2 Chronicles 8

1 Now at the end [conclusion, final point] of the twenty [a score, two decades] years during which Solomon [a king of peace] had built [constructed, established] the house [dwelling place, temple] of the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God] and his own palace [royal residence, king’s house], word study 2 Solomon [the king of peace] rebuilt [restored, established] the cities [towns, settlements] Hiram [Huram, the noble-born architect] had given [restored, handed over] him and settled [caused to dwell, established] Israelites [the children of Israel, God’s chosen people] there [in those places, at that location]. word study 3 Then Solomon [the king of Israel, successor of David] went [to walk, to move from one place to another] to Hamath-zobah [the fortress of Zobah] and captured [prevailed against, seized, conquered] it [the town, the fortress]. word study 4 He built [established, constructed] Tadmor [a city of palms] in the wilderness [a desert, open field], in addition to [also, besides] all the store cities [storage places, supply houses] that he had built [constructed, established] in Hamath [an ancient city in Syria]. word study 5 He rebuilt [restored, fortified] Upper [the higher, uppermost] and Lower [nether] Beth-horon [house of hollowness] as fortified [strongly defended, walled] cities [towns, populated areas] with walls [barriers, defenses], gates [entrances, doorways], and bars [bolts, locks], word study 6 as well as Baalath [a town in the region of Dan], all the store cities [cities of supply, storage towns] that belonged to Solomon, and all the cities for his chariots [vehicles of war, cavalry] and horses [cavalry, horsemen]—whatever he desired [longed for, had a mind to] to build [establish, construct] in Jerusalem [the city of peace], Lebanon [a mountain range], and throughout the land [the earth, the territory] of his dominion [rule, kingdom]. word study 7 As for all [every single one, the entire group] the people who remained [were left, survived] of the Hittites [descendants of Heth], Amorites [Canaanite tribe], Perizzites [ancient Canaanite tribe], Hivites [Palestinian tribe], and Jebusites [inhabitants of Jebus, early Jerusalem] (the people who were not [did not belong to, were not part of] Israelites)— word study 8 their descendants [remaining posterity, sons] who remained [were left, still living] in the land [earth, territory], those whom the Israelites [children of Israel] were unable [could not] to destroy [consume, put an end to]—Solomon [king of Israel] conscripted [made to pay tribute, raised a levy] these people to be forced laborers [taskworkers, bondservants], as they are to this day [until this day, still]. word study 9 But Solomon [the king of peace] did not consign [make or force] any of the Israelites [sons of Israel, descendants of Jacob] to slave labor [servants for his work, bondage], because they were his men of war [soldiers, warriors], his officers [rulers, leaders] and captains [chiefs, commanders], and the commanders [rulers, princes] of his chariots [vehicles, cavalry] and cavalry [horsemen, riders]. word study 10 They were also the chief [ruling, high-ranking] officers [leaders, captains] for King [royal ruler, monarch] Solomon: 250 [two hundred and fifty] supervisors [overseers, rulers]. word study 11 Solomon brought the daughter [woman, wife] of Pharaoh [the king of Egypt] up from the City [town, settlement] of David to the palace [house, dwelling place] he had built [constructed, established] for her. For he said, “My wife [woman, companion] must not live [dwell, reside] in the house [palace, temple] of David king [ruler, monarch] of Israel [God’s chosen people], because the places [areas, locations] the ark [sacred chest] of the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God] has entered [come, gone] are holy [set apart, sacred].” word study 12 At that time [then, in a past era] Solomon [a king of Israel] offered [caused to ascend, presented] burnt offerings [sacrifices completely consumed by fire] to the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] on the altar [a place of sacrifice] of the LORD [the supreme God] he had built [constructed, established] in front of [before, in the presence of] the portico [a covered area, porch]. word study 13 He observed the daily [as a regular duty, every day] requirement for offerings [sacrifices, according to the law] according to the commandment [instruction, law] of Moses [the prophet, leader of Israel] for Sabbaths [days of rest, seventh day], New Moons [beginning of the month, lunar cycle], and the three [thrice] annual [yearly, every year] appointed feasts [festivals, sacred seasons]—the Feast of Unleavened Bread [Passover, commemoration of Israel’s deliverance], the Feast of Weeks [Harvest, celebration of gratitude], and the Feast of Tabernacles [booths, shelters, reminder of God’s presence]. word study 14 In keeping with the ordinances [justice, righteous judgments] of his father David, Solomon appointed the divisions [sections, groups] of the priests [those who serve God] over their service [ministry, worship], and the Levites [descendants of Levi] for their duties [charges, responsibilities] to offer praise [celebrate, worship] and to minister [serve, assist] before the priests [those who lead worship] according to the daily requirement [the duty of every day]. He also appointed gatekeepers [porters, doorkeepers] by their divisions [sections, groups] at each gate [entrance, doorway], for this had been the command [instruction, law] of David, the man [person, individual] of God [Elohim, the supreme Creator]. word study 15 They did not [in no way] turn aside [depart or remove] from the king’s [royal, sovereign] command [instruction, law] regarding the priests [spiritual leaders, mediators] or the Levites [descendants of Levi, temple servants] or any matter [thing, affair] concerning the treasuries [storehouses, repositories]. word study 16 Thus all [every aspect, the entirety] the work [employment, occupation, task] of Solomon [king of Israel] was carried out, from the day [a period of time, a specific point] the foundation [base, starting point] was laid for the house [dwelling place, temple] of the LORD [Yehovah, the Lord God] until [as far as, till] it was finished [completed, brought to an end]. So the house [place of worship, sanctuary] of the LORD [the Lord God, Yehovah] was completed [perfected, made whole]. word study 17 Then [at that time, afterwards] Solomon [the king of Israel] went [traveled, journeyed] to Ezion-geber [on the Red Sea, a place of Israelite exodus] and to Eloth [Elath, a port city, grove of lofty trees] on the coast [sea-shore, border] of Edom [the land of Esau’s descendants, a region in the south]. word study 18 So Hiram [Huram, a noble-born Israelite] sent him ships [vessels, fleets] captained by his servants [slaves, attendants], along with crews [companies, groups] of experienced [skilled, knowledgeable] sailors [seamen, mariners]. They went [traveled, journeyed] with Solomon’s [the king of Israel] servants [attendants, slaves] to Ophir [a region in southern Arabia, known for its gold] and acquired [obtained, fetched] from there [that place, thence] 450 [four hundred and fifty] talents [units of weight, currency] of gold [a valuable metal], which they delivered [brought, took] to King [the ruler, monarch] Solomon [the successor of David]. word study