Bible in a Year – read today’s “Bible in a Year” excerpt

This page updates daily, based on the Whole Bible Canonically in a Year Bible reading plan.

reading plan entry for April 18

1 Kings 9 ()

[1] When Solomon had finished the building of Yahweh’s house, the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he was pleased to do, [2] Yahweh appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. [3] Yahweh said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before me. I have made this house holy, which you have built, to put my name there forever; and my eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually. [4] As for you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and will keep my statutes and my ordinances, [5] then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised to David your father, saying, ‘There shall not fail from you a man on the throne of Israel.’ [6] But if you turn away from following me, you or your children, and not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, [7] then I will cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and I will cast this house, which I have made holy for my name, out of my sight; and Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples. [8] Though this house is so high, yet everyone who passes by it will be astonished and hiss; and they will say, ‘Why has Yahweh done this to this land and to this house?’ [9] and they will answer, ‘Because they abandoned Yahweh their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and embraced other gods, and worshiped them, and served them. Therefore Yahweh has brought all this evil on them.’ ”

[10] At the end of twenty years, in which Solomon had built the two houses, Yahweh’s house and the king’s house [11] (now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and cypress trees, and with gold, according to all his desire), King Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. [12] Hiram came out of Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they didn’t please him. [13] He said, “What cities are these which you have given me, my brother?” He called them the land of Cabul to this day. [14] Hiram sent to the king one hundred twenty talents of gold.

[15] This is the reason of the forced labor which King Solomon conscripted: to build Yahweh’s house, his own house, Millo, Jerusalem’s wall, Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. [16] Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, taken Gezer, burned it with fire, killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and given it for a wedding gift to his daughter, Solomon’s wife. [17] Solomon built in the land Gezer, Beth Horon the lower, [18] Baalath, Tamar in the wilderness, [19] all the storage cities that Solomon had, the cities for his chariots, the cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build for his pleasure in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. [20] As for all the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the children of Israel— [21] their children who were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel were not able utterly to destroy—of them Solomon raised a levy of bondservants to this day. [22] But of the children of Israel Solomon made no bondservants; but they were the men of war, his servants, his princes, his captains, and rulers of his chariots and of his horsemen. [23] These were the five hundred fifty chief officers who were over Solomon’s work, who ruled over the people who labored in the work.

[24] But Pharaoh’s daughter came up out of David’s city to her house which Solomon had built for her. Then he built Millo.

[25] Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he built to Yahweh three times per year, burning incense with them on the altar that was before Yahweh. So he finished the house.

[26] King Solomon made a fleet of ships in Ezion Geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. [27] Hiram sent in the fleet his servants, sailors who had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon. [28] They came to Ophir, and fetched from there gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to King Solomon.

1 Kings 9:13 “Cabul” sounds like Hebrew for “good-for-nothing”.
1 Kings 9:14 A talent is about 30 kilograms or 66 pounds or 965 Troy ounces, so 120 talents is about 3.6 metric tons
1 Kings 9:28 A talent is about 30 kilograms or 66 pounds or 965 Troy ounces, so 420 talents is about 12.6 metric tons

1 Kings 10 ()

[1] When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning Yahweh’s name, she came to test him with hard questions. [2] She came to Jerusalem with a very great caravan, with camels that bore spices, very much gold, and precious stones; and when she had come to Solomon, she talked with him about all that was in her heart. [3] Solomon answered all her questions. There wasn’t anything hidden from the king which he didn’t tell her. [4] When the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, [5] the food of his table, the sitting of his servants, the attendance of his officials, their clothing, his cup bearers, and his ascent by which he went up to Yahweh’s house, there was no more spirit in her. [6] She said to the king, “It was a true report that I heard in my own land of your acts and of your wisdom. [7] However, I didn’t believe the words until I came and my eyes had seen it. Behold, not even half was told me! Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame which I heard. [8] Happy are your men, happy are these your servants who stand continually before you, who hear your wisdom. [9] Blessed is Yahweh your God, who delighted in you, to set you on the throne of Israel. Because Yahweh loved Israel forever, therefore he made you king, to do justice and righteousness.” [10] She gave the king one hundred twenty talents of gold, and a very great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again was there such an abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

[11] The fleet of Hiram that brought gold from Ophir also brought in from Ophir great quantities of almug trees and precious stones. [12] The king made of the almug trees pillars for Yahweh’s house and for the king’s house, harps also and stringed instruments for the singers; no such almug trees came or were seen to this day.

[13] King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she asked, in addition to that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own land, she and her servants.

[14] Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred sixty-six talents of gold, [15] in addition to that which the traders brought, and the traffic of the merchants, and of all the kings of the mixed people, and of the governors of the country. [16] King Solomon made two hundred bucklers of beaten gold; six hundred shekels of gold went to one buckler. [17] He made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three minas of gold went to one shield; and the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. [18] Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the finest gold. [19] There were six steps to the throne, and the top of the throne was round behind; and there were armrests on either side by the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests. [20] Twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other on the six steps. Nothing like it was made in any kingdom. [21] All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were of silver, because it was considered of little value in the days of Solomon. [22] For the king had a fleet of ships of Tarshish at sea with Hiram’s fleet. Once every three years the fleet of Tarshish came bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

[23] So King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. [24] All the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart. [25] Year after year, every man brought his tribute, vessels of silver, vessels of gold, clothing, armor, spices, horses, and mules.

[26] Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen. He had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen. He kept them in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem. [27] The king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem, and cedars as common as the sycamore trees that are in the lowland. [28] The horses which Solomon had were brought out of Egypt. The king’s merchants received them in droves, each drove at a price. [29] A chariot was imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for one hundred fifty shekels; and so they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Syria.

1 Kings 10:11 possibly an Indian sandalwood, with nice grain and a pleasant scent, and good for woodworking
1 Kings 10:14 A talent is about 30 kilograms or 66 pounds or 965 Troy ounces, so 666 talents is about 20 metric tons
1 Kings 10:16 A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.32 Troy ounces, so 600 shekels is about 6 kilograms or 13.2 pounds or 192 Troy ounces.
1 Kings 10:17 A mina is about 600 grams or 1.3 U. S. pounds.
1 Kings 10:29 A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.35 ounces.