9 People will answer, ‘It is because they abandoned the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt. They gave their allegiance to other gods and worshipped them. That is why the Lord has brought this disaster on them.’ ”
10 It took Solomon twenty years to build the Temple and his palace.
11 King Hiram of Tyre had provided him with all the cedar and pine and with all the gold he wanted for this work. After it was finished, King Solomon gave Hiram twenty towns in the region of Galilee.
12 Hiram went to see them, and he did not like them.
13 So he said to Solomon, “So these, my brother, are the towns you have given me!” For this reason the area is still called Cabul.
14 Hiram had sent Solomon more than four tonnes of gold.
15 King Solomon used forced labour to build the Temple and the palace, to fill in land on the east side of the city, and to build the city wall. He also used it to rebuild the cities of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.