1 Kings 3-8

Christian Standard Bible

The Lord Appears to Solomon

3 Solomon made an alliance^[a] with Pharaoh king of Egypt by marrying Pharaoh’s daughter.^(A) Solomon brought her to the city of David^(B) until he finished building his palace,^(C) the Lord’s temple,^(D) and the wall surrounding Jerusalem.^{(E) 2} However, the people were sacrificing on the high places,^(F) because until that time a temple for the Lord’s name^(G) had not been built. ³ Solomon loved the Lord^(H) by walking in the statutes of his father David,^(I) but he also sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

⁴ The king went to Gibeon^(J) to sacrifice there because it was the most famous high place. He offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.^{(K) 5} At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon^(L) in a dream at night.^(M) God said, “Ask.^(N) What should I give you?”

⁶ And Solomon replied, “You have shown great and faithful love to your servant, my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, righteousness, and integrity.^[b] You have continued this great and faithful love for him by giving him a son to sit on his throne,^(O) as it is today.^(P)

⁷ “Lord my God, you have now made your servant king in my father David’s place.^(Q) Yet I am just a youth with no experience in leadership.^{[c](R) 8} Your servant is among your people you have chosen,^(S) a people too many to be numbered or counted.^{(T) 9} So give your servant a receptive heart to judge^(U) your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of yours?” ^(V)

¹⁰ Now it pleased the Lord that Solomon had requested this. ¹¹ So God said to him, “Because you have requested this and did not ask for long life^[d] or riches for yourself,^(W) or the death^[e] of your enemies, but you asked discernment for yourself to administer justice,^{(X) 12} I will therefore do what you have asked.^(Y) I will give you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has never been anyone like you before and never will be again.^{(Z) 13} In addition, I will give you what you did not ask for: both riches and honor,^(AA) so that no king will be your equal during your entire life.^{(AB) 14} If you walk in my ways and keep my statutes and commands just as your father David did, I will give you a long life.”^(AC)

¹⁵ Then Solomon woke up^(AD) and realized it had been a dream.^(AE) He went to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord’s covenant,^(AF) and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings.^(AG) Then he held a feast^(AH) for all his servants.

Solomon’s Wisdom

¹⁶ Then two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.^{(AI) 17} One woman said, “Please, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I had a baby while she was in the house. ¹⁸ On the third day after I gave birth, she also had a baby and we were alone. No one else^[f] was with us in the house; just the two of us were there. ¹⁹ During the night this woman’s son died because she lay on him. ²⁰ She got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while your servant was asleep. She laid him in her arms, and she put her dead son in my arms. ²¹ When I got up in the morning to nurse my son, I discovered he was dead. That morning, when I looked closely at him I realized that he was not the son I gave birth to.”

²² “No,” the other woman said. “My son is the living one; your son is the dead one.”

The first woman said, “No, your son is the dead one; my son is the living one.” So they argued before the king.

²³ The king replied, “This woman says, ‘This is my son who is alive, and your son is dead,’ but that woman says, ‘No, your son is dead, and my son is alive.’” ²⁴ The king continued, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought the sword to the king. ²⁵ And the king said, “Cut the living boy in two and give half to one and half to the other.”

²⁶ The woman whose son was alive spoke to the king because she felt great compassion^[g](AJ) for her son. “My lord, give her the living baby,” she said, “but please don’t have him killed!”

But the other one said, “He will not be mine or yours. Cut him in two!”

²⁷ The king responded, “Give the living baby to the first woman, and don’t kill him. She is his mother.” ²⁸ All Israel heard about the judgment the king had given, and they stood in awe of the king because they saw that God’s wisdom^(AK) was in him to carry out justice.

Solomon’s Officials

4 King Solomon reigned over all Israel,^{(AL) 2} and these were his officials:^(AM)

⁷ Solomon had twelve deputies for all Israel. They provided food for the king and his household; each one made provision for one month out of the year.^{(AN) 8} These were their names:

There was one deputy in the land of Judah.^[h]

Solomon’s Provisions

²⁰ Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea;^(AO) they were eating, drinking, and rejoicing. ²¹ Solomon ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines and as far as the border of Egypt.^(AP) They offered tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.^(AQ)

²² Solomon’s provisions for one day were 180 bushels^[i] of fine flour and 360 bushels^[j] of meal, ²³ ten fattened cattle, twenty range cattle, and a hundred sheep and goats, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and pen-fed poultry,^{[k](AR) 24} for he had dominion over everything west of the Euphrates from Tiphsah to Gaza and over all the kings west of the Euphrates. He had peace on all his surrounding borders. ²⁵ Throughout Solomon’s reign, Judah and Israel lived in safety from Dan to Beer-sheba,^(AS) each person under his own vine and his own fig tree.^{(AT) 26} Solomon had forty thousand^[l] stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.^{(AU) 27} Each of those deputies for a month in turn provided food for King Solomon and for everyone who came to King Solomon’s table. They neglected nothing. ²⁸ Each man brought the barley and the straw for the chariot teams and the other horses^(AV) to the required place according to his assignment.^[m]

Solomon’s Wisdom and Literary Gifts

²⁹ God gave Solomon wisdom, very great insight, and understanding^(AW) as vast as the sand on the seashore. ³⁰ Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East,^(AX) greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.^{(AY) 31} He was wiser than anyone^(AZ)—wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite,^(BA) and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, sons of Mahol.^(BB) His reputation extended to all the surrounding nations.^(BC)

³² Solomon spoke 3,000 proverbs,^(BD) and his songs numbered 1,005.^{(BE) 33} He spoke about trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop growing out of the wall. He also spoke about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish. ³⁴ Emissaries of all peoples, sent by every king on earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom.^(BF)

Hiram’s Building Materials

5 King Hiram of Tyre^(BG) sent his emissaries to Solomon when he heard that he had been anointed king in his father’s place,^(BH) for Hiram had always been friends with David.^(BI)

² Solomon sent this message to Hiram: ³ “You know my father David was not able to build a temple for the name of the Lord his God. This was because of the warfare all around him until the Lord put his enemies under his feet.^{(BJ) 4} The Lord my God has now given me rest on every side; there is no enemy or misfortune.^{(BK) 5} So I plan to build a temple for the name of the Lord my God,^(BL) according to what the Lord promised my father David: ‘I will put your son on your throne in your place, and he will build the temple for my name.’^(BM)

⁶ “Therefore, command that cedars from Lebanon be cut down for me. My servants will be with your servants, and I will pay your servants’ wages according to whatever you say, for you know that not a man among us knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”^(BN)

⁷ When Hiram heard Solomon’s words, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the Lord today!^(BO) He has given David a wise son to be over this great people!” ⁸ Then Hiram sent a reply to Solomon, saying, “I have heard your message; I will do everything you want regarding the cedar and cypress timber. ⁹ My servants will bring the logs down from Lebanon to the sea, and I will make them into rafts to go by sea to the place you indicate. I will break them apart there, and you can take them away. You then can meet my needs by providing my household with food.”^(BP)

¹⁰ So Hiram provided Solomon with all the cedar and cypress timber he wanted, ¹¹ and Solomon provided Hiram with one hundred twenty thousand bushels^[n] of wheat as food for his household and one hundred twenty thousand gallons^[o] of oil from crushed olives.^(BQ) Solomon did this for Hiram year after year.

¹² The Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as he had promised him.^(BR) There was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.^(BS)

Solomon’s Workforce

¹³ Then King Solomon drafted forced laborers from all Israel;^(BT) the labor force numbered thirty thousand men. ¹⁴ He sent ten thousand to Lebanon each month in shifts; one month they were in Lebanon, two months they were at home. Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor. ¹⁵ Solomon had seventy thousand porters and eighty thousand stonecutters in the mountains,^{(BU) 16} not including his thirty-three hundred^[p] deputies^(BV) in charge of the work. They supervised the people doing the work. ¹⁷ The king commanded them to quarry large, costly stones to lay the foundation of the temple with dressed stones.^{(BW) 18} So Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders,^(BX) along with the Gebalites,^(BY) quarried the stone and prepared the timber and stone for the temple’s construction.

Building the Temple

6 Solomon began to build the temple for the Lord in the four hundred eightieth year^(BZ) after the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of his reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month.^{[q](CA) 2} The temple that King Solomon built for the Lord^(CB) was ninety feet^[r] long, thirty feet^[s] wide, and forty-five feet^[t] high.^{(CC) 3} The portico in front of the temple sanctuary was thirty feet long extending across the temple’s width, and fifteen feet deep^[u] in front of the temple.^{(CD) 4} He also made windows with beveled frames^[v] for the temple.^(CE)

⁵ He then built a chambered structure^[w] along the temple wall, encircling the walls of the temple, that is, the sanctuary and the inner sanctuary.^(CF) And he made side chambers^[x] all around.^{(CG) 6} The lowest chamber was 7½ feet^[y] wide, the middle was 9 feet^[z] wide, and the third was 10½ feet^[aa] wide. He also provided offset ledges for the temple all around the outside so that nothing would be inserted into the temple walls. ⁷ The temple’s construction used finished stones cut at the quarry so that no hammer, chisel, or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.^(CH)

⁸ The door for the lowest^[ab] side chamber was on the right side of the temple. They^[ac] went up a stairway^[ad] to the middle chamber, and from the middle to the third. ⁹ When he finished building the temple,^(CI) he paneled it with boards and planks of cedar. ¹⁰ He built the chambers along the entire temple, joined to the temple with cedar beams;^(CJ) each story was 7½ feet high.

¹¹ The word of the Lord came to Solomon:^{(CK) 12} “As for this temple you are building—if you walk in my statutes, observe my ordinances, and keep all my commands by walking in them,^(CL) I will fulfill my promise to you, which I made to your father David.^{(CM) 13} I will dwell among the Israelites and not abandon my people Israel.”^(CN)

¹⁴ When Solomon finished building the temple,^{[ae](CO) 15} he paneled the interior temple walls with cedar boards; from the temple floor to the surface of the ceiling he overlaid the interior with wood. He also overlaid the floor with cypress boards.^{(CP) 16} Then he lined thirty feet of the rear of the temple with cedar boards from the floor to the surface of the ceiling,^[af] and he built the interior as an inner sanctuary, the most holy place.^{(CQ) 17} The temple, that is, the sanctuary in front of the most holy place,^[ag] was sixty feet^[ah] long. ¹⁸ The cedar paneling inside the temple was carved with ornamental gourds^(CR) and flower blossoms. Everything was cedar;^(CS) not a stone could be seen.

¹⁹ He prepared the inner sanctuary^(CT) inside the temple to put the ark of the Lord’s covenant^(CU) there. ²⁰ The interior of the sanctuary was thirty feet long, thirty feet wide, and thirty feet high; he overlaid it with pure gold.^(CV) He also overlaid the cedar altar. ²¹ Next, Solomon overlaid the interior of the temple with pure gold, and he hung^[ai] gold chains^(CW) across the front of the inner sanctuary^(CX) and overlaid it with gold. ²² So he added the gold overlay to the entire temple until everything was completely finished, including the entire altar^(CY) that belongs to the inner sanctuary.

²³ In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim^(CZ) 15 feet^[aj] high out of olive wood. ²⁴ One wing of the first cherub was 7½ feet long, and the other wing was 7½ feet long. The wingspan was 15 feet from tip to tip. ²⁵ The second cherub also was 15 feet; both cherubim had the same size and shape. ²⁶ The first cherub’s height was 15 feet and so was the second cherub’s. ²⁷ Then he put the cherubim inside the inner temple. Since their wings were spread out, the first one’s wing touched one wall while the second cherub’s wing touched the other^[ak] wall, and in the middle of the temple their wings were touching wing to wing.^{(DA) 28} He also overlaid the cherubim with gold.

²⁹ He carved all the surrounding temple walls with carved engravings—cherubim,^(DB) palm trees, and flower blossoms—in the inner and outer sanctuaries. ³⁰ He overlaid the temple floor with gold in both the inner and the outer sanctuaries.

³¹ For the entrance of the inner sanctuary, he made olive wood doors.^(DC) The pillars of the doorposts were five-sided.^{[al] 32} The two doors were made of olive wood. He carved cherubim, palm trees, and flower blossoms on them and overlaid them with gold, hammering gold over the cherubim and palm trees. ³³ In the same way, he made four-sided^[am] olive wood doorposts for the sanctuary entrance. ³⁴ The two doors^(DD) were made of cypress wood; the first door had two folding sides, and the second door had two folding panels. ³⁵ He carved cherubim, palm trees, and flower blossoms on them and overlaid them with gold applied evenly over the carving. ³⁶ He built the inner courtyard^(DE) with three rows of dressed stone^(DF) and a row of trimmed cedar beams.

³⁷ The foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid in Solomon’s fourth year in the month of Ziv. ³⁸ In his eleventh year in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month,^[an] the temple was completed in every detail and according to every specification.^(DG) So he built it in seven years.^(DH)

Solomon’s Palace Complex

7 Solomon completed his entire palace complex after thirteen years of construction.^{(DI) 2} He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon.^(DJ) It was one hundred fifty feet^[ao] long, seventy-five feet^[ap] wide, and forty-five feet^[aq] high on four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams on top of the pillars. ³ It was paneled above with cedar at the top of the chambers that rested on forty-five pillars, fifteen per row. ⁴ There were three rows of window frames, facing each other^[ar] in three tiers.^{[as](DK) 5} All the doors and doorposts had rectangular frames, the openings facing each other^[at] in three tiers. ⁶ He made the hall of pillars seventy-five feet long and forty-five feet wide. A portico was in front of the pillars, and a canopy with pillars^[au] was in front of them. ⁷ He made the Hall of the Throne where he would judge^(DL)—the Hall of Judgment. It was paneled with cedar from the floor to the rafters.^{[av] 8} Solomon’s own palace where he would live, in the other courtyard behind the hall, was of similar construction. And he made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, his wife.^[aw](DM)

⁹ All of these buildings were of costly stones, cut to size and sawed with saws on the inner and outer surfaces, from foundation to coping and from the outside to the great courtyard. ¹⁰ The foundation was made of large, costly stones twelve and fifteen feet^[ax] long. ¹¹ Above were also costly stones, cut to size, as well as cedar wood. ¹² Around the great courtyard, as well as the inner courtyard of the Lord’s temple and the portico of the temple, were three rows of dressed stone and a row of trimmed cedar beams.^(DN)

¹³ King Solomon had Hiram^[ay](DO) brought from Tyre. ¹⁴ He was a widow’s son from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a bronze craftsman. Hiram had great skill,^(DP) understanding, and knowledge to do every kind of bronze work. So he came to King Solomon and carried out all his work.^(DQ)

The Bronze Pillars

¹⁵ He cast two bronze pillars,^(DR) each 27 feet^[az] high and 18 feet^[ba] in circumference.^{[bb](DS) 16} He also made two capitals^(DT) of cast bronze to set on top of the pillars; 7½ feet^[bc] was the height of the first capital, and 7½ feet was also the height of the second capital. ¹⁷ The capitals on top of the pillars had gratings of latticework, wreaths^[bd] made of chainwork—seven for the first capital and seven for the second.

¹⁸ He made the pillars with two encircling rows of pomegranates on the one grating to cover the capital on top; he did the same for the second capital. ¹⁹ And the capitals on top of the pillars in the portico were shaped like lilies, six feet^[be] high. ²⁰ The capitals on the two pillars were also immediately above the rounded surface next to the grating, and two hundred pomegranates^(DU) were in rows encircling each^[bf] capital. ²¹ He set up the pillars at the portico^(DV) of the sanctuary: he set up the right pillar and named it Jachin;^[bg] then he set up the left pillar and named it Boaz.^{[bh](DW) 22} The tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. Then the work of the pillars was completed.^(DX)

The Basin

²³ He made the cast metal basin,^[bi](DY) 15 feet^[bj] from brim to brim, perfectly round. It was 7½ feet high and 45 feet in circumference. ²⁴ Ornamental gourds^(DZ) encircled it below the brim, ten every half yard,^[bk] completely encircling the basin.^(EA) The gourds were cast in two rows when the basin was cast. ²⁵ It stood on twelve oxen,^(EB) three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The basin was on top of them and all their hindquarters were toward the center. ²⁶ The basin was three inches^[bl] thick, and its rim was fashioned like the brim of a cup or of a lily blossom. It held eleven thousand gallons.^[bm]

The Bronze Water Carts

²⁷ Then he made ten bronze water carts.^[bn](EC) Each water cart was 6 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 4½ feet^[bo] high. ²⁸ This was the design of the carts: They had frames; the frames were between the cross-pieces, ²⁹ and on the frames between the cross-pieces were lions, oxen, and cherubim.^(ED) On the cross-pieces there was a pedestal above, and below the lions and oxen were wreaths of hanging^[bp] work. ³⁰ Each cart^(EE) had four bronze wheels with bronze axles. Underneath the four corners of the basin were cast supports, each next to a wreath. ³¹ And the water cart’s opening inside the crown on top was eighteen inches^[bq] wide. The opening was round, made as a pedestal twenty-seven inches^[br] wide. On it were carvings, but their frames were square, not round. ³² There were four wheels under the frames, and the wheel axles were part of the water cart; each wheel was twenty-seven inches^[bs] tall. ³³ The wheels’ design was similar to that of chariot wheels: their axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were all of cast metal. ³⁴ Four supports were at the four corners of each water cart; each support was one piece with the water cart. ³⁵ At the top of the cart was a band nine inches^[bt] high encircling it; also, at the top of the cart, its braces and its frames were one piece with it. ³⁶ He engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees^(EF) on the plates of its braces and on its frames, wherever each had space, with encircling wreaths. ³⁷ In this way he made the ten water carts using the same casting, dimensions, and shape for all of them.

Bronze Basins and Other Utensils

³⁸ Then he made ten bronze basins^(EG)—each basin held 220 gallons^[bu] and each was six feet wide—one basin for each of the ten water carts. ³⁹ He set five water carts on the right side of the temple and five on the left side. He put the basin near the right side of the temple toward the southeast.^{(EH) 40} Then Hiram made^(EI) the basins, the shovels, and the sprinkling basins.

Completion of the Bronze Works

So Hiram finished all the work that he was doing for King Solomon on the Lord’s temple: ⁴¹ two pillars;^(EJ) bowls for the capitals that were on top of the two pillars; the two gratings for covering both bowls of the capitals that were on top of the pillars;^{(EK) 42} the four hundred pomegranates for the two gratings (two rows of pomegranates for each grating covering both capitals’ bowls on top of the pillars^(EL)); ⁴³ the ten water carts;^(EM) the ten basins on the water carts;^{(EN) 44} the basin;^(EO) the twelve oxen underneath the basin;^{(EP) 45} and the pots, shovels, and sprinkling basins.^(EQ) All the utensils that Hiram made for King Solomon at the Lord’s temple were made of burnished bronze. ⁴⁶ The king had them cast in clay molds in the Jordan Valley between Succoth^(ER) and Zarethan.^{(ES) 47} Solomon left all the utensils unweighed because there were so many; the weight of the bronze was not determined.^(ET)

Completion of the Gold Furnishings

⁴⁸ Solomon also made all the equipment in the Lord’s temple: the gold altar; the gold table that the Bread of the Presence was placed on;^{(EU) 49} the pure gold lampstands in front of the inner sanctuary, five on the right and five on the left;^(EV) the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs; ⁵⁰ the pure gold ceremonial bowls, wick trimmers, sprinkling basins, ladles,^[bv] and firepans;^(EW) and the gold hinges for the doors of the inner temple (that is, the most holy place) and for the doors of the temple sanctuary.

⁵¹ So all the work King Solomon did in the Lord’s temple was completed.^(EX) Then Solomon brought in the consecrated things of his father David^(EY)—the silver, the gold, and the utensils—and put them in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple.^(EZ)

Solomon’s Dedication of the Temple

8 At that time Solomon assembled the elders^(FA) of Israel,^(FB) all the tribal heads^(FC) and the ancestral leaders of the Israelites before him at Jerusalem in order to bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant from the city of David,^(FD) that is Zion.^{(FE) 2} So all the men of Israel were assembled in the presence of King Solomon in the month of Ethanim, which is the seventh month,^[bw] at the festival.^(FF)

³ All the elders^(FG) of Israel came, and the priests^(FH) picked up the ark.^{(FI) 4} The priests and the Levites brought the ark of the Lord, the tent of meeting,^(FJ) and the holy utensils that were in the tent.^{(FK) 5} King Solomon and the entire congregation of Israel, who had gathered around him and were with him in front of the ark, were sacrificing sheep, goats, and cattle that could not be counted or numbered, because there were so many.^{(FL) 6} The priests brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the most holy place^(FM) beneath the wings of the cherubim. ⁷ For the cherubim were spreading their wings over^[bx] the place of the ark, so that the cherubim covered the ark and its poles from above.^{(FN) 8} The poles were so long that their ends were seen from the holy place in front of the inner sanctuary, but they were not seen from outside the sanctuary; they are still there today.^{(FO) 9} Nothing was in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had put there at Horeb,^[by](FP) where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites when they came out of the land of Egypt.^(FQ)

¹⁰ When the priests came out of the holy place, the cloud filled the Lord’s temple,^{(FR) 11} and because of the cloud, the priests were not able to continue ministering, for the glory^(FS) of the Lord filled the temple.

¹² Then Solomon said:

¹⁴ The king turned around and blessed^(FW) the entire congregation of Israel while they were standing. ¹⁵ He said:

Solomon’s Prayer

²² Then Solomon stood^(GH) before the altar of the Lord in front of the entire congregation of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven.^{(GI) 23} He said:

Solomon’s Blessing

⁵⁴ When Solomon finished praying this entire prayer and petition to the Lord, he got up from kneeling before the altar of the Lord, with his hands spread out toward heaven,^{(HY) 55} and he stood and blessed the whole congregation of Israel^(HZ) with a loud voice: ⁵⁶ “Blessed be the Lord! He has given rest^(IA) to his people Israel according to all he has said. Not one of all the good promises he made through his servant Moses has failed.^{(IB) 57} May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors. May he not abandon us or leave us^{(IC) 58} so that he causes us to be devoted^[ci] to him,^(ID) to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commands, statutes, and ordinances, which he commanded our ancestors. ⁵⁹ May my words with which I have made my petition before the Lord be near the Lord our God day and night. May he uphold his servant’s cause and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires.^{(IE) 60} May all the peoples of the earth know that the Lord is God. There is no other!^{(IF) 61} Be wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord our God^(IG) to walk in his statutes and to keep his commands, as it is today.”

⁶² The king and all Israel with him were offering sacrifices in the Lord’s presence. ⁶³ Solomon offered a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to the Lord: twenty-two thousand cattle and one hundred twenty thousand sheep and goats.^(IH) In this manner the king and all the Israelites dedicated^(II) the Lord’s temple.^(IJ)

⁶⁴ On the same day, the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard that was in front of the Lord’s temple because that was where he offered the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the fat of the fellowship offerings,^(IK) since the bronze altar before the Lord was too small to accommodate the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the fellowship offerings.^(IL)

⁶⁵ Solomon and all Israel with him—a great assembly, from the entrance of Hamath^[cj](IM) to the Brook of Egypt^(IN)—observed the festival at that time^(IO) in the presence of the Lord our God, seven days, and seven more days—fourteen days.^{[ck](IP) 66} On the fifteenth day^[cl] he sent the people away. So they blessed the king and went to their homes^[cm] rejoicing and with happy hearts for all the goodness that the Lord had done for his servant David and for his people Israel.^(IQ)