8:1 所羅門建造耶和華殿和王宮，二十年才完畢了。
8:2 以後所羅門重新修築希蘭送給他的那些城邑，使以色列人住在那裡。
8:3 所羅門往哈馬瑣巴去，攻取了那地方。
8:4 所羅門建造曠野裡的達莫，又建造哈馬所有的積貨城，
8:5 又建造上伯‧和崙、下伯‧和崙作為保障，都有牆，有門，有閂；
8:6 又建造巴拉和所有的積貨城，並屯車輛馬兵的城，與耶路撒冷、黎巴嫩，以及自己治理的全國中所願意建造的。
8:7 至於國中所剩下不屬以色列人的赫人、亞摩利人、比利洗人、希未人、耶布斯人，
8:8 就是以色列人未曾滅絕的，所羅門挑取他們的後裔作服苦的奴僕，直到今日。
8:9 惟有以色列人，所羅門不使他們當奴僕做工，乃是作他的戰士、軍長的統領、車兵長、馬兵長。
8:10 所羅門王有二百五十督工的，監管工人。
8:11 所羅門將法老的女兒帶出大衛城，上到為她建造的宮裡；因所羅門說：「耶和華約櫃所到之處都為聖地，所以我的妻不可住在以色列王大衛的宮裡。」
8:12 所羅門在耶和華的壇上，就是在廊子前他所築的壇上，與耶和華獻燔祭；
8:13 又遵著摩西的吩咐在安息日、月朔，並一年三節，就是除酵節、七七節、住棚節，獻每日所當獻的祭。
8:14 所羅門照著他父大衛所定的例，派定祭司的班次，使他們各供己事，又使利未人各盡其職，讚美耶和華，在祭司面前做每日所當做的；又派守門的按著班次看守各門，因為神人大衛是這樣吩咐的。
8:15 王所吩咐眾祭司和利未人的，無論是管府庫或辦別的事，他們都不違背。
8:16 所羅門建造耶和華的殿，從立根基直到成功的日子，工料俱備。這樣，耶和華的殿全然完畢。
8:17 那時，所羅門往以東地靠海的以旬‧迦別和以祿去。
8:18 希蘭差遣他的臣僕，將船隻和熟悉泛海的僕人送到所羅門那裡。他們同著所羅門的僕人到了俄斐，得了四百五十他連得金子，運到所羅門王那裡。
At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built the temple of the Lord and his own palace, 2 Solomon rebuilt the villages that Hiram[a] had given him, and settled Israelites in them. 3 Solomon then went to Hamath Zobah and captured it. 4 He also built up Tadmor in the desert and all the store cities he had built in Hamath. 5 He rebuilt Upper Beth Horon and Lower Beth Horon as fortified cities, with walls and with gates and bars, 6 as well as Baalath and all his store cities, and all the cities for his chariots and for his horses[b]—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled.
7 There were still people left from the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites (these people were not Israelites). 8 Solomon conscripted the descendants of all these people remaining in the land—whom the Israelites had not destroyed—to serve as slave labor, as it is to this day. 9 But Solomon did not make slaves of the Israelites for his work; they were his fighting men, commanders of his captains, and commanders of his chariots and charioteers. 10 They were also King Solomon’s chief officials—two hundred and fifty officials supervising the men.
11 Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter up from the City of David to the palace he had built for her, for he said, “My wife must not live in the palace of David king of Israel, because the places the ark of the Lord has entered are holy.”
12 On the altar of the Lord that he had built in front of the portico, Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings to the Lord, 13 according to the daily requirement for offerings commanded by Moses for the Sabbaths, the New Moons and the three annual festivals—the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks and the Festival of Tabernacles. 14 In keeping with the ordinance of his father David, he appointed the divisions of the priests for their duties, and the Levites to lead the praise and to assist the priests according to each day’s requirement. He also appointed the gatekeepers by divisions for the various gates, because this was what David the man of God had ordered. 15 They did not deviate from the king’s commands to the priests or to the Levites in any matter, including that of the treasuries.
16 All Solomon’s work was carried out, from the day the foundation of the temple of the Lord was laid until its completion. So the temple of the Lord was finished.
17 Then Solomon went to Ezion Geber and Elath on the coast of Edom. 18 And Hiram sent him ships commanded by his own men, sailors who knew the sea. These, with Solomon’s men, sailed to Ophir and brought back four hundred and fifty talents[c] of gold, which they delivered to King Solomon.
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讀到這一章可以感受到所羅門王統治以色列時，國勢是何等的強盛！尤其是其對國中的迦南人所施展的管轄力，本是內憂的，卻是可以將他們化為助力，如經文所說：「至於國中所剩下不屬以色列人的赫人、亞摩利人、比利洗人、希未人、耶布斯人，就是以色列人未曾滅絕的，所羅門挑取他們的後裔作服苦的奴僕，直到今日。」
可見有一位敬畏上帝的君王，是一個國家的福分！上帝可以透過這一位君王，使國家獲得興盛，展現非凡的國力！正如詩篇33篇12節：「以耶和華為上帝的，那國是有福的！他所揀選為自己產業的，那民是有福的！」
求主保守我們的國家，也能以耶和華為上帝，規屬於上帝，讓人民百姓因為信靠上帝而成為新造的子民，這是國家之福啊！
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