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2 Chronicles 3:1-6:11
New English Translation

The Building of the Temple

3 Solomon began building the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord[a] had appeared to his father David. This was the place that David prepared at the threshing floor of Ornan[b] the Jebusite. 2 He began building on the second day of the second month of the fourth year of his reign.[c]

3 Solomon laid the foundation for God’s temple;[d] its length (determined according to the old standard of measure) was 90 feet, and its width 30 feet.[e] 4 The porch in front of the main hall was 30 feet long, corresponding to the width of the temple,[f] and its height was 30 feet.[g] He plated the inside with pure gold. 5 He paneled[h] the main hall[i] with boards made from evergreen trees[j] and plated it with fine gold, decorated with palm trees and chains.[k] 6 He decorated the temple with precious stones; the gold he used came from Parvaim.[l] 7 He overlaid the temple’s rafters, thresholds, walls and doors with gold; he carved decorative cherubim on the walls.

8 He made the Most Holy Place;[m] its length was 30 feet,[n] corresponding to the width of the temple, and its width 30 feet.[o] He plated it with 600 talents[p] of fine gold. 9 The gold nails weighed 50 shekels; he also plated the upper areas with gold. 10 In the Most Holy Place he made two images of cherubim and plated them with gold. 11 The combined wing span of the cherubim was 30 feet.[q] One of the first cherub’s wings was 7½ long and touched one wall of the temple; its other wing was also 7½ long and touched one of the second cherub’s wings.[r] 12 Likewise one of the second cherub’s wings was 7½ long and touched the other wall of the temple; its other wing was also 7½ long and touched one of the first cherub’s wings.[s] 13 The combined wingspan of these cherubim was 30 feet.[t] They stood upright, facing inward.[u] 14 He made the curtain out of blue, purple, crimson, and white fabrics, and embroidered on it decorative cherubim.

15 In front of the temple he made two pillars which had a combined length[v] of 52½ feet,[w] with each having a plated capital 7½ high.[x] 16 He made ornamental chains[y] and put them on top of the pillars. He also made 100 pomegranate-shaped ornaments and arranged them within the chains. 17 He set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the right side and the other on the left.[z] He named the one on the right Yakin,[aa] and the one on the left Boaz.[ab]

4 He made a bronze altar, 30 feet[ac] long, 30 feet[ad] wide, and 15 feet[ae] high. 2 He also made the big bronze basin called “The Sea.”[af] It measured 15 feet[ag] from rim to rim, was circular in shape, and stood 7½[ah] high. Its circumference was 45 feet.[ai] 3 Images of bulls were under it all the way around, ten every 18 inches[aj] all the way around. The bulls were in two rows and had been cast with “The Sea.”[ak] 4 “The Sea” stood on top of twelve bulls. Three faced northward, three westward, three southward, and three eastward. “The Sea” was placed on top of them, and they all faced outward.[al] 5 It was four fingers thick, and its rim was like that of a cup shaped like a lily blossom. It could hold 18,000 gallons.[am] 6 He made ten washing basins; he put five on the south side and five on the north side. In them they rinsed the items used for burnt sacrifices; the priests washed in “The Sea.”

7 He made ten gold lampstands according to specifications and put them in the temple, five on the right and five on the left. 8 He made ten tables and set them in the temple, five on the right and five on the left. He also made 100 gold bowls. 9 He made the courtyard of the priests and the large enclosure and its doors;[an] he plated their doors with bronze. 10 He put “The Sea” on the south side, in the southeast corner.

11 Huram Abi[ao] made the pots, shovels, and bowls. He finished all the work on God’s temple he had been assigned by King Solomon.[ap] 12 He made[aq] the two pillars, the two bowl-shaped tops of the pillars, the latticework for the bowl-shaped tops of the two pillars, 13 the 400 pomegranate-shaped ornaments for the latticework of the two pillars (each latticework had two rows of these ornaments at the bowl-shaped top of the pillar), 14 the ten[ar] movable stands with their ten[as] basins, 15 the big bronze basin called “The Sea” with its twelve bulls underneath, 16 and the pots, shovels, and meat forks.[at] All the items King Solomon assigned Huram Abi to make for the Lord’s temple[au] were made from polished bronze. 17 The king had them cast in earth foundries[av] in the region of the Jordan between Sukkoth and Zarethan. 18 Solomon made so many of these items they did not weigh the bronze.[aw]

19 Solomon also made these items for God’s temple: the gold altar, the tables on which the Bread of the Presence[ax] was kept, 20 the pure gold lampstands and their lamps which burned as specified at the entrance to the inner sanctuary, 21 the pure gold flower-shaped ornaments, lamps, and tongs, 22 the pure gold trimming shears, basins, pans, and censers, and the gold door sockets for the inner sanctuary (the Most Holy Place) and for the doors of the main hall of the temple. 5 1 When Solomon had finished constructing the Lord’s temple, he put the holy items that belonged to his father David (the silver, gold, and all the other articles) in the treasuries of God’s temple.

Solomon Moves the Ark into the Temple

2 Then Solomon convened Israel’s elders—all the leaders of the Israelite tribes and families—in Jerusalem, so they could witness the transferal of the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the City of David[ay] (that is, Zion).[az] 3 All the men of Israel assembled before the king during the festival[ba] in the seventh month.[bb] 4 When all Israel’s elders had arrived, the Levites lifted the ark. 5 The priests and Levites carried the ark, the tent where God appeared to his people,[bc] and all the holy items in the tent.[bd] 6 Now King Solomon and all the Israelites who had assembled with him went on ahead of the ark and sacrificed more sheep and cattle than could be counted or numbered.[be]

7 The priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its assigned[bf] place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, in the Most Holy Place under the wings of the cherubim. 8 The cherubim’s wings extended over the place where the ark sat; the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles.[bg] 9 The poles were so long their ends extending out from the ark were visible from in front of the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from beyond that point.[bh] They have remained there to this very day. 10 There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets Moses had placed there in Horeb.[bi] (It was there that[bj] the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after he brought them out of the land of Egypt.)

11 The priests left the Holy Place.[bk] All the priests who participated had consecrated themselves, no matter which division they represented.[bl] 12 All the Levites who were musicians, including Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and relatives, wore linen. They played cymbals and stringed instruments as they stood east of the altar. They were accompanied by 120 priests who blew trumpets. 13 The trumpeters and musicians played together, praising and giving thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments, they loudly praised the Lord, singing:[bm] “Certainly he is good; certainly his loyal love endures!” Then a cloud filled the Lord’s temple.[bn] 14 The priests could not carry out their duties[bo] because of the cloud; the Lord’s splendor filled God’s temple.

6 Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he lives in thick darkness. 2 O Lord,[bp] I have built a lofty temple for you, a place where you can live permanently.” 3 Then the king turned around[bq] and pronounced a blessing over the whole Israelite assembly as they stood there.[br] 4 He said, “The Lord God of Israel is worthy of praise because he has fulfilled[bs] what he promised[bt] my father David. 5 He told David,[bu] ‘Since the day I brought my people out of the land of Egypt, I have not chosen a city from all the tribes of Israel to build a temple in which to live.[bv] Nor did I choose a man as leader of my people Israel. 6 But now I have chosen Jerusalem as a place to live,[bw] and I have chosen David to lead my people Israel.’ 7 Now my father David had a strong desire to build a temple to honor the Lord God of Israel.[bx] 8 The Lord told my father David, ‘It is right for you to have a strong desire to build a temple to honor me.[by] 9 But you will not build the temple; your very own son will build the temple for my honor.’[bz] 10 The Lord has kept the promise he made. I have taken my father David’s place and have occupied the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised. I have built this temple for the honor of the Lord God of Israel 11 and set up in it a place for the ark containing the covenant the Lord made with the Israelites.”

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 3:1 tn Heb “where he.” “Lord” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  2. 2 Chronicles 3:1 tn In 2 Sam 24:16 this individual is called אֲרַוְנָא (ʾaravna; traditionally “Araunah”). The form of the name found here also occurs in 1 Chr 21:15; 18-28.
  3. 2 Chronicles 3:2 sn This would be April-May, 966 b.c. by modern reckoning.
  4. 2 Chronicles 3:3 tn Heb “and these are the founding of Solomon to build the house of God.”
  5. 2 Chronicles 3:3 tn Heb “the length [in] cubits by the former measure was 60 cubits, and a width of 20 cubits.” Assuming a length of 18 inches (45 cm) for the standard cubit, the length of the foundation would be 90 feet (27 m) and its width 30 feet (9 m).
  6. 2 Chronicles 3:4 tc Heb “and the porch which was in front of the length corresponding to the width of the house, 20 cubits.” The phrase הֵיכַל הַבַּיִת (hekhal habbayit, “the main hall of the temple,” which appears in the parallel account in 1 Kgs 6:3) has been accidentally omitted by homoioarcton after עַל־פְּנֵי (’al pene, “in front of”). Note that the following form, הָאֹרֶךְ (haʿorekh, “the length”), also begins with the Hebrew letter he (ה). A scribe’s eye probably jumped from the initial he on הֵיכַל to the initial he on הָאֹרֶךְ, leaving out the intervening letters in the process.
  7. 2 Chronicles 3:4 tc The Hebrew text has “one hundred and 20 cubits,” i.e., (assuming a cubit of 18 inches) 180 feet (54 m). An ancient Greek witness and the Syriac version read “20 cubits,” i.e., 30 feet (9 m). It is likely that מֵאָה (meʾah, “a hundred”) should be emended to אַמּוֹת (ʾammot, “cubits”).
  8. 2 Chronicles 3:5 tn Heb “covered.”
  9. 2 Chronicles 3:5 tn Heb “the large house.”
  10. 2 Chronicles 3:5 tn Heb “wood of evergreens.”
  11. 2 Chronicles 3:5 tn Heb “and he put up on it palm trees and chains.”
  12. 2 Chronicles 3:6 tn Heb “and he plated the house [with] precious stone for beauty, and the gold was the gold of Parvaim.”sn The location of Parvaim, the source of the gold for Solomon’s temple, is uncertain. Some have identified it with modern Farwa in Yemen; others relate it to the Sanskrit parvam and understand it to be a general term for the regions east of Israel.
  13. 2 Chronicles 3:8 tn Heb “the house of the holy place of holy places.”
  14. 2 Chronicles 3:8 tn Heb “20 cubits.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), this would give a length of 30 feet (9 m).
  15. 2 Chronicles 3:8 tc Heb “20 cubits.” Some suggest adding, “and its height 20 cubits” (see 1 Kgs 6:20). The phrase could have been omitted by homoioteleuton.
  16. 2 Chronicles 3:8 tn The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the weight of the gold plating was 40,380 lbs. (18,360 kg).
  17. 2 Chronicles 3:11 tn Heb “and the wings of the cherubim, their length was 20 cubits.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), the wingspan of the cherubim would have been 30 feet (9 m).
  18. 2 Chronicles 3:11 tn Heb “the wing of the one was 5 cubits from the touching of the wall of the house, and the other wing was 5 cubits from the touching of the wing of the other cherub.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), each wing would have been 7.5 feet (2.25 m) long.
  19. 2 Chronicles 3:12 tn Heb “and the wing of the one (הָאֶחָד, haʾekhad, “the one”; this should probably be emended to הָאַחֵר, haʾakher, “the other”) cherub was 5 cubits, touching the wall of the house, and the other wing was 5 cubits, clinging to the wing of the other cherub.”
  20. 2 Chronicles 3:13 tn Heb “the wings of these cherubim were spreading 20 cubits.”
  21. 2 Chronicles 3:13 tn Heb “and they were standing on their feet, with their faces to the house.” An alternative translation of the last clause would be, “with their faces to the main hall.”
  22. 2 Chronicles 3:15 sn The figure given here appears to refer to the combined length of both pillars (perhaps when laid end-to-end on the ground prior to being set up; cf. v. 17); the figure given for the height of the pillars in 1 Kgs 7:15, 2 Kgs 25:17, and Jer 52:21 is half this (i.e., 18 cubits).
  23. 2 Chronicles 3:15 tc The Syriac reads “18 cubits” (27 feet). This apparently reflects an attempt at harmonization with 1 Kgs 7:15, 2 Kgs 25:17, and Jer 52:21.
  24. 2 Chronicles 3:15 tn Heb “and he made before the house two pillars, 35 cubits [in] length, and the plated capital which was on its top [was] 5 cubits.” The significance of the measure “35 cubits” (52.5 feet or 15.75 m, assuming a cubit of 18 inches) for the “length” of the pillars is uncertain. According to 1 Kgs 7:15, each pillar was 18 cubits (27 feet or 8.1 m) high. Perhaps the measurement given here was taken with the pillars lying end-to-end on the ground before they were set up.
  25. 2 Chronicles 3:16 tn The Hebrew text adds here, “in the inner sanctuary,” but the description at this point is of the pillars, not the inner sanctuary.
  26. 2 Chronicles 3:17 tn Or “one on the south and the other on the north.”
  27. 2 Chronicles 3:17 tn The name “Yakin” appears to be a verbal form and probably means, “he establishes.”
  28. 2 Chronicles 3:17 tn The meaning of the name “Boaz” is uncertain. For various proposals, see BDB 126-27 s.v. בֹּעַז. One attractive option is to revocalize the name as בְּעֹז (beʿoz, “in strength”) and to understand it as completing the verbal form on the first pillar. Taking the words together and reading from right to left, one can translate the sentence, “he establishes [it] in strength.”
  29. 2 Chronicles 4:1 tn Heb “20 cubits.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), the length would have been 30 feet (9 m).
  30. 2 Chronicles 4:1 tn Heb “20 cubits.”
  31. 2 Chronicles 4:1 tn Heb “10 cubits.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), the height would have been 15 feet (4.5 m).
  32. 2 Chronicles 4:2 tn Heb “He made the sea, cast.”sn The large bronze basin known as “The Sea” was mounted on twelve bronze bulls and contained water for the priests to bathe themselves (see v. 6; cf. Exod 30:17-21).
  33. 2 Chronicles 4:2 tn Heb “10 cubits.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), the diameter would have been 15 feet (4.5 m).
  34. 2 Chronicles 4:2 tn Heb “5 cubits.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), the height would have been 7.5 feet (2.25 m).
  35. 2 Chronicles 4:2 tn Heb “and a measuring line went around it 30 cubits all around.”
  36. 2 Chronicles 4:3 tn Heb “ten every cubit.”
  37. 2 Chronicles 4:3 tn Heb “rows being cast with its casting.”
  38. 2 Chronicles 4:4 tn Heb “all their hindquarters were toward the inside.”
  39. 2 Chronicles 4:5 tn Heb “3,000 baths” (note that the capacity is given in 1 Kings 7:26 as “2,000 baths”). A bath was a liquid measure roughly equivalent to six gallons (about 22 liters), so 3,000 baths was a quantity of about 18,000 gallons (66,000 liters).
  40. 2 Chronicles 4:9 tn Heb “and the doors for the enclosure.”
  41. 2 Chronicles 4:11 tn Heb “Huram,” but here this refers to Huram Abi (2 Chr 2:13). The complete name has been used in the translation to avoid possible confusion with King Huram of Tyre.
  42. 2 Chronicles 4:11 tn Heb “Huram finished doing all the work which he did for King Solomon [on] the house of God.”
  43. 2 Chronicles 4:12 tn The words “he made” are added for stylistic reasons.
  44. 2 Chronicles 4:14 tc The Hebrew text has עָשָׂה (ʿasah, “he made”), which probably should be emended to עֶשֶׂר (ʿeser, “ten”; see 1 Kgs 7:43).
  45. 2 Chronicles 4:14 tc The Hebrew text has עָשָׂה (ʿasah, “he made”), which probably should be emended to עֲשָׂרָה (ʿasarah, “ten”; see 1 Kgs 7:43).
  46. 2 Chronicles 4:16 tc Some prefer to read here “bowls,” see v. 11 and 1 Kgs 7:45.
  47. 2 Chronicles 4:16 tn Heb “Huram Abi made for King Solomon [for] the house of the Lord.”
  48. 2 Chronicles 4:17 tn Or perhaps, “molds.”
  49. 2 Chronicles 4:18 tn Heb “Solomon made all these items in great abundance so that the weight of the bronze was not sought.”
  50. 2 Chronicles 4:19 tn Heb “the bread of the face/presence.”sn This bread offered to God was viewed as a perpetual offering to God. See Lev 24:5-9.
  51. 2 Chronicles 5:2 sn The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
  52. 2 Chronicles 5:2 tn Heb “Then Solomon convened the elders of Israel, the heads of the tribes, the chiefs of the fathers belonging to the sons of Israel to Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the City of David (it is Zion).”
  53. 2 Chronicles 5:3 sn This festival in the seventh month was the Feast of Tabernacles, see Lev 23:34.
  54. 2 Chronicles 5:3 sn The seventh month would be September-October in modern reckoning.
  55. 2 Chronicles 5:5 tn Heb “the tent of assembly.”sn See Exod 33:7-11.
  56. 2 Chronicles 5:5 tn Heb “and they carried the ark of the Lord…. The priests and the Levites carried them.”
  57. 2 Chronicles 5:6 tn Heb “And King Solomon and all the assembly of Israel, those who had been gathered to him, [were] before the ark, sacrificing sheep and cattle which could not be counted or numbered because of the abundance.”
  58. 2 Chronicles 5:7 tn The word “assigned” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
  59. 2 Chronicles 5:8 sn These poles were used to carry the ark. The Levites were to carry it with the poles on their shoulders. See Exod 25:13-15; 1 Chr 15:15.
  60. 2 Chronicles 5:9 tn Heb “they could not be seen outside.”
  61. 2 Chronicles 5:10 sn Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai (cf. Exod 3:1).
  62. 2 Chronicles 5:10 tn Heb “in Horeb where.”
  63. 2 Chronicles 5:11 tn Heb “and when the priests went from the holy place.” The syntactical relationship of this temporal clause to the following context is unclear. Perhaps the thought is completed in v. 14 after a lengthy digression.
  64. 2 Chronicles 5:11 tn Heb “Indeed [or “for”] all the priests who were found consecrated themselves without guarding divisions.”
  65. 2 Chronicles 5:13 tn Heb “like one were the trumpeters and the musicians, causing one voice to be heard, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, and while raising a voice with trumpets and with cymbals and with instruments of music, and while praising the Lord.”
  66. 2 Chronicles 5:13 tn Heb “and the house was filled with a cloud, the house of the Lord.”
  67. 2 Chronicles 5:14 tn Heb “were not able to stand to serve.”
  68. 2 Chronicles 6:2 tn The words “O Lord” do not appear in the Hebrew text, but they are supplied in the translation for clarification; Solomon addresses the Lord in prayer at this point.
  69. 2 Chronicles 6:3 tn Heb “turned his face.”
  70. 2 Chronicles 6:3 tn Heb “and he blessed all the assembly of Israel, and all the assembly of Israel was standing.”
  71. 2 Chronicles 6:4 tn The Hebrew text reads, “fulfilled by his hand,” but the phrase “by his hand” is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
  72. 2 Chronicles 6:4 tn The Hebrew text reads, “promised by his mouth,” but the phrase “by his mouth” is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
  73. 2 Chronicles 6:5 tn Heb “saying.”
  74. 2 Chronicles 6:5 tn Heb “to build a house for my name to be there.” Here “name” is used by metonymy for the Lord himself, and thus the expression “to be there” refers to his taking up residence there (hence the translation, “a temple in which to live”). In this case the temple is referred to as a “house” where the Lord himself can reside.
  75. 2 Chronicles 6:6 tn Heb “for my name to be there.” See also the note on the word “live” in v. 5.
  76. 2 Chronicles 6:7 tn Heb “and it was with the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the Lord God of Israel.”sn On the significance of the Lord’s “name,” see the note on the word “live” in v. 5.
  77. 2 Chronicles 6:8 tn Heb “Because it was with your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was with your heart.”
  78. 2 Chronicles 6:9 tn Heb “your son, the one who came out of your body, he will build the temple for my name.”
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