9
All of these buildings were of costly stones, cut to size and sawed with saws on the inner and outer surfaces, from foundation to coping and from the outside to the great courtyard.
10
The foundation was made of large, costly stones 12 and 15 feet long.
11
Above were also costly stones, cut to size, as well as cedar wood.
12
Around the great courtyard, as well as the inner courtyard of the
Lord
's temple and the portico of the temple, were three rows of dressed stone and a row of trimmed cedar beams.
13
King Solomon had Hiram brought from Tyre.
14
He was a widow's son from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a bronze craftsman. Hiram had great skill, understanding, and knowledge to do every kind of bronze work. So he came to King Solomon and carried out all his work.
The Bronze Pillars
15
He cast two hollow bronze pillars: each 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference.
16
He also made two capitals of cast bronze to set on top of the pillars; 7
1
/
2
feet was the height of the first capital, and 7
1
/
2
feet was also the height of the second capital.
17
The capitals on top of the pillars had gratings of latticework, wreaths made of chainwork — seven for the first capital and seven for the second.
18
He made the pillars with two encircling rows of pomegranates on the one grating to cover the capital on top; he did the same for the second capital.
19
And the capitals on top of the pillars in the portico were shaped like lilies, six feet high.
20
The capitals on the two pillars were also immediately above the rounded surface next to the grating, and 200 pomegranates were in rows encircling each capital.
21
He set up the pillars at the portico of the sanctuary: he set up the right pillar and named it Jachin; then he set up the left pillar and named it Boaz.
22
The tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. Then the work of the pillars was completed.
The Reservoir
23
He made the cast metal reservoir,15 feet from brim to brim, perfectly round. It was 7
1
/
2
feet high and 45 feet in circumference.
24
Ornamental gourds encircled it below the brim, 10 every half yard, completely encircling the reservoir. The gourds were cast in two rows when the reservoir was cast.
25
It stood on 12 oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The reservoir was on top of them and all their hindquarters were toward the center.
26
The reservoir was three inches thick, and its rim was fashioned like the brim of a cup or of a lily blossom. It held 11,000 gallons.
The Bronze Water Carts
27
Then he made 10 bronze water carts. Each water cart was six feet long, six feet wide, and 4
1
/
2
feet high.
28
This was the design of the carts: They had frames; the frames were between the cross-pieces,
29
and on the frames between the cross-pieces were lions, oxen, and
•cherubim
. On the cross-pieces there was a pedestal above, and below the lions and oxen were wreaths of hanging work.
30
Each cart had four bronze wheels with bronze axles. Underneath the four corners of the basin were cast supports, each next to a wreath.
31
And the water cart's opening inside the crown on top was 18 inches wide. The opening was round, made as a pedestal 27 inches wide. On it were carvings, but their frames were square, not round.
32
There were four wheels under the frames, and the wheel axles were part of the water cart; each wheel was 27 inches tall.
33
The wheels' design was similar to that of chariot wheels: their axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were all of cast metal.
34
Four supports were at the four corners of each water cart; each support was one piece with the water cart.
35
At the top of the cart was a band nine inches high encircling it; also, at the top of the cart, its braces and its frames were one piece with it.
36
He engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees on the plates of its braces and on its frames, wherever each had space, with encircling wreaths.
37
In this way he made the 10 water carts using the same casting, dimensions, and shape for all of them.
Bronze Basins and Other Utensils
38
Then he made 10 bronze basins — each basin holding 220 gallons and each was six feet wide — one basin for each of the 10 water carts.
39
He set five water carts on the right side of the temple and five on the left side. He put the reservoir near the right side of the temple toward the southeast.
40
Then Hiram made the basins, the shovels, and the sprinkling basins.
Completion of the Bronze Works
So Hiram finished all the work that he was doing for King Solomon on the
Lord
's temple:
41
two pillars; bowls for the capitals that were on top of the two pillars; the two gratings for covering both bowls of the capitals that were on top of the pillars;
42
the 400 pomegranates for the two gratings (two rows of pomegranates for each grating covering both capitals' bowls on top of the pillars );
43
the 10 water carts; the 10 basins on the water carts;
44
the reservoir; the 12 oxen underneath the reservoir;
45
and the pots, shovels, and sprinkling basins. All the utensils that Hiram made for King Solomon at the
Lord
's temple were made of burnished bronze.
46
The king had them cast in clay molds in the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zarethan.
47
Solomon left all the utensils unweighed because there were so many; the weight of the bronze was not determined.
Completion of the Gold Furnishings
48
Solomon also made all the equipment in the
Lord
's temple: the gold altar; the gold table that the
•bread
of the Presence was placed on;
49
the pure gold lampstands in front of the inner sanctuary, five on the right and five on the left; the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs;
50
the pure gold ceremonial bowls, wick trimmers, sprinkling basins, ladles, and firepans; and the gold hinges for the doors of the inner temple (that is, the most holy place) and for the doors of the temple sanctuary.
51
So all the work King Solomon did in the
Lord
's temple was completed. Then Solomon brought in the consecrated things of his father David — the silver, the gold, and the utensils — and put them in the treasuries of the
Lord
's temple.
1 Kings
Solomon's Dedication of the Temple
8
At that time Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, all the tribal heads and the ancestral leaders of the Israelites before him at Jerusalem in order to bring the ark of the
Lord
's covenant from the city of David, that is
•Zion
.
2
So all the men of Israel were assembled in the presence of King Solomon in the seventh month, the month of Ethanim, at the festival.
3
All the elders of Israel came, and the priests picked up the ark.
4
The priests and the Levites brought the ark of the
Lord
, the tent of meeting, and the holy utensils that were in the tent.
5
King Solomon and the entire congregation of Israel, who had gathered around him and were with him in front of the ark, were sacrificing sheep and cattle that could not be counted or numbered, because there were so many.
6
The priests brought the ark of the
Lord
's covenant to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the most holy place beneath the wings of the
•cherubim
.
7
For the cherubim were spreading their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim covered the ark and its poles from above.
8
The poles were so long that their ends were seen from the holy place in front of the inner sanctuary, but they were not seen from outside the sanctuary; they are there to this day.
9
Nothing was in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had put there at Horeb, where the
Lord
made a covenant with the Israelites when they came out of the land of Egypt.
10
When the priests came out of the holy place, the cloud filled the
Lord
's temple,
11
and because of the cloud, the priests were not able to continue ministering, for the glory of the
Lord
filled the temple.
12
Then Solomon said:
The
Lord
said that He would dwell in thick darkness.
13
I have indeed built an exalted temple for You,
a place for Your dwelling forever.
14
The king turned around and blessed the entire congregation of Israel while they were standing.
15
He said:
May the
Lord
God of Israel be praised!
He spoke directly to my father David,
and He has fulfilled the promise by His power.
He said,
16
“Since the day I brought My people Israel out of Egypt,
I have not chosen a city to build a temple in
among any of the tribes of Israel,
so that My name would be there.
But I have chosen David to rule My people Israel.”
17
It was in the desire of my father David
to build a temple for the name of
•Yahweh
, the God of Israel.
18
But the
Lord
said to my father David,
“Since it was your desire to build a temple for My name,
you have done well to have this desire.
19
Yet you are not the one to build it;
instead, your son, your own offspring,
will build it for My name.”
20
The
Lord
has fulfilled what He promised.
I have taken the place of my father David,
and I sit on the throne of Israel, as the
Lord
promised.
I have built the temple for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel.
21
I have provided a place there for the ark,
where the
Lord
's covenant is
that He made with our ancestors
when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.
Solomon's Prayer
22
Then Solomon stood before the altar of the
Lord
in front of the entire congregation of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven.
23
He said:
Lord
God of Israel,
there is no God like You
in heaven above or on earth below,
keeping the gracious covenant
with Your servants who walk before You
with their whole heart.
24
You have kept what You promised
to Your servant, my father David.
You spoke directly to him
and You fulfilled Your promise by Your power
as it is today.
25
Therefore,
Lord
God of Israel,
keep what You promised
to Your servant, my father David:
You will never fail to have a man
to sit before Me on the throne of Israel,
if only your sons guard their walk before Me
as you have walked before Me.
26
Now
Lord
God of Israel,
please confirm what You promised
to Your servant, my father David.
27
But will God indeed live on earth?
Even heaven, the highest heaven, cannot contain You,
much less this temple I have built.
28
Listen to Your servant's prayer and his petition,
Lord
my God,
so that You may hear the cry and the prayer
that Your servant prays before You today,
29
so that Your eyes may watch over this temple night and day,
toward the place where You said:
My name will be there,
and so that You may hear the prayer
that Your servant prays toward this place.
30
Hear the petition of Your servant
and Your people Israel,
which they pray toward this place.
May You hear in Your dwelling place in heaven.
May You hear and forgive.
31
When a man sins against his neighbor
and is forced to take an oath,
and he comes to take an oath
before Your altar in this temple,
32
may You hear in heaven and act.
May You judge Your servants,
condemning the wicked man by bringing
what he has done on his own head
and providing justice for the righteous
by rewarding him according to his righteousness.
33
When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy,
because they have sinned against You,
and they return to You and praise Your name,
and they pray and plead with You
for mercy in this temple,
34
may You hear in heaven
and forgive the sin of Your people Israel.
May You restore them to the land
You gave their ancestors.
35
When the skies are shut and there is no rain,
because they have sinned against You,
and they pray toward this place
and praise Your name,
and they turn from their sins
because You are afflicting them,
36
may You hear in heaven
and forgive the sin of Your servants
and Your people Israel,
so that You may teach them the good way
they should walk in.
May You send rain on Your land
that You gave Your people for an inheritance.
37
When there is famine on the earth,
when there is pestilence,
when there is blight, mildew, locust, or grasshopper,
when their enemy besieges them
in the region of their fortified cities,
when there is any plague or illness,
38
whatever prayer or petition
anyone from Your people Israel might have —
each man knowing his own afflictions
and spreading out his hands toward this temple —
39
may You hear in heaven, Your dwelling place,
and may You forgive, act, and repay the man,
according to all his ways, since You know his heart,
for You alone know every human heart,
40
so that they may
•fear
You
all the days they live on the land
You gave our ancestors.
41
Even for the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel
but has come from a distant land
because of Your name —
42
for they will hear of Your great name,
mighty hand, and outstretched arm,
and will come and pray toward this temple —
43
may You hear in heaven, Your dwelling place,
and do according to all the foreigner asks You for.
Then all the people on earth will know Your name,
to fear You as Your people Israel do
and know that this temple I have built
is called by Your name.
44
When Your people go out to fight against their enemies,
wherever You send them,
and they pray to Yahweh
in the direction of the city You have chosen
and the temple I have built for Your name,
45
may You hear their prayer and petition in heaven
and uphold their cause.
46
When they sin against You —
for there is no one who does not sin —
and You are angry with them
and hand them over to the enemy,
and their captors deport them to the enemy's country —
whether distant or nearby —
47
and when they come to their senses
in the land where they were deported
and repent and petition You in their captors' land:
“We have sinned and done wrong;
we have been wicked,”
48
and when they return to You with their whole mind and heart
in the land of their enemies who took them captive,
and when they pray to You in the direction of their land
that You gave their ancestors,
the city You have chosen,
and the temple I have built for Your name,
49
may You hear in heaven, Your dwelling place,
their prayer and petition and uphold their cause.
50
May You forgive Your people
who sinned against You
and all their rebellions against You,
and may You give them compassion
in the eyes of their captors,
so that they may be compassionate to them.
51
For they are Your people and Your inheritance;
You brought them out of Egypt,
out of the middle of an iron furnace.
52
May Your eyes be open to Your servant's petition
and to the petition of Your people Israel,
listening to them whenever they call to You.
53
For You, Lord
God
, have set them apart as Your inheritance
from all the people on earth,
as You spoke through Your servant Moses
when You brought their ancestors out of Egypt.