28 Bible Verses about The First Temple

Now, to show my commitment to the temple of my God, I donate my personal treasure of gold and silver to the temple of my God, in addition to all that I have already supplied for this holy temple.

The king said to Nathan the prophet, "Look! I am living in a palace made from cedar, while the ark of God sits in the middle of a tent."

David said to Solomon: "My son, I really wanted to build a temple to honor the Lord my God.

and how he made a vow to the Lord, and swore an oath to the powerful ruler of Jacob. He said, "I will not enter my own home, or get into my bed. I will not allow my eyes to sleep, or my eyelids to slumber, read more.
until I find a place for the Lord, a fine dwelling place for the powerful ruler of Jacob."

So I have made every effort to provide what is needed for the temple of my God, including the gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, as well as a large amount of onyx, settings of antimony and other stones, all kinds of precious stones, and alabaster. Now, to show my commitment to the temple of my God, I donate my personal treasure of gold and silver to the temple of my God, in addition to all that I have already supplied for this holy temple. This includes 3,000 talents of gold from Ophir and 7,000 talents of refined silver for overlaying the walls of the buildings, read more.
for gold and silver items, and for all the work of the craftsmen. Who else wants to contribute to the Lord today?"

David ordered the resident foreigners in the land of Israel to be called together. He appointed some of them to be stonecutters to chisel stones for the building of God's temple. David supplied a large amount of iron for the nails of the doors of the gates and for braces, more bronze than could be weighed, and more cedar logs than could be counted. (The Sidonians and Tyrians had brought a large amount of cedar logs to David.) read more.
David said, "My son Solomon is just an inexperienced young man, and the temple to be built for the Lord must be especially magnificent so it will become famous and be considered splendid by all the nations. Therefore I will make preparations for its construction." So David made extensive preparations before he died.

Now, look, I have made every effort to supply what is needed to build the Lord's temple. I have stored up 100,000 talents of gold, 1,000,000 talents of silver, and so much bronze and iron it cannot be weighed, as well as wood and stones. Feel free to add more! You also have available many workers, including stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and an innumerable array of workers who are skilled in using gold, silver, bronze, and iron. Get up and begin the work! May the Lord be with you!"

Solomon began building the Lord's temple in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David. This was the place that David prepared at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

David then said, "This is the place where the temple of the Lord God will be, along with the altar for burnt sacrifices for Israel."

At that time, when David saw that the Lord responded to him at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there. Now the Lord's tabernacle (which Moses had made in the wilderness) and the altar for burnt sacrifices were at that time at the worship center in Gibeon. But David could not go before it to seek God's will, for he was afraid of the sword of the Lord's messenger.

And what mutual agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, just as God said, "I will live in them and will walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."

Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?

because you have been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

He put an idolatrous image he had made in God's temple, about which God had said to David and to his son Solomon, "This temple in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will be my permanent home.

He built altars in the Lord's temple, about which the Lord had said, "Jerusalem will be my home." In the two courtyards of the Lord's temple he built altars for all the stars in the sky. He passed his son through the fire and practiced divination and omen reading. He set up a ritual pit to conjure up underworld spirits, and appointed magicians to supervise it. He did a great amount of evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. read more.
He put an idol of Asherah he had made in the temple, about which the Lord had said to David and to his son Solomon, "This temple in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will be my permanent home.

He built altars in the Lord's temple, about which the Lord had said, "Jerusalem will be my permanent home." In the two courtyards of the Lord's temple he built altars for all the stars in the sky.

He burned down the Lord's temple, the royal palace, and all the houses in Jerusalem, including every large house.

The Babylonians broke the two bronze pillars in the Lord's temple, as well as the movable stands and the big bronze basin called the "The Sea." They took the bronze to Babylon. They also took the pots, shovels, trimming shears, pans, and all the bronze utensils used by the priests. The captain of the royal guard took the golden and silver censers and basins. read more.
The bronze of the items that King Solomon made for the Lord's temple -- including the two pillars, the big bronze basin called "The Sea," the twelve bronze bulls under "The Sea," and the movable stands -- was too heavy to be weighed. Each of the pillars was about twenty-seven feet high. The bronze top of one pillar was about four and a half feet high and had bronze latticework and pomegranate shaped ornaments all around it. The second pillar with its latticework was like it.

He carried away to Babylon all the items in God's temple, whether large or small, as well as what was in the treasuries of the Lord's temple and in the treasuries of the king and his officials. They burned down the Lord's temple and tore down the wall of Jerusalem. They burned all its fortified buildings and destroyed all its valuable items.

Solomon had 70,000 common laborers and 80,000 stonecutters in the hills, in addition to 3,600 supervisors.

Solomon took a census of all the male resident foreigners in the land of Israel, after the census his father David had taken. There were 153,600 in all. He designated 70,000 as common laborers, 80,000 as stonecutters in the hills, and 3,600 as supervisors to make sure the people completed the work.

Solomon also had 70,000 common laborers and 80,000 stonecutters in the hills,

Once the priests left the holy place, a cloud filled the Lord's temple. The priests could not carry out their duties because of the cloud; the Lord's glory filled his temple.

The trumpeters and musicians played together, praising and giving thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments, they loudly praised the Lord, singing: "Certainly he is good; certainly his loyal love endures!" Then a cloud filled the Lord's temple.

The priests were unable to enter the Lord's temple because the Lord's splendor filled the Lord's temple.

King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria came, but he gave him more trouble than support. Ahaz gathered riches from the Lord's temple, the royal palace, and the officials and gave them to the king of Assyria, but that did not help.

He also removed the Sabbath awning that had been built in the temple and the king's outer entranceway, on account of the king of Assyria.

He moved the bronze altar that stood in the Lord's presence from the front of the temple (between the altar and the Lord's temple) and put it on the north side of the new altar.

"You know that my father David was unable to build a temple to honor the Lord his God, for he was busy fighting battles on all fronts while the Lord subdued his enemies.

But the Lord said to me: 'You have spilled a great deal of blood and fought many battles. You must not build a temple to honor me, for you have spilled a great deal of blood on the ground before me.

"Go, tell my servant David: 'This is what the Lord says: Do you really intend to build a house for me to live in? I have not lived in a house from the time I brought the Israelites up from Egypt to the present day. Instead, I was traveling with them and living in a tent. Wherever I moved among all the Israelites, I did not say to any of the leaders whom I appointed to care for my people Israel, "Why have you not built me a house made from cedar?"' read more.
"So now, say this to my servant David: 'This is what the Lord of hosts says: I took you from the pasture and from your work as a shepherd to make you leader of my people Israel. I was with you wherever you went, and I defeated all your enemies before you. Now I will make you as famous as the great men of the earth.

In the month Ziv of the fourth year of Solomon's reign the foundation was laid for the Lord's temple.

In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites left Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, during the month Ziv (the second month), he began building the Lord's temple.

He began building on the second day of the second month of the fourth year of his reign.

He built an extension all around the walls of the temple's main hall and holy place and constructed side rooms in it. The bottom floor of the extension was seven and a half feet wide, the middle floor nine feet wide, and the third floor ten and a half feet wide. He made ledges on the temple's outer walls so the beams would not have to be inserted into the walls.

The entrance to the bottom level of side rooms was on the south side of the temple; stairs went up to the middle floor and then on up to the third floor.

He built an extension all around the temple; it was seven and a half feet high and it was attached to the temple by cedar beams.

He summoned his son Solomon and charged him to build a temple for the Lord God of Israel. David said to Solomon: "My son, I really wanted to build a temple to honor the Lord my God.

"Now, my son, may the Lord be with you! May you succeed and build a temple for the Lord your God, just as he announced you would.

Now I am sending you Huram Abi, a skilled and capable man, whose mother is a Danite and whose father is a Tyrian. He knows how to work with gold, silver, bronze, iron, stones, and wood, as well as purple, violet, white, and crimson fabrics. He knows how to do all kinds of engraving and understands any design given to him. He will work with your skilled craftsmen and the skilled craftsmen of my lord David your father.

"Now send me a man who is skilled in working with gold, silver, bronze, and iron, as well as purple, crimson, and violet colored fabrics, and who knows how to engrave. He will work with my skilled craftsmen here in Jerusalem and Judah, whom my father David provided.

In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubs of olive wood; each stood 15 feet high. Each of the first cherub's wings was seven and a half feet long; its entire wingspan was 15 feet. The second cherub also had a wingspan of 15 feet; it was identical to the first in measurements and shape. read more.
Each cherub stood 15 feet high. He put the cherubs in the inner sanctuary of the temple. Their wings were spread out. One of the first cherub's wings touched one wall and one of the other cherub's wings touched the opposite wall. The first cherub's other wing touched the second cherub's other wing in the middle of the room. He plated the cherubs with gold.

The combined wing span of the cherubs was 30 feet. One of the first cherub's wings was seven and one-half feet long and touched one wall of the temple; its other wing was also seven and one-half feet long and touched one of the second cherub's wings. Likewise one of the second cherub's wings was seven and one-half feet long and touched the other wall of the temple; its other wing was also seven and one-half feet long and touched one of the first cherub's wings. The combined wingspan of these cherubim was 30 feet. They stood upright, facing inward.

Jehoash said to the priests, "I place at your disposal all the consecrated silver that has been brought to the Lord's temple, including the silver collected from the census tax, the silver received from those who have made vows, and all the silver that people have voluntarily contributed to the Lord's temple. The priests should receive the silver they need from the treasurers and repair any damage to the temple they discover." By the twenty-third year of King Jehoash's reign the priests had still not repaired the damage to the temple. read more.
So King Jehoash summoned Jehoiada the priest along with the other priests, and said to them, "Why have you not repaired the damage to the temple? Now, take no more silver from your treasurers unless you intend to use it to repair the damage." The priests agreed not to collect silver from the people and relieved themselves of personal responsibility for the temple repairs. Jehoiada the priest took a chest and drilled a hole in its lid. He placed it on the right side of the altar near the entrance of the Lord's temple. The priests who guarded the entrance would put into it all the silver brought to the Lord's temple. When they saw the chest was full of silver, the royal secretary and the high priest counted the silver that had been brought to the Lord's temple and bagged it up. They would then hand over the silver that had been weighed to the construction foremen assigned to the Lord's temple. They hired carpenters and builders to work on the Lord's temple, as well as masons and stonecutters. They bought wood and chiseled stone to repair the damage to the Lord's temple and also paid for all the other expenses. The silver brought to the Lord's temple was not used for silver bowls, trimming shears, basins, trumpets, or any kind of gold or silver implements. It was handed over to the foremen who used it to repair the Lord's temple.

Joash was determined to repair the Lord's temple. He assembled the priests and Levites and ordered them, "Go out to the cities of Judah and collect the annual quota of silver from all Israel for repairs on the temple of your God. Be quick about it!" But the Levites delayed. So the king summoned Jehoiada the chief priest, and said to him, "Why have you not made the Levites collect from Judah and Jerusalem the tax authorized by Moses the Lord's servant and by the assembly of Israel at the tent containing the tablets of the law?" read more.
(Wicked Athaliah and her sons had broken into God's temple and used all the holy items of the Lord's temple in their worship of the Baals.) The king ordered a chest to be made and placed outside the gate of the Lord's temple. An edict was sent throughout Judah and Jerusalem requiring the people to bring to the Lord the tax that Moses, God's servant, imposed on Israel in the wilderness. All the officials and all the people gladly brought their silver and threw it into the chest until it was full. Whenever the Levites brought the chest to the royal accountant and they saw there was a lot of silver, the royal scribe and the accountant of the high priest emptied the chest and then took it back to its place. They went through this routine every day and collected a large amount of silver. The king and Jehoiada gave it to the construction foremen assigned to the Lord's temple. They hired carpenters and craftsmen to repair the Lord's temple, as well as those skilled in working with iron and bronze to restore the Lord's temple. They worked hard and made the repairs. They followed the measurements specified for God's temple and restored it.

He fashioned two bronze pillars; each pillar was 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference. He made two bronze tops for the pillars; each was seven-and-a-half feet high. The latticework on the tops of the pillars was adorned with ornamental wreaths and chains; the top of each pillar had seven groupings of ornaments. read more.
When he made the pillars, there were two rows of pomegranate-shaped ornaments around the latticework covering the top of each pillar. The tops of the two pillars in the porch were shaped like lilies and were six feet high. On the top of each pillar, right above the bulge beside the latticework, there were two hundred pomegranate-shaped ornaments arranged in rows all the way around. He set up the pillars on the porch in front of the main hall. He erected one pillar on the right side and called it Jakin; he erected the other pillar on the left side and called it Boaz. The tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. So the construction of the pillars was completed.

In front of the temple he made two pillars which had a combined length of 52? feet, with each having a plated capital seven and one-half feet high. He made ornamental chains and put them on top of the pillars. He also made one hundred pomegranate-shaped ornaments and arranged them within the chains. He set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the right side and the other on the left. He named the one on the right Jachin, and the one on the left Boaz.

Another third of you will be stationed at the royal palace and still another third at the Foundation Gate. All the others will stand in the courtyards of the Lord's temple.

When Athaliah heard the royal guard shouting and praising the king, she joined the crowd at the Lord's temple.

In the eighteenth year of King Josiah's reign, the king sent the scribe Shaphan son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, to the Lord's temple with these orders: "Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him melt down the silver that has been brought by the people to the Lord's temple and has been collected by the guards at the door. Have them hand it over to the construction foremen assigned to the Lord's temple. They in turn should pay the temple workers to repair it, read more.
including craftsmen, builders, and masons, and should buy wood and chiseled stone for the repair work. Do not audit the foremen who disburse the silver, for they are honest."

In the eighteenth year of his reign, he continued his policy of purifying the land and the temple. He sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the city official, and Joah son of Joahaz the secretary to repair the temple of the Lord his God. They went to Hilkiah the high priest and gave him the silver that had been brought to God's temple. The Levites who guarded the door had collected it from the people of Manasseh and Ephraim and from all who were left in Israel, as well as from all the people of Judah and Benjamin and the residents of Jerusalem. They handed it over to the construction foremen assigned to the Lord's temple. They in turn paid the temple workers to restore and repair it. read more.
They gave money to the craftsmen and builders to buy chiseled stone and wood for the braces and rafters of the buildings that the kings of Judah had allowed to fall into disrepair. The men worked faithfully. Their supervisors were Jahath and Obadiah (Levites descended from Merari), as well as Zechariah and Meshullam (descendants of Kohath). The Levites, all of whom were skilled musicians, supervised the laborers and all the foremen on their various jobs. Some of the Levites were scribes, officials, and guards.

When the time comes for you to die, I will raise up your descendant, one of your own sons, to succeed you, and I will establish his kingdom. He will build a house for my name, and I will make his dynasty permanent.

He will build me a house, and I will make his dynasty permanent.

In King Rehoboam's fifth year, King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. He took away the treasures of the Lord's temple and of the royal palace; he took everything, including all the golden shields that Solomon had made.

King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem and took away the treasures of the Lord's temple and of the royal palace; he took everything, including the gold shields that Solomon had made.

Send me cedars, evergreens, and algum trees from Lebanon, for I know your servants are adept at cutting down trees in Lebanon. My servants will work with your servants to supply me with large quantities of timber, for I am building a great, magnificent temple. Look, I will pay your servants who cut the timber 20,000 kors of ground wheat, 20,000 kors of barley, 120,000 gallons of wine, and 120,000 gallons of olive oil."

So now order some cedars of Lebanon to be cut for me. My servants will work with your servants. I will pay your servants whatever you say is appropriate, for you know that we have no one among us who knows how to cut down trees like the Sidonians." When Hiram heard Solomon's message, he was very happy. He said, "The Lord is worthy of praise today because he has given David a wise son to rule over this great nation." Hiram then sent this message to Solomon: "I received the message you sent to me. I will give you all the cedars and evergreens you need. read more.
My servants will bring the timber down from Lebanon to the sea. I will send it by sea in raft-like bundles to the place you designate. There I will separate the logs and you can carry them away. In exchange you will supply the food I need for my royal court." So Hiram supplied the cedars and evergreens Solomon needed, and Solomon supplied Hiram annually with 20,000 cors of wheat as provision for his royal court, as well as 20,000 baths of pure olive oil. So the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as he had promised him. And Hiram and Solomon were at peace and made a treaty.

Then Solomon convened Israel's elders -- all the leaders of the Israelite tribes and families -- in Jerusalem, so they could witness the transferal of the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the City of David (that is, Zion). All the men of Israel assembled before the king during the festival in the seventh month. When all Israel's elders had arrived, the Levites lifted the ark. read more.
The priests and Levites carried the ark, the tent where God appeared to his people, and all the holy items in the tent. Now King Solomon and all the Israelites who had assembled with him went on ahead of the ark and sacrificed more sheep and cattle than could be counted or numbered. The priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its assigned place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, in the most holy place under the wings of the cherubs. The cherubs' wings extended over the place where the ark sat; the cherubs overshadowed the ark and its poles. The poles were so long their ends extending out from the ark were visible from in front of the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from beyond that point. They have remained there to this very day. There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets Moses had placed there in Horeb. (It was there that the Lord made an agreement with the Israelites after he brought them out of the land of Egypt.)

Then Solomon convened in Jerusalem Israel's elders, all the leaders of the Israelite tribes and families, so they could witness the transferal of the ark of the Lord's covenant from the city of David (that is, Zion). All the men of Israel assembled before King Solomon during the festival in the month Ethanim (the seventh month). When all Israel's elders had arrived, the priests lifted the ark. read more.
The priests and Levites carried the ark of the Lord, the tent of meeting, and all the holy items in the tent. Now King Solomon and all the Israelites who had assembled with him went on ahead of the ark and sacrificed more sheep and cattle than could be counted or numbered. The priests brought the ark of the Lord's covenant to its assigned place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, in the most holy place, under the wings of the cherubs. The cherubs' wings extended over the place where the ark sat; the cherubs overshadowed the ark and its poles. The poles were so long their ends were visible from the holy place in front of the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen from beyond that point. They have remained there to this very day. There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets Moses had placed there in Horeb. It was there that the Lord made an agreement with the Israelites after he brought them out of the land of Egypt.

I will build a great temple, for our God is greater than all gods.

to supply me with large quantities of timber, for I am building a great, magnificent temple.

He overlaid the temple's rafters, thresholds, walls and doors with gold; he carved decorative cherubim on the walls.

Solomon plated the inside of the temple with gold. He hung golden chains in front of the inner sanctuary and plated the inner sanctuary with gold. He plated the entire inside of the temple with gold, as well as the altar inside the inner sanctuary.

The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the high-ranking priests, and the guards to bring out of the Lord's temple all the items that were used in the worship of Baal, Asherah, and all the stars of the sky. The king burned them outside of Jerusalem in the terraces of Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. He eliminated the pagan priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to offer sacrifices on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the area right around Jerusalem. (They offered sacrifices to Baal, the sun god, the moon god, the constellations, and all the stars in the sky.) He removed the Asherah pole from the Lord's temple and took it outside Jerusalem to the Kidron Valley, where he burned it. He smashed it to dust and then threw the dust in the public graveyard. read more.
He tore down the quarters of the male cultic prostitutes in the Lord's temple, where women were weaving shrines for Asherah.

He removed from the entrance to the Lord's temple the statues of horses that the kings of Judah had placed there in honor of the sun god. (They were kept near the room of Nathan Melech the eunuch, which was situated among the courtyards.) He burned up the chariots devoted to the sun god. The king tore down the altars the kings of Judah had set up on the roof of Ahaz's upper room, as well as the altars Manasseh had set up in the two courtyards of the Lord's temple. He crushed them up and threw the dust in the Kidron Valley.

Then Solomon said, "The Lord has said that he lives in thick darkness. O Lord, truly I have built a lofty temple for you, a place where you can live permanently." Then the king turned around and pronounced a blessing over the whole Israelite assembly as they stood there. read more.
He said, "The Lord God of Israel is worthy of praise because he has fulfilled what he promised my father David. He told David, 'Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city from all the tribes of Israel to build a temple in which to live. But I have chosen David to lead my people Israel.' Now my father David had a strong desire to build a temple to honor the Lord God of Israel. The Lord told my father David, 'It is right for you to have a strong desire to build a temple to honor me. But you will not build the temple; your very own son will build the temple for my honor.' The Lord has kept the promise he made. I have taken my father David's place and have occupied the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised. I have built this temple for the honor of the Lord God of Israel and set up in it a place for the ark containing the covenant the Lord made with our ancestors when he brought them out of the land of Egypt." Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the entire assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward the sky. He prayed: "O Lord, God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven above or on earth below! You maintain covenantal loyalty to your servants who obey you with sincerity. You have kept your word to your servant, my father David; this very day you have fulfilled what you promised. Now, O Lord, God of Israel, keep the promise you made to your servant, my father David, when you said, 'You will never fail to have a successor ruling before me on the throne of Israel, provided that your descendants watch their step and serve me as you have done.' Now, O God of Israel, may the promise you made to your servant, my father David, be realized. "God does not really live on the earth! Look, if the sky and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this temple I have built! But respond favorably to your servant's prayer and his request for help, O Lord my God. Answer the desperate prayer your servant is presenting to you today. Night and day may you watch over this temple, the place where you promised you would live. May you answer your servant's prayer for this place. Respond to the request of your servant and your people Israel for this place. Hear from inside your heavenly dwelling place and respond favorably. "When someone is accused of sinning against his neighbor and the latter pronounces a curse on the alleged offender before your altar in this temple, be willing to forgive the accused if the accusation is false. Listen from heaven and make a just decision about your servants' claims. Condemn the guilty party, declare the other innocent, and give both of them what they deserve. "The time will come when your people Israel are defeated by an enemy because they sinned against you. If they come back to you, renew their allegiance to you, and pray for your help in this temple, then listen from heaven, forgive the sin of your people Israel, and bring them back to the land you gave to their ancestors. "The time will come when the skies are shut up tightly and no rain falls because your people sinned against you. When they direct their prayers toward this place, renew their allegiance to you, and turn away from their sin because you punish them, then listen from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Certainly you will then teach them the right way to live and send rain on your land that you have given your people to possess. "The time will come when the land suffers from a famine, a plague, blight and disease, or a locust invasion, or when their enemy lays siege to the cities of the land, or when some other type of plague or epidemic occurs. When all your people Israel pray and ask for help, as they acknowledge their pain and spread out their hands toward this temple, then listen from your heavenly dwelling place, forgive their sin, and act favorably toward each one based on your evaluation of his motives. (Indeed you are the only one who can correctly evaluate the motives of all people.) Then they will obey you throughout their lifetimes as they live on the land you gave to our ancestors. "Foreigners, who do not belong to your people Israel, will come from a distant land because of your reputation. When they hear about your great reputation and your ability to accomplish mighty deeds, they will come and direct their prayers toward this temple. Then listen from your heavenly dwelling place and answer all the prayers of the foreigners. Then all the nations of the earth will acknowledge your reputation, obey you like your people Israel do, and recognize that this temple I built belongs to you. "When you direct your people to march out and fight their enemies, and they direct their prayers to the Lord toward his chosen city and this temple I built for your honor, then listen from heaven to their prayers for help and vindicate them. "The time will come when your people will sin against you (for there is no one who is sinless!) and you will be angry with them and deliver them over to their enemies, who will take them as prisoners to their own land, whether far away or close by. When your people come to their senses in the land where they are held prisoner, they will repent and beg for your mercy in the land of their imprisonment, admitting, 'We have sinned and gone astray; we have done evil.' When they return to you with all their heart and being in the land where they are held prisoner, and direct their prayers to you toward the land you gave to their ancestors, your chosen city, and the temple I built for your honor, then listen from your heavenly dwelling place to their prayers for help and vindicate them. Forgive all the rebellious acts of your sinful people and cause their captors to have mercy on them. After all, they are your people and your special possession whom you brought out of Egypt, from the middle of the iron-smelting furnace. "May you be attentive to your servant's and your people Israel's requests for help and may you respond to all their prayers to you. After all, you picked them out of all the nations of the earth to be your special possession, just as you, O sovereign Lord, announced through your servant Moses when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt." When Solomon finished presenting all these prayers and requests to the Lord, he got up from before the altar of the Lord where he had kneeled and spread out his hands toward the sky. When he stood up, he pronounced a blessing over the entire assembly of Israel, saying in a loud voice: "The Lord is worthy of praise because he has made Israel his people secure just as he promised! Not one of all the faithful promises he made through his servant Moses is left unfulfilled! May the Lord our God be with us, as he was with our ancestors. May he not abandon us or leave us. May he make us submissive, so we can follow all his instructions and obey the commandments, rules, and regulations he commanded our ancestors. May the Lord our God be constantly aware of these requests of mine I have presented to him, so that he might vindicate his servant and his people Israel as the need arises. Then all the nations of the earth will recognize that the Lord is the only genuine God. May you demonstrate wholehearted devotion to the Lord our God by following his rules and obeying his commandments, as you are presently doing." The king and all Israel with him were presenting sacrifices to the Lord. Solomon offered as peace offerings to the Lord 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep. Then the king and all the Israelites dedicated the Lord's temple. That day the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard that is in front of the Lord's temple. He offered there burnt sacrifices, grain offerings, and the fat from the peace offerings, because the bronze altar that stood before the Lord was too small to hold all these offerings. At that time Solomon and all Israel with him celebrated a festival before the Lord our God for two entire weeks. This great assembly included people from all over the land, from Lebo Hamath in the north to the Brook of Egypt in the south. On the fifteenth day after the festival started, he dismissed the people. They asked God to empower the king and then went to their homes, happy and content because of all the good the Lord had done for his servant David and his people Israel.

He overlaid the temple's rafters, thresholds, walls and doors with gold; he carved decorative cherubim on the walls.

In the same way he made doorposts of olive wood for the entrance to the main hall, only with four-sided pillars.

He built the inner courtyard with three rows of chiseled stones and a row of cedar beams.

He made the courtyard of the priests and the large enclosure and its doors; he plated their doors with bronze.

Solomon laid the foundation for God's temple; its length (determined according to the old standard of measure) was 90 feet, and its width 30 feet.

The temple King Solomon built for the Lord was 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high.

He built a wall 30 feet in from the rear of the temple as a partition for an inner sanctuary that would be the most holy place. He paneled the wall with cedar planks from the floor to the rafters.

The inner sanctuary was 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 30 feet high. He plated it with gold, as well as the cedar altar.

Therefore, because of you, Zion will be plowed up like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins, and the Temple Mount will become a hill overgrown with brush!

"Micah from Moresheth prophesied during the time Hezekiah was king of Judah. He told all the people of Judah, 'The Lord who rules over all says, "Zion will become a plowed field. Jerusalem will become a pile of rubble. The temple mount will become a mere wooded ridge."'

I will bring them to my holy mountain; I will make them happy in the temple where people pray to me. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my temple will be known as a temple where all nations may pray."

And he said to them, "It is written, 'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are turning it into a den of robbers!"

David ordered all the officials of Israel to support his son Solomon. He told them, "The Lord your God is with you! He has made you secure on every side, for he handed over to me the inhabitants of the region and the region is subdued before the Lord and his people. Now seek the Lord your God wholeheartedly and with your entire being! Get up and build the sanctuary of the Lord God! Then you can bring the ark of the Lord's covenant and the holy items dedicated to God's service into the temple that is built to honor the Lord."

In the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the Lord's temple and repaired them. He brought in the priests and Levites and assembled them in the square on the east side. He said to them: "Listen to me, you Levites! Now consecrate yourselves, so you can consecrate the temple of the Lord God of your ancestors! Remove from the sanctuary what is ceremonially unclean! read more.
For our fathers were unfaithful; they did what is evil in the sight of the Lord our God and abandoned him! They turned away from the Lord's dwelling place and rejected him. They closed the doors of the temple porch and put out the lamps; they did not offer incense or burnt sacrifices in the sanctuary of the God of Israel. The Lord was angry at Judah and Jerusalem and made them an appalling object of horror at which people hiss out their scorn, as you can see with your own eyes. Look, our fathers died violently and our sons, daughters, and wives were carried off because of this. Now I intend to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, so that he may relent from his raging anger. My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to serve in his presence and offer sacrifices." The following Levites prepared to carry out the king's orders: From the Kohathites: Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah; from the Merarites: Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel; from the Gershonites: Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah; from the descendants of Elizaphan: Shimri and Jeiel; from the descendants of Asaph: Zechariah and Mattaniah; from the descendants of Heman: Jehiel and Shimei; from the descendants of Jeduthun: Shemaiah and Uzziel. They assembled their brothers and consecrated themselves. Then they went in to purify the Lord's temple, just as the king had ordered, in accordance with the word of the Lord. The priests then entered the Lord's temple to purify it; they brought out to the courtyard of the Lord's temple every ceremonially unclean thing they discovered inside. The Levites took them out to the Kidron Valley. On the first day of the first month they began consecrating; by the eighth day of the month they reached the porch of the Lord's temple. For eight more days they consecrated the Lord's temple. On the sixteenth day of the first month they were finished. They went to King Hezekiah and said: "We have purified the entire temple of the Lord, including the altar of burnt sacrifice and all its equipment, and the table for the Bread of the Presence and all its equipment. We have prepared and consecrated all the items that King Ahaz removed during his reign when he acted unfaithfully. They are in front of the altar of the Lord." Early the next morning King Hezekiah assembled the city officials and went up to the Lord's temple. They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven goats as a sin offering for the kingdom, the sanctuary, and Judah. The king told the priests, the descendants of Aaron, to offer burnt sacrifices on the altar of the Lord. They slaughtered the bulls, and the priests took the blood and splashed it on the altar. Then they slaughtered the rams and splashed the blood on the altar; next they slaughtered the lambs and splashed the blood on the altar. Finally they brought the goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly, and they placed their hands on them. Then the priests slaughtered them. They offered their blood as a sin offering on the altar to make atonement for all Israel, because the king had decreed that the burnt sacrifice and sin offering were for all Israel. King Hezekiah stationed the Levites in the Lord's temple with cymbals and stringed instruments, just as David, Gad the king's prophet, and Nathan the prophet had ordered. (The Lord had actually given these orders through his prophets.) The Levites had David's musical instruments and the priests had trumpets. Hezekiah ordered the burnt sacrifice to be offered on the altar. As they began to offer the sacrifice, they also began to sing to the Lord, accompanied by the trumpets and the musical instruments of King David of Israel. The entire assembly worshiped, as the singers sang and the trumpeters played. They continued until the burnt sacrifice was completed. When the sacrifices were completed, the king and all who were with him bowed down and worshiped. King Hezekiah and the officials told the Levites to praise the Lord, using the psalms of David and Asaph the prophet. So they joyfully offered praise and bowed down and worshiped. Hezekiah said, "Now you have consecrated yourselves to the Lord. Come and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the Lord's temple." So the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and whoever desired to do so brought burnt sacrifices. The assembly brought a total of 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 lambs as burnt sacrifices to the Lord, and 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep were consecrated. But there were not enough priests to skin all the animals, so their brothers, the Levites, helped them until the work was finished and the priests could consecrate themselves. (The Levites had been more conscientious about consecrating themselves than the priests.) There was a large number of burnt sacrifices, as well as fat from the peace offerings and drink offerings that accompanied the burnt sacrifices. So the service of the Lord's temple was reinstituted.

Jesus replied, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up again."

But Jesus was speaking about the temple of his body.

The leaders of the families, the leaders of the Israelite tribes, the commanders of units of a thousand and a hundred, and the supervisors of the king's work contributed willingly. They donated for the service of God's temple 5,000 talents and ten thousand darics of gold, 10,000 talents of silver, 18,000 talents of bronze, and 100,000 talents of iron. All who possessed precious stones donated them to the treasury of the Lord's temple, which was under the supervision of Jehiel the Gershonite. read more.
The people were delighted with their donations, for they contributed to the Lord with a willing attitude; King David was also very happy.

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

Make my son Solomon willing to obey your commands, rules, and regulations, and to complete building the palace for which I have made preparations."

He made the curtain out of violet, purple, crimson, and white fabrics, and embroidered on it decorative cherubim.

the Lord appeared to Solomon at night and said to him: "I have answered your prayer and chosen this place to be my temple where sacrifices are to be made.

In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah's reign, King Sennacherib of Assyria marched up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. King Hezekiah of Judah sent this message to the king of Assyria, who was at Lachish, "I have violated our treaty. If you leave, I will do whatever you demand." So the king of Assyria demanded that King Hezekiah of Judah pay three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. Hezekiah gave him all the silver in the Lord's temple and in the treasuries of the royal palace. read more.
At that time King Hezekiah of Judah stripped the metal overlays from the doors of the Lord's temple and from the posts which he had plated and gave them to the king of Assyria.

At that time King Hazael of Syria attacked Gath and captured it. Hazael then decided to attack Jerusalem. King Jehoash of Judah collected all the sacred items that his ancestors Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, kings of Judah, had consecrated, as well as his own sacred items and all the gold that could be found in the treasuries of the Lord's temple and the royal palace. He sent it all to King Hazael of Syria, who then withdrew from Jerusalem.

The porch in front of the main hall was 30 feet long, corresponding to the width of the temple, and its height was 30 feet. He plated the inside with pure gold.

He paneled the main hall with boards made from evergreen trees and plated it with fine gold, decorated with palm trees and chains.

The porch in front of the main hall was 30 feet long, corresponding to the width of the temple, and its height was 30 feet. He plated the inside with pure gold.

Solomon laid the foundation for God's temple; its length (determined according to the old standard of measure) was 90 feet, and its width 30 feet.

Solomon ordered a temple to be built to honor the Lord, as well as a royal palace for himself.

When all the Israelites saw the fire come down and the Lord's splendor over the temple, they got on their knees with their faces downward toward the pavement. They worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, "Certainly he is good; certainly his loyal love endures!"

He decorated the temple with precious stones; the gold he used came from Parvaim.

When Solomon had finished constructing the Lord's temple, he put the holy items that belonged to his father David (the silver, gold, and all the other articles) in the treasuries of God's temple.

He paneled the main hall with boards made from evergreen trees and plated it with fine gold, decorated with palm trees and chains.

He made doors of olive wood at the entrance to the inner sanctuary; the pillar on each doorpost was five-sided. On the two doors made of olive wood he carved cherubs, palm trees, and flowers in bloom, and he plated them with gold. He plated the cherubs and the palm trees with hammered gold.

He also made two doors out of wood from evergreens; each door had two folding leaves. He carved cherubs, palm trees, and flowers in bloom and plated them with gold, leveled out over the carvings.

King Solomon conscripted work crews from throughout Israel, 30,000 men in all. He sent them to Lebanon in shifts of 10,000 men per month. They worked in Lebanon for one month, and then spent two months at home. Adoniram was supervisor of the work crews.

"As for this temple you are building, if you follow my rules, observe my regulations, and obey all my commandments, I will fulfill through you the promise I made to your father David. I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel."

Solomon plated the inside of the temple with gold. He hung golden chains in front of the inner sanctuary and plated the inner sanctuary with gold.

Then Elisha prayed, "O Lord, open his eyes so he can see." The Lord opened the servant's eyes and he saw that the hill was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

He prepared the inner sanctuary inside the temple so that the ark of the covenant of the Lord could be placed there.

For the music director; according to the gittith style; written by the Korahites, a psalm. How lovely is the place where you live, O Lord who rules over all! I desperately want to be in the courts of the Lord's temple. My heart and my entire being shout for joy to the living God. Even the birds find a home there, and the swallow builds a nest, where she can protect her young near your altars, O Lord who rules over all, my king and my God. read more.
How blessed are those who live in your temple and praise you continually! (Selah) How blessed are those who find their strength in you, and long to travel the roads that lead to your temple! As they pass through the Baca Valley, he provides a spring for them. The rain even covers it with pools of water. They are sustained as they travel along; each one appears before God in Zion.

In the eleventh year, in the month Bul (the eighth month) the temple was completed in accordance with all its specifications and blueprints. It took seven years to build.

He constructed the walls inside the temple with cedar planks; he paneled the inside with wood from the floor of the temple to the rafters of the ceiling. He covered the temple floor with boards made from the wood of evergreens.

The inside of the temple was all cedar and was adorned with carvings of round ornaments and of flowers in bloom. Everything was cedar; no stones were visible.

But Solomon built a house for him. Yet the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands, as the prophet says,

In the eleventh year, in the month Bul (the eighth month) the temple was completed in accordance with all its specifications and blueprints. It took seven years to build.

The porch in front of the main hall of the temple was 30 feet long, corresponding to the width of the temple. It was 15 feet wide, extending out from the front of the temple.

As the temple was being built, only stones shaped at the quarry were used; the sound of hammers, pickaxes, or any other iron tool was not heard at the temple while it was being built.

He made framed windows for the temple.

He finished building the temple and covered it with rafters and boards made of cedar.

In the future the mountain of the Lord's temple will endure as the most important of mountains, and will be the most prominent of hills. All the nations will stream to it,

many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the Lord's mountain, to the temple of the God of Jacob, so he can teach us his requirements, and we can follow his standards." For Zion will be the center for moral instruction; the Lord will issue edicts from Jerusalem.

Remember your people whom you acquired in ancient times, whom you rescued so they could be your very own nation, as well as Mount Zion, where you dwell!