May 16
   2 Chronicles 1:1 — 4:22
 

The Second of Chronicles

1 And Solomon the son of David continued to get strength in his kingship, and Jehovah his God was with him and kept making him surpassingly great.

2 And Solomon proceeded to say the word to all Israel, to the chiefs of the thousands and of the hundreds and to the judges and to all the chieftains of all Israel, the heads of the paternal houses. 3 Then Solomon and all the congregation with him went to the high place that was at Gibeon; for there was where the tent of meeting of the [true] God, which Moses the servant of Jehovah had made in the wilderness, happened to be. 4 However, the ark of the [true] God David had brought up from Kiriath-jearim to the place that David had prepared for it, for he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem. 5 And the copper altar that Bezalel the son of Uri the son of Hur had made had been put before the tabernacle of Jehovah; and Solomon and the congregation applied as usual to it. 6 Solomon now made offerings there before Jehovah upon the copper altar that belonged to the tent of meeting, and he proceeded to offer upon it a thousand burnt offerings.

7 During that night God appeared to Solomon and then said to him: “Ask! What shall I give you?” 8 At that Solomon said to God: “You are the One that exercised great loving-kindness toward David my father and that have made me king in place of him. 9 Now, O Jehovah God, let your promise with David my father prove faithful, for you yourself have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust particles of the earth. 10 Give me now wisdom and knowledge that I may go out before this people and that I may come in, for who could judge this great people of yours?”

11 Then God said to Solomon: “For the reason that this has proved to be close to your heart and you have not asked for wealth, riches and honor or for the soul of those hating you, neither is it even many days that you have asked for, but you ask for wisdom and knowledge for yourself that you may judge my people over whom I have made you king, 12 the wisdom and the knowledge are being given you; also wealth and riches and honor I shall give you such as no kings that were prior to you happened to have, and such as no one after you will come to have.”

13 So Solomon came [from] the high place that was at Gibeon, from before the tent of meeting, to Jerusalem and continued to reign over Israel. 14 And Solomon kept gathering chariots and steeds so that he came to have a thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand steeds, and he kept them stationed in chariot cities and close by the king at Jerusalem. 15 And the king came to make the silver and the gold in Jerusalem like the stones; and cedarwood he made like the sycamore trees that are in the Shephelah for great quantity. 16 And there was the export of the horses that Solomon had from Egypt, and the company of the king’s merchants would themselves take the horse drove for a price. 17 And they customarily brought up and exported from Egypt a chariot for six hundred silver pieces and a horse for a hundred and fifty; and that was the way it was for all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria. It was by means of them that they did the exporting.

2 Solomon now gave the word to build a house to Jehovah’s name and a house for his kingship. 2 Accordingly Solomon counted off seventy thousand men as burden bearers and eighty thousand men as cutters in the mountain, and as overseers over them three thousand six hundred. 3 Further, Solomon sent to Hiram the king of Tyre, saying: “Just as you dealt with David my father and you kept sending him cedarwood to build himself a house in which to dwell,— 4 here I am building a house to the name of Jehovah my God to sanctify it to him, to burn perfumed incense before him, with the constant layer bread and burnt offerings in the morning and in the evening, on the sabbaths and on the new moons and at the festival seasons of Jehovah our God. To time indefinite this will be upon Israel. 5 And the house that I am building will be great, for our God is greater than all the [other] gods. 6 And who could retain power to build him a house? For the heavens and the heaven of the heavens cannot contain him, and who am I that I should build him a house except for making sacrificial smoke before him? 7 And now send me a skillful man to work in gold and in silver and in copper and in iron and in wool dyed reddish purple and crimson and blue thread, and knowing how to cut engravings, along with the skillful ones that are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father has prepared. 8 And send me timbers of cedar, juniper and algum from Lebanon, for I myself well know that your servants are experienced at cutting down the trees of Lebanon, (and here my servants are together with your servants,) 9 even for preparing timbers for me in great number, for the house that I am building will be great, yes, in a wonderful way. 10 And, look! to the gatherers of wood, the cutters of the trees, I do give wheat as food for your servants, twenty thousand cors, and barley twenty thousand cors, and wine twenty thousand baths, and oil twenty thousand baths.”

11 At that Hiram the king of Tyre said [the word] in writing and sent [it] to Solomon: “Because Jehovah loved his people he has constituted you king over them.” 12 And Hiram went on to say: “Blessed be Jehovah the God of Israel, who made the heavens and the earth, because he has given to David the king a wise son, experienced in discretion and understanding, who will build a house to Jehovah and a house for his kingship. 13 And now I do send a skillful man, experienced in understanding, belonging to Hiram-abi, 14 the son of a woman of the sons of Dan but whose father was a man of Tyre, experienced, to work in gold and in silver, in copper, in iron, in stones and in timbers, in wool dyed reddish purple, in blue thread and in fine fabric and in crimson and at cutting every sort of engraving and at designing every sort of device that may be given to him along with your own skillful men and the skillful men of my lord David your father. 15 And now the wheat and the barley, the oil and the wine that my lord has promised, let him send to his servants. 16 As for ourselves, we shall cut down trees from Lebanon according to all your need, and we shall bring them to you as rafts by sea to Joppa, and you, for your part, will take them up to Jerusalem.”

17 Then Solomon took a count of all the men that were alien residents, who were in the land of Israel, after the census that David his father had taken of them; and there came to be found a hundred and fifty-three thousand six hundred. 18 So he made seventy thousand of them burden bearers and eighty thousand cutters in the mountain and three thousand six hundred overseers for keeping the people in service.

3 Finally Solomon started to build the house of Jehovah in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where [Jehovah] had appeared to David his father, in the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 2 Accordingly he started to build in the second month on the second [day], in the fourth year of his reign. 3 And these things Solomon laid as a foundation for building the house of the [true] God, the length in cubits by the former measurement being sixty cubits, and the width twenty cubits. 4 And the porch that was in front of the length was twenty cubits in front of the width of the house, and its height was a hundred and twenty; and he proceeded to overlay it inside with pure gold. 5 And the great house he covered with juniper wood, after which he covered it with good gold, and then he brought up upon it palm-tree figures and chains. 6 Further, he overlaid the house with precious stone for beauty; and the gold was gold from the gold country. 7 And he went on to cover the house, the rafters, the thresholds and its walls and its doors with gold; and he engraved cherubs upon the walls.

8 And he proceeded to make the house of the Most Holy, its length in relation to the width of the house being twenty cubits, and its own width being twenty cubits; and then he covered it with good gold to the amount of six hundred talents. 9 And the weight for the nails was fifty gold shekels; and the roof chambers he covered with gold.

10 Then he made in the house of the Most Holy two cherubs in the workmanship of images, and overlaid them with gold. 11 As for the wings of the cherubs, their length was twenty cubits, the one wing of five cubits reaching to the wall of the house, and the other wing of five cubits reaching to the wing of the other cherub. 12 And the wing of the one cherub of five cubits was reaching to the wall of the house, and the other wing of five cubits was in contact with the wing of the other cherub. 13 The wings of these cherubs were spread out twenty cubits; and they were standing upon their feet with their faces inward.

14 Further, he made the curtain of blue thread and wool dyed reddish purple and crimson and fine fabric, and worked in cherubs upon it.

15 Then he made before the house two pillars, thirty-five cubits in length, and the capital that was upon the top of each one was five cubits. 16 Further, he made chains in necklace style and put them upon the tops of the pillars, and made a hundred pomegranates and put them on the chains. 17 And he proceeded to set up the pillars in front of the temple, one to the right and one to the left, after which he called the name of the right-hand one Jachin and the name of the left-hand one Boaz.

4 Then he made the copper altar, twenty cubits being its length, and twenty cubits its width, and ten cubits its height.

2 And he proceeded to make the molten sea ten cubits from its one brim to its other brim, circular all around, and its height was five cubits, and it took a line of thirty cubits to circle all around it. 3 And there was the likeness of gourd-shaped ornaments under it clear around, surrounding it, ten in a cubit, enclosing the sea all around. The gourd-shaped ornaments were in two rows, being cast in its casting. 4 It was standing upon twelve bulls, three facing the north and three facing the west and three facing the south and three facing the east; and the sea was above upon them, and all their hind parts were inward. 5 And its thickness was a handbreadth; and its brim was like the workmanship of the brim of a cup, a lily blossom. As a receptacle, three thousand bath measures were what it could contain.

6 Further, he made ten basins, and put five to the right and five to the left, to wash in them. Things having to do with the burnt offering they would rinse in them. But the sea was for the priests to wash in it.

7 He then made lampstands of gold, ten of them of the same plan, and put them in the temple, five to the right and five to the left.

8 Further, he made ten tables, and stationed them in the temple, five to the right and five to the left, and made a hundred bowls of gold.

9 Then he made the courtyard of the priests and the great enclosure and the doors belonging to the enclosure, and their doors he overlaid with copper. 10 And the sea he placed at the right side, to the east, toward the south.

11 Finally Hiram made the cans and the shovels and the bowls.

So Hiram finished doing the work that he did for King Solomon on the house of the [true] God. 12 The two pillars and the round capitals upon the top of the two pillars and the two networks to cover the two round capitals that were upon the top of the pillars 13 and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, two rows of pomegranates for each network to cover the two round capitals that were upon the pillars, 14 and the ten carriages and the ten basins upon the carriages; 15 the one sea and the twelve bulls under it, 16 and the cans and the shovels and the forks and all their utensils Hiram-abiv made for King Solomon for the house of Jehovah, of polished copper. 17 In the District of the Jordan the king cast them in the thick ground between Succoth and Zeredah. 18 Thus Solomon made all these utensils in very great quantity, for the weight of the copper was not ascertained.

19 And Solomon proceeded to make all the utensils that were at the house of the [true] God and the golden altar and the tables with the showbread upon them, 20 and the lampstands and their lamps of pure gold, to light them up before the innermost room according to the rule; 21 and the blossoms and the lamps and the snuffers, of gold, (it was the purest gold,) 22 and the extinguishers and the bowls and the cups and the fire holders, of pure gold, and the entrance of the house, its inner doors for the Most Holy and the doors of the house of the temple, of gold.