Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of the temple and its buildings, treasuries, upper rooms, inner rooms, and a room for the mercy seat.

The plans contained everything he had in mind for the courts of the Lord’s house, all the surrounding chambers, the treasuries of God’s house, and the treasuries for what is dedicated.

Also included were plans for the divisions of the priests and the Levites; all the work of service in the Lord’s house; all the articles of service of the Lord’s house;

the weight of gold for all the articles for every kind of service; the weight of all the silver articles for every kind of service;

and the weight of the golden candlesticks, and of their golden lamps, by weight for every candlestick, and for its lamps; and for the silver candlesticks, by weight, for the candlestick and for its lamps, according to the use of every candlestick;

the weight of gold for each table for the rows of the bread of the Presence and the silver for the silver tables;

the pure gold for the forks, sprinkling basins, and pitchers; the weight of each gold dish; the weight of each silver bowl;

the weight of refined gold for the altar of incense; and the plans for the chariot of the gold cherubim that spread out their wings and cover the ark of the Lord’s covenant.

"All of these things the LORD made clear to me in writing at his direction the construction plans for all of the building."

Then David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He won’t leave you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the Lord’s house is finished.

Here are the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of God’s house. Every willing man of any skill will be at your disposal for the work, and the leaders and all the people are at your every command.”

Then King David said to all the assembly, “My son Solomon—God has chosen him alone—is young and inexperienced. The task is great because the temple will not be for man but for the Lord God.

So to the best of my ability I’ve made provision for the house of my God: gold for the gold articles, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron, and wood for the wood, as well as onyx, stones for mounting, antimony, stones of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and a great quantity of marble.

Moreover, because of my delight in the house of my God, I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the house of my God over and above all that I’ve provided for the holy house:

100 tons of gold (gold of Ophir) and 250 tons of refined silver for overlaying the walls of the buildings,

the gold for the gold work and the silver for the silver, for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now who will volunteer to consecrate himself to the Lord today?”

And the chiefs of the fathers will show themselves willing, and the chiefs of the tribes of Israel, and the chiefs of thousands and of hundreds, and for the chiefs of the king's work,

For the service of God’s house they gave 185 tons of gold and 10,000 gold coins, 375 tons of silver, 675 tons of bronze, and 4,000 tons of iron.

And they that had precious stones gave them for the treasure of the house of the LORD, unto the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite.

Then the people rejoiced because of their leaders’ willingness to give, for they had given to the Lord with a whole heart. King David also rejoiced greatly.

And David blessed Jehovah in the sight of all the congregation; and David said, Blessed be thou, Jehovah, the God of our father Israel, for ever and ever.

Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in the heavens and on earth belongs to You. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom, and You are exalted as head over all.

And now our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name. For what am I? And what is my people, that would obtain strength to be so willing?

But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? For everything comes from You, and we have given You only what comes from Your own hand.

For we live before You as foreigners and temporary residents in Your presence as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.

Yahweh our God, all this wealth that we’ve provided for building You a house for Your holy name comes from Your hand; everything belongs to You.

I know also, my God, that you try the heart, and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things. Now have I seen with joy your people, that are present here, offer willingly to you.

Jehovah, God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and direct their hearts to thee!

Give my son Solomon a whole heart to keep and to carry out all Your commands, Your decrees, and Your statutes, and to build the temple for which I have made provision.

The following day they offered sacrifices to the Lord and burnt offerings to the Lord: 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 lambs, along with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel.

They ate and drank with great joy in the Lord’s presence that day.

Then, for a second time, they made David’s son Solomon king; they anointed him as the Lord’s ruler, and Zadok as the priest.

And Solomon sitteth on the throne of Jehovah for king instead of David his father, and prospereth, and all Israel hearken unto him,

The length of his reign over Israel was 40 years; he reigned in Hebron for seven years and in Jerusalem for 33.

As for the events of King David’s reign, from beginning to end, note that they are written in the Events of Samuel the Seer, the Events of Nathan the Prophet, and the Events of Gad the Seer,

Solomon son of David solidified his royal authority, for the Lord his God was with him and magnified him greatly.

And Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and to the judges, and to all the leaders for all Israel, the heads of the {families}.

and Solomon, and all the congregation with him, went to the high place at Gibeon; for there was God's tent of meeting which Moses the servant of Jehovah had made in the wilderness.

Now David had brought the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim to the place he had set up for it, because he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem,

Lord God, let Your promise to my father David now come true. For You have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth.

Now grant me wisdom and knowledge so that I may lead these people, for who can judge this great people of Yours?”

God said to Solomon, “Since this was in your heart, and you have not requested riches, wealth, or glory, or for the life of those who hate you, and you have not even requested long life, but you have requested for yourself wisdom and knowledge that you may judge My people over whom I have made you king,

wisdom and knowledge are given to you. I will also give you riches, wealth, and glory, unlike what was given to the kings who were before you, or will be given to those after you.”

Solomon acquired chariots and horsemen; he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, and he stationed them in the cities [suited for the use] of chariots and with the king at Jerusalem.

And the king made silver and gold in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he as the sycamores that are in the lowland for abundance.

Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue; the king’s traders procured them from Kue for a price.

A chariot could be imported from Egypt for 15 pounds of silver and a horse for about four pounds. In the same way, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram through their agents.

Solomon decided to build a temple for the name of Yahweh and a royal palace for himself,

And Solomon had seventy thousand men numbered for transport, and eighty thousand for cutting stone in the mountains, and three thousand, six hundred as overseers.

Then Solomon sent word to King Hiram of Tyre:

Do for me what you did for my father David. You sent him cedars to build him a house to live in.

Now I am building a temple for the name of Yahweh my God in order to dedicate it to Him for burning fragrant incense before Him, for displaying the rows of the bread of the Presence continuously, and for sacrificing burnt offerings for the morning and the evening, the Sabbaths and the New Moons, and the appointed festivals of the Lord our God. This is ordained for Israel forever.

The temple that I am building will be great, for our God is greater than any of the gods.

But who is able to build a temple for Him, since even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain Him? Who am I then that I should build a temple for Him except as a place to burn incense before Him?

"At any rate, send me an individual who is a skilled craftsman in gold, silver, bronze, and iron, as well as in purple, crimson, and blue materials, who knows how to craft engravings, so he may work with the craftsmen whom I have assembled in Judah and Jerusalem, as provided for by my father David.

Also, send me cedar, cypress, and algum logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants know how to cut the trees of Lebanon. Note that my servants will be with your servants

to prepare logs for me in abundance because the temple I am building will be great and wonderful.

And lo! for the hewers that cut the timbers, have I given wheat as food for thy servants, twenty thousand measures, and barley, twenty thousand measures, and wine, twenty thousand baths, and oil, twenty thousand baths.

Then Huram, king of Tyre, sent Solomon an answer in writing, saying, Because of his love for his people the Lord has made you king over them.

Hiram also said:

May the Lord God of Israel, who made the heavens and the earth, be praised! He gave King David a wise son with insight and understanding, who will build a temple for the Lord and a royal palace for himself.

the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and whose father was a man of Tyre, experienced in working in gold, and in silver, in bronze, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in byssus, and in crimson, and for doing any manner of engraving, and for inventing every device which shall be put to him, besides thy skilful men, and the skilful men of my lord David thy father.

Now as for the wheat, barley, oil, and wine that my lord mentioned, let him send [that] to his servants.

These are Solomon’s foundations for building God’s temple: the length was 90 feet, and the width 30 feet.

A portico extended in front of the Temple for its entire width of 20 cubits, and was 120 cubits high. Inside he had it overlaid with pure gold.

He adorned the temple with precious stones for beauty, and the gold was the gold of Parvaim.

And he made the most holy place; it was twenty cubits long, and twenty cubits wide, like the greater house, and was plated all over with the best gold; six hundred talents were used for it.

And the weight for the nails [was] fifty shekels of gold. And he overlaid its upper rooms with gold.

He made two cherubim of sculptured work, for the most holy place, and he overlaid them with gold.

And, as for the wings of the cherubim, the length of them, was twenty cubits, - the one wing, by the cubit was five, reaching to the wall of the house, and, the other wing, five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other cherub;

The wings of these cherubim extended for 20 cubits as they stood on their feet and faced the front of the Temple.

And he made, for the front of the house, two pillars, thirty five cubits in length, - and, the capital which was upon the top of each, was five cubits.

He crafted chains for the inner sanctuary and placed them on top of the pillars, attaching 100 pomegranates to each of the chains.

And he made the great water-vessel of metal, round in form, measuring ten cubits across from edge to edge; it was five cubits high and thirty cubits round.

Under it was the likeness of oxen, which encircled it, for ten cubits, encircling the sea. The oxen were in two rows, cast when it was cast.

He made 10 basins for washing and he put five on the right and five on the left. The parts of the burnt offering were rinsed in them, but the reservoir was used by the priests for washing.

And he made ten candlesticks of gold according to their form, and set them in the temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left.

He made the courtyard of the priests and the large court, and doors for the court. He overlaid the doors with bronze.

Then Huram made the pots, the shovels, and the bowls.

So Huram finished doing the work that he was doing for King Solomon in God’s temple:

two pillars; the bowls and the capitals on top of the two pillars; the two gratings for covering both bowls of the capitals that were on top of the pillars;

the 400 pomegranates for the two gratings (two rows of pomegranates for each grating covering both capitals’ bowls on top of the pillars).

the pots, the shovels, the forks, and all their utensils—Huram-abi made them for King Solomon for the Lord’s temple. All these were made of polished bronze.

And Solomon made all these vessels in great number; for the weight of the brass was not ascertained.

And Solomon made all the vessels that were for the house of God, the golden altar also, and the tables on which the show-bread was set;

the lampstands, and the lamps for burning according to the custom before the inner sanctuary, of solid gold;

The flowers and the vessels for the lights and the instruments used for them, were all of gold; it was the best gold.

and the knives, and the bowls, and the cups, and the censers, of pure gold; and the entrance of the house, the inner folding-doors thereof for the most holy place, and the doors of the house, of the temple, of gold.

So all the work Solomon did for the Lord’s temple was completed. Then Solomon brought the consecrated things of his father David—the silver, the gold, and all the utensils—and put them in the treasuries of God’s temple.

Then Solomon assembled all the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the {families} for the {Israelites}, to Jerusalem in order to bring up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh from the city of David, which [is] Zion.

And king Solomon, and all the assembly of Israel, that were assembled to him before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen which could not be counted nor numbered for multitude.

The priests transported the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD to the place created for it within the inner sanctuary of the Temple, into the Most Holy Place under the wings of the cherubim.

For the cherubim spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and its poles above.

but the poles were long enough for their ends to extend to the front of the inner sanctuary, even though they could not be seen from outside. They remain there to this day.

There was nothing in the ark except for the two tablets that Moses had placed there while Israel was encamped at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the Israelis after he had brought them out of the land of Egypt.

Now all the priests who were present had consecrated themselves regardless of their divisions. When the priests came out of the holy place,

The trumpeters and singers joined together to praise and thank the Lord with one voice. They raised their voices, accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and musical instruments, in praise to the Lord:

For He is good;
His faithful love endures forever.

The temple, the Lord’s temple, was filled with a cloud.

And because of the cloud, the priests were not able to continue ministering, for the glory of the Lord filled God’s temple.

Then Solomon said, O Lord, to the sun you have given the heaven for a living-place, but your living-place was not seen by men,

but I have built an exalted temple for You,
a place for Your residence forever.

And he said, "Blessed be the LORD God of Israel which spake with his mouth to my father David and hath fulfilled it with his hands. For God said,

'From the day that I brought my people out of the land of Egypt I did not choose a city among all the tribes of Israel to build a house in order for my name [to be] there. Nor did I choose a man to be leader over my people Israel.

and I fix on Jerusalem for My name being there, and I fix on David to be over My people Israel.

Now it was in the heart of my father David
to build a temple for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel.