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1 Kings 7-9
New Living Translation

Solomon Builds His Palace

7 Solomon also built a palace for himself, and it took him thirteen years to complete the construction.

2 One of Solomon’s buildings was called the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. It was 150 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.[a] There were four rows of cedar pillars, and great cedar beams rested on the pillars. 3 The hall had a cedar roof. Above the beams on the pillars were forty-five side rooms,[b] arranged in three tiers of fifteen each. 4 On each end of the long hall were three rows of windows facing each other. 5 All the doorways and doorposts[c] had rectangular frames and were arranged in sets of three, facing each other.

6 Solomon also built the Hall of Pillars, which was 75 feet long and 45 feet wide.[d] There was a porch in front, along with a canopy supported by pillars.

7 Solomon also built the throne room, known as the Hall of Justice, where he sat to hear legal matters. It was paneled with cedar from floor to ceiling.[e] 8 Solomon’s living quarters surrounded a courtyard behind this hall, and they were constructed the same way. He also built similar living quarters for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had married.

9 From foundation to eaves, all these buildings were built from huge blocks of high-quality stone, cut with saws and trimmed to exact measure on all sides. 10 Some of the huge foundation stones were 15 feet long, and some were 12 feet[f] long. 11 The blocks of high-quality stone used in the walls were also cut to measure, and cedar beams were also used. 12 The walls of the great courtyard were built so that there was one layer of cedar beams between every three layers of finished stone, just like the walls of the inner courtyard of the Lord’s Temple with its entry room.

Furnishings for the Temple

13 King Solomon then asked for a man named Huram[g] to come from Tyre. 14 He was half Israelite, since his mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father had been a craftsman in bronze from Tyre. Huram was extremely skillful and talented in any work in bronze, and he came to do all the metal work for King Solomon.

15 Huram cast two bronze pillars, each 27 feet tall and 18 feet in circumference.[h] 16 For the tops of the pillars he cast bronze capitals, each 7 1⁄2 feet[i] tall. 17 Each capital was decorated with seven sets of latticework and interwoven chains. 18 He also encircled the latticework with two rows of pomegranates to decorate the capitals over the pillars. 19 The capitals on the columns inside the entry room were shaped like water lilies, and they were six feet[j] tall. 20 The capitals on the two pillars had 200 pomegranates in two rows around them, beside the rounded surface next to the latticework. 21 Huram set the pillars at the entrance of the Temple, one toward the south and one toward the north. He named the one on the south Jakin, and the one on the north Boaz.[k] 22 The capitals on the pillars were shaped like water lilies. And so the work on the pillars was finished.

23 Then Huram cast a great round basin, 15 feet across from rim to rim, called the Sea. It was 7 1⁄2 feet deep and about 45 feet in circumference.[l] 24 It was encircled just below its rim by two rows of decorative gourds. There were about six gourds per foot[m] all the way around, and they were cast as part of the basin.

25 The Sea was placed on a base of twelve bronze oxen,[n] all facing outward. Three faced north, three faced west, three faced south, and three faced east, and the Sea rested on them. 26 The walls of the Sea were about three inches[o] thick, and its rim flared out like a cup and resembled a water lily blossom. It could hold about 11,000 gallons[p] of water.

27 Huram also made ten bronze water carts, each 6 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 4 1⁄2 feet tall.[q] 28 They were constructed with side panels braced with crossbars. 29 Both the panels and the crossbars were decorated with carved lions, oxen, and cherubim. Above and below the lions and oxen were wreath decorations. 30 Each of these carts had four bronze wheels and bronze axles. There were supporting posts for the bronze basins at the corners of the carts; these supports were decorated on each side with carvings of wreaths. 31 The top of each cart had a rounded frame for the basin. It projected 1 1⁄2 feet[r] above the cart’s top like a round pedestal, and its opening was 2 1⁄4 feet[s] across; it was decorated on the outside with carvings of wreaths. The panels of the carts were square, not round. 32 Under the panels were four wheels that were connected to axles that had been cast as one unit with the cart. The wheels were 2 1⁄4 feet in diameter 33 and were similar to chariot wheels. The axles, spokes, rims, and hubs were all cast from molten bronze.

34 There were handles at each of the four corners of the carts, and these, too, were cast as one unit with the cart. 35 Around the top of each cart was a rim nine inches wide.[t] The corner supports and side panels were cast as one unit with the cart. 36 Carvings of cherubim, lions, and palm trees decorated the panels and corner supports wherever there was room, and there were wreaths all around. 37 All ten water carts were the same size and were made alike, for each was cast from the same mold.

38 Huram also made ten smaller bronze basins, one for each cart. Each basin was six feet across and could hold 220 gallons[u] of water. 39 He set five water carts on the south side of the Temple and five on the north side. The great bronze basin called the Sea was placed near the southeast corner of the Temple. 40 He also made the necessary washbasins, shovels, and bowls.

So at last Huram completed everything King Solomon had assigned him to make for the Temple of the Lord:

41 the two pillars;
the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars;
the two networks of interwoven chains that decorated the capitals;
42 the 400 pomegranates that hung from the chains on the capitals (two rows of pomegranates for each of the chain networks that decorated the capitals on top of the pillars);
43 the ten water carts holding the ten basins;
44 the Sea and the twelve oxen under it;
45 the ash buckets, the shovels, and the bowls.

Huram made all these things of burnished bronze for the Temple of the Lord, just as King Solomon had directed. 46 The king had them cast in clay molds in the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zarethan. 47 Solomon did not weigh all these things because there were so many; the weight of the bronze could not be measured.

48 Solomon also made all the furnishings of the Temple of the Lord:

the gold altar;
the gold table for the Bread of the Presence;
49 the lampstands of solid gold, five on the south and five on the north, in front of the Most Holy Place;
the flower decorations, lamps, and tongs—all of gold;
50 the small bowls, lamp snuffers, bowls, ladles, and incense burners—all of solid gold;
the doors for the entrances to the Most Holy Place and the main room of the Temple, with their fronts overlaid with gold.

51 So King Solomon finished all his work on the Temple of the Lord. Then he brought all the gifts his father, David, had dedicated—the silver, the gold, and the various articles—and he stored them in the treasuries of the Lord’s Temple.

The Ark Brought to the Temple

8 Solomon then summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes—the leaders of the ancestral families of the Israelites. They were to bring the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant to the Temple from its location in the City of David, also known as Zion. 2 So all the men of Israel assembled before King Solomon at the annual Festival of Shelters, which is held in early autumn in the month of Ethanim.[v]

3 When all the elders of Israel arrived, the priests picked up the Ark. 4 The priests and Levites brought up the Ark of the Lord along with the special tent[w] and all the sacred items that had been in it. 5 There, before the Ark, King Solomon and the entire community of Israel sacrificed so many sheep, goats, and cattle that no one could keep count!

6 Then the priests carried the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant into the inner sanctuary of the Temple—the Most Holy Place—and placed it beneath the wings of the cherubim. 7 The cherubim spread their wings over the Ark, forming a canopy over the Ark and its carrying poles. 8 These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place, which is in front of the Most Holy Place, but not from the outside. They are still there to this day. 9 Nothing was in the Ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Mount Sinai,[x] where the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel when they left the land of Egypt.

10 When the priests came out of the Holy Place, a thick cloud filled the Temple of the Lord. 11 The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of the Lord.

Solomon Praises the Lord

12 Then Solomon prayed, “O Lord, you have said that you would live in a thick cloud of darkness. 13 Now I have built a glorious Temple for you, a place where you can live forever![y]”

14 Then the king turned around to the entire community of Israel standing before him and gave this blessing: 15 “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who has kept the promise he made to my father, David. For he told my father, 16 ‘From the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have never chosen a city among any of the tribes of Israel as the place where a Temple should be built to honor my name. But I have chosen David to be king over my people Israel.’”

17 Then Solomon said, “My father, David, wanted to build this Temple to honor the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 18 But the Lord told him, ‘You wanted to build the Temple to honor my name. Your intention is good, 19 but you are not the one to do it. One of your own sons will build the Temple to honor me.’

20 “And now the Lord has fulfilled the promise he made, for I have become king in my father’s place, and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised. I have built this Temple to honor the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 21 And I have prepared a place there for the Ark, which contains the covenant that the Lord made with our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt.”

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication

22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the entire community of Israel. He lifted his hands toward heaven, 23 and he prayed,

“O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in all of heaven above or on the earth below. You keep your covenant and show unfailing love to all who walk before you in wholehearted devotion. 24 You have kept your promise to your servant David, my father. You made that promise with your own mouth, and with your own hands you have fulfilled it today.

25 “And now, O Lord, God of Israel, carry out the additional promise you made to your servant David, my father. For you said to him, ‘If your descendants guard their behavior and faithfully follow me as you have done, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel.’ 26 Now, O God of Israel, fulfill this promise to your servant David, my father.

27 “But will God really live on earth? Why, even the highest heavens cannot contain you. How much less this Temple I have built! 28 Nevertheless, listen to my prayer and my plea, O Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is making to you today. 29 May you watch over this Temple night and day, this place where you have said, ‘My name will be there.’ May you always hear the prayers I make toward this place. 30 May you hear the humble and earnest requests from me and your people Israel when we pray toward this place. Yes, hear us from heaven where you live, and when you hear, forgive.

31 “If someone wrongs another person and is required to take an oath of innocence in front of your altar in this Temple, 32 then hear from heaven and judge between your servants—the accuser and the accused. Punish the guilty as they deserve. Acquit the innocent because of their innocence.

33 “If your people Israel are defeated by their enemies because they have sinned against you, and if they turn to you and acknowledge your name and pray to you here in this Temple, 34 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and return them to this land you gave their ancestors.

35 “If the skies are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and if they pray toward this Temple and acknowledge your name and turn from their sins because you have punished them, 36 then hear from heaven and forgive the sins of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them to follow the right path, and send rain on your land that you have given to your people as their special possession.

37 “If there is a famine in the land or a plague or crop disease or attacks of locusts or caterpillars, or if your people’s enemies are in the land besieging their towns—whatever disaster or disease there is— 38 and if your people Israel pray about their troubles, raising their hands toward this Temple, 39 then hear from heaven where you live, and forgive. Give your people what their actions deserve, for you alone know each human heart. 40 Then they will fear you as long as they live in the land you gave to our ancestors.

41 “In the future, foreigners who do not belong to your people Israel will hear of you. They will come from distant lands because of your name, 42 for they will hear of your great name and your strong hand and your powerful arm. And when they pray toward this Temple, 43 then hear from heaven where you live, and grant what they ask of you. In this way, all the people of the earth will come to know and fear you, just as your own people Israel do. They, too, will know that this Temple I have built honors your name.

44 “If your people go out where you send them to fight their enemies, and if they pray to the Lord by turning toward this city you have chosen and toward this Temple I have built to honor your name, 45 then hear their prayers from heaven and uphold their cause.

46 “If they sin against you—and who has never sinned?—you might become angry with them and let their enemies conquer them and take them captive to their land far away or near. 47 But in that land of exile, they might turn to you in repentance and pray, ‘We have sinned, done evil, and acted wickedly.’ 48 If they turn to you with their whole heart and soul in the land of their enemies and pray toward the land you gave to their ancestors—toward this city you have chosen, and toward this Temple I have built to honor your name— 49 then hear their prayers and their petition from heaven where you live, and uphold their cause. 50 Forgive your people who have sinned against you. Forgive all the offenses they have committed against you. Make their captors merciful to them, 51 for they are your people—your special possession—whom you brought out of the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt.

52 “May your eyes be open to my requests and to the requests of your people Israel. May you hear and answer them whenever they cry out to you. 53 For when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt, O Sovereign Lord, you told your servant Moses that you had set Israel apart from all the nations of the earth to be your own special possession.”

The Dedication of the Temple

54 When Solomon finished making these prayers and petitions to the Lord, he stood up in front of the altar of the Lord, where he had been kneeling with his hands raised toward heaven. 55 He stood and in a loud voice blessed the entire congregation of Israel:

56 “Praise the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the wonderful promises he gave through his servant Moses. 57 May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us or abandon us. 58 May he give us the desire to do his will in everything and to obey all the commands, decrees, and regulations that he gave our ancestors. 59 And may these words that I have prayed in the presence of the Lord be before him constantly, day and night, so that the Lord our God may give justice to me and to his people Israel, according to each day’s needs. 60 Then people all over the earth will know that the Lord alone is God and there is no other. 61 And may you be completely faithful to the Lord our God. May you always obey his decrees and commands, just as you are doing today.”

62 Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices to the Lord. 63 Solomon offered to the Lord a peace offering of 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep and goats. And so the king and all the people of Israel dedicated the Temple of the Lord.

64 That same day the king consecrated the central area of the courtyard in front of the Lord’s Temple. He offered burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat of peace offerings there, because the bronze altar in the Lord’s presence was too small to hold all the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.

65 Then Solomon and all Israel celebrated the Festival of Shelters[z] in the presence of the Lord our God. A large congregation had gathered from as far away as Lebo-hamath in the north and the Brook of Egypt in the south. The celebration went on for fourteen days in all—seven days for the dedication of the altar and seven days for the Festival of Shelters.[aa] 66 After the festival was over,[ab] Solomon sent the people home. They blessed the king and went to their homes joyful and glad because the Lord had been good to his servant David and to his people Israel.

The Lord’s Response to Solomon

9 So Solomon finished building the Temple of the Lord, as well as the royal palace. He completed everything he had planned to do. 2 Then the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, as he had done before at Gibeon. 3 The Lord said to him,

“I have heard your prayer and your petition. I have set this Temple apart to be holy—this place you have built where my name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart.

4 “As for you, if you will follow me with integrity and godliness, as David your father did, obeying all my commands, decrees, and regulations, 5 then I will establish the throne of your dynasty over Israel forever. For I made this promise to your father, David: ‘One of your descendants will always sit on the throne of Israel.’

6 “But if you or your descendants abandon me and disobey the commands and decrees I have given you, and if you serve and worship other gods, 7 then I will uproot Israel from this land that I have given them. I will reject this Temple that I have made holy to honor my name. I will make Israel an object of mockery and ridicule among the nations. 8 And though this Temple is impressive now, all who pass by will be appalled and will gasp in horror. They will ask, ‘Why did the Lord do such terrible things to this land and to this Temple?’

9 “And the answer will be, ‘Because his people abandoned the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and they worshiped other gods instead and bowed down to them. That is why the Lord has brought all these disasters on them.’”

Solomon’s Agreement with Hiram

10 It took Solomon twenty years to build the Lord’s Temple and his own royal palace. At the end of that time, 11 he gave twenty towns in the land of Galilee to King Hiram of Tyre. (Hiram had previously provided all the cedar and cypress timber and gold that Solomon had requested.) 12 But when Hiram came from Tyre to see the towns Solomon had given him, he was not at all pleased with them. 13 “What kind of towns are these, my brother?” he asked. So Hiram called that area Cabul (which means “worthless”), as it is still known today. 14 Nevertheless, Hiram paid[ac] Solomon 9,000 pounds[ad] of gold.

Solomon’s Many Achievements

15 This is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon conscripted to build the Lord’s Temple, the royal palace, the supporting terraces,[ae] the wall of Jerusalem, and the cities of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. 16 (Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, had attacked and captured Gezer, killing the Canaanite population and burning it down. He gave the city to his daughter as a wedding gift when she married Solomon. 17 So Solomon rebuilt the city of Gezer.) He also built up the towns of Lower Beth-horon, 18 Baalath, and Tamar[af] in the wilderness within his land. 19 He built towns as supply centers and constructed towns where his chariots and horses[ag] could be stationed. He built everything he desired in Jerusalem and Lebanon and throughout his entire realm.

20 There were still some people living in the land who were not Israelites, including Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 21 These were descendants of the nations whom the people of Israel had not completely destroyed.[ah] So Solomon conscripted them as slaves, and they serve as forced laborers to this day. 22 But Solomon did not conscript any of the Israelites for forced labor. Instead, he assigned them to serve as fighting men, government officials, officers and captains in his army, commanders of his chariots, and charioteers. 23 Solomon appointed 550 of them to supervise the people working on his various projects.

24 Solomon moved his wife, Pharaoh’s daughter, from the City of David to the new palace he had built for her. Then he constructed the supporting terraces.

25 Three times each year Solomon presented burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar he had built for the Lord. He also burned incense to the Lord. And so he finished the work of building the Temple.

26 King Solomon also built a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, a port near Elath[ai] in the land of Edom, along the shore of the Red Sea.[aj] 27 Hiram sent experienced crews of sailors to sail the ships with Solomon’s men. 28 They sailed to Ophir and brought back to Solomon some sixteen tons[ak] of gold.

Footnotes

  1. 7:2 Hebrew 100 cubits [46 meters] long, 50 cubits [23 meters] wide, and 30 cubits [13.8 meters] high.
  2. 7:3 Or 45 rafters, or 45 beams, or 45 pillars. The architectural details in 7:2-6 can be interpreted in many different ways.
  3. 7:5 Greek version reads windows.
  4. 7:6 Hebrew 50 cubits [23 meters] long and 30 cubits [13.8 meters] wide.
  5. 7:7 As in Syriac version and Latin Vulgate; Hebrew reads from floor to floor.
  6. 7:10 Hebrew 10 cubits [4.6 meters] . . . 8 cubits [3.7 meters].
  7. 7:13 Hebrew Hiram (also in 7:40, 45); compare 2 Chr 2:13. This is not the same person mentioned in 5:1.
  8. 7:15 Hebrew 18 cubits [8.3 meters] tall and 12 cubits [5.5 meters] in circumference.
  9. 7:16 Hebrew 5 cubits [2.3 meters].
  10. 7:19 Hebrew 4 cubits [1.8 meters]; also in 7:38.
  11. 7:21 Jakin probably means “he establishes”; Boaz probably means “in him is strength.”
  12. 7:23 Hebrew 10 cubits [4.6 meters] across. . . . 5 cubits [2.3 meters] deep and 30 cubits [13.8 meters] in circumference.
  13. 7:24 Or 20 gourds per meter; Hebrew reads 10 per cubit.
  14. 7:25 Hebrew 12 oxen; compare 2 Kgs 16:17, which specifies bronze oxen.
  15. 7:26a Hebrew a handbreadth [8 centimeters].
  16. 7:26b Hebrew 2,000 baths [42 kiloliters].
  17. 7:27 Hebrew 4 cubits [1.8 meters] long, 4 cubits wide, and 3 cubits [1.4 meters] high.
  18. 7:31a Hebrew a cubit [46 centimeters].
  19. 7:31b Hebrew 1 1⁄2 cubits [69 centimeters]; also in 7:32.
  20. 7:35 Hebrew half a cubit wide [23 centimeters].
  21. 7:38 Hebrew 40 baths [840 liters].
  22. 8:2 Hebrew at the festival in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. The Festival of Shelters began on the fifteenth day of the seventh month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This day occurred in late September, October, or early November.
  23. 8:4 Hebrew the Tent of Meeting; i.e., the tent mentioned in 2 Sam 6:17 and 1 Chr 16:1.
  24. 8:9 Hebrew at Horeb, another name for Sinai.
  25. 8:13 Some Greek texts add the line Is this not written in the Book of Jashar?
  26. 8:65a Hebrew the festival; see note on 8:2.
  27. 8:65b Hebrew seven days and seven days, fourteen days; compare parallel text at 2 Chr 7:8-10.
  28. 8:66 Hebrew On the eighth day, probably referring to the day following the seven-day Festival of Shelters; compare parallel text at 2 Chr 7:9-10.
  29. 9:14a Or For Hiram had paid.
  30. 9:14b Hebrew 120 talents [4,000 kilograms].
  31. 9:15 Hebrew the millo; also in 9:24. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
  32. 9:18 An alternate reading in the Masoretic Text reads Tadmor.
  33. 9:19 Or and charioteers.
  34. 9:21 The Hebrew term used here refers to the complete consecration of things or people to the Lord, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering.
  35. 9:26a As in Greek version (see also 2 Kgs 14:22; 16:6); Hebrew reads Eloth, a variant spelling of Elath.
  36. 9:26b Hebrew sea of reeds.
  37. 9:28 Hebrew 420 talents [14 metric tons].
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1 Kings 7-9
GOD’S WORD Translation

The Palace Built in 13 Years

7 Solomon took 13 years to finish building his palace. 2 He built a hall ⌞named⌟ the Forest of Lebanon. It was 150 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. It had four rows of cedar pillars supporting cedar beams. 3 The hall was covered with cedar above the side rooms, which were supported by 45 pillars (15 per row). 4 The windows were in three rows facing each other on opposite sides ⌞of the palace⌟. 5 All the doors and doorframes were square. There were three doors facing each other on opposite sides ⌞of the palace⌟.

6 Solomon made the Hall of Pillars 75 feet long and 45 feet wide. In front of the hall was an entrance hall with pillars.

7 He made the Hall of Justice, where he sat on his throne and served as judge. The hall was covered with cedar from floor to ceiling.[a]

8 His own private quarters were in a different location than the Hall of Justice, but they were similar in design. Solomon also built private quarters like this for his wife, Pharaoh’s daughter.

9 From the foundation to the roof, all these buildings, including the large courtyard, were built with high-grade stone blocks. The stone blocks were cut to size and trimmed with saws on their inner and outer faces. 10 The foundation was made with large, high-grade stones (some 12 feet long, others 15 feet long). 11 Above ⌞the foundation⌟ were cedar beams and high-grade stone blocks, which had been cut to size. 12 The large courtyard had three layers of cut stone blocks and a layer of cedar beams, like the inner courtyard of the Lord’s temple and the entrance hall.

The Temple Furnishings(A)

13 King Solomon had Hiram brought from Tyre. 14 Hiram was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali. His father, a native of Tyre, was a skilled bronze craftsman. Hiram was highly skilled, resourceful, and knowledgeable about all kinds of bronze craftsmanship. He came to King Solomon and did all his ⌞bronze⌟ work.

15 He made two bronze pillars. Each was 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference. 16 He made two capitals of cast bronze to put on top of the pillars. Each capital was 7½ feet high. 17 He also made seven rows of filigree and chains for each capital. 18 After he made the pillars, he made two rows ⌞of decorations⌟ around the filigree to cover the capitals which were above the pillars.[b] He made the capitals identical to each other. 19 The capitals on top of the pillars in the entrance hall were lily-shaped. ⌞Each⌟ was six feet high. 20 Two hundred pomegranates in rows were directly above the bowl-shaped parts around the filigree on the capitals on both pillars.

21 Hiram set up the pillars in the temple’s entrance hall. He set up the pillar on the right and named it Jachin [He Establishes]. Then he set up the pillar on the left and named it Boaz [In Him Is Strength]. 22 There were lily-shaped capitals at the top of the pillars. He finished the work on the pillars.

23 Hiram 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. 24 Under the rim were two rows of gourds all around the 45-foot circumference of the pool. They were cast in metal when the pool was cast. 25 The 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⌟. 26 The pool was three inches thick. Its rim was like the rim of a cup, shaped like a lily’s bud. It held 12,000 gallons.

27 He made ten bronze stands. Each stand was 6 feet square and 4½ feet high. 28 The stands were made this way: They had side panels set in frames. 29 On the panels set in frames were lions, oxen, and angels.[c] These were also on the frames. Above and below the lions and the cattle were engraved designs. 30 Each stand had four bronze wheels on bronze axles and four supports beneath the basin. The supports were made of cast metal with designs on the sides. 31 Each had a 1½-foot-deep opening in the center to the circular frame on top. The opening was round, formed like a pedestal, and was two feet ⌞wide⌟. Around the opening there were engravings. But the panels were square, not round. 32 The four wheels were under the panels, and the axles were attached to the stand. Each wheel was two feet high. 33 The wheels were made like chariot wheels. The axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were all cast metal. 34 The four supports at the four corners of each stand were part of the stand. 35 The top of each stand had a round, nine-inch-high band. Above the stand were supports which were part of the panels. 36 Hiram engraved angels, lions, palm trees, and designs in every available space on the supports and panels. 37 This is the way he made the ten stands. All of them were cast in the same mold, identical in size and shape.

38 Hiram also made ten bronze basins. Each basin held 240 gallons. Every basin was six feet ⌞wide⌟. There was one basin on each of the ten stands. 39 He put five stands on the south side of the temple and five on the north side of the temple. He set the pool on the south side of the temple in the southeast ⌞corner⌟. 40 Hiram also made pots, shovels, and bowls.

So Hiram finished all the work for King Solomon on the Lord’s temple: 41 2 pillars, the 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, 42 400 pomegranates for the 2 sets of filigree (2 rows of pomegranates for each filigree to cover the 2 bowl-shaped capitals on the pillars), 43 10 stands and 10 basins on the stands, 44 1 pool, 12 bulls under the pool, 45 pots, shovels, and bowls. Hiram made all these utensils out of polished bronze for the Lord’s temple at King Solomon’s request. 46 The king cast them in foundries in the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zarethan. 47 Solomon left all the products unweighed because so much bronze was used. No one tried to determine how much the bronze weighed.

48 Solomon made all the furnishings for the Lord’s temple: the gold altar, the gold table on which the bread of the presence was placed, 49 lamp stands of pure gold (five on the south side and five on the north in front of the inner room), flowers, lamps, gold tongs, 50 dishes, snuffers, bowls, saucers, incense burners of pure gold, the gold sockets for the doors of the inner ⌞room⌟ (the most holy place), and the doors of the temple.

51 All the work King 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 utensils—and put them in the storerooms of the Lord’s temple.

The Lord Comes to His Temple(B)

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

3 When all the leaders of Israel had arrived, the priests picked up the Lord’s ark. 4 They brought the ark, the tent of meeting, and all the holy utensils in it ⌞to the temple⌟. The priests and the Levites carried them 5 while King Solomon with the whole assembly from Israel were offering countless sheep and cattle sacrifices in front of the ark. 6 The 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.[d]

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

10 When the priests left the holy place, a cloud filled the Lord’s temple. 11 The priests couldn’t serve because of the cloud. The Lord’s glory filled his temple.

Solomon Addresses the People(C)

12 Then Solomon said, “The Lord said he would live in a dark cloud. 13 I certainly have built you a high temple, a home for you to live in permanently.”

14 Then the king turned around and blessed the whole assembly of Israel while they were standing. 15 “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, 16 ‘Ever since I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I didn’t choose any city in any of the tribes of Israel as a place to build a temple for my name. But now I’ve chosen David to rule my people Israel.’

17 “My father David had his heart set on building a temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel. 18 However, the Lord said to my father David, ‘Since you had your heart set on building a temple for my name, your intentions were good. 19 But you must not build the temple. Instead, your own son will build the temple for my name.’ 20 The Lord has kept the promise he made. I have 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. 21 I’ve made a place there for the ark which contains the Lord’s promise that he made to our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt.”

Solomon’s Prayer(D)

22 In the presence of the entire assembly of Israel, Solomon stood in front of the Lord’s altar. He stretched out his hands toward heaven 23 and said,

“Lord God of Israel,
there is no god like you in heaven above or on earth below.
You keep your promise [e] of mercy to your servants,
who obey you wholeheartedly.
24 You 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.

25 “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.’

26 “So now, God of Israel,
may the promise you made to my father David,
your servant, come true.

27 “Does God really live on earth?
If heaven itself, the highest heaven, cannot hold you,
then how can this temple that I have built?
28 Nevertheless, my Lord God, please pay attention to my prayer for mercy.
Listen to my cry for help as I pray to you today.
29 Night and day may your eyes be on this temple,
the place about which you said, ‘My name will be there.’
Listen to me as I pray toward this place.
30 Hear the plea for mercy
that your people Israel and I pray toward this place.
Hear us ⌞when we pray⌟ to heaven, the place where you live.
Hear and forgive.

31 “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,
32 then hear ⌞that person⌟ in heaven, take action, and make a decision.
Condemn the guilty person with the proper punishment,
but declare the innocent person innocent.

33 “An enemy may defeat your people Israel
because they have sinned against you.
But when your people turn to you, praise your name, pray,
and plead with you in this temple,
34 then hear ⌞them⌟ in heaven, forgive the sins of your people Israel,
and bring them back to the land that you gave to their ancestors.

35 “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,
36 then 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.

37 “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
38 ⌞hear⌟ every prayer for mercy,
made by one person or by all the people in Israel,
whose consciences bother them,
who stretch out their hands toward this temple.
39 Hear ⌞them⌟ in heaven, where you live.
Forgive ⌞them⌟, and take action.
Give each person the proper reply.
(You know what is in their hearts,
because you alone know what is in the hearts of all people.)
40 Then, as long as they live in the land that you gave to our ancestors,
they will fear you.

41 “People will hear about your great name,
mighty hand, and powerful arm.[f]
So when people who are not Israelites
come from distant countries because of your name
42 to pray facing this temple,
43 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 also that this temple which I built bears your name.

44 “When your people go to war against their enemies
(wherever you may send them)
and they pray to you, O Lord, toward the city you have chosen
and the temple I built for your name,
45 then hear their prayer for mercy in heaven,
and do what is right ⌞for them⌟.

46 “They may sin against you.
(No one is sinless.)
You may become angry with them and hand them over to an enemy
who takes them to ⌞another⌟ country as captives,
⌞whether it is⌟ far or near.
47 If they come to their senses,
are sorry for what they’ve done,
and plead with you in the land where they are captives,
saying, ‘We have sinned. We have done wrong.
We have been wicked,’
48 if they change their attitude toward you
in the land of their enemies where they are captives,
if they pray to you
toward the land that you gave their ancestors,
and the city you have chosen,
and the temple I have built for your name,
49 then in heaven, the place where you live, hear their prayer for mercy.
Do what is right for them.
50 Forgive your people, who have sinned against you.
⌞Forgive⌟ all their wrongs when they rebelled against you,
and cause those who captured them to have mercy on them
51 because they are your own people
whom you brought out of Egypt
from the middle of an iron smelter.

52 “May your eyes always see my plea and your people Israel’s plea
so that you will listen to them whenever they call on you.
53 After all, you, Lord God, set them apart from all the people of the world
to be your own as you promised through your servant Moses
when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt.”

Solomon Blesses the People

54 When Solomon finished praying this prayer for mercy to the Lord, he stood in front of the Lord’s altar, where he had been kneeling with his hands stretched out toward heaven. 55 Then he stood and in a loud voice blessed the entire assembly of Israel, 56 “Thanks be to the Lord! He has given his people Israel rest, as he had promised. None of the good promises he made through his servant Moses has failed to come true. 57 May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors. May he never leave us or abandon us. 58 May he bend our hearts toward him. Then we will follow him and keep his commands, laws, and rules, which he commanded our ancestors ⌞to keep⌟. 59 May these words which I have prayed to the Lord be near the Lord our God day and night. Then he will give me and his people Israel justice every day as it is needed. 60 In this way all the people of the world will know that the Lord is God and there is no other ⌞god⌟. 61 May your hearts be committed to the Lord our God. Then you will live by his laws and keep his commands as you have today.”

Solomon Offers Sacrifices(E)

62 Then the king and all Israel offered sacrifices to the Lord. 63 Solomon sacrificed 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep as fellowship offerings to the Lord. So the king and all the people of Israel dedicated the Lord’s temple.

64 On that day the king designated the courtyard in front of the Lord’s temple as a holy place. He sacrificed the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat from the fellowship offerings because the bronze altar in front of the Lord was too small to hold all of them.

65 At that time Solomon and all Israel celebrated the Festival ⌞of Booths⌟. A large crowd had come from ⌞the territory between⌟ the border of Hamath and the River of Egypt to be near the Lord our God for seven days.[g] 66 On the eighth day he dismissed the people. They blessed the king and went to their tents. They rejoiced with cheerful hearts for all the blessings the Lord had given his servant David and his people Israel.

The Lord Answers Solomon’s Prayer(F)

9 Solomon finished building the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and everything ⌞else⌟ he wanted to build. 2 Then the Lord appeared to him a second time, as he had appeared to him in Gibeon. 3 The Lord said to him,

“I have heard your prayer for mercy that you made to me.
I have declared that this temple which you have built is holy
so that my name may be placed there forever.
My eyes and my heart will always be there.

4 “If you will be faithful to me as your father David was
(with a sincere and upright heart),
do everything I command,
and keep my laws and rules,
5 then I will establish your royal dynasty over Israel forever
as I promised your father David when I said,
‘You will never fail to have an heir on the throne of Israel.’
6 But if you and your descendants dare to turn away from me
and do not keep my commands and laws that I gave to you,
and follow and serve other gods and worship them,
7 then I will cut Israel out of the land I gave them.
I will reject this temple that I declared holy for my name.
Israel will be an example
and an object of ridicule for all the people of the world.
8 Everyone passing by this temple, as impressive as it is, will be appalled.
They will gasp and ask,
‘Why did the Lord do these things to this land and this temple?’
9 They will answer ⌞themselves⌟,
‘They abandoned the Lord their God,
who brought their ancestors out of Egypt.
They adopted other gods, worshiped, and served them.
That is why the Lord brought this disaster on them.’ ”

Solomon Completes His Construction(G)

10 It took Solomon 20 years to build the two houses (the Lord’s house and the royal palace). 11 ⌞When King Solomon had finished,⌟ he gave King Hiram of Tyre 20 cities in Galilee. (Hiram had supplied Solomon with as much cedar and cypress lumber and gold as he wanted.) 12 Hiram left Tyre to see the cities Solomon gave him. However, they didn’t please him. 13 “What kind of cities have you given me, brother?” he asked. So he named it the region of Cabul [Good for Nothing]. (⌞They’re⌟ still ⌞called⌟ that today.) 14 Hiram had sent the king 9,000 pounds of gold.

15 This is the record of the forced laborers whom King Solomon drafted to build the Lord’s house, his own house, the Millo,[h] the walls of Jerusalem, and ⌞the cities of⌟ Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. 16 (The king of Egypt captured Gezer, burned it down, and killed the Canaanites living there. Then he gave it to his daughter, Solomon’s wife, as a wedding present.) 17 So Solomon rebuilt Gezer, Lower Beth Horon, 18 Baalath, Tadmor in the desert (inside the country), and 19 all the storage cities that he owned. He also built cities for his chariots, cities for his war horses, and whatever ⌞else⌟ he wanted to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, or the entire territory that he governed.

20 The Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites had been left ⌞in the land⌟ because the Israelites had not been able to claim them for God by destroying them.[i] They were not Israelites, 21 but they had descendants who were still in the land. Solomon drafted them for slave labor. (They are still ⌞slaves⌟ today.) 22 But Solomon didn’t make any of the Israelites slaves. Instead, they were soldiers, officials, officers, generals, and commanders of his chariot and cavalry units.

23 These were the officers in charge of Solomon’s projects: 550 foremen for the people who did the work.

24 Pharaoh’s daughter moved from the City of David to the palace that Solomon had built for her. Then he built the Millo.

25 Three times a year Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar he built for the Lord. He burnt them on the altar that was in the Lord’s presence. And he finished the temple.

26 King Solomon also built a fleet near the Red Sea coast at Ezion Geber by Elath in Edom. 27 Hiram sent his own servants ⌞who were⌟ experienced seamen with the fleet. Along with Solomon’s servants 28 they went to Ophir, got 31,500 pounds of gold, and brought it to King Solomon.

Footnotes

  1. 7:7 Latin, Syriac; Masoretic Text “floor to floor.”
  2. 7:18 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Greek, Syriac; other Hebrew manuscripts “pomegranates.”
  3. 7:29 Or “cherubim.”
  4. 8:6 Or “cherubim.”
  5. 8:23 Or “covenant.”
  6. 8:41 The first sentence of verse 42 (in Hebrew) has been placed in verse 41 to express the complex Hebrew paragraph structure more clearly in English.
  7. 8:65 Greek; Masoretic Text adds “… and seven [more] days, fourteen days [total].”
  8. 9:15 The exact place referred to as “the Millo” is unknown.
  9. 9:20 “because the Israelites….” This clause from verse 21 (in Hebrew) has been placed in verse 20 to express the complex Hebrew paragraph structure more clearly in English.
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1 Kings 7-9
New International Version

Solomon Builds His Palace

7 It took Solomon thirteen years, however, to complete the construction of his palace.(A) 2 He built the Palace(B) of the Forest of Lebanon(C) a hundred cubits long, fifty wide and thirty high,[a] with four rows of cedar columns supporting trimmed cedar beams. 3 It was roofed with cedar above the beams that rested on the columns—forty-five beams, fifteen to a row. 4 Its windows were placed high in sets of three, facing each other. 5 All the doorways had rectangular frames; they were in the front part in sets of three, facing each other.[b]

6 He made a colonnade fifty cubits long and thirty wide.[c] In front of it was a portico, and in front of that were pillars and an overhanging roof.

7 He built the throne hall, the Hall of Justice, where he was to judge,(D) and he covered it with cedar from floor to ceiling.[d](E) 8 And the palace in which he was to live, set farther back, was similar in design. Solomon also made a palace like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had married.(F)

9 All these structures, from the outside to the great courtyard and from foundation to eaves, were made of blocks of high-grade stone cut to size and smoothed on their inner and outer faces. 10 The foundations were laid with large stones of good quality, some measuring ten cubits[e] and some eight.[f] 11 Above were high-grade stones, cut to size, and cedar beams. 12 The great courtyard was surrounded by a wall of three courses(G) of dressed stone and one course of trimmed cedar beams, as was the inner courtyard of the temple of the Lord with its portico.

The Temple’s Furnishings(H)(I)

13 King Solomon sent to Tyre and brought Huram,[g](J) 14 whose mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali and whose father was from Tyre and a skilled craftsman in bronze. Huram was filled with wisdom,(K) with understanding and with knowledge to do all kinds of bronze work. He came to King Solomon and did all(L) the work assigned to him.

15 He cast two bronze pillars,(M) each eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference.[h] 16 He also made two capitals(N) of cast bronze to set on the tops of the pillars; each capital was five cubits[i] high. 17 A network of interwoven chains adorned the capitals on top of the pillars, seven for each capital. 18 He made pomegranates in two rows[j] encircling each network to decorate the capitals on top of the pillars.[k] He did the same for each capital. 19 The capitals on top of the pillars in the portico were in the shape of lilies, four cubits[l] high. 20 On the capitals of both pillars, above the bowl-shaped part next to the network, were the two hundred pomegranates(O) in rows all around. 21 He erected the pillars at the portico of the temple. The pillar to the south he named Jakin[m] and the one to the north Boaz.[n](P) 22 The capitals on top were in the shape of lilies. And so the work on the pillars(Q) was completed.

23 He made the Sea(R) of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits high. It took a line(S) of thirty cubits[o] to measure around it. 24 Below the rim, gourds encircled it—ten to a cubit. The gourds were cast in two rows in one piece with the Sea.

25 The Sea stood on twelve bulls,(T) three facing north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east. The Sea rested on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center. 26 It was a handbreadth[p] in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held two thousand baths.[q]

27 He also made ten movable stands(U) of bronze; each was four cubits long, four wide and three high.[r] 28 This is how the stands were made: They had side panels attached to uprights. 29 On the panels between the uprights were lions, bulls and cherubim—and on the uprights as well. Above and below the lions and bulls were wreaths of hammered work. 30 Each stand(V) had four bronze wheels with bronze axles, and each had a basin resting on four supports, cast with wreaths on each side. 31 On the inside of the stand there was an opening that had a circular frame one cubit[s] deep. This opening was round, and with its basework it measured a cubit and a half.[t] Around its opening there was engraving. The panels of the stands were square, not round. 32 The four wheels were under the panels, and the axles of the wheels were attached to the stand. The diameter of each wheel was a cubit and a half. 33 The wheels were made like chariot wheels; the axles, rims, spokes and hubs were all of cast metal.

34 Each stand had four handles, one on each corner, projecting from the stand. 35 At the top of the stand there was a circular band half a cubit[u] deep. The supports and panels were attached to the top of the stand. 36 He engraved cherubim, lions and palm trees on the surfaces of the supports and on the panels, in every available space, with wreaths all around. 37 This is the way he made the ten stands. They were all cast in the same molds and were identical in size and shape.

38 He then made ten bronze basins,(W) each holding forty baths[v] and measuring four cubits across, one basin to go on each of the ten stands. 39 He placed five of the stands on the south side of the temple and five on the north. He placed the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner of the temple. 40 He also made the pots[w] and shovels and sprinkling bowls.(X)

So Huram finished all the work he had undertaken for King Solomon in the temple of the Lord:

41 the two pillars;

the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars;

the two sets of network decorating the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars;

42 the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network decorating the bowl-shaped capitals(Y) on top of the pillars);

43 the ten stands with their ten basins;

44 the Sea and the twelve bulls under it;

45 the pots, shovels and sprinkling bowls.(Z)

All these objects that Huram(AA) made for King Solomon for the temple of the Lord were of burnished bronze. 46 The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain(AB) of the Jordan between Sukkoth(AC) and Zarethan.(AD) 47 Solomon left all these things unweighed,(AE) because there were so many;(AF) the weight of the bronze(AG) was not determined.

48 Solomon also made all(AH) the furnishings that were in the Lord’s temple:

the golden altar;

the golden table(AI) on which was the bread of the Presence;(AJ)

49 the lampstands(AK) of pure gold (five on the right and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary);

the gold floral work and lamps and tongs;

50 the pure gold basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes(AL) and censers;(AM)

and the gold sockets for the doors of the innermost room, the Most Holy Place, and also for the doors of the main hall of the temple.

51 When all the work King Solomon had done for the temple of the Lord was finished, he brought in the things his father David had dedicated(AN)—the silver and gold and the furnishings(AO)—and he placed them in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple.

The Ark Brought to the Temple(AP)

8 Then King Solomon summoned into his presence at Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs(AQ) of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark(AR) of the Lord’s covenant from Zion, the City of David.(AS) 2 All the Israelites came together to King Solomon at the time of the festival(AT) in the month of Ethanim, the seventh month.(AU)

3 When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests(AV) took up the ark, 4 and they brought up the ark of the Lord and the tent of meeting(AW) and all the sacred furnishings in it. The priests and Levites(AX) carried them up, 5 and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing(AY) so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted.

6 The priests then brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant(AZ) to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place,(BA) and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim.(BB) 7 The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed(BC) the ark and its carrying poles. 8 These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today.(BD) 9 There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets(BE) that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt.

10 When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud(BF) filled the temple of the Lord. 11 And the priests could not perform their service(BG) because of the cloud, for the glory(BH) of the Lord filled his temple.

12 Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud;(BI) 13 I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell(BJ) forever.”

14 While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around and blessed(BK) them. 15 Then he said:

“Praise be to the Lord,(BL) the God of Israel, who with his own hand has fulfilled what he promised with his own mouth to my father David. For he said, 16 ‘Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt,(BM) I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built so that my Name(BN) might be there, but I have chosen(BO) David(BP) to rule my people Israel.’

17 “My father David had it in his heart(BQ) to build a temple(BR) for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 18 But the Lord said to my father David, ‘You did well to have it in your heart to build a temple for my Name. 19 Nevertheless, you(BS) are not the one to build the temple, but your son, your own flesh and blood—he is the one who will build the temple for my Name.’(BT)

20 “The Lord has kept the promise he made: I have succeeded(BU) David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised, and I have built(BV) the temple for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 21 I have provided a place there for the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord that he made with our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt.”

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication(BW)

22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands(BX) toward heaven 23 and said:

“Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like(BY) you in heaven above or on earth below—you who keep your covenant of love(BZ) with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. 24 You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it—as it is today.

25 “Now Lord, the God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises(CA) you made to him when you said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants are careful in all they do to walk before me faithfully as you have done.’ 26 And now, God of Israel, let your word that you promised(CB) your servant David my father come true.

27 “But will God really dwell(CC) on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven,(CD) cannot contain(CE) you. How much less this temple I have built! 28 Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day. 29 May your eyes be open(CF) toward(CG) this temple night and day, this place of which you said, ‘My Name(CH) shall be there,’ so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. 30 Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray(CI) toward this place. Hear(CJ) from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.(CK)

31 “When anyone wrongs their neighbor and is required to take an oath and they come and swear the oath(CL) before your altar in this temple, 32 then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, condemning the guilty by bringing down on their heads what they have done, and vindicating the innocent by treating them in accordance with their innocence.(CM)

33 “When your people Israel have been defeated(CN) by an enemy because they have sinned(CO) against you, and when they turn back to you and give praise to your name, praying and making supplication to you in this temple,(CP) 34 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to their ancestors.

35 “When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain(CQ) because your people have sinned(CR) against you, and when they pray toward this place and give praise to your name and turn from their sin because you have afflicted them, 36 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach(CS) them the right way(CT) to live, and send rain(CU) on the land you gave your people for an inheritance.

37 “When famine(CV) or plague(CW) comes to the land, or blight(CX) or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers,(CY) or when an enemy besieges them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come, 38 and when a prayer or plea is made by anyone among your people Israel—being aware of the afflictions of their own hearts, and spreading out their hands(CZ) toward this temple— 39 then hear(DA) from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive(DB) and act; deal with everyone according to all they do, since you know(DC) their hearts (for you alone know every human heart), 40 so that they will fear(DD) you all the time they live in the land(DE) you gave our ancestors.

41 “As for the foreigner(DF) who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name— 42 for they will hear(DG) of your great name and your mighty hand(DH) and your outstretched arm—when they come and pray toward this temple, 43 then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know(DI) your name and fear(DJ) you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.(DK)

44 “When your people go to war against their enemies, wherever you send them, and when they pray(DL) to the Lord toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name, 45 then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.(DM)

46 “When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin(DN)—and you become angry with them and give them over to their enemies, who take them captive(DO) to their own lands, far away or near; 47 and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead(DP) with you in the land of their captors and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly’;(DQ) 48 and if they turn back(DR) to you with all their heart(DS) and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray(DT) to you toward the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you have chosen and the temple(DU) I have built for your Name;(DV) 49 then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause. 50 And forgive your people, who have sinned against you; forgive all the offenses they have committed against you, and cause their captors to show them mercy;(DW) 51 for they are your people and your inheritance,(DX) whom you brought out of Egypt, out of that iron-smelting furnace.(DY)

52 “May your eyes be open(DZ) to your servant’s plea and to the plea of your people Israel, and may you listen to them whenever they cry out to you.(EA) 53 For you singled them out from all the nations of the world to be your own inheritance,(EB) just as you declared through your servant Moses when you, Sovereign Lord, brought our ancestors out of Egypt.”

54 When Solomon had finished all these prayers and supplications to the Lord, he rose from before the altar of the Lord, where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven. 55 He stood and blessed(EC) the whole assembly of Israel in a loud voice, saying:

56 “Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest(ED) to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises(EE) he gave through his servant Moses. 57 May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us nor forsake(EF) us. 58 May he turn our hearts(EG) to him, to walk in obedience to him and keep the commands, decrees and laws he gave our ancestors. 59 And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day’s need, 60 so that all the peoples(EH) of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other.(EI) 61 And may your hearts(EJ) be fully committed(EK) to the Lord our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time.”

The Dedication of the Temple(EL)

62 Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices(EM) before the Lord. 63 Solomon offered a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to the Lord: twenty-two thousand cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated(EN) the temple of the Lord.

64 On that same day the king consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the Lord, and there he offered burnt offerings, grain offerings and the fat(EO) of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar(EP) that stood before the Lord was too small to hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings.(EQ)

65 So Solomon observed the festival(ER) at that time, and all Israel with him—a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath(ES) to the Wadi of Egypt.(ET) They celebrated it before the Lord our God for seven days and seven days more, fourteen days in all. 66 On the following day he sent the people away. They blessed the king and then went home, joyful and glad in heart for all the good(EU) things the Lord had done for his servant David and his people Israel.

The Lord Appears to Solomon(EV)

9 When Solomon had finished(EW) building the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had achieved all he had desired to do, 2 the Lord appeared(EX) to him a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3 The Lord said to him:

“I have heard(EY) the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name(EZ) there forever. My eyes(FA) and my heart will always be there.

4 “As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with integrity of heart(FB) and uprightness, as David(FC) your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws,(FD) 5 I will establish(FE) your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail(FF) to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’

6 “But if you[x] or your descendants turn away(FG) from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you[y] and go off to serve other gods(FH) and worship them, 7 then I will cut off Israel from the land(FI) I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name.(FJ) Israel will then become a byword(FK) and an object of ridicule(FL) among all peoples. 8 This temple will become a heap of rubble. All[z] who pass by will be appalled(FM) and will scoff and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’(FN) 9 People will answer,(FO) ‘Because they have forsaken(FP) the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why the Lord brought all this disaster(FQ) on them.’”

Solomon’s Other Activities(FR)

10 At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built these two buildings—the temple of the Lord and the royal palace— 11 King Solomon gave twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, because Hiram had supplied him with all the cedar and juniper and gold(FS) he wanted. 12 But when Hiram went from Tyre to see the towns that Solomon had given him, he was not pleased with them. 13 “What kind of towns are these you have given me, my brother?” he asked. And he called them the Land of Kabul,[aa](FT) a name they have to this day. 14 Now Hiram had sent to the king 120 talents[ab] of gold.(FU)

15 Here is the account of the forced labor King Solomon conscripted(FV) to build the Lord’s temple, his own palace, the terraces,[ac](FW) the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor,(FX) Megiddo and Gezer.(FY) 16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it on fire. He killed its Canaanite inhabitants and then gave it as a wedding gift to his daughter,(FZ) Solomon’s wife. 17 And Solomon rebuilt Gezer.) He built up Lower Beth Horon,(GA) 18 Baalath,(GB) and Tadmor[ad] in the desert, within his land, 19 as well as all his store cities(GC) and the towns for his chariots(GD) and for his horses[ae]—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled.

20 There were still people left from the Amorites, Hittites,(GE) Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites(GF) (these peoples were not Israelites). 21 Solomon conscripted the descendants(GG) of all these peoples remaining in the land—whom the Israelites could not exterminate[af](GH)—to serve as slave labor,(GI) as it is to this day. 22 But Solomon did not make slaves(GJ) of any of the Israelites; they were his fighting men, his government officials, his officers, his captains, and the commanders of his chariots and charioteers. 23 They were also the chief officials(GK) in charge of Solomon’s projects—550 officials supervising those who did the work.

24 After Pharaoh’s daughter(GL) had come up from the City of David to the palace Solomon had built for her, he constructed the terraces.(GM)

25 Three(GN) times a year Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar he had built for the Lord, burning incense before the Lord along with them, and so fulfilled the temple obligations.

26 King Solomon also built ships(GO) at Ezion Geber,(GP) which is near Elath(GQ) in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea.[ag] 27 And Hiram sent his men—sailors(GR) who knew the sea—to serve in the fleet with Solomon’s men. 28 They sailed to Ophir(GS) and brought back 420 talents[ah] of gold,(GT) which they delivered to King Solomon.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 7:2 That is, about 150 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high or about 45 meters long, 23 meters wide and 14 meters high
  2. 1 Kings 7:5 The meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.
  3. 1 Kings 7:6 That is, about 75 feet long and 45 feet wide or about 23 meters long and 14 meters wide
  4. 1 Kings 7:7 Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew floor
  5. 1 Kings 7:10 That is, about 15 feet or about 4.5 meters; also in verse 23
  6. 1 Kings 7:10 That is, about 12 feet or about 3.6 meters
  7. 1 Kings 7:13 Hebrew Hiram, a variant of Huram; also in verses 40 and 45
  8. 1 Kings 7:15 That is, about 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference or about 8.1 meters high and 5.4 meters in circumference
  9. 1 Kings 7:16 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters; also in verse 23
  10. 1 Kings 7:18 Two Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts made the pillars, and there were two rows
  11. 1 Kings 7:18 Many Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts pomegranates
  12. 1 Kings 7:19 That is, about 6 feet or about 1.8 meters; also in verse 38
  13. 1 Kings 7:21 Jakin probably means he establishes.
  14. 1 Kings 7:21 Boaz probably means in him is strength.
  15. 1 Kings 7:23 That is, about 45 feet or about 14 meters
  16. 1 Kings 7:26 That is, about 3 inches or about 7.5 centimeters
  17. 1 Kings 7:26 That is, about 12,000 gallons or about 44,000 liters; the Septuagint does not have this sentence.
  18. 1 Kings 7:27 That is, about 6 feet long and wide and about 4 1/2 feet high or about 1.8 meters long and wide and 1.4 meters high
  19. 1 Kings 7:31 That is, about 18 inches or about 45 centimeters
  20. 1 Kings 7:31 That is, about 2 1/4 feet or about 68 centimeters; also in verse 32
  21. 1 Kings 7:35 That is, about 9 inches or about 23 centimeters
  22. 1 Kings 7:38 That is, about 240 gallons or about 880 liters
  23. 1 Kings 7:40 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac and Vulgate (see also verse 45 and 2 Chron. 4:11); many other Hebrew manuscripts basins
  24. 1 Kings 9:6 The Hebrew is plural.
  25. 1 Kings 9:6 The Hebrew is plural.
  26. 1 Kings 9:8 See some Septuagint manuscripts, Old Latin, Syriac, Arabic and Targum; Hebrew And though this temple is now imposing, all
  27. 1 Kings 9:13 Kabul sounds like the Hebrew for good-for-nothing.
  28. 1 Kings 9:14 That is, about 4 1/2 tons or about 4 metric tons
  29. 1 Kings 9:15 Or the Millo; also in verse 24
  30. 1 Kings 9:18 The Hebrew may also be read Tamar.
  31. 1 Kings 9:19 Or charioteers
  32. 1 Kings 9:21 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  33. 1 Kings 9:26 Or the Sea of Reeds
  34. 1 Kings 9:28 That is, about 16 tons or about 14 metric tons
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