2 Chronicles 4–6

CHAPTER 4

The Furnishings of the House of Yahweh

¹Then ^ahe made a bronze altar, ¹twenty cubits in length and twenty cubits in width and ten cubits in height.

^2aAnd he made the sea of cast metal ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in form, and its height was five cubits, and ¹thirty cubits in ²its circumference.

³Now figures like oxen were under it and encircling it, ten cubits, entirely encircling the sea. The oxen were in two rows, cast ¹in one piece.

⁴It stood on twelve oxen, three facing the north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east; and the sea was set on top of them, and all their rear parts turned inward.

⁵And it was a ¹handbreadth thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, as a lily blossom; it ^acould hold 3,000 baths.

^6aHe also made ten lavers and set five on the right side and five on the left, in which to wash things, that is, in which they would rinse things for the burnt offering; but the sea was for the priests to wash in.

⁷Then ^ahe made the ten golden lampstands ¹in the way prescribed for them and he put them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left.

⁸He also made ^aten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. And he made one hundred golden bowls.

⁹Then he made ^athe court of the priests and ^bthe great court and doors for the court, and overlaid their doors with bronze.

^10aAnd he put the sea on the right ¹side of the house toward the southeast.

^11aAnd Huram made the pots and the shovels and the bowls. So Huram completed doing the work which he did for King Solomon in the house of God:

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

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

^14aHe also made the stands and he made the lavers on the stands,

¹⁵and the one sea with the twelve oxen under it.

¹⁶And the pots and the shovels and the flesh hooks and all its utensils, ^aHuram-abi made of polished bronze for King Solomon for the house of Yahweh.

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

^18aThus Solomon made all these utensils in great quantities, for the weight of the bronze could not be found out.

¹⁹Solomon also made all the furniture which was in the house of God: even the golden altar and ^athe tables with the bread of the Presence on them,

²⁰and the lampstands with their lamps of pure gold, ^ato burn in front of the inner sanctuary ¹in the way prescribed;

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

²²and the snuffers and the bowls and the spoons and the firepans, of pure gold; and the entrance of the house, its inner doors for the Holy of Holies and the doors of the house, that is, of the nave, of gold.

CHAPTER 5

The Ark Brought into the House of Yahweh

^1aThus all the work that Solomon did for the house of Yahweh was finished. And Solomon brought in the ^1bthings set apart as holy by his father David, even the silver and the gold and all the utensils, and he put them in the treasuries of the house of God.

^2aThen Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ households of the sons of Israel to Jerusalem, ^bto bring up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh from the city of David, which is Zion.

^3aAnd all the men of Israel assembled themselves to the king at ^bthe feast, that is in the seventh month.

⁴Then all the elders of Israel came, and ^athe Levites carried the ark.

⁵And they brought up the ark and the tent of meeting and all the holy utensils which were in the tent; the Levitical priests brought them up.

⁶And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel who congregated with him before the ark, were sacrificing ¹so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered.

⁷Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of Yahweh to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the Holy of Holies, under the wings of the cherubim.

⁸And the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim made a covering over the ark and its poles from above.

⁹But the poles were so long that ^athe ends of the poles of the ark could be seen before the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen outside; and ¹they are there to this day.

^10aThere was nothing in the ark except the two tablets which Moses put there at Horeb, where Yahweh cut a covenant with the sons of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.

The Glory of Yahweh Fills His House

¹¹Now it happened that when the priests came out of the holy place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves, without regard ^ato divisions),

¹²and all the Levitical singers, ^aAsaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and relatives, clothed in fine linen, ^bwith cymbals, harps, and lyres, standing east of the altar, and with them 120 priests ^cblowing trumpets

¹³in unison when the trumpeters and the singers were to make themselves heard with one voice to praise and to give thanks to Yahweh, and when they lifted up their voice ^aaccompanied by trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and when they praised Yahweh saying, “^bHe indeed is good for His lovingkindness endures forever,” then the house, the house of Yahweh, was filled with a cloud,

¹⁴so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for ^athe glory of Yahweh filled the house of God.

CHAPTER 6

Solomon Blesses the People

^1aThen Solomon said,

“Yahweh has said that He would dwell in the cloud of dense gloom.

²“Now I have built You a lofty house,

And a place for Your dwelling forever.”

³Then the king turned his face around and blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing.

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

⁵‘Since the day that I brought My people from the land of Egypt, I did not choose a city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house that My name might be there, nor did I choose any man for a ruler over My people Israel;

⁶but ^aI have chosen Jerusalem that My name might be there, and I ^bhave chosen David to be over My people Israel.’

⁷“^aAnd it was ¹in the heart of my father David to build a house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

⁸“But Yahweh said to my father David, ‘Because it was ¹in your heart to build a house for My name, you did well that it was ²in your heart.

⁹‘Nevertheless you shall not build the house, but your son who will ^acome forth from your loins, he shall build the house for My name.’

¹⁰“And Yahweh has established His word which He spoke; and I have been established in place of my father David and sit on the throne of Israel, as Yahweh ¹promised, and have built the house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

¹¹“And there I have set the ark ^ain which is the covenant of Yahweh, which He cut with the sons of Israel.”

Solomon’s Prayer for Israel

¹²Then he stood before the altar of Yahweh before all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands.

^13aNow Solomon had made a bronze platform, five cubits long, five cubits wide and three cubits high, and had put it in the midst of the court; and he stood on it, ^bknelt on his knees in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven.

¹⁴And he said, “O Yahweh, the God of Israel, ^athere is no god like You in heaven or on earth, ^bkeeping covenant and lovingkindness to Your slaves who walk before You with all their heart;

^15awho have kept with Your ¹servant David, my father, that which You have ²promised him; indeed You have promised with Your mouth and have fulfilled it by Your hand, as it is this day.

¹⁶“So now, O Yahweh, the God of Israel, keep with Your servant David my father, that which You have promised him, saying, ‘^aYou shall not have a man cut off from before Me who is to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your sons keep their way to walk in My law as you have walked before Me.’

¹⁷“So now, O Yahweh, the God of Israel, let Your word truly ¹endure which You have spoken to Your servant David.

¹⁸“But ^awill God truly dwell with mankind on the earth? Behold, ^bheaven and the ¹highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house which I have built.

¹⁹“Yet have regard to the prayer of Your slave and to his supplication, O Yahweh my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which Your slave prays before You;

²⁰that Your ^aeyes may be open toward this house day and night, toward ^bthe place of which You have said that You would place Your name there, to listen to the prayer which Your slave shall pray toward this place.

²¹“And listen to the supplications of Your slave and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place; listen from Your dwelling place, from heaven; ^alisten and forgive.

²²“If a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take an oath, and he comes and takes an oath before Your altar in this house,

²³then listen from heaven and act and judge Your slaves, ^1apunishing the wicked by ²bringing his way on his own head and justifying the righteous by ³bringing him reward according to his righteousness.

²⁴“And if Your people Israel are ¹defeated before an enemy because ^athey have sinned against You, and they turn to You and confess Your name, and pray and make supplication before You in this house,

²⁵then listen from heaven and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You have given to them and to their fathers.

²⁶“When the ^aheavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and turn from their sin when You afflict them;

²⁷then listen in heaven and forgive the sin of Your slaves and of Your people Israel;…