The Bible (Old and New Testaments)

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;

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:

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:

Then hear thou in heaven, in the firmament of thy throne, their prayers, and their supplications, and do judgment for them:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

And he stood, and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying:

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.

The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers, and not leave us, nor cast us off:

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.

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:

That all the people of the earth may know, that the Lord he is God, and there is no other besides him.

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.

And the king, and all Israel with him, offered victims before the Lord.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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,

That the Lord appeared to him the second time, as he had appeared to him in Gabaon.

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.

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,

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.

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:

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.

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?

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.

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,

(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.

And Hiram came out of Tyre, to see the towns which Solomon had given him, and they pleased him not;

And he said: Are these the cities which thou hast given me, brother? And he called them the land of Chabul, unto this day.

And Hiram sent to king Solomon a hundred and twenty talents of gold.

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.

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.

So Solomon built Gazer, and Bethhoron the nether,

And Baalath, and Palmira, in the land of the wilderness.

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.

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:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

And king Solomon made a fleet in Asiongaber, which is by Ailath, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom.

And Hiram sent his servants in the fleet, sailors that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.

And they came to Ophir; and they brought from thence to king Solomon four hundred and twenty talents of gold.

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.

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.

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.

And when the queen of Saba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house which he had built,

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;

And she said to the king: The report is true, which I heard in my own country,

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.

Blessed are thy men, and blessed are thy servants, who stand before thee always, and hear thy wisdom.

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.

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.

(The navy also of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir great plenty of thyine trees, and precious stones.

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.)

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.

And the weight of the gold that was brought to Solomon every year, was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold:

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.

And Solomon made two hundred shields of the purest gold: he allowed six hundred sicles of gold for the plates of one shield.

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.

King Solomon also made a great throne of ivory: and overlaid it with the finest gold.

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,

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.

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:

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.

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

And all the earth desired to see Solomon's face, to hear his wisdom, which God had given in his heart.

And every one brought him presents, vessels of silver and of gold, garments, and armour, and spices, and horses, and mules, every year.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

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.

And he had seven hundred wives as queens, and three hundred concubines: and the women turned away his heart.

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.

But Solomon worshipped Astarthe, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Moloch, the idol of the Ammonites.

And Solomon did that which was not pleasing before the Lord, and did not fully follow the Lord, as David, his father.

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.

And he did in this manner for all his wives that were strangers, who burnt incense, and offered sacrifice to their gods.

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;

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.

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.

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.

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.

And the Lord raised up an adversary to Solomon, Adad, the Edomite, of the king's seed, in Edom.

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,

(For Joab remained there six months with all Israel, till he had slain every male in Edom,)

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.

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.

And Adad found great favour before Pharao, insomuch that he gave him to wife the own sister of his wife, Taphnes, the queen.

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.

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.

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.