Solomon Builds the Temple

6 ^(A)In the four hundred and eightieth year after the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, ^(B)he began to build the house of the Lord. ^2 (C)The house that King Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits^[a] long, twenty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high. ³ The vestibule in front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits long, equal to the width of the house, and ten cubits deep in front of the house. ⁴ And ^(D)he made for the house windows with recessed frames.^{[b] 5 (E)}He also built a structure^[c] against the wall of the house, running around the walls of the house, both the nave and ^(F)the inner sanctuary. And he made ^(G)side chambers all around. ⁶ The lowest story^[d] was five cubits broad, the middle one was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad. For around the outside of the house he made offsets on the wall in order that the supporting beams should not be inserted into the walls of the house.

⁷ When the house was built, ^(H)it was with stone prepared at the quarry, so that neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was being built.

⁸ The entrance for the lowest^[e] story was on the south side of the house, and one went up by stairs to the middle story, and from the middle story to the third. ^9 (I)So he built the house and finished it, and he made the ceiling of the house of beams and planks of cedar. ¹⁰ He built the structure against the whole house, five cubits high, and it was joined to the house with timbers of cedar.

¹¹ Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon, ¹² “Concerning this house that you are building, ^(J)if you will walk in my statutes and obey my rules and keep all my commandments and walk in them, then I will establish my word with you, ^(K)which I spoke to David your father. ¹³ And ^(L)I will dwell among the children of Israel ^(M)and will not forsake my people Israel.”

^14 (N)So Solomon built the house and finished it. ¹⁵ He lined the walls of the house on the inside with boards of cedar. From the floor of the house to the walls of the ceiling, he covered them on the inside with wood, ^(O)and he covered the floor of the house with boards of cypress. ^16 (P)He built twenty cubits of the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the walls, and he built this within as an inner sanctuary, as ^(Q)the Most Holy Place. ¹⁷ The house, that is, the nave in front of the inner sanctuary, was forty cubits long. ¹⁸ The cedar within the house was carved in the form of ^(R)gourds and open flowers. All was cedar; no stone was seen. ¹⁹ The inner sanctuary he prepared in the innermost part of the house, to set there the ark of the covenant of the Lord. ²⁰ The inner sanctuary^[f] was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high, and he overlaid it with pure gold. He also overlaid^[g] an altar of cedar. ²¹ And Solomon overlaid the inside of the house with pure gold, and he drew chains of gold across, in front of the inner sanctuary, and overlaid it with gold. ²² And he overlaid the whole house with gold, until all the house was finished. ^(S)Also the whole altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold.

^23 (T)In the inner sanctuary ^(U)he made two cherubim of olivewood, each ten cubits high. ²⁴ Five cubits was the length of one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the length of the other wing of the cherub; it was ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other. ²⁵ The other cherub also measured ten cubits; both cherubim had the same measure and the same form. ²⁶ The height of one cherub was ten cubits, and so was that of the other cherub. ²⁷ He put the cherubim in the innermost part of the house. ^(V)And the wings of the cherubim were spread out so that a wing of one touched the one wall, and a wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; their other wings touched each other in the middle of the house. ²⁸ And he overlaid the cherubim with gold.

²⁹ Around all the walls of the house he carved engraved figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, in the inner and outer rooms. ³⁰ The floor of the house he overlaid with gold in the inner and outer rooms.

³¹ For the entrance to the inner sanctuary he made doors of olivewood; the lintel and the doorposts were five-sided.^{[h] 32} He covered the two doors of olivewood with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. He overlaid them with gold and spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees.

³³ So also he made for the entrance to the nave doorposts of olivewood, in the form of a square, ³⁴ and two doors of cypress wood. ^(W)The two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding. ³⁵ On them he carved cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, and he overlaid them with gold evenly applied on the carved work. ^36 (X)He built the inner court with three courses of cut stone and one course of cedar beams.

^37 (Y)In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid, in the month of Ziv. ³⁸ And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its parts, and according to all its specifications. He was seven years in building it.

Greeting

1 Paul, ^(A)an apostle of Christ Jesus ^(B)by the will of God,

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and ^(C)are faithful^[a] in Christ Jesus:

^2 (D)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

^3 (E)Blessed be ^(F)the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing ^(G)in the heavenly places, ^4 (H)even as he ^(I)chose us in him ^(J)before the foundation of the world, that we should be ^(K)holy and blameless before him. In love ^5 (L)he predestined us^[b] for ^(M)adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, ^(N)according to the purpose of his will, ^6 (O)to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in ^(P)the Beloved. ^7 (Q)In him we have ^(R)redemption ^(S)through his blood, ^(T)the forgiveness of our trespasses, ^(U)according to the riches of his grace, ⁸ which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight ^9 (V)making known^[c] to us the mystery of his will, ^(W)according to his purpose, which he ^(X)set forth in Christ^{[d] 10} as a plan for ^(Y)the fullness of time, ^(Z)to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth in him.

¹¹ In him we have obtained ^(AA)an inheritance, ^(AB)having been predestined ^(AC)according to the purpose of him who works all things according to ^(AD)the counsel of his will, ¹² so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be ^(AE)to the praise of his glory. ¹³ In him you also, when you heard ^(AF)the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, ^(AG)were sealed with the ^(AH)promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴ who is ^(AI)the guarantee^[e] of our ^(AJ)inheritance until ^(AK)we acquire ^(AL)possession of it,^{[f] (AM)}to the praise of his glory.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

¹⁵ For this reason, ^(AN)because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love^[g] toward all the saints, ¹⁶ I ^(AO)do not cease to give thanks for you, ^(AP)remembering you in my prayers, ¹⁷ that ^(AQ)the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, ^(AR)may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, ^18 (AS)having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is ^(AT)the hope to which he has called you, what are ^(AU)the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, ^(AV)according to the working of ^(AW)his great might ²⁰ that he worked in Christ ^(AX)when he raised him from the dead and ^(AY)seated him at his right hand ^(AZ)in the heavenly places, ^21 (BA)far above ^(BB)all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above ^(BC)every name that is named, not only in ^(BD)this age but also in the one to come. ²² And ^(BE)he put all things under his feet and gave him as ^(BF)head over all things to the church, ^23 (BG)which is his body, ^(BH)the fullness of him ^(BI)who fills ^(BJ)all in all.

By Grace Through Faith

2 ^(BK)And you were ^(BL)dead in the trespasses and sins ^2 (BM)in which you once walked, following the course^[h] of this world, following ^(BN)the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in ^(BO)the sons of disobedience— ³ among whom we all once lived in ^(BP)the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and ^(BQ)were by nature ^(BR)children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.^{[i] 4} But^[j] God, being ^(BS)rich in mercy, ^(BT)because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even ^(BU)when we were dead in our trespasses, ^(BV)made us alive together with Christ—^(BW)by grace you have been saved— ⁶ and raised us up with him and ^(BX)seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable ^(BY)riches of his grace in ^(BZ)kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For ^(CA)by grace you have been saved ^(CB)through faith. And this is ^(CC)not your own doing; ^(CD)it is the gift of God, ^9 (CE)not a result of works, ^(CF)so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For ^(CG)we are his workmanship, ^(CH)created in Christ Jesus ^(CI)for good works, ^(CJ)which God prepared beforehand, ^(CK)that we should walk in them.

One in Christ

¹¹ Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called ^(CL)the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— ¹² remember ^(CM)that you were at that time separated from Christ, ^(CN)alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to ^(CO)the covenants of promise, ^(CP)having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were ^(CQ)far off have been brought near ^(CR)by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For ^(CS)he himself is our peace, ^(CT)who has made us both one and has broken down ^(CU)in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility ¹⁵ by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ^(CV)ordinances, that he might create in himself one ^(CW)new man in place of the two, so making peace, ¹⁶ and might ^(CX)reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. ¹⁷ And he came and ^(CY)preached peace to you who were ^(CZ)far off and peace to those who were ^(DA)near. ¹⁸ For ^(DB)through him we both have ^(DC)access in ^(DD)one Spirit to the Father. ¹⁹ So then you are no longer ^(DE)strangers and aliens,^[k] but you are ^(DF)fellow citizens with the saints and ^(DG)members of the household of God, ^20 (DH)built on the foundation of the ^(DI)apostles and prophets, ^(DJ)Christ Jesus himself being ^(DK)the cornerstone, ^21 (DL)in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into ^(DM)a holy temple in the Lord. ²² In him ^(DN)you also are being built together ^(DO)into a dwelling place for God by^[l] the Spirit.

The Mystery of the Gospel Revealed

3 For this reason I, Paul, ^(DP)a prisoner of Christ Jesus ^(DQ)on behalf of you Gentiles— ² assuming that you have heard of ^(DR)the stewardship of ^(DS)God's grace that was given to me for you, ^3 (DT)how the mystery was made known to me ^(DU)by revelation, ^(DV)as I have written briefly. ^4 (DW)When you read this, you can perceive my insight into ^(DX)the mystery of Christ, ⁵ which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. ⁶ This mystery is^[m] that the Gentiles are ^(DY)fellow heirs, ^(DZ)members of the same body, and ^(EA)partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

^7 (EB)Of this gospel I was made ^(EC)a minister according to the gift of ^(ED)God's grace, which was given me ^(EE)by the working of his power. ⁸ To me, ^(EF)though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, ^(EG)to preach to the Gentiles the ^(EH)unsearchable ^(EI)riches of Christ, ⁹ and ^(EJ)to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery ^(EK)hidden for ages in^[n] God, ^(EL)who created all things, ¹⁰ so that through the church the manifold ^(EM)wisdom of God ^(EN)might now be made known to ^(EO)the rulers and authorities ^(EP)in the heavenly places. ¹¹ This was ^(EQ)according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, ¹² in whom we have ^(ER)boldness and ^(ES)access with ^(ET)confidence through our ^(EU)faith in him. ¹³ So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering ^(EV)for you, ^(EW)which is your glory.

Prayer for Spiritual Strength

¹⁴ For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom ^(EX)every family^[o] in heaven and on earth is named, ¹⁶ that according to ^(EY)the riches of his glory ^(EZ)he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit ^(FA)in your inner being, ^17 (FB)so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being ^(FC)rooted and ^(FD)grounded in love, ¹⁸ may have strength to ^(FE)comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and ^(FF)height and depth, ¹⁹ and to know the love of Christ ^(FG)that surpasses knowledge, that ^(FH)you may be filled with all ^(FI)the fullness of God.

^20 (FJ)Now to ^(FK)him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, ^(FL)according to the power at work within us, ^21 (FM)to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.