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1 Kings 9:11-23
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
1 Kings 9:11-23
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
11 Hiram, king of Tyre, supplying Solomon with all the cedar wood, fir wood, and gold he wished, and King Solomon giving Hiram in return twenty cities in the land of Galilee— 12 Hiram left Tyre to see the cities Solomon had given him, but he was not satisfied with them. 13 So he said, “What are these cities you have given me, my brother?”[a] And he called them the land of Cabul, as they are called to this day. 14 Hiram, however, had sent King Solomon one hundred and twenty talents of gold.[b]
15 This is an account of the conscript labor force King Solomon raised in order to build the house of the Lord, his own house, Millo,[c] the wall of Jerusalem, Hazor, Megiddo, Gezer 16 (Pharaoh, king of Egypt, had come up and taken Gezer and, after destroying it by fire and slaying all the Canaanites living in the city, had given it as a farewell gift to his daughter, Solomon’s wife; 17 Solomon then rebuilt Gezer), Lower Beth-horon, 18 Baalath, Tamar in the desert of Judah, 19 all his cities for supplies, cities for chariots and cities for cavalry, and whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in the entire land under his dominion. 20 All the people who were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not Israelites— 21 those of their descendants who were left in the land and whom the Israelites had not been able to destroy under the ban—these Solomon conscripted as forced laborers, as they are to this day. 22 But Solomon made none of the Israelites forced laborers, for they were his fighting force, his ministers, commanders, adjutants, chariot officers, and cavalry. 23 There were five hundred fifty overseers answerable to Solomon’s governors for the work, directing the people engaged in the work.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 9:13 Brother: a term for a treaty partner; cf. 20:32–33. Cabul: the meaning is uncertain; perhaps “of no value.”
- 9:14 The talent was a measure of weight that varied in the course of ancient Israel’s history from forty-five to one hundred thirty pounds. This would mean that, at the least, Hiram sent five thousand pounds of gold to Solomon, and the figure may be as much as three times that amount.
- 9:15 Millo: probably means ground fill, and may refer to an artificial earthwork or platform of stamped ground south of the Temple area. It was begun by David (2 Sm 5:9); cf. 1 Kgs 9:24; 11:27.
1 Kings 9:11-23
New International Version
1 Kings 9:11-23
New International Version
11 King Solomon gave twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, because Hiram had supplied him with all the cedar and juniper and gold(A) he wanted. 12 But when Hiram went from Tyre to see the towns that Solomon had given him, he was not pleased with them. 13 “What kind of towns are these you have given me, my brother?” he asked. And he called them the Land of Kabul,[a](B) a name they have to this day. 14 Now Hiram had sent to the king 120 talents[b] of gold.(C)
15 Here is the account of the forced labor King Solomon conscripted(D) to build the Lord’s temple, his own palace, the terraces,[c](E) the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor,(F) Megiddo and Gezer.(G) 16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it on fire. He killed its Canaanite inhabitants and then gave it as a wedding gift to his daughter,(H) Solomon’s wife. 17 And Solomon rebuilt Gezer.) He built up Lower Beth Horon,(I) 18 Baalath,(J) and Tadmor[d] in the desert, within his land, 19 as well as all his store cities(K) and the towns for his chariots(L) and for his horses[e]—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled.
20 There were still people left from the Amorites, Hittites,(M) Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites(N) (these peoples were not Israelites). 21 Solomon conscripted the descendants(O) of all these peoples remaining in the land—whom the Israelites could not exterminate[f](P)—to serve as slave labor,(Q) as it is to this day. 22 But Solomon did not make slaves(R) of any of the Israelites; they were his fighting men, his government officials, his officers, his captains, and the commanders of his chariots and charioteers. 23 They were also the chief officials(S) in charge of Solomon’s projects—550 officials supervising those who did the work.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 9:13 Kabul sounds like the Hebrew for good-for-nothing.
- 1 Kings 9:14 That is, about 4 1/2 tons or about 4 metric tons
- 1 Kings 9:15 Or the Millo; also in verse 24
- 1 Kings 9:18 The Hebrew may also be read Tamar.
- 1 Kings 9:19 Or charioteers
- 1 Kings 9:21 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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