2 Chronicles 1-7

New American Standard Bible

Solomon Worships at Gibeon

1 Now ^(A)Solomon the son of David established himself securely over his kingdom, and the Lord his God was with him and ^(B)exalted him greatly.

² And Solomon spoke to all Israel, ^(C)to the commanders of thousands, of hundreds, and to the judges and to every leader in all Israel, the heads of the fathers’ households. ³ Then Solomon and all the assembly with him went to ^(D)the high place which was at Gibeon, ^(E)because God’s tent of meeting was there which Moses, the servant of the Lord had made in the wilderness. ⁴ However, David had brought up ^(F)the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim ^[a]to ^(G)the place he had prepared for it, for he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem. ⁵ Now ^(H)the bronze altar which Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made was there before the tabernacle of the Lord, and Solomon and the assembly sought it out. ⁶ And Solomon went up there before the Lord to the bronze altar which was at the tent of meeting, and ^(I)offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.

^7 (J)In that night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask what I shall give you.”

Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom

⁸ And Solomon said to God, “You have dealt with my father David with great faithfulness, and ^(K)have made me king in his place. ⁹ Now, Lord God, ^(L)Your ^[b]promise to my father David is fulfilled, for You have made me king over ^(M)a people as numerous as the dust of the earth. ^10 (N)Now give me wisdom and knowledge, ^(O)so that I may go out and come in before this people, for who can rule this great people of Yours?” ^11 (P)Then God said to Solomon, “Because this was ^[c]in your heart, and you did not ask for riches, wealth, or honor, or the life of those who hate you, nor did you even ask for long life, but you asked for yourself wisdom and knowledge so that you may rule My people over whom I have made you king, ¹² wisdom and knowledge have been granted to you. ^(Q)I will also give you riches, wealth, and honor, ^[d]such as none of the kings who were before you has possessed, nor will those who will ^[e]come after you.” ^13 (R)So Solomon went ^[f]from the high place which was at Gibeon, from the tent of meeting, to Jerusalem, and he reigned over Israel.

Solomon’s Wealth

^14 (S)Solomon amassed chariots and horsemen. ^(T)He had 1,400 chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, and he stationed them in ^(U)the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. ^15 (V)The king made ^(W)silver and gold as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamores in the ^[g]lowland. ¹⁶ Solomon’s ^(X)horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue; the king’s traders acquired them from Kue for a price. ¹⁷ They ^[h]imported chariots from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver apiece, horses for 150 apiece, and ^[i]by the same means they ^[j]exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.

Solomon Will Build a Temple and a Palace

2 ^[k](Y)Now Solomon ^[l]decided to build a house for the name of the Lord, and a ^[m]royal palace for himself. ^2 [n]So ^(Z)Solomon ^[o]assigned seventy thousand men to carry loads, eighty thousand men to quarry stone in the mountains, and 3,600 to supervise them.

^3 (AA)Then Solomon sent word to ^[p]Huram the king of Tyre, saying, “^(AB)As you dealt with my father David and sent him cedars to build him a house to live in, do it for me. ⁴ Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, dedicating it to Him, ^(AC)to burn fragrant incense before Him and to set out ^(AD)the showbread continually, and to offer ^(AE)burnt offerings morning and evening, ^(AF)on Sabbaths, on new moons, and on the appointed feasts of the Lord our God. This is to be done in Israel forever. ⁵ The house which I am about to build will be great, for our God is ^(AG)greater than all the gods. ⁶ But ^(AH)who is able to build a house for Him, since the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain Him? And who am I, that I should build a house for Him, except to ^[q]burn incense before Him? ⁷ Now ^(AI)send me a skilled man to work in gold, silver, brass, iron, and in purple, crimson, and violet fabrics, one who knows how to make engravings, to work with the skilled workers ^[r](AJ)whom I have in Judah and Jerusalem, whom my father David provided. ^8 (AK)Send me also cedar, juniper, and algum timber from Lebanon, for I know that your servants know how to cut timber of Lebanon; and indeed ^(AL)my servants will work with your servants, ⁹ to prepare timber in abundance for me, for the house which I am about to build will be great and wonderful. ¹⁰ Now behold, ^(AM)I will give your servants, the woodsmen who cut the timber, ^[s]twenty thousand kors of crushed wheat, twenty thousand kors of barley, ^[t]twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.”

Huram to Assist

¹¹ Then Huram, king of Tyre, ^[u]answered in a letter sent to Solomon: “^(AN)Because the Lord loves His people, He has made you king over them.” ¹² Then Huram ^[v]continued, “Blessed be ^(AO)the Lord, the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, who has given King David a wise son, ^[w]endowed with discretion and understanding, ^(AP)who will build a house for the Lord and a ^[x]royal palace for himself.

¹³ “Now then, I am sending Huram-abi, a skilled man, ^[y]endowed with understanding, ^14 (AQ)the son of a ^[z]Danite woman and ^[aa]a Tyrian father, who knows how to work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, and in purple, violet, linen, and crimson fabrics, and who knows how to make all kinds of engravings and to ^[ab]execute any design which is assigned to him, to work with your skilled workers and with ^[ac]those of my lord, your father David. ¹⁵ Now then, let my lord send his servants wheat and barley, oil and wine, of ^(AR)which he has spoken. ^16 (AS)We will cut whatever timber you need from Lebanon and bring it to you as rafts by sea to Joppa, so that you may carry it up to Jerusalem.”

¹⁷ Solomon counted all the foreigners who were in the land of Israel, ^(AT)following the ^[ad]census which his father David had ^[ae]taken; and 153,600 were found. ^18 (AU)He appointed seventy thousand of them to carry loads and eighty thousand to quarry stones in the mountains, and 3,600 supervisors to make the people work.

The Temple Construction in Jerusalem

3 ^(AV)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 ^(AW)on the threshing floor of ^[af]Ornan the Jebusite. ² He began to build on the second day in the second month ^[ag]of the fourth year of his reign.

Dimensions and Materials of the Temple

³ Now these are the ^[ah]foundations which ^(AX)Solomon laid for building the house of God. The length in cubits, according to the old standard, was ^[ai]sixty cubits, and the width, twenty cubits. ⁴ The porch which was in front of the house ^(AY)was as long as the width of the house, ^[aj]twenty cubits, and the height ^[ak]twenty; and inside he overlaid it with pure gold. ⁵ He overlaid ^(AZ)the ^[al]main room with juniper wood and overlaid it with fine gold; and he ^[am]ornamented it with palm trees and chains. ⁶ Further, he overlaid the house ^[an]with precious stones; and the gold was gold from Parvaim. ^7 (BA)He also overlaid the house with gold—the beams, the thresholds, and its walls and doors; and he ^(BB)carved cherubim on the walls.

⁸ Then he made ^(BC)the ^[ao]room of the Most Holy Place: its length across the width of the house was ^[ap]twenty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits; and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to ^[aq]six hundred talents. ⁹ The weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. He also overlaid ^(BD)the upper rooms with gold.

^10 (BE)Then he made two ^[ar]sculptured cherubim in the room of the Most Holy Place and overlaid them with gold. ¹¹ The wingspan of the ^[as]cherubim was twenty ^[at]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 ^[au]first cherub. ¹³ The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits, and they stood on their feet ^[av]facing the main room. ^14 (BF)He made the veil of violet, purple, crimson, and fine linen, and he worked cherubim into it.

^15 (BG)He also made two pillars for the front of the house, thirty-five cubits ^[aw]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 (BH)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

4 Then ^(BI)he made a bronze altar, ^[ax]twenty cubits in length, ^[ay]twenty cubits in width, and ^[az]ten cubits in height. ^2 (BJ)He also made the ^[ba]Sea of cast metal, ^[bb]ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in form, and its height was ^[bc]five cubits and ^[bd]its circumference ^[be]thirty cubits. ³ Now figures like oxen were under it and all around it, ^[bf]ten cubits, entirely encircling the Sea. The oxen were in two rows, cast ^[bg]in one piece. ⁴ 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. ⁵ It was a ^[bh]hand width thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom; it ^(BK)could hold three thousand ^[bi]baths. ^6 (BL)He also made ten basins in which to wash, and he set five on the right side and five on the left ^[bj]to rinse things for the burnt offering; but the Sea was for the priests to wash in.

⁷ Then ^(BM)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. ⁸ He also made ^(BN)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. ⁹ Then he made ^(BO)the courtyard of the priests and ^(BP)the great courtyard, and doors for the courtyard, and overlaid their doors with bronze. ^10 (BQ)He put the Sea on the right side of the house toward the southeast.

^11 (BR)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 ^(BS)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 (BT)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, ^(BU)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 (BV)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, ^(BW)the tables with the bread of the Presence on them, ²⁰ the lampstands with their lamps of pure gold, ^(BX)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.

The Ark Is Brought into the Temple

5 ^(BY)So all the work that Solomon performed for the house of the Lord was finished. And Solomon brought in the ^[bk](BZ)things that his father David had dedicated, the silver, the gold, and all the utensils, and he put them in the treasuries of the house of God.

^2 (CA)Then Solomon assembled at Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes, and the leaders of the fathers’ households of the sons of Israel, ^(CB)to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord up from the city of David, which is Zion. ^3 (CC)All the men of Israel assembled themselves before the king at ^(CD)the feast, that is in the seventh month. ⁴ Then all the elders of Israel came, and ^(CE)the Levites picked up the ark. ⁵ They brought up the ark, the tent of meeting, and all the holy utensils that were in the tent. The Levitical priests brought them up. ⁶ And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel who had assembled with him before the ark were sacrificing ^[bl]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, into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the Most Holy Place, under the wings of the cherubim. ⁸ For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim made a covering over the ark and its ^[bm]poles. ⁹ The poles were so long that ^(CF)the ends of the poles of the ark could be seen in front of the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen outside; and ^[bn]they are there to this day. ^10 (CG)There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets which Moses put there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the sons of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.

The Glory of God Fills the Temple

¹¹ When the priests came out from the holy place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves, without regard ^(CH)to divisions), ¹² and all the Levitical singers, ^(CI)Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and kinsmen, clothed in fine linen, ^(CJ)with cymbals, harps, and lyres, standing east of the altar, and with them 120 priests ^(CK)blowing trumpets ¹³ in unison when the trumpeters and the singers were to make themselves heard with one voice to praise and to glorify the Lord, and when they raised their voices ^(CL)accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other musical instruments, and when they praised the Lord saying, “^(CM)He indeed is good for His ^[bo]kindness is everlasting,” then the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, ¹⁴ so that the priests could not rise to minister because of the cloud, for ^(CN)the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.

Solomon’s Dedication of the Temple

6 ^(CO)Then Solomon said,

³ Then the king turned around and blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing. ⁴ He said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who spoke with His mouth to my father David, and fulfilled it with His hands, saying, ⁵ ‘Since the day that I brought My people from the land of Egypt, I did not choose a city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, so that My name might be there, nor did I choose a man to be the leader over My people Israel; ⁶ but ^(CP)I have chosen Jerusalem so that My name might be there, and I ^(CQ)have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’ ^7 (CR)Now it was ^[bp]in the heart of my father David to build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. ⁸ But the Lord said to my father David, ‘Because it was ^[bq]in your heart to build a house for My name, you did well that it was ^[br]in your heart. ⁹ Nevertheless you shall not build the house, but your son who ^[bs]will be born to you, he shall build the house for My name.’ ¹⁰ Now the Lord has fulfilled His word which He spoke; for I have risen in place of my father David and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord ^[bt]promised, and have built the house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹¹ There I have placed the ark ^(CS)in which is the covenant of the Lord, which He made with the sons of Israel.”

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication

¹² Then he stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands. ^13 (CT)For Solomon had made a bronze platform, ^[bu]five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the courtyard; and he stood on it, ^(CU)knelt on his knees in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven. ¹⁴ He said, “Lord, God of Israel, ^(CV)there is no god like You in heaven or on earth, ^(CW)keeping ^[bv]Your covenant and ^[bw]Your faithfulness to Your servants who walk before You with all their heart; ^15 (CX)You who have kept with Your servant, my father David, that which You ^[bx]promised him; You have spoken with Your mouth and have fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day. ¹⁶ Now then, Lord, God of Israel, keep to Your servant David, my father, that which You ^[by]promised him, saying, ‘^[bz](CY)You shall not lack a man to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay attention to their way, to walk in My Law as you have walked before Me.’ ¹⁷ Now then, Lord, God of Israel, let Your word be confirmed which You have spoken to Your servant David.

¹⁸ “But ^(CZ)will God really dwell with mankind on the earth? Behold, ^(DA)heaven and the ^[ca]highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house which I have built! ¹⁹ Nevertheless, turn Your attention to the prayer of Your servant and to his plea, Lord, my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which Your servant prays before You; ²⁰ that Your ^(DB)eye will be open toward this house day and night, toward ^(DC)the place of which You have said that You would put Your name there, to listen to the prayer which Your servant shall pray toward this place. ²¹ Listen to the pleadings of Your servant and of Your people Israel when they pray toward this place; hear from Your dwelling place, from heaven; ^(DD)hear and forgive.

²² “If someone sins against his neighbor and is made to take an oath, and he comes and takes an oath before Your altar in this house, ²³ then hear from heaven and take action and judge Your servants, ^[cb](DE)punishing the wicked by bringing his way on his own head, and justifying the righteous by ^[cc]repaying him according to his righteousness.

²⁴ “If Your people Israel are ^[cd]defeated before an enemy because ^(DF)they have sinned against You, and they return to You and praise Your name, and pray and plead before You in this house, ²⁵ then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You have given to them and to their fathers.

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

²⁸ “If there is a ^(DI)famine in the land, if there is a plague, if there is blight or mildew, if there is locust or grasshopper, if their enemies besiege them in the land of their ^[ce]cities, whatever plague or whatever sickness there is, ²⁹ whatever prayer or plea is made by anyone or by all Your people Israel, ^[cf]each knowing his own affliction and his own pain, and spreading his hands toward this house, ³⁰ then hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, and forgive, and render to each according to all his ways, whose heart You know—^(DJ)for You alone know the hearts of the sons of mankind— ³¹ so that they may ^[cg]fear You, to walk in Your ways ^[ch]as long as they live in the land which You have given to our fathers.

³² “Also concerning ^(DK)the foreigner who is not from Your people Israel, when he comes from a far country on account of Your great name and Your mighty hand and Your outstretched arm, when they come and pray toward this house, ³³ then hear from heaven, from Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, so that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name, and ^[ci]fear You as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that ^[cj]this house which I have built is ^(DL)called by Your name.

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

³⁶ “When they sin against You (^(DM)for there is no one who does not sin), and You are angry with them and turn them over to an enemy, so that ^[ck]they take them away captive to a land far off or near, ³⁷ if they ^[cl]take it to heart in the land where they are taken captive, and repent and plead to You in the land of their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong and have acted wickedly’; ^38 (DN)if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, where they have been taken captive, and pray toward their land which You have given to their fathers and the city which You have chosen, and toward the house which I have built for Your name, ³⁹ then hear from heaven, from Your dwelling place, their prayer and pleadings, and maintain their cause, and forgive Your people who have sinned against You.

⁴⁰ “Now, my God, please, ^(DO)let Your eyes be open and ^(DP)Your ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place.

⁴¹ “^(DQ)Now then arise, Lord God, to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your might; let Your priests, Lord God, be clothed with salvation, and let Your godly ones rejoice in what is good.

⁴² “Lord God, do not turn away the face of Your anointed; ^(DR)remember Your faithfulness to Your servant David.”

The Shekinah Glory

7 ^(DS)Now when Solomon had finished praying, ^(DT)fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the house. ^2 (DU)And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord’s house. ³ All the sons of Israel, seeing the fire come down and the glory of the Lord upon the house, bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave praise to the Lord, saying, “^(DV)Certainly He is good, certainly His faithfulness is everlasting.”

Sacrifices Offered

^4 (DW)Then the king and all the people offered sacrifice before the Lord. ⁵ King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. ⁶ The priests stood at their posts, and ^(DX)the Levites also, with the musical instruments for the Lord, which King David had made for giving praise to the Lord—“for His faithfulness is everlasting”—whenever David gave praise through their ^[cm]ministry; ^(DY)the priests on the other side blew trumpets and all Israel was standing.

^7 (DZ)Then Solomon consecrated the middle of the courtyard that was before the house of the Lord, for he offered the burnt offerings and the fat of the peace offerings there, because the bronze altar which Solomon had made was not able to contain the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the fat.

The Feast of Dedication

⁸ So ^(EA)Solomon held the feast at that time for seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly that came from the entrance of Hamath to the ^(EB)brook of Egypt. ⁹ And on the eighth day they held ^(EC)a solemn assembly, because they held the dedication of the altar for seven days, and the feast for seven days. ¹⁰ Then on the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people to their tents, rejoicing and happy in heart because of the goodness that the Lord had shown to David, to Solomon, and to His people Israel.

God’s Promise and Warning

^11 (ED)So Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king’s palace, and successfully completed everything that ^[cn]he had planned on doing in the house of the Lord and in his palace.

¹² Then the Lord appeared to Solomon at night and said to him, “I have heard your prayer and ^(EE)have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. ^13 (EF)If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send a plague among My people, ^14 (EG)and My people ^[co]who are called by My name humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. ^15 (EH)Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the ^[cp]prayer offered in this place. ¹⁶ For ^(EI)now I have chosen and consecrated this house so that My name may be there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there ^[cq]always. ¹⁷ As for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, to do according to everything that I have commanded you, and keep My statutes and My ordinances, ¹⁸ then I will establish your royal throne as I covenanted with your father David, saying, ‘^[cr](EJ)You shall not lack a man to be ruler in Israel.’

¹⁹ “^(EK)But if you turn away and abandon My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, ^20 (EL)then I will uproot ^[cs]you from My land which I have given ^[ct]you, and this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight; and I will make it ^(EM)a proverb and an object of scorn among all peoples. ²¹ As for this house, which was exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and say, ‘^(EN)Why has the Lord done these things to this land and to this house?’ ²² And they will say, ‘Because ^(EO)they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who brought them from the land of Egypt, and they adopted other gods, and worshiped and served them; therefore He has brought all this adversity on them.’”