The Bible, Douay-Rheims Part 205

10:12. And the king made of the thyine trees the rails of the house of the Lord, and of the king's house: and citterns and harps for singers: there were no such thyine trees as these brought nor seen unto this day.)

10:13. And king Solomon gave the queen of Saba all that she desired, and asked of him: besides what he offered her of himself of his royal bounty. And she returned, and went to her own country, with her servants.

10:14. And the weight of the gold that was brought to Solomon every year, was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold:

10:15. Besides that which the men brought him that were over the tributes, and the merchants, and they that sold by retail, and all the kings of Arabia, and the governors of the country.

10:16. And Solomon made two hundred shields of the purest gold: he allowed six hundred sicles of gold for the plates of one shield.

10:17. And three hundred targets of fine gold: three hundred pounds of gold covered one target: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Liba.n.u.s.

10:18. King Solomon also made a great throne of ivory: and overlaid it with the finest gold.

10:19. It had six steps: and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were two hands on either side holding the seat: and two lions stood, one at each hand,

10:20. And twelve little lions stood upon the six steps, on the one side and on the other: there was no such work made in any kingdom.

10:21. Moreover, all the vessels out of which king Solomon drank, were of gold: and all the furniture of the house of the forest of Liba.n.u.s was of most pure gold: there was no silver, nor was any account made of it in the days of Solomon:

10:22. For the king's navy, once in three years, went with the navy of Hiram by sea to Tharsis, and brought from thence gold, and silver, and elephants' teeth, and apes, and peac.o.c.ks.

10:23. And king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.

10:24. And all the earth desired to see Solomon's face, to hear his wisdom, which G.o.d had given in his heart.

10:25. And every one brought him presents, vessels of silver and of gold, garments, and armour, and spices, and horses, and mules, every year.

10:26. And Solomon gathered together chariots and hors.e.m.e.n, and he had a thousand four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand hors.e.m.e.n: and he bestowed them in fenced cities, and with the king in Jerusalem.

10:27. And he made silver to be as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones: and cedars to be as common as sycamores which grow in the plains.

10:28. And horses were brought for Solomon out of Egypt, and Coa: for the king's merchants bought them out of Coa, and brought them at a set price.

10:29. And a chariot of four horses came out of Egypt, for six hundred sicles of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. And after this manner did all the kings of the Hethites, and of Syria, sell horses.

3 Kings Chapter 11

Solomon by means of his wives falleth into idolatry: G.o.d raiseth him adversaries, Adad, Razon, and Jeroboam: Solomon dieth.

11:1. And king Solomon loved many strange women, besides the daughter of Pharao, and women of Moab, and of Ammon, and of Edom, and of Sidon, and of the Hethites:

11:2. Of the nations concerning which the Lord said to the children of Israel: You shall not go in unto them, neither shall any of them come into yours: for they will most certainly turn away your hearts to follow their G.o.ds. And to these was Solomon joined with a most ardent love.

11:3. And he had seven hundred wives as queens, and three hundred concubines: and the women turned away his heart.

11:4. And when he was now old, his heart was turned away by women to follow strange G.o.ds: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his G.o.d, as was the heart of David, his father.

11:5. But Solomon worshipped Astarthe, the G.o.ddess of the Sidonians, and Moloch, the idol of the Ammonites.

11:6. And Solomon did that which was not pleasing before the Lord, and did not fully follow the Lord, as David, his father.

11:7. Then Solomon built a temple for Chamos, the idol of Moab, on the hill that is over against Jerusalem, and for Moloch, the idol of the children of Ammon.

11:8. And he did in this manner for all his wives that were strangers, who burnt incense, and offered sacrifice to their G.o.ds.

11:9. And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his mind was turned away from the Lord, the G.o.d of Israel, who had appeared to him twice;

11:10. And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not follow strange G.o.ds: but he kept not the things which the Lord commanded him.

11:11. The Lord therefore said to Solomon: Because thou hast done this, and hast not kept my covenant, and my precepts, which I have commanded thee, I will divide and rend thy kingdom, and will give it to thy servant.

11:12. Nevertheless, in thy days I will not do it, for David thy father's sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son.

11:13. Neither will I take away the whole kingdom; but I will give one tribe to thy son, for the sake of David, my servant, and Jerusalem, which I have chosen.

One tribe... Besides that of Juda, his own native tribe.

11:14. And the Lord raised up an adversary to Solomon, Adad, the Edomite, of the king's seed, in Edom.

11:15. For when David was in Edom, and Joab, the general of the army, was gone up to bury them that were slain, and had killed every male in Edom,

11:16. (For Joab remained there six months with all Israel, till he had slain every male in Edom,)

11:17. Then Adad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father's servants, with him, to go into Egypt: and Adad was then a little boy.

11:18. And they arose out of Madian, and came into Pharan, and they took men with them from Pharan, and went into Egypt, to Pharao, the king of Egypt: who gave him a house, and appointed him victuals, and a.s.signed him land.

11:19. And Adad found great favour before Pharao, insomuch that he gave him to wife the own sister of his wife, Taphnes, the queen.

11:20. And the sister of Taphnes bore him his son, Genubath; and Taphnes brought him up in the house of Pharao: and Genubath dwelt with Pharao among his children.

11:21. And when Adad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers, and that Joab, the general of the army, was dead, he said to Pharao: Let me depart, that I may go to my own country.

11:22. And Pharao said to him: Why, what is wanting to thee with me, that thou seekest to go to thy own country? But he answered: Nothing; yet I beseech thee to let me go.

11:23. G.o.d also raised up against him an adversary, Razon, the son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Adarezer, the king of Soba.

11:24. And he gathered men against him, and he became a captain of robbers, when David slew them of Soba: and they went to Damascus, and dwelt there, and they made him king in Damascus.

11:25. And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon: and this is the evil of Adad, and his hatred against Israel; and he reigned in Syria.

11:26. Jeroboam also, the son of Nabat, an Ephrathite, of Sareda, a servant of Solomon, whose mother was named Sarua, a widow woman, lifted up his hand against the king.

11:27. And this is the cause of his rebellion against him; for Solomon built Mello, and filled up the breach of the city of David, his father.

11:28. And Jeroboam was a valiant and mighty man: and Solomon seeing him a young man ingenious and industrious, made him chief over the tributes of all the house of Joseph.

11:29. So it came to pa.s.s at that time, that Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, and the prophet Ahias, the Silonite, clad with a new garment, found him in the way: and they two were alone in the field.