2 Chronicles 4–6

4TH CHAPTER

¹He made a bronze altar 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 15 feet high. 

²Huram made a pool from cast metal. It was 15 feet in diameter. It was round, 7½ feet high, and had a circumference of 45 feet. ³Under the rim were two rows of figurines shaped like bulls all around the 45-foot circumference of the pool. They were cast in metal when the pool was cast. ⁴The pool was set on 12 metal bulls. Three bulls faced north, three faced west, three faced south, and three faced east. The pool was set on them, and their hindquarters were toward the center ⸤of the pool⸥. ⁵The pool was three inches thick. Its rim was like the rim of a cup, shaped like a lily’s bud. It held 18,000 gallons. 

⁶Huram also made ten basins for washing and put five on the south side and five on the north side. The priests rinsed the meat prepared for the burnt offerings in them. They used the pool to wash themselves. 

⁷Huram made ten gold lamp stands according to their specifications and put them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north side. ⁸He made ten tables and put them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north side. And he made 100 gold bowls. 

⁹He also made the priests’ courtyard and the large courtyard and its doors. He covered the doors with bronze. ¹⁰He set the pool on the south side in the southeast ⸤corner⸥. ¹¹Huram also made the pots, shovels, and bowls. 

So Huram finished the work for King Solomon in God’s temple: ¹²2 pillars, bowl-shaped capitals on top of the 2 pillars, and 2 sets of filigree to cover the 2 bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars, ¹³400 pomegranates for the 2 sets of filigree (2 rows of pomegranates for each filigree to cover the 2 bowl-shaped capitals on the pillars), ¹⁴10 stands and 10^abasins on the stands, ¹⁵1 pool and the 12 bulls under it, ¹⁶pots, shovels, and three-pronged forks. Huram made all of them out of polished bronze for the Lord’s temple at King Solomon’s request. ¹⁷The king cast them in foundries in the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zeredah. ¹⁸Solomon made so many of these products that no one tried to determine how much the bronze weighed. 

¹⁹Solomon made all the furnishings for God’s temple: the gold altar, the gold tables on which the bread of the presence was placed, ²⁰lamp stands and lamps of pure gold (to burn as directed in front of the inner room), ²¹flowers, lamps, pure gold tongs, ²²snuffers, basins, dishes, incense burners of pure gold, the gold entrance to the temple, the gold doors of the inner ⸤room⸥ (the most holy place), and the gold doors of the temple. 

5TH CHAPTER

¹All the work Solomon did on the Lord’s temple was finished. He brought the holy things that had belonged to his father David—the silver, gold, and all the utensils—and put them in the storerooms of God’s temple. 

The Lord Comes to His Temple—1 Kings 8:1–11

²Then Solomon assembled the respected leaders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes, and the leaders of the Israelite families. They came to Jerusalem to take the ark of the Lord’s promise from the City of David (that is, Zion). ³All the men of Israel gathered around the king at the Festival ⸤of Booths⸥ in the seventh month. 

⁴When all the leaders of Israel had arrived, the Levites picked up the ark. ⁵They brought the ark, the tent of meeting, and all the holy utensils in it ⸤to the temple⸥. The priests and the Levites carried them ⁶while King Solomon and the whole assembly from Israel were offering countless sheep and cattle sacrifices in front of the ark. ⁷The priests brought the ark of the Lord’s promise to its place in the inner room of the temple (the most holy place) under the wings of the angels.^a

⁸The angels’ outstretched wings were over the place where the ark ⸤rested⸥ so that the angels became a covering above the ark and its poles. ⁹The poles were so long that their ends could be seen in the holy place by anyone standing in front of the inner room,^bbut they couldn’t be seen outside. (They are still there today.) ¹⁰There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets Moses placed there at Horeb, where the Lord made a promise to the Israelites after they left Egypt. 

¹¹All the priests who were present had performed the ceremonies to make themselves holy to God without regard to staying in their divisions. ¹²All the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, their sons, and their relatives—were dressed in fine linen and stood east of the altar with cymbals, harps, and lyres. With the musicians were 120 priests blowing trumpets. When the priests left the holy place,^c13the trumpeters and singers praised and thanked the Lord in unison. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other musical instruments, they sang in praise to the Lord: “He is good; his mercy endures forever.” Then the Lord’s temple was filled with a cloud. ¹⁴The priests couldn’t serve because of the cloud. The Lord’s glory filled God’s temple. 

6TH CHAPTER

Solomon Addresses the People—1 Kings 8:12–21

¹Then Solomon said, “The Lord said he would live in a dark cloud. ²But I have built you a high temple, a home for you to live in permanently.” 

³Then the king turned around and blessed the whole assembly from Israel while they were standing. ⁴“Thanks be to the Lord God of Israel. With his mouth he made a promise to my father David; with his hand he carried it out. He said, ⁵‘Ever since I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I didn’t choose any city from the tribes of Israel as a place to build a temple for my name. And I didn’t choose any man to be prince over my people Israel. ⁶But now I’ve chosen Jerusalem to be a place for my name; I’ve chosen David to rule my people Israel.’ 

⁷“My father David had his heart set on building a temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel. ⁸However, the Lord said to my father David, ‘Since you had your heart set on building a temple for my name, your intentions were good. ⁹But you must not build the temple. Instead, your own son will build the temple for my name.’ ¹⁰The Lord has kept the promise he made. I’ve taken my father David’s place, and I sit on the throne of Israel as the Lord promised. I’ve built the temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel. ¹¹I’ve put the ark which contains the Lord’s promise to Israel there.” 

Solomon’s Prayer—1 Kings 8:22–53; Psalm 132:1, 8–10

¹²In the presence of the entire assembly of Israel, Solomon stood in front of the Lord’s altar. He stretched out his hands ⸤to pray⸥. ¹³(Solomon had made a bronze platform 7½ feet long, 7½ feet wide, and 4½ feet high. He put it in the middle of the courtyard. He stood on the platform, knelt in front of the entire assembly, and stretched out his hands toward heaven.) ¹⁴He said, 

“Lord God of Israel, 

there is no god like you in heaven or on earth. 

You keep your promise^aof mercy to your servants, 

who obey you wholeheartedly. 

¹⁵You have kept your promise to my father David, your servant. 

With your mouth you promised it. 

With your hand you carried it out as it is today. 

¹⁶“Now, Lord God of Israel, 

keep your promise to my father David, your servant. 

You said, ‘You will never fail to have an heir 

sitting in front of me on the throne of Israel 

if your descendants are faithful to me 

as you have been faithful to me.’ 

¹⁷“So now, Lord God of Israel, 

may the promise you made to David, your servant, come true. 

¹⁸“Does God really live on earth with people? 

If heaven itself, the highest heaven, cannot hold you, 

then how can this temple that I have built? 

¹⁹Nevertheless, my Lord God, please pay attention to my prayer for mercy. 

Listen to my cry for help as I pray to you. 

²⁰Day and night may your eyes be on this temple, 

the place about which you said your name will be there. 

Listen to me as I pray toward this place. 

²¹Hear the plea for mercy 

that your people Israel and I pray toward this place. 

Hear us in heaven, the place where you live. 

Hear and forgive. 

²²“If anyone sins against another person 

and is required to take an oath 

and comes to take the oath in front of your altar in this temple, 

²³then hear ⸤that person⸥ in heaven, take action, and make a decision. 

Repay the guilty person with the proper punishment, 

but declare the innocent person innocent. 

²⁴“An enemy may defeat your people Israel 

because they have sinned against you. 

But when your people turn, praise your name, pray, 

and plead with you in this temple, 

²⁵then hear ⸤them⸥ in heaven, forgive the sins of your people Israel, 

and bring them back to the land 

that you gave to them and their ancestors. 

²⁶“When the sky is shut and there’s no rain 

because they are sinning against you 

and they pray toward this place, praise your name, 

and turn away from their sin because you made them suffer, 

²⁷then hear ⸤them⸥ in heaven. 

Forgive the sins of your servants, your people Israel. 

Teach them the proper way to live. 

Then send rain on the land, 

which you gave to your people as an inheritance. 

²⁸“There may be famine in the land. 

Plant diseases, heat waves, funguses, locusts, 

or grasshoppers may destroy crops. 

Enemies may blockade Israel’s city gates. 

During every plague or sickness 

²⁹⸤hear⸥ every prayer for mercy 

made by one person or by all the people in Israel, 

all who know suffering or pain, 

who stretch out their hands toward this temple. 

³⁰Hear ⸤them⸥ in heaven, where you live. 

Forgive ⸤them⸥, and give each person the proper reply. 

(You know what is in their hearts, 

because you alone know what is in people’s hearts.) 

³¹Then, as long as they live in the land that you gave to our ancestors, 

they will fear you and follow you. 

³²“People who are not Israelites 

will come from distant countries because of your great name, 

mighty hand, and powerful arm. 

When they come to pray facing this temple, 

³³then hear ⸤them⸥ in heaven, the place where you live. 

Do everything they ask you 

so that all the people of the world may know your name 

and fear you like your people Israel 

and learn that this temple which I built bears your name. 

³⁴“When your people go to war…