2 Chronicles 8

1 After the twenty years during which Solomon built the house of the LORD and his own house,
2 he built up the cities which Huram had given him, and settled Israelites there.
3 Then Solomon went to Hamath of Zoba and conquered it.
4 He built Tadmor in the desert region and all the supply cities, which he built in Hamath.
5 He built Upper Beth-horon and Lower Beth-horon, fortified cities with walls, gates and bars;
6 also Baalath, all the supply cities belonging to Solomon, and all the cities for the chariots, the cities for the horsemen, and whatever else Solomon decided should be built in Jerusalem, in the Lebanon, and in the entire land under his dominion.
7 All the people that remained of the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not of Israel--
8 that is, their descendants remaining in the land, whom the Israelites had not destroyed--Solomon subjected to forced labor, as they continue to this day.
9 But Solomon did not enslave the Israelites for his works. They became soldiers, commanders of his warriors, and commanders of his chariots and his horsemen.
10 They were also King Solomon's two hundred and fifty overseers who had charge of the people.
11 Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh up from the City of David to the palace which he had built for her, for he said, No wife of mine shall dwell in the house of David, king of Israel, for the places where the ark of the LORD has come are holy.
12 In those times Solomon offered holocausts to the LORD upon the altar of the LORD which he had built in front of the porch,
13 as was required day by day according to the command of Moses, and in particular on the sabbaths, at the new moons, and on the fixed festivals three times a year: on the feast of the Unleavened Bread, the feast of Weeks and the feast of Booths.
14 And according to the ordinance of his father David he appointed the various classes of the priests for their service, and the Levites according to their functions of praise and ministry alongside the priests, as the daily duty required. The gatekeepers of the various classes stood guard at each gate, since such was the command of David, the man of God.
15 There was no deviation from the king's command in any respect relating to the priests and Levites or the treasuries.
16 All of Solomon's work was carried out successfully from the day the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid until the house of the LORD had been completed in every detail.
17 In those times Solomon went to Ezion-geber and to Elath on the seashore of the land of Edom.
18 Huram, through his servants, sent him ships and crewmen acquainted with the sea, who accompanied Solomon's servants to Ophir and brought back from there four hundred and fifty talents of gold to King Solomon.

2 Chronicles 9

1 When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's fame, she came to Jerusalem to test him with subtle questions, accompanied by a very numerous retinue and by camels bearing spices, much gold, and precious stones. She came to Solomon and questioned him on every subject in which she was interested.
2 Solomon explained to her everything she asked about, and there remained nothing hidden from Solomon that he could not explain to her.
3 When the queen of Sheba witnessed Solomon's wisdom, the palace he had built,
4 the food at his table, the seating of his ministers, the attendance of his servants and their dress, his cupbearers and their dress, and the holocausts he offered in the house of the LORD, it took her breath away.
5 The account I heard in my country about your deeds and your wisdom is true, she told the king.
6 Yet I did not believe the report until I came and saw with my own eyes. I have discovered that they did not tell me the half of your great wisdom; you have surpassed the stories I heard.
7 Happy are your men, happy these servants of yours, who stand before you always and listen to your wisdom.
8 Blessed be the LORD, your God, who has been so pleased with you as to place you on his throne as king for the LORD, your God. Because your God has so loved Israel as to will to make it last forever, he has appointed you over them as king to administer right and justice.
9 Then she gave the king one hundred and twenty gold talents and a very large quantity of spices, as well as precious stones. There was no other spice like that which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
10 The servants of Huram and of Solomon who brought gold from Ophir also brought cabinet wood and precious stones.
11 With the cabinet wood the king made stairs for the temple of the LORD and the palace of the king; also lyres and harps for the chanters. The like of these had not been seen before in the land of Judah.
12 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she desired and asked him for, more than she had brought to the king. Then she returned to her own country with her servants.
13 The gold that Solomon received each year weighed six hundred and sixty-six gold talents,
14 in addition to what was collected from travelers and what the merchants brought. All the kings of Arabia also, and the governors of the country, brought gold and silver to Solomon.
15 Moreover, King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold, six hundred shekels of beaten gold going into each shield,
16 and three hundred bucklers of beaten gold, three hundred shekels of gold going into each buckler; these the king put in the hall of the Forest of Lebanon.
17 King Solomon also made a large ivory throne which he overlaid with fine gold.
18 The throne had six steps; a footstool of gold was fastened to it, and there was an arm on each side of the seat, with two lions standing beside the arms.
19 Twelve other lions also stood there, one on either side of each step. Nothing like this had ever been produced in any other kingdom.
20 Furthermore, all of King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the utensils in the hall of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; silver was not considered of value in Solomon's time.
21 For the king had ships that went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram. Once every three years the fleet of Tarshish would return with a cargo of gold and silver, ivory, apes and monkeys.
22 Thus King Solomon surpassed all the other kings of the earth in riches as well as in wisdom.
23 All the kings of the earth sought audience with Solomon, to hear from him the wisdom which God had put in his heart.
24 Year in and year out, each one would bring his tribute-silver and gold articles, garments, weapons, spices, horses and mules.
25 Solomon also had four thousand stalls of horses, chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, which he assigned to the chariot cities and to the king in Jerusalem.
26 He was ruler over all the kings from the River to the land of the Philistines and down to the border of Egypt.
27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, while cedars became as numerous as the sycamores of the foothills.
28 Horses were imported for Solomon from Egypt and from all the lands.
29 The rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are written, as is well known, in the acts of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer which concern Jeroboam, son of Nebat.
30 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years.
31 He rested with his ancestors; he was buried in his father's City of David, and his son Rehoboam succeeded him as king.

2 Chronicles 10

1 Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to proclaim him king.
2 When Jeroboam, son of Nebat, heard of this in Egypt where he had fled from King Solomon, he returned from Egypt.
3 Jeroboam was summoned to the assembly, and he and all Israel said to Rehoboam:
4 Your father laid a heavy yoke upon us. If you now lighten the harsh service and the heavy yoke that your father imposed on us, we will serve you.
5 In three days, he answered them, come back to me. When the people had departed,
6 King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had been in the service of his father during Solomon's lifetime, asking, What answer do you advise me to give this people?
7 They replied, If you will deal kindly with this people and give in to them, acceding to their request, they will be your servants forever.
8 But he ignored the advice the elders had given him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were in his service.
9 He said to them, What answer do you advise me to give this people, who have asked me to lighten the yoke my father imposed on them?
10 The young men who had grown up with him replied: This is the answer you should give to this people who have said to you, 'Your father laid a heavy yoke upon us, but do you lighten our yoke'; this you should say to them: 'My little finger is thicker than my father's body.
11 Whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will make it heavier! My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions!'
12 On the third day, Jeroboam and all the people came back to King Rehoboam as he had instructed them to do.
13 Ignoring the advice the elders had given him, the king gave them a harsh answer,
14 speaking to them according to the advice of the young men: My father laid a heavy yoke on you, but I will make it heavier. My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions.
15 The king would not listen to the people, for this turn of events was divinely ordained to fulfill the prophecy the LORD had uttered to Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, through Ahijah the Shilonite.
16 When all Israel saw that the king would not listen to them, the people answered the king. What share have we in David? We have no heritage in the son of Jesse. Everyone to your tents, O Israel! Now look to your own house, David! So all Israel went off to their tents.
17 Rehoboam, therefore, reigned over only those Israelites who lived in the cities of Judah.
18 King Rehoboam then sent out Hadoram, who was superintendent of the forced labor, but the Israelites stoned him to death. Rehoboam himself managed to mount his chariot and flee to Jerusalem.
19 Thus Israel has been in rebellion against David's house to this day.