One Year Bible.

Solomon’s Princes

¹So King Solomon ruled over Israel, ²and these were his chief officials:

Azariah son of Zadok was the priest;

³Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, were secretaries;

Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder;

⁴Benaiah son of Jehoiada was in charge of the army;

Zadok and Abiathar were priests;

⁵Azariah son of Nathan was in charge of the governors;

Zabud son of Nathan was a priest and adviser to the king;

⁶Ahishar was in charge of the palace;

and Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of the forced labor.

Solomon’s Twelve Officers

⁷Solomon 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, ⁸and these were their names:

Ben-hur in the hill country of Ephraim;

⁹Ben-deker in Makaz, in Shaalbim, in Beth-shemesh, and in Elon-beth-hanan;

¹⁰Ben-hesed in Arubboth (Socoh and all the land of Hepher belonged to him);

¹¹Ben-abinadab in Naphath-dor (Taphath, a daughter of Solomon, was his wife);

¹²Baana son of Ahilud in Taanach, in Megiddo, and in all of Beth-shean next to Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah and on past Jokmeam;

¹³Ben-geber in Ramoth-gilead (the villages of Jair son of Manasseh in Gilead belonged to him, as well as the region of Argob in Bashan with its sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars);

¹⁴Ahinadab son of Iddo in Mahanaim;

¹⁵Ahimaaz in Naphtali (he had married Basemath, a daughter of Solomon) ;

¹⁶Baana son of Hushai in Asher and in Aloth;

¹⁷Jehoshaphat son of Paruah in Issachar;

¹⁸Shimei son of Ela in Benjamin;

¹⁹Geber son of Uri in the land of Gilead, including the territories of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan.

There was also one governor in the land of Judah.

Solomon’s Prosperity

²⁰The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore, and they were eating and drinking and rejoicing. ²¹And Solomon reigned over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These kingdoms offered tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.

²²Solomon’s provisions for a single day were thirty cors of fine flour, sixty cors of meal, ²³ten fat oxen, twenty range oxen, and a hundred sheep, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened poultry. ²⁴For Solomon had dominion over everything west of the Euphrates — over all the kingdoms from Tiphsah to Gaza — and he had peace on all sides. ²⁵Throughout the days of Solomon, Judah and Israel dwelt securely from Dan to Beersheba, each man under his own vine and his own fig tree.

²⁶Solomon had 4,000 stalls for his chariot horses and 12,000 horses. ²⁷Each 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. ²⁸Each one also brought to the required place their quotas of barley and straw for the chariot horses and other horses.

Solomon’s Wisdom

²⁹And God gave Solomon wisdom, exceedingly deep insight, and understanding beyond measure, like the sand on the seashore. ³⁰Solomon’s wisdom was greater than that of all the men of the East, greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. ³¹He was wiser than all men— wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and wiser than Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread throughout the surrounding nations.

³²Solomon composed three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered a thousand and five. ³³He spoke of trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop growing in the wall, and he taught about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish.

³⁴So men of all nations came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.

Preparations for the Temple

¹Now 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 a friend of David.

²And Solomon relayed this message to Hiram:

³“As you are well aware, due to 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. ⁴But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or crisis.

⁵So 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.’

⁶Now 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.”

Hiram’s Reply to Solomon

⁷When Hiram received Solomon’s message, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the LORD this day! He has given David a wise son over this great people!” ⁸Then Hiram sent a reply to Solomon, saying:

“I have received your message; I will do all you desire regarding the cedar and cypress timber. ⁹My servants will haul the logs from Lebanon to the Sea, and I will float them as rafts by sea to the place you specify. There I will separate the logs, and you can take them away. And in exchange, you can meet my needs by providing my household with food.”

¹⁰So Hiram provided Solomon with all the cedar and cypress timber he wanted, ¹¹and year after year Solomon would provide Hiram with 20,000 cors of wheat as food for his household, as well as 20,000 baths of pure olive oil.

¹²And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as He had promised him. There was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.

Solomon’s Labor Force

¹³Then King Solomon conscripted a labor force of 30,000 men from all Israel. ¹⁴He sent them to Lebanon in monthly shifts of 10,000 men, so that they would spend one month in Lebanon and two months at home. And Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor.

¹⁵Solomon had 70,000 porters and 80,000 stonecutters in the mountains, ¹⁶not including his 3,300 foremen who supervised the workers.

¹⁷And the king commanded them to quarry large, costly stones to lay the foundation of the temple with dressed stones. ¹⁸So 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.

Preparations for the Temple

¹Now Solomon purposed to build a house for the Name of the LORD and a royal palace for himself. ²So he conscripted 70,000 porters, 80,000 stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 supervisors.

³Then Solomon sent word to Hiram king of Tyre:

“Do for me as you did for my father David when you sent him cedars to build himself a house to live in. ⁴Behold, I am about to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God to dedicate to Him for burning fragrant incense before Him, for displaying the showbread continuously, and for making burnt offerings every morning and evening as well as on the Sabbaths, New Moons, and appointed feasts of the LORD our God. This is ordained for Israel forever.

⁵The house that I am building will be great, for our God is greater than all gods. ⁶But who is able to build a house for Him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain Him? Who then am I, that I should build a house for Him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before Him?

⁷Send me, therefore, a craftsman skilled in engraving to work with gold and silver, with bronze and iron, and with purple, crimson, and blue yarn. He will work with my craftsmen in Judah and Jerusalem, whom my father David provided.

⁸Send me also cedar, cypress, and algum logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants have skill to cut timber there. And indeed, my servants will work with yours ⁹to prepare for me timber in abundance, because the temple I am building will be great and wonderful. ¹⁰I will pay your servants, the woodcutters, 20,000 cors of ground wheat, 20,000 cors of barley, 20,000 baths of wine, and 20,000 baths of olive oil.”

Hiram’s Reply to Solomon

¹¹Then Hiram king of Tyre wrote a letter in reply to Solomon:

“Because the LORD loves His people, He has set you over them as king.”

¹²And Hiram added:

“Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who made the heavens and the earth! He has given King David a wise son with insight and understanding, who will build a temple for the LORD and a royal palace for himself.

¹³So now I am sending you Huram-abi, a skillful man endowed with creativity. ¹⁴He is the son of a woman from the daughters of Dan, and his father is a man of Tyre. He is skilled in work with gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, purple, blue, and crimson yarn, and fine linen. He is experienced in every kind of engraving and can execute any design that is given him. He will work with your craftsmen and with those of my lord, your father David.

¹⁵Now let my lord send to his servants the wheat, barley, olive oil, and wine he promised. ¹⁶We will cut logs from Lebanon, as many as you need, and we will float them to you as rafts by sea down to Joppa. Then you can take them up to Jerusalem.”

¹⁷Solomon numbered all the foreign men in the land of Israel following the census his father David had conducted, and there were found to be 153,600 in all. ¹⁸Solomon made 70,000 of them porters, 80,000 stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 supervisors.

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

¹“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ²Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. ³The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take along any extra oil. ⁴But the wise ones took oil in flasks along with their lamps. ⁵When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

⁶At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

⁷Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’

⁹‘No,’ said the wise ones, ‘or there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

¹⁰But while they were on their way to buy it, the bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut.

¹¹Later the other virgins arrived and said, ‘Lord, lord, open the door for us!’

¹²But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’

¹³Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

The Parable of the Talents

¹⁴For it is just like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted them with his possessions. ¹⁵To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to another one talent — each according to his own ability. And he went on his journey.

¹⁶The servant who had received the five talents went at once and put them to work and gained five more. ¹⁷Likewise, the one with the two talents gained two more. ¹⁸But the servant who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.

¹⁹After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. ²⁰The servant who had received the five talents came and presented five more. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’

²¹His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’

²²The servant who had received the two talents also came and said, ‘Master, you entrusted me with two talents. See, I have gained two more.’

²³His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’

²⁴Finally, the servant who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Master, I knew that you are a hard man, reaping where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what belongs to you.’

²⁶‘You wicked, lazy servant!’ replied his master. ‘You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed. ²⁷Then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received it back with interest.

²⁸Therefore take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. ²⁹For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. But the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. ³⁰And throw that worthless servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

The Sheep and the Goats

³¹When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne. ³²All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³He will place the sheep on His right and the goats on His left.

³⁴Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, ³⁶I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.’

³⁷Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? ³⁸When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? ³⁹When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’

⁴⁰And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’

⁴¹Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴²For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after Me.’

⁴⁴And they too will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’

⁴⁵Then the King will answer, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’

⁴⁶And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”