Category: 2 Chronicles

King Solomon Prays for Wisdom (2CH 1:1-12)

[1:1] Solomon, the son of King David, took firm control of the kingdom of Israel, and the Lord his God blessed him and made him very powerful.

[1:2] King Solomon gave an order to all the officers in charge of units of a thousand men and of a hundred men, all the government officials, all the heads of families, and all the rest of the people,

[1:3] commanding them to go with him to the place of worship at Gibeon. They went there because that was where the Tent of the Lord's presence was located, which Moses, the Lord's servant, had made in the wilderness. (

[1:4] The Covenant Box, however, was in Jerusalem, kept in a tent which King David had set up when he brought the Box from Kiriath Jearim.)

[1:5] The bronze altar which had been made by Bezalel, the son of Uri and grandson of Hur, was also in Gibeon in front of the Tent of the Lord's presence. King Solomon and all the people worshiped the Lord there.

[1:6] In front of the Tent the king worshiped the Lord by offering sacrifices on the bronze altar; he had a thousand animals killed and burned whole on it.

[1:7] That night God appeared to Solomon and asked, “What would you like me to give you?”

[1:8] Solomon answered, “You always showed great love for my father David, and now you have let me succeed him as king.

[1:9] O Lord God, fulfill the promise you made to my father. You have made me king over a people who are so many that they cannot be counted,

[1:10] so give me the wisdom and knowledge I need to rule over them. Otherwise, how would I ever be able to rule this great people of yours?”

[1:11] God replied to Solomon, “You have made the right choice. Instead of asking for wealth or treasure or fame or the death of your enemies or even for long life for yourself, you have asked for wisdom and knowledge so that you can rule my people, over whom I have made you king.

[1:12] I will give you wisdom and knowledge. And in addition, I will give you more wealth, treasure, and fame than any king has ever had before or will ever have again.”

King Solomon's Power and Wealth (2CH 1:13-17)

[1:13] So Solomon left the place of worship at Gibeon, where the Tent of the Lord's presence was, and returned to Jerusalem. There he ruled over Israel.

[1:14] He built up a force of fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand cavalry horses. Some of them he kept in Jerusalem, and the rest he stationed in various other cities.

[1:15] During his reign silver and gold became as common in Jerusalem as stone, and cedar was as plentiful as ordinary sycamore in the foothills of Judah.

[1:16] The king's agents controlled the export of horses from Musri and Cilicia,

[1:17] and the export of chariots from Egypt. They supplied the Hittite and Syrian kings with horses and chariots, selling chariots for 600 pieces of silver each and horses for 150 each.

Preparations for Building the Temple (2CH 2:1-16)

[2:1] King Solomon decided to build a temple where the Lord would be worshiped, and also to build a palace for himself.

[2:2] He put 70,000 men to work transporting materials, and 80,000 to work cutting stone in the hill country. There were 3,600 others responsible for supervising the work.

[2:3] Solomon sent a message to King Hiram of Tyre: “Do business with me as you did with my father, King David, when you sold him cedar logs for building his palace.

[2:4] I am building a temple to honor the Lord my God. It will be a holy place where my people and I will worship him by burning incense of fragrant spices, where we will present offerings of sacred bread to him continuously, and where we will offer burnt offerings every morning and evening, as well as on Sabbaths, New Moon Festivals, and other holy days honoring the Lord our God. He has commanded Israel to do this forever.

[2:5] I intend to build a great temple, because our God is greater than any other god.

[2:6] Yet no one can really build a temple for God, because even all the vastness of heaven cannot contain him. How then can I build a temple that would be anything more than a place to burn incense to God?

[2:7] Now send me a man with skill in engraving, in working gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and in making blue, purple, and red cloth. He will work with the craftsmen of Judah and Jerusalem whom my father David selected.

[2:8] I know how skillful your lumbermen are, so send me cedar, cypress, and juniper logs from Lebanon. I am ready to send my men to assist yours

[2:9] in preparing large quantities of timber, because this temple I intend to build will be large and magnificent.

[2:10] As provisions for your lumbermen, I will send you 100,000 bushels of wheat, 100,000 bushels of barley, 110,000 gallons of wine, and 110,000 gallons of olive oil.”

[2:11] King Hiram sent Solomon a letter in reply. He wrote, “Because the Lord loves his people, he has made you their king.

[2:12] Praise the Lord God of Israel, Creator of heaven and earth! He has given King David a wise son, full of understanding and skill, who now plans to build a temple for the Lord and a palace for himself.

[2:13] I am sending you a wise and skillful master metalworker named Huram.

[2:14] His mother was a member of the tribe of Dan and his father was a native of Tyre. He knows how to make things out of gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood. He can work with blue, purple, and red cloth, and with linen. He can do all sorts of engraving and can follow any design suggested to him. Let him work with your skilled workers and with those who worked for your father, King David.

[2:15] So now send us the wheat, barley, wine, and olive oil that you promised.

[2:16] In the mountains of Lebanon we will cut down all the cedars you need, tie them together in rafts, and float them by sea as far as Joppa. From there you can take them to Jerusalem.”

Construction of the Temple Begins (2CH 2:17-3:14)

[2:17] King Solomon took a census of all the foreigners living in the land of Israel, similar to the census his father David had taken. There were 153,600 resident foreigners.

[2:18] He assigned 70,000 of them to transport materials and 80,000 to cut stones in the mountains, and appointed 3,600 supervisors to make sure the work was done.

[3:1] King David, Solomon's father, had already prepared a place for the Temple. It was in Jerusalem, on Mount Moriah, where the Lord appeared to David, at the place which Araunah the Jebusite had used as a threshing place. King Solomon began the construction

[3:2] in the second month of the fourth year that he was king.

[3:3] The Temple which King Solomon built was 90 feet long and 30 feet wide.

[3:4] The entrance room was the full width of the Temple, 30 feet, and was 180 feet high. The inside of the room was overlaid with pure gold.

[3:5] The main room was paneled with cedar and overlaid with fine gold, in which were worked designs of palm trees and chain patterns.

[3:6] The king decorated the Temple with beautiful precious stones and with gold imported from the land of Parvaim.

[3:7] He used the gold to overlay the Temple walls, the rafters, the entryways, and the doors. On the walls the workers carved designs of winged creatures.

[3:8] The inner room, called the Most Holy Place, was 30 feet long and 30 feet wide, which was the full width of the Temple. Twenty-Five tons of gold were used to cover the walls of the Most Holy Place;

[3:9] twenty ounces of gold were used for making nails, and the walls of the upper rooms were also covered with gold.

[3:10] The king also had his workers make two winged creatures out of metal, cover them with gold, and place them in the Most Holy Place,

[3:14] A curtain for the Most Holy Place was made of linen and of other material, which was dyed blue, purple, and red, with designs of the winged creatures worked into it.

The Two Bronze Columns (2CH 3:15-17)

[3:15] The king had two columns made, each one 52 feet tall, and placed them in front of the Temple. Each one had a capital 7½ feet tall.

[3:16] The tops of the columns were decorated with a design of interwoven chains and one hundred bronze pomegranates.

[3:17] The columns were set at the sides of the Temple entrance: the one on the south side was named Jachin and the one on the north side was named Boaz.

Equipment for the Temple (2CH 4:1-5:1)

[4:1] King Solomon had a bronze altar made, which was 30 feet square and 15 feet high.

[4:2] He also made a round tank of bronze, 7½ feet deep, 15 feet in diameter, and 45 feet in circumference.

[4:3] All around the outer edge of the rim of the tank were two rows of decorations, one above the other. The decorations were in the shape of bulls, which had been cast all in one piece with the rest of the tank.

[4:4] The tank rested on the backs of twelve bronze bulls that faced outward, three facing in each direction.

[4:5] The sides of the tank were 3 inches thick. Its rim was like the rim of a cup, curving outward like the petals of a flower. The tank held about 15,000 gallons.

[4:6] They also made ten basins, five to be placed on the south side of the Temple and five on the north side. They were to be used to rinse the parts of the animals that were burned as sacrifices. The water in the large tank was for the priests to use for washing.

[4:9] They made an inner courtyard for the priests, and also an outer courtyard. The doors in the gates between the courtyards were covered with bronze.

[4:10] The tank was placed near the southeast corner of the Temple. – The two columns – The two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the columns – The design of interwoven chains on each capital – The 400 bronze pomegranates arranged in two rows around the design of each capital – The ten carts – The ten basins – The tank – The twelve bulls supporting the tank – The pots, shovels, and forks Huram the master metalworker made all these objects out of polished bronze, as King Solomon had commanded, for use in the Temple of the Lord.

[4:17] The king had them all made in the foundry between Sukkoth and Zeredah in the Jordan Valley.

[4:18] So many objects were made that no one determined the total weight of the bronze used.

[4:19] King Solomon also had gold furnishings made for the Temple: the altar and the tables for the bread offered to God;

[4:20] the lampstands and the lamps of fine gold that were to burn in front of the Most Holy Place, according to plan;

[4:21] the flower decorations, the lamps, and the tongs;

[4:22] the lamp snuffers, the bowls, the dishes for incense, and the pans used for carrying live coals. All these objects were made of pure gold. The outer doors of the Temple and the doors to the Most Holy Place were overlaid with gold.

[5:1] When King Solomon finished all the work on the Temple, he placed in the Temple storerooms all the things that his father David had dedicated to the Lord—the silver, gold, and other articles.

The Covenant Box Is Brought to the Temple (2CH 5:2-10)

[5:2] Then King Solomon summoned all the leaders of the tribes and clans of Israel to assemble in Jerusalem, in order to take the Lord's Covenant Box from Zion, David's City, to the Temple.

[5:3] They all assembled at the time of the Festival of Shelters.

[5:4] When all the leaders had gathered, then the Levites lifted the Covenant Box

[5:5] and carried it to the Temple. The priests and the Levites also moved the Tent of the Lord's presence and all its equipment to the Temple.

[5:6] King Solomon and all the people of Israel assembled in front of the Covenant Box and sacrificed a large number of sheep and cattle—too many to count.

[5:7] Then the priests carried the Covenant Box of the Lord into the Temple and put it in the Most Holy Place, beneath the winged creatures.

[5:8] Their outstretched wings covered the Box and the poles it was carried by.

[5:9] The ends of the poles could be seen by anyone standing directly in front of the Most Holy Place, but from nowhere else. (The poles are still there today.)

[5:10] There was nothing inside the Covenant Box except the two stone tablets which Moses had placed there at Mount Sinai, when the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel as they were coming from Egypt.

Solomon's Address to the People (2CH 6:1-11)

[6:1] Then King Solomon prayed, “Lord, you have chosen to live in clouds and darkness.

[6:2] Now I have built a majestic temple for you, a place for you to live in forever.”

[6:3] All the people of Israel were standing there. The king turned to face them and asked God's blessing on them.

[6:4] He said, “Praise the Lord God of Israel! He has kept the promise he made to my father David when he said to him,

[6:5] ‘From the time I brought my people out of Egypt until now, I did not choose any city in the land of Israel as the place to build a temple where I would be worshiped, and I did not choose anyone to lead my people Israel.

[6:6] But now I have chosen Jerusalem as the place where I will be worshiped, and you, David, to rule my people.’”

[6:7] And Solomon continued, “My father David planned to build a temple for the worship of the Lord God of Israel,

[6:8] but the Lord said to him, ‘You were right in wanting to build a temple for me,

[6:9] but you will never build it. It is your son, your own son, who will build my temple.’

[6:10] “Now the Lord has kept his promise: I have succeeded my father as king of Israel, and I have built a temple for the worship of the Lord God of Israel.

[6:11] I have placed in the Temple the Covenant Box, which contains the stone tablets of the covenant which the Lord made with the people of Israel.”

Solomon's Prayer (2CH 6:12-42)

[6:12] Then in the presence of the people Solomon went and stood in front of the altar and raised his arms in prayer. (

[6:13] Solomon had made a bronze platform and put it in the middle of the courtyard. It was eight feet square and five feet high. He mounted this platform, knelt down where everyone could see him, and raised his hands toward heaven.)

[6:14] He prayed, “Lord God of Israel, in all heaven and earth there is no god like you. You keep your covenant with your people and show them your love when they live in wholehearted obedience to you.

[6:15] You have kept the promise you made to my father David; today every word has been fulfilled.

[6:16] Now, Lord God of Israel, keep the other promise you made to my father when you told him that there would always be one of his descendants ruling as king of Israel, provided that they carefully obeyed your Law just as he did.

[6:17] So now, Lord God of Israel, let everything come true that you promised to your servant David.

[6:18] “But can you, O God, really live on earth among men and women? Not even all of heaven is large enough to hold you, so how can this Temple that I have built be large enough?

[6:19] Lord my God, I am your servant. Listen to my prayer and grant the requests I make to you.

[6:20] Watch over this Temple day and night. You have promised that this is where you will be worshiped, so hear me when I face this Temple and pray.

[6:21] Hear my prayers and the prayers of your people Israel when they face this place and pray. In your home in heaven hear us and forgive us.

[6:22] “When people are accused of wronging others and are brought to your altar in this Temple to take an oath that they are innocent,

[6:23] O Lord, listen in heaven and judge your servants. Punish the guilty ones as they deserve and acquit the innocent.

[6:24] “When your people Israel are defeated by their enemies because they have sinned against you and then when they turn to you and come to this Temple, humbly praying to you for forgiveness,

[6:25] listen to them in heaven. Forgive the sins of your people and bring them back to the land which you gave to them and to their ancestors.

[6:26] “When you hold back the rain because your people have sinned against you and then when they repent and face this Temple, humbly praying to you,

[6:27] O Lord, listen to them in heaven and forgive the sins of your servants, the people of Israel, and teach them to do what is right. Then, O Lord, send rain on this land of yours, which you gave to your people as a permanent possession.

[6:28] “When there is famine in the land or an epidemic or the crops are destroyed by scorching winds or swarms of locusts, or when your people are attacked by their enemies, or when there is disease or sickness among them,

[6:29] listen to their prayers. If any of your people Israel, out of heartfelt sorrow, stretch out their hands in prayer toward this Temple,

[6:30] hear their prayer. Listen to them in your home in heaven and forgive them. You alone know the thoughts of the human heart. Deal with each of us as we deserve,

[6:31] so that your people may honor you and obey you all the time they live in the land which you gave to our ancestors.

[6:32] “When foreigners who live in a distant land hear how great and powerful you are and how you are always ready to act, and then they come to pray at this Temple,

[6:33] listen to their prayers. In heaven, where you live, hear them and do what they ask you to do, so that all the peoples of the world may know you and obey you, as your people Israel do. Then they will know that this Temple I have built is where you are to be worshiped.

[6:34] “When you command your people to go into battle against their enemies and they pray to you, wherever they are, facing this city which you have chosen and this Temple which I have built for you,

[6:35] listen to their prayers. Hear them in heaven and give them victory.

[6:36] “When your people sin against you—and there is no one who does not sin—and in your anger you let their enemies defeat them and take them as prisoners to some other land, even if that land is far away,

[6:37] listen to your people's prayers. If there in that land they repent and pray to you, confessing how sinful and wicked they have been, hear their prayers, O Lord.

[6:38] If in that land they truly and sincerely repent and pray to you as they face toward this land which you gave to our ancestors, this city which you have chosen, and this Temple which I have built for you,

[6:39] then listen to their prayers. In your home in heaven hear them and be merciful to them and forgive all the sins of your people.

[6:40] “Now, O my God, look on us and listen to the prayers offered in this place.

[6:41] Rise up now, Lord God, and with the Covenant Box, the symbol of your power, enter the Temple and stay here forever. Bless your priests in all they do, and may all your people be happy because of your goodness to them.

[6:42] Lord God, do not reject the king you have chosen. Remember the love you had for your servant David.”