Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Add parallel Print Page Options Listen to 2 Chronicles 3:1-6:11
Close ESV

2 Chronicles 3:1-6:11
English Standard Version

Solomon Builds the Temple

3 (A)Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem (B)on Mount Moriah, where the Lord[a] had appeared to David his father, at the place that David had appointed, (C)on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 2 He began to build in the second month of the fourth year of his reign. 3 These are Solomon's (D)measurements[b] for building the house of God: (E)the length, in cubits[c] 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,[d] and its height was 120 cubits. He overlaid it on the inside with pure gold. 5 (F)The nave he lined with cypress and covered it with fine gold (G)and made palms and chains on it. 6 He adorned the house with settings of precious stones. The gold was gold of Parvaim. 7 So he lined the house with gold—its beams, its thresholds, its walls, and its doors—(H)and he carved cherubim on the walls.

8 (I)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 600 talents[e] of fine gold. 9 The weight of gold for the nails was fifty shekels.[f] And he overlaid (J)the upper chambers with gold.

10 (K)In the Most Holy Place he made two cherubim of wood[g] and overlaid[h] 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[i] stood on their feet, (L)facing the nave. 14 (M)And he made the veil of blue and purple and crimson fabrics and fine linen, and he worked cherubim on it.

15 (N)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[j] and put them on the tops of the pillars, and he made a hundred pomegranates and put them on the chains. 17 (O)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 Boaz.

The Temple's Furnishings

4 He made (P)an altar of bronze, twenty cubits[k] long and twenty cubits wide and ten cubits high. 2 (Q)Then he made the sea of cast metal. It was round, ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits high, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference. 3 Under it were figures of gourds,[l] for ten cubits, compassing the sea all around. The gourds were in two rows, cast with it when it was cast. 4 It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The sea was set on them, and all their rear parts were inward. 5 Its thickness was a handbreadth.[m] And its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily. (R)It held 3,000 baths.[n] 6 (S)He also made ten basins in which to wash, and set five on the south side, and five on the north side. In these they were to rinse off what was used for the burnt offering, and the sea was for the priests to wash in.

7 And he made ten golden lampstands (T)as prescribed, and set them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. 8 (U)He also made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. And he made a hundred basins of gold. 9 He made (V)the court of the priests (W)and the great court and doors for the court and overlaid their doors with bronze. 10 (X)And he set the sea at the southeast corner of the house.

11 (Y)(Z)Hiram also made the pots, the shovels, and the basins. (AA)So Hiram finished the work that he did for King Solomon on the house of God: 12 the two pillars, (AB)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; 13 (AC)and the 400 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. 14 (AD)He made the stands also, and the basins on the stands, 15 and the one sea, and the twelve oxen underneath it. 16 The pots, the shovels, (AE)the forks, and all the equipment for these (AF)(AG)Huram-abi made of burnished bronze for King Solomon for the house of the Lord. 17 In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah.[o] 18 (AH)Solomon made all these things in great quantities, for the weight of the bronze was not sought.

19 So Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of God: the golden altar, (AI)the tables for the bread of the Presence, 20 the lampstands and their lamps of pure gold (AJ)to burn before the inner sanctuary, as prescribed; 21 the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of purest gold; 22 the snuffers, basins, dishes for incense, and fire pans, of pure gold, and the sockets[p] of the temple, for the inner doors to the Most Holy Place and for the doors of the nave of the temple were of gold.

5 (AK)Thus all the work that Solomon did for the house of the Lord was finished. And Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated, and stored the silver, the gold, and all the vessels in the treasuries of the house of God.

The Ark Brought to the Temple

2 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers' houses of the people of Israel, in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of (AL)the city of David, which is Zion. 3 And all the men of Israel assembled before the king at the feast that is in the seventh month. 4 And all the elders of Israel came, (AM)and the Levites took up the ark. 5 And they brought up the ark, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; (AN)the Levitical priests brought them up. 6 And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. 7 Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the Most Holy Place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. 8 The cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim made a covering above the ark and its poles. 9 And the poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen (AO)from the Holy Place before the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from outside. And they are[q] there to this day. 10 There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets (AP)that Moses put there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of Egypt. 11 And when the priests came out of the Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had consecrated themselves, without regard to (AQ)their divisions, 12 and all the Levitical (AR)singers, (AS)Asaph, (AT)Heman, and Jeduthun, their sons and kinsmen, arrayed in fine linen, with (AU)cymbals, harps, and lyres, stood east of the altar with 120 (AV)priests who were trumpeters; 13 and it was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the Lord), and when the song was raised, (AW)with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the Lord,

(AX)“For he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever,”

the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, 14 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, (AY)for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.

Solomon Blesses the People

6 (AZ)Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in thick darkness. 2 But I have built you (BA)an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever.” 3 Then the king turned around and blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel stood. 4 And he said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his hand has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to David my father, saying, 5 ‘Since the day that I brought my people out of the land of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house, that my name might be there, and I chose no man as prince over my people Israel; 6 (BB)but I have chosen Jerusalem that my name may be there, (BC)and I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.’ 7 (BD)Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 8 But the Lord said to David my father, ‘Whereas (BE)it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart. 9 Nevertheless, it is not you who shall build the house, but your son who shall be born to you shall build the house for my name.’ 10 Now the Lord has fulfilled his promise that he made. For I have risen in the place of David my father and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and I have built the house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 11 And there I have set the ark, (BF)in which is the covenant of the Lord that he made with the people of Israel.”

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 3:1 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks the Lord
  2. 2 Chronicles 3:3 Syriac; Hebrew foundations
  3. 2 Chronicles 3:3 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
  4. 2 Chronicles 3:4 Compare 1 Kings 6:3; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
  5. 2 Chronicles 3:8 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms
  6. 2 Chronicles 3:9 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
  7. 2 Chronicles 3:10 Septuagint; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
  8. 2 Chronicles 3:10 Hebrew they overlaid
  9. 2 Chronicles 3:13 Hebrew they
  10. 2 Chronicles 3:16 Hebrew chains in the inner sanctuary
  11. 2 Chronicles 4:1 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
  12. 2 Chronicles 4:3 Compare 1 Kings 7:24; Hebrew oxen; twice in this verse
  13. 2 Chronicles 4:5 A handbreadth was about 3 inches or 7.5 centimeters
  14. 2 Chronicles 4:5 A bath was about 6 gallons or 22 liters
  15. 2 Chronicles 4:17 Spelled Zarethan in 1 Kings 7:46
  16. 2 Chronicles 4:22 Compare 1 Kings 7:50; Hebrew the entrance of the house
  17. 2 Chronicles 5:9 Hebrew it is
Listen to 2 Chronicles 3:1-6:11
Close NIV

2 Chronicles 3:1-6:11
New International Version

Solomon Builds the Temple(A)

3 Then Solomon began to build(B) the temple of the Lord(C) in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David. It was on the threshing floor of Araunah[a](D) the Jebusite, the place provided by David. 2 He began building on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign.(E)

3 The foundation Solomon laid for building the temple of God was sixty cubits long and twenty cubits wide[b](F) (using the cubit of the old standard). 4 The portico at the front of the temple was twenty cubits[c] long across the width of the building and twenty[d] cubits high.

He overlaid the inside with pure gold. 5 He paneled the main hall with juniper and covered it with fine gold and decorated it with palm tree(G) and chain designs. 6 He adorned the temple with precious stones. And the gold he used was gold of Parvaim. 7 He overlaid the ceiling beams, doorframes, walls and doors of the temple with gold, and he carved cherubim(H) on the walls.

8 He built the Most Holy Place,(I) its length corresponding to the width of the temple—twenty cubits long and twenty cubits wide. He overlaid the inside with six hundred talents[e] of fine gold. 9 The gold nails(J) weighed fifty shekels.[f] He also overlaid the upper parts with gold.

10 For the Most Holy Place he made a pair(K) of sculptured cherubim and overlaid them with gold. 11 The total wingspan of the cherubim was twenty cubits. One wing of the first cherub was five cubits[g] long and touched the temple wall, while its other wing, also five cubits long, touched the wing of the other cherub. 12 Similarly one wing of the second cherub was five cubits long and touched the other temple wall, and its other wing, also five cubits long, touched the wing of the first cherub. 13 The wings of these cherubim(L) extended twenty cubits. They stood on their feet, facing the main hall.[h]

14 He made the curtain(M) of blue, purple and crimson yarn and fine linen, with cherubim(N) worked into it.

15 For the front of the temple he made two pillars,(O) which together were thirty-five cubits[i] long, each with a capital(P) five cubits high. 16 He made interwoven chains[j](Q) and put them on top of the pillars. He also made a hundred pomegranates(R) and attached them to the chains. 17 He erected the pillars in the front of the temple, one to the south and one to the north. The one to the south he named Jakin[k] and the one to the north Boaz.[l]

The Temple’s Furnishings(S)

4 He made a bronze altar(T) twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide and ten cubits high.[m] 2 He made the Sea(U) of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits[n] high. It took a line of thirty cubits[o] to measure around it. 3 Below the rim, figures of bulls encircled it—ten to a cubit.[p] The bulls were cast in two rows in one piece with the Sea.

4 The Sea stood on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east.(V) The Sea rested on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center. 5 It was a handbreadth[q] in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held three thousand baths.[r]

6 He then made ten basins(W) for washing and placed five on the south side and five on the north. In them the things to be used for the burnt offerings(X) were rinsed, but the Sea was to be used by the priests for washing.

7 He made ten gold lampstands(Y) according to the specifications(Z) for them and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north.

8 He made ten tables(AA) and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. He also made a hundred gold sprinkling bowls.(AB)

9 He made the courtyard(AC) of the priests, and the large court and the doors for the court, and overlaid the doors with bronze. 10 He placed the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner.

11 And Huram also made the pots and shovels and sprinkling bowls.

So Huram finished(AD) the work he had undertaken for King Solomon in the temple of God:

12 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;

13 the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network, decorating the bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars);

14 the stands(AE) with their basins;

15 the Sea and the twelve bulls under it;

16 the pots, shovels, meat forks and all related articles.

All the objects that Huram-Abi(AF) made for King Solomon for the temple of the Lord were of polished bronze. 17 The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Sukkoth(AG) and Zarethan.[s] 18 All these things that Solomon made amounted to so much that the weight of the bronze(AH) could not be calculated.

19 Solomon also made all the furnishings that were in God’s temple:

the golden altar;

the tables(AI) on which was the bread of the Presence;

20 the lampstands(AJ) of pure gold with their lamps, to burn in front of the inner sanctuary as prescribed;

21 the gold floral work and lamps and tongs (they were solid gold);

22 the pure gold wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes(AK) and censers;(AL) and the gold doors of the temple: the inner doors to the Most Holy Place and the doors of the main hall.

5 When all the work Solomon had done for the temple of the Lord was finished,(AM) he brought in the things his father David had dedicated(AN)—the silver and gold and all the furnishings—and he placed them in the treasuries of God’s temple.

The Ark Brought to the Temple(AO)

2 Then Solomon summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark(AP) of the Lord’s covenant from Zion, the City of David. 3 And all the Israelites(AQ) came together to the king at the time of the festival in the seventh month.

4 When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the Levites took up the ark, 5 and they brought up the ark and the tent of meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it. The Levitical priests(AR) carried them up; 6 and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted.

7 The priests then brought the ark(AS) of the Lord’s covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. 8 The cherubim(AT) spread their wings over the place of the ark and covered the ark and its carrying poles. 9 These poles were so long that their ends, extending from the ark, could be seen from in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today. 10 There was nothing in the ark except(AU) the two tablets(AV) that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt.

11 The priests then withdrew from the Holy Place. All the priests who were there had consecrated themselves, regardless of their divisions.(AW) 12 All the Levites who were musicians(AX)—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives—stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets.(AY) 13 The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang:

“He is good;
    his love endures forever.”(AZ)

Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud,(BA) 14 and the priests could not perform(BB) their service because of the cloud,(BC) for the glory(BD) of the Lord filled the temple of God.

6 Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud;(BE) 2 I have built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever.(BF)”

3 While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around and blessed them. 4 Then he said:

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his hands has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to my father David. For he said, 5 ‘Since the day I brought my people out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built so that my Name might be there, nor have I chosen anyone to be ruler over my people Israel. 6 But now I have chosen Jerusalem(BG) for my Name(BH) to be there, and I have chosen David(BI) to rule my people Israel.’

7 “My father David had it in his heart(BJ) to build a temple for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 8 But the Lord said to my father David, ‘You did well to have it in your heart to build a temple for my Name. 9 Nevertheless, you 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.’

10 “The Lord has kept the promise he made. I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel. 11 There I have placed the ark, in which is the covenant(BK) of the Lord that he made with the people of Israel.”

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 3:1 Hebrew Ornan, a variant of Araunah
  2. 2 Chronicles 3:3 That is, about 90 feet long and 30 feet wide or about 27 meters long and 9 meters wide
  3. 2 Chronicles 3:4 That is, about 30 feet or about 9 meters; also in verses 8, 11 and 13
  4. 2 Chronicles 3:4 Some Septuagint and Syriac manuscripts; Hebrew and a hundred and twenty
  5. 2 Chronicles 3:8 That is, about 23 tons or about 21 metric tons
  6. 2 Chronicles 3:9 That is, about 1 1/4 pounds or about 575 grams
  7. 2 Chronicles 3:11 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters; also in verse 15
  8. 2 Chronicles 3:13 Or facing inward
  9. 2 Chronicles 3:15 That is, about 53 feet or about 16 meters
  10. 2 Chronicles 3:16 Or possibly made chains in the inner sanctuary; the meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  11. 2 Chronicles 3:17 Jakin probably means he establishes.
  12. 2 Chronicles 3:17 Boaz probably means in him is strength.
  13. 2 Chronicles 4:1 That is, about 30 feet long and wide and 15 feet high or about 9 meters long and wide and 4.5 meters high
  14. 2 Chronicles 4:2 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters
  15. 2 Chronicles 4:2 That is, about 45 feet or about 14 meters
  16. 2 Chronicles 4:3 That is, about 18 inches or about 45 centimeters
  17. 2 Chronicles 4:5 That is, about 3 inches or about 7.5 centimeters
  18. 2 Chronicles 4:5 That is, about 18,000 gallons or about 66,000 liters
  19. 2 Chronicles 4:17 Hebrew Zeredatha, a variant of Zarethan
Next
2 Chronicles 2
2 Chronicles 7
Next
dropdown
English Standard Version (ESV)

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

ESV Study Bible
New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.

July Summer Surge

More on the NIV