Old/New Testament
Furnishing the Temple(A)
4 Solomon[a] also constructed a bronze[b] altar 20 cubits[c] long, 20 cubits[d] wide, and ten cubits[e] high. 2 He crafted a circular sea of cast metal 10 cubits[f] from rim to rim and five cubits[g] tall. A line 30 cubits[h] long surrounded it. 3 Underneath, figurines resembling oxen[i] encircled the circular sea[j] beneath it, ten oxen[k] every cubit,[l] and encircling the sea completely. The oxen were in two rows, cast all at the same time. 4 The sea stood on top of twelve oxen, three of which faced to the north, three of which faced to the west, three of which faced to the south, and three of which faced toward the east. The sea was placed on top of the oxen, with all of their hindquarters turned inwards. 5 It was a handbreadth[m] thick, with its brim fashioned like the brim of a cup. Similar in shape to a lily blossom, it could hold 3,000 baths.[n] 6 Solomon[o] also made ten wash basins, placing five on the right side and five on the left. The basins were intended for use to rinse burnt offerings, and the sea was intended for use by the priests to wash in.
7 Solomon[p] made ten gold lamp stands as he had been directed and set them in the Temple, five on the south side and five on the north side. 8 He also made ten tables and placed them in the Temple, five on the right side and five on the left side. He also constructed 100 gold basins. 9 He made the court of the priests, the great court, and doors for the court, overlaying their doors with bronze. 10 He set the sea at the southeast corner of the Temple.
11 Hiram-abi[q] crafted the pots, shovels, and basins, thus completing the work that he did for King Solomon on the Temple of God; 12 that is, the two pillars, the bowls, the two capitals on top of the pillars, the two lattice works that covered the two bowls for the capitals that were on top of the pillars; 13 the 400 pomegranate-shaped ornaments for the latticework of the two pillars (each latticework having two rows of ornaments at the bowl-shaped top of each pillar); 14 the ten[r] stands with their ten basins; 15 the large bronze basin called the Sea with the twelve oxen underneath, 16 along with its pots, shovels, forks, and all of its other implements that Hiram-abi made from polished bronze for King Solomon and the Lord’s Temple. 17 The king had them forged in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah in the Jordan plain. 18 Solomon made so many utensils in such great quantities that the weight of the bronze was never fully recorded.
19 Solomon also made these items for God’s Temple: the golden altar, the tables for the Bread of the Presence, 20 the lamp stands and their lamps made of pure gold to burn in front[s] of the inner sanctuary, as required, 21 the pure gold ornaments in the shape of flowers, the lamps, and the tongs (all made of the purest gold), 22 the gold trimming instruments, basins, pans, censers, and the gold door sockets for the inner sanctuary (that is, the Most Holy Place), and for the doors to the main hall of the Temple.
The Ark is Placed in the Temple(B)
5 As soon as Solomon had completed the Lord’s Temple, he installed the holy items that had belonged to his father David, including the silver, gold, and all the other items in the treasure rooms of God’s Temple. 2 Then Solomon called Israel’s elders together, including all the leaders of the tribes and families of Israel. They met in Jerusalem to transfer the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord from Zion, the City of David. 3 All the men of Israel assembled in front of the king during the Festival of Tents[t] that takes place in the seventh month[u] of the year.[v]
4 As soon as all of Israel’s elders had arrived, the descendants of Levi lifted the ark 5 and carried it, the tent where God met with his people,[w] and all of the sacred implements that belonged in the tent. The Levitical priests carried these up to the City of David.[x] 6 King Solomon and all the Israelis who had assembled together proceeded ahead of the ark and sacrificed more sheep and oxen than could be counted or recorded due to the number of sacrifices.[y]
7 The priests transported the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord to the place created for it within the inner sanctuary of the Temple, into the Most Holy Place under the wings of the cherubim. 8 The wings of the cherubim extended over where the ark and its carrying poles[z] had been placed, 9 but the poles were long enough for their ends to extend to the front of the inner sanctuary, even though they could not be seen from outside. They remain there to this day. 10 There was nothing in the ark except for the two tablets that Moses had placed there while Israel was encamped[aa] at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelis after he had brought them out of the land of Egypt.
11 After this, the priests vacated the Holy Place. (Meanwhile, all the priests who were participating consecrated themselves, irrespective of their Levitical divisions. 12 All the musicians who were descendants of Levi, including Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and relatives wore linen and played cymbals and stringed instruments as they stood east of the altar. Accompanied by 120 priests who played trumpets, 13 the trumpeters and musicians played in union, praising and giving thanks to the Lord. They praised the Lord loudly and sang, “He is good, and his gracious love is eternal,” accompanied by the trumpets, cymbals, and other musical instruments.) As they did this,[ab] a cloud filled the Temple, that is, the Lord’s Temple, 14 and the priests were unable to complete their duties because of the cloud, since the glory of the Lord had filled God’s Temple.
Solomon Dedicates the Temple(C)
6 Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he lives shrouded in darkness. 2 Now I have constructed a magnificent temple dedicated to you that will serve as a place for you to inhabit forever.”
3 Then the king turned to face the entire congregation of Israel while the congregation of Israel remained standing. 4 Then Solomon[ac] prayed:
“Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, who made a commitment[ad] to my father David and then personally[ae] fulfilled what he had promised when he said:[af]
5 ‘From the day I brought out my people from the land of Egypt I never chose a city from all the tribes of Israel to build a temple where my name might reside. And I never chose any man to become Commander-in-Chief[ag] over my people Israel. 6 But I have chosen Jerusalem, where my name will reside. And I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.’
7 “My father David wanted to build a temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel. 8 The Lord told my father David:
‘Therefore, since you determined[ah] to build a temple for my name, you acted well, because it was your choice[ai] to do so. 9 Nevertheless, you are not to build the Temple, but your son who will be born[aj] to you is to build a temple for my name.’
10 “The Lord has brought to fulfillment[ak] what he promised, and now here I stand,[al] having succeeded my father David to sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised. I have built the Temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel. 11 I have placed in it the ark in which the covenant that the Lord made with the Israelis is stored.”
Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication(D)
12 Then Solomon[am] took his place in front of the Lord’s altar in the presence of the entire congregation of Israel and spread out his hands. 13 Solomon had a bronze platform constructed five cubits[an] square and three cubits[ao] high. He had it erected in the middle of the courtyard, and stood on it. Then he knelt down on his knees in front of the entire congregation of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven, 14 and said:
“Lord God of Israel, there is no one like you, God of heaven and earth, who watches over[ap] his covenant, showing gracious love to your servants who live their lives in your presence[aq] with all their hearts. 15 It is you, Lord God,[ar] who has kept your promise to my father, your servant David, that you made to him. Indeed, you made a commitment[as] to my father David and then personally fulfilled[at] what you had promised today.
16 “Now therefore, Lord God of Israel, keep your promise that you made[au] to my father, your servant David, when you said, ‘You are to not lack a man to sit on the throne of Israel,[av] if only your descendants will watch their lives,[aw] to live according to my Law, just as you have lived[ax] in my presence.’[ay]
17 “Now therefore, Lord God of Israel, may your promise that you made[az] to your servant David be fulfilled… 18 and yet, will God truly reside on earth with human beings? Look! Neither the sky nor the highest heaven can contain you! How much less this Temple that I have built! 19 Pay attention to the prayer of your servant and to his request, Lord my God, and listen to the cry and prayer that your servant is praying in your presence. 20 Let your eyes always look toward this Temple day and night, toward the location where you have said you would place your name. Listen to the prayer that your servant prays in this direction.[ba] 21 Listen to the requests from your servant and from your people Israel as they pray in this direction,[bb] and listen from the place where you reside—from heaven!—then hear and forgive.
22 “If a man sins against his neighbor and he is required to take an oath, and he then comes to take an oath in front of your altar in this Temple, 23 then listen from heaven, act, and judge your servants, recompensing the wicked by bringing back to him the consequences of his choices[bc] and by justifying the righteous by recompensing him according to his righteousness.
24 “If your people Israel are defeated in a battle with[bd] their enemy because they have sinned against you, when they return to you[be] and confess to you,[bf] pray, and in this Temple they ask you to show grace to them, 25 then hear from heaven, forgive the sin of your people Israel, and return them to the soil[bg] that you gave to them and to their ancestors.
26 “When the skies remain closed, and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, and they pray in the direction of this place, confessing your name and turning from their sin when you afflict them,[bh] 27 then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants and of your people Israel. Indeed, teach them the best way to live and send rain on your land that you have given to your people as an inheritance.
28 “If a famine comes to the land, or if there comes plant diseases, mildew, locusts, or grasshoppers,[bi] or if their enemies attack them in their settlements of the land, no matter what the epidemic or illness is, 29 whatever prayer or request is made, no matter whether it’s made by a single man or by all of your people Israel, each praying out of his own illness and anguish and stretching out their hands toward this Temple, 30 then hear from heaven, the place where you reside, and forgive, repaying each person according to all of his ways, since you know their hearts—for you alone know the hearts of human beings— 31 so they will fear you and live life[bj] your way as long as they live in the land that you have given to our ancestors.
32 “Now concerning the foreigner who is not from your people Israel, when he comes from a land far away for the sake of your great name, your mighty acts,[bk] and your obvious power,[bl] when they come and pray in the direction of this Temple, 33 then hear from heaven where you reside, and do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the people of the earth may know your name, fear you as do your people Israel, and so they may know that this Temple that I have built is called by your name.
34 “When your people go out to war against their enemies, no matter what way you send them, and they pray to you in the direction of this city that you have chosen and in the direction of the Temple that I have built for your name, 35 then hear their prayer and their request from heaven, and fight for their cause.
36 “When they sin against you—because there isn’t a single human being who doesn’t sin—and you become angry with them and deliver them over to their enemy, who takes them away captive to a land that’s near or far away, 37 if they turn their hearts back to you[bm] in the land where they have been taken captive, repent, and pray to you—even if they do so in the land where they have been taken captive—confessing, ‘We have sinned, we have committed abominations, and practiced wickedness,’ 38 if they return to you with all of their heart and with all of their soul in the land where they have been taken captive, as they pray in the direction of their land that you have given to their ancestors and to the city that you have chosen, and to the Temple that I have built for your name, 39 then hear their prayer and requests from heaven, where you reside, and fight for their cause, forgiving your people who have sinned against you.
40 “And now, my God, please let your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayers that are uttered in[bn] this place.
41 “And now may the Lord God arise, to your place of rest, you, and the ark of your power! Let your priests, Lord God, be clothed with salvation, and cause your godly ones to find their joy in what is good.
42 “Lord God, do not turn your face away from your anointed one.[bo] Remember your gracious love to your servant David.”
24 So the Jewish leaders[a] surrounded him and quizzed him, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you’re the Messiah,[b] tell us so plainly.”
25 Jesus answered them, “I have told you, but you don’t believe it. The actions that I do in my Father’s name testify on my behalf, 26 but you don’t believe, because you don’t belong to my sheep.[c] 27 My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, they’ll never be lost, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 What my Father has given me[d] is more important than anything,[e] and no one can snatch it from the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
31 Again the Jewish leaders[f] picked up stones to stone him to death.
32 Jesus replied to them, “I’ve shown you many good actions from my[g] Father. For which of them are you going to stone me?”
33 The Jewish leaders[h] answered him, “We are not going to stone you for a good action, but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, are making yourself God!”
34 Jesus replied to them, “Is it not written in your[i] Law, ‘I said, “You are gods”’?[j] 35 If he called those to whom a message from God came ‘gods’ (and the Scripture cannot be disregarded), 36 how can you say to the one whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You’re blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I’m the Son of God’? 37 If I’m not doing my Father’s actions, don’t believe me. 38 But if I’m doing them, even though you don’t believe me, believe the actions, so that you may know and understand[k] that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”
39 Again they tried to seize him, but he slipped away from them.[l] 40 Then he went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and he remained there. 41 Many people came to him and kept saying, “John never performed a sign, but everything that John said about this man is true!” 42 And many believed in Jesus[m] there.
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