2 Chronicles 4–6

The Temple’s Furnishings

4He made ^kan altar of bronze, twenty cubits¹ long and twenty cubits wide and ten cubits high. ^2lThen he made the sea 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. ³Under it were figures of gourds,² for ten cubits, compassing the sea all around. The gourds were in two rows, cast with it when it was cast. ⁴It stood on twelve oxen, 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. ⁵Its thickness was a handbreadth.³ And its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily. ^mIt held 3,000 baths.^{4 6n}He also made ten basins in which to wash, and set five on the south side, and five on the north side. In these they were to rinse off what was used for the burnt offering, and the sea was for the priests to wash in.

⁷And he made ten golden lampstands ^oas prescribed, and set them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. ^8pHe also made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. And he made a hundred basins of gold. ⁹He made ^qthe court of the priests ^rand the great court and doors for the court and overlaid their doors with bronze. ^10sAnd he set the sea at the southeast corner of the house.

^11tuHiram also made the pots, the shovels, and the basins. ^uSo Hiram finished the work that he did for King Solomon on the house of God: ¹²the two pillars, ^vthe bowls, and the two capitals on the top of the pillars; and the two latticeworks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars; ^13wand the 400 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. ¹⁴ⁿHe made the stands also, and the basins on the stands, ¹⁵and the one sea, and the twelve oxen underneath it. ¹⁶The pots, the shovels, ^xthe forks, and all the equipment for these ^tyHuram-abi made of burnished bronze for King Solomon for the house of the Lord. ¹⁷In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah.^{5 18z}Solomon made all these things in great quantities, for the weight of the bronze was not sought.

¹⁹So Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of God: the golden altar, ^athe tables for the bread of the Presence, ²⁰the lampstands and their lamps of pure gold ^bto burn before the inner sanctuary, as prescribed; ²¹the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of purest gold; ²²the snuffers, basins, dishes for incense, and fire pans, of pure gold, and the sockets⁶ of the temple, for the inner doors to the Most Holy Place and for the doors of the nave of the temple were of gold.

5^cThus all the work that Solomon did for the house of the Lord was finished. And Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated, and stored the silver, the gold, and all the vessels in the treasuries of the house of God.

The Ark Brought to the Temple

²Then 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 out of ^dthe city of David, which is Zion. ³And all the men of Israel assembled before the king at the feast that is in the seventh month. ⁴And all the elders of Israel came, ^eand the Levites took up the ark. ⁵And they brought up the ark, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; ^fthe Levitical priests brought them up. ⁶And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. ⁷Then 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. ⁸The cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim made a covering above the ark and its poles. ⁹And the poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen ^gfrom the Holy Place before the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from outside. And they are¹ there to this day. ¹⁰There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets ^hthat Moses put there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of Egypt. ¹¹And when the priests came out of the Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had consecrated themselves, without regard to ⁱtheir divisions, ¹²and all the Levitical ^jsingers, ^kAsaph, ^lHeman, and Jeduthun, their sons and kinsmen, arrayed in fine linen, with ^mcymbals, harps, and lyres, stood east of the altar with 120 ⁿpriests who were trumpeters; ¹³and 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, ^owith trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the Lord,

^p“For he is good,

for his steadfast love endures forever,”

the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, ¹⁴so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, ^qfor the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.

Solomon Blesses the People

6^rThen Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in thick darkness. ²But I have built you ^san exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever.” ³Then the king turned around and blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel stood. ⁴And he said, “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, 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 in which to build a house, that my name might be there, and I chose no man as prince over my people Israel; ^6tbut I have chosen Jerusalem that my name may be there, ^uand I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.’ ^7vNow it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. ⁸But the Lord said to David my father, ‘Whereas ^vit was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart. ⁹Nevertheless, it is not you who shall build the house, but your son who shall be born to you shall build the house for my name.’ ¹⁰Now 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. ¹¹And there I have set the ark, ^win which is the covenant of the Lord that he made with the people of Israel.”

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication

¹²Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands. ^13xSolomon had made a bronze platform five cubits¹ long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high, and had set it in the court, and he stood on it. ^yThen he knelt on his knees in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven, ¹⁴and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, ^zthere is no God like you, in heaven or on earth, ^akeeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart, ^15bwho 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. ¹⁶Now therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him, saying, ^c‘You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, ^dif only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk in my law as you have walked before me.’ ¹⁷Now therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David.

¹⁸“But will God indeed dwell with man on the earth? Behold, ^eheaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this house that I have built! ¹⁹Yet 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, ^20fthat your eyes may be open day and night toward this house, the place where you have promised to set your name, that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. ²¹And listen to the pleas of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen from heaven your dwelling place, ^gand when you hear, forgive.

²²“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, ²³then hear from heaven and act and judge your servants, repaying the guilty by bringing his conduct on his own head, and vindicating the righteous by rewarding him according to his righteousness.

²⁴“If your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you, and they turn again and acknowledge your name and pray and plead with you in this house, ^25gthen hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them again to the land that you gave to them and to their fathers.

^26h“When heaven is shut 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 afflict² them, ^27gthen hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel, when you teach them the good way³ in which they should walk, and grant rain upon your land, which you have given to your people as an inheritance.

²⁸ⁱ“If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence or blight or mildew or locust or caterpillar, if their enemies besiege them in the land at their gates, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, ²⁹whatever…