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2 Chronicles Chapter 8

Other Translations

lxxbrent (lxxbrent) - Septuagint (Brenton 1851) eBible USFM

1 And it came to pass after twenty years, in which Solomon built the house of the Lord, and his own house,
2 that Solomon rebuilt the cities which Chiram had given to Solomon, and caused the children of Israel to dwell in them.
3 And Solomon came to Bæsoba, and fortified it.
4 And he built Thoedmor in the wilderness, and all the strong cities which he built in Emath.
5 And he built Bæthoron the upper, and Bæthoron the lower, strong cities,—they had walls, gates, and bars;
6 and Balaath, and all the strong cities which Solomon had, and all his chariot cities, and cities of horsemen, and all things that Solomon desired according to his desire of building, in Jerusalem, and in Libanus, and in all his kingdom.
7 [As for] all the people that was left of the Chettites, and the Amorites, and the Pherezites, and the Evites, and the Jebusites, who are not of Israel,
8 but were of the children of them whom the children of Israel destroyed not, that were left after them in the land, even them did Solomon make tributaries to this day.
9 But Solomon did not make any of the children of Israel servants in his kingdom; for, behold, [they were] warriors and rulers, and mighty [men], and captains of chariots and horsemen.
10 And these are the chiefs of the officers of king Solomon, two hundred and fifty overseeing the work among the people.
11 And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharao from the city of David to the house which he had built for her: for he said, My wife shall not dwell in the city of David, the king of Israel, for [the place] is holy into which the ark of the Lord has entered.
12 Then Solomon offered up to the Lord whole-burnt-offerings on the altar which he had built to the Lord before the temple,
13 according to the daily rate, to offer up [sacrifices] according to the commandments of Moses, on the sabbaths, and at the new moons, and at the feasts, three times in the year, at the feast of unleavened bread, and at the feast of weeks, and at the feast of tabernacles.
14 And he established, according to the order of his father David, the courses of the priests, and [that] according to their public ministrations: and the Levites [were appointed] over their charges, to praise and minister before the priests according to the daily order: and the porters were appointed according to their courses to the different gates: for thus [were] the commandments of David the man of God.
15 They transgressed not the commandments of the king concerning the priests and the Levites with regard to everything else, and with regard to the treasures.
16 Now all the work had been prepared from the day when the foundation was laid, until Solomon finished the house of the Lord.
17 Then Solomon went to Gasion Gaber, and to Ælath near the sea in the land of Idumea.
18 And Chiram sent by the hand of his servants ships, and servants skilled in naval affairs; and they went with the servants of Solomon to Sophira, and brought thence four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and they came to king Solomon.

web (web) - WorldEnglish.Bible — CC0 modern update of ASV

1 At the end of twenty years, in which Solomon had built the LORD’s house and his own house,
2 Solomon built the cities which Huram had given to Solomon, and caused the children of Israel to dwell there.
3 Solomon went to Hamath Zobah, and prevailed against it.
4 He built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the storage cities, which he built in Hamath.
5 Also he built Beth Horon the upper and Beth Horon the lower, fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars;
6 and Baalath, and all the storage cities that Solomon had, and all the cities for his chariots, the cities for his horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to build for his pleasure in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.
7 As for all the people who were left of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of Israel—
8 of their children who were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel didn’t consume—of them Solomon conscripted forced labor to this day.
9 But of the children of Israel, Solomon made no servants for his work, but they were men of war, chief of his captains, and rulers of his chariots and of his horsemen.
10 These were the chief officers of King Solomon, even two-hundred fifty, who ruled over the people.
11 Solomon brought up Pharaoh’s daughter out of David’s city to the house that he had built for her; for he said, “My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places where the LORD’s ark has come are holy.”
12 Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to the LORD on the LORD’s altar which he had built before the porch,
13 even as the duty of every day required, offering according to the commandment of Moses on the Sabbaths, on the new moons, and on the set feasts, three times per year, during the feast of unleavened bread, during the feast of weeks, and during the feast of booths.
14 He appointed, according to the ordinance of David his father, the divisions of the priests to their service, and the Levites to their offices, to praise and to minister before the priests, as the duty of every day required, the doorkeepers also by their divisions at every gate, for David the man of God had so commanded.
15 They didn’t depart from the commandment of the king to the priests and Levites concerning any matter or concerning the treasures.
16 Now all the work of Solomon was accomplished from the day of the foundation of the LORD’s house until it was finished. So the LORD’s house was completed.
17 Then Solomon went to Ezion Geber and to Eloth, on the seashore in the land of Edom.
18 Huram sent him ships and servants who had knowledge of the sea by the hands of his servants; and they came with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and brought from there four hundred fifty talents of gold, and brought them to King Solomon.

Explanations by Age Level

Explain Like I'm 5

A long, long time ago, there was nothing at all - no earth, no sky, no animals, no people. It was all dark and empty. But God was there! God is so powerful that He can make anything just by speaking. So God said "Let there be light!" and BOOM! There was light everywhere! God saw that the light was beautiful and good. He called the light "day" and the darkness "night." This was the very first day when God started making our wonderful world!

Explain Like I'm 10

Before anything existed - no planets, stars, or life - God decided to create the universe. The earth started out as a dark, empty place covered with water. But God's Spirit was there, ready to bring order and beauty to everything. When God spoke and said "Let there be light," light immediately appeared because God's words have incredible power. God looked at the light and was pleased with what He had made. He organized time by separating light (day) from darkness (night), creating the first 24-hour period. This shows us that God is organized and purposeful in everything He does.

Explain Like I'm 15

Genesis 1:1-5 establishes fundamental theological truths about God and creation. The Hebrew word "bara" (created) indicates creation from nothing (ex nihilo), demonstrating God's absolute sovereignty and power. The phrase "without form and void" (tohu wa-bohu) describes a state of chaos that God transforms into order. The Spirit of God "hovering" or "brooding" over the waters suggests active, caring involvement in creation. The creation of light before the sun (created on day 4) indicates that God Himself is the ultimate source of light and energy. The establishment of day and night creates the framework of time, showing that God operates within orderly patterns while transcending them. This passage refutes both atheistic materialism and pantheism, establishing that God is both transcendent (separate from creation) and immanent (actively involved in it).