The Reign of Asa

14¹ So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David; and Asa his son reigned in his stead. In his days the land was quiet ten years. ² And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of Jehovah his God: ³ for he took away the foreign altars, and the high places, and brake down the pillars, and hewed down the Asherim, ⁴ and commanded Judah to seek Jehovah, the God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment. ⁵ Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the sun-images: and the kingdom was quiet before him. ⁶ And he built fortified cities in Judah; for the land was quiet, and he had no war in those years, because Jehovah had given him rest. ⁷ For he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars; the land is yet before us, because we have sought Jehovah our God; we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered. ⁸ And Asa had an army that bare bucklers and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bare shields and drew bows, two hundred and fourscore thousand: all these were mighty men of valor.

⁹ And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an army of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and he came unto Mareshah. ¹⁰ Then Asa went out to meet him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. ¹¹ And Asa cried unto Jehovah his God, and said, Jehovah, there is none besides thee to help, between the mighty and him that hath no strength: help us, O Jehovah our God; for we rely on thee, and in thy name are we come against this multitude. O Jehovah, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee. ¹² So Jehovah smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled. ¹³ And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar: and there fell of the Ethiopians so many that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before Jehovah, and before his host; and they carried away very much booty. ¹⁴ And they smote all the cities round about Gerar; for the fear of Jehovah came upon them: and they despoiled all the cities; for there was much spoil in them. ¹⁵ They smote also the tents of cattle, and carried away sheep in abundance, and camels, and returned to Jerusalem.

Solomon Builds the House of the LORD

3¹ Then Solomon began to build the house of Jehovah at Jerusalem on mount Moriah, where [Jehovah] appeared unto David his father, which he made ready in the place that David had appointed, in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite. ² And he began to build in the second [day] of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign. ³ Now these are the foundations which Solomon laid for the building of the house of God. The length by cubits after the first measure was threescore cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits. ⁴ And the porch that was before [the house], the length of it, according to the breadth of the house, was twenty cubits, and the height a hundred and twenty; and he overlaid it within with pure gold. ⁵ And the greater house he ceiled with fir-wood, which he overlaid with fine gold, and wrought thereon palm-trees and chains. ⁶ And he garnished the house with precious stones for beauty: and the gold was gold of Parvaim. ⁷ He overlaid also the house, the beams, the thresholds, and the walls thereof, and the doors thereof, with gold; and graved cherubim on the walls. ⁸ And he made the most holy house: the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house, was twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits; and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents. ⁹ And the weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold.

¹⁰ And in the most holy house he made two cherubim of image work; and they overlaid them with gold. ¹¹ And the wings of the cherubim were twenty cubits long: the wing of the one [cherub] was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house; and the other wing was [likewise] five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other cherub. ¹² And the wing of the other cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house; and the other wing was five cubits [also], joining to the wing of the other cherub. ¹³ The wings of these cherubim spread themselves forth twenty cubits: and they stood on their feet, and their faces were toward the house. ¹⁴ And he made the veil of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubim thereon.

The Two Pillars

¹⁵ Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits high, and the capital that was on the top of each of them was five cubits. ¹⁶ And he made chains in the oracle, and put [them] on the tops of the pillars; and he made a hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains. ¹⁷ And he set up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand, and the other on the left; and called the name of that on the right hand Jachin, and the name of that on the left Boaz.