2 Chronicles 3
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 3
Construction of the Temple.[a] 1 Then Solomon began to build the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah where the Lord had appeared to his father David, at the site that David had chosen, on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 2 He commenced building it on the second day of the second month of the fourth year of his reign.
3 These are the measurements specified by Solomon for building the house of God. According to the old standard of measurement, its length was sixty cubits and its width was twenty cubits.[b] 4 The vestibule was twenty cubits long, spanning the entire breadth of the house of God, and its height was also twenty cubits.
5 He overlaid the nave with cypress, which he covered with fine gold and embossed with palms and chains. 6 He also adorned the house beautifully with settings of precious stones and with gold from Parvaim. 7 Then he overlaid the house with gold, including its beams, its thresholds, its walls, and its doors, and he carved cherubim on the walls.
8 He also made the Holy of Holies. Its length, corresponding to the width of the house, was twenty cubits, and its width was also twenty cubits. He overlaid all of it with six hundred talents of fine gold. 9 The weight of the gold nails was fifty shekels. He also overlaid the upper chambers with gold.
10 For the Holy of Holies he made two carved cherubim which were then overlaid with gold. 11 The wings of the cherubim[c] together had a total span of twenty cubits. A wing of one cherub, five cubits in length, extended to a wall of the building, while the other wing reached out to meet a wing of the other cherub. 12 Similarly, one wing of the second cherub also extended five cubits to touch the other wall of the building, while its other wing reached out to meet a wing of the first cherub.
13 The combined wings of these two cherubim extended twenty cubits. They stood with their feet on the ground, facing the nave. 14 Solomon also made the curtain[d] of purple, crimson, and blue fabrics and fine linen and embroidered it with winged creatures.
15 In front of the temple he erected two pillars that totaled thirty-five cubits high, with a capital measuring five cubits on the top of each pillar. 16 Next he made chains in the form of a necklace and put them on the tops of the pillars, and then he carved one hundred pomegranates and attached them to the chains. 17 Finally, he erected the pillars in front of the temple, one on the right and the other on the left. The one on the right he called Jachin, and the one on the left he called Boaz.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 3:1 The inmost place of the sanctuary had changed its name: it is no longer the place where David spoke to the priest, but the Most Holy Place, into which only the high priest entered once a year; a court of the temple was reserved for the priests.
- 2 Chronicles 3:3 In antiquity a cubit was about 52 cm (see Ezek 40:5; 43:13).
- 2 Chronicles 3:11 The cherubim: a special category of mighty angels with well-defined functions.
- 2 Chronicles 3:14 The curtain: in fact, Solomon made a door (1 Ki 6:31) in place of the veil of which Ex 26:31 speaks.
2 Chronicles 3
King James Version
3 Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the Lord appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.
2 And he began to build in the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.
3 Now these are the things wherein Solomon was instructed for the building of the house of God. The length by cubits after the first measure was threescore cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits.
4 And the porch that was in the front of the house, the length of it was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the height was an hundred and twenty: and he overlaid it within with pure gold.
5 And the greater house he cieled with fir tree, which he overlaid with fine gold, and set thereon palm trees and chains.
6 And he garnished the house with precious stones for beauty: and the gold was gold of Parvaim.
7 He overlaid also the house, the beams, the posts, and the walls thereof, and the doors thereof, with gold; and graved cherubims on the walls.
8 And he made the most holy house, the length whereof was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits: and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents.
9 And the weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold.
10 And in the most holy house he made two cherubims of image work, and overlaid them with gold.
11 And the wings of the cherubims were twenty cubits long: one wing of the one cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was likewise five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other cherub.
12 And one wing of the other cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was five cubits also, joining to the wing of the other cherub.
13 The wings of these cherubims spread themselves forth twenty cubits: and they stood on their feet, and their faces were inward.
14 And he made the vail of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubims thereon.
15 Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits high, and the chapiter that was on the top of each of them was five cubits.
16 And he made chains, as in the oracle, and put them on the heads of the pillars; and made an hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains.
17 And he reared up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand, and the other on the left; and called the name of that on the right hand Jachin, and the name of that on the left Boaz.
2 Chronicles 3
Revised Standard Version
Solomon Builds the Temple
3 Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Mori′ah, where the Lord had appeared to David his father, at the place that David had appointed, on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jeb′usite. 2 He began to build in the second month of the fourth year of his reign. 3 These are Solomon’s measurements[a] for building the house of God: the length, in cubits of the old standard, was sixty cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits. 4 The vestibule in front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits long, equal to the width of the house;[b] and its height was a hundred and twenty cubits. He overlaid it on the inside with pure gold. 5 The nave he lined with cypress, and covered it with fine gold, and made palms and chains on it. 6 He adorned the house with settings of precious stones. The gold was gold of Parva′im. 7 So he lined the house with gold—its beams, its thresholds, its walls, and its doors; and he carved cherubim on the walls.
8 And he made the most holy place; its length, corresponding to the breadth of the house, was twenty cubits, and its breadth was twenty cubits; he overlaid it with six hundred talents of fine gold. 9 The weight of the nails was one shekel[c] to fifty shekels of gold. And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold.
10 In the most holy place he made two cherubim of wood[d] and overlaid[e] them with gold. 11 The wings of the cherubim together extended twenty cubits: one wing of the one, of five cubits, touched the wall of the house, and its other wing, of five cubits, touched the wing of the other cherub; 12 and of this cherub, one wing, of five cubits, touched the wall of the house, and the other wing, also of five cubits, was joined to the wing of the first cherub. 13 The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits; the cherubim[f] stood on their feet, facing the nave. 14 And he made the veil of blue and purple and crimson fabrics and fine linen, and worked cherubim on it.
15 In front of the house he made two pillars thirty-five cubits high, with a capital of five cubits on the top of each. 16 He made chains like a necklace[g] and put them on the tops of the pillars; and he made a hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains. 17 He set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the south, the other on the north; that on the south he called Jachin, and that on the north Bo′az.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 3:3 Syr: Heb foundations
- 2 Chronicles 3:4 1 Kg 6.3: Heb uncertain
- 2 Chronicles 3:9 Compare Gk: Heb lacks one shekel
- 2 Chronicles 3:10 Gk: Heb uncertain
- 2 Chronicles 3:10 Heb they overlaid
- 2 Chronicles 3:13 Heb they
- 2 Chronicles 3:16 Cn: Heb in the inner sanctuary
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.