The Temple Construction in Jerusalem

(A)Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared (B)on the threshing floor of [a]Ornan the Jebusite. He began to build on the second day in the second month [b]of the fourth year of his reign.

Dimensions and Materials of the Temple

Now these are the [c]foundations which (C)Solomon laid for building the house of God. The length in cubits, according to the old standard, was [d]sixty cubits, and the width, twenty cubits. The porch which was in front of the house (D)was as long as the width of the house, [e]twenty cubits, and the height [f]twenty; and inside he overlaid it with pure gold. He overlaid (E)the [g]main room with juniper wood and overlaid it with fine gold; and he [h]ornamented it with palm trees and chains. Further, he overlaid the house [i]with precious stones; and the gold was gold from Parvaim. (F)He also overlaid the house with gold—the beams, the thresholds, and its walls and doors; and he (G)carved cherubim on the walls.

Then he made (H)the [j]room of the Most Holy Place: its length across the width of the house was [k]twenty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits; and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to [l]six hundred talents. The weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. He also overlaid (I)the upper rooms with gold.

10 (J)Then he made two [m]sculptured cherubim in the room of the Most Holy Place and overlaid them with gold. 11 The wingspan of the [n]cherubim was twenty [o]cubits; the wing of 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 The wing of the other cherub, of five cubits, touched the wall of the house; and its other wing, of five cubits, was attached to the wing of the [p]first cherub. 13 The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits, and they stood on their feet [q]facing the main room. 14 (K)He made the veil of violet, purple, crimson, and fine linen, and he worked cherubim into it.

15 (L)He also made two pillars for the front of the house, thirty-five cubits [r]high, and the capital on the top of each was five cubits. 16 He made chains in the inner sanctuary and placed them on the tops of the pillars; and he made a hundred pomegranates and placed them on the chains. 17 (M)He erected the pillars in front of the temple, one on the right and the other on the left, and named the one on the right Jachin and the one on the left Boaz.

Furnishings of the Temple

Then (N)he made a bronze altar, [s]twenty cubits in length, [t]twenty cubits in width, and [u]ten cubits in height. (O)He also made the [v]Sea of cast metal, [w]ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in form, and its height was [x]five cubits and [y]its circumference [z]thirty cubits. Now figures like oxen were under it and all around it, [aa]ten cubits, entirely encircling the Sea. The oxen were in two rows, cast [ab]in one piece. It was standing on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east; and the Sea was set on top of them and all their hindquarters turned inward. It was a [ac]hand width thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom; it (P)could hold three thousand [ad]baths. (Q)He also made ten basins in which to wash, and he set five on the right side and five on the left [ae]to rinse things for the burnt offering; but the Sea was for the priests to wash in.

Then (R)he made the ten golden lampstands in the way prescribed for them, and he set them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. He also made (S)ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. And he made a hundred golden bowls. Then he made (T)the courtyard of the priests and (U)the great courtyard, and doors for the courtyard, and overlaid their doors with bronze. 10 (V)He put the Sea on the right side of the house toward the southeast.

11 (W)Huram also made the pails, the shovels, and the bowls. So Huram finished the work that he did for King Solomon in the house of God: 12 the two pillars, the bowls and the two capitals on top of the pillars, and the two latticeworks to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on top of the pillars, 13 and (X)the four hundred pomegranates for the two latticeworks, two rows of pomegranates for each latticework to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the pillars. 14 (Y)He also made the stands and he made the basins on the stands, 15 and the one Sea with the twelve oxen under it. 16 The pails, the shovels, the forks, and all its utensils, (Z)Huram-abi made of polished bronze for King Solomon, for the house of the Lord. 17 On the plain of the Jordan the king cast them in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah. 18 (AA)So Solomon made all these utensils in great quantities, for the weight of the bronze could not be determined.

19 Solomon also made all the things that were in the house of God: the golden altar, (AB)the tables with the bread of the Presence on them, 20 the lampstands with their lamps of pure gold, (AC)to burn in front of the inner sanctuary in the way prescribed; 21 the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs of gold, that is, of purest gold; 22 and the snuffers, the bowls, the spoons, and the firepans of pure gold; and the entrance of the house, its inner doors for the Most Holy Place and the doors of the house, that is, of the main room, of gold.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 3:1 In 2 Sam 24:18, Araunah
  2. 2 Chronicles 3:2 Lit in
  3. 2 Chronicles 3:3 Lit founding of Solomon to build
  4. 2 Chronicles 3:3 About 90 ft. long and 30 ft. wide or 27 m long and 9 m wide
  5. 2 Chronicles 3:4 About 30 ft. or 9 m
  6. 2 Chronicles 3:4 As in ancient versions; MT 120 cubits or about 180 ft. or 55 m
  7. 2 Chronicles 3:5 Lit great house
  8. 2 Chronicles 3:5 Lit put on it palm trees
  9. 2 Chronicles 3:6 Lit for beauty
  10. 2 Chronicles 3:8 Lit house
  11. 2 Chronicles 3:8 About 30 ft. or 9 m
  12. 2 Chronicles 3:8 About 23 tons or 21 metric tons
  13. 2 Chronicles 3:10 Lit cherubim of cast work
  14. 2 Chronicles 3:11 Heb plural of cherub
  15. 2 Chronicles 3:11 About 18 in. or 45 cm
  16. 2 Chronicles 3:12 Lit other
  17. 2 Chronicles 3:13 Lit and their faces to
  18. 2 Chronicles 3:15 Lit long
  19. 2 Chronicles 4:1 About 30 ft. or 9 m
  20. 2 Chronicles 4:1 About 30 ft. or 9 m
  21. 2 Chronicles 4:1 About 15 ft. or 4.6 m
  22. 2 Chronicles 4:2 I.e., large basin
  23. 2 Chronicles 4:2 About 15 ft. or 4.6 m
  24. 2 Chronicles 4:2 About 7.5 ft. or 2.3 m
  25. 2 Chronicles 4:2 Lit a line of 30 cubits encircling it round about
  26. 2 Chronicles 4:2 About 45 ft. or 14 m
  27. 2 Chronicles 4:3 About 15 ft. or 4.6 m
  28. 2 Chronicles 4:3 Lit in its casting
  29. 2 Chronicles 4:5 About 3 in. or 7.6 cm
  30. 2 Chronicles 4:5 About 18,000 gallons or 68,137 liters
  31. 2 Chronicles 4:6 Lit in which to

Solomon Builds the Temple(A)

Then Solomon began to build(B) the temple of the Lord(C) in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David. It was on the threshing floor of Araunah[a](D) the Jebusite, the place provided by David. He began building on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign.(E)

The foundation Solomon laid for building the temple of God was sixty cubits long and twenty cubits wide[b](F) (using the cubit of the old standard). The portico at the front of the temple was twenty cubits[c] long across the width of the building and twenty[d] cubits high.

He overlaid the inside with pure gold. He paneled the main hall with juniper and covered it with fine gold and decorated it with palm tree(G) and chain designs. He adorned the temple with precious stones. And the gold he used was gold of Parvaim. He overlaid the ceiling beams, doorframes, walls and doors of the temple with gold, and he carved cherubim(H) on the walls.

He built the Most Holy Place,(I) its length corresponding to the width of the temple—twenty cubits long and twenty cubits wide. He overlaid the inside with six hundred talents[e] of fine gold. The gold nails(J) weighed fifty shekels.[f] He also overlaid the upper parts with gold.

10 For the Most Holy Place he made a pair(K) of sculptured cherubim and overlaid them with gold. 11 The total wingspan of the cherubim was twenty cubits. One wing of the first cherub was five cubits[g] long and touched the temple wall, while its other wing, also five cubits long, touched the wing of the other cherub. 12 Similarly one wing of the second cherub was five cubits long and touched the other temple wall, and its other wing, also five cubits long, touched the wing of the first cherub. 13 The wings of these cherubim(L) extended twenty cubits. They stood on their feet, facing the main hall.[h]

14 He made the curtain(M) of blue, purple and crimson yarn and fine linen, with cherubim(N) worked into it.

15 For the front of the temple he made two pillars,(O) which together were thirty-five cubits[i] long, each with a capital(P) five cubits high. 16 He made interwoven chains[j](Q) and put them on top of the pillars. He also made a hundred pomegranates(R) and attached them to the chains. 17 He erected the pillars in the front of the temple, one to the south and one to the north. The one to the south he named Jakin[k] and the one to the north Boaz.[l]

The Temple’s Furnishings(S)

He made a bronze altar(T) twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide and ten cubits high.[m] He made the Sea(U) of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits[n] high. It took a line of thirty cubits[o] to measure around it. Below the rim, figures of bulls encircled it—ten to a cubit.[p] The bulls were cast in two rows in one piece with the Sea.

The Sea stood on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east.(V) The Sea rested on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center. It was a handbreadth[q] in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held three thousand baths.[r]

He then made ten basins(W) for washing and placed five on the south side and five on the north. In them the things to be used for the burnt offerings(X) were rinsed, but the Sea was to be used by the priests for washing.

He made ten gold lampstands(Y) according to the specifications(Z) for them and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north.

He made ten tables(AA) and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. He also made a hundred gold sprinkling bowls.(AB)

He made the courtyard(AC) of the priests, and the large court and the doors for the court, and overlaid the doors with bronze. 10 He placed the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner.

11 And Huram also made the pots and shovels and sprinkling bowls.

So Huram finished(AD) the work he had undertaken for King Solomon in the temple of God:

12 the two pillars;

the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars;

the two sets of network decorating the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars;

13 the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network, decorating the bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars);

14 the stands(AE) with their basins;

15 the Sea and the twelve bulls under it;

16 the pots, shovels, meat forks and all related articles.

All the objects that Huram-Abi(AF) made for King Solomon for the temple of the Lord were of polished bronze. 17 The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Sukkoth(AG) and Zarethan.[s] 18 All these things that Solomon made amounted to so much that the weight of the bronze(AH) could not be calculated.

19 Solomon also made all the furnishings that were in God’s temple:

the golden altar;

the tables(AI) on which was the bread of the Presence;

20 the lampstands(AJ) of pure gold with their lamps, to burn in front of the inner sanctuary as prescribed;

21 the gold floral work and lamps and tongs (they were solid gold);

22 the pure gold wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes(AK) and censers;(AL) and the gold doors of the temple: the inner doors to the Most Holy Place and the doors of the main hall.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 3:1 Hebrew Ornan, a variant of Araunah
  2. 2 Chronicles 3:3 That is, about 90 feet long and 30 feet wide or about 27 meters long and 9 meters wide
  3. 2 Chronicles 3:4 That is, about 30 feet or about 9 meters; also in verses 8, 11 and 13
  4. 2 Chronicles 3:4 Some Septuagint and Syriac manuscripts; Hebrew and a hundred and twenty
  5. 2 Chronicles 3:8 That is, about 23 tons or about 21 metric tons
  6. 2 Chronicles 3:9 That is, about 1 1/4 pounds or about 575 grams
  7. 2 Chronicles 3:11 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters; also in verse 15
  8. 2 Chronicles 3:13 Or facing inward
  9. 2 Chronicles 3:15 That is, about 53 feet or about 16 meters
  10. 2 Chronicles 3:16 Or possibly made chains in the inner sanctuary; the meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  11. 2 Chronicles 3:17 Jakin probably means he establishes.
  12. 2 Chronicles 3:17 Boaz probably means in him is strength.
  13. 2 Chronicles 4:1 That is, about 30 feet long and wide and 15 feet high or about 9 meters long and wide and 4.5 meters high
  14. 2 Chronicles 4:2 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters
  15. 2 Chronicles 4:2 That is, about 45 feet or about 14 meters
  16. 2 Chronicles 4:3 That is, about 18 inches or about 45 centimeters
  17. 2 Chronicles 4:5 That is, about 3 inches or about 7.5 centimeters
  18. 2 Chronicles 4:5 That is, about 18,000 gallons or about 66,000 liters
  19. 2 Chronicles 4:17 Hebrew Zeredatha, a variant of Zarethan