Day 210 of 365

¹Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and the Lord his God was with him, and magnified him exceedingly.

²Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and to the judges, and to every prince in all Israel, the heads of the fathers' households.

³So Solomon, and all the assembly with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon; for there was the Tent of Meeting of God, which Moses the servant of the Lord had made in the wilderness.

⁴But David had brought the ark of God up from Kiriath Jearim to the place that David had prepared for it; for he had pitched a tent for it at Jerusalem.

⁵Moreover the bronze altar, that Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, was there before the tabernacle of the Lord: and Solomon and the assembly were seeking counsel there.

⁶Solomon went up there to the bronze altar before the Lord, which was at the Tent of Meeting, and offered one thousand burnt offerings on it.

⁷In that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, "Ask what I shall give you."

⁸Solomon said to God, "You have shown great loving kindness to David my father, and have made me king in his place.

⁹Now, Lord God, let your promise to David my father be established; for you have made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude.

¹⁰Now give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this your people, that is so great?"

¹¹God said to Solomon, "Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked riches, wealth, or honor, nor the life of those who hate you, neither yet have asked long life; but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself, that you may judge my people, over whom I have made you king:

¹²wisdom and knowledge is granted to you. I will give you riches, wealth, and honor, such as none of the kings have had who have been before you; neither shall there any after you have the like."

¹³So Solomon came from the high place that was at Gibeon, from before the Tent of Meeting, to Jerusalem; and he reigned over Israel.

¹⁴Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen: and he had one thousand four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, that he placed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.

¹⁵The king made silver and gold to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycamore trees that are in the lowland, for abundance.

¹⁶The horses which Solomon had were brought out of Egypt and from Kue; the king's merchants purchased them from Kue.

¹⁷They brought up and brought out of Egypt a chariot for six hundred pieces of silver, and a horse for one hundred fifty: and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of Syria, they brought them out by their means.

¹Now Solomon purposed to build a house for the name of the Lord, and a house for his kingdom.

²Solomon counted out seventy thousand men to bear burdens, and eighty thousand men who were stone cutters in the mountains, and three thousand and six hundred to oversee them.

³Solomon sent to Huram the king of Tyre, saying, "As you dealt with David my father, and sent him cedars to build him a house in which to dwell, so deal with me.

⁴Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before him incense of sweet spices, and for the continual show bread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the Sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the set feasts of the Lord our God. This is an ordinance forever to Israel.

⁵"The house which I build is great; for our God is great above all gods.

⁶But who is able to build him a house, since heaven and the heaven of heavens can't contain him? Who am I then, that I should build him a house, except just to burn incense before him?

⁷"Now therefore send me a man skillful to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, and who knows how to engrave engravings, to be with the skillful men who are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father provided.

⁸"Send me also cedar trees, fir trees, and algum trees, out of Lebanon; for I know that your servants know how to cut timber in Lebanon: and behold, my servants shall be with your servants,

⁹even to prepare me timber in abundance; for the house which I am about to build shall be great and wonderful.

¹⁰Behold, I will give to your servants, the cutters who cut timber, twenty thousand measures of beaten wheat, and twenty thousand measures of barley, and twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil."

¹¹Then Huram the king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon, "Because the Lord loves his people, he has made you king over them."

¹²Huram continued, "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, that made heaven and earth, who has given to David the king a wise son, endowed with discretion and understanding, that should build a house for the Lord, and a house for his kingdom.

¹³Now I have sent a skillful man, endowed with understanding, of Huram my father's,

¹⁴the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan; and his father was a man of Tyre, skillful to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson, also to engrave any kind of engraving, and to execute any design; that there may be a place appointed to him with your skillful men, and with the skillful men of my lord David your father.

¹⁵"Now therefore the wheat and the barley, the oil and the wine, which my lord has spoken of, let him send to his servants:

¹⁶and we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as you shall need; and we will bring it to you in floats by sea to Joppa; and you shall carry it up to Jerusalem."

¹⁷Solomon numbered all the foreigners who were in the land of Israel, after the numbering with which David his father had numbered them; and they were found one hundred fifty-three thousand six hundred.

¹⁸He set seventy thousand of them to bear burdens, and eighty thousand who were stone cutters in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred overseers to set the people at work.

¹Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord appeared to David his father, which he prepared in the place that David had appointed, in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

²He began to build in the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.

³Now these are the foundations which Solomon laid for the building of God's house. The length by cubits after the first measure was sixty cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits.

⁴The porch that was in front, its length, according to the breadth of the house, was twenty cubits, and the height one hundred twenty; and he overlaid it within with pure gold.

⁵The greater house he made a ceiling with fir wood, which he overlaid with fine gold, and ornamented it with palm trees and chains.

⁶He garnished the house with precious stones for beauty: and the gold was gold of Parvaim.

⁷He overlaid also the house, the beams, the thresholds, and its walls, and its doors, with gold; and engraved cherubim on the walls.

⁸He made the most holy house: its length, according to the breadth of the house, was twenty cubits, and its breadth twenty cubits; and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents.

⁹The weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. He overlaid the upper rooms with gold.

¹⁰In the most holy house he made two cherubim of image work; and they overlaid them with gold.

¹¹The wings of the cherubim were twenty cubits long: the wing of the one was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house; and the other wing was five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other cherub.

¹²The wing of the other cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house; and the other wing was five cubits, joining to the wing of the other cherub.

¹³The wings of these cherubim spread themselves forth twenty cubits: and they stood on their feet, and their faces were toward the house.

¹⁴He made the veil of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and ornamented it with cherubim.

¹⁵Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty-five cubits high, and the capital that was on the top of each of them was five cubits.

¹⁶He made chains in the oracle, and put them on the tops of the pillars; and he made one hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains.

¹⁷He set up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand, and the other on the left; and called the name of that on the right hand Jachin, and the name of that on the left Boaz.

¹God, you have rejected us. You have broken us down. You have been angry. Restore us, again.

²You have made the land tremble. You have torn it. Mend its fractures, for it quakes.

³You have shown your people hard things. You have made us drink the wine that makes us stagger.

⁴You have given a banner to those who fear you, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah.

⁵So that your beloved may be delivered, save with your right hand, and answer us.

⁶God has spoken from his sanctuary: "I will triumph. I will divide Shechem, and measure out the valley of Succoth.

⁷Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine. Ephraim also is the defense of my head. Judah is my scepter.

⁸Moab is my wash basin. I will throw my shoe on Edom. I shout in triumph over Philistia."

⁹Who will bring me into the strong city? Who has led me to Edom?

¹⁰Haven't you, God, rejected us? You do not go out with our armies, God.

¹¹Give us help against the adversary, for the help of man is vain.

¹²Through God we shall do valiantly, for it is he who will tread down our adversaries.

¹Do not be envious of evil men; neither desire to be with them:

²for their hearts plot violence, and their lips talk about mischief.

³Through wisdom a house is built; by understanding it is established;

⁴by knowledge the rooms are filled with all rare and beautiful treasure.

⁵A wise man has great power; and a knowledgeable man increases strength;

⁶for by wise guidance you wage your war; and victory is in many advisors.

⁷Wisdom is too high for a fool: he doesn't open his mouth in the gate.

⁸One who plots to do evil will be called a schemer.

⁹The schemes of folly are sin. The mocker is detested by men.

¹⁰If you falter in the time of trouble, your strength is small.

¹¹Rescue those who are being led away to death! Indeed, hold back those who are staggering to the slaughter!

¹²If you say, "Behold, we did not know this;" doesn't he who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, doesn't he know it? Shall he not render to every man according to his work?

¹³My son, eat honey, for it is good; the droppings of the honeycomb, which are sweet to your taste:

¹⁴so you shall know wisdom to be to your soul; if you have found it, then there will be a reward, your hope will not be cut off.

¹⁵Do not lie in wait, wicked man, against the habitation of the righteous. Do not destroy his resting place:

¹⁶for a righteous man falls seven times, and rises up again; but the wicked are overthrown by calamity.

¹⁷Do not rejoice when your enemy falls. Do not let your heart be glad when he is overthrown;

¹⁸lest the Lord see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.

¹⁹Do not fret yourself because of evildoers; neither be envious of the wicked:

²⁰for there will be no reward to the evil man; and the lamp of the wicked shall be snuffed out.

²¹My son, fear the Lord and the king. Do not join those who are rebellious:

²²for their calamity will rise suddenly; the destruction from them both-who knows?

²³These also are sayings of the wise. To show partiality in judgment is not good.

²⁴He who says to the wicked, "You are righteous;" peoples shall curse him, and nations shall abhor him-

²⁵but it will go well with those who convict the guilty, and a rich blessing will come on them.

²⁶An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.

²⁷Prepare your work outside, and get your fields ready. Afterwards, build your house.

²⁸Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause. Do not deceive with your lips.

²⁹Do not say, "I will do to him as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work."

³⁰I went by the field of the sluggard, by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;

³¹Behold, it was all grown over with thorns. Its surface was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down.

³²Then I saw, and considered well. I saw, and received instruction:

³³a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep;

³⁴so your poverty will come as a robber, and your want as an armed man.