Preparations for Building the Temple

2 ^[a]Solomon decided to build a temple for the name of the Lord and a royal palace for himself.^{(A) 2 [b]}Solomon conscripted seventy thousand laborers and eighty thousand stonecutters in the hill country, with three thousand six hundred to oversee them.^(B)

Alliance with Huram of Tyre

³ Solomon sent word to King Huram of Tyre, “Once you dealt with my father David and sent him cedar to build himself a house to live in.^{(C) 4} I am now about to build a house for the name of the Lord my God and dedicate it to him for offering fragrant incense before him, and for the regular offering of the rows of bread, and for burnt offerings morning and evening, on the Sabbaths and the new moons and the appointed festivals of the Lord our God, as ordained forever for Israel.^{(D) 5} The house that I am about to build will be great, for our God is greater than other gods.^{(E) 6} But who is able to build him a house, since heaven, even highest heaven, cannot contain him? Who am I to build a house for him except as a place to make offerings before him?^{(F) 7} So now send me an artisan skilled to work in gold, silver, bronze, and iron and in purple, crimson, and blue fabrics, trained also in engraving, to join the skilled workers who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem, whom my father David provided.^{(G) 8} Send me also cedar, cypress, and algum timber from Lebanon, for I know that your servants are skilled in cutting Lebanon timber. My servants will work with your servants^{(H) 9} to prepare timber for me in abundance, for the house I am about to build will be great and wonderful. ¹⁰ I will provide for your servants, those who cut the timber, twenty thousand cors of crushed wheat, twenty thousand cors of barley, twenty thousand baths^[c] of wine, and twenty thousand baths^[d] of oil.”^(I)

¹¹ Then King Huram of Tyre answered in a letter that he sent to Solomon, “Because the Lord loves his people, he has made you king over them.”^{(J) 12} Huram also said, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, who has given King David a wise son endowed with discretion and understanding who will build a temple for the Lord and a royal palace for himself.^(K)

¹³ “I have dispatched Huram-abi, a skilled artisan endowed with understanding, ¹⁴ the son of one of the Danite women, his father a Tyrian. He is trained to work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood and in purple, blue, and crimson fabrics and fine linen and to do all sorts of engraving and execute any design that may be assigned him, with your artisans, the artisans of my lord, your father David.^{(L) 15} Now, as for the wheat, barley, oil, and wine of which my lord has spoken, let him send them to his servants.^{(M) 16} We will cut whatever timber you need from Lebanon and bring it to you as rafts by sea to Joppa; you will take it up to Jerusalem.”^(N)

¹⁷ Then Solomon took a census of all the aliens who were residing in the land of Israel, after the census that his father David had taken, and there were found to be one hundred fifty-three thousand six hundred.^{(O) 18} Seventy thousand of them he assigned as laborers, eighty thousand as stonecutters in the hill country, and three thousand six hundred as overseers to make the people work.^(P)

Solomon Builds the Temple

3 Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had designated, on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.^{(Q) 2} He began to build on the second day of the second month of the fourth year of his reign. ³ These are Solomon’s measurements^[e] for building the house of God: the length, in cubits of the old standard, was sixty cubits and the width twenty cubits. ⁴ The vestibule in front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits long, across the width of the house,^[f] and its height was one hundred twenty cubits. He overlaid it on the inside with pure gold. ⁵ The great hall he lined with cypress, covered it with fine gold, and made palms and chains on it.^{(R) 6} He adorned the house with settings of precious stones. The gold was gold from Parvaim. ⁷ So he lined the house with gold: its beams, its thresholds, its walls, and its doors; and he carved cherubim on the walls.^(S)

⁸ He made the most holy place; its length, corresponding to the width of the house, was twenty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits; he overlaid it with six hundred talents of fine gold.^{(T) 9} The weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. He overlaid the upper chambers with gold.

¹⁰ In the most holy place he made two carved cherubim and overlaid^[g] them with gold.^{(U) 11} The wings of the cherubim together extended twenty cubits: one wing of the one, five cubits long, touched the wall of the house, and its other wing, five cubits long, touched the wing of the other cherub; ¹² and of this cherub, one wing, five cubits long, touched the wall of the house, and the other wing, also five cubits long, was joined to the wing of the first cherub. ¹³ The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits; the cherubim^[h] stood on their feet facing the main hall. ¹⁴ And Solomon^[i] made the curtain of blue and purple and crimson fabrics and fine linen and worked cherubim into it.^(V)

¹⁵ In front of the house he made two pillars thirty-five cubits high, each with a capital of five cubits on its top.^{(W) 16} He made encircling^[j] chains and put them on the tops of the pillars, and he made one hundred pomegranates and put them on the chains. ¹⁷ He set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the right, the other on the left; the one on the right he called Jachin, and the one on the left, Boaz.^(X)

Furnishings of the Temple

4 He made an altar of bronze, twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and ten cubits high.^{(Y) 2} Then he made the molten sea; it was round, ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits high. A line of thirty cubits would encircle it completely.^{(Z) 3} Under it were figures of bulls all around, each of ten cubits, surrounding the sea; there were two rows of bulls, cast when it was cast.^{(AA) 4} It stood on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east; the sea was set on them. The hindquarters of each were toward the inside. ⁵ Its thickness was a handbreadth; its rim was made like the rim of a cup, like the flower of a lily; it held three thousand baths.^{[k](AB) 6} He also made ten basins in which to wash and set five on the right side and five on the left. In these they were to rinse what was used for the burnt offering. The sea was for the priests to wash in.^(AC)

⁷ He made ten golden lampstands as prescribed and set them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left.^{(AD) 8} He also made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. And he made one hundred basins of gold.^{(AE) 9} He made the court of the priests and the great court and doors for the court; he overlaid their doors with bronze.^{(AF) 10} He set the sea at the southeast corner of the house.^(AG)

¹¹ And Huram made the pots, the shovels, and the basins. Thus Huram finished the work that he did for King Solomon on the house of God:^{(AH) 12} the two pillars, the bowls, and the two capitals on the top of the pillars; and the two latticeworks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars;^{(AI) 13} the four hundred pomegranates for the two latticeworks, two rows of pomegranates for each latticework, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the pillars.^{(AJ) 14} He made the stands, the basins on the stands,^{(AK) 15} the one sea, and the twelve bulls underneath it. ¹⁶ The pots, the shovels, the forks, and all the equipment for these Huram-abi made of burnished bronze for King Solomon for the house of the Lord.^{(AL) 17} In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah.^{(AM) 18} Solomon made all these things in great quantities, so that the weight of the bronze was not determined.^(AN)

¹⁹ So Solomon made all the things that were in the house of God: the golden altar, the tables for the bread of the Presence,^{(AO) 20} the lampstands and their lamps of pure gold to burn before the inner sanctuary, as prescribed;^{(AP) 21} the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of purest gold; ²² the snuffers, basins, ladles, and firepans, of pure gold. As for the entrance to the temple: the inner doors to the most holy place and the doors of the main hall of the temple were of gold.

Psalm 27

Triumphant Song of Confidence

Of David.

Psalm 45

Ode for a Royal Wedding

To the leader: according to Lilies. Of the Korahites. A Maskil. A love song.

Psalm 48

The Glory and Strength of Zion

A Song. A Psalm of the Korahites.

The Transfiguration

² Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them,^{(A) 3} and his clothes became dazzling bright, such as no one^[a] on earth could brighten them.^{(B) 4} And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. ⁵ Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us set up three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”^{(C) 6} He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. ⁷ Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved;^[b] listen to him!”^{(D) 8} Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

Vision of the New Jerusalem

⁹ Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”^{(A) 10} And in the spirit^[a] he carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.^{(B) 11} It has the glory of God and a radiance like a very rare jewel, like jasper, clear as crystal.^{(C) 12} It has a great, high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates are inscribed the names that are the names^[b] of the twelve tribes of the Israelites:^{(D) 13} on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. ¹⁴ And the wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them are the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.^(E)

¹⁵ The angel^[c] who talked to me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls.^{(F) 16} The city has four equal sides, its length the same as its width, and he measured the city with his rod, twelve thousand stadia; its length and width and height are equal. ¹⁷ He also measured its wall, one hundred forty-four cubits by human measurement, which the angel was using. ¹⁸ The wall is built of jasper, while the city is pure gold, clear as glass. ¹⁹ The foundations of the wall of the city are adorned with every jewel; the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, ²⁰ the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. ²¹ And the twelve gates are twelve pearls, each of the gates is a single pearl, and the street of the city is pure gold, transparent as glass.