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2 Chronicles 1-5
New King James Version

Solomon Requests Wisdom(A)

1 Now (B)Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and (C)the Lord his God was with him and (D)exalted him exceedingly.

2 And Solomon spoke to all Israel, to (E)the captains of thousands and of hundreds, to the judges, and to every leader in all Israel, the heads of the fathers’ houses. 3 Then Solomon, and all the assembly with him, went to [a]the high place that was at (F)Gibeon; for the tabernacle of meeting with God was there, which Moses the servant of the Lord had (G)made in the wilderness. 4 (H)But David had brought up the ark of God from Kirjath Jearim to the place David had prepared for it, for he had pitched a tent for it at Jerusalem. 5 Now (I)the bronze altar that (J)Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, [b]he put before the tabernacle of the Lord; Solomon and the assembly sought Him there. 6 And Solomon went up there to the bronze altar before the Lord, which was at the tabernacle of meeting, and (K)offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.

7 (L)On that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, “Ask! What shall I give you?”

8 And Solomon said to God: “You have shown great (M)mercy to David my father, and have made me (N)king in his place. 9 Now, O Lord God, let Your promise to David my father be established, (O)for You have made me king over a people like the (P)dust of the earth in multitude. 10 (Q)Now give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may (R)go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this great people of Yours?”

11 (S)Then God said to Solomon: “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked riches or wealth or honor or the life of your enemies, nor have you asked long life—but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself, that you may judge My people over whom I have made you king— 12 wisdom and knowledge are granted to you; and I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as (T)none of the kings have had who were before you, nor shall any after you have the like.”

Solomon’s Military and Economic Power(U)

13 So Solomon came to Jerusalem from [c]the high place that was at Gibeon, from before the tabernacle of meeting, and reigned over Israel. 14 (V)And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; he had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 15 (W)Also the king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars as abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland. 16 (X)And Solomon had horses imported from Egypt and Keveh; the king’s merchants bought them in Keveh at the current price. 17 They also acquired and imported from Egypt a chariot for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for one hundred and fifty; thus, [d]through their agents, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.

Solomon Prepares to Build the Temple(Y)

2 Then Solomon (Z)determined to build a temple for the name of the Lord, and a royal house for himself. 2 (AA)Solomon selected seventy thousand men to bear burdens, eighty thousand to quarry stone in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred to oversee them.

3 Then Solomon sent to [e]Hiram king of Tyre, saying:

(AB)As you have dealt with David my father, and sent him cedars to build himself a house to dwell in, so deal with me. 4 Behold, (AC)I am building a temple for the name of the Lord my God, to dedicate it to Him, (AD)to burn before Him [f]sweet incense, for (AE)the continual showbread, for (AF)the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the (AG)Sabbaths, on the New Moons, and on the [g]set feasts of the Lord our God. This is an ordinance forever to Israel.

5 And the temple which I build will be great, for (AH)our God is greater than all gods. 6 (AI)But who is able to build Him a temple, since heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him? Who am I then, that I should build Him a temple, except to burn sacrifice before Him?

7 Therefore send me at once a man skillful to work in gold and silver, in bronze and iron, in purple and crimson and blue, who has skill to engrave with the skillful men who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem, (AJ)whom David my father provided. 8 (AK)Also send me cedar and cypress and algum logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants have skill to cut timber in Lebanon; and indeed my servants will be with your servants, 9 to prepare timber for me in abundance, for the [h]temple which I am about to build shall be great and wonderful.

10 (AL)And indeed I will give to your servants, the woodsmen who cut timber, twenty thousand kors of ground wheat, twenty thousand kors of barley, twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.

11 Then Hiram king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon:

(AM)Because the Lord loves His people, He has made you king over them.

12 [i]Hiram also said:

(AN)Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, (AO)who made heaven and earth, for He has given King David a wise son, endowed with prudence and understanding, who will build a temple for the Lord and a royal house for himself!

13 And now I have sent a skillful man, endowed with understanding, [j]Huram my [k]master craftsman 14 (AP)(the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre), skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, purple and blue, fine linen and crimson, and to make any engraving and to accomplish any plan which may be given to him, with your skillful men and with the skillful men of my lord David your father.

15 Now therefore, the wheat, the barley, the oil, and the wine which (AQ)my lord has spoken of, let him send to his servants. 16 (AR)And we will cut wood from Lebanon, as much as you need; we will bring it to you in rafts by sea to [l]Joppa, and you will carry it up to Jerusalem.

17 (AS)Then Solomon numbered all the aliens who were in the land of Israel, after the census in which (AT)David his father had numbered them; and there were found to be one hundred and fifty-three thousand six hundred. 18 And he made (AU)seventy thousand of them bearers of burdens, eighty thousand stonecutters in the mountain, and three thousand six hundred overseers to make the people work.

Solomon Builds the Temple(AV)

3 Now (AW)Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at (AX)Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where [m]the Lord had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of (AY)Ornan[n] 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 (AZ)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 (BA)vestibule that was in front of [o]the sanctuary was twenty cubits long across the width of the house, and the height was [p]one hundred and twenty. He overlaid the inside with pure gold. 5 (BB)The larger [q]room he (BC)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 (BD)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 (BE)area with gold. 10 (BF)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 (BG)veil of blue, purple, crimson, and fine linen, and wove cherubim into it.

15 Also he made in front of the [r]temple (BH)two pillars [s]thirty-five cubits [t]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 (BI)one hundred pomegranates, and put them on the wreaths of chainwork. 17 Then he (BJ)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 [u]Jachin, and the name of the one on the left [v]Boaz.

Furnishings of the Temple(BK)

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

2 (BM)Then he made the [w]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 (BN)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 (BO)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 [x]three thousand baths.

6 He also made (BP)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 [y]Sea was for the (BQ)priests to wash in. 7 (BR)And he made ten lampstands of gold (BS)according to their design, and set them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. 8 (BT)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 (BU)bowls of gold.

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

11 Then (BY)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 (BZ)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 (CA)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 (CB)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 (CC)Huram his [z]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 [aa]Zeredah. 18 (CD)And Solomon had all these articles made in such great abundance that the weight of the bronze was not determined.

19 Thus (CE)Solomon had all the furnishings made for the house of God: the altar of gold and the tables on which was (CF)the showbread; 20 the lampstands with their lamps of pure gold, to burn (CG)in the prescribed manner in front of the inner sanctuary, 21 with (CH)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 [ab]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 (CI)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(CJ)

2 (CK)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 (CL)from the City of David, which is Zion. 3 (CM)Therefore all the men of Israel assembled with the king (CN)at the feast, which was in the seventh month. 4 So all the elders of Israel came, and the (CO)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 (CP)inner sanctuary of the [ac]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 (CQ)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 [ad]they are there to this day. 10 Nothing was in the ark except the two tablets which Moses (CR)put there at Horeb, [ae]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 [af]sanctified themselves, without keeping to their (CS)divisions), 12 (CT)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, (CU)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:

(CV)“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 [ag]continue ministering because of the cloud; (CW)for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 1:3 Place for worship
  2. 2 Chronicles 1:5 Some authorities it was there
  3. 2 Chronicles 1:13 Place for worship
  4. 2 Chronicles 1:17 Lit. by their hands
  5. 2 Chronicles 2:3 Heb. Huram; cf. 1 Kin. 5:1
  6. 2 Chronicles 2:4 Lit. incense of spices
  7. 2 Chronicles 2:4 appointed
  8. 2 Chronicles 2:9 Lit. house
  9. 2 Chronicles 2:12 Heb. Huram; cf. 1 Kin. 5:1
  10. 2 Chronicles 2:13 Hiram, 1 Kin. 7:13
  11. 2 Chronicles 2:13 Lit. father, 1 Kin. 7:13, 14
  12. 2 Chronicles 2:16 Heb. Japho
  13. 2 Chronicles 3:1 Lit. He, following MT, Vg.; LXX the Lord; Tg. the Angel of the Lord
  14. 2 Chronicles 3:1 Araunah, 2 Sam. 24:16ff
  15. 2 Chronicles 3:4 The holy place, the main room of the temple, 1 Kin. 6:3
  16. 2 Chronicles 3:4 So with MT, LXX, Vg.; Arab., some LXX mss., Syr. twenty
  17. 2 Chronicles 3:5 Lit. house
  18. 2 Chronicles 3:15 Lit. house
  19. 2 Chronicles 3:15 eighteen, 1 Kin. 7:15; 2 Kin. 25:17; Jer. 52:21
  20. 2 Chronicles 3:15 Lit. long
  21. 2 Chronicles 3:17 Lit. He Shall Establish
  22. 2 Chronicles 3:17 Lit. In It Is Strength
  23. 2 Chronicles 4:2 Great laver or basin
  24. 2 Chronicles 4:5 About 8,000 gallons; two thousand, 1 Kin. 7:26
  25. 2 Chronicles 4:6 Great basin
  26. 2 Chronicles 4:16 Lit. father
  27. 2 Chronicles 4:17 Zaretan, 1 Kin. 7:46
  28. 2 Chronicles 4:22 Lit. house
  29. 2 Chronicles 5:7 Lit. house
  30. 2 Chronicles 5:9 Lit. it is
  31. 2 Chronicles 5:10 Or where
  32. 2 Chronicles 5:11 consecrated
  33. 2 Chronicles 5:14 Lit. stand to minister
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2 Chronicles 1-5
New International Version

Solomon Asks for Wisdom(A)(B)

1 Solomon son of David established(C) himself firmly over his kingdom, for the Lord his God was with(D) him and made him exceedingly great.(E)

2 Then Solomon spoke to all Israel(F)—to the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, to the judges and to all the leaders in Israel, the heads of families— 3 and Solomon and the whole assembly went to the high place at Gibeon,(G) for God’s tent of meeting(H) was there, which Moses(I) the Lord’s servant had made in the wilderness. 4 Now David had brought up the ark(J) of God from Kiriath Jearim to the place he had prepared for it, because he had pitched a tent(K) for it in Jerusalem. 5 But the bronze altar(L) that Bezalel(M) son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made was in Gibeon in front of the tabernacle of the Lord; so Solomon and the assembly inquired(N) of him there. 6 Solomon went up to the bronze altar before the Lord in the tent of meeting and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.

7 That night God appeared(O) to Solomon and said to him, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”

8 Solomon answered God, “You have shown great kindness to David my father and have made me(P) king in his place. 9 Now, Lord God, let your promise(Q) to my father David be confirmed, for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth.(R) 10 Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead(S) this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?”

11 God said to Solomon, “Since this is your heart’s desire and you have not asked for wealth,(T) possessions or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, 12 therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, possessions and honor,(U) such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have.(V)”

13 Then Solomon went to Jerusalem from the high place at Gibeon, from before the tent of meeting. And he reigned over Israel.

14 Solomon accumulated chariots(W) and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses,[a] which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. 15 The king made silver and gold(X) as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills. 16 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue[b]—the royal merchants purchased them from Kue at the current price. 17 They imported a chariot(Y) from Egypt for six hundred shekels[c] of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty.[d] They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and of the Arameans.

Preparations for Building the Temple(Z)

2 [e]Solomon gave orders to build a temple(AA) for the Name of the Lord and a royal palace for himself.(AB) 2 He conscripted 70,000 men as carriers and 80,000 as stonecutters in the hills and 3,600 as foremen over them.(AC)

3 Solomon sent this message to Hiram[f](AD) king of Tyre:

“Send me cedar logs(AE) as you did for my father David when you sent him cedar to build a palace to live in. 4 Now I am about to build a temple(AF) for the Name of the Lord my God and to dedicate it to him for burning fragrant incense(AG) before him, for setting out the consecrated bread(AH) regularly, and for making burnt offerings(AI) every morning and evening and on the Sabbaths,(AJ) at the New Moons(AK) and at the appointed festivals of the Lord our God. This is a lasting ordinance for Israel.

5 “The temple I am going to build will be great,(AL) because our God is greater than all other gods.(AM) 6 But who is able to build a temple for him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain him?(AN) Who then am I(AO) to build a temple for him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before him?

7 “Send me, therefore, a man skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, and in purple, crimson and blue yarn, and experienced in the art of engraving, to work in Judah and Jerusalem with my skilled workers,(AP) whom my father David provided.

8 “Send me also cedar, juniper and algum[g] logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants are skilled in cutting timber there. My servants will work with yours 9 to provide me with plenty of lumber, because the temple I build must be large and magnificent. 10 I will give your servants, the woodsmen who cut the timber, twenty thousand cors[h] of ground wheat, twenty thousand cors[i] of barley, twenty thousand baths[j] of wine and twenty thousand baths of olive oil.(AQ)”

11 Hiram king of Tyre replied by letter to Solomon:

“Because the Lord loves(AR) his people, he has made you their king.”

12 And Hiram added:

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth!(AS) He has given King David a wise son, endowed with intelligence and discernment, who will build a temple for the Lord and a palace for himself.

13 “I am sending you Huram-Abi,(AT) a man of great skill, 14 whose mother was from Dan(AU) and whose father was from Tyre. He is trained(AV) to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, and with purple and blue(AW) and crimson yarn and fine linen. He is experienced in all kinds of engraving and can execute any design given to him. He will work with your skilled workers and with those of my lord, David your father.

15 “Now let my lord send his servants the wheat and barley and the olive oil(AX) and wine he promised, 16 and we will cut all the logs from Lebanon that you need and will float them as rafts by sea down to Joppa.(AY) You can then take them up to Jerusalem.”

17 Solomon took a census of all the foreigners(AZ) residing in Israel, after the census(BA) his father David had taken; and they were found to be 153,600. 18 He assigned(BB) 70,000 of them to be carriers and 80,000 to be stonecutters in the hills, with 3,600 foremen over them to keep the people working.

Solomon Builds the Temple(BC)

3 Then Solomon began to build(BD) the temple of the Lord(BE) in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David. It was on the threshing floor of Araunah[k](BF) 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.(BG)

3 The foundation Solomon laid for building the temple of God was sixty cubits long and twenty cubits wide[l](BH) (using the cubit of the old standard). 4 The portico at the front of the temple was twenty cubits[m] long across the width of the building and twenty[n] 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(BI) 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(BJ) on the walls.

8 He built the Most Holy Place,(BK) its length corresponding to the width of the temple—twenty cubits long and twenty cubits wide. He overlaid the inside with six hundred talents[o] of fine gold. 9 The gold nails(BL) weighed fifty shekels.[p] He also overlaid the upper parts with gold.

10 For the Most Holy Place he made a pair(BM) 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[q] 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(BN) extended twenty cubits. They stood on their feet, facing the main hall.[r]

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

15 For the front of the temple he made two pillars,(BQ) which together were thirty-five cubits[s] long, each with a capital(BR) five cubits high. 16 He made interwoven chains[t](BS) and put them on top of the pillars. He also made a hundred pomegranates(BT) 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[u] and the one to the north Boaz.[v]

The Temple’s Furnishings(BU)

4 He made a bronze altar(BV) twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide and ten cubits high.[w] 2 He made the Sea(BW) of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits[x] high. It took a line of thirty cubits[y] to measure around it. 3 Below the rim, figures of bulls encircled it—ten to a cubit.[z] 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.(BX) The Sea rested on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center. 5 It was a handbreadth[aa] in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held three thousand baths.[ab]

6 He then made ten basins(BY) 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(BZ) were rinsed, but the Sea was to be used by the priests for washing.

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

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

9 He made the courtyard(CE) 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(CF) 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(CG) 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(CH) 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(CI) and Zarethan.[ac] 18 All these things that Solomon made amounted to so much that the weight of the bronze(CJ) could not be calculated.

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

the golden altar;

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

20 the lampstands(CL) 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(CM) and censers;(CN) 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,(CO) he brought in the things his father David had dedicated(CP)—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(CQ)

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(CR) of the Lord’s covenant from Zion, the City of David. 3 And all the Israelites(CS) 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(CT) 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(CU) 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(CV) 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(CW) the two tablets(CX) 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.(CY) 12 All the Levites who were musicians(CZ)—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.(DA) 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.”(DB)

Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud,(DC) 14 and the priests could not perform(DD) their service because of the cloud,(DE) for the glory(DF) of the Lord filled the temple of God.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 1:14 Or charioteers
  2. 2 Chronicles 1:16 Probably Cilicia
  3. 2 Chronicles 1:17 That is, about 15 pounds or about 6.9 kilograms
  4. 2 Chronicles 1:17 That is, about 3 3/4 pounds or about 1.7 kilograms
  5. 2 Chronicles 2:1 In Hebrew texts 2:1 is numbered 1:18, and 2:2-18 is numbered 2:1-17.
  6. 2 Chronicles 2:3 Hebrew Huram, a variant of Hiram; also in verses 11 and 12
  7. 2 Chronicles 2:8 Probably a variant of almug
  8. 2 Chronicles 2:10 That is, probably about 3,600 tons or about 3,200 metric tons of wheat
  9. 2 Chronicles 2:10 That is, probably about 3,000 tons or about 2,700 metric tons of barley
  10. 2 Chronicles 2:10 That is, about 120,000 gallons or about 440,000 liters
  11. 2 Chronicles 3:1 Hebrew Ornan, a variant of Araunah
  12. 2 Chronicles 3:3 That is, about 90 feet long and 30 feet wide or about 27 meters long and 9 meters wide
  13. 2 Chronicles 3:4 That is, about 30 feet or about 9 meters; also in verses 8, 11 and 13
  14. 2 Chronicles 3:4 Some Septuagint and Syriac manuscripts; Hebrew and a hundred and twenty
  15. 2 Chronicles 3:8 That is, about 23 tons or about 21 metric tons
  16. 2 Chronicles 3:9 That is, about 1 1/4 pounds or about 575 grams
  17. 2 Chronicles 3:11 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters; also in verse 15
  18. 2 Chronicles 3:13 Or facing inward
  19. 2 Chronicles 3:15 That is, about 53 feet or about 16 meters
  20. 2 Chronicles 3:16 Or possibly made chains in the inner sanctuary; the meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  21. 2 Chronicles 3:17 Jakin probably means he establishes.
  22. 2 Chronicles 3:17 Boaz probably means in him is strength.
  23. 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
  24. 2 Chronicles 4:2 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters
  25. 2 Chronicles 4:2 That is, about 45 feet or about 14 meters
  26. 2 Chronicles 4:3 That is, about 18 inches or about 45 centimeters
  27. 2 Chronicles 4:5 That is, about 3 inches or about 7.5 centimeters
  28. 2 Chronicles 4:5 That is, about 18,000 gallons or about 66,000 liters
  29. 2 Chronicles 4:17 Hebrew Zeredatha, a variant of Zarethan
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