This book contains the account of the reign of King Solomon and of the other kings of Judah until the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem. We call this book
2 Chronicles
1
Solomon prayed for wisdom
1 David’s son King Solomon was able to gain complete control over his kingdom, because Yahweh his God helped him and enabled him to become very powerful.
2-5 When David was king, he had arranged for a new Sacred Tent to be made in Jerusalem. Then David and the Israeli leaders had brought God’s Sacred Chest from Kiriath-Jearim city to the new Sacred Tent in Jerusalem that he had prepared for it. But when Solomon became the king, the first Sacred Tent was still at Gibeon city. That was the tent that Moses, the man who served God well, had arranged to be made in the desert. And the bronze altar that Bezalel, the son of Uri and grandson of Hur, had made was also still in Gibeon, in front of the first Sacred Tent.
One day Solomon summoned the army commanders of 1,000 soldiers and the commanders of 100 soldiers and the judges and all the other leaders in Israel. He told them to go with him to Gibeon. So they all went to a hill in Gibeon where the Sacred Tent was, and Solomon and all the others with him worshiped Yahweh there. 6 Then Solomon went up to the bronze altar in front of the Sacred Tent, and he offered 1,000 animals to be killed and completely burned on the altar.
7 That night God appeared to Solomon in a dream and said to him, “Request whatever you want me to give to you.”
8 Solomon replied, “You were very kind to David my father, and now you have appointed me to be the king to succeed him. 9 So Yahweh my God, you have caused me to become the king to rule people who are as many as the particles of dirt on the earth. So do what you promised my father David. 10 Please enable me to be wise and to know what I should do, in order that I may rule these people well, because there is no one who can rule all this great nation of yours without your help.”
11 God replied, “I am pleased with what you desire; you have not requested a huge amount of money or to be honored or that your enemies be killed. And you have not requested that you live for a long time. Instead, you have requested that I enable you to be wise and to know what you should do in order that you may govern well my people whom I have appointed you to rule. 12 Therefore I will enable you to be wise and to know what you should do to rule my people well. But I will also enable you to have a huge amount of money and to be honored, more than anyone who was previously a king ever was honored, more than anyone who later becomes king will be honored.” 13 Then Solomon and the people who were with him all left from being in front of he Sacred Tent on the hill in Gibeon, and they returned to Jerusalem. From there he ruled the Israeli people.
Solomon’s wealth
14 Solomon acquired 1,400 chariots and 12,000 men who rode on horses. He put some of the chariots and horses in Jerusalem, and put some of them in various other cities. 15 During the years that Solomon was king, silver and gold were as common in Jerusalem as stones, and lumber from cedar trees were as plentiful as lumber from ordinary sycamore trees in the foothills. 16 Solomon’s horses were imported/brought from Egypt and from the Kue region in Turkey. 17 In Egypt his men paid 15 pounds of silver for each chariot and 3-3/4 pounds of silver for each horse. They also exported/sold many of them to the kings of the Heth and Aram people-groups.