2 Chronicles 3
Expanded Bible
Solomon Builds the Temple(A)
3 Then Solomon began to build the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah [Gen. 22:2]. This was where the Lord had appeared to David, Solomon’s father. Solomon built the ·Temple [L house] on the place David had prepared on the threshing floor of ·Araunah [or Ornan; 1 Chr. 21:15, 18–28] the Jebusite. 2 Solomon began building in the ·second month [or second day of the second month; C midspring] of the fourth year ·he ruled Israel [of his reign].
3 Solomon used ·these measurements [or this foundation] for building the ·Temple [L house] of God. It was ·ninety feet [L sixty cubits] long and ·thirty feet [L twenty cubits] wide, using the old ·measurement [standard]. 4 The ·porch [portico; vestibule; entry room] in front of the main ·room [hall] of the ·Temple [L house] was ·thirty feet [L twenty cubits] long and ·thirty feet [L twenty cubits; or L one hundred twenty cubits] high.
He ·covered [overlaid] the ·inside of the porch [main hall; nave] with ·pure [fine] gold. 5 He put panels of ·pine [cypress; juniper; evergreens] on the walls of the ·main room [main hall; nave] and ·covered [overlaid] them with ·pure [fine] gold. Then he ·put [decorated/ornamented it with] designs of palm trees and chains in the gold. 6 He ·decorated [adorned] the ·Temple [L house] with ·gems [precious stones] and gold from Parvaim. 7 He ·put [overlaid] gold on the ·Temple’s [L house’s] ceiling beams, ·doorposts [thresholds], walls, and doors, and he carved ·creatures with wings [cherubim] on the walls.
8 Then he made the ·Most Holy Place [T Holy of Holies]. It was ·thirty feet [L twenty cubits] long and ·thirty feet [L twenty cubits] wide, ·as wide as [corresponding to the width of] the ·Temple [L house]. He ·covered [overlaid] its walls with ·about forty-six thousand pounds [L six hundred talents] of ·pure [fine] gold. 9 The gold nails weighed ·over a pound [L fifty shekels]. He also ·covered [overlaid] the upper rooms with gold.
10 He ·made [sculpted; modeled] two ·creatures with wings [cherubim] for the ·Most Holy Place [T Holy of Holies] and ·covered [overlaid] them with gold. 11 The wings of the ·gold creatures [cherubim] were ·thirty feet [L twenty cubits] across. One wing of one creature was ·seven and one-half feet [L five cubits] long and touched the ·Temple [L house] wall. The creature’s other wing was also ·seven and one-half feet [L five cubits] long, and it touched a wing of the second ·creature [cherub]. 12 One wing of the second creature touched the other side of the room and was also ·seven and one-half feet [L five cubits] long. The second creature’s other wing touched the first creature’s wing, and it was also ·seven and one-half feet [L five cubits] long. 13 Together, the creatures’ wings were ·thirty feet [L twenty cubits] across. The creatures stood on their feet, facing the ·main room [main hall; nave].
14 He made the ·curtain [veil] of ·blue [violet], purple, and ·red thread [crimson cloth/yarn], and ·expensive [fine] linen, and he ·put [worked; embroidered] designs of ·creatures with wings [cherubim] in it.
The Pillars and Furnishings for the Temple(B)
15 He made two pillars to stand in front of the ·Temple [L house]. They were ·about fifty-two feet [L thirty-five cubits; C possibly the combined length of the two] tall, and the capital on top of each pillar was over ·seven feet [L five cubits] tall. 16 He made ·a net of [interwoven] chains and put them on the tops of the pillars. He made a hundred pomegranates and put them on the chains. 17 Then he put the pillars up in front of the Temple. One pillar stood on the ·south [L right] side, the other on the ·north [L left]. He named the ·south [L right] pillar Jachin [C “he establishes”] and the ·north [L left] pillar Boaz [C “in him is strength”].
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