2 Chronicles 2:1-18, 2 Chronicles 3:1-17, 2 Chronicles 4:1-22, 2 Chronicles 5:1 NIRV
2 Chronicles 2:1-18
Solomon Prepares to Build the Temple
Solomon gave orders to build a temple. That’s where the Lord would put his Name. Solomon also gave orders to build a royal palace for himself. He chose 70,000 men to carry things. He chose 80,000 to cut stones in the hills. He put 3,600 men in charge of them.
Solomon sent a message to Hiram. Hiram was king of Tyre. Solomon said,
“Send me cedar logs, just as you did for my father David. You sent him cedar to build a palace to live in. Now I’m about to build a temple. The Name of the Lord my God will be there. I’ll set the temple apart for him. Sweet-smelling incense will be burned in front of him there. The holy bread will be set out at regular times. Burnt offerings will be sacrificed there every morning and evening. They will be sacrificed every Sabbath day. They will be sacrificed at every New Moon feast. And they will be sacrificed at every yearly appointed feast of the Lord our God. That’s a law for Israel that will last for all time to come.
“The temple I’m going to build will be beautiful. That’s because our God is greater than all other gods. So who is able to build a temple for him? After all, the heavens can’t hold him. In fact, not even the highest heavens can hold him. So who am I to build a temple for him? It will only be a place to burn sacrifices in front of him.
“Send me a man skilled at working with gold, silver, bronze and iron. He must also be able to work with purple, blue and bright red yarn. He must be skilled in the art of carving. Send him to work in Judah and Jerusalem with my skilled workers. My father David provided them to help me.
“Also send me cedar, juniper and algum logs from Lebanon. I know that your servants are skilled in cutting wood there. My servants will work with yours. They’ll provide me with plenty of lumber. That’s because the temple I’m building must be large and beautiful. I’ll pay your servants. They will cut the wood. I’ll pay them 3,600 tons of wheat that has been ground up. I’ll pay them 3,000 tons of barley. I’ll also pay them 120,000 gallons of wine and 120,000 gallons of olive oil.”
King Hiram of Tyre replied to Solomon. He wrote a letter to him. In it Hiram said,
“The Lord loves his people. That’s why he has made you their king.”
Hiram continued,
“I praise the Lord. He is the God of Israel. He made heaven and earth. He has given King David a wise son. You have good sense. You understand what is right. You will build a temple for the Lord. You will also build a palace for yourself.
“I’m sending Huram-Abi to you. He is very skillful. His mother was from Dan. His father was from Tyre. He is trained to work with gold, silver, bronze and iron. He knows how to work with stone and wood. He can also work with purple, blue and bright red yarn and fine linen. He’s skilled in all kinds of carving. He can follow any pattern you give him. He’ll work with your skilled workers. He’ll also work with those of your father David. David was my master.
“Now please send us what you promised. Send us the wheat, barley, olive oil and wine. And we’ll cut all the logs from Lebanon that you need. We’ll make rafts out of them. We’ll float them by sea down to Joppa. Then you can take them up to Jerusalem.”
Solomon counted all the outsiders who were living in Israel. He did it after his father David had counted them. There were 153,600 of them. He chose 70,000 to carry things. He chose 80,000 to cut stones in the hills. He put 3,600 men in charge of the people to keep them working.
2 Chronicles 3:1-17
Solomon Builds the Temple
Then Solomon began to build the temple of the Lord. He built it on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. That’s where the Lord had appeared to Solomon’s father David. The Lord had appeared at the threshing floor of Araunah. Araunah was from Jebus. David had provided the threshing floor. Solomon began building the temple on the second day of the second month. It was in the fourth year of his rule.
Solomon laid the foundation for God’s temple. It was 90 feet long and 30 feet wide. Solomon’s men followed the standard measure used at that time. The porch in front of the temple was 30 feet across and 30 feet high.
Solomon covered the inside of the temple with pure gold. He covered the inside of the main hall with juniper boards. Then he covered the boards with fine gold. He decorated the hall with palm tree patterns and chain patterns. He decorated the temple with valuable jewels. The gold he used came from Parvaim. He covered the ceiling beams, doorframes, walls and doors of the temple with gold. He carved cherubim on the walls.
He built the Most Holy Room. It was as long as the temple was wide. It was 30 feet long and 30 feet wide. He covered the inside of the Most Holy Room with 23 tons of fine gold. He also covered the upper parts with gold. The gold on the nails weighed 20 ounces.
For the Most Holy Room, Solomon made a pair of carved cherubim. He covered them with gold. The total length of the cherubim’s wings from tip to tip was 30 feet. One wing of the first cherub was seven and a half feet long. Its tip touched the temple wall. The other wing was also seven and a half feet long. Its tip touched the wing tip of the other cherub. In the same way one wing of the second cherub was seven and a half feet long. Its tip touched the other temple wall. The other wing was also seven and a half feet long. Its tip touched the wing tip of the first cherub. So the total length of the wings of the two cherubim was 30 feet from tip to tip. The cherubim stood facing the main hall.
Solomon made the curtain out of blue, purple and bright red yarn and fine linen. A skilled worker sewed cherubim into its pattern.
For the front of the temple, Solomon made two pillars. Each pillar was 26 feet tall. Each had a decorated top seven and a half feet high. Solomon made chains that were linked together. He put them on top of the pillars. He also made 100 pomegranates. He fastened them to the chains. Solomon set the pillars up in front of the temple. One was on the south. The other was on the north. He named the one on the south Jakin. The one on the north he named Boaz.
2 Chronicles 4:1-22
More Facts About the Temple
Solomon made a bronze altar 30 feet long, 30 feet wide and 15 feet high. He made a huge metal bowl for washing. Its shape was round. It measured 15 feet from rim to rim. It was seven and a half feet high. And it was 45 feet around. Below the rim there was a circle of bull figures around the bowl. In every 18 inches around the bowl there were ten bulls. The bulls were arranged in two rows. They were made as part of the bowl itself.
The bowl stood on 12 bulls. Three of them faced north. Three faced west. Three faced south. And three faced east. The bowl rested on top of them. Their rear ends were toward the center. The bowl was three inches thick. Its rim was like the rim of a cup. The rim was shaped like the bloom of a lily. The bowl held 18,000 gallons of water.
Solomon made ten smaller bowls for washing. He placed five of them on the south side of the huge bowl. He placed the other five on the north side. The things used for the burnt offerings were rinsed in the smaller bowls. But the priests used the huge bowl for washing.
Solomon made ten gold lampstands. He followed the pattern the Lord had given him. He placed the lampstands in the temple. He put five of them on the south side. He put the other five on the north side.
He made ten tables. He placed them in the temple. He put five of them on the south side. He put the other five on the north side. He also made 100 gold sprinkling bowls.
He made the courtyard of the priests. He also made the large courtyard. He made doors for it. He covered the doors with bronze. He placed the huge bowl on the south side of the courtyard. He put it at the southeast corner.
And Huram also made the pots, shovels and sprinkling bowls.
So Huram finished the work he had started for King Solomon. Here’s what he made for God’s temple.
He made the two pillars.
He made the two tops for the pillars. The tops were shaped like bowls.
He made the two sets of chains that were linked together. They decorated the two bowl-shaped tops of the pillars.
He made the 400 pomegranates for the two sets of chains. There were two rows of pomegranates for each chain. They decorated the bowl-shaped tops of the pillars.
He made the stands and their bowls.
He made the huge bowl. He made the 12 bulls that were under it.
He made the pots, shovels and meat forks. He also made all the things used with them.
Huram-Abi made all these objects for King Solomon for the Lord’s temple. He made them out of bronze. Then he shined them up. The king had them made in clay molds. It was done on the plains of the Jordan River between Sukkoth and Zarethan. Solomon made huge numbers of these things. There were too many of them to weigh. In fact, it was impossible to add up the weight of all the bronze.
Solomon also made all the objects that were in God’s temple.
He made the golden altar.
He made the tables for the holy bread.
He made the pure gold lampstands and their lamps. The lamps burned in front of the Most Holy Room, just as the law required.
He made the gold flowers. He made the gold lamps and tongs. They were made out of solid gold.
He made the wick cutters, sprinkling bowls, dishes, and shallow cups for burning incense. All of them were made out of pure gold. He made the gold doors of the temple. They were the inner doors to the Most Holy Room and the doors of the main hall.
2 Chronicles 5:1
Solomon finished all the work for the Lord’s temple. Then he brought in the things his father David had set apart for the Lord. They included the silver and gold and all the objects for God’s temple. Solomon placed them there with the other treasures.
