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1 Kings 6-8
Names of God Bible
1 Kings 6-8
Names of God Bible
The Temple Built in Seven Years(A)
6 Solomon began to build Yahweh’s temple 480 years after Israel left Egypt. He began building in the month of Ziv (the second month) of the fourth year of his reign over Israel. 2 The temple that King Solomon built for Yahweh was 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high. 3 The entrance hall in front of the main room of the temple was the same length as the shorter side of the temple. It extended 15 feet in front of the temple. 4 He also made latticed windows for the temple.
5 He built an annex containing side rooms all around the temple. This annex was next to the walls of the main building and the inner sanctuary. 6 The interior of the lowest story of the annex was 7½ feet wide, the second story was 9 feet wide, and the third story was 10½ feet wide. Solomon made ledges all around the temple so that this annex would not be fastened to the walls of the temple.
7 The temple was built with stone blocks that were finished at the quarry. No hammer, chisel, or any other iron tool made a sound at the temple construction site.
8 The entrance to the first story[a] was on the south side of the temple. A staircase went up to the middle story and then to the third story.
9 When he had finished building the walls, he roofed the temple with rows of cedar beams and planks.[b] 10 He built each story of the annex 7½ feet high alongside the entire temple. Its cedar beams were attached to the temple.
11 Yahweh spoke to Solomon, saying, 12 “This concerns the temple you are building: If you live by my laws, follow my rules, and keep my commands, I will fulfill the promise I made about you to your father David. 13 I will live among the Israelites and never abandon my people.”
14 When Solomon had finished building the temple’s frame, 15 he began to line the inside walls of the temple with cedar boards. He paneled the inside of the temple with wood from floor to ceiling. He covered the floor of the temple with cypress planks.
16 He sectioned off a 30-foot-long room at the rear of the temple with cedar boards from the floor to the rafters. He built it to serve as an inner room, the most holy place. 17 The 60-foot-long room at the front of the temple served as the main hall. 18 Gourds and flowers were carved into the cedar paneling inside the temple. Everything was covered with cedar. No stone could be seen.
19 He prepared the inner room of the temple in order to put the ark of Yahweh’s promise there. 20 The inner room was 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 30 feet high. Solomon covered it and the cedar altar with pure gold. 21 He covered the inside of the temple with pure gold. He put golden chains across the front of the inner room which was covered with gold. 22 He covered the entire inside of the temple with gold. He also covered the entire altar in the inner room with gold.
23 In the inner room he made two 15-foot-tall angels[c] out of olive wood. 24 Each wing of the angels was 7½ feet long. The distance from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other was 15 feet. 25 Both angels had a 15-foot wingspan. Both had the same measurements and the same shape. 26 Each was 15 feet high. 27 Solomon put the angels in the inner room of the temple. The wings of the angels extended so that the wing of one of the angels touched the one wall, and the wing of the other touched the other wall. Their remaining wings touched each other in the center of the room. 28 He covered the angels with gold.
29 He carved angels, palm trees, and flowers into the walls all around the inner and outer rooms of the temple. 30 He covered the floor of the inner and outer rooms of the temple with gold.
31 He made doors for the entrance to the inner room out of olive wood. The doorposts had five sides. 32 The two doors were made out of olive wood. He carved angels, palm trees, and flowers into them and covered them with gold. The gold was hammered onto the angels and the palm trees.
33 In the same way he made square doorposts out of olive wood for the temple’s entrance. 34 He made two doors from cypress. Each of the doors had two folding panels. 35 On them he carved angels, palm trees, and flowers. He evenly covered them with gold.
36 He built the inner courtyard with three courses of finished stones and a course of finished cedar beams.
37 In the month of Ziv of the fourth year of Solomon’s reign, the foundation of Yahweh’s temple was laid. 38 In the month of Bul (the eighth month) of the eleventh year of his reign, the temple was finished according to all its plans and specifications. He spent seven years building it.
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).[d] 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.[e]
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 Yahweh’s temple and the entrance hall.
The Temple Furnishings(B)
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.[f] 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.[g] 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 Yahweh’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 Yahweh’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 Yahweh’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 Yahweh’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 Yahweh’s temple.
The Lord Comes to His Temple(C)
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 Yahweh’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 Yahweh’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 Yahweh’s promise to its place in the inner room of the temple (the most holy place) under the wings of the angels.[h]
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 Yahweh made a promise to the Israelites after they left Egypt.
10 When the priests left the holy place, a cloud filled Yahweh’s temple. 11 The priests couldn’t serve because of the cloud. Yahweh’s glory filled Yahweh’s temple.
Solomon Addresses the People(D)
12 Then Solomon said, “Yahweh 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 Yahweh Elohim 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 Yahweh Elohim of Israel. 18 However, Yahweh 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 Yahweh has kept the promise he made. I have taken my father David’s place, and I sit on the throne of Israel as Yahweh promised. I’ve built the temple for the name of Yahweh Elohim of Israel. 21 I’ve made a place there for the ark which contains Yahweh’s promise that he made to our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt.”
Solomon’s Prayer(E)
22 In the presence of the entire assembly of Israel, Solomon stood in front of Yahweh’s altar. He stretched out his hands toward heaven 23 and said,
“Yahweh Elohim of Israel,
there is no god like you in heaven above or on earth below.
You keep your promise[i] 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, Yahweh Elohim 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, Elohim of Israel,
may the promise you made to my father David,
your servant, come true.
27 “Does Elohim 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 Yahweh Elohim, 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.[j]
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 Yahweh, 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, Adonay Yahweh, 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 Yahweh, he stood in front of Yahweh’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 Yahweh! 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 Yahweh our Elohim 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 Yahweh be near Yahweh our Elohim 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 Yahweh is Elohim and there is no other god. 61 May your hearts be committed to Yahweh our Elohim. Then you will live by his laws and keep his commands as you have today.”
Solomon Offers Sacrifices(F)
62 Then the king and all Israel offered sacrifices to Yahweh. 63 Solomon sacrificed 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep as fellowship offerings to Yahweh. So the king and all the people of Israel dedicated Yahweh’s temple.
64 On that day the king designated the courtyard in front of Yahweh’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 Yahweh 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 Yahweh our Elohim for seven days.[k] 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 Yahweh had given his servant David and his people Israel.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 6:8 Greek, Targum; Masoretic Text “second story.”
- 1 Kings 6:9 Hebrew meaning uncertain.
- 1 Kings 6:23 Or “cherubim.”
- 1 Kings 7:3 Hebrew meaning of this verse uncertain.
- 1 Kings 7:7 Latin, Syriac; Masoretic Text “floor to floor.”
- 1 Kings 7:18 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Greek, Syriac; other Hebrew manuscripts “pomegranates.”
- 1 Kings 7:29 Or “cherubim.”
- 1 Kings 8:6 Or “cherubim.”
- 1 Kings 8:23 Or “covenant.”
- 1 Kings 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.
- 1 Kings 8:65 Greek; Masoretic Text adds “. . . and seven [more] days, fourteen days [total].”
1 Kings 6-8
New International Version
1 Kings 6-8
New International Version
Solomon Builds the Temple(A)
6 In the four hundred and eightieth[a] year after the Israelites came out of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the second month,(B) he began to build the temple of the Lord.(C)
2 The temple(D) that King Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits long, twenty wide and thirty high.[b] 3 The portico(E) at the front of the main hall of the temple extended the width of the temple, that is twenty cubits,[c] and projected ten cubits[d] from the front of the temple. 4 He made narrow windows(F) high up in the temple walls. 5 Against the walls of the main hall and inner sanctuary he built a structure around the building, in which there were side rooms.(G) 6 The lowest floor was five cubits[e] wide, the middle floor six cubits[f] and the third floor seven.[g] He made offset ledges around the outside of the temple so that nothing would be inserted into the temple walls.
7 In building the temple, only blocks dressed(H) at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool(I) was heard at the temple site while it was being built.
8 The entrance to the lowest[h] floor was on the south side of the temple; a stairway led up to the middle level and from there to the third. 9 So he built the temple and completed it, roofing it with beams and cedar(J) planks. 10 And he built the side rooms all along the temple. The height of each was five cubits, and they were attached to the temple by beams of cedar.
11 The word of the Lord came(K) to Solomon: 12 “As for this temple you are building, if you follow my decrees, observe my laws and keep all my commands(L) and obey them, I will fulfill through you the promise(M) I gave to David your father. 13 And I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon(N) my people Israel.”
14 So Solomon(O) built the temple and completed(P) it. 15 He lined its interior walls with cedar boards, paneling them from the floor of the temple to the ceiling,(Q) and covered the floor of the temple with planks of juniper.(R) 16 He partitioned off twenty cubits at the rear of the temple with cedar boards from floor to ceiling to form within the temple an inner sanctuary, the Most Holy Place.(S) 17 The main hall in front of this room was forty cubits[i] long. 18 The inside of the temple was cedar,(T) carved with gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; no stone was to be seen.
19 He prepared the inner sanctuary(U) within the temple to set the ark of the covenant(V) of the Lord there. 20 The inner sanctuary(W) was twenty cubits long, twenty wide and twenty high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold, and he also overlaid the altar of cedar.(X) 21 Solomon covered the inside of the temple with pure gold, and he extended gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, which was overlaid with gold. 22 So he overlaid the whole interior with gold. He also overlaid with gold the altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary.
23 For the inner sanctuary he made a pair of cherubim(Y) out of olive wood, each ten cubits high. 24 One wing of the first cherub was five cubits long, and the other wing five cubits—ten cubits from wing tip to wing tip. 25 The second cherub also measured ten cubits, for the two cherubim were identical in size and shape. 26 The height of each cherub was ten cubits. 27 He placed the cherubim(Z) inside the innermost room of the temple, with their wings spread out. The wing of one cherub touched one wall, while the wing of the other touched the other wall, and their wings touched each other in the middle of the room. 28 He overlaid the cherubim with gold.
29 On the walls(AA) all around the temple, in both the inner and outer rooms, he carved cherubim,(AB) palm trees and open flowers. 30 He also covered the floors of both the inner and outer rooms of the temple with gold.
31 For the entrance to the inner sanctuary he made doors out of olive wood that were one fifth of the width of the sanctuary. 32 And on the two olive-wood doors(AC) he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid the cherubim and palm trees with hammered gold. 33 In the same way, for the entrance to the main hall he made doorframes out of olive wood that were one fourth of the width of the hall. 34 He also made two doors out of juniper wood, each having two leaves that turned in sockets. 35 He carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers on them and overlaid them with gold hammered evenly over the carvings.
36 And he built the inner courtyard(AD) of three courses(AE) of dressed stone and one course of trimmed cedar beams.
37 The foundation of the temple of the Lord was laid in the fourth year, in the month of Ziv. 38 In the eleventh year in the month of Bul, the eighth month, the temple was finished in all its details(AF) according to its specifications.(AG) He had spent seven years building it.
Solomon Builds His Palace
7 It took Solomon thirteen years, however, to complete the construction of his palace.(AH) 2 He built the Palace(AI) of the Forest of Lebanon(AJ) a hundred cubits long, fifty wide and thirty high,[j] 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.[k]
6 He made a colonnade fifty cubits long and thirty wide.[l] 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,(AK) and he covered it with cedar from floor to ceiling.[m](AL) 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.(AM)
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[n] and some eight.[o] 11 Above were high-grade stones, cut to size, and cedar beams. 12 The great courtyard was surrounded by a wall of three courses(AN) 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(AO)(AP)
13 King Solomon sent to Tyre and brought Huram,[p](AQ) 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,(AR) with understanding and with knowledge to do all kinds of bronze work. He came to King Solomon and did all(AS) the work assigned to him.
15 He cast two bronze pillars,(AT) each eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference.[q] 16 He also made two capitals(AU) of cast bronze to set on the tops of the pillars; each capital was five cubits[r] 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[s] encircling each network to decorate the capitals on top of the pillars.[t] 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[u] high. 20 On the capitals of both pillars, above the bowl-shaped part next to the network, were the two hundred pomegranates(AV) in rows all around. 21 He erected the pillars at the portico of the temple. The pillar to the south he named Jakin[v] and the one to the north Boaz.[w](AW) 22 The capitals on top were in the shape of lilies. And so the work on the pillars(AX) was completed.
23 He made the Sea(AY) of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits high. It took a line(AZ) of thirty cubits[x] 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,(BA) 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[y] in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held two thousand baths.[z]
27 He also made ten movable stands(BB) of bronze; each was four cubits long, four wide and three high.[aa] 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(BC) 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[ab] deep. This opening was round, and with its basework it measured a cubit and a half.[ac] 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[ad] 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,(BD) each holding forty baths[ae] 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[af] and shovels and sprinkling bowls.(BE)
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(BF) 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.(BG)
All these objects that Huram(BH) 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(BI) of the Jordan between Sukkoth(BJ) and Zarethan.(BK) 47 Solomon left all these things unweighed,(BL) because there were so many;(BM) the weight of the bronze(BN) was not determined.
48 Solomon also made all(BO) the furnishings that were in the Lord’s temple:
the golden altar;
the golden table(BP) on which was the bread of the Presence;(BQ)
49 the lampstands(BR) 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(BS) and censers;(BT)
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(BU)—the silver and gold and the furnishings(BV)—and he placed them in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple.
The Ark Brought to the Temple(BW)
8 Then King Solomon summoned into his presence at Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs(BX) of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark(BY) of the Lord’s covenant from Zion, the City of David.(BZ) 2 All the Israelites came together to King Solomon at the time of the festival(CA) in the month of Ethanim, the seventh month.(CB)
3 When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests(CC) took up the ark, 4 and they brought up the ark of the Lord and the tent of meeting(CD) and all the sacred furnishings in it. The priests and Levites(CE) carried them up, 5 and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing(CF) 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(CG) to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place,(CH) and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim.(CI) 7 The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed(CJ) 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.(CK) 9 There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets(CL) 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(CM) filled the temple of the Lord. 11 And the priests could not perform their service(CN) because of the cloud, for the glory(CO) of the Lord filled his temple.
12 Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud;(CP) 13 I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell(CQ) forever.”
14 While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around and blessed(CR) them. 15 Then he said:
“Praise be to the Lord,(CS) 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,(CT) I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built so that my Name(CU) might be there, but I have chosen(CV) David(CW) to rule my people Israel.’
17 “My father David had it in his heart(CX) to build a temple(CY) 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(CZ) 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.’(DA)
20 “The Lord has kept the promise he made: I have succeeded(DB) David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised, and I have built(DC) 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(DD)
22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands(DE) toward heaven 23 and said:
“Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like(DF) you in heaven above or on earth below—you who keep your covenant of love(DG) 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(DH) 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(DI) your servant David my father come true.
27 “But will God really dwell(DJ) on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven,(DK) cannot contain(DL) 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(DM) toward(DN) this temple night and day, this place of which you said, ‘My Name(DO) 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(DP) toward this place. Hear(DQ) from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.(DR)
31 “When anyone wrongs their neighbor and is required to take an oath and they come and swear the oath(DS) 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.(DT)
33 “When your people Israel have been defeated(DU) by an enemy because they have sinned(DV) against you, and when they turn back to you and give praise to your name, praying and making supplication to you in this temple,(DW) 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(DX) because your people have sinned(DY) 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(DZ) them the right way(EA) to live, and send rain(EB) on the land you gave your people for an inheritance.
37 “When famine(EC) or plague(ED) comes to the land, or blight(EE) or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers,(EF) 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(EG) toward this temple— 39 then hear(EH) from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive(EI) and act; deal with everyone according to all they do, since you know(EJ) their hearts (for you alone know every human heart), 40 so that they will fear(EK) you all the time they live in the land(EL) you gave our ancestors.
41 “As for the foreigner(EM) who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name— 42 for they will hear(EN) of your great name and your mighty hand(EO) 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(EP) your name and fear(EQ) you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.(ER)
44 “When your people go to war against their enemies, wherever you send them, and when they pray(ES) 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.(ET)
46 “When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin(EU)—and you become angry with them and give them over to their enemies, who take them captive(EV) 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(EW) with you in the land of their captors and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly’;(EX) 48 and if they turn back(EY) to you with all their heart(EZ) and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray(FA) to you toward the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you have chosen and the temple(FB) I have built for your Name;(FC) 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;(FD) 51 for they are your people and your inheritance,(FE) whom you brought out of Egypt, out of that iron-smelting furnace.(FF)
52 “May your eyes be open(FG) 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.(FH) 53 For you singled them out from all the nations of the world to be your own inheritance,(FI) 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(FJ) the whole assembly of Israel in a loud voice, saying:
56 “Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest(FK) to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises(FL) 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(FM) us. 58 May he turn our hearts(FN) 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(FO) of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other.(FP) 61 And may your hearts(FQ) be fully committed(FR) to the Lord our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time.”
The Dedication of the Temple(FS)
62 Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices(FT) 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(FU) 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(FV) of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar(FW) that stood before the Lord was too small to hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings.(FX)
65 So Solomon observed the festival(FY) at that time, and all Israel with him—a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath(FZ) to the Wadi of Egypt.(GA) 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(GB) things the Lord had done for his servant David and his people Israel.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 6:1 Hebrew; Septuagint four hundred and fortieth
- 1 Kings 6:2 That is, about 90 feet long, 30 feet wide and 45 feet high or about 27 meters long, 9 meters wide and 14 meters high
- 1 Kings 6:3 That is, about 30 feet or about 9 meters; also in verses 16 and 20
- 1 Kings 6:3 That is, about 15 feet or about 4.5 meters; also in verses 23-26
- 1 Kings 6:6 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters; also in verses 10 and 24
- 1 Kings 6:6 That is, about 9 feet or about 2.7 meters
- 1 Kings 6:6 That is, about 11 feet or about 3.2 meters
- 1 Kings 6:8 Septuagint; Hebrew middle
- 1 Kings 6:17 That is, about 60 feet or about 18 meters
- 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
- 1 Kings 7:5 The meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.
- 1 Kings 7:6 That is, about 75 feet long and 45 feet wide or about 23 meters long and 14 meters wide
- 1 Kings 7:7 Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew floor
- 1 Kings 7:10 That is, about 15 feet or about 4.5 meters; also in verse 23
- 1 Kings 7:10 That is, about 12 feet or about 3.6 meters
- 1 Kings 7:13 Hebrew Hiram, a variant of Huram; also in verses 40 and 45
- 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
- 1 Kings 7:16 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters; also in verse 23
- 1 Kings 7:18 Two Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts made the pillars, and there were two rows
- 1 Kings 7:18 Many Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts pomegranates
- 1 Kings 7:19 That is, about 6 feet or about 1.8 meters; also in verse 38
- 1 Kings 7:21 Jakin probably means he establishes.
- 1 Kings 7:21 Boaz probably means in him is strength.
- 1 Kings 7:23 That is, about 45 feet or about 14 meters
- 1 Kings 7:26 That is, about 3 inches or about 7.5 centimeters
- 1 Kings 7:26 That is, about 12,000 gallons or about 44,000 liters; the Septuagint does not have this sentence.
- 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
- 1 Kings 7:31 That is, about 18 inches or about 45 centimeters
- 1 Kings 7:31 That is, about 2 1/4 feet or about 68 centimeters; also in verse 32
- 1 Kings 7:35 That is, about 9 inches or about 23 centimeters
- 1 Kings 7:38 That is, about 240 gallons or about 880 liters
- 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
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