2 Chronicles 1

Solomon speaks to his people

1 David's son Solomon made himself strong over his kingdom. The Lord his God was with him. And the Lord made him very great.

1:1King David died about 970 BC. A short time before his death, he made Solomon king of all Israel.

2 Solomon spoke to all the people in Israel. He spoke to the officers who were over groups of 1,000 men. And he spoke to the officers who were over groups of 100 men. He spoke to the judges and to all the leaders in Israel. And he spoke to the leaders of the families. 3 Then Solomon and all those people went to the town called Gibeon. They went to the place for worship there. The tent where God met with his people was there. Moses, the Lord's servant, had made it in the desert. 4 But David had brought God's Covenant Box from Kiriath-Jearim to Jerusalem. David had made a place for it and he had made a tent for it in Jerusalem. 5 But David put the bronze altar that Bezalel had made in Gibeon in front of the Lord's tent. (Bezalel was the son of Uri, who was the son of Hur.) So Solomon and the people went to meet Lord there. 6 Solomon went up to the bronze altar in front of the Lord. The altar was in front of the holy tent for the people. And he burnt 1,000 sacrifices on the altar.

God asks Solomon what he wants

7 That night, God appeared to Solomon and he said to him, ‘Ask for anything that you want me to give to you.’

Solomon asks God to make him wise

8 Solomon answered God, ‘You have been very kind to my father David. And you have caused me to be king instead. 9 Now, Lord God, do as you promised to my father David. You have caused me to rule over people who seem as many as the dust of the ground. 10 So now please give to me wisdom and knowledge so that I can be the leader of these people. Nobody can rule this big nation without your help, because these people are yours.’

God's answer

11 God said to Solomon, ‘You have not asked to become rich or for valuable things. You have not asked for honour or for the death of your enemies. You have not asked for a long life. But you asked for wisdom and knowledge to rule over my people, because I have caused you to rule. And that is what you wanted. 12 So I will give to you wisdom and knowledge. Also, I will make you rich. And I will give to you valuable things. You will have more of those than any king who has lived before you. And you will have more of those than any king who will live after you. And I will cause people to give honour to you. They will give more honour to you than people have given to any king before you or after you.’

13 So, Solomon left the place for worship at Gibeon. He went from the tent where God met with his people. And he returned to Jerusalem. There he ruled over Israel.

Solomon buys horses and chariots

14 Solomon bought many chariots and men to ride horses. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 men to ride horses. He kept them in special cities for chariots and some with him in Jerusalem. 15 There was a lot of silver and gold in Jerusalem while he was king. People had so much silver and gold that they were like stones in Jerusalem. And they had as much wood from cedar trees as from the common trees that grew in the low hills. 16 Solomon brought horses from Egypt and from Kue. The king's men bought them in Kue at a good price. 17 The chariots came from Egypt. A chariot cost 7 kilos of silver (15 pounds weight) and a horse cost 1.7 kilos of silver (3.25 pounds). Also they sold horses and chariots to all the kings of the people called Hittites and the people from Syria.

1:17The horses from Egypt were very big and strong. They were the best horses to pull chariots.