Solomon’s Officials

1 King Solomon was king over all Israel, 2 and these were his high officials: Azariah the son of ^uZadok was the priest; 3 Elihoreph and Ahijah the sons of ^vShisha were secretaries; ^wJehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; 4 ^xBenaiah the son of Jehoiada was in command of the army; Zadok and ^yAbiathar were priests; 5 Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers; Zabud the son of Nathan was priest and ^zking’s friend; 6 Ahishar was in charge of the palace; and ^aAdoniram the son of Abda was in charge of the ^bforced labor.

7 Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household. Each man had to make provision for one month in the year. 8 These were their names: Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim; 9 Ben-deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elonbeth-hanan; 10 Ben-hesed, in Arubboth (to him belonged Socoh and all the land of Hepher); 11 Ben-abinadab, in all Naphath-dor (he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon as his wife); 12 Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth-shean that is beside Zarethan below Jezreel, and from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, as far as the other side of Jokmeam; 13 Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead (he had the villages of ^cJair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead, and he had the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars); 14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim; 15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he had taken Basemath the daughter of Solomon as his wife); 16 Baana the son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth; 17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar; 18 Shimei the son of Ela, in Benjamin; 19 Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan. And there was one governor who was over the land.

Solomon’s Wealth and Wisdom

20 Judah and Israel were ^das many as the sand by the sea. They ate and drank and were happy. ¹ 21 Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms ^efrom the Euphrates² to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.

22 Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty cors³ of fine flour and sixty cors of meal, 23 ten fat oxen, and twenty pasture-fed cattle, a hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened fowl. 24 For he had dominion over all the region west of the Euphrates⁴ from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kings west of the Euphrates. And he had peace on all sides around him. 25 And Judah and Israel lived ^fin safety, from Dan even to Beersheba, every man under ^ghis vine and under his fig tree, all the days of Solomon. 26 Solomon also had 40,000⁵ stalls of ^hhorses for his chariots, and 12,000 horsemen. 27 And those officers supplied provisions for King Solomon, and for all who came to King Solomon’s table, each one in his month. They let nothing be lacking. 28 Barley also and straw for the horses and swift steeds they brought to the place where it was required, each according to his duty.

29 And God ⁱgave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore, 30 so that Solomon’s wisdom ^jsurpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the ^kwisdom of Egypt. 31 For he was wiser than all other men, wiser than ^lEthan the Ezrahite, and Heman, ^mCalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol, and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. 32 He also spoke 3,000 ⁿproverbs, and his ^osongs were 1,005. 33 He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall. He spoke also of beasts, and of birds, and of reptiles, and of fish. 34 And people of all nations ^pcame to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.

Preparations for Building the Temple

1 ^{6 q}Now ^rHiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram always loved David. 2 And Solomon sent word to Hiram, 3 “You know that ^sDavid my father could not build a house ^tfor the name of the Lord his God because of the warfare with which his enemies surrounded him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. 4 But now the Lord my God has given me ^urest on every side. There is neither adversary nor misfortune. 5 And so I intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord said to David my father, ^v‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, shall build the house for my name.’ 6 Now therefore command that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me. And my servants will join your servants, and I will pay you for your servants such wages as you set, for you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”

7 As soon as Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the Lord this day, who has given to David a wise son to be over this great people.” 8 And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, “I have heard the message that you have sent to me. I am ready to do all you desire in the matter of cedar and cypress timber. 9 My servants shall bring it down to the sea from Lebanon, and I will make it into rafts to go by sea to the place you direct. And I will have them broken up there, and you shall receive it. And you shall meet my wishes by providing food for my household.” 10 So Hiram supplied Solomon with all the timber of cedar and cypress that he desired, 11 while Solomon gave Hiram 20,000 cors⁷ of wheat as food for his household, and 20,000⁸ cors of beaten oil. Solomon gave this to Hiram year by year. 12 And the Lord ^wgave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him. And there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.

13 King Solomon drafted ^xforced labor out of all Israel, and the draft numbered 30,000 men. 14 And he sent them to Lebanon, 10,000 a month in shifts. They would be a month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of the draft. 15 Solomon also had 70,000 burden-bearers and 80,000 stonecutters in the hill country, 16 besides Solomon’s 3,300 ^ychief officers who were over the work, who had charge of the people who carried on the work. 17 At the king’s command they quarried out great, costly stones in order to lay the foundation of the house with dressed stones. 18 So Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders and the men of Gebal did the cutting and prepared the timber and the stone to build the house.

Sons and Heirs

1 I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave,¹ though he is the owner of everything, 2 but he is ^wunder guardians and managers until the date set by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were ^xenslaved to the ^yelementary principles² of the world. 4 But when the ^zfullness of time had come, God ^asent forth his Son, ^bborn ^cof woman, born ^dunder the law, 5 to ^eredeem those who were ^funder the law, so that we might receive ^gadoption as sons. 6 And ^hbecause you are sons, God has sent the ⁱSpirit of his Son ^jinto our hearts, crying, ^k“Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and ^lif a son, then an ^mheir through God.

Paul’s Concern for the Galatians

8 ⁿFormerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are ^onot gods. 9 ^pBut now that you have come to ^qknow God, or rather to be ^rknown by God, how can you turn back again to the ^sweak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? 10 ^tYou observe days and months and seasons and years! 11 I am afraid I may have labored over you ^uin vain.

12 Brothers,³ I entreat you, ^vbecome as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me no wrong. 13 You know it was because of a ^wbodily ailment that ^xI preached the gospel to you at first, 14 and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, ^yas Christ Jesus. 15 What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your ^zeyes and given them to me. 16 Have I then become your enemy by telling you the ^atruth?⁴ 17 They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them. 18 It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you, 19 my little children, ^bfor whom I am again ^cin the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed ^din you! 20 I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.

Example of Hagar and Sarah

21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, ^eone by a slave woman and ^fone by a free woman. 23 But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while ^gthe son of the free woman was born through promise. 24 Now this may be interpreted ^hallegorically: these women are ⁱtwo covenants. ^jOne is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for ^kslavery; she is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia;⁵ she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But ^lthe Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written,

28 Now you,⁶ brothers, like Isaac, are ⁿchildren of promise. 29 But just as at that time ^ohe who was born according to the flesh ^ppersecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, ^qso also it is now. 30 But what does the Scripture say? ^r“Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” 31 So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but ^sof the free woman.

Christ Has Set Us Free

1 For freedom Christ has set us ^tfree; ^ustand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a ^vyoke of ^wslavery.

2 ^xLook: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to ^yevery man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified⁷ by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by ^zfaith, we ourselves eagerly ^await for the ^bhope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus ^cneither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

7 You were ^drunning well. ^eWho hindered you from obeying the ^ftruth? 8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you. 9 ^gA little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10 ^hI have confidence in the Lord that ⁱyou will take no other view, and the one who is ^jtroubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. 11 But if I, brothers,⁸ still preach⁹ circumcision, ^kwhy am I still being persecuted? In that case the ^loffense of the cross has been removed. 12 I wish those who unsettle you would ^memasculate themselves!

13 For you were called to ⁿfreedom, brothers. ^oOnly do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love ^pserve one another. 14 For ^qthe whole law is fulfilled in one word: ^r“You shall ^slove your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

Keep in Step with the Spirit

16 But I say, ^twalk by the Spirit, and you will ^unot gratify the ^vdesires of the flesh. 17 For ^wthe desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, ^xto keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are ^yled by the ^zSpirit, you are ^anot under the law. 19 Now ^bthe works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy,¹⁰ drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that ^cthose who do¹¹ such things ^dwill not ^einherit the kingdom of God. 22 But ^fthe fruit of the Spirit is ^glove, ^hjoy, ⁱpeace, ^jpatience, ^kkindness, ^lgoodness, ^mfaithfulness, 23 ⁿgentleness, ^oself-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And ^pthose who ^qbelong to Christ Jesus have ^rcrucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become ^sconceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Bear One Another’s Burdens

1 Brothers,^{12 t}if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him ^uin a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 ^vBear one another’s burdens, ^wand so fulfill the ^xlaw of Christ. 3 ^yFor if anyone ^zthinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But ^alet each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5 For each will have to bear his own load.

6 ^bLet the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. 7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for ^cwhatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And ^dlet us not grow weary ^eof doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not ^fgive up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, ^glet us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the ^hhousehold of faith.

Final Warning and Benediction

11 ⁱSee with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. 12 It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would ^jforce you to be circumcised, and only ^kin order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 For even those who are circumcised ^ldo not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. 14 But far be it from me to boast ^mexcept in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which¹³ the world has been crucified to me, and ⁿI to the world. 15 ^oFor neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a ^pnew creation. 16 And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon ^qthe Israel of God.

17 From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.

18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.