5 Later on there was a Jewish festival (feast) for which Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

² Now there is in Jerusalem a pool near the Sheep Gate. This pool in the Hebrew is called Bethesda, having five porches (alcoves, colonnades, doorways).

³ In these lay a great number of sick folk—some blind, some crippled, and some paralyzed (shriveled up)—^[a]waiting for the bubbling up of the water.

⁴ For an angel of the Lord went down at appointed seasons into the pool and moved and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was cured of whatever disease with which he was afflicted.

⁵ There was a certain man there who had suffered with a deep-seated and lingering disorder for thirty-eight years.

⁶ When Jesus noticed him lying there [helpless], knowing that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, Do you want to become well? [Are you really in earnest about getting well?]

⁷ The invalid answered, Sir, I have nobody when the water is moving to put me into the pool; but while I am trying to come [into it] myself, somebody else steps down ahead of me.

⁸ Jesus said to him, Get up! Pick up your bed (sleeping pad) and walk!

⁹ Instantly the man became well and recovered his strength and picked up his bed and walked. But that happened on the Sabbath.

¹⁰ So the Jews kept saying to the man who had been healed, It is the Sabbath, and you have no right to pick up your bed [it is not lawful].

¹¹ He answered them, The ^[b]Man Who healed me and gave me back my strength, He Himself said to me, Pick up your bed and walk!

¹² They asked him, Who is the Man Who told you, Pick up your bed and walk?

¹³ Now the invalid who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had quietly gone away [had passed on unnoticed], since there was a crowd in the place.

¹⁴ Afterward, when Jesus found him in the temple, He said to him, See, you are well! Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.

¹⁵ The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus Who had made him well.

¹⁶ For this reason the Jews began to persecute (annoy, torment) Jesus ^[c]and sought to kill Him, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath.

¹⁷ But Jesus answered them, My Father has worked [even] until now, [He has never ceased working; He is still working] and I, too, must be at [divine] work.

¹⁸ This made the Jews more determined than ever to kill Him [to do away with Him]; because He not only was breaking (weakening, violating) the Sabbath, but He actually was speaking of God as being [in a special sense] His own Father, making Himself equal [putting Himself on a level] with God.

¹⁹ So Jesus answered them by saying, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, the Son is able to do nothing of Himself (of His own accord); but He is able to do only what He sees the Father doing, for whatever the Father does is what the Son does in the same way [in His turn].

²⁰ The Father dearly loves the Son and discloses to (shows) Him everything that He Himself does. And He will disclose to Him (let Him see) greater things yet than these, so that you may marvel and be full of wonder and astonishment.

²¹ Just as the Father raises up the dead and gives them life [makes them live on], even so the Son also gives life to whomever He wills and is pleased to give it.

²² Even the Father judges no one, for He has given all judgment (the last judgment and the whole business of judging) entirely into the hands of the Son,

²³ So that all men may give honor (reverence, homage) to the Son just as they give honor to the Father. [In fact] whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, Who has sent Him.

²⁴ I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, the person whose ears are open to My words [who listens to My message] and believes and trusts in and clings to and relies on Him Who sent Me has (possesses now) eternal life. And he does not come into judgment [does not incur sentence of judgment, will not come under condemnation], but he has already passed over out of death into life.

²⁵ Believe Me when I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, the time is coming and is here now when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear it shall live.

²⁶ For even as the Father has life in Himself and is self-existent, so He has given to the Son to have life in Himself and be self-existent.

²⁷ And He has given Him authority and granted Him power to execute (exercise, practice) judgment because He is ^[d]a Son of man [very man].

²⁸ Do not be surprised and wonder at this, for the time is coming when all those who are in the tombs shall hear His voice,

²⁹ And they shall come out—those who have practiced doing good [will come out] to the resurrection of [new] life, and those who have done evil will be raised for judgment [raised to meet their sentence].^(A)

³⁰ I am able to do nothing from Myself [independently, of My own accord—but only as I am taught by God and as I get His orders]. Even as I hear, I judge [I decide as I am bidden to decide. As the voice comes to Me, so I give a decision], and My judgment is right (just, righteous), because I do not seek or consult My own will [I have no desire to do what is pleasing to Myself, My own aim, My own purpose] but only the will and pleasure of the Father Who sent Me.

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4 King Solomon was king over all Israel.

² These were his chief officials: Azariah son of Zadok was the [high] priest;

³ Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha, were secretaries; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was recorder;

⁴ Benaiah son of Jehoiada commanded the army; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;

⁵ Azariah son of Nathan was over the officers; Zabud son of Nathan was priest and the king’s friend and private advisor;

⁶ Ahishar was in charge of the palace; and Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of the forced labor.

⁷ Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who secured provisions for the king and his household; each man had to provide for a month in a year.

⁸ These were their names: Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim;

⁹ Ben-deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elon-beth-hanan;

¹⁰ Ben-hesed, in Arubboth (to him belonged Socoh and all the land of Hepher);

¹¹ Ben-abinadab, in Naphoth-dor (he had Taphath, Solomon’s daughter, as wife);

¹² Baana son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth-shean which is beside Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah as far as beyond Jokmeam;

¹³ Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead (to him belonged the villages of Jair son of Manasseh which are in Gilead, also the region of Argob which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars);

¹⁴ Ahinadab son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;

¹⁵ Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he had taken Basemath, Solomon’s daughter, as his wife);

¹⁶ Baana son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth;

¹⁷ Jehoshaphat son of Paruah, in Issachar;

¹⁸ Shimei son of Ela, in Benjamin;

¹⁹ Geber son of Uri, in Gilead, the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan; only one officer was over all the country [at one time, each serving for one month].

²⁰ Judah and Israel were many, like the sand which is by the sea in multitude; they ate, drank, and rejoiced.

²¹ Solomon reigned ^[a]over all the kingdoms from the [Euphrates] River to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt; they brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.

²² Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, sixty measures of meal,

²³ Ten fat oxen, twenty pasture-fed cattle, a hundred sheep, besides harts, gazelles, roebucks, and fatted fowl of choice kinds.

²⁴ For he had dominion over all the region west of the [Euphrates] River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kings west of the River, and he had peace on all sides around him.

²⁵ Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and fig tree, from Dan to Beersheba, all of Solomon’s days.

²⁶ Solomon also had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 horsemen.

²⁷ And those officers provided food for King Solomon and for all who came to his table, every man in his month; they let nothing be lacking.

²⁸ Barley also and straw for the horses and swift steeds they brought to the place where it was needed, each according to his assignment.

²⁹ And God gave Solomon exceptionally much wisdom and understanding, and breadth of mind like the sand of the seashore.

³⁰ Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the people of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt.

³¹ For he was wiser ^[b]than all other men—than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol. His fame was in all the nations round about.

³² He also originated 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005.

³³ He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall; he spoke also of beasts, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish.

³⁴ Men came from all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.

5 Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, when he heard that he was anointed king in place of his father, for Hiram always loved David.

² And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying,

³ You know how David my father could not build a house to the Name of the Lord his God because wars were about him on every side, until the Lord put his foes under his feet.^(A)

⁴ But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil confronting me.

⁵ And I purpose to build a house to the Name of the Lord my God, as the Lord said to David my father, Your son whom I will set on your throne in your place shall build the house to My Name and Presence.

⁶ So, Hiram, command them to hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; my servants shall join yours, and I will give you whatever wages you set for your servants. For you know that no one among us can equal the skill of the Sidon men in cutting timber.

⁷ When Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly and said, Blessed be the Lord this day, Who has given David a wise son to be over this great people.

⁸ And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things for which you sent to me; I will do all you wish concerning the cedar and cypress timber.

⁹ My servants shall bring the logs down from Lebanon to the sea, make them into rafts, and float them by sea to the place that you direct. I will have them released there, and you shall take them away. And you shall fulfill my desire by providing food for my household.

¹⁰ So Hiram gave Solomon all the cedar and cypress trees he desired,

¹¹ And Solomon gave Hiram 20,000 measures of wheat for food for his household, and 20 measures of pure, beaten oil. He gave these to Hiram yearly.

¹² The Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as He promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and they made a treaty.

¹³ King Solomon raised a levy [of forced labor] out of all Israel; and the levy was 30,000 men.

¹⁴ He sent them to Lebanon, 10,000 a month by divisions; one month they were in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was over the levy.

¹⁵ And Solomon had 70,000 burden bearers and 80,000 hewers [of stone] in the hill country of Judah,

¹⁶ Besides Solomon’s 3,300 overseers in charge of the people doing the work.

¹⁷ The king commanded, and they hewed and brought out ^[c]great, costly stones in order to lay the foundation of the house with dressed stone.

¹⁸ Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders and the men of Gebal did the hewing and prepared the timber and stones to build the house.

6 And 480 years after the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the second month, Ziv, he began to build the Lord’s house.

² The length of the house Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits, its breadth twenty, and its height thirty cubits.

³ The length of the vestibule in front of the temple was twenty cubits, equal to the width of the house, and its depth in front of the house was ten cubits.

⁴ For the house he made narrow [latticed] windows.

⁵ Against the wall of the house he built chambers running round the walls of the house both of the Holy Place and of the Holy of Holies; and he made side chambers all around.

⁶ The first story’s side chambers were five cubits wide, those of the middle story six cubits wide, and of the third story seven cubits wide; for around the outside of the wall of the house he made offsets in order that the supporting beams should not be thrust into the walls of the house.

⁷ When the house was being built, its stone was made ready at the quarry, and no hammer, ax, or tool of iron was heard in the house while it was in building.

⁸ The entrance to the lowest side chamber was on the right [or south] side of the house; and one went up winding stairs into the middle chamber and from the middle into the third.

⁹ So Solomon built the temple building and finished it, and roofed the house with beams and boards of cedar.

¹⁰ Then he built the stories of chambers [the lean-to] against all the house, each [story] five cubits high; and it was joined to the house with timbers of cedar.

¹¹ Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying,

¹² Concerning this house which you are building, if you will walk in My statutes, execute My precepts, and keep all My commandments to walk in them, then I will fulfill to you My promises which I made to David your father.

¹³ And I will dwell among the Israelites and will not forsake My people Israel.

¹⁴ So Solomon built the house and finished it.

¹⁵ He built the walls of the house (the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies) within with boards of cedar, from the floor of the house to the rafters of the ceiling. He covered the inside with wood, and the floor of the house with boards of cypress.

¹⁶ He built twenty cubits of the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the rafters; he built it within for the sanctuary, the Holy of Holies.

¹⁷ The [rest of the] house, that is, the temple in front of the Holy of Holies, was forty cubits long.

¹⁸ The cedar on the house within was carved with gourds and open flowers. All was cedar; no stone was visible.

¹⁹ And he prepared the Holy of Holies in the inner room in which to set the ark of the covenant of the Lord.

²⁰ The Holy of Holies was twenty cubits in length, in breadth, and in height. He overlaid it with pure gold. He also overlaid the cedar altar.

²¹ Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold, and he drew chains of gold across in front of the Holy of Holies and overlaid it with gold.

²² And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until all the house was finished. Also the whole [incense] altar that [stood outside the door but] belonged to the Holy of Holies he overlaid with gold.

²³ Within the Holy of Holies he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high.

²⁴ Five cubits was the length of one wing of the cherub and five cubits its other wing; from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other was ten cubits.

²⁵ The wings of the other cherub were also ten cubits. Both cherubim were the same,

²⁶ The height of one cherub ten cubits, as was the other.

²⁷ He put the cherubim within the inner sanctuary. Their wings were stretched out, so that the wing of one touched one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall, and their inner wings touched in the midst of the room.

²⁸ Solomon overlaid the cherubim with gold.

²⁹ He carved all the walls of the house (these two holy rooms) round about with figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, within and without.

³⁰ The floor of the house he overlaid with gold, inside and out.

³¹ For the Holy of Holies he made [folding] doors of olive wood; their entire width was one-fifth that of the wall.

³² On the two doors of olive wood he carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers; he overlaid them with gold, and spread gold on the cherubim and palm trees.

³³ Also he made for the door of the Holy Place four-sided posts of olive wood.

³⁴ The two doors were of cypress wood; the two leaves of each door were folding.

³⁵ He carved on them cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, covered with gold evenly applied on the carved work.

³⁶ He built the inner court with three rows of hewn stone and a row of cedar beams.

³⁷ In the fourth year the foundation of the Lord’s house was laid, in the [second] month, Ziv.

³⁸ In the eleventh year, in Bul, the eighth month, the house was finished throughout according to all its specifications. So he was seven years in building it.