Solomon Will Build a Temple and Palace

2 ^[a](A)Now Solomon ^[b]decided to build a house for the name of the Lord and a ^[c]royal palace for himself. ^2 [d]So ^(B)Solomon ^[e]assigned 70,000 men to carry loads and 80,000 men to quarry stone in the mountains and 3,600 to supervise them.

^3 (C)Then Solomon sent word to ^[f]Huram the king of Tyre, saying, “^(D)As you dealt with David my father and sent him cedars to build him a house to dwell in, so do for me. ⁴ Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, dedicating it to Him, ^(E)to burn fragrant incense before Him and to set out ^(F)the showbread continually, and to offer ^(G)burnt offerings morning and evening, ^(H)on sabbaths and on new moons and on the appointed feasts of the Lord our God, this being required forever in Israel. ⁵ The house which I am about to build will be great, for ^(I)greater is our God than all the gods. ⁶ But ^(J)who is able to build a house for Him, for the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain Him? So who am I, that I should build a house for Him, except to ^[g]burn incense before Him? ⁷ Now ^(K)send me a skilled man to work in gold, silver, brass and iron, and in purple, crimson and violet fabrics, and who knows how to make engravings, to work with the skilled men ^[h](L)whom I have in Judah and Jerusalem, whom David my father provided. ^8 (M)Send me also cedar, cypress and algum timber from Lebanon, for I know that your servants know how to cut timber of Lebanon; and indeed ^(N)my servants will work with your servants, ⁹ to prepare timber in abundance for me, for the house which I am about to build will be great and wonderful. ¹⁰ Now behold, ^(O)I will give to your servants, the woodsmen who cut the timber, 20,000 ^[i]kors of crushed wheat and 20,000 ^[j]kors of barley, and 20,000 baths of wine and 20,000 baths of oil.”

Huram to Assist

¹¹ Then Huram, king of Tyre, ^[k]answered in a letter sent to Solomon: “^(P)Because the Lord loves His people, He has made you king over them.” ¹² Then Huram ^[l]continued, “Blessed be ^(Q)the Lord, the God of Israel, who has made heaven and earth, who has given King David a wise son, ^[m]endowed with discretion and understanding, ^(R)who will build a house for the Lord and a ^[n]royal palace for himself.

¹³ “Now I am sending Huram-abi, a skilled man, ^[o]endowed with understanding, ^14 (S)the son of a ^[p]Danite woman and ^[q]a Tyrian father, who knows how to work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone and wood, and in purple, violet, linen and crimson fabrics, and who knows how to make all kinds of engravings and to ^[r]execute any design which may be assigned to him, to work with your skilled men and with ^[s]those of my lord David your father. ¹⁵ Now then, let my lord send to his servants wheat and barley, oil and wine, of ^(T)which he has spoken. ^16 (U)We will cut whatever timber you need from Lebanon and bring it to you on rafts by sea to Joppa, so that you may carry it up to Jerusalem.”

¹⁷ Solomon numbered all the aliens who were in the land of Israel, ^(V)following the ^[t]census which his father David had ^[u]taken; and 153,600 were found. ^18 (W)He appointed 70,000 of them to carry loads and 80,000 to quarry stones in the mountains and 3,600 supervisors to make the people work.

The Whole Creation Invoked to Praise the Lord.

The Fourfold Hallelujah

19 After these things I heard something like a ^(A)loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying,

“^(B)Hallelujah! ^(C)Salvation and ^(D)glory and power belong to our God; ^2 (E)because His ^(F)judgments are ^(G)true and righteous; for He has judged the ^(H)great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and He has ^(I)avenged the blood of His bond-servants ^[a]on her.” ³ And a second time they said, “^(J)Hallelujah! ^(K)Her smoke rises up forever and ever.” ⁴ And the ^(L)twenty-four elders and the ^(M)four living creatures ^(N)fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, “^(O)Amen. ^(P)Hallelujah!” ⁵ And a voice came from the throne, saying,

“^(Q)Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, ^(R)you who fear Him, the small and the great.” ⁶ Then I heard something like ^(S)the voice of a great multitude and like ^(T)the sound of many waters and like the ^(U)sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying,

“^(V)Hallelujah! For the ^(W)Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.

Marriage of the Lamb

⁷ Let us rejoice and be glad and ^(X)give the glory to Him, for ^(Y)the marriage of the Lamb has come and His ^[b](Z)bride has made herself ready.” ⁸ It was given to her to clothe herself in ^(AA)fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the ^(AB)righteous acts of the ^[c]saints.

⁹ Then ^(AC)he *said to me, “^(AD)Write, ‘^(AE)Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” And he *said to me, “^(AF)These are true words of God.” ¹⁰ Then ^(AG)I fell at his feet to worship him. ^(AH)But he *said to me, “Do not do that; I am a ^(AI)fellow servant of yours and your brethren who ^(AJ)hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

The Coming of Christ

¹¹ And I saw ^(AK)heaven opened, and behold, a ^(AL)white horse, and He who sat on it is called ^(AM)Faithful and True, and in ^(AN)righteousness He judges and wages war. ¹² His ^(AO)eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many ^(AP)diadems; and He has a ^(AQ)name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. ¹³ He is clothed with a ^(AR)robe dipped in blood, and His name is called ^(AS)The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in ^(AT)fine linen, ^(AU)white and clean, were following Him on white horses. ^15 (AV)From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that ^(AW)with it He may strike down the nations, and He will ^[d](AX)rule them with a rod of iron; and ^(AY)He treads the ^[e]wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. ¹⁶ And on His robe and on His thigh He has ^(AZ)a name written, “^(BA)KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

¹⁷ Then I saw ^[f]an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to ^(BB)all the birds which fly in ^(BC)midheaven, “^(BD)Come, assemble for the great supper of God, ¹⁸ so that you may ^(BE)eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of ^[g]commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, ^(BF)both free men and slaves, and ^(BG)small and great.”

¹⁹ And I saw ^(BH)the beast and ^(BI)the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who ^(BJ)sat on the horse and against His army.

Doom of the Beast and False Prophet

²⁰ And the beast was seized, and with him the ^(BK)false prophet who ^(BL)performed the signs ^[h](BM)in his presence, by which he ^(BN)deceived those who had received the ^(BO)mark of the beast and those who ^(BP)worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the ^(BQ)lake of ^(BR)fire which burns with ^[i]brimstone. ²¹ And the rest were killed with the sword which ^(BS)came from the mouth of Him who ^(BT)sat on the horse, and ^(BU)all the birds were filled with their flesh.