¹ It happened at the end of twenty years, in which Solomon had built the house of Yahweh, and his own house,

² that the cities which Huram had given to Solomon, Solomon built them, and caused the children of Israel to dwell there.

³ Solomon went to Hamath Zobah, and prevailed against it.

⁴ He built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the storage cities, which he built in Hamath.

⁵ Also he built Beth Horon the upper, and Beth Horon the lower, fortified cities, with walls, gates, and bars;

⁶ and Baalath, and all the storage cities that Solomon had, and all the cities for his chariots, and the cities for his horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to build for his pleasure in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.

⁷ As for all the people who were left of the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of Israel;

⁸ of their children who were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel didn't consume, of them Solomon conscripted forced labor to this day.

⁹ But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no servants for his work; but they were men of war, and chief of his captains, and rulers of his chariots and of his horsemen.

¹⁰ These were the chief officers of king Solomon, even two-hundred fifty, who ruled over the people.

¹¹ Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David to the house that he had built for her; for he said, "My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places where the ark of Yahweh has come are holy."

¹² Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to Yahweh on the altar of Yahweh, which he had built before the porch,

¹³ even as the duty of every day required, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the Sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the set feasts, three times in the year, [even] in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tents.

¹⁴ He appointed, according to the ordinance of David his father, the divisions of the priests to their service, and the Levites to their offices, to praise, and to minister before the priests, as the duty of every day required; the doorkeepers also by their divisions at every gate: for so had David the man of God commanded.

¹⁵ They didn't depart from the commandment of the king to the priests and Levites concerning any matter, or concerning the treasures.

¹⁶ Now all the work of Solomon was prepared to the day of the foundation of the house of Yahweh, and until it was finished. [So] the house of Yahweh was completed.

¹⁷ Then went Solomon to Ezion Geber, and to Eloth, on the seashore in the land of Edom.

¹⁸ Huram sent him ships and servants who had knowledge of the sea by the hands of his servants; and they came with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and fetched from there four hundred fifty talents of gold, and brought them to king Solomon.

¹ When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great train, and camels that bore spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she talked with him of all that was in her heart.

² Solomon told her all her questions; and there was not anything hidden from Solomon which he didn't tell her.

³ When the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built,

⁴ and the food of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their clothing, his cup bearers also, and their clothing, and his ascent by which he went up to the house of Yahweh; there was no more spirit in her.

⁵ She said to the king, "It was a true report that I heard in my own land of your acts, and of your wisdom.

⁶ However I didn't believe their words, until I came, and my eyes had seen it; and behold, the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not told me: you exceed the fame that I heard.

⁷ Happy are your men, and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you, and hear your wisdom.

⁸ Blessed be Yahweh your God, who delighted in you, to set you on his throne, to be king for Yahweh your God: because your God loved Israel, to establish them forever, therefore made he you king over them, to do justice and righteousness."

⁹ She gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, and spices in great abundance, and precious stones: neither was there any such spice as the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.

¹⁰ The servants also of Huram, and the servants of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, brought algum trees and precious stones.

¹¹ The king made of the algum trees terraces for the house of Yahweh, and for the king's house, and harps and stringed instruments for the singers: and there were none like these seen before in the land of Judah.

¹² King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she asked, besides that which she had brought to the king. So she turned, and went to her own land, she and her servants.

¹³ Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold,

¹⁴ besides that which the traders and merchants brought: and all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon.

¹⁵ King Solomon made two hundred bucklers of beaten gold; six hundred [shekels] of beaten gold went to one buckler.

¹⁶ [he made] three hundred shields of beaten gold; three hundred [shekels] of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.

¹⁷ Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold.

¹⁸ And there were six steps to the throne, with a footstool of gold, which were fastened to the throne, and stays on either side by the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the stays.

¹⁹ Twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other on the six steps: there was nothing like it made in any kingdom.

²⁰ All king Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold: silver was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon.

²¹ For the king had ships that went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram; once every three years came the ships of Tarshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.

²² So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.

²³ All the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.

²⁴ They brought every man his tribute, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and clothing, armor, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.

²⁵ Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, that he stationed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.

²⁶ He ruled over all the kings from the River even to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt.

²⁷ The king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars to be as the sycamore trees that are in the lowland, for abundance.

²⁸ They brought horses for Solomon out of Egypt, and out of all lands.

²⁹ Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, aren't they written in the history of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat?

³⁰ Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.

³¹ Solomon slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.

¹ Rehoboam went to Shechem; for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king.

² It happened, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it, (for he was in Egypt, where he had fled from the presence of king Solomon), that Jeroboam returned out of Egypt.

³ They sent and called him; and Jeroboam and all Israel came, and they spoke to Rehoboam, saying,

⁴ "Your father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make you the grievous service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, lighter, and we will serve you."

⁵ He said to them, "Come again to me after three days." The people departed.

⁶ King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, "What counsel do you give me to return answer to this people?"

⁷ They spoke to him, saying, "If you are kind to this people, and please them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever."

⁸ But he forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him, and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him.

⁹ He said to them, "What counsel do you give, that we may return answer to this people, who have spoken to me, saying, 'Make the yoke that your father did put on us lighter?'"

¹⁰ The young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, "Thus you shall tell the people who spoke to you, saying, 'Your father made our yoke heavy, but make it lighter on us;' thus you shall say to them, 'My little finger is thicker than my father's waist.

¹¹ Now whereas my father burdened you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father chastised you with whips, but I [will chastise you] with scorpions.'"

¹² So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king asked, saying, "Come to me again the third day."

¹³ The king answered them roughly; and king Rehoboam forsook the counsel of the old men,

¹⁴ and spoke to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, "My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it. My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions."

¹⁵ So the king didn't listen to the people; for it was brought about of God, that Yahweh might establish his word, which he spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

¹⁶ When all Israel saw that the king didn't listen to them, the people answered the king, saying, "What portion have we in David? Neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse! Every man to your tents, Israel! Now see to your own house, David." So all Israel departed to their tents.

¹⁷ But as for the children of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.

¹⁸ Then king Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was over the men subject to forced labor; and the children of Israel stoned him to death with stones. King Rehoboam made speed to get himself up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.

¹⁹ So Israel rebelled against the house of David to this day.

¹ When Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, one hundred eighty thousand chosen men, who were warriors, to fight against Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam.

² But the word of Yahweh came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,

³ "Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying,

⁴ 'Thus says Yahweh, "You shall not go up, nor fight against your brothers! Return every man to his house; for this thing is of me."'" So they listened to the words of Yahweh, and returned from going against Jeroboam.

⁵ Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem, and built cities for defense in Judah.

⁶ He built Bethlehem, and Etam, and Tekoa,

⁷ Beth Zur, and Soco, and Adullam,

⁸ and Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph,

⁹ and Adoraim, and Lachish, and Azekah,

¹⁰ and Zorah, and Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and in Benjamin, fortified cities.

¹¹ He fortified the strongholds, and put captains in them, and stores of food, and oil and wine.

¹² In every city [he put] shields and spears, and made them exceeding strong. Judah and Benjamin belonged to him.