1:11 God said to Solomon, “Because you desire this, 1 and did not ask for riches, wealth, and honor, or for vengeance on your enemies, 2 and because you did not ask for long life, 3 but requested wisdom and discernment so you can make judicial decisions for my people over whom I have made you king,
8:11 Solomon moved Pharaoh’s daughter up from the City of David 7 to the palace he had built for her, for he said, “My wife must not live in the palace of King David of Israel, for the places where the ark of the Lord has entered are holy.”
9:20 All of King Solomon’s cups were made of gold, and all the household items in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest were made of pure gold. There were no silver items, for silver was not considered very valuable in Solomon’s time. 14
24:6 So the king summoned Jehoiada the chief priest, 23 and said to him, “Why have you not made 24 the Levites collect 25 from Judah and Jerusalem the tax authorized by Moses the Lord’s servant and by the assembly of Israel at the tent containing the tablets of the law?” 26
24:12 The king and Jehoiada gave it to the construction foremen 27 assigned to the Lord’s temple. They hired carpenters and craftsmen to repair the Lord’s temple, as well as those skilled in working with iron and bronze to restore the Lord’s temple.
24:27 The list of Joash’s 28 sons, the many prophetic oracles pertaining to him, and the account of his building project on God’s temple are included in the record of the Scroll of the Kings. 29 His son Amaziah replaced him as king.
27:5 He launched a military campaign 33 against the king of the Ammonites and defeated them. That year the Ammonites paid him 100 talents 34 of silver, 10,000 kors 35 of wheat, and 10,000 kors 36 of barley. The Ammonites also paid this same amount of annual tribute the next two years. 37
29:12 The following Levites prepared to carry out the king’s orders: 38
From the Kohathites: Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah;
from the Merarites: Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel;
from the Gershonites: Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah;
This royal edict read: 42 “O Israelites, return to the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so he may return 43 to you who have been spared from the kings of Assyria. 44
34:22 So Hilkiah and the others sent by the king 51 went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, 52 the supervisor of the wardrobe. 53 (She lived in Jerusalem in the Mishneh 54 district.) They stated their business, 55
1 tn Heb “because this was in your heart.”
2 tn Heb “the life of those who hate you.”
3 tn Heb “many days.”
4 tn Heb “and the priests were standing at their posts, and the Levites with the instruments of music of the
5 tn Heb “which David the king made to give thanks to the
6 tn Heb “opposite them”; the referent (the Levites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 sn The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
8 tn Heb “and Huram sent to him by the hand of his servants, ships, and servants [who] know the sea, and they came with the servants of Solomon to Ophir.”
9 tn The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the weight of the gold was 30,285 lbs. (13,770 kg).
10 tn Or “delighted in.”
11 tn Heb “as king for the
12 tn Heb “to make him stand permanently.”
13 tn Heb “to do justice and righteousness.”
14 tn Heb “there was no silver, it was not regarded as anything in the days of Solomon.”
15 tn Or “seer.”
16 tn Heb “went out to his face.”
17 tn Heb “and love those who hate the
18 tn Heb “and because of this upon you is anger from before the
19 tn Heb “and look, Amariah the chief priest is over you with respect to every matter of the
20 tn Heb “Be strong and act!”
21 tn Heb “all Judah.” The words “you people of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew text uses the name “Judah” by metonymy for the people of Judah. Unlike the previous instance in v. 13 where infants, wives, and children are mentioned separately, this reference appears to include them all.
22 tn Or perhaps “don’t get discouraged.”
23 tn Heb “Jehoiada the head”; the word “priest” not in the Hebrew text but is implied.
24 tn Heb “sought.”
25 tn Heb “bring.”
26 tn Heb “the tent of testimony.”
27 tn Heb “doers of the work.”
28 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joash) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
29 tn Heb “And his sons and the abundance of the oracle[s] against him, and the founding of the house of God, look are they not written on the writing of the scroll of the kings?”
30 tn Heb “stood against.”
31 tn Or “been unfaithful.”
32 tn The precise meaning of בֵּית הַחָפְשִׁית (bet hakhafshiyt, “house of [?]”) is uncertain. NASB, NIV, NRSV all have “in a separate house”; NEB has “in his own house…relieved of all duties.” For a discussion of various proposals, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 166-67.
33 tn Heb “he fought with.”
34 tn The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the weight of the silver was 6,730 lbs. (3,060 kg).
35 sn As a unit of dry measure a kor was roughly equivalent to six bushels (about 220 liters).
36 tn Heb “10,000 kors of wheat and 10,000 of barley.” The unit of measure of the barley is omitted in the Hebrew text, but is understood to be “kors,” the same as the measures of wheat.
37 tn Heb “This the sons of Ammon brought to him, and in the second year and the third.”
38 tn Heb “and the Levites arose.”
39 sn Perhaps these terms refer metonymically to the royal court, the priests and Levites, and the people, respectively.
40 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
41 tn Heb “the runners.”
42 tn Heb “and according to the command of the king, saying.”
43 tn The jussive with vav conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.
44 tn Heb “to the survivors who are left to you from the palm of the kings of Assyria.”
45 tn Or perhaps, “and don’t be discouraged.”
46 tn Heb “for with us [is] a greater [one] than with him.”
47 tn Or “an angel.”
48 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Sennacherib) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
49 tn Heb “and he returned with shame of face to his land.”
50 tn Heb “and some from those who went out from him, from his inward parts.”
51 tn Heb “and those who [were sent by] the king.”
52 tn The parallel account in 2 Kgs 22:14 has the variant spelling “son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas.”
53 tn Heb “the keeper of the clothes.”
54 tn Or “second.” For a discussion of the possible location of this district, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 283.
55 tn Heb “and they spoke to her like this.”
56 tc This assumes an emendation to עַמּוּדוֹ (’ammudo), see 23:13. The MT reads “at his place.”
57 tn Heb “cut,” that is, “made” or “agreed to.”
58 tn Heb “walk after.”
59 tn Or “soul.”
60 tn Heb “words.”
61 tn Or “seer.”
62 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Neco) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
63 tn Heb “What to me and to you, king of Judah?”
64 tn Heb “Not against you, you, today, but against the house of my battle.”
65 tn Heb “Stop yourself from [opposing] God who is with me and let him not destroy you.”
66 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
67 tn Heb “Whoever [is] among you from all his people – may the