³⁸ The entire building was completed in every detail by midautumn, in the month of Bul,^[a] during the eleventh year of his reign. So it took seven years to build the Temple.

⁹ “Zerubbabel is the one who laid the foundation of this Temple, and he will complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me.

Solomon Builds His Palace

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

²⁰ “What!” they exclaimed. “It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple, and you can rebuild it in three days?”

¹³ Yes, he will build the Temple of the Lord. Then he will receive royal honor and will rule as king from his throne. He will also serve as priest from his throne,^[a] and there will be perfect harmony between his two roles.’

¹⁴ “The crown will be a memorial in the Temple of the Lord to honor those who gave it—Heldai,^[b] Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Josiah^[c] son of Zephaniah.”

¹⁵ People will come from distant lands to rebuild the Temple of the Lord. And when this happens, you will know that my messages have been from the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. All this will happen if you carefully obey what the Lord your God says.

¹⁴ So the Jewish elders continued their work, and they were greatly encouraged by the preaching of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo. The Temple was finally finished, as had been commanded by the God of Israel and decreed by Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, the kings of Persia. ¹⁵ The Temple was completed on March 12,^[a] during the sixth year of King Darius’s reign.

⁸ The construction of the Temple of God began in midspring,^[a] during the second year after they arrived in Jerusalem. The work force was made up of everyone who had returned from exile, including Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jehozadak and his fellow priests, and all the Levites. The Levites who were twenty years old or older were put in charge of rebuilding the Lord’s Temple. ⁹ The workers at the Temple of God were supervised by Jeshua with his sons and relatives, and Kadmiel and his sons, all descendants of Hodaviah.^[b] They were helped in this task by the Levites of the family of Henadad.

¹⁰ When the builders completed the foundation of the Lord’s Temple, the priests put on their robes and took their places to blow their trumpets. And the Levites, descendants of Asaph, clashed their cymbals to praise the Lord, just as King David had prescribed. ¹¹ With praise and thanks, they sang this song to the Lord:

Then all the people gave a great shout, praising the Lord because the foundation of the Lord’s Temple had been laid.

¹² But many of the older priests, Levites, and other leaders who had seen the first Temple wept aloud when they saw the new Temple’s foundation. The others, however, were shouting for joy. ¹³ The joyful shouting and weeping mingled together in a loud noise that could be heard far in the distance.

⁹ After completing the Temple structure, Solomon put in a ceiling made of cedar beams and planks.

Solomon Builds the Temple

6 It was in midspring, in the month of Ziv,^[a] during the fourth year of Solomon’s reign, that he began to construct the Temple of the Lord. This was 480 years after the people of Israel were rescued from their slavery in the land of Egypt.