The Temple Construction in Jerusalem

(A)Then 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 prepared (B)on the threshing floor of [a]Ornan the Jebusite. He began to build on the second day in the second month [b]of the fourth year of his reign.

Dimensions and Materials of the Temple

Now these are the [c]foundations which (C)Solomon laid for building the house of God. The length in cubits, according to the old standard, was [d]sixty cubits, and the width, twenty cubits. The porch which was in front of the house (D)was as long as the width of the house, [e]twenty cubits, and the height [f]twenty; and inside he overlaid it with pure gold. He overlaid (E)the [g]main room with juniper wood and overlaid it with fine gold; and he [h]ornamented it with palm trees and chains. Further, he overlaid the house [i]with precious stones; and the gold was gold from Parvaim. (F)He also overlaid the house with gold—the beams, the thresholds, and its walls and doors; and he (G)carved cherubim on the walls.

Then he made (H)the [j]room of the Most Holy Place: its length across the width of the house was [k]twenty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits; and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to [l]six hundred talents. The weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. He also overlaid (I)the upper rooms with gold.

10 (J)Then he made two [m]sculptured cherubim in the room of the Most Holy Place and overlaid them with gold. 11 The wingspan of the [n]cherubim was twenty [o]cubits; the wing of 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 The wing of the other cherub, of five cubits, touched the wall of the house; and its other wing, of five cubits, was attached to the wing of the [p]first cherub. 13 The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits, and they stood on their feet [q]facing the main room. 14 (K)He made the veil of violet, purple, crimson, and fine linen, and he worked cherubim into it.

15 (L)He also made two pillars for the front of the house, thirty-five cubits [r]high, and the capital on the top of each was five cubits. 16 He made chains in the inner sanctuary and placed them on the tops of the pillars; and he made a hundred pomegranates and placed them on the chains. 17 (M)He erected the pillars in front of the temple, one on the right and the other on the left, and named the one on the right Jachin and the one on the left Boaz.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 3:1 In 2 Sam 24:18, Araunah
  2. 2 Chronicles 3:2 Lit in
  3. 2 Chronicles 3:3 Lit founding of Solomon to build
  4. 2 Chronicles 3:3 About 90 ft. long and 30 ft. wide or 27 m long and 9 m wide
  5. 2 Chronicles 3:4 About 30 ft. or 9 m
  6. 2 Chronicles 3:4 As in ancient versions; MT 120 cubits or about 180 ft. or 55 m
  7. 2 Chronicles 3:5 Lit great house
  8. 2 Chronicles 3:5 Lit put on it palm trees
  9. 2 Chronicles 3:6 Lit for beauty
  10. 2 Chronicles 3:8 Lit house
  11. 2 Chronicles 3:8 About 30 ft. or 9 m
  12. 2 Chronicles 3:8 About 23 tons or 21 metric tons
  13. 2 Chronicles 3:10 Lit cherubim of cast work
  14. 2 Chronicles 3:11 Heb plural of cherub
  15. 2 Chronicles 3:11 About 18 in. or 45 cm
  16. 2 Chronicles 3:12 Lit other
  17. 2 Chronicles 3:13 Lit and their faces to
  18. 2 Chronicles 3:15 Lit long

Solomon Builds the Temple

(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. He began to build in the second month of the fourth year of his reign. 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. 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. (F)The nave he lined with cypress and covered it with fine gold (G)and made palms and chains on it. He adorned the house with settings of precious stones. The gold was gold of Parvaim. So he lined the house with gold—its beams, its thresholds, its walls, and its doors—(H)and he carved cherubim on the walls.

(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. 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.

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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