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And strengthen himself doth Solomon son of David over his kingdom, and Jehovah his God [is] with him, and maketh him exceedingly great.

And Solomon saith to all Israel, to heads of the thousands, and of the hundreds, and to judges, and to every honourable one of all Israel, heads of the fathers,

and they go -- Solomon, and all the assembly with him -- to the high place that [is] in Gibeon, for there hath been God's tent of meeting, that Moses, servant of Jehovah, made in the wilderness,

but the ark of God had David brought up from Kirjath-Jearim, when David prepared for it, for he stretched out for it a tent in Jerusalem;

and the altar of brass that Bezaleel son of Uri, son of Hur made, he put before the tabernacle of Jehovah; and Solomon and the assembly seek to it.

And Solomon goeth up thither, on the altar of brass, before Jehovah, that [is] at the tent of meeting, and causeth to ascend upon it a thousand burnt-offerings.

In that night hath God appeared to Solomon, and saith to him, `Ask -- what do I give to thee?'

And Solomon saith to God, `Thou hast done with David my father great kindness, and hast caused me to reign in his stead.

Now, O Jehovah God, is Thy word with David my father stedfast, for Thou hast caused me to reign over a people numerous as the dust of the earth;

10 now, wisdom and knowledge give to me, and I go out before this people, and I come in, for who doth judge this Thy great people?'

11 And God saith to Solomon, `Because that this hath been with thy heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, and honour, and the life of those hating thee, and also many days hast not asked, and dost ask for thyself wisdom and knowledge, so that thou dost judge My people over which I have caused thee to reign --

12 the wisdom and the knowledge is given to thee, and riches and wealth and honour I give to thee, that there hath not been so to the kings who [are] before thee, and after thee it is not so.'

13 And Solomon cometh in [from] the high place that [is] in Gibeon to Jerusalem, from before the tent of meeting, and reigneth over Israel,

14 and Solomon gathereth chariots and horsemen, and he hath a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, and he placeth them in the cities of the chariots, and with the king in Jerusalem.

15 And the king maketh the silver and the gold in Jerusalem as stones, and the cedars he made as sycamores that [are] in the low country, for abundance.

16 And the source of the horses that [are] to Solomon [is] from Egypt and from Keva; merchants of the king from Keva take at a price,

17 and they come up, and bring out from Egypt a chariot for six hundred silverlings, and a horse for fifty and a hundred, and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of Aram -- by their hand they bring out.

And Solomon saith to build a house for the name of Jehovah, and a house for his kingdom,

and Solomon numbereth seventy thousand men bearing burden, and eighty thousand men hewing in the mountain, and overseers over them -- three thousand and six hundred.

And Solomon sendeth unto Huram king of Tyre, saying, `When thou hast dealt with David my father, then thou dost send to him cedars to build for him a house to dwell in;

lo, I am building a house to the name of Jehovah my God, to sanctify [it] to Him, to make perfume before Him, perfume of spices, and a continual arrangement, and burnt-offerings at morning and at evening, at sabbaths, and at new moons, and at appointed seasons of Jehovah our God; to the age this [is] on Israel.

`And the house that I am building [is] great, for greater [is] our God than all gods;

and who doth retain strength to build to Him a house, for the heavens, even the heavens of the heavens, do not contain Him? and who [am] I that I do build to Him a house, except to make perfume before Him?

`And now, send to me a wise man to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, and knowing to grave gravings with the wise men who [are] with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father prepared;

and send to me cedar-trees, firs, and algums from Lebanon, for I have known that thy servants know to cut down trees of Lebanon, and lo, my servants [are] with thy servants,

even to prepare for me trees in abundance, for the house that I am building [is] great and wonderful.

10 `And lo, to hewers, to those cutting the trees, I have given beaten wheat to thy servants, cors twenty thousand, and barley, cors twenty thousand, and wine, baths twenty thousand, and oil, baths twenty thousand.'

11 And Huram king of Tyre saith in writing, and sendeth unto Solomon: `In the love of Jehovah to His people He hath given thee king over them.'

12 And Huram saith, `Blessed [is] Jehovah, God of Israel, who made the heavens and the earth, who hath given to David the king a wise son, knowing wisdom and understanding, who doth build a house for Jehovah, and a house for his kingdom.

13 `And now, I have sent a wise man having understanding, of Huram my father,

14 (son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father a man of Tyre), knowing to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stones, and in wood, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson, and to grave any graving, and to devise any device that is given to him, with thy wise men, and the wise men of my lord David thy father.

15 `And, now, the wheat, and the barley, the oil, and the wine, as my lord said, let him send to his servants,

16 and we -- we cut trees out of Lebanon, according to all thy need, and bring them in to thee -- floats by sea, to Joppa, and thou dost take them up to Jerusalem.'

17 And Solomon numbereth all the men, the sojourners who [are] in the land of Israel, after the numbering with which David his father numbered them, and they are found a hundred and fifty thousand, and three thousand, and six hundred;

18 and he maketh of them seventy thousand burden-bearers, and eighty thousand hewers in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred overseers, to cause the people to work.

And Solomon beginneth to build the house of Jehovah, in Jerusalem, in the mount of Moriah, where He appeared to David his father, in the place that David had prepared, in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite,

and he beginneth to build in the second [day], in the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.

And [in] these hath Solomon been instructed to build the house of God: The length [in] cubits by the former measure [is] sixty cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits.

As to the porch that [is] on the front, the length [is] by the front of the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the height a hundred and twenty, and he overlayeth it within with pure gold.

And the large house he hath covered with fir-trees, and he doth cover it with good gold, and causeth to ascend on it palms and chains,

and he overlayeth the house with precious stone for beauty, and the gold [is] gold of Parvaim,

and he covereth the house, the beams, the thresholds, and its walls, and its doors, with gold, and hath graved cherubs on the walls.

And he maketh the most holy house: its length [is] by the front of the breadth of the house twenty cubits, and its breadth twenty cubits, and he covereth it with good gold, to six hundred talents;

and the weight of the nails [is] fifty shekels of gold, and the upper chambers he hath covered with gold.

10 And he maketh in the most holy house two cherubs, image work, and he overlayeth them with gold;

11 as to the wings of the cherubs, their length [is] twenty cubits, the wing of the one [is] five cubits, touching the wall of the house, and the other wing [is] five cubits, touching the wing of the other cherub.

12 And the wing of the other cherub [is] five cubits touching the wall of the house, and the other wing [is] five cubits, adhering to the wing of the other cherub.

13 The wings of these cherubs are spreading forth twenty cubits, and they are standing on their feet and their faces [are] inward.

14 And he maketh the vail of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and causeth cherubs to go up on it.

15 And he maketh at the front of the house two pillars, thirty and five cubits in length, and the ornament that [is] on their heads five cubits.

16 And he maketh chains in the oracle, and putteth on the heads of the pillars, and maketh a hundred pomegranates, and putteth on the chains.

17 And he raiseth up the pillars on the front of the temple, one on the right, and one on the left, and calleth the name of that on the right Jachin, and the name of that on the left Boaz.

Solomon Asks for Wisdom(A)(B)

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)

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— 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. 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. 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. Solomon went up to the bronze altar before the Lord in the tent of meeting and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.

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

Solomon answered God, “You have shown great kindness to David my father and have made me(P) king in his place. 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)

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

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. 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.

“The temple I am going to build will be great,(AL) because our God is greater than all other gods.(AM) 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?

“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.

“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 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)

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

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

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. 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]

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.