Temple Construction Begins (2 Chronicles 3:1–2)
2 DRA And the house, which king Solomon built to the Lord, was threescore cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and thirty cubits in height. BSB BSB: The house that King Solomon built for the LORD was sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high.
3 DRA And there was a porch before the temple of twenty cubits in length, according to the measure of the breadth of the temple: and it was ten cubits in breadth before the face of the temple. BSB BSB: The portico at the front of the main hall of the temple was twenty cubits long, extending across the width of the temple and projecting out ten cubits in front of the temple.
4 DRA And he made in the temple oblique windows. BSB BSB: He also had narrow windows framed high in the temple.
The Chambers 5 DRA And upon the wall of the temple he built floors round about, in the walls of the house round about the temple and the oracle, and he made sides round about. BSB BSB: Against the walls of the temple and the inner sanctuary, Solomon built a chambered structure around the temple, in which he constructed the side rooms.
6 DRA The floor that was underneath, was five cubits in breadth, and the middle floor was six cubits in breadth, and the third door was seven cubits in breadth. And he put beams in the house round about on the outside, that they might not be fastened in the walls of the temple. BSB BSB: The bottom floor was five cubits wide, the middle floor six cubits, and the third floor seven cubits. He also placed offset ledges around the outside of the temple, so that nothing would be inserted into its walls.
7 DRA And the house, when it was in building, was built of stones hewed and made ready: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house when it was in building. BSB BSB: The temple was constructed using finished stones cut at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any other iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.
8 DRA The door for the middle side was on the right hand of the house: and by winding stairs they went up to the middle room, and from the middle to the third. BSB BSB: The entrance to the bottom floor was on the south side of the temple. A stairway led up to the middle level, and from there to the third floor.
9 DRA So he built the house, and finished it: and he covered the house with roofs of cedar. BSB BSB: So Solomon built the temple and finished it, roofing it with beams and planks of cedar.
10 DRA And he built a floor over all the house five cubits in height, and he covered the house with timber of cedar. BSB BSB: He built chambers all along the temple, each five cubits high and attached to the temple with beams of cedar.
God’s Promise to Solomon 11 DRA And the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying: BSB BSB: Then the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying:
12 DRA This house, which thou buildest, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments, walking in them, I will fulfill my word to thee which I spoke to David thy father. BSB BSB: “As for this temple you are building, if you walk in My statutes, carry out My ordinances, and keep all My commandments by walking in them, I will fulfill through you the promise I made to your father David.
13 DRA And I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel. BSB BSB: And I will dwell among the Israelites and will not abandon My people Israel.”
The Temple’s Interior (2 Chronicles 3:5–9)
14 DRA So Solomon built the house and finished it. BSB BSB: So Solomon built the temple and finished it.
15 DRA And he built the walls of the house on the inside, with boards of cedar, from the floor of the house to the top of the walls, and to the roots, he covered it with boards of cedar on the inside: and he covered the floor of the house with planks of fir. BSB BSB: He lined the interior walls with cedar paneling from the floor of the temple to the ceiling, and he covered the floor with cypress boards.
16 DRA And he built up twenty cubits with boards of cedar at the hinder part of the temple, from the floor to the top: and made the inner house of the oracle to be the holy of holies. BSB BSB: He partitioned off the twenty cubits at the rear of the temple with cedar boards from floor to ceiling to form within the temple an inner sanctuary, the Most Holy Place.
17 DRA And the temple itself before the doors of the oracle was forty cubits long. BSB BSB: And the main hall in front of this room was forty cubits long.
18 DRA And all the house was covered within with cedar, having the turnings, and the joints thereof artfully wrought and carvings projecting out: all was covered with boards of cedar: and no stone could be seen in the wall at all. BSB BSB: The cedar paneling inside the temple was carved with gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; not a stone could be seen.
19 DRA And he made the oracle in the midst of the house, in the inner part, to set there the ark of the covenant of the Lord. BSB BSB: Solomon also prepared the inner sanctuary within the temple to set the ark of the covenant of the LORD there.
20 DRA Now the oracle was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in height. And he covered and overlaid it with most pure gold. And the altar also he covered with cedar. BSB BSB: The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold, and he also overlaid the altar of cedar.
21 DRA And the house before the oracle he overlaid with most pure gold, and fastened on the plates with nails of gold. BSB BSB: So Solomon overlaid the inside of the temple with pure gold, and he extended gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, which was overlaid with gold.
22 DRA And there was nothing in the temple that was not covered with gold: the whole altar of the oracle he covered also with gold. BSB BSB: So he overlaid with gold the whole interior of the temple, until everything was completely finished. He also overlaid with gold the entire altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary.
The Cherubim (2 Chronicles 3:10–13)
23 DRA And he made in the oracle two cherubims of olive tree, of ten cubits in height. BSB BSB: In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim, each ten cubits high, out of olive wood.
24 DRA One wing of the cherub was five cubits, and the other wing of the cherub was five cubits: that is, in all ten cubits, from the extremity of one wing to the extremity of the other wing. BSB BSB: One wing of the first cherub was five cubits long, and the other wing was five cubits long as well. So the full wingspan was ten cubits.
25 DRA The second cherub also was ten cubits: and the measure, and the work was the same in both the cherubims: BSB BSB: The second cherub also measured ten cubits; both cherubim had the same size and shape,
26 DRA That is to say, one cherub was ten cubits high, and in like manner the other cherub. BSB BSB: and the height of each cherub was ten cubits.
27 DRA And he set the cherubims in the midst of the inner temple: and the cherubims stretched forth their wings, and the wing of the one touched one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall: and the other wings in the midst of the temple touched one another. BSB BSB: And he placed the cherubim inside the innermost room of the temple. Since their wings were spread out, the wing of the first cherub touched one wall, while the wing of the second cherub touched the other wall, and in the middle of the room their wingtips touched.
28 DRA And he overlaid the cherubims with gold. BSB BSB: He also overlaid the cherubim with gold.
29 DRA And all the walls of the temple round about he carved with divers figures and carvings: and he made in them cherubims and palm trees, and divers representations, as it were standing out, and coming forth from the wall. BSB BSB: Then he carved the walls all around the temple, in both the inner and outer sanctuaries, with carved engravings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers.
30 DRA And the floor of the house he also overlaid with gold within and without. BSB BSB: And he overlaid the temple floor with gold in both the inner and outer sanctuaries.
The Doors 31 DRA And in the entrance of the oracle he made little doors of olive tree, and posts of five corners, BSB BSB: For the entrance to the inner sanctuary, Solomon constructed doors of olive wood with five-sided doorposts.
32 DRA And two doors of olive tree: and he carved upon them figures of cherubims, and figures of palm trees, and carvings very much projecting: and he overlaid them with gold: and he covered both the cherubims and the palm trees, and the other things with gold. BSB BSB: The double doors were made of olive wood, and he carved into them cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers and overlaid the cherubim and palm trees with hammered gold.
33 DRA And he made in the entrance of the temple posts of olive tree foursquare: BSB BSB: In the same way he made four-sided doorposts of olive wood for the sanctuary entrance.
34 DRA And two doors of fir tree, one of each side: and each door was double, and so opened with folding leaves. BSB BSB: The two doors were made of cypress wood, and each had two folding panels.
35 DRA And he carved cherubims, and palm trees, and carved work standing very much out: and he overlaid all with golden plates in square work by rule. BSB BSB: He carved into them cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and he overlaid them with gold hammered evenly over the carvings.
The Courtyard 36 DRA And he built the inner court with three rows of polished stones, and one row of beams of cedar. BSB BSB: Solomon built the inner courtyard with three rows of dressed stone and one row of trimmed cedar beams.
37 DRA In the fourth year was the house of the Lord founded in the month Zio: BSB BSB: The foundation of the house of the LORD was laid in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign, in the month of Ziv.
38 DRA And in the eleventh year in the month Bul (which is the eighth month) the house was finished in all the works thereof, and in all the appurtenances thereof: and he was seven years in building it. BSB BSB: In the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, the eighth month, the temple was finished in every detail and according to every specification. So he built the temple in seven years.
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