1 Kings 7-8

21st Century King James Version

7 But Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house.

² He built also the House of the Forest of Lebanon; the length thereof was a hundred cubits, and the breadth thereof fifty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars.

³ And it was covered with cedar above upon the beams that lay on fortyfive pillars, fifteen in a row.

⁴ And there were windows in three rows, and light was against light in three ranks.

⁵ And all the doors and posts were square, with the windows; and light was against light in three ranks.

⁶ And he made a Porch of Pillars: the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth thereof thirty cubits; and the porch was in front of them, and the other pillars and the thick beam were in front of them.

⁷ Then he made a porch for the throne where he might judge, even the Porch of Judgment; and it was covered with cedar from one side of the floor to the other.

⁸ And his house where he dwelt had another court within the porch, which was of the like work. Solomon made also a house for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had taken for a wife, like unto this porch.

⁹ All these were of costly stones, according to the measures of hewn stones, sawed with saws, within and without, even from the foundation unto the coping, and so on the outside toward the great court.

¹⁰ And the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones, stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits.

¹¹ And above were costly stones, according to the measures of hewn stones and cedars.

¹² And the great court round about was with three rows of hewn stone and a row of cedar beams, both for the inner court of the house of the Lord and for the porch of the house.

¹³ And King Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre.

¹⁴ He was a widow’s son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass; and he was filled with wisdom and understanding and skill to work all works in brass. And he came to King Solomon and wrought all his work.

¹⁵ For he cast two pillars of brass, of eighteen cubits high apiece; and a line of twelve cubits compassed each of them about.

¹⁶ And he made two capitals of molten brass to set upon the tops of the pillars; the height of the one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits;

¹⁷ and nets of checker work and wreaths of chain work for the capitals which were upon the top of the pillars, seven for the one capital and seven for the other capital.

¹⁸ And he made the pillars, and two rows with pomegranates round about upon the one network to cover the capitals that were upon the top; and so did he for the other capital.

¹⁹ And the capitals that were upon the top of the pillars were of lily work in the porch, four cubits.

²⁰ And the capitals upon the two pillars had pomegranates also above, over against the belly which was by the network; and the pomegranates were two hundred in rows round about upon the other capital.

²¹ And he set up the pillars in the porch of the temple: and he set up the right pillar and called the name thereof Jachin [that is, He shall establish], and he set up the left pillar and called the name thereof Boaz [that is, In it is strength].

²² And upon the top of the pillars was lily work; so was the work of the pillars finished.

²³ And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other; it was round all about, and his height was five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits compassed it round about.

²⁴ And under the brim of it round about there were buds compassing it, ten to a cubit, compassing the sea round about; the buds were cast in two rows when it was cast.

²⁵ 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 hind parts were inward.

²⁶ And it was a handbreadth thick, and the brim thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies. It contained two thousand baths.

²⁷ And he made ten bases of brass; four cubits was the length of one base, and four cubits the breadth thereof, and three cubits the height of it.

²⁸ And the work of the bases was in this manner: they had borders, and the borders were between the ledges;

²⁹ and on the borders that were between the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubims. And upon the ledges there was a base above; and beneath the lions and oxen were certain additions made of thin work.

³⁰ And every base had four brazen wheels and plates of brass, and the four corners thereof had supports. Under the laver were molten supports at the side of every addition.

³¹ And the mouth of it within the capital and above was a cubit; but the mouth thereof was round according to the work of the base, a cubit and a half; and also upon the mouth of it were engravings with their borders, foursquare, not round.

³² And under the borders were four wheels, and the axles of the wheels were joined to the base; and the height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit.

³³ And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel; their axles and their hubs and their rims and their spokes were all molten.

³⁴ And there were four supports to the four corners of one base, and the supports were part of the very base itself.

³⁵ And in the top of the base was there a round compass of half a cubit high; and on the top of the base the ledges thereof and the borders thereof were of the same.

³⁶ For on the plates of the ledges thereof and on the borders thereof he engraved cherubims, lions, and palm trees, according to the proportion of every one, and additions round about.

³⁷ After this manner he made the ten bases; all of them had one casting, one measure, and one size.

³⁸ Then made he ten lavers of brass; each laver contained forty baths, and every laver was four cubits, and upon every one of the ten bases was one laver.

³⁹ And he put five bases on the right side of the house and five on the left side of the house, and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward over against the south.

⁴⁰ And Hiram made the lavers and the shovels and the bowls. So Hiram made an end of doing all the work that he made King Solomon for the house of the Lord:

⁴¹ the two pillars, and the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the two pillars, and the two networks to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were upon the top of the pillars;

⁴² and four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, even two rows of pomegranates for one network to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were upon the pillars;

⁴³ and the ten bases, and ten lavers on the bases;

⁴⁴ and one sea, and twelve oxen under the sea;

⁴⁵ and the pots and the shovels and the basins. And all these vessels which Hiram made for King Solomon for the house of the Lord were of bright brass.

⁴⁶ In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarthan.

⁴⁷ And Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because they were exceeding many; neither was the weight of the brass found out.

⁴⁸ And Solomon made all the vessels that pertained unto the house of the Lord: the altar of gold, and the table of gold, upon which the showbread was;

⁴⁹ and the candlesticks of pure gold, five on the right side and five on the left before the oracle, with the flowers and the lamps and the tongs of gold;

⁵⁰ and the bowls, and the snuffers, and the basins, and the spoons, and the censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, both for the doors of the inner house, the Most Holy Place, and for the doors of the house, to wit, of the temple.

⁵¹ So was ended all the work that King Solomon made for the house of the Lord. And Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated; even the silver and the gold and the vessels did he put among the treasures of the house of the Lord.

8 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 King Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the City of David, which is Zion.

² And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto King Solomon at the feast in the month of Ethanim, which is the eventh month.

³ And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.

⁴ And they brought up the ark of the Lord, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle; even those did the priests and the Levites bring up.

⁵ And King Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled unto him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be told nor numbered for multitude.

⁶ And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the Most Holy Place, even under the wings of the cherubims.

⁷ For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.

⁸ And they stretched out the staves so that the ends of the staves were seen from the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen from outside; and there they are unto this day.

⁹ There was nothing in the ark save the two tablets of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel when they came out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁰ And it came to pass, when the priests had come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord,

¹¹ so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.

¹² Then spoke Solomon: “The Lord said that He would dwell in the thick darkness.

¹³ I have surely built Thee a house to dwell in, a settled place for Thee to abide in for ever.”

¹⁴ And the king turned his face about and blessed all the congregation of Israel, and all the congregation of Israel were standing.

¹⁵ And he said, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who spoke with His mouth unto David my father, and hath with His hand fulfilled it, saying,

¹⁶ ‘Since the day that I brought forth My people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house, that My name might be therein; but I chose David to be over My people Israel.’

¹⁷ And it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the Lord God of Israel.

¹⁸ And the Lord said unto David my father, ‘Whereas it was in thine heart to build a house unto My name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart.

¹⁹ Nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son who shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto My name.’

²⁰ And the Lord hath performed His word that He spoke; and I have risen up in the place of David my father and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and have built a house for the name of the Lord God of Israel.

²¹ And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of the Lord which He made with our fathers when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.”

²² And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel and spread forth his hands toward heaven;

²³ and he said, “Lord God of Israel, there is no God like Thee in heaven above or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with Thy servants who walk before Thee with all their heart,

²⁴ who hast kept with Thy servant David my father what Thou promised him. Thou speakest also with Thy mouth and hast fulfilled it with Thine hand, as it is this day.

²⁵ Therefore now, Lord God of Israel, keep with Thy servant David my father what Thou promised him, saying, ‘There shall not fail thee a man in My sight to sit on the throne of Israel, only if thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before Me as thou hast walked before Me.’

²⁶ And now, O God of Israel, let Thy word, I pray Thee, be verified, which Thou speakest unto Thy servant David my father.

²⁷ “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee; how much less this house that I have built?

²⁸ Yet have Thou respect unto the prayer of Thy servant and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer which Thy servant prayeth before Thee today,

²⁹ that Thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which Thou hast said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that Thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which Thy servant shall make toward this place.

³⁰ And hearken Thou to the supplication of Thy servant and of Thy people Israel when they shall pray toward this place, and hear Thou in heaven Thy dwelling place; and when Thou hearest, forgive.

³¹ “If any man trespass against his neighbor, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before Thine altar in this house,

³² then hear Thou in heaven, and do and judge Thy servants, condemning the wicked to bring his way upon his head, and justifying the righteous to give him according to his righteousness.

³³ “When Thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy because they have sinned against Thee, and shall turn again to Thee and confess Thy name, and pray and make supplication unto Thee in this house,

³⁴ then hear Thou in heaven and forgive the sin of Thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which Thou gavest unto their fathers.

³⁵ “When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against Thee, if they pray toward this place and confess Thy name, and turn from their sin when Thou afflictest them,

³⁶ then hear Thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of Thy servants and of Thy people Israel, that Thou teach them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon Thy land which Thou hast given to Thy people for an inheritance.

³⁷ “If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blight, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpillar, if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities, whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be,

³⁸ what prayer and supplication soever be made by any man or by all Thy people Israel, who shall know every man the plague of his own heart and spread forth his hands toward this house—

³⁹ then hear Thou in heaven Thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart Thou knowest (for Thou, even Thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men),

⁴⁰ that they may fear Thee all the days that they live in the land which Thou gavest unto our fathers.

⁴¹ “Moreover concerning a stranger who is not of Thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for Thy name’s sake

⁴² (for they shall hear of Thy great name and of Thy strong hand and of Thy stretched out arm), when he shall come and pray toward this house,

⁴³ hear Thou in heaven Thy dwelling place and do according to all that the stranger calleth to Thee for, that all people of the earth may know Thy name to fear Thee, as do Thy people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by Thy name.

⁴⁴ “If Thy people go out to battle against their enemy, whithersoever Thou shalt send them, and shall pray unto the Lord toward the city which Thou hast chosen and toward the house that I have built for Thy name,

⁴⁵ then hear Thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.

⁴⁶ “If they sin against Thee (for there is no man that sinneth not), and Thou be angry with them and deliver them to the enemy so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near;

⁴⁷ yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent and make supplication unto Thee in the land of those who carried them captives, saying, ‘We have sinned and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness’;

⁴⁸ and so return unto Thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who led them away captive, and pray unto Thee toward their land which Thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which Thou hast chosen and the house which I have built for Thy name—

⁴⁹ then hear Thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven Thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause;

⁵⁰ and forgive Thy people who have sinned against Thee and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against Thee, and give them compassion before those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them

⁵¹ (for they are Thy people and Thine inheritance, whom Thou broughtest forth out of Egypt from the midst of the furnace of iron),

⁵² that Thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of Thy servant and unto the supplication of Thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in all that they call for unto Thee.

⁵³ For Thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth to be Thine inheritance, as Thou spoke by the hand of Moses Thy servant when Thou brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.”

⁵⁴ And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven.

⁵⁵ And he stood and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying,

⁵⁶ “Blessed be the Lord, who hath given rest unto His people Israel, according to all that He promised. There hath not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised by the hand of Moses His servant.

⁵⁷ The Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers. Let Him not leave us nor forsake us,

⁵⁸ that He may incline our hearts unto Him to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments which He commanded our fathers.

⁵⁹ And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before the Lord, be nigh unto the Lord our God day and night, that He maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require,

⁶⁰ that all the people of the earth may know that the Lord is God, and that there is none else.

⁶¹ Let your heart therefore be perfect with the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments, as at this day.”

⁶² And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the Lord.

⁶³ And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered unto the Lord: two and twenty thousand oxen, and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord.

⁶⁴ The same day did the king hallow the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord; for there he offered burnt offerings and meat offerings and the fat of the peace offerings, because the brazen altar that was before the Lord was too little to receive the burnt offerings and meat offerings and the fat of the peace offerings.

⁶⁵ And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great congregation, from the entrance of Hamath unto the River of Egypt, before the Lord our God seven days and seven days, even fourteen days.

⁶⁶ On the eighth day he sent the people away; and they blessed the king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the Lord had done for David His servant and for Israel His people.