2 Chronicles 3:1-5:14

Other Translations of 2 Chronicles 3:1-5:14

King James Version

Solomon Builds the House of the LORD

3¹ Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the Lord appeared where...: or, which was seen of David his father unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor 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 things wherein Solomon was instructed instructed: Heb. founded 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 in the front of the house, the length of it was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the height was an hundred and twenty: and he overlaid it within with pure gold. ⁵ And the greater house he cieled with fir tree, which he overlaid with fine gold, and set thereon palm trees and chains. ⁶ And he garnished garnished: Heb. covered the house with precious stones for beauty: and the gold was gold of Parvaim. ⁷ He overlaid also the house, the beams, the posts, and the walls thereof, and the doors thereof, with gold; and graved cherubims on the walls. ⁸ And he made the most holy house, the length whereof was according to the breadth of the house, 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 cherubims of image image...: or, (as some think) of moveable work work, and overlaid them with gold. ¹¹ And the wings of the cherubims were twenty cubits long: one 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 one 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 cherubims spread themselves forth twenty cubits: and they stood on their feet, and their faces were inward. inward: or, toward the house ¹⁴ And he made the vail of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought wrought: Heb. caused to ascend cherubims thereon.

The Two Pillars

¹⁵ Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits high, high: Heb. long and the chapiter that was on the top of each of them was five cubits. ¹⁶ And he made chains, as in the oracle, and put them on the heads of the pillars; and made an hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains. ¹⁷ And he reared 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, Jachin: that is, He shall establish and the name of that on the left Boaz.

The Furnishings for the Temple

4¹ Moreover he made an altar of brass, twenty cubits the length thereof, and twenty cubits the breadth thereof, and ten cubits the height thereof. ² Also he made a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and five cubits the height thereof; and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about. ³ And under it was the similitude of oxen, which did compass it round about: ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about. Two rows of oxen were cast, when it was cast. ⁴ It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward. ⁵ And the thickness of it was an handbreadth, and the brim of it like the work of the brim of a cup, with flowers with flowers...: or, like a lilyflower of lilies; and it received and held three thousand baths. ⁶ He made also ten lavers, and put five on the right hand, and five on the left, to wash in them: such things as they offered for the burnt offering they washed in them; but the sea was for the priests to wash in. ⁷ And he made ten candlesticks of gold according to their form, and set them in the temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left. ⁸ He made also ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right side, and five on the left. And he made an hundred basons basons: or, bowls of gold. ⁹ Furthermore he made the court of the priests, and the great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid the doors of them with brass. ¹⁰ And he set the sea on the right side of the east end, over against the south.

¹¹ And Huram made the pots, and the shovels, and the basons. basons: or, bowls And Huram finished the work that he was to make for king Solomon for the house of God; ¹² To wit, the two pillars, and the pommels, and the chapiters which were on the top of the two pillars, and the two wreaths to cover the two pommels of the chapiters which were on the top of the pillars; ¹³ And four hundred pomegranates on the two wreaths; two rows of pomegranates on each wreath, to cover the two pommels of the chapiters which were upon upon: Heb. upon the face of the pillars. ¹⁴ He made also bases, and lavers lavers: or, caldrons made he upon the bases; ¹⁵ One sea, and twelve oxen under it. ¹⁶ The pots also, and the shovels, and the fleshhooks, and all their instruments, did Huram his father make to king Solomon for the house of the Lord of bright bright: Heb. made bright, or, scoured brass. ¹⁷ In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay clay...: Heb. thicknesses of the ground ground between Succoth and Zeredathah. ¹⁸ Thus Solomon made all these vessels in great abundance: for the weight of the brass could not be found out. ¹⁹ And Solomon made all the vessels that were for the house of God, the golden altar also, and the tables whereon the shewbread was set; ²⁰ Moreover the candlesticks with their lamps, that they should burn after the manner before the oracle, of pure gold; ²¹ And the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs, made he of gold, and that perfect perfect...: Heb. perfections of gold gold; ²² And the snuffers, and the basons, basons: or, bowls and the spoons, and the censers, of pure gold: and the entry of the house, the inner doors thereof for the most holy place, and the doors of the house of the temple, were of gold.

5¹ Thus all the work that Solomon made for the house of the Lord was finished: and Solomon brought in all the things that David his father had dedicated; and the silver, and the gold, and all the instruments, put he among the treasures of the house of God.

Solomon Brings the Ark into the Temple

² Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion. ³ Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the feast which was in the seventh month. ⁴ And all the elders of Israel came; and the Levites took up the ark. ⁵ And they brought up the ark, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, these did the priests and the Levites bring up. ⁶ Also king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled unto him before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen, which could not be told nor numbered for multitude. ⁷ And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto his place, to the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims: ⁸ For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above. ⁹ And they drew out the staves of the ark, that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark before the oracle; but they were not seen without. And there it is unto this day. ¹⁰ There was nothing in the ark save the two tables which Moses put therein at Horeb, when the Lord when the Lord: or, where, etc made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.

¹¹ And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course: ¹² Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:) ¹³ It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord; ¹⁴ So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God.

English Standard Version

Solomon Builds the House of the LORD

3¹ Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord Septuagint; Hebrew lacks the Lord had appeared to David his father, at the place that David had appointed, on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. ² He began to build in the second month of the fourth year of his reign. ³ These are Solomon's measurementsSyriac; Hebrew foundations for building the house of God: the length, in cubitsA cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters of the old standard, was sixty cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits. ⁴ The vestibule in front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits long, equal to the width of the house,Compare 1 Kings 6:3; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain and its height was 120 cubits. He overlaid it on the inside with pure gold. ⁵ The nave he lined with cypress and covered it with fine gold and made palms and chains on it. ⁶ He adorned the house with settings of precious stones. The gold was gold of Parvaim. ⁷ So he lined the house with gold--its beams, its thresholds, its walls, and its doors-- and he carved cherubim on the walls. ⁸ And he made the Most Holy Place. Its length, corresponding to the breadth of the house, was twenty cubits, and its breadth was twenty cubits. He overlaid it with 600 talentsA talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms of fine gold. ⁹ The weight of gold for the nails was fifty shekels.A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold.

¹⁰ In the Most Holy Place he made two cherubim of woodSeptuagint; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain and overlaidHebrew they overlaid them with gold. ¹¹ The wings of the cherubim together extended twenty cubits: one wing of the one, of five cubits, touched the wall of the house, and its other wing, of five cubits, touched the wing of the other cherub; ¹² and of this cherub, one wing, of five cubits, touched the wall of the house, and the other wing, also of five cubits, was joined to the wing of the first cherub. ¹³ The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits. The cherubimHebrew they stood on their feet, facing the nave. ¹⁴ And he made the veil of blue and purple and crimson fabrics and fine linen, and he worked cherubim on it.

The Two Pillars

¹⁵ In front of the house he made two pillars thirty-five cubits high, with a capital of five cubits on the top of each. ¹⁶ He made chains like a necklaceHebrew chains in the inner sanctuary and put them on the tops of the pillars, and he made a hundred pomegranates and put them on the chains. ¹⁷ He set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the south, the other on the north; that on the south he called Jachin, and that on the north Boaz.

The Furnishings for the Temple

4¹ He made an altar of bronze, twenty cubitsA cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters long and twenty cubits wide and ten cubits high. ² Then he made the sea of cast metal. It was round, ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits high, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference. ³ Under it were figures of gourds,Compare 1 Kings 7:24; Hebrew oxen; twice in this verse for ten cubits, compassing the sea all around. The gourds were in two rows, cast with it when it was cast. ⁴ It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The sea was set on them, and all their rear parts were inward. ⁵ Its thickness was a handbreadth.A handbreadth was about 3 inches or 7.5 centimeters And its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily. It held 3,000 baths.A bath was about 6 gallons or 22 liters ⁶ He also made ten basins in which to wash, and set five on the south side, and five on the north side. In these they were to rinse off what was used for the burnt offering, and the sea was for the priests to wash in. ⁷ And he made ten golden lampstands as prescribed, and set them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. ⁸ He also made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. And he made a hundred basins of gold. ⁹ He made the court of the priests and the great court and doors for the court and overlaid their doors with bronze. ¹⁰ And he set the sea at the southeast corner of the house.

¹¹ Hiram also made the pots, the shovels, and the basins. So Hiram finished the work that he did for King Solomon on the house of God: ¹² the two pillars, the bowls, and the two capitals on the top of the pillars; and the two latticeworks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars; ¹³ and the 400 pomegranates for the two latticeworks, two rows of pomegranates for each latticework, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the pillars. ¹⁴ He made the stands also, and the basins on the stands, ¹⁵ and the one sea, and the twelve oxen underneath it. ¹⁶ The pots, the shovels, the forks, and all the equipment for these Huram-abi made of burnished bronze for King Solomon for the house of the Lord. ¹⁷ In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah.Spelled Zarethan in 1 Kings 7:46 ¹⁸ Solomon made all these things in great quantities, for the weight of the bronze was not sought. ¹⁹ So Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of God: the golden altar, the tables for the bread of the Presence, ²⁰ the lampstands and their lamps of pure gold to burn before the inner sanctuary, as prescribed; ²¹ the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of purest gold; ²² the snuffers, basins, dishes for incense, and fire pans, of pure gold, and the socketsCompare 1 Kings 7:50; Hebrew the entrance of the house of the temple, for the inner doors to the Most Holy Place and for the doors of the nave of the temple were of gold.

5¹ Thus all the work that Solomon did for the house of the Lord was finished. And Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated, and stored the silver, the gold, and all the vessels in the treasuries of the house of God.

Solomon Brings the Ark into the Temple

² Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers' houses of the people of Israel, in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion. ³ And all the men of Israel assembled before the king at the feast that is in the seventh month. ⁴ And all the elders of Israel came, and the Levites took up the ark. ⁵ And they brought up the ark, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the Levitical priests brought them up. ⁶ And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. ⁷ Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the Most Holy Place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. ⁸ The cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim made a covering above the ark and its poles. ⁹ And the poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the Holy Place before the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from outside. And they areHebrew it is there to this day. ¹⁰ There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets that Moses put there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.

¹¹ And when the priests came out of the Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had consecrated themselves, without regard to their divisions, ¹² and all the Levitical singers, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, their sons and kinsmen, arrayed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps, and lyres, stood east of the altar with 120 priests who were trumpeters; ¹³ and it was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the Lord), and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the Lord, "For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever,"the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, ¹⁴ so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.

The Message

Solomon Builds the House of the LORD

3¹ So Solomon broke ground, launched construction of the house of God in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, the place where God had appeared to his father David. The precise site, the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, had been designated by David. ² He broke ground on the second day in the second month of the fourth year of his rule. ³ These are the dimensions that Solomon set for the construction of the house of God: ninety feet long and thirty feet wide. ⁴ The porch in front stretched the width of the building, that is, thirty feet; and it was thirty feet high. ⁵ He paneled the main hall with cypress and veneered it with fine gold engraved with palm tree and chain designs. ⁶ He decorated the building with precious stones and gold from Parvaim. ⁷ Everything was coated with gold veneer: rafters, doorframes, walls, and doors. Cherubim were engraved on the walls. ⁸ He made the Holy of Holies a cube, thirty feet wide, long, and high. It was veneered with 600 talents (something over twenty-two tons) of gold. ⁹ The gold nails weighed fifty shekels (a little over a pound). The upper rooms were also veneered in gold.

¹⁰ He made two sculptures of cherubim, gigantic angel-like figures, for the Holy of Holies, both veneered with gold. ¹¹ The combined wingspread of the side-by-side cherubim (each wing measuring seven and a half feet) stretched from wall to wall, thirty feet. ^{12  13} They stood erect facing the main hall. ¹⁴ He fashioned the curtain of violet, purple, and crimson fabric and worked a cherub design into it.

The Two Pillars

¹⁵ He made two huge free-standing pillars, each fifty-two feet tall, their capitals extending another seven and a half feet. ¹⁶ The top of each pillar was set off with an elaborate filigree of chains, like necklaces, from which hung a hundred pomegranates. ¹⁷ He placed the pillars in front of The Temple, one on the right, and the other on the left. The right pillar he named Jakin (Security) and the left pillar he named Boaz (Stability).

The Furnishings for the Temple

4¹ He made the Bronze Altar thirty feet long, thirty feet wide, and ten feet high. ² He made a Sea - an immense round basin of cast metal fifteen feet in diameter, seven and a half feet high, and forty-five feet in circumference. ³ Just under the rim, there were two parallel bands of something like bulls, ten to each foot and a half. The figures were cast in one piece with the Sea. ⁴ The Sea was set on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. All the bulls faced outward and supported the Sea on their hindquarters. ⁵ The Sea was three inches thick and flared at the rim like a cup, or a lily. It held about 18,000 gallons. ⁶ He made ten Washbasins, five set on the right and five on the left, for rinsing the things used for the Whole-Burnt-Offerings. The priests washed themselves in the Sea. ⁷ He made ten gold Lampstands, following the specified pattern, and placed five on the right and five on the left. ⁸ He made ten tables and set five on the right and five on the left. He also made a hundred gold bowls. ⁹ He built a Courtyard especially for the priests and then the great court and doors for the court. The doors were covered with bronze. ¹⁰ He placed the Sea on the right side of The Temple at the southeast corner.

¹¹ He also made ash buckets, shovels, and bowls. And that about wrapped it up: Huram completed the work he had contracted to do for King Solomon: ¹² two pillars; two bowl-shaped capitals for the tops of the pillars; two decorative filigrees for the capitals; ¹³ four hundred pomegranates for the filigrees (a double row of pomegranates for each filigree); ¹⁴ ten washstands with their basins; ¹⁵ one Sea and the twelve bulls under it; ¹⁶ miscellaneous buckets, forks, shovels, and bowls. ¹⁷ The king had them cast in clay in a foundry on the Jordan plain between Succoth and Zarethan. ¹⁸ These artifacts were never weighed - there were far too many! Nobody has any idea how much bronze was used. ¹⁹ Solomon was also responsible for the furniture and accessories in The Temple of God: the gold Altar; the tables that held the Bread of the Presence; ²⁰ the Lampstands of pure gold with their lamps, to be lighted before the Inner Sanctuary, the Holy of Holies; ²¹ the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs (all solid gold); ²² the gold wick trimmers, bowls, ladles, and censers; the gold doors of The Temple, doors to the Holy of Holies, and the doors to the main sanctuary.

5¹ That completed the work King Solomon did on The Temple of God. He then brought in the holy offerings of his father David, the silver and the gold and the artifacts. He placed them all in the treasury of God's Temple. Installing the Chest

Solomon Brings the Ark into the Temple

² Bringing all this to a climax, Solomon got all the leaders together in Jerusalem - all the chiefs of tribes and the family patriarchs - to move the Chest of the Covenant of God from Zion and install it in The Temple. ³ All the men of Israel assembled before the king on the feast day of the seventh month, the Feast of Booths. ⁴ When all the leaders of Israel were ready, the Levites took up the Chest. ⁵ They carried the Chest, the Tent of Meeting, and all the sacred things in the Tent used in worship. The priests, all Levites, carried them. ⁶ King Solomon and the entire congregation of Israel were there before the Chest, worshiping and sacrificing huge numbers of sheep and cattle - so many that no one could keep track. ⁷ The priests brought the Chest of the Covenant of God to its place in the Inner Sanctuary, the Holy of Holies, under the wings of the cherubim. ⁸ The outspread wings of the cherubim formed a canopy over the Chest and its poles. ⁹ The ends of the poles were so long that they stuck out from the entrance of the Inner Sanctuary, but were not noticeable further out - they're still there today. ¹⁰ There was nothing in the Chest itself but the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb where God made a covenant with Israel after bringing them up from Egypt.

¹¹ The priests then left the Holy Place. All the priests there were consecrated, regardless of rank or assignment; ¹² and all the Levites who were musicians were there - Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their families, dressed in their worship robes; the choir and orchestra assembled on the east side of the Altar and were joined by 120 priests blowing trumpets. ¹³ The choir and trumpets made one voice of praise and thanks to God - orchestra and choir in perfect harmony singing and playing praise to God: Yes! God is good! His loyal love goes on forever! ¹⁴ The priests couldn't even carry out their duties because of the cloud - the glory of God! - that filled The Temple of God.

New King James Version

Solomon Builds the House of the LORD

3¹ Now Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. ² And he began to build on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign. ³ This is the foundation which Solomon laid for building the house of God: The length was sixty cubits (by cubits according to the former measure) and the width twenty cubits. ⁴ And the vestibule that was in front of the sanctuary was twenty cubits long across the width of the house, and the height was one hundred and twenty. He overlaid the inside with pure gold. ⁵ The larger room he paneled with cypress which he overlaid with fine gold, and he carved palm trees and chainwork on it. ⁶ And he decorated the house with precious stones for beauty, and the gold was gold from Parvaim. ⁷ He also overlaid the house--the beams and doorposts, its walls and doors--with gold; and he carved cherubim on the walls. ⁸ And he made the Most Holy Place. Its length was according to the width of the house, twenty cubits, and its width twenty cubits. He overlaid it with six hundred talents of fine gold. ⁹ The weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold; and he overlaid the upper area with gold.

¹⁰ In the Most Holy Place he made two cherubim, fashioned by carving, and overlaid them with gold. ¹¹ The wings of the cherubim were twenty cubits in overall length: one wing of the one cherub was five cubits, touching the wall of the room, and the other wing was five cubits, touching the wing of the other cherub; ¹² one wing of the other cherub was five cubits, touching the wall of the room, and the other wing also was five cubits, touching the wing of the other cherub. ¹³ The wings of these cherubim spanned twenty cubits overall. They stood on their feet, and they faced inward. ¹⁴ And he made the veil of blue, purple, crimson, and fine linen, and wove cherubim into it.

The Two Pillars

¹⁵ Also he made in front of the temple two pillars thirty-five cubits high, and the capital that was on the top of each of them was five cubits. ¹⁶ He made wreaths of chainwork, as in the inner sanctuary, and put them on top of the pillars; and he made one hundred pomegranates, and put them on the wreaths of chainwork. ¹⁷ Then he set up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand and the other on the left; he called the name of the one on the right hand Jachin, and the name of the one on the left Boaz.

The Furnishings for the Temple

4¹ Moreover he made a bronze altar: twenty cubits was its length, twenty cubits its width, and ten cubits its height. ² Then he made the Sea of cast bronze, ten cubits from one brim to the other; it was completely round. Its height was five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference. ³ And under it was the likeness of oxen encircling it all around, ten to a cubit, all the way around the Sea. The oxen were cast in two rows, when it was cast. ⁴ It stood on twelve oxen: three looking toward the north, three looking toward the west, three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east; the Sea was set upon them, and all their back parts pointed inward. ⁵ It was a handbreadth thick; and its brim was shaped like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It contained three thousand baths. ⁶ He also made ten lavers, and put five on the right side and five on the left, to wash in them; such things as they offered for the burnt offering they would wash in them, but the Sea was for the priests to wash in. ⁷ And he made ten lampstands of gold according to their design, and set them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. ⁸ He also made ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. And he made one hundred bowls of gold. ⁹ Furthermore he made the court of the priests, and the great court and doors for the court; and he overlaid these doors with bronze. ¹⁰ He set the Sea on the right side, toward the southeast.

¹¹ Then Huram made the pots and the shovels and the bowls. So Huram finished doing the work that he was to do for King Solomon for the house of God: ¹² the two pillars and the bowl-shaped capitals that were on top of the two pillars; the two networks covering the two bowl-shaped capitals which were on top of the pillars; ¹³ four hundred pomegranates for the two networks (two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowl-shaped capitals that were on the pillars); ¹⁴ he also made carts and the lavers on the carts; ¹⁵ one Sea and twelve oxen under it; ¹⁶ also the pots, the shovels, the forks--and all their articles Huram his master craftsman made of burnished bronze for King Solomon for the house of the Lord. ¹⁷ In the plain of Jordan the king had them cast in clay molds, between Succoth and Zeredah. ¹⁸ And Solomon had all these articles made in such great abundance that the weight of the bronze was not determined. ¹⁹ Thus Solomon had all the furnishings made for the house of God: the altar of gold and the tables on which was the showbread; ²⁰ the lampstands with their lamps of pure gold, to burn in the prescribed manner in front of the inner sanctuary, ²¹ with the flowers and the lamps and the wick-trimmers of gold, of purest gold; ²² the trimmers, the bowls, the ladles, and the censers of pure gold. As for the entry of the sanctuary, its inner doors to the Most Holy Place, and the doors of the main hall of the temple, were gold.

5¹ So all the work that Solomon had done for the house of the Lord was finished; and Solomon brought in the things which his father David had dedicated: the silver and the gold and all the furnishings. And he put them in the treasuries of the house of God.

Solomon Brings the Ark into the Temple

² Now Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel, in Jerusalem, that they might bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord up from the City of David, which is Zion. ³ Therefore all the men of Israel assembled with the king at the feast, which was in the seventh month. ⁴ So all the elders of Israel came, and the Levites took up the ark. ⁵ Then they brought up the ark, the tabernacle of meeting, and all the holy furnishings that were in the tabernacle. The priests and the Levites brought them up. ⁶ Also King Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled with him before the ark, were sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted or numbered for multitude. ⁷ Then the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the Most Holy Place, under the wings of the cherubim. ⁸ For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles. ⁹ And the poles extended so that the ends of the poles of the ark could be seen from the holy place, in front of the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day. ¹⁰ Nothing was in the ark except the two tablets which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they had come out of Egypt.

¹¹ And it came to pass when the priests came out of the Most Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves, without keeping to their divisions), ¹² and the Levites who were the singers, all those of Asaph and Heman and Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, stood at the east end of the altar, clothed in white linen, having cymbals, stringed instruments and harps, and with them one hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets-- ¹³ indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying: "For He is good, For His mercy endures forever," that the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, ¹⁴ so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.

New Living Translation

Solomon Builds the House of the LORD

3¹ So Solomon began to build the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to David, his father. The Temple was built on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, the site that David had selected. ² The construction began in midspring, during the fourth year of Solomon's reign. ³ These are the dimensions Solomon used for the foundation of the Temple of God (using the old standard of measurement). It was 90 feet long and 30 feet wide. ⁴ The entry room at the front of the Temple was 30 feet wide, running across the entire width of the Temple, and 30 feet high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold. ⁵ He paneled the main room of the Temple with cypress wood, overlaid it with fine gold, and decorated it with carvings of palm trees and chains. ⁶ He decorated the walls of the Temple with beautiful jewels and with gold from the land of Parvaim. ⁷ He overlaid the beams, thresholds, walls, and doors throughout the Temple with gold, and he carved figures of cherubim on the walls. ⁸ He made the Most Holy Place 30 feet wide, corresponding to the width of the Temple, and 30 feet deep. He overlaid its interior with 23 tons of fine gold. ⁹ The gold nails that were used weighed 20 ounces each. He also overlaid the walls of the upper rooms with gold.

¹⁰ He made two figures shaped like cherubim, overlaid them with gold, and placed them in the Most Holy Place. ¹¹ The total wingspan of the two cherubim standing side by side was 30 feet. One wing of the first figure was 7 feet long, and it touched the Temple wall. The other wing, also 7 feet long, touched one of the wings of the second figure. ¹² In the same way, the second figure had one wing 7 feet long that touched the opposite wall. The other wing, also 7 feet long, touched the wing of the first figure. ¹³ So the wingspan of the two cherubim side by side was 30 feet. They stood on their feet and faced out toward the main room of the Temple. ¹⁴ Across the entrance of the Most Holy Place he hung a curtain made of fine linen, decorated with blue, purple, and scarlet thread and embroidered with figures of cherubim.

The Two Pillars

¹⁵ For the front of the Temple, he made two pillars that were 27 feet tall, each topped by a capital extending upward another 7 feet. ¹⁶ He made a network of interwoven chains and used them to decorate the tops of the pillars. He also made 100 decorative pomegranates and attached them to the chains. ¹⁷ Then he set up the two pillars at the entrance of the Temple, one to the south of the entrance and the other to the north. He named the one on the south Jakin, and the one on the north Boaz.

The Furnishings for the Temple

4¹ Solomon also made a bronze altar 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 15 feet high. ² Then he cast a great round basin, 15 feet across from rim to rim, called the Sea. It was 7 feet deep and about 45 feet in circumference. ³ It was encircled just below its rim by two rows of figures that resembled oxen. There were about six oxen per foot all the way around, and they were cast as part of the basin. ⁴ The Sea was placed on a base of twelve bronze oxen, all facing outward. Three faced north, three faced west, three faced south, and three faced east, and the Sea rested on them. ⁵ The walls of the Sea were about three inches thick, and its rim flared out like a cup and resembled a water lily blossom. It could hold about 16,500 gallons of water. ⁶ He also made ten smaller basins for washing the utensils for the burnt offerings. He set five on the south side and five on the north. But the priests washed themselves in the Sea. ⁷ He then cast ten gold lampstands according to the specifications that had been given, and he put them in the Temple. Five were placed against the south wall, and five were placed against the north wall. ⁸ He also built ten tables and placed them in the Temple, five along the south wall and five along the north wall. Then he molded 100 gold basins. ⁹ He then built a courtyard for the priests, and also the large outer courtyard. He made doors for the courtyard entrances and overlaid them with bronze. ¹⁰ The great bronze basin called the Sea was placed near the southeast corner of the Temple.

¹¹ Huram-abi also made the necessary washbasins, shovels, and bowls. So at last Huram-abi completed everything King Solomon had assigned him to make for the Temple of God: ¹² the two pillars; the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars; the two networks of interwoven chains that decorated the capitals; ¹³ the 400 pomegranates that hung from the chains on the capitals (two rows of pomegranates for each of the chain networks that decorated the capitals on top of the pillars); ¹⁴ the water carts holding the basins; ¹⁵ the Sea and the twelve oxen under it; ¹⁶ the ash buckets, the shovels, the meat hooks, and all the related articles. Huram-abi made all these things of burnished bronze for the Temple of the Lord, just as King Solomon had directed. ¹⁷ The king had them cast in clay molds in the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zarethan. ¹⁸ Solomon used such great quantities of bronze that its weight could not be determined. ¹⁹ Solomon also made all the furnishings for the Temple of God: the gold altar; the tables for the Bread of the Presence; ²⁰ the lampstands and their lamps of solid gold, to burn in front of the Most Holy Place as prescribed; ²¹ the flower decorations, lamps, and tongs-all of the purest gold; ²² the lamp snuffers, bowls, ladles, and incense burners-all of solid gold; the doors for the entrances to the Most Holy Place and the main room of the Temple, overlaid with gold.

5¹ So Solomon finished all his work on the Temple of the Lord . Then he brought all the gifts his father, David, had dedicated-the silver, the gold, and the various articles-and he stored them in the treasuries of the Temple of God.

Solomon Brings the Ark into the Temple

² Solomon then summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel and all the heads of tribes-the leaders of the ancestral families of Israel. They were to bring the Ark of the Lord 's Covenant to the Temple from its location in the City of David, also known as Zion. ³ So all the men of Israel assembled before the king at the annual Festival of Shelters, which is held in early autumn. ⁴ When all the elders of Israel arrived, the Levites picked up the Ark. ⁵ The priests and Levites brought up the Ark along with the special tent and all the sacred items that had been in it. ⁶ There, before the Ark, King Solomon and the entire community of Israel sacrificed so many sheep, goats, and cattle that no one could keep count! ⁷ Then the priests carried the Ark of the Lord 's Covenant into the inner sanctuary of the Temple-the Most Holy Place-and placed it beneath the wings of the cherubim. ⁸ The cherubim spread their wings over the Ark, forming a canopy over the Ark and its carrying poles. ⁹ These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place, which is in front of the Most Holy Place, but not from the outside. They are still there to this day. ¹⁰ Nothing was in the Ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Mount Sinai, where the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel when they left Egypt.

¹¹ Then the priests left the Holy Place. All the priests who were present had purified themselves, whether or not they were on duty that day. ¹² And the Levites who were musicians-Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and all their sons and brothers-were dressed in fine linen robes and stood at the east side of the altar playing cymbals, lyres, and harps. They were joined by 120 priests who were playing trumpets. ¹³ The trumpeters and singers performed together in unison to praise and give thanks to the Lord . Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments, they raised their voices and praised the Lord with these words: "He is good! His faithful love endures forever!" At that moment a thick cloud filled the Temple of the Lord . ¹⁴ The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of God.