Study Desk

Solomon composed three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered a thousand and five.

So men of all nations came to listen to Solomon's wisdom, sent by all the kings of the earth when they heard of his wisdom.

Now when Hiram king of Tyre heard that Solomon had been anointed king in his father's place, he sent envoys to Solomon; for Hiram had always been friends with David.

"As you are aware, because of the wars waged on all sides against my father David, he could not build a house for the Name of the LORD his God until the LORD had put his enemies under his feet.

and year after year Solomon would provide Hiram with twenty thousand cors of wheat as food for his household, as well as twenty thousand baths of pure olive oil.

not including his 3,300 foremen who supervised the workers.

In his eleventh year and eighth month, the month of Bul, the temple was finished in every detail and according to every specification. So he built the temple in seven years.

Solomon, however, took thirteen years to complete the construction of his entire palace.

Solomon made his colonnade fifty cubits long and thirty cubits wide, with a portico in front of it and a canopy with pillars in front of the portico.

He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a craftsman in bronze. Huram had great skill, understanding, and knowledge for every kind of bronze work. So he came to King Solomon and carried out all his work.

So all the work that King Solomon had performed for the house of the LORD was completed. Then Solomon brought in the consecrated items of his father David-the silver, the gold, and the furnishings-and he placed them in the treasuries of the house of the LORD.

and said: "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who has fulfilled with His own hand what He spoke with His mouth to my father David, saying,

Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven,

When a man sins against his neighbor and is required to take an oath, and he comes to take an oath before Your altar in this temple,

may You hear from heaven and act. May You judge Your servants, condemning the wicked man by bringing down on his own head what he has done, and justifying the righteous man by rewarding him according to his righteousness.

may whatever prayer or petition Your people Israel make-each knowing his own afflictions and spreading out his hands toward this house-

be heard by You from heaven, Your dwelling place. And may You forgive and act, and repay each man according to all his ways, since You know his heart-for You alone know the hearts of all men-

When they sin against You-for there is no one who does not sin-and You become angry with them and deliver them to an enemy who takes them as captives to his own land, whether far or near,

Now when Solomon had finished praying this entire prayer and petition to the LORD, he got up before the altar of the LORD, where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven.

"Blessed be the LORD, who has given rest to His people Israel according to all that He promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises He made through His servant Moses.