then Solomon offered up to the
Lord whole-burnt-offerings on the altar which he had built to the Lord before
the temple, 13 according to the daily
rate, to offer up sacrifices according to the
commandments of Moses, on the sabbaths, and at the new moons, and at the
feasts, three times in the year, at the feast of unleavened bread, and at the
feast of weeks, and at the feast of tabernacles.
14 And he established, according to
the order of his father David, the courses of the priests, and
that according to their public ministrations: and the
Levites were appointed over their charges, to praise
and minister before the priests according to the daily order: and the porters
were appointed according to their courses to the different gates: for thus
were the commandments of David the man of God.
15 They transgressed not the
commandments of the king concerning the priests and the Levites with regard to
everything else, and with regard to the treasures.
16 Now all the work had been prepared
from the day when the foundation was laid, until Solomon finished the house of
the Lord.
17 Then Solomon went to Gasion Gaber,
and to Ælath near the sea in the land of Idumea.
18 And Chiram sent by the hand of his
servants ships, and servants skilled in naval affairs; and they went with the
servants of Solomon to Sophira, and brought thence four hundred and fifty
talents of gold, and they came to king Solomon.