Solomon Builds the Temple

1 ^zIn the four hundred and eightieth year after the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, he began to build the house of the Lord. 2 The house that King Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits¹ long, twenty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high. 3 The vestibule in front of the nave of the house was ^atwenty cubits long, equal to the width of the house, and ten cubits deep in front of the house. 4 And he made for the house windows ^bwith recessed frames.² 5 He also built a structure³ against the wall of the house, running around the walls of the house, both the nave and the inner sanctuary. And he made ^cside chambers all around. 6 ^dThe lowest story⁴ was five cubits broad, the middle one was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad. For around the outside of the house he made offsets on the wall in order that the supporting beams should not be inserted into the walls of the house.

7 When the house was built, it was with stone prepared at the quarry, so that neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was being built.

8 The entrance for the lowest⁵ story was on the south side of the house, and ^eone went up by stairs to the middle story, and from the middle story to the third. 9 So he built the house and finished it, and he ^fmade the ceiling of the house of beams and planks of cedar. 10 He built the structure against the whole house, five cubits high, and it was joined to the house with timbers of cedar.

11 Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon, 12 “Concerning this house that you are building, ^gif you will walk in my statutes and obey my rules and keep all my commandments and walk in them, then I will ^hestablish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father. 13 And ⁱI will dwell among the children of Israel and will ^jnot forsake my people Israel.”

14 So Solomon built the house and finished it. 15 He lined the walls of the house on the inside with boards of cedar. From the floor of the house to the walls of the ceiling, he covered them on the inside with wood, and he covered the floor of the house with boards of cypress. 16 He built twenty cubits of the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the walls, and he built this within as an inner sanctuary, as the ^kMost Holy Place. 17 The house, that is, the nave in front of the inner sanctuary, was ^lforty cubits long. 18 The cedar within the house was carved in the form of gourds and open flowers. All was cedar; no stone was seen. 19 The inner sanctuary he prepared in the innermost part of the house, to ^mset there the ⁿark of the covenant of the Lord. 20 The inner sanctuary⁶ was ^otwenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, ^pand twenty cubits high, and he overlaid it with pure gold. He also overlaid⁷ an altar of cedar. 21 And Solomon overlaid the inside of the house with pure gold, and he drew chains of gold across, in front of the inner sanctuary, and overlaid it with gold. 22 And he overlaid the whole house with gold, until all the house was finished. Also the whole ^qaltar that belonged to the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold.

23 In the inner sanctuary he made two ^rcherubim of olivewood, each ten cubits high. 24 Five cubits was the length of one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the length of the other wing of the cherub; it was ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other. 25 The other cherub also measured ten cubits; both cherubim had the same measure and the same form. 26 The height of one cherub was ten cubits, and so was that of the other cherub. 27 He put the cherubim in the innermost part of the house. And the wings of the cherubim were ^sspread out so that a wing of one touched the one wall, and a wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; their other wings ^ttouched each other in the middle of the house. 28 And he overlaid the cherubim with gold.

29 Around all the walls of the house he carved engraved figures of cherubim and ^upalm trees and open flowers, in the inner and outer rooms. 30 The floor of the house he overlaid with gold in the inner and outer rooms.

31 For the entrance to the inner sanctuary he made ^vdoors of olivewood; the lintel and the doorposts were five-sided.⁸ 32 He covered the two doors of olivewood with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. He overlaid them with gold and spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees.

33 So also he made for the entrance to the nave doorposts of olivewood, in the form of a square, 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 On them he carved cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, and he overlaid them with gold evenly applied on the carved work. 36 He built the inner court with ^wthree courses of cut stone and one course of cedar beams.

37 In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid, in the month of Ziv. 38 And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its parts, and according to all its specifications. He was seven years in building it.

Solomon Builds the Temple

1 ^uThen Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount ^vMoriah, where the Lord¹ had appeared to David his father, ^wat the place that David had appointed, on the threshing floor of ^xOrnan the Jebusite. 2 He began to build in the second month of the fourth year of his reign. 3 These are Solomon’s measurements² for building the house of God: the length, in cubits³ of the old standard, was sixty cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits. 4 The vestibule in front of the nave of the house was ^ytwenty cubits long, equal to the width of the house,⁴ and its height was 120 cubits. He overlaid it on the inside with pure gold. 5 The nave he lined with cypress and covered it with fine gold and made palms and chains on it. 6 He adorned the house with settings of precious stones. The gold was gold of Parvaim. 7 So he lined the house with gold—its beams, its thresholds, its walls, and its doors—and he carved cherubim on the walls.

8 And he made the ^zMost Holy Place. ^aIts length, corresponding to the breadth of the house, was twenty cubits, and its breadth was twenty cubits. He overlaid it with 600 talents⁵ of fine gold. 9 The weight of gold for the nails was fifty shekels.⁶ And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold.

10 In the Most Holy Place he made two ^bcherubim of wood⁷ and overlaid⁸ them with gold. 11 The wings of the cherubim together extended twenty cubits: one wing of the one, of five cubits, touched the wall of the house, and its other wing, of five cubits, ^ctouched the wing of the other cherub; 12 and of this cherub, one wing, of five cubits, touched the wall of the house, and the other wing, also of five cubits, was joined to the wing of the first cherub. 13 The wings of these cherubim ^dextended twenty cubits. The cherubim⁹ stood on their feet, facing the nave. 14 And he made the ^eveil of ^fblue and purple and crimson fabrics and fine linen, and he worked cherubim on it.

The Ark Brought into the Temple

1 ^yThen Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ houses of the people of Israel, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord ^zout of the city of David, which is Zion. 2 And all the men of Israel assembled to King Solomon at the ^afeast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. 3 And all the elders of Israel came, and ^bthe priests took up the ark. 4 And they brought up the ark of the Lord, the ^ctent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up. 5 And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were with him before the ark, ^dsacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. 6 Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place in the ^einner sanctuary of the house, in the Most Holy Place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. 7 For the cherubim ^fspread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its ^gpoles. 8 And the poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the Holy Place before the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there ^hto this day. 9 There was nothing in the ark except the ⁱtwo tablets of stone that Moses ^jput there at Horeb, ^kwhere the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. 10 And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, ^la cloud filled the house of the Lord, 11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

Solomon Blesses the Lord

12 ^mThen Solomon said, “The Lord¹ has said that he would dwell in ⁿthick darkness. 13 I have indeed built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in ^oforever.” 14 Then the king turned around and ^pblessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel stood. 15 And he said, ^q“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his hand has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to David my father, saying, 16 ^r‘Since the day that I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I ^schose no city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, that my name might be there. But I ^tchose David to be over my people Israel.’ 17 Now it was ^uin the heart of David my father to build a house ^vfor the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 18 But the Lord 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, ^wyou shall not build the house, but ^xyour son who shall be born to you shall build the house for my name.’ 20 Now the Lord has fulfilled his promise that he made. For I have risen in the place of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and I have built the house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 21 And ^ythere I have provided a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord that he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.”

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication

22 ^zThen Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven, 23 and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, ^athere is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, ^bkeeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart; 24 you have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day. 25 Now therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father ^cwhat you have promised him, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me ^das you have walked before me.’ 26 Now therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David my father.

27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; ^ehow much less this house that I have built! 28 Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, 29 that your ^feyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ^g‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers ^htoward this place. 30 And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.

31 “If a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take an oath and comes and swears his oath before your altar in this house, 32 then hear in heaven and act and judge your servants, condemning the guilty by bringing his conduct on his own head, and vindicating the righteous by rewarding him according to his righteousness.

33 “When your people Israel are ⁱdefeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you, and if they turn again to you and acknowledge your name and pray and plead with you in this house, 34 then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them again to the land that you gave to their fathers.

35 “When heaven is ^jshut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin, when you afflict them, 36 then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel, when you teach them the ^kgood way in which they should walk, and grant rain upon your land, which you have given to your people as an inheritance.

37 “If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence or ^lblight or mildew or ^mlocust or caterpillar, if their enemy besieges them in the land at their gates,² whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, 38 whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart and stretching out his hands toward this house, 39 then hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways (for you, you only, ⁿknow the hearts of all the children of mankind), 40 that they may fear you all the days that they live in the land that you gave to our fathers.

41 “Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for your name’s sake 42 (for they shall hear of your ^ogreat name and your ^pmighty hand, and of your ^qoutstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house, 43 hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may ^rknow your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is ^scalled by your name.

44 “If your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way you shall send them, and they pray to the Lord toward the city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name, 45 then hear in heaven their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause.

46 “If they sin against you—for ^tthere is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near, 47 yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, ^u‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’ 48 if they ^vrepent with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name, 49 then hear in heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause 50 and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have committed against you, and grant them ^wcompassion in the sight of those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them 51 (for they are your people, and your ^xheritage, which you brought out of Egypt, from the midst of the ^yiron furnace). 52 Let your eyes be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, giving ear to them whenever they call to you. 53 For you ^zseparated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be your heritage, as you declared through Moses your servant, when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.”

Solomon’s Benediction

54 ^aNow as Solomon finished offering all this prayer and plea to the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, where he had knelt with hands outstretched toward heaven. 55 And he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, 56 “Blessed be the Lord who has given ^brest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. ^cNot one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant. 57 The Lord our God be ^dwith us, as he was with our fathers. May he not ^eleave us or forsake us, 58 that he may ^fincline our hearts to him, to ^gwalk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers. 59 Let these words of mine, with which I have pleaded before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, and may he maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires, 60 ^hthat all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; ⁱthere is no other. 61 Let your heart therefore be ^jwholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.”

Solomon’s Sacrifices

62 ^kThen the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the Lord. 63 Solomon offered as ^lpeace offerings to the Lord ^m22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people of Israel ⁿdedicated the house of the Lord. 64 The same day the king consecrated the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord, for there he offered the ^oburnt offering and the ^pgrain offering and the fat pieces of the peace offerings, because the ^qbronze altar that was before the Lord was too small to receive the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat pieces of the peace offerings.

65 So Solomon held the ^rfeast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly, from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of Egypt, before the Lord our God, seven days.³ 66 On the ^seighth day he sent the people away, and they blessed the king and went to their homes joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the Lord had shown to David his servant and to Israel his people.

The Ark Brought to the Temple

2 ^zThen Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ houses of the people of Israel, in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord ^aout of the city of David, which is Zion. 3 And all the men of Israel assembled before the king at the ^bfeast that is in the seventh month. 4 And all the elders of Israel came, and ^cthe Levites took up the ark. 5 ^dAnd they brought up the ark, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the Levitical priests brought them up. 6 And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were before the ark, ^esacrificing ^fso 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, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the Most Holy Place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. 8 The cherubim ^gspread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim made a covering above the ark and its ^hpoles. 9 And the poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the Holy Place before the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from outside. And they are¹ there ⁱto this day. 10 There was nothing in the ark except the ^jtwo tablets that Moses ^kput there at Horeb, where the Lord ^lmade a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of Egypt. 11 And when the priests came out of the Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had consecrated themselves, without regard to their divisions, 12 and all the Levitical ^msingers, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, their sons and kinsmen, arrayed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps, and lyres, stood east of the altar with 120 priests who were trumpeters; 13 and it was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the Lord), and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the Lord,