^aNow it came about at the end of the twenty years in which Solomon had built the house of the LORD and his own house, 2 that he built the cities which Huram had given ¹him, and settled the sons of Israel there.

3 Then Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and captured it. 4 He built Tadmor in the wilderness and all the storage cities which he had built in Hamath. 5 He also built upper ^aBeth-horon and lower Beth-horon, which were ^bfortified cities with walls, gates, and bars; 6 and Baalath and all the storage cities that Solomon had, and all the cities for ¹his chariots and cities for ²his horsemen, and everything that it pleased Solomon to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and all the land ³under his rule.

7 ^aAll of the people who were left of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of Israel, 8 that is, from their descendants who were left after them in the land, whom the sons of Israel had not destroyed, ^aSolomon raised them as forced laborers to this day. 9 But Solomon did not make slaves from the sons of Israel for his work; for they were men of war, his chief captains and commanders of his chariots and his horsemen. 10 These were the chief ¹officers of King Solomon, 250 who ruled over the people.

11 ^aThen Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter up from the city of David to the house which he had built for her, for he said, “My wife shall not live in the house of David king of Israel, because ¹the places where the ark of the LORD has entered are holy.”

12 Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to the LORD on ^athe altar of the LORD which he had built in front of the porch; 13 and ^ahe did so according to the daily rule, offering them up ^baccording to the commandment of Moses, for ^cthe Sabbaths, ^dthe new moons, and the ^ethree annual feasts—the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Booths.

14 Now according to the ordinance of his father David, he appointed ^athe divisions of the priests for their service, and ^bthe Levites for their duties of praise and ministering before the priests according to the daily rule, and ^cthe gatekeepers by their divisions at every gate; for this is what ^dDavid, the man of God, had commanded. 15 And they did not deviate from the commandment of the king to the priests and Levites in any matter or regarding the storehouses.

16 So all the work of Solomon was carried out ¹from the day of the foundation of the house of the LORD, until it was finished. So the house of the LORD was completed.

17 Then Solomon went to ^aEzion-geber and to ^bEloth on the seashore in the land of Edom. 18 And by his servants Huram sent him ships and servants who knew the sea; and they went with Solomon’s servants to Ophir and ^atook from there ¹450 talents of gold, and brought it to King Solomon.

^aNow it happened at the end of the twenty years in which Solomon had built the house of Yahweh and his own house 2 that he built the cities which Huram had given to ¹him, and settled the sons of Israel there.

3 Then Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and overpowered it. 4 And he built Tadmor in the wilderness and all the storage cities which he had built in Hamath. 5 He also built upper ^aBeth-horon and lower Beth-horon, ^bfortified cities with walls, gates and bars; 6 and Baalath and all the storage cities which Solomon had, and all the cities for ¹his chariots, and the cities for ²his horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land ³under his rule.

7 ^aAs for all the people who were left of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of Israel, 8 namely, from their sons who were left after them in the land whom the sons of Israel had not consumed, ^afrom them Solomon raised up forced laborers to this day. 9 But Solomon did not make slaves for his work from the sons of Israel; for they were men of war, his chief captains and his chariot commanders and his horsemen. 10 These were the chief ¹deputies of King Solomon, 250 who ²ruled over the people.

11 ^aThen Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter up from the city of David to the house which he had built for her, for he said, “My wife shall not live in the house of David king of Israel, because ¹the places are holy where the ark of Yahweh has entered.”

12 Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to Yahweh on ^athe altar of Yahweh which he had built before the porch; 13 and ^adid so according to the daily rule, offering them up ^baccording to the commandment of Moses, for ^cthe sabbaths, ^dthe new moons and the ^ethree annual feasts—the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Booths.

14 And according to the judgment of his father David, he caused ^athe divisions of the priests to stand for their service, and ^bthe Levites for their responsibilities to praise and minister before the priests according to the daily rule, and ^cthe gatekeepers by their divisions at every gate; for ^dDavid the man of God had so commanded. 15 And they did not turn away from the commandment of the king to the priests and Levites in any manner or concerning the treasuries.

16 Thus all the work of Solomon was carried out ¹from the day of the foundation of the house of Yahweh, and until it was completed. So the house of Yahweh was finished.

17 Then Solomon went to ^aEzion-geber and to ^bEloth on the shore of the sea in the land of Edom. 18 And Huram by the hand of his servants sent him ships and servants who knew the sea; and they went with Solomon’s servants to Ophir, and ^atook from there ¹450 talents of gold and brought them to King Solomon.