3 Kings Chapter 7
Solomons palace, his house in the forest, and the queen's house: the work of the two pillars: the sea (or laver) and other vessels.
7:1. And Solomon built his own house in thirteen years, and brought it to perfection.
7:2. He built also the house of the forest of Libanus; the length of it was a hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty cubits, and the height thirty cubits: and four galleries between pillars of cedar: for he had cut cedar trees into pillars.
7:3. And he covered the whole vault with boards of cedar, and it was held up with five and forty pillars. And one row had fifteen pillars,
7:4. Set one against another,
7:5. And looking one upon another, with equal space between the pillars, and over the pillars were square beams in all things equal.
7:6. And he made a porch of pillars of fifty cubits in length, and thirty cubits in breadth: and another porch before the greater porch, and pillars, and chapiters upon the pillars.
7:7. He made also the porch of the throne wherein is the seat of judgment; and covered it with cedar wood from the floor to the top.
7:8. And in the midst of the porch, was a small house, where he sat in judgment of the like work. He made also a house for the daughter of Pharao (whom Solomon had taken to wife) of the same work, as this porch;
7:9. All of costly stones, which were sawed by a certain rule and measure, both within and without: from the foundation to the top of the walls, and without, unto the great court.
7:10. And the foundations were of costly stones, great stones of ten cubits or eight cubits.
7:11. And above there were costly stones of equal measure hewed, and in like manner planks of cedar.
7:12. And the great court was made round with three rows of hewed stones, and one row of planks of cedar, which also was observed in the inner court of the house of the Lord, and in the porch of the house.
7:13. And king Solomon sent, and brought Hiram from Tyre,
7:14. The son of a widow woman, of the tribe of Nephthali, whose father was a Tyrian, an artificer in brass, and full of wisdom, and understanding, and skill to work all work in brass. And when he was come to king Solomon, he wrought all his work.
7:15. And he cast two pillars in brass, each pillar was eighteen cubits high: and a line of twelve cubits compassed both the pillars.
7:16. He made also two chapiters of molten brass, to be set upon the tops of the pillars: the height of one chapiter was five cubits, and the height of the other chapiter was five cubits:
7:17. And a kind of network, and chain work wreathed together with wonderful art. Both the chapiters of the pillars were cast: seven rows of nets were on one chapiter, and seven nets on the other chapiter.
7:18. And he made the pillars, and two rows round about each network to cover the chapiters, that were upon the top, with pomegranates: and in like manner did he to the other chapiter.
7:19. And the chapiters that were upon the top of the pillars, were of lily work, in the porch of four cubits.
7:20. And again there were other chapiters on the top of the pillars above, according to the measure of the pillar over against the network: and of pomegranates there were two hundred, in rows round about the other chapiter.
7:21. And he set up the two pillars in the porch of the temple: and when he had set up the pillar on the right hand, he called the name thereof Jachin: in like manner he set up the second pillar, and called the name thereof Booz.
Jachin... That is, firmly established.-Ibid. Booz... That is, in its strength. By recording these names in holy writ, the spirit of God would have us understand the invincible firmness and strength of the pillars on which the true temple of God, which is the church, is established.
7:22. And upon the tops of the pillars he made lily work: so the work of the pillars was finished.
7:23. He made also a molten sea, of ten cubits, from brim to brim, round all about; the height of it was five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits compassed it round about.
7:24. And a graven work, under the brim of it, compassed it for ten cubits going about the sea: there were two rows cast of chamfered sculptures.
7:25. And it stood upon twelve oxen, of which three looked towards the north, and three towards the west, and three towards the south, and three towards the east: and the sea was above upon them, and their hinder parts were all hid within.
7:26. And the laver was a hand breadth thick: and the brim thereof was like the brim of a cup, or the leaf of a crisped lily: it contained two thousand bates.
Two thousand bates... That is, about ten thousand gallons. This was the quantity of water which was usually put into it: but it was capable, if brimful, of holding three thousand. See 2 Par. 4.5.
7:27. And he made ten bases of brass, every base was four cubits in length, and four cubits in breadth, and three cubits high.
7:28. And the work itself of the bases, was intergraven: and there were gravings between the joinings.
7:29. And between the little crowns and the ledges, were lions, and oxen, and cherubims; and in the joinings likewise above: and under the lions and oxen, as it were bands of brass hanging down.
7:30. And every base had four wheels, and axletrees of brass: and at the four sides were undersetters, under the laver molten, looking one against another.
7:31. The mouth also of the laver within, was in the top of the chapiter: and that which appeared without, was of one cubit all round, and together it was one cubit and a half: and in the corners of the pillars were divers engravings: and the spaces between the pillars were square, not round.
7:32. And the four wheels, which were at the four corners of the base, were joined one to another under the base: the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half.
7:33. And they were such wheels as are used to be made in a chariot: and their axletrees, and spokes, and strakes, and naves, were all cast.
7:34. And the four undersetters, that were at every corner of each base, were of the base itself, cast and joined together.
7:35. And on the top of the base, there was a round compass of half a cubit, so wrought that the laver might be set thereon, having its gravings, and divers sculptures of itself.
7:36. He engraved also in those plates, which were of brass, and in the corners, cherubims, and lions, and palm trees, in likeness of a man standing, so that they seemed not to be engraven, but added round about.
7:37. After this manner, he made ten bases, of one casting and measure, and the like graving.
7:38. He made also ten lavers of brass: one laver contained four bates, and was of four cubits: and upon every base, in all ten, he put as many lavers.
7:39. And he set the ten bases, five on the right side of the temple, and five on the left: and the sea he put on the right side of the temple, over against the east southward.
7:40. And Hiram made cauldrons, and shovels, and basins, and finished all the work of king Solomon in the temple of the Lord.
7:41. The two pillars and the two cords of the chapiters, upon the chapiters of the pillars: and the two networks, to cover the two cords, that were upon the top of the pillars.
7:42. And four hundred pomegranates for the two networks: two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the cords of the chapiters, which were upon the tops of the pillars.
7:43. And the ten bases, and the ten lavers on the bases.
7:44. And one sea, and twelve oxen under the sea.
7:45. And the cauldrons, and the shovels, and the basins. All the vessels that Hiram made for king Solomon, for the house of the Lord, were of fine brass.
7:46. In the plains of the Jordan, did the king cast them in a clay ground, between Socoth and Sartham.
7:47. And Solomon placed all the vessels: but for its exceeding great multitude the brass could not be weighed.
7:48. And Solomon made all the vessels for the house of the Lord: the altar of gold, and the table of gold, upon which the loaves of proposition should be set:
7:49. And the golden candlesticks, five on the right hand, and five on the left, over against the oracle, of pure gold: and the flowers like lilies, and the lamps over them of gold: and golden snuffers,
7:50. And pots, and fleshhooks, and bowls, and mortars, and censers, of most pure gold: and the hinges for the doors of the inner house of the holy of holies, and for the doors of the house of the temple, were of gold.
7:51. And Solomon finished all the work that he made in the house of the Lord, and brought in the things that David, his father, had dedicated, the silver and the gold, and the vessels, and laid them up in the treasures of the house of the Lord.
3 Kings Chapter 8
The dedication of the temple: Solomon's prayer and sacrifices.
8:1. Then all the ancients of Israel, with the princes of the tribes, and the heads of the families of the children of Israel, were assembled to king Solomon, in Jerusalem: that they might carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, out of the city of David, that is, out of Sion.
8:2. And all Israel assembled themselves to king Solomon, on the festival day, in the month of Ethanim, the same is the seventh month.
8:3. And all the ancients of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark,
8:4. And carried the ark of the Lord, and the tabernacle of the covenant, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, that were in the tabernacle: and the priests and the Levites carried them.
8:5. And king Solomon, and all the multitude of Israel, that were assembled unto him, went with him before the ark, and they sacrificed sheep and oxen, that could not be counted or numbered.
8:6. And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord into its place, into the oracle of the temple, into the holy of holies, under the wings of the cherubims.
8:7. For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and covered the ark, and the staves thereof above.
8:8. And whereas the staves stood out, the ends of them were seen without, in the sanctuary before the oracle, but were not seen farther out, and there they have been unto this day.
8:9. Now in the ark there was nothing else but the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.
Nothing else, etc... There was nothing else but the tables of the law within the ark: but on the outside of the ark, or near the ark were also the rod of Aaron, and a golden urn with manna, Heb. 9.4.
8:10. And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the sanctuary, that a cloud filled the house of the Lord,
8:11. And the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.
8:12. Then Solomon said: The Lord said that he would dwell in a cloud.
8:13. Building, I have built a house for thy dwelling, to be thy most firm throne for ever.
8:14. And the king turned his face, and blessed all the assembly of Israel: for all the assembly of Israel stood.
8:15. And Solomon said: Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, who spoke with his mouth to David, my father, and with his own hands hath accomplished it, saying:
8:16. Since the day that I brought my people Israel, out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel, for a house to be built, that my name might be there: but I chose David to be over my people Israel.
8:17. And David, my father, would have built a house to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel:
8:18. And the Lord said to David, my father: Whereas, thou hast thought in thy heart to build a house to my name, thou hast done well in having this same thing in thy mind.
8:19. Nevertheless, thou shalt not build me a house, but thy son, that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build a house to my name.
8:20. The Lord hath performed his word which he spoke. And I stand in the room of David, my father, and sit upon the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised: and have built a house to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
8:21. And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of the Lord, which he made with our fathers, when they came out of the land of Egypt.
8:22. And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord, in the sight of the assembly of Israel, and spread forth his hands towards heaven,
8:23. And said: Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on the earth beneath: who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants, that have walked before thee with all their heart:
8:24. Who hast kept with thy servant David, my father, what thou hast promised him: with thy mouth thou didst speak, and with thy hands thou hast performed, as this day proveth.
8:25. Now, therefore, O Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant David, my father, what thou hast spoken to him, saying: There shall not be taken away of thee a man in my sight, to sit on the throne of Israel: yet so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked in my sight.
8:26. And now, Lord God of Israel, let thy words be established, which thou hast spoken to thy servant David, my father.
8:27. Is it then to be thought that God should indeed dwell upon earth? for if heaven, and the heavens of heavens, cannot contain thee, how much less this house which I have built?
8:28. But have regard to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplications, O Lord, my God: hear the hymn and the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee this day:
8:29. That thy eyes may be open upon this house, night and day: upon the house of which thou hast said: My name shall be there: that thou mayst hearken to the prayer which thy servant prayeth, in this place to thee:
8:30. That thou mayst hearken to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, whatsoever they shall pray for in this place, and hear them in the place of thy dwelling in heaven; and when thou hearest, shew them mercy.
8:31. If any man trespass against his neighbour, and have an oath upon him, wherewith he is bound, and come, because of the oath, before thy altar, to thy house,
8:32. Then hear thou in heaven: and do and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, and bringing his way upon his own head, and justifying the just, and rewarding him according to his justice.
8:33. If thy people Israel shall fly before their enemies (because they will sin against thee) and doing penance, and confessing to thy name, shall come and pray, and make supplications to thee in this house:
8:34. Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them back to the land which thou gavest to their fathers.
8:35. If heaven shall be shut up, and there shall be no rain, because of their sins, and they, praying in this place, shall do penance to thy name, and shall be converted from their sins, by occasion of their afflictions:
8:36. Then hear thou them in heaven, and forgive the sins of thy servants, and of thy people Israel: and shew them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people in possession.
8:37. If a famine arise in the land, or a pestilence, or corrupt air, or blasting, or locust, or mildew; if their enemy afflict them, besieging the gates, whatsoever plague, whatsoever infirmity,
8:38. Whatsoever curse or imprecation shall happen to any man of thy people Israel: when a man shall know the wound of his own heart, and shall spread forth his hands in this house;
8:39. Then hear thou in heaven, in the place of thy dwelling, and forgive, and do so as to give to every one according to his ways, as thou shalt see his heart (for thou only knowest the heart of all the children of men)
8:40. That they may fear thee all the days that they live upon the face of the land, which thou hast given to our fathers.
8:41. Moreover also the stranger, who is not of thy people Israel, when he shall come out of a far country for thy name's sake, (for they shall hear every where of thy great name, and thy mighty hand,
8:42. And thy stretched out arm) so when he shall come, and shall pray in this place,
8:43. Then hear thou in heaven, in the firmament of thy dwelling place, and do all those things, for which that stranger shall call upon thee: that all the people of the earth may learn to fear thy name, as do thy people Israel, and may prove that thy name is called upon on this house, which I have built.
8:44. If thy people go out to war against their enemies, by what way soever thou shalt send them, they shall pray to thee towards the way of the city, which thou hast chosen, and towards the house, which I have built to thy name:
8:45. And then hear thou in heaven their prayers, and their supplications, and do judgment for them.
8:46. But if they sin against thee, (for there is no man who sinneth not) and thou being angry, deliver them up to their enemies, so that they be led away captives into the land of their enemies, far or near;
8:47. Then if they do penance in their heart, in the place of captivity, and being converted, make supplication to thee in their captivity, saying: We have sinned, we have done unjustly, we have committed wickedness:
8:48. And return to thee with all their heart, and all their soul, in the land of their enemies, to which they have been led captives: and pray to thee towards the way of their land, which thou gavest to their fathers, and of the city which thou hast chosen, and of the temple which I have built to thy name:
8:49. Then hear thou in heaven, in the firmament of thy throne, their prayers, and their supplications, and do judgment for them:
8:50. And forgive thy people, that have sinned against thee, and all their iniquities, by which they have transgressed against thee: and give them mercy before them that have made them captives, that they may have compassion on them.
8:51. For they are thy people, and thy inheritance, whom thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron.
8:52. That thy eyes may be open to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, to hear them in all things for which they shall call upon thee.
8:53. For thou hast separated them to thyself for an inheritance, from amongst all the people of the earth, as thou hast spoken by Moses, thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.
8:54. And it came to pass, when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication to the Lord, that he rose from before the altar of the Lord: for he had fixed both knees on the ground, and had spread his hands towards heaven.
8:55. And he stood, and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying:
8:56. Blessed be the Lord, who hath given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed so much as one word of all the good things that he promised by his servant Moses.
8:57. The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers, and not leave us, nor cast us off:
8:58. But may he incline our hearts to himself, that we may walk in all his ways, and keep his commandments, and his ceremonies, and all his judgments, which he commanded our fathers.
8:59. And let these my words, wherewith I have prayed before the Lord, be nigh unto the Lord our God day and night, that he may do judgment for his servant, and for his people Israel, day by day:
8:60. That all the people of the earth may know, that the Lord he is God, and there is no other besides him.
8:61. Let our hearts also be perfect with the Lord our God, that we may walk in his statutes, and keep his commandments, as at this day.
8:62. And the king, and all Israel with him, offered victims before the Lord.
8:63. And Solomon slew victims of peace offerings, which he sacrificed to the Lord, two and twenty thousand oxen, and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep so the king, and all the children of Israel, dedicated the temple of the Lord.
8:64. In that day the king sanctified the middle of the court, that was before the house of the Lord for there he offered the holocaust, and sacrifice, and the fat of the peace offerings: because the brazen altar that was before the Lord, was too little to receive the holocaust, and sacrifice, and the fat of the peace offerings.
8:65. And Solomon made at the same time a solemn feast, and all Israel with him, a great multitude, from the entrance of Emath to the river of Egypt, before the Lord our God, seven days and seven days, that is, fourteen days.
8:66. And on the eighth day, he sent away the people: and they blessed the king, and went to their dwellings, rejoicing, and glad in heart, for all the good things that the Lord had done for David, his servant, and for Israel, his people.
3 Kings Chapter 9
The Lord appeareth again to Solomon: he buildeth cities: he sendeth a fleet to Ophir.
9:1. And it came to pass when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the Lord, and the king's house, and all that he desired and was pleased to do,
9:2. That the Lord appeared to him the second time, as he had appeared to him in Gabaon.
9:3. And the Lord said to him: I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, which thou hast made before me: I have sanctified this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and my eyes, and my heart, shall be there always.
9:4. And if thou wilt walk before me, as thy father walked, in simplicity of heart, and in uprightness: and wilt do all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my ordinances, and my judgments,
As thy father walked, in simplicity of heart... That is, in the sincerity and integrity of a single heart, as opposite to all double dealing and deceit.
9:5. I will establish the throne of thy kingdom over Israel for ever, as I promised David, thy father, saying: There shall not fail a man of thy race upon the throne of Israel.
9:6. But if you and your children, revolting, shall turn away from following me, and will not keep my commandments, and my ceremonies, which I have set before you, but will go and worship strange gods, and adore them:
9:7. I will take away Israel from the face of the land which I have given them; and the temple which I have sanctified to my name, I will cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb, and a byword among all people.
9:8. And this house shall be made an example of: every one that shall pass by it, shall be astonished, and shall hiss, and say: Why hath the Lord done thus to this land, and to this house?
9:9. And they shall answer: Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and followed strange gods, and adored them, and worshipped them: therefore hath the Lord brought upon them all this evil.
9:10. And when twenty years were ended, after Solomon had built the two houses; that is, the house of the Lord, and the house of the king,
9:11. (Hiram, the king of Tyre, furnishing Solomon with cedar trees, and fir trees, and gold, according to all he had need of) then Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.
9:12. And Hiram came out of Tyre, to see the towns which Solomon had given him, and they pleased him not;
9:13. And he said: Are these the cities which thou hast given me, brother? And he called them the land of Chabul, unto this day.
Chabul... That is, dirty or displeasing.
9:14. And Hiram sent to king Solomon a hundred and twenty talents of gold.
9:15. This is the sum of the expenses, which king Solomon offered to build the house of the Lord, and his own house, and Mello, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Heser, and Mageddo, and Gazer.
9:16. Pharao, the king of Egypt, came up and took Gazer, and burnt it with fire: and slew the Chanaanite that dwelt in the city, and gave it for a dowry to his daughter, Solomon's wife.
9:17. So Solomon built Gazer, and Bethhoron the nether,
9:18. And Baalath, and Palmira, in the land of the wilderness.
9:19. And all the towns that belonged to himself, and were not walled, he fortified; the cities also of the chariots, and the cities of the horsemen, and whatsoever he had a mind to build in Jerusalem, and in Libanus, and in all the land of his dominion.
9:20. All the people that were left of the Amorrhites, and Hethites, and Pherezites, and Hevites, and Jebusites, that are not of the children of Israel:
9:21. Their children, that were left in the land; to wit, such as the children of Israel had not been able to destroy, Solomon made tributary unto this day.
9:22. But of the children of Israel, Solomon made not any to be bondmen, but they were warriors, and his servants, and his princes, and captains, and overseers of the chariots and horses.
9:23. And there were five hundred and fifty chief officers set over all the works of Solomon, and they had people under them, and had charge over the appointed works.
9:24. And the daughter of Pharao came up out of the city of David to her house, which Solomon had built for her: then did he build Mello.
9:25. Solomon also offered three times every year holocausts, and victims of peace offerings, upon the altar which he had built to the Lord, and he burnt incense before the Lord: and the temple was finished.
9:26. And king Solomon made a fleet in Asiongaber, which is by Ailath, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom.
9:27. And Hiram sent his servants in the fleet, sailors that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.
9:28. And they came to Ophir; and they brought from thence to king Solomon four hundred and twenty talents of gold.
3 Kings Chapter 10
The queen of Saba cometh to king Solomon: his riches and glory.
10:1. And the queen of Saba having heard of the fame of Solomon in the name of the Lord, came to try him with hard questions.
10:2. And entering into Jerusalem with a great train, and riches, and camels that carried spices, and an immense quantity of gold, and precious stones, she came to king Solomon, and spoke to him all that she had in her heart.
10:3. And Solomon informed her of all the things she proposed to him: there was not any word the king was ignorant of, and which he could not answer her.
10:4. And when the queen of Saba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house which he had built,
10:5. And the meat of his table, and the apartments of his servants, and the order of his ministers, and their apparel, and the cupbearers, and the holocausts, which he offered in the house of the Lord, she had no longer any spirit in her;
10:6. And she said to the king: The report is true, which I heard in my own country,
10:7. Concerning thy words, and concerning thy wisdom. And I did not believe them that told me, till I came myself, and saw with my own eyes, and have found that the half hath not been told me: thy wisdom and thy works exceed the fame which I heard.
10:8. Blessed are thy men, and blessed are thy servants, who stand before thee always, and hear thy wisdom.
10:9. Blessed be the Lord thy God, whom thou hast pleased, and who hath set thee upon the throne of Israel, because the Lord hath loved Israel for ever, and hath appointed thee king, to do judgment and justice.
10:10. And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices a very great store, and precious stones: there was brought no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Saba gave to king Solomon.
10:11. (The navy also of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir great plenty of thyine trees, and precious stones.
10:12. And the king made of the thyine trees the rails of the house of the Lord, and of the king's house: and citterns and harps for singers: there were no such thyine trees as these brought nor seen unto this day.)
10:13. And king Solomon gave the queen of Saba all that she desired, and asked of him: besides what he offered her of himself of his royal bounty. And she returned, and went to her own country, with her servants.
10:14. And the weight of the gold that was brought to Solomon every year, was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold:
10:15. Besides that which the men brought him that were over the tributes, and the merchants, and they that sold by retail, and all the kings of Arabia, and the governors of the country.
10:16. And Solomon made two hundred shields of the purest gold: he allowed six hundred sicles of gold for the plates of one shield.
10:17. And three hundred targets of fine gold: three hundred pounds of gold covered one target: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Libanus.
10:18. King Solomon also made a great throne of ivory: and overlaid it with the finest gold.
10:19. It had six steps: and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were two hands on either side holding the seat: and two lions stood, one at each hand,
10:20. And twelve little lions stood upon the six steps, on the one side and on the other: there was no such work made in any kingdom.
10:21. Moreover, all the vessels out of which king Solomon drank, were of gold: and all the furniture of the house of the forest of Libanus was of most pure gold: there was no silver, nor was any account made of it in the days of Solomon:
10:22. For the king's navy, once in three years, went with the navy of Hiram by sea to Tharsis, and brought from thence gold, and silver, and elephants' teeth, and apes, and peacocks.
10:23. And king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.
10:24. And all the earth desired to see Solomon's face, to hear his wisdom, which God had given in his heart.
10:25. And every one brought him presents, vessels of silver and of gold, garments, and armour, and spices, and horses, and mules, every year.
10:26. And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen, and he had a thousand four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen: and he bestowed them in fenced cities, and with the king in Jerusalem.
10:27. And he made silver to be as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones: and cedars to be as common as sycamores which grow in the plains.
10:28. And horses were brought for Solomon out of Egypt, and Coa: for the king's merchants bought them out of Coa, and brought them at a set price.
10:29. And a chariot of four horses came out of Egypt, for six hundred sicles of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. And after this manner did all the kings of the Hethites, and of Syria, sell horses.
3 Kings Chapter 11
Solomon by means of his wives falleth into idolatry: God raiseth him adversaries, Adad, Razon, and Jeroboam: Solomon dieth.
11:1. And king Solomon loved many strange women, besides the daughter of Pharao, and women of Moab, and of Ammon, and of Edom, and of Sidon, and of the Hethites:
11:2. Of the nations concerning which the Lord said to the children of Israel: You shall not go in unto them, neither shall any of them come into yours: for they will most certainly turn away your hearts to follow their gods. And to these was Solomon joined with a most ardent love.
11:3. And he had seven hundred wives as queens, and three hundred concubines: and the women turned away his heart.
11:4. And when he was now old, his heart was turned away by women to follow strange gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David, his father.
11:5. But Solomon worshipped Astarthe, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Moloch, the idol of the Ammonites.
11:6. And Solomon did that which was not pleasing before the Lord, and did not fully follow the Lord, as David, his father.
11:7. Then Solomon built a temple for Chamos, the idol of Moab, on the hill that is over against Jerusalem, and for Moloch, the idol of the children of Ammon.
11:8. And he did in this manner for all his wives that were strangers, who burnt incense, and offered sacrifice to their gods.
11:9. And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his mind was turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice;
11:10. And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not follow strange gods: but he kept not the things which the Lord commanded him.
11:11. The Lord therefore said to Solomon: Because thou hast done this, and hast not kept my covenant, and my precepts, which I have commanded thee, I will divide and rend thy kingdom, and will give it to thy servant.
11:12. Nevertheless, in thy days I will not do it, for David thy father's sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son.
11:13. Neither will I take away the whole kingdom; but I will give one tribe to thy son, for the sake of David, my servant, and Jerusalem, which I have chosen.
One tribe... Besides that of Juda, his own native tribe.
11:14. And the Lord raised up an adversary to Solomon, Adad, the Edomite, of the king's seed, in Edom.
11:15. For when David was in Edom, and Joab, the general of the army, was gone up to bury them that were slain, and had killed every male in Edom,
11:16. (For Joab remained there six months with all Israel, till he had slain every male in Edom,)
11:17. Then Adad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father's servants, with him, to go into Egypt: and Adad was then a little boy.
11:18. And they arose out of Madian, and came into Pharan, and they took men with them from Pharan, and went into Egypt, to Pharao, the king of Egypt: who gave him a house, and appointed him victuals, and assigned him land.
11:19. And Adad found great favour before Pharao, insomuch that he gave him to wife the own sister of his wife, Taphnes, the queen.
11:20. And the sister of Taphnes bore him his son, Genubath; and Taphnes brought him up in the house of Pharao: and Genubath dwelt with Pharao among his children.
11:21. And when Adad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers, and that Joab, the general of the army, was dead, he said to Pharao: Let me depart, that I may go to my own country.
11:22. And Pharao said to him: Why, what is wanting to thee with me, that thou seekest to go to thy own country? But he answered: Nothing; yet I beseech thee to let me go.
11:23. God also raised up against him an adversary, Razon, the son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Adarezer, the king of Soba.
11:24. And he gathered men against him, and he became a captain of robbers, when David slew them of Soba: and they went to Damascus, and dwelt there, and they made him king in Damascus.
11:25. And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon: and this is the evil of Adad, and his hatred against Israel; and he reigned in Syria.
11:26. Jeroboam also, the son of Nabat, an Ephrathite, of Sareda, a servant of Solomon, whose mother was named Sarua, a widow woman, lifted up his hand against the king.
11:27. And this is the cause of his rebellion against him; for Solomon built Mello, and filled up the breach of the city of David, his father.
11:28. And Jeroboam was a valiant and mighty man: and Solomon seeing him a young man ingenious and industrious, made him chief over the tributes of all the house of Joseph.
11:29. So it came to pass at that time, that Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, and the prophet Ahias, the Silonite, clad with a new garment, found him in the way: and they two were alone in the field.
11:30. And Ahias taking his new garment, wherewith he was clad, divided it into twelve parts:
11:31. And he said to Jeroboam: Take to thee ten pieces: for thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel: Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give thee ten tribes.
11:32. But one tribe shall remain to him for the sake of my servant, David, and Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:
11:33. Because he hath forsaken me, and hath adored Astarthe, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Chamos, the god of Moab, and Moloch, the god of the children of Ammon: and hath not walked in my ways, to do justice before me, and to keep my precepts, and judgments, as did David, his father.
11:34. Yet I will not take away all the kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him prince all the days of his life, for David my servant's sake, whom I chose, who kept my commandments, and my precepts.
11:35. But I will take away the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give thee ten tribes:
11:36. And to his son I will give one tribe, that there may remain a lamp for my servant, David, before me always in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen, that my name might be there.
11:37. And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign over all that thy soul desireth, and thou shalt be king over Israel.
11:38. If then thou wilt hearken to all that I shall command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do what is right before me, keeping my commandments and my precepts, as David, my servant, did: I will be with thee, and will build thee up a faithful house, as I built a house for David, and I will deliver Israel to thee:
11:39. And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but yet not for ever.
11:40. Solomon, therefore, sought to kill Jeroboam: but he arose, and fled into Egypt, to Sesac, the king of Egypt, and was in Egypt till the death of Solomon.
11:41. And the rest of the words of Solomon, and all that he did and his wisdom: behold they are all written in the book of the words of the days of Solomon.
The book of the words, etc... This book is lost, with divers others mentioned in holy writ.
11:42. And the days that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem, over all Israel, were forty years.
11:43. And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David, his father; and Roboam, his son, reigned in his stead.
Solomon slept, etc... That is, died. He was then about fifty-eight years of age, having reigned forty years.
3 Kings Chapter 12
Roboam, following the counsel of young men alienateth from him the minds of the people. They make Jeroboam king over ten tribes: he setteth up idolatry.
12:1. And Roboam went to Sichem: for thither were all Israel come together to make him king.
12:2. But Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, who was yet in Egypt, a fugitive from the face of king Solomon, hearing of his death, returned out of Egypt.
12:3. And they sent and called him: and Jeroboam came, and all the multitude of Israel, and they spoke to Roboam, saying:
12:4. Thy father laid a grievous yoke upon us: now, therefore, do thou take off a little of the grievous service of thy father, and of his most heavy yoke, which he put upon us, and we will serve thee.
12:5. And he said to them: Go till the third day, and come to me again. And when the people was gone,
12:6. King Roboam took counsel with the old men, that stood before Solomon, his father, while he yet lived, and he said: What counsel do you give me, that I may answer this people?
12:7. They said to him: If thou wilt yield to this people to day, and condescend to them, and grant their petition, and wilt speak gentle words to them, they will be thy servants always.
12:8. But he left the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that had been brought up with him, and stood before him.
12:9. And he said to them: What counsel do you give me, that I may answer this people, who have said to me: Make the yoke, which thy father put upon us, lighter?
12:10. And the young men that had been brought up with him, said: Thus shalt thou speak to this people, who have spoken to thee, saying: Thy father made our yoke heavy, do thou ease us. Thou shalt say to them: My little finger is thicker than the back of my father.
12:11. And now my father put a heavy yoke upon you, but I will add to your yoke: my father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions.
12:12. So Jeroboam, and all the people, came to Roboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying: Come to me again the third day.
12:13. And the king answered the people roughly, leaving the counsel of the old men, which they had given him,
12:14. And he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying: My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke: My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions.
12:15. And the king condescended not to the people: for the Lord was turned away from him, to make good his word, which he had spoken in the hand of Ahias, the Silonite, to Jeroboam, the son of Nabat.
12:16. Then the people, seeing that the king would not hearken to them, answered him, saying: What portion have we in David? or what inheritance in the son of Isai? Go home to thy dwellings, O Israel: now, David, look to thy own house. So Israel departed to their dwellings.
12:17. But as for all the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Juda, Roboam reigned over them.
12:18. Then king Roboam sent Aduram, who was over the tribute: and all Israel stoned him, and he died. Wherefore king Roboam made haste to get him up into his chariot, and he fled to Jerusalem:
12:19. And Israel revolted from the house of David, unto this day.
12:20. And it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they gathered an assembly, and sent and called him, and made him king over all Israel, and there was none that followed the house of David but the tribe of Juda only.
Juda only... Benjamin was a small tribe, and so intermixed with the tribe of Juda, (the very city of Jerusalem being partly in Juda, partly in Benjamin,) that they are here counted but as one tribe.
12:21. And Roboam came to Jerusalem, and gathered together all the house of Juda, and the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred fourscore thousand chosen men for war, to fight against the house of Israel, and to bring the kingdom again under Roboam, the son of Solomon.
12:22. But the word of the Lord came to Semeias, the man of God, saying:
12:23. Speak to Roboam, the son of Solomon, the king of Juda, and to all the house of Juda, and Benjamin, and the rest of the people, saying:
12:24. Thus saith the Lord: You shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren, the children of Israel: let every man return to his house, for this thing is from me. They hearkened to the word of the Lord, and returned from their journey, as the Lord had commanded them.
12:25. And Jeroboam built Sichem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt there, and going out from thence, he built Phanuel.
12:26. And Jeroboam said in his heart: Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David,
12:27. If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem: and the heart of this people will turn to their lord Roboam, the king of Juda, and they will kill me, and return to him.
12:28. And finding out a device, he made two golden calves, and said to them: Go ye up no more to Jerusalem: Behold thy gods, O Israel, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt.
Golden calves... It is likely, by making his gods in this form, he mimicked the Egyptians, among whom he had sojourned, who worshipped their Apis and their Osiris under the form of a bullock.
12:29. And he set the one in Bethel, and the other in Dan:
Bethel and Dan... Bethel was a city of the tribe of Ephraim in the southern part of the dominions of Jeroboam, about six leagues from Jerusalem; Dan was in the extremity of his dominions to the north in the confines of Syria.
12:30. And this thing became an occasion of sin: for the people went to adore the calf as far as Dan.
12:31. And he made temples in the high places, and priests of the lowest of the people, who were not of the sons of Levi.
12:32. And he appointed a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, after the manner of the feast that was celebrated in Juda. And going up to the altar, he did in like manner in Bethel, to sacrifice to the calves, which he had made: and he placed in Bethel priests of the high places, which he had made.
12:33. And he went up to the altar, which he had built in Bethel, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, which he had devised of his own heart: and he ordained a feast to the children of Israel, and went up on the altar to burn incense.
3 Kings Chapter 13
A prophet sent from Juda to Bethel foretelleth the birth of Josias, and the destruction of Jeroboam's altar. Jeroboam's hand offering violence to the prophet withereth, but is restored by the prophet's prayer: the same prophet is deceived by another prophet, and slain by a lion.
13:1. And behold there came a man of God out of Juda, by the word of the Lord, to Bethel, when Jeroboam was standing upon the altar, and burning incense.
13:2. And he cried out against the altar in the word of the Lord, and said: O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord: Behold a child shall be born to the house of David, Josias by name, and he shall immolate upon thee the priests of the high places, who now burn incense upon thee, and he shall burn men's bones upon thee.
13:3. And he gave a sign the same day, saying: This shall be the sign, that the Lord hath spoken: Behold the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it, shall be poured out.
13:4. And when the king had heard the word of the man of God, which he had cried out against the altar in Bethel, he stretched forth his hand from the altar, saying: Lay hold on him. And his hand which he stretched forth against him, withered: and he was not able to draw it back again to him.
13:5. The altar also was rent, and the ashes were poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given before in the word of the Lord.
13:6. And the king said to the man of God: Entreat the face of the Lord thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me. And the man of God besought the face of the Lord, and the king's hand was restored to him, and it became as it was before.
13:7. And the king said to the man of God: Come home with me to dine, and I will make thee presents.
13:8. And the man of God answered the king: If thou wouldst give me half thy house, I will not go with thee, nor eat bread, nor drink water in this place:
13:9. For so it was enjoined me by the word of the Lord commanding me: Thou shalt not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the same way that thou camest.
13:10. So he departed by another way, and returned not by the way that he came into Bethel.
13:11. Now a certain old prophet dwelt in Bethel, and his sons came to him, and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: and they told their father the words which he had spoken to the king.
13:12. And their father said to them: What way went he? His sons shewed him the way by which the man of God went, who came out of Juda.
13:13. And he said to his sons: Saddle me the ass. And when they had saddled it, he got up,
13:14. And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under a turpentine tree: and he said to him: Art thou the man of God who camest from Juda? He answered: I am.
13:15. And he said to him: Come home with me to eat bread.
13:16. But he said: I must not return, nor go with thee, neither will I eat bread, or drink water in this place:
13:17. Because the Lord spoke to me, in the word of the Lord, saying: Thou shalt not eat bread, and thou shalt not drink water there, nor return by the way thou wentest.
13:18. He said to him: I also am a prophet like unto thee: and an angel spoke to me, in the word of the Lord, saying: Bring him back with thee into thy house, that he may eat bread, and drink water. He deceived him,
An angel spoke to me, etc... This old man of Bethel was indeed a prophet, but he sinned in thus deceiving the man of God; the more because he pretended a revelation for what he did.
13:19. And brought him back with him: so he ate bread, and drank water in his house.
13:20. And as they sat at table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet that brought him back:
13:21. And he cried out to the man of God who came out of Juda, saying: Thus saith the Lord: Because thou hast not been obedient to the Lord, and hast not kept the commandment which the Lord thy God commanded thee,
13:22. And hast returned, and eaten bread, and drunk water in the place wherein he commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat bread, nor drink water, thy dead body shall not be brought into the sepulchre of thy fathers.
13:23. And when he had eaten and drunk, he saddled his ass for the prophet, whom he had brought back.
13:24. And when he was gone, a lion found him in the way, and killed him, and his body was cast in the way: and the ass stood by him, and the lion stood by the dead body.
Killed him... Thus the Lord often punishes his servants here, that he may spare them hereafter. For the generality of divines are of opinion, that the sin of this prophet, considered with all its circumstances, was not mortal.
13:25. And behold, men passing by, saw the dead body cast in the way, and the lion standing by the body. And they came and told it in the city, wherein that old prophet dwelt.
13:26. And when that prophet, who had brought him back out of the way, heard of it, he said: It is the man of God, that was disobedient to the mouth of the Lord, and the Lord hath delivered him to the lion, and he hath torn him, and killed him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke to him.
13:27. And he said to his sons: Saddle me an ass. And when they had saddled it,
13:28. And he was gone, he found the dead body cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcass: the lion had not eaten of the dead body, nor hurt the ass.
13:29. And the prophet took up the body of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and going back brought it into the city of the old prophet, to mourn for him.
13:30. And he laid his dead body in his own sepulchre: and they mourned over him, saying: Alas! alas, my brother.
13:31. And when they had mourned over him, he said to his sons: When I am dead, bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried: lay my bones beside his bones.
13:32. For assuredly the word shall come to pass which he hath foretold in the word of the Lord, against the altar that is in Bethel: and against all the temples of the high places, that are in the cities of Samaria.
13:33. After these words, Jeroboam came not back from his wicked way: but on the contrary, he made of the meanest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he filled his hand, and he was made a priest of the high places.
13:34. And for this cause did the house of Jeroboam sin, and was cut off, and destroyed from the face of the earth.
3 Kings Chapter 14
Ahias prophesieth the destruction of the family of Jeroboam. He dieth, and is succeeded by his son Nadab. The king of Egypt taketh and pillageth Jerusalem. Roboam dieth and his son Abiam succeedeth.
14:1. At that time Abia, the son of Jeroboam, fell sick.
14:2. And Jeroboam said to his wife: Arise, and change thy dress, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Silo, where Ahias, the prophet is, who told me that I should reign over this people.
14:3. Take also with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a pot of honey, and go to him: for he will tell thee what will become of this child.
14:4. Jeroboam's wife did as he told her: and rising up, went to Silo, and came to the house of Ahias; but he could not see, for his eyes were dim by reason of his age.
14:5. And the Lord said to Ahias: Behold the wife of Jeroboam cometh in, to consult thee concerning her son, that is sick: thus and thus shalt thou speak to her. So when she was coming in, and made as if she were another woman,
14:6. Ahias heard the sound of her feet, coming in at the door, and said: Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam: why dost thou feign thyself to be another? But I am sent to thee with heavy tidings.
14:7. Go, and tell Jeroboam: Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel: For as much as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel;
14:8. And rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it to thee, and thou hast not been as my servant, David, who kept my commandments, and followed me with all his heart, doing that which was well pleasing in my sight:
14:9. But hast done evil above all that were before thee, and hast made thee strange gods, and molten gods, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back:
14:10. Therefore, behold I will bring evils upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up, and the last in Israel: and I will sweep away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as dung is swept away till all be clean.