Study Desk

Now the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for it was the great high place. Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on the altar there.

Therefore give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to govern this great people of Yours?"

So God said to him, "Since you have asked for this instead of requesting long life or wealth for yourself or death for your enemies-but you have asked for discernment to administer justice-

Then Solomon awoke, and indeed it had been a dream. So he returned to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then he held a feast for all his servants.

Then the woman whose son was alive spoke to the king because she yearned with compassion for her son. "My lord," she said, "give her the living baby. Please do not kill him!" But the other woman said, "He will not be mine or yours. Cut him in two!"

When all Israel heard of the judgment the king had given, they stood in awe of him, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.

Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel to provide food for the king and his household. Each one would arrange provisions for one month of the year,

Solomon's provisions for a single day were thirty cors of fine flour, sixty cors of meal,

For Solomon had dominion over everything west of the Euphrates-over all the kingdoms from Tiphsah to Gaza-and he had peace on all sides.

Solomon had four thousand stalls for his chariot horses and twelve thousand horses.

Each month the governors in turn provided food for King Solomon and all who came to his table. They saw to it that nothing was lacking.

Each one also brought to the required place their quotas of barley and straw for the chariot horses and other horses.

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.

So behold, I plan to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God, according to what the LORD said to my father David: 'I will put your son on your throne in your place, and he will build the house for My Name.'

Now therefore, order that cedars of Lebanon be cut down for me. My servants will be with your servants, and I will pay your servants whatever wages you set, for you know that there are none among us as skilled in logging as the Sidonians."

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.

So Solomon's and Hiram's builders, along with the Gebalites, quarried the stone and prepared the timber and stone for the construction of the temple.

The house that King Solomon built for the LORD was sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high.

"As for this temple you are building, if you walk in My statutes, carry out My ordinances, and keep all My commandments by walking in them, I will fulfill through you the promise I made to your father David.