Old/New Testament

The Temple Furnishings

4 Moreover, he made a bronze altar 20 cubits long, 20 cubits wide and ten cubits high. ² He also made the Sea of cast metal ten cubits across from brim to brim, perfectly round. It was five cubits high and its circumference was 30 cubits.

³ Beneath it, figures like bulls were set all around it, ten cubits encircling the Sea. The bulls were in two rows, cast in one piece with it. ⁴ The Sea stood on 12 bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The Sea rested upon them and their hindquarters were all turned inward. ⁵ It was a handbreadth thick, and the brim was like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held 3,000 vats. ⁶ He also made ten basins for washing and placed five on the right side and five on the left. In them the items used for the burnt offering were rinsed, but the kohanim washed in “the Sea”.

⁷ Next he made the ten menorot^[a] of gold in the manner prescribed for them and set them in the Temple, five on the right hand and five on the left. ⁸ He also made ten tables and placed them in the Temple, five on the right side and five on the left. He also made 100 gold bowls.

⁹ Then he made the courtyard of the kohanim and the great courtyard and doors for the courtyard. He overlaid the doors with bronze. ¹⁰ He set the Sea on the south side at the southeast corner.

¹¹ Huram also made the pots, the shovels and the bowls. So Huram-abi finished the work that he had undertaken for King Solomon in the House of God: ¹² the two pillars, the bowls and the two capitals on the top of the pillars, and the two lattice-works to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars, ¹³ and the 400 pomegranates for the two lattice-works (two rows of pomegranates for each lattice-work to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were upon the top of the pillars). ¹⁴ He also made the stands, the basins upon the stands, ¹⁵ and the one Sea with the 12 bulls under it, ¹⁶ as well as the pots, the shovels and the meat hooks. All the utensils Huram-abi made for King Solomon for the House of Adonai were of polished bronze. ¹⁷ The king had them cast with clay earth from the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zeredah. ¹⁸ Solomon made all these utensils in such great quantities that the weight of the bronze could not be determined.

¹⁹ Solomon also made all the furnishings that were in the House of God, including the golden altar, the tables on which was the Bread of Presence, ²⁰ the menorot with their lamps of pure gold to burn in front of the inner sanctuary as prescribed ²¹ with the flowers and the lamps and the tongs of gold, the purest gold, ²² and the snuffers, the bowls, the spoons and the fire-pans of pure gold, and the doors of the House—the inner doors for the Holy of Holies and the doors of the House, that is, the Temple—were of gold.

5 When all the work that Solomon undertook for the House of Adonai was finished, Solomon brought in the things David his father consecrated—the silver, gold and all the furnishings—and put them in the treasuries of the House of God.

Consecration of the Temple

² Then Solomon gathered to Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the patriarchal leaders of Bnei-Yisrael, in order to bring up the Ark of the Covenant of Adonai from the city of David, which is Zion. ³ All the men of Israel gathered together to the king at the feast that is in the seventh month.

⁴ So all the elders of Israel came and the Levites took up the Ark ⁵ and brought up the Ark and the Tent of Meeting along with all the sacred furnishings that were in the Tent. The Levitical kohanim brought them up. ⁶ Meanwhile, King Solomon and the entire congregation of Israel who gathered with him before the Ark, were sacrificing so many sheep and bulls that they could not be counted or numbered.

⁷ The kohanim brought in the Ark of the Covenant of Adonai to its place, into the inner Sanctuary of the House, into the Holy of Holies under the wings of the cheruvim. ⁸ The cheruvim spread their wings over the place of the Ark so that the cheruvim covered the Ark and its poles from above. ⁹ Now the poles were so long that the ends of the poles extending from the Ark could be seen in front of the inner Sanctuary, though they could not be seen from outside; and they are there to this day. ¹⁰ There was nothing in the Ark except the two tablets that Moses had placed there at Horeb, where Adonai made a covenant with Bnei-Yisrael when they came out of Egypt.

God’s Glory Fills the Temple

¹¹ And it came to pass, when the kohanim came out of the Holy Place—for all the kohanim that were present had consecrated themselves, without regard to divisions— ¹² all the Levite singers—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, their sons and their relatives—dressed in fine linen with cymbals, harps and lyres, were standing at the east end of the altar and with them were 120 kohanim blowing trumpets. ¹³ Then it came to pass that when the trumpeters and singers joined as one to extol and praise Adonai, and when the sound of the trumpets, cymbals and musical instruments and the praise of Adonai—“For He is good, for His mercy endures forever”—grew louder, the Temple, the House of Adonai, was filled with a cloud. ¹⁴ The kohanim could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of Adonai filled the House of God.

Adonai Has Chosen Jerusalem

6 Then Solomon declared, “Adonai has said that He would dwell in the thick cloud; ² I have built You a magnificent House and a place for You to dwell forever.”

³ Then, while all the congregation of Israel was standing the king turned his face and blessed the whole congregation of Israel. ⁴ He said: “Blessed be Adonai, the God of Israel, who with His hands has fulfilled what He spoke with His mouth to my father David, saying: ⁵ ‘Since the day that I brought My people out of the land of Egypt, I did not choose a city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a House that My Name might be there. Nor did I choose any man to be a leader over My people Israel. ⁶ But I have chosen Jerusalem that My Name would abide there and I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’

⁷ “Now it was in the heart of my father David to build a House for the Name of Adonai, the God of Israel. ⁸ But Adonai said to David my father: ‘As for you wanting in your heart to build a House for My Name, you did well that this was in your heart. ⁹ Nevertheless, you will not build the House. Rather your son who will be born to you, he will build the House for My Name.’

¹⁰ “Now Adonai has confirmed His promise that He spoke. I have succeeded my father David and sit on the throne of Israel, just as Adonai promised, and I have built the House for the Name of Adonai, the God of Israel. ¹¹ There have I set the Ark in which is the Covenant of Adonai that He made with Bnei-Yisrael.”

Solomon’s Prayer

¹² Then he stood before the altar of Adonai in front of the entire congregation of Israel and spread forth his hands. ¹³ For Solomon had made a bronze platform, five cubits long, five cubits wide and three cubits high and placed it in the midst of the court. He stood on it and knelt down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven ¹⁴ and he said,

“Adonai, God of Israel, there is no God like You in the heavens or in the earth, keeping covenant and showing mercy to Your servants who walk before You with all their heart. ¹⁵ You have kept the promise You made to Your servant David, my father. Surely you spoke with Your mouth and have fulfilled it with Your hand—as it is today.

¹⁶ “Now therefore, Adonai, God of Israel, keep for Your servant David, my father, that which You have promised him saying:

‘For you will never be cut off, you will not fail to have a man sit before Me on the throne—if only your sons pay attention to their way, to walk in My Torah as you have walked before Me.’^[b]

¹⁷ “Now therefore, Adonai God of Israel, let Your word, which You spoke to Your servant David, be confirmed.

¹⁸ “But will God indeed dwell with mankind on the earth? Behold—heaven even the highest heaven—cannot contain You. How much less this House that I have built! ¹⁹ Yet attend to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplication, Adonai my God, to hear the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You ²⁰ that Your eyes may be open toward this House day and night, toward the place where You have said You would put Your Name there, to listen to the prayer which Your servant will pray toward this place. ²¹ Hear the supplications of Your servant and Your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from Your dwelling place, from heaven, and when You hear, forgive.

²² “If a man sins against his neighbor and is required to swear an oath, and he comes and takes an oath before Your altar in this House, ²³ then hear from heaven and act. Judge Your servants, repaying the wicked by bringing down on his own head what he has done and vindicating the righteous by rewarding him according to his righteousness.^[c]

²⁴ “If Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, yet when they return and confess Your Name, praying and making supplication before You in this House, ²⁵ then hear from heaven, forgive the sin of Your people Israel and bring them back to the land which You gave to them and to their fathers.

²⁶ “When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, if they pray toward this place and confess Your Name, turning from their sin because You afflicted them, ²⁷ then may You hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel. Indeed may You teach them the good way in which they should walk. Send rain upon Your land that You have given to Your people for an inheritance.

²⁸ “When there is famine in the land, when there is pestilence, blight, mildew, locust or grasshopper, when their enemies besiege them in the land by their gates, whatever plague or sickness may come, ²⁹ and any prayer or plea is offered by any individual or by all Your people Israel—each acknowledging his own afflictions and pain, even spreading his hands toward this House— ³⁰ then may You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place and forgive. May You give to every man according to all his ways, as You know his heart—for You alone know the hearts of the children of men— ³¹ so that they will fear You and walk in Your ways all the days that they live in the land that You gave to our fathers.

³² “Moreover, concerning the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel but comes from a distant land for the sake of Your great Name and Your mighty hand and Your outstretched arm, when they come and pray toward this House, ³³ then may You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place and do whatever the foreigner asks of You. Then all the peoples of the earth will acknowledge Your Name and revere You, as Your people Israel do, and they will know that this House which I have built is called by Your Name.

³⁴ “When Your people go out to battle against their enemies, wherever You send them, and they pray to You toward this city that You have chosen and the House that I have built for Your Name, ³⁵ then hear from heaven their prayer and their petition, and uphold their cause.

³⁶ When they sin against You—for there is no man that does not sin^[d]—and You become angry with them and hand them over to the enemy who takes them captive to a land far off or near, ³⁷ when they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and they repent and seek You in the land of their captivity saying,

‘We have sinned,

we have committed inquity,

we have acted wickedly,’

³⁸ “and they return to You with all their heart and soul in the land of their captivity where they were taken captive, and they pray toward their land which You gave to their fathers and the city which You have chosen and toward the House which I have built for Your Name, ³⁹ then may You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, their prayer and their petitions and uphold their cause, and forgive Your people who have sinned against You.

⁴⁰ “Now my God, I pray, let Your eyes be open, and let Your ears be attentive to the prayer made in this place.

²⁴ Then the Judean leaders surrounded Him, saying, “How long will You hold us in suspense? If You are the Messiah, tell us outright!”

²⁵ Yeshua answered them, “I told you, but you don’t believe! The works I do in My Father’s name testify concerning Me. ²⁶ But you don’t believe, because you are not My sheep. ²⁷ My sheep hear My voice. I know them, and they follow Me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life! They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all. And no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.”

³¹ Again the Judean leaders picked up stones to stone Him. ³² Yeshua answered them, “I’ve shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these are you going to stone Me?”

³³ The Judean leaders answered, “We aren’t stoning you for a good work, but for blasphemy. Though You are a man, You make Yourself God!”

³⁴ Yeshua answered them, “Isn’t it written in your Writings,^[a] ‘I have said you are gods’? ³⁵ If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the Word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), ³⁶ do you say of Him, the One the Father set apart and sent into the world, ‘You speak blasphemy,’ because I said, ‘I am Ben-Elohim’?

³⁷ “If I don’t do the works of My Father, don’t believe Me! ³⁸ But if I do, even if you don’t trust Me, trust the deeds. Then you may come to know and continue to understand that the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father.” ³⁹ Therefore they tried to capture Him again, but He escaped from their hand.

⁴⁰ Again He went back across the Jordan to the place where John first started immersing, and He stayed there. ⁴¹ Many people came to Him and were saying, “John performed no sign, but all John said about this man was true.” ⁴² And many trusted in Him there.