Solomon Builds His Palace

1 Solomon was building his own house ^xthirteen years, and he finished his entire house.

2 He built the ^yHouse of the Forest of Lebanon. Its length was a hundred cubits¹ and its breadth fifty cubits and its height thirty cubits, and it was built on four² rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams on the pillars. 3 And it was covered with cedar above the chambers that were on the forty-five pillars, fifteen in each row. 4 There were window frames in three rows, and window opposite window in three tiers. 5 All the doorways and windows³ had square frames, and window was opposite window in three tiers.

6 And he made the Hall of Pillars; its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth thirty cubits. There was a porch in front with pillars, and a ^zcanopy in front of them.

7 And he made the Hall of the Throne where he was to pronounce judgment, even the Hall of Judgment. It was finished with cedar from floor to rafters.⁴

8 His own house where he was to dwell, in the other court at the back of the hall, was of like workmanship. Solomon also made a house like this hall for ^aPharaoh’s daughter whom he had taken in marriage.

9 All these were made of costly stones, cut according to measure, sawed with saws, back and front, even from the foundation to the coping, and from the outside to the great court. 10 The foundation was of costly stones, huge stones, stones of eight and ten cubits. 11 And above were costly stones, cut according to measurement, and cedar. 12 The great court had ^bthree courses of cut stone all around, and a course of cedar beams; so had the inner court of the house of the Lord and the vestibule of the house.

The Temple Furnishings

13 ^cAnd King Solomon sent and brought Hiram from 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 ^dfull of wisdom, understanding, and skill for making any work in bronze. He came to King Solomon and did all his work.

15 He cast two ^epillars of bronze. Eighteen cubits was the height of one pillar, and a line of twelve cubits measured its circumference. It was hollow, and its thickness was four fingers. The second pillar was the same.⁵ 16 He also made two ^fcapitals of cast 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 ^glattices of checker work with wreaths of ^hchain work for the capitals on the tops of the pillars, a lattice⁶ for the one capital and a lattice for the other capital. 18 Likewise he made ⁱpomegranates⁷ in two rows around the one latticework to cover the capital that was on the top of the pillar, and he did the same with the other capital. 19 Now the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars in the vestibule were of lily-work, four cubits. 20 The capitals were on the two pillars and also above the rounded projection which was beside the latticework. There were ^jtwo hundred pomegranates in two rows all around, and so with the other capital. 21 ^kHe set up the pillars at the vestibule of the temple. He set up the pillar on the south and called its name Jachin, and he set up the pillar on the north and called its name Boaz. 22 And on the tops of the pillars was lily-work. Thus the work of the pillars was finished.

23 Then he made the ^lsea of cast metal. It was round, ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits high, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference. 24 Under its brim were ^mgourds, for ten cubits, compassing the sea all around. The gourds were in two rows, cast with it when it was cast. 25 It stood on twelve ⁿoxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The sea was set on them, and all their rear parts were inward. 26 Its thickness was a handbreadth,⁸ and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily. It held two thousand baths.⁹

27 He also made the ten ^ostands of bronze. Each stand was four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high. 28 This was the construction of the stands: they had panels, and the panels were set in the frames, 29 and on the panels that were set in the frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim. On the frames, both above and below the lions and oxen, there were wreaths of beveled work. 30 Moreover, each stand had four bronze wheels and axles of bronze, and at the four corners were supports for a basin. The supports were cast with wreaths at the side of each. 31 Its opening was within a crown that projected upward one cubit. Its opening was round, as a pedestal is made, a cubit and a half deep. At its opening there were carvings, and its panels were square, not round. 32 And the four wheels were underneath the panels. The axles of the wheels were of one piece with the stands, and the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half. 33 The wheels were made like a chariot wheel; their axles, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all cast. 34 There were four supports at the four corners of each stand. The supports were of one piece with the stands. 35 And on the top of the stand there was a round band half a cubit high; and on the top of the stand its stays and its panels were of one piece with it. 36 And on the surfaces of its stays and on its panels, he carved cherubim, lions, and palm trees, according to the space of each, with wreaths all around. 37 After this manner he made the ten stands. All of them were cast alike, of the same measure and the same form.

38 And he made ten ^pbasins of bronze. Each basin held forty baths, each basin measured four cubits, and there was a basin for each of the ten stands. 39 And he set the stands, five on the south side of the house, and five on the north side of the house. And he set the sea at the southeast corner of the house.

40 Hiram also made the ^qpots, the shovels, and the basins. So Hiram finished all the work that he did for King Solomon on the house of the Lord: 41 the two pillars, the two bowls of the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars, and the two latticeworks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars; 42 and the four hundred pomegranates for the two latticeworks, two rows of pomegranates for each latticework, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the pillars; 43 the ten stands, and the ten basins on the stands; 44 and the one sea, and the twelve oxen underneath the sea.

45 Now the pots, the shovels, and the basins, all these vessels in the house of the Lord, which Hiram made for King Solomon, were of burnished ^rbronze. 46 In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan. 47 And Solomon left all the vessels ^sunweighed, because there were so many of them; the weight of the bronze was not ascertained.

48 So Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of the Lord: the ^tgolden altar, the ^ugolden table for the ^vbread of the Presence, 49 the ^wlampstands of pure gold, five on the south side and five on the north, before the inner sanctuary; the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of gold; 50 the cups, snuffers, basins, dishes for incense, and fire pans, of pure gold; and the sockets of gold, for the doors of the innermost part of the house, the Most Holy Place, and for the doors of the nave of the temple.

51 Thus all the work that King Solomon did on the house of the Lord was finished. And Solomon brought in the things ^xthat David his father had dedicated, the silver, the gold, and the vessels, and stored them in the treasuries of the house of the Lord.

With God We Shall Do Valiantly

A Song. A Psalm of David.

Greeting

1 Paul, an ^aapostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

To the saints who are in ^bEphesus, and are ^cfaithful¹ in Christ Jesus:

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

3 ^dBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the ^eheavenly places, 4 ^feven as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be ^gholy and blameless before him. In love 5 he ^hpredestined us² for ⁱadoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the ^jpurpose of his will, 6 ^kto the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the ^lBeloved. 7 In him we have ^mredemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our ⁿtrespasses, according to the ^oriches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in ^pall wisdom and insight 9 making known³ to us the ^qmystery of his will, according to his purpose, which ^rhe set forth in Christ⁴ 10 as a plan for the ^sfullness of time, ^tto unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth in him.

11 In him we have obtained an ^uinheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you ^vheard the ^wword of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were ^xsealed with ^ythe promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the ^zguarantee⁵ of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it,⁶ to the praise of his glory.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

15 For this reason, because ^aI have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love⁷ toward all the saints, 16 ^bI do ^cnot cease to give thanks for you, ^dremembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you ^ethe Spirit of wisdom and of ^frevelation in the ^gknowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts ^henlightened, that you may know what is ⁱthe hope to which ^jhe has called you, what are the ^kriches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, ^laccording to the working of his great ^mmight 20 that he worked in Christ when ⁿhe raised him from the dead and ^oseated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 ^pfar ^qabove all rule and authority and power and dominion, and ^rabove every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he ^sput ^tall things under his feet and gave him as ^uhead over all things to the church, 23 which is his ^vbody, the ^wfullness of him who ^xfills all in all.

By Grace Through Faith

1 And you were ^ydead in the trespasses and sins 2 ^zin which ^ayou once walked, following the course⁸ of this world, following the ^bprince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the ^csons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the ^dpassions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.⁹ 4 But¹⁰ God, being rich in ^emercy, ^fbecause of the great love with which he loved us, 5 ^geven when we were dead in our trespasses, ^hmade us alive together with Christ—ⁱby grace you have been saved— 6 and ^jraised us up with him and seated us with him in the ^kheavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable ^lriches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For ^mby grace you have been saved ⁿthrough faith. And this is ^onot your own doing; it is the ^pgift of God, 9 ^qnot a result of works, ^rso that no one may ^sboast. 10 For we are his ^tworkmanship, ^ucreated in Christ Jesus for good works, ^vwhich God prepared beforehand, that we should ^wwalk in them.

One in Christ

11 Therefore remember that ^xat one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called ^ythe circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, ^zalienated from the commonwealth of Israel and ^astrangers to ^bthe covenants of ^cpromise, ^dhaving no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus ^eyou who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our ^fpeace, who has made us both ^gone and has broken down ^hin his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 ⁱby abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might ^jreconcile us both to God ^kin one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and ^lpreached ^mpeace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have ⁿaccess in ^oone Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,¹¹ but you are ^pfellow citizens with the saints and members of the ^qhousehold of God, 20 ^rbuilt on the ^sfoundation of the ^tapostles and prophets, ^uChrist Jesus himself being the ^vcornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, ^wbeing joined together, grows into a ^xholy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being ^ybuilt together into a ^zdwelling place for God by¹² the Spirit.

The Mystery of the Gospel Revealed

1 For this reason I, Paul, a ^aprisoner of Christ Jesus ^bon behalf of you Gentiles— 2 assuming that you have heard of the ^cstewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 how the ^dmystery was made known to me by ^erevelation, ^fas I have written briefly. 4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 ^gwhich was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy ^hapostles and prophets by the Spirit. 6 ⁱThis mystery is¹³ that the Gentiles are ^jfellow heirs, ^kmembers of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

7 Of this gospel I was made a ^lminister according to the gift of ^mGod’s grace, which was given me ⁿby the working of his power. 8 To me, ^othough I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and ^pto bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery ^qhidden for ages in¹⁴ God, who created all things, 10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God ^rmight now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the ^sheavenly places. 11 This was according to the eternal ^tpurpose that ^uhe has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have ^vboldness and ^waccess with ^xconfidence through our faith in him. 13 So I ask you not to ^ylose heart over what I am suffering ^zfor you, which is your glory.

Prayer for Spiritual Strength

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family¹⁵ in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the ^ariches of his glory he may grant you to be ^bstrengthened with power through his Spirit in your ^cinner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being ^drooted and ^egrounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and ^fheight and depth, 19 and to know the ^glove of Christ that ^hsurpasses knowledge, that ⁱyou may be filled with all the ^jfullness of God.

20 ^kNow to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power ^lat work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.