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2 Chronicles 3-7
New King James Version

Solomon Builds the Temple(A)

3 Now (B)Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at (C)Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where [a]the Lord had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of (D)Ornan[b] 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 (E)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 (F)vestibule that was in front of [c]the sanctuary was twenty cubits long across the width of the house, and the height was [d]one hundred and twenty. He overlaid the inside with pure gold. 5 (G)The larger [e]room he (H)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 (I)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 (J)area with gold. 10 (K)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 (L)veil of blue, purple, crimson, and fine linen, and wove cherubim into it.

15 Also he made in front of the [f]temple (M)two pillars [g]thirty-five cubits [h]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 (N)one hundred pomegranates, and put them on the wreaths of chainwork. 17 Then he (O)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 [i]Jachin, and the name of the one on the left [j]Boaz.

Furnishings of the Temple(P)

4 Moreover he made (Q)a bronze altar: twenty cubits was its length, twenty cubits its width, and ten cubits its height.

2 (R)Then he made the [k]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 (S)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 (T)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 [l]three thousand baths.

6 He also made (U)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 [m]Sea was for the (V)priests to wash in. 7 (W)And he made ten lampstands of gold (X)according to their design, and set them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. 8 (Y)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 (Z)bowls of gold.

9 Furthermore (AA)he made the court of the priests, and the (AB)great court and doors for the court; and he overlaid these doors with bronze. 10 (AC)He set the Sea on the right side, toward the southeast.

11 Then (AD)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 (AE)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 (AF)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 (AG)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 (AH)Huram his [n]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 [o]Zeredah. 18 (AI)And Solomon had all these articles made in such great abundance that the weight of the bronze was not determined.

19 Thus (AJ)Solomon had all the furnishings made for the house of God: the altar of gold and the tables on which was (AK)the showbread; 20 the lampstands with their lamps of pure gold, to burn (AL)in the prescribed manner in front of the inner sanctuary, 21 with (AM)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 [p]sanctuary, its inner doors to the Most Holy Place, and the doors of the main hall of the temple, were gold.

The Ark Brought into the Temple

5 So (AN)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.

The Ark Brought into the Temple(AO)

2 (AP)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 (AQ)from the City of David, which is Zion. 3 (AR)Therefore all the men of Israel assembled with the king (AS)at the feast, which was in the seventh month. 4 So all the elders of Israel came, and the (AT)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 (AU)inner sanctuary of the [q]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 The poles extended so that the ends of the (AV)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 [r]they are there to this day. 10 Nothing was in the ark except the two tablets which Moses (AW)put there at Horeb, [s]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 [t]sanctified themselves, without keeping to their (AX)divisions), 12 (AY)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, (AZ)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:

(BA)“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 [u]continue ministering because of the cloud; (BB)for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication

6 Then (BC)Solomon spoke:

“The Lord said He would dwell in the (BD)dark cloud.
2 I have surely built You an exalted house,
And (BE)a place for You to dwell in forever.”

Solomon’s Speech upon Completion of the Work(BF)

3 Then the king turned around and (BG)blessed the whole assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing. 4 And he said: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who has fulfilled with His hands what He spoke with His mouth to my father David, (BH)saying, 5 ‘Since the day that I brought My people out of the land of Egypt, I have chosen no city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house, that My name might be there, nor did I choose any man to be a ruler over My people Israel. 6 (BI)Yet I have chosen Jerusalem, that My name may be there, and I (BJ)have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’ 7 Now (BK)it was in the heart of my father David to build a [v]temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel. 8 But the Lord said to my father David, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a temple for My name, you did well in that it was in your heart. 9 Nevertheless you shall not build the temple, but your son who will come from your body, he shall build the temple for My (BL)name.’ 10 So the Lord has fulfilled His word which He spoke, and I have filled the position of my father David, and (BM)sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised; and I have built the temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel. 11 And there I have put the ark, (BN)in which is the covenant of the Lord which He made with the children of Israel.”

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication(BO)

12 (BP)Then [w]Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands 13 (for Solomon had made a bronze platform five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court; and he stood on it, knelt down on his knees before all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven); 14 and he said: “Lord God of Israel, (BQ)there is no God in heaven or on earth like You, who keep Your (BR)covenant and mercy with Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts. 15 (BS)You have kept what You promised Your servant David my father; You have both spoken with Your mouth and fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day. 16 Therefore, Lord God of Israel, now keep what You promised Your servant David my father, saying, (BT)‘You shall not fail to have a man sit before Me on the throne of Israel, (BU)only if your sons take heed to their way, that they walk in My law as you have walked before Me.’ 17 And now, O Lord God of Israel, let Your word come true, which You have spoken to Your servant David.

18 “But will God indeed dwell with men on the earth? (BV)Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this [x]temple which I have built! 19 Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O Lord my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You: 20 that Your eyes may be (BW)open toward this temple day and night, toward the place where You said You would put Your name, that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes (BX)toward this place. 21 And may You hear the supplications of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven Your dwelling place, and when You hear, (BY)forgive.

22 “If anyone sins against his neighbor, and is forced to take an (BZ)oath, and comes and takes an oath before Your altar in this temple, 23 then hear from heaven, and act, and judge Your servants, bringing retribution on the wicked by bringing his way on his own head, and justifying the righteous by giving him according to his (CA)righteousness.

24 “Or if Your people Israel are defeated before an (CB)enemy because they have sinned against You, and return and confess Your name, and pray and make supplication before You in this temple, 25 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave to them and their fathers.

26 “When the (CC)heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, when they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and turn from their sin because You afflict them, 27 then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk; and send rain on Your land which You have given to Your people as an inheritance.

28 “When there (CD)is famine in the land, pestilence or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers; when their enemies besiege them in the land of their cities; whatever plague or whatever (CE)sickness there is; 29 whatever prayer, whatever supplication is made by anyone, or by all Your people Israel, when each one knows his own burden and his own grief, and spreads out his hands to this temple: 30 then hear from heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know (for You alone (CF)know the (CG)hearts of the sons of men), 31 that they may fear You, to walk in Your ways as long as they live in the land which You gave to our fathers.

32 “Moreover, concerning a foreigner, (CH)who is not of Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for the sake of Your great name and Your mighty hand and Your outstretched arm, when they come and pray in this temple; 33 then hear from heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that [y]this temple which I have built is called by Your name.

34 “When Your people go out to battle against their enemies, wherever You send them, and when they pray to You toward this city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name, 35 then hear from heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.

36 “When they sin against You (for there is (CI)no one who does not sin), and You become angry with them and deliver them to the enemy, and they take them (CJ)captive to a land far or near; 37 yet when they [z]come to themselves in the land where they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication to You in the land of their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, and have committed wickedness’; 38 and when they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, where they have been carried captive, and pray toward their land which You gave to their fathers, the (CK)city which You have chosen, and toward the temple which I have built for Your name: 39 then hear from heaven Your dwelling place their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive Your people who have sinned against You. 40 Now, my God, I pray, let Your eyes be (CL)open and let Your ears be attentive to the prayer made in this place.

41 “Now(CM) therefore,
Arise, O Lord God, to Your (CN)resting place,
You and the ark of Your strength.
Let Your priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation,
And let Your saints (CO)rejoice in goodness.

42 “O Lord God, do not turn away the face of Your Anointed;
(CP)Remember the mercies of Your servant David.”

Solomon Dedicates the Temple(CQ)

7 When (CR)Solomon had finished praying, (CS)fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and (CT)the glory of the Lord filled the [aa]temple. 2 (CU)And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord’s house. 3 When all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshiped and praised the Lord, saying:

(CV)“For He is good,
(CW)For His mercy endures forever.”

4 (CX)Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the Lord. 5 King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand bulls and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. 6 (CY)And the priests attended to their services; the Levites also with instruments of the music of the Lord, which King David had made to praise the Lord, saying, “For His mercy endures forever,” whenever David offered praise by their [ab]ministry. (CZ)The priests sounded trumpets opposite them, while all Israel stood.

7 Furthermore (DA)Solomon consecrated the middle of the court that was in front of the house of the Lord; for there he offered burnt offerings and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar which Solomon had made was not able to receive the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat.

8 (DB)At that time Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly (DC)from the entrance of Hamath to (DD)the[ac] Brook of Egypt. 9 And on the eighth day they held a (DE)sacred assembly, for they observed the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days. 10 (DF)On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their tents, joyful and glad of heart for the good that the Lord had done for David, for Solomon, and for His people Israel. 11 Thus (DG)Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king’s house; and Solomon successfully accomplished all that came into his heart to make in the house of the Lord and in his own house.

God’s Second Appearance to Solomon(DH)

12 Then the Lord (DI)appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: “I have heard your prayer, (DJ)and have chosen this (DK)place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. 13 (DL)When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, 14 if My people who are (DM)called by My name will (DN)humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, (DO)then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 15 Now (DP)My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place. 16 For now (DQ)I have chosen and [ad]sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and [ae]My eyes and [af]My heart will be there perpetually. 17 (DR)As for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, and do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, 18 then I will establish the throne of your kingdom, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, (DS)‘You shall not fail to have a man as ruler in Israel.’

19 (DT)“But if you turn away and forsake My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods, and worship them, 20 (DU)then I will uproot them from My land which I have given them; and this house which I have [ag]sanctified for My name I will cast out of My sight, and will make it a proverb and a (DV)byword among all peoples.

21 “And as for (DW)this [ah]house, which [ai]is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be (DX)astonished and say, (DY)‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and this house?’ 22 Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore He has brought all this calamity on them.’ ”

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 3:1 Lit. He, following MT, Vg.; LXX the Lord; Tg. the Angel of the Lord
  2. 2 Chronicles 3:1 Araunah, 2 Sam. 24:16ff
  3. 2 Chronicles 3:4 The holy place, the main room of the temple, 1 Kin. 6:3
  4. 2 Chronicles 3:4 So with MT, LXX, Vg.; Arab., some LXX mss., Syr. twenty
  5. 2 Chronicles 3:5 Lit. house
  6. 2 Chronicles 3:15 Lit. house
  7. 2 Chronicles 3:15 eighteen, 1 Kin. 7:15; 2 Kin. 25:17; Jer. 52:21
  8. 2 Chronicles 3:15 Lit. long
  9. 2 Chronicles 3:17 Lit. He Shall Establish
  10. 2 Chronicles 3:17 Lit. In It Is Strength
  11. 2 Chronicles 4:2 Great laver or basin
  12. 2 Chronicles 4:5 About 8,000 gallons; two thousand, 1 Kin. 7:26
  13. 2 Chronicles 4:6 Great basin
  14. 2 Chronicles 4:16 Lit. father
  15. 2 Chronicles 4:17 Zaretan, 1 Kin. 7:46
  16. 2 Chronicles 4:22 Lit. house
  17. 2 Chronicles 5:7 Lit. house
  18. 2 Chronicles 5:9 Lit. it is
  19. 2 Chronicles 5:10 Or where
  20. 2 Chronicles 5:11 consecrated
  21. 2 Chronicles 5:14 Lit. stand to minister
  22. 2 Chronicles 6:7 Lit. house, and so in vv. 8–10
  23. 2 Chronicles 6:12 Lit. he
  24. 2 Chronicles 6:18 Lit. house
  25. 2 Chronicles 6:33 Lit. Your name is called upon this house
  26. 2 Chronicles 6:37 Lit. bring back to their hearts
  27. 2 Chronicles 7:1 Lit. house
  28. 2 Chronicles 7:6 Lit. hand
  29. 2 Chronicles 7:8 The Shihor, 1 Chr. 13:5
  30. 2 Chronicles 7:16 set apart
  31. 2 Chronicles 7:16 My attention
  32. 2 Chronicles 7:16 My concern
  33. 2 Chronicles 7:20 set apart
  34. 2 Chronicles 7:21 Temple
  35. 2 Chronicles 7:21 Or was
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2 Chronicles 3-7
New International Version

Solomon Builds the Temple(A)

3 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. 2 He began building on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign.(E)

3 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). 4 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. 5 He paneled the main hall with juniper and covered it with fine gold and decorated it with palm tree(G) and chain designs. 6 He adorned the temple with precious stones. And the gold he used was gold of Parvaim. 7 He overlaid the ceiling beams, doorframes, walls and doors of the temple with gold, and he carved cherubim(H) on the walls.

8 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. 9 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)

4 He made a bronze altar(T) twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide and ten cubits high.[m] 2 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. 3 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.

4 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. 5 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]

6 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.

7 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.

8 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)

9 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.

5 When all the work Solomon had done for the temple of the Lord was finished,(AM) he brought in the things his father David had dedicated(AN)—the silver and gold and all the furnishings—and he placed them in the treasuries of God’s temple.

The Ark Brought to the Temple(AO)

2 Then Solomon summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark(AP) of the Lord’s covenant from Zion, the City of David. 3 And all the Israelites(AQ) came together to the king at the time of the festival in the seventh month.

4 When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the Levites took up the ark, 5 and they brought up the ark and the tent of meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it. The Levitical priests(AR) carried them up; 6 and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted.

7 The priests then brought the ark(AS) of the Lord’s covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. 8 The cherubim(AT) spread their wings over the place of the ark and covered the ark and its carrying poles. 9 These poles were so long that their ends, extending from the ark, could be seen from in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today. 10 There was nothing in the ark except(AU) the two tablets(AV) that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt.

11 The priests then withdrew from the Holy Place. All the priests who were there had consecrated themselves, regardless of their divisions.(AW) 12 All the Levites who were musicians(AX)—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives—stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets.(AY) 13 The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang:

“He is good;
    his love endures forever.”(AZ)

Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud,(BA) 14 and the priests could not perform(BB) their service because of the cloud,(BC) for the glory(BD) of the Lord filled the temple of God.

6 Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud;(BE) 2 I have built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever.(BF)”

3 While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around and blessed them. 4 Then he said:

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his hands has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to my father David. For he said, 5 ‘Since the day I brought my people out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built so that my Name might be there, nor have I chosen anyone to be ruler over my people Israel. 6 But now I have chosen Jerusalem(BG) for my Name(BH) to be there, and I have chosen David(BI) to rule my people Israel.’

7 “My father David had it in his heart(BJ) to build a temple for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 8 But the Lord said to my father David, ‘You did well to have it in your heart to build a temple for my Name. 9 Nevertheless, you are not the one to build the temple, but your son, your own flesh and blood—he is the one who will build the temple for my Name.’

10 “The Lord has kept the promise he made. I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 11 There I have placed the ark, in which is the covenant(BK) of the Lord that he made with the people of Israel.”

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication(BL)(BM)

12 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands. 13 Now he had made a bronze platform,(BN) five cubits long, five cubits wide and three cubits high,[t] and had placed it in the center of the outer court. He stood on the platform and then knelt down(BO) before the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven. 14 He said:

“Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like you(BP) in heaven or on earth—you who keep your covenant of love(BQ) with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. 15 You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised(BR) and with your hand you have fulfilled it—as it is today.

16 “Now, Lord, the God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, ‘You shall never fail(BS) to have a successor to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants are careful in all they do to walk before me according to my law,(BT) as you have done.’ 17 And now, Lord, the God of Israel, let your word that you promised your servant David come true.

18 “But will God really dwell(BU) on earth with humans? The heavens,(BV) even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! 19 Yet, Lord my God, give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence. 20 May your eyes(BW) be open toward this temple day and night, this place of which you said you would put your Name(BX) there. May you hear(BY) the prayer your servant prays toward this place. 21 Hear the supplications of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place; and when you hear, forgive.(BZ)

22 “When anyone wrongs their neighbor and is required to take an oath(CA) and they come and swear the oath before your altar in this temple, 23 then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, condemning(CB) the guilty and bringing down on their heads what they have done, and vindicating the innocent by treating them in accordance with their innocence.

24 “When your people Israel have been defeated(CC) by an enemy because they have sinned against you and when they turn back and give praise to your name, praying and making supplication before you in this temple, 25 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to them and their ancestors.

26 “When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain(CD) because your people have sinned against you, and when they pray toward this place and give praise to your name and turn from their sin because you have afflicted them, 27 then hear from heaven and forgive(CE) the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land you gave your people for an inheritance.

28 “When famine(CF) or plague comes to the land, or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when enemies besiege them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come, 29 and when a prayer or plea is made by anyone among your people Israel—being aware of their afflictions and pains, and spreading out their hands toward this temple— 30 then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive,(CG) and deal with everyone according to all they do, since you know their hearts (for you alone know the human heart),(CH) 31 so that they will fear you(CI) and walk in obedience to you all the time they live in the land you gave our ancestors.

32 “As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come(CJ) from a distant land because of your great name and your mighty hand(CK) and your outstretched arm—when they come and pray toward this temple, 33 then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Do whatever the foreigner(CL) asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.

34 “When your people go to war against their enemies,(CM) wherever you send them, and when they pray(CN) to you toward this city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name, 35 then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.

36 “When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin(CO)—and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive(CP) to a land far away or near; 37 and if they have a change of heart(CQ) in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong and acted wickedly’; 38 and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their captivity where they were taken, and pray toward the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you have chosen and toward the temple I have built for your Name; 39 then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their pleas, and uphold their cause. And forgive(CR) your people, who have sinned against you.

40 “Now, my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive(CS) to the prayers offered in this place.

41 “Now arise,(CT) Lord God, and come to your resting place,(CU)
    you and the ark of your might.
May your priests,(CV) Lord God, be clothed with salvation,
    may your faithful people rejoice in your goodness.(CW)
42 Lord God, do not reject your anointed one.(CX)
    Remember the great love(CY) promised to David your servant.”

The Dedication of the Temple(CZ)

7 When Solomon finished praying, fire(DA) came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled(DB) the temple.(DC) 2 The priests could not enter(DD) the temple of the Lord because the glory(DE) of the Lord filled it. 3 When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying,

“He is good;
    his love endures forever.”(DF)

4 Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the Lord. 5 And King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand head of cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the people dedicated the temple of God. 6 The priests took their positions, as did the Levites(DG) with the Lord’s musical instruments,(DH) which King David had made for praising the Lord and which were used when he gave thanks, saying, “His love endures forever.” Opposite the Levites, the priests blew their trumpets, and all the Israelites were standing.

7 Solomon consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the Lord, and there he offered burnt offerings and the fat(DI) of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar he had made could not hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat portions.

8 So Solomon observed the festival(DJ) at that time for seven days, and all Israel(DK) with him—a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath(DL) to the Wadi of Egypt.(DM) 9 On the eighth day they held an assembly, for they had celebrated(DN) the dedication of the altar for seven days and the festival(DO) for seven days more. 10 On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people to their homes, joyful and glad in heart for the good things the Lord had done for David and Solomon and for his people Israel.

The Lord Appears to Solomon(DP)

11 When Solomon had finished(DQ) the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the Lord and in his own palace, 12 the Lord appeared(DR) to him at night and said:

“I have heard your prayer and have chosen(DS) this place for myself(DT) as a temple for sacrifices.

13 “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain,(DU) or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name,(DV) will humble(DW) themselves and pray and seek my face(DX) and turn(DY) from their wicked ways, then I will hear(DZ) from heaven, and I will forgive(EA) their sin and will heal(EB) their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.(EC) 16 I have chosen(ED) and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.

17 “As for you, if you walk before me faithfully(EE) as David your father did, and do all I command, and observe my decrees(EF) and laws, 18 I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted(EG) with David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor(EH) to rule over Israel.’(EI)

19 “But if you[u] turn away(EJ) and forsake(EK) the decrees and commands I have given you[v] and go off to serve other gods and worship them, 20 then I will uproot(EL) Israel from my land,(EM) which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule(EN) among all peoples. 21 This temple will become a heap of rubble. All[w] who pass by will be appalled(EO) and say,(EP) ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ 22 People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them(EQ)—that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’”

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
  20. 2 Chronicles 6:13 That is, about 7 1/2 feet long and wide and 4 1/2 feet high or about 2.3 meters long and wide and 1.4 meters high
  21. 2 Chronicles 7:19 The Hebrew is plural.
  22. 2 Chronicles 7:19 The Hebrew is plural.
  23. 2 Chronicles 7:21 See some Septuagint manuscripts, Old Latin, Syriac, Arabic and Targum; Hebrew And though this temple is now so imposing, all
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