Solomon Requests Wisdom

Solomon the son of David established himself in his kingdom, and the Lord his God was with him and made him exceedingly great.

And Solomon, and all the assembly with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon; for the tent of meeting of God, which Moses the servant of the Lord had made in the wilderness, was there.

Moreover the bronze altar that Bez′alel the son of Uri, son of Hur, had made, was there before the tabernacle of the Lord. And Solomon and the assembly sought the Lord.

And Solomon went up there to the bronze altar before the Lord, which was at the tent of meeting, and offered a thousand burnt offerings upon it.

O Lord God, let thy promise to David my father be now fulfilled, for thou hast made me king over a people as many as the dust of the earth.

Preparations for Building the Temple

Now Solomon purposed to build a temple for the name of the Lord, and a royal palace for himself.

Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of the Lord my God and dedicate it to him for the burning of incense of sweet spices before him, and for the continual offering of the showbread, and for burnt offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths and the new moons and the appointed feasts of the Lord our God, as ordained for ever for Israel.

Then Huram the king of Tyre answered in a letter which he sent to Solomon, “Because the Lord loves his people he has made you king over them.”

Huram also said, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, who has given King David a wise son, endued with discretion and understanding, who will build a temple for the Lord, and a royal palace for himself.

the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre. He is trained to work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, and in purple, blue, and crimson fabrics and fine linen, and to do all sorts of engraving and execute any design that may be assigned him, with your craftsmen, the craftsmen of my lord, David your father.

Now therefore the wheat and barley, oil and wine, of which my lord has spoken, let him send to his servants;

Solomon Builds the Temple

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.

The pots, the shovels, the forks, and all the equipment for these Huram-abi made of burnished bronze for King Solomon for the house of the Lord.

Thus all the work that Solomon did for the house of the Lord was finished. And Solomon brought in the things which 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 into the Temple

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 the city of David, which is Zion.

So 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.

There was nothing in the ark except the two tables which Moses put there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.

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, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the Lord, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures for ever,” the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud,

so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.

Dedication of the Temple

Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in thick darkness.

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,

Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.

But the Lord said to David my father, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart;

Now the Lord has fulfilled his promise which 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.

And there I have set the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord which he made with the people of Israel.”