The Temple: Building, Dedication and God's Answer

1 Kings 5

¹ Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the place of his father, and Hiram had always loved David.

² Solomon sent to Hiram, saying,

³ “You know that David my father could not build a house for the name of Yahweh his God because of the wars which were around him on every side, until Yahweh put his enemies under the soles of his feet.

⁴ But now Yahweh my God has given me rest on every side. There is no enemy and no evil occurrence.

⁵ Behold, I intend to build a house for the name of Yahweh my God, as Yahweh spoke to David my father, saying, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place shall build the house for my name.’

⁶ Now therefore command that cedar trees be cut for me out of Lebanon. My servants will be with your servants; and I will give you wages for your servants according to all that you say. For you know that there is nobody among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”

⁷ When Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly, and said, “Blessed is Yahweh today, who has given to David a wise son to rule over this great people.”

⁸ Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, “I have heard the message which you have sent to me. I will do all your desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning cypress timber.

⁹ My servants will bring them down from Lebanon to the sea. I will make them into rafts to go by sea to the place that you specify to me, and will cause them to be broken up there, and you will receive them. You will accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household.”

¹⁰ So Hiram gave Solomon cedar timber and cypress timber according to all his desire.

¹¹ Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand cors of wheat for food to his household, and twenty cors of pure oil. Solomon gave this to Hiram year by year.

¹² Yahweh gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him. There was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty together.

¹³ King Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men.

¹⁴ He sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses: for a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home; and Adoniram was over the men subject to forced labor.

¹⁵ Solomon had seventy thousand who bore burdens, and eighty thousand who were stone cutters in the mountains,

¹⁶ besides Solomon’s chief officers who were over the work: three thousand three hundred who ruled over the people who labored in the work.

¹⁷ The king commanded, and they cut out large stones, costly stones, to lay the foundation of the house with worked stone.

¹⁸ Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders and the Gebalites cut them, and prepared the timber and the stones to build the house.

1 Kings 6

¹ In the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Ziv, which is the second month, he began to build Yahweh’s house.

² The house which King Solomon built for Yahweh had a length of sixty cubits, and its width twenty, and its height thirty cubits.

³ The porch in front of the temple of the house had a length of twenty cubits, which was along the width of the house. Ten cubits was its width in front of the house.

⁴ He made windows of fixed lattice work for the house.

⁵ Against the wall of the house, he built floors all around, against the walls of the house all around, both of the temple and of the inner sanctuary; and he made side rooms all around.

⁶ The lowest floor was five cubits wide, and the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for on the outside he made offsets in the wall of the house all around, that the beams should not be inserted into the walls of the house.

⁷ The house, when it was under construction, was built of stone prepared at the quarry; and no hammer or ax or any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was under construction.

⁸ The door for the middle side rooms was in the right side of the house. They went up by winding stairs into the middle floor, and out of the middle into the third.

⁹ So he built the house and finished it; and he covered the house with beams and planks of cedar.

¹⁰ He built the floors all along the house, each five cubits high; and they rested on the house with timbers of cedar.

¹¹ Yahweh’s word came to Solomon, saying,

¹² “Concerning this house which you are building, if you will walk in my statutes, and execute my ordinances, and keep all my commandments to walk in them, then I will establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father.

¹³ I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel.”

¹⁴ So Solomon built the house and finished it.

¹⁵ He built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar; from the floor of the house to the walls of the ceiling, he covered them on the inside with wood. He covered the floor of the house with cypress boards.

¹⁶ He built twenty cubits of the back part of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the ceiling. He built this within, for an inner sanctuary, even for the most holy place.

¹⁷ In front of the temple sanctuary was forty cubits long.

¹⁸ There was cedar on the house within, carved with buds and open flowers. All was cedar. No stone was visible.

¹⁹ He prepared an inner sanctuary in the middle of the house within, to set the ark of Yahweh’s covenant there.

²⁰ Within the inner sanctuary was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in width, and twenty cubits in its height. He overlaid it with pure gold. He covered the altar with cedar.

²¹ So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold. He drew chains of gold across before the inner sanctuary, and he overlaid it with gold.

²² He overlaid the whole house with gold, until all the house was finished. He also overlaid the whole altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary with gold.

²³ In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high.

²⁴ Five cubits was the length of one wing of the cherub, and five cubits was the length of the other wing of the cherub. From the tip of one wing to the tip of the other was ten cubits.

²⁵ The other cherub was ten cubits. Both the cherubim were of one measure and one form.

²⁶ One cherub was ten cubits high, and so was the other cherub.

²⁷ He set the cherubim within the inner house. The wings of the cherubim were stretched out, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the middle of the house.

²⁸ He overlaid the cherubim with gold.

²⁹ He carved all the walls of the house around with carved figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, inside and outside.

³⁰ He overlaid the floor of the house with gold, inside and outside.

³¹ For the entrance of the inner sanctuary, he made doors of olive wood. The lintel and door posts were a fifth part of the wall.

³² So he made two doors of olive wood; and he carved on them carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold. He spread the gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees.

³³ He also made the entrance of the temple door posts of olive wood, out of a fourth part of the wall,

³⁴ and two doors of cypress wood. The two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding.

³⁵ He carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers; and he overlaid them with gold fitted on the engraved work.

³⁶ He built the inner court with three courses of cut stone and a course of cedar beams.

³⁷ The foundation of Yahweh’s house was laid in the fourth year, in the month Ziv.

³⁸ In the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished throughout all its parts and according to all its specifications. So he spent seven years building it.

1 Kings 7

¹³ King Solomon sent and brought Hiram out of Tyre.

¹⁴ He was the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze; and he was filled with wisdom and understanding and skill to work all works in bronze. He came to King Solomon and performed all his work.

¹⁵ For he fashioned the two pillars of bronze, eighteen cubits high apiece; and a line of twelve cubits encircled either of them.

¹⁶ He made two capitals of molten bronze to set on the tops of the pillars. The height of the one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits.

¹⁷ There were nets of checker work and wreaths of chain work for the capitals which were on the top of the pillars: seven for the one capital, and seven for the other capital.

¹⁸ So he made the pillars; and there were two rows of pomegranates around the one network, to cover the capitals that were on the top of the pillars; and he did so for the other capital.

¹⁹ The capitals that were on the top of the pillars in the porch were of lily work, four cubits.

²⁰ There were capitals above also on the two pillars, close by the belly which was beside the network. There were two hundred pomegranates in rows around the other capital.

²¹ He set up the pillars at the porch of the temple. He set up the right pillar and called its name Jachin; and he set up the left pillar and called its name Boaz.

²² On the tops of the pillars was lily work. So the work of the pillars was finished.

²³ He made the molten sea ten cubits from brim to brim, round in shape. Its height was five cubits; and a line of thirty cubits encircled it.

²⁴ Under its brim around there were buds which encircled it for ten cubits, encircling the sea. The buds were in two rows, cast when it was cast.

²⁵ It stood on twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east; and the sea was set on them above, and all their hindquarters were inward.

²⁶ It was a hand width thick. Its brim was worked like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily. It held two thousand baths.

²⁷ He made the ten bases of bronze. The length of one base was four cubits, four cubits its width, and three cubits its height.

²⁸ The work of the bases was like this: they had panels; and there were panels between the ledges;

²⁹ and on the panels that were between the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubim; and on the ledges there was a pedestal above; and beneath the lions and oxen were wreaths of hanging work.

³⁰ Every base had four bronze wheels and axles of bronze; and its four feet had supports. The supports were cast beneath the basin, with wreaths at the side of each.

³¹ Its opening within the capital and above was a cubit. Its opening was round like the work of a pedestal, a cubit and a half; and also on its opening were engravings, and their panels were square, not round.

³² The four wheels were underneath the panels; and the axles of the wheels were in the base. The height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit.

³³ The work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel. Their axles, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all of cast metal.

³⁴ There were four supports at the four corners of each base. Its supports were of the base itself.

³⁵ In the top of the base there was a round band half a cubit high; and on the top of the base its supports and its panels were the same.

³⁶ On the plates of its supports and on its panels, he engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees, each in its space, with wreaths all around.

³⁷ He made the ten bases in this way: all of them had one casting, one measure, and one form.

³⁸ He made ten basins of bronze. One basin contained forty baths. Every basin measured four cubits. One basin was on every one of the ten bases.

³⁹ He set the bases, five on the right side of the house and five on the left side of the house. He set the sea on the right side of the house eastward and toward the south.

⁴⁰ Hiram made the pots, the shovels, and the basins. So Hiram finished doing all the work that he worked for King Solomon in Yahweh’s house:

⁴¹ the two pillars; the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars; the two networks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars;

⁴² the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks; two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the pillars;

⁴³ the ten bases; the ten basins on the bases;

⁴⁴ the one sea; the twelve oxen under the sea;

⁴⁵ the pots; the shovels; and the basins. All of these vessels, which Hiram made for King Solomon for Yahweh’s house, were of burnished bronze.

⁴⁶ The king cast them in the plain of the Jordan, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan.

⁴⁷ Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because there were so many of them. The weight of the bronze could not be determined.

⁴⁸ Solomon made all the vessels that were in Yahweh’s house: the golden altar and the table that the show bread was on, of gold;

⁴⁹ and the lamp stands, five on the right side and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary, of pure gold; and the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of gold;

⁵⁰ the cups, the snuffers, the basins, the spoons, and the fire pans, of pure gold; and the hinges, both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, of the temple, of gold.

⁵¹ Thus all the work that King Solomon did in Yahweh’s house was finished. Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated—the silver, the gold, and the vessels—and put them in the treasuries of Yahweh’s house.

2 Chronicles 2

¹ Now Solomon decided to build a house for Yahweh’s name, and a house for his kingdom.

² Solomon counted out seventy thousand men to bear burdens, eighty thousand men who were stone cutters in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred to oversee them.

³ Solomon sent to Huram the king of Tyre, saying, “As you dealt with David my father, and sent him cedars to build him a house in which to dwell, so deal with me.

⁴ Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of Yahweh my God, to dedicate it to him, to burn before him incense of sweet spices, for the continual show bread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the Sabbaths, on the new moons, and on the set feasts of Yahweh our God. This is an ordinance forever to Israel.

⁵ “The house which I am building will be great, for our God is greater than all gods.

⁶ But who is able to build him a house, since heaven and the heaven of heavens can’t contain him? Who am I then, that I should build him a house, except just to burn incense before him?

⁷ “Now therefore send me a man skillful to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, in iron, and in purple, crimson, and blue, and who knows how to engrave engravings, to be with the skillful men who are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father provided.

⁸ “Send me also cedar trees, cypress trees, and algum trees out of Lebanon, for I know that your servants know how to cut timber in Lebanon. Behold, my servants will be with your servants,

⁹ even to prepare timber in abundance for me; for the house which I am about to build will be great and wonderful.

¹⁰ Behold, I will give to your servants, the cutters who cut timber, twenty thousand cors of beaten wheat, twenty thousand baths of barley, twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.”

¹¹ Then Huram the king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon, “Because Yahweh loves his people, he has made you king over them.”

¹² Huram continued, “Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, who has given to David the king a wise son, endowed with discretion and understanding, who would build a house for Yahweh and a house for his kingdom.

¹³ Now I have sent a skillful man, endowed with understanding, Huram-abi,

¹⁴ the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan; and his father was a man of Tyre. He is skillful to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, in iron, in stone, in timber, in purple, in blue, in fine linen, and in crimson, also to engrave any kind of engraving and to devise any device, that there may be a place appointed 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 my lord has spoken of, let him send to his servants;

¹⁶ and we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as you need. We will bring it to you in rafts by sea to Joppa; then you shall carry it up to Jerusalem.”

¹⁷ Solomon counted all the foreigners who were in the land of Israel, after the census with which David his father had counted them; and they found one hundred fifty-three thousand six hundred.

¹⁸ He set seventy thousand of them to bear burdens, eighty thousand who were stone cutters in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred overseers to assign the people their work.

2 Chronicles 3

¹ Then Solomon began to build Yahweh’s house at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where Yahweh appeared to David his father, which he prepared in the place that David had appointed, on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

² He began to build in the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.

³ Now these are the foundations which Solomon laid for the building of God’s house: the length by cubits after the first measure was sixty cubits, and the width twenty cubits.

⁴ The porch that was in front, its length, across the width of the house, was twenty cubits, and the height one hundred twenty; and he overlaid it within with pure gold.

⁵ He made the larger room with a ceiling of cypress wood, which he overlaid with fine gold, and ornamented it with palm trees and chains.

⁶ He decorated the house with precious stones for beauty. The gold was gold from Parvaim.

⁷ He also overlaid the house, the beams, the thresholds, its walls, and its doors with gold, and engraved cherubim on the walls.

⁸ He made the most holy place. Its length, according to the width of the house, was twenty cubits, and its width twenty cubits; and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents.

⁹ The weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. He overlaid the upper rooms with gold.

¹⁰ In the most holy place he made two cherubim by carving, and they overlaid them with gold.

¹¹ The wings of the cherubim were twenty cubits long: the wing of the one was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house; and the other wing was five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other cherub.

¹² The wing of the other cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house; and the other wing was five cubits, joining to the wing of the other cherub.

¹³ The wings of these cherubim spread themselves out twenty cubits. They stood on their feet, and their faces were toward the house.

¹⁴ He made the veil of blue, purple, crimson, and fine linen, and ornamented it with cherubim.

¹⁵ Also he made before the house two pillars thirty-five cubits high, and the capital that was on the top of each of them was five cubits.

¹⁶ He made chains in the inner sanctuary, and put them on the tops of the pillars; and he made one hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains.

¹⁷ He set up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand and the other on the left; and called the name of that on the right hand Jachin, and the name of that on the left Boaz.

2 Chronicles 4

¹ Then he made an altar of bronze, twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and ten cubits high.

² Also he made the molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim. It was round, five cubits high, and thirty cubits in circumference.

³ Under it was the likeness of oxen, which encircled it, for ten cubits, encircling the sea. The oxen were in two rows, cast when it was cast.

⁴ It stood on twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, three looking toward the west, three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east; and the sea was set on them above, and all their hindquarters were inward.

⁵ It was a handbreadth thick. Its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily. It received and held three thousand baths.

⁶ He also made ten basins, and put five on the right hand and five on the left, to wash in them. The things that belonged to the burnt offering were washed in them, but the sea was for the priests to wash in.

⁷ He made the ten lamp stands of gold according to the ordinance concerning them; and he set them in the temple, five on the right hand and five on the left.

⁸ He made also ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. He made one hundred basins of gold.

⁹ Furthermore he made the court of the priests, the great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid their doors with bronze.

¹⁰ He set the sea on the right side of the house eastward, toward the south.

¹¹ Huram made the pots, the shovels, and the basins. So Huram finished doing the work that he did for King Solomon in God’s house:

¹² the two pillars, the bowls, the two capitals which were on the top of the pillars, the two networks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars,

¹³ and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks—two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the pillars.

¹⁴ He also made the bases, and he made the basins on the bases—

¹⁵ one sea, and the twelve oxen under it.

¹⁶ Huram-abi also made the pots, the shovels, the forks, and all its vessels for King Solomon, for Yahweh’s house, of bright bronze.

¹⁷ The king cast them in the plain of the Jordan, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah.

¹⁸ Thus Solomon made all these vessels in great abundance, so that the weight of the bronze could not be determined.

¹⁹ Solomon made all the vessels that were in God’s house: the golden altar, the tables with the show bread on them,

²⁰ and the lamp stands with their lamps to burn according to the ordinance before the inner sanctuary, of pure gold;

²¹ and the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs of gold that was purest gold;

²² and the snuffers, the basins, the spoons, and the fire pans of pure gold. As for the entry of the house, its inner doors for the most holy place and the doors of the main hall of the temple were of gold.

1 Kings 8

¹ Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel with all the heads of the tribes, the princes of the fathers’ households of the children of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of Yahweh’s covenant out of David’s city, which is Zion.

² All the men of Israel assembled themselves to King Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.

³ All the elders of Israel came, and the priests picked up the ark.

⁴ They brought up Yahweh’s ark, the Tent of Meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the Tent. The priests and the Levites brought these up.

⁵ King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who were assembled to him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and cattle that could not be counted or numbered for multitude.

⁶ The priests brought in the ark of Yahweh’s covenant to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the most holy place, even under the cherubim’s wings.

⁷ For the cherubim spread their wings out over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and its poles above.

⁸ The poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the holy place before the inner sanctuary, but they were not seen outside. They are there to this day.

⁹ There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets which Moses put there at Horeb, when Yahweh made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁰ It came to pass, when the priests had come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled Yahweh’s house,

¹¹ so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud; for Yahweh’s glory filled Yahweh’s house.

¹² Then Solomon said, “Yahweh has said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

¹³ I have surely built you a house of habitation, a place for you to dwell in forever.”

¹⁴ The king turned his face around and blessed all the assembly of Israel; and all the assembly of Israel stood.

¹⁵ He said, “Blessed is Yahweh, the God of Israel, who spoke with his mouth to David your father, and has with his hand fulfilled it, saying,

¹⁶ ‘Since the day that I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house, that my name might be there; but I chose David to be over my people Israel.’

¹⁷ “Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

¹⁸ But Yahweh said to David my father, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart.

¹⁹ Nevertheless, you shall not build the house; but your son who shall come out of your body, he shall build the house for my name.’

²⁰ Yahweh has established his word that he spoke; for I have risen up in the place of David my father, and I sit on the throne of Israel, as Yahweh promised, and have built the house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

²¹ There I have set a place for the ark, in which is Yahweh’s covenant, which he made with our fathers when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.”

⁵⁴ It was so, that when Solomon had finished praying all this prayer and supplication to Yahweh, he arose from before Yahweh’s altar, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread out toward heaven.

⁵⁵ He stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying,

⁵⁶ “Blessed be Yahweh, who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. There has not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by Moses his servant.

⁵⁷ May Yahweh our God be with us as he was with our fathers. Let him not leave us or forsake us,

⁵⁸ that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his ordinances, which he commanded our fathers.

⁵⁹ Let these my words, with which I have made supplication before Yahweh, be near to Yahweh our God day and night, that he may maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel, as every day requires;

⁶⁰ that all the peoples of the earth may know that Yahweh himself is God. There is no one else.

⁶¹ “Let your heart therefore be perfect with Yahweh our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as it is today.”

⁶² The king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before Yahweh.

⁶³ Solomon offered for the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered to Yahweh, twenty two thousand head of cattle and one hundred twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated Yahweh’s house.

⁶⁴ The same day the king made the middle of the court holy that was before Yahweh’s house; for there he offered the burnt offering, the meal offering, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar that was before Yahweh was too little to receive the burnt offering, the meal offering, and the fat of the peace offerings.

⁶⁵ So Solomon held the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly, from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of Egypt, before Yahweh our God, seven days and seven more days, even fourteen days.

⁶⁶ On the eighth day he sent the people away; and they blessed the king, and went to their tents joyful and glad in their hearts for all the goodness that Yahweh had shown to David his servant, and to Israel his people.

2 Chronicles 5

¹ Thus all the work that Solomon did for Yahweh’s house was finished. Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated, even the silver, the gold, and all the vessels, and put them in the treasuries of God’s house.

² Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the princes of the fathers’ households of the children of Israel, to Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of Yahweh’s covenant out of David’s city, which is Zion.

³ So all the men of Israel assembled themselves to the king at the feast, which was in the seventh month.

⁴ All the elders of Israel came. The Levites took up the ark.

⁵ They brought up the ark, the Tent of Meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the Tent. The Levitical priests brought these up.

⁶ King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled to him were before the ark, sacrificing sheep and cattle that could not be counted or numbered for multitude.

⁷ The priests brought in the ark of Yahweh’s covenant to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubim.

⁸ For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and its poles above.

⁹ The poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the ark in front of the inner sanctuary, but they were not seen outside; and it is there to this day.

¹⁰ There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets which Moses put there at Horeb, when Yahweh made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.

¹¹ When the priests had come out of the holy place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves, and didn’t keep their divisions;

¹² also the Levites who were the singers, all of them, even Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and their brothers, arrayed in fine linen, with cymbals and stringed instruments and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them one hundred twenty priests sounding with trumpets);

¹³ when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking Yahweh; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised Yahweh, saying, “For he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever!” then the house was filled with a cloud, even Yahweh’s house,

¹⁴ so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud; for Yahweh’s glory filled God’s house.

2 Chronicles 6

¹ Then Solomon said, “Yahweh has said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.

² But I have built you a house and home, a place for you to dwell in forever.”

³ The king turned his face, and blessed all the assembly of Israel; and all the assembly of Israel stood.

⁴ He said, “Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who spoke with his mouth to David my father, and has with his hands fulfilled it, saying,

⁵ ‘Since the day that I brought my people out of the land of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house in, that my name might be there, and I chose no man to be prince over my people Israel;

⁶ but now I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.’

⁷ Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

⁸ But Yahweh said to David my father, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart;

⁹ nevertheless you shall not build the house, but your son who will come out of your body, he shall build the house for my name.’

¹⁰ “Yahweh has performed his word that he spoke; for I have risen up in the place of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as Yahweh promised, and have built the house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

¹¹ There I have set the ark, in which is Yahweh’s covenant, which he made with the children of Israel.”

2 Chronicles 7

¹ Now when Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and Yahweh’s glory filled the house.

² The priests could not enter into Yahweh’s house, because Yahweh’s glory filled Yahweh’s house.

³ All the children of Israel looked on, when the fire came down, and Yahweh’s glory was on the house. They bowed themselves with their faces to the ground on the pavement, worshiped, and gave thanks to Yahweh, saying, “For he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever!”

⁴ Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before Yahweh.

⁵ King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand head of cattle and a hundred twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated God’s house.

⁶ The priests stood, according to their positions; the Levites also with instruments of music of Yahweh, which David the king had made to give thanks to Yahweh, when David praised by their ministry, saying “For his loving kindness endures forever.” The priests sounded trumpets before them; and all Israel stood.

⁷ Moreover Solomon made the middle of the court that was before Yahweh’s house holy; for there he offered the burnt offerings and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar which Solomon had made was not able to receive the burnt offering, the meal offering, and the fat.

⁸ So Solomon held the feast at that time for seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly, from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of Egypt.

⁹ On the eighth day, they held a solemn assembly; for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days.

¹⁰ On the twenty-third day of the seventh month, he sent the people away to their tents, joyful and glad of heart for the goodness that Yahweh had shown to David, to Solomon, and to Israel his people.

1 Kings 9

¹ When Solomon had finished the building of Yahweh’s house, the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he was pleased to do,

² Yahweh appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon.

³ Yahweh said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before me. I have made this house holy, which you have built, to put my name there forever; and my eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually.

⁴ As for you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and will keep my statutes and my ordinances,

⁵ then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised to David your father, saying, ‘There shall not fail from you a man on the throne of Israel.’

⁶ But if you turn away from following me, you or your children, and not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them,

⁷ then I will cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and I will cast this house, which I have made holy for my name, out of my sight; and Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples.

⁸ Though this house is so high, yet everyone who passes by it will be astonished and hiss; and they will say, ‘Why has Yahweh done this to this land and to this house?’

⁹ and they will answer, ‘Because they abandoned Yahweh their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and embraced other gods, and worshiped them, and served them. Therefore Yahweh has brought all this evil on them.’ ”

2 Chronicles 7

¹¹ Thus Solomon finished Yahweh’s house and the king’s house; and he successfully completed all that came into Solomon’s heart to make in Yahweh’s house and in his own house.

¹² Then Yahweh appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him, “I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for myself for a house of sacrifice.

¹³ “If I shut up the sky so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people,

¹⁴ if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

¹⁵ Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to prayer that is made in this place.

¹⁶ For now I have chosen and made this house holy, that my name may be there forever; and my eyes and my heart will be there perpetually.

¹⁷ “As for you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded you, and will keep my statutes and my ordinances,

¹⁸ then I will establish the throne of your kingdom, according as I covenanted with David your father, saying, ‘There shall not fail you a man to be ruler in Israel.’

¹⁹ 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 then I will pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have made holy for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.

²¹ This house, which is so high, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and say, ‘Why has Yahweh done this to this land and to this house?’

²² They shall answer, ‘Because they abandoned Yahweh, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and took other gods, worshiped them, and served them. Therefore he has brought all this evil on them.’ ”