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."

David subsequently issued orders to conscript the resident aliens who lived in the land of Israel and appointed stonecutters to prepare stones for building a temple for God.

David thought, "My son Solomon is young and inexperienced. The temple that will be built for the LORD is to be magnificent, well known, and internationally honored, so I will complete preparations for it." So before his death, David finished providing a great quantity of materials for it.

Later, David called for his son Solomon and directed him to build a temple to the LORD God of Israel.

David addressed Solomon: "I have attempted to build a temple to the name of the LORD my God.

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.

He will build a temple to my name. He will be a son to me, I myself will be a father to him, and I will secure his royal throne in Israel forever.'

So now, my son, may the LORD be with you, so that you are successful in constructing the Temple of the LORD your God, just as he has spoken about you.

At great effort I have provided for the Temple of the LORD 100,000 gold talents, 1,000,000 silver talents, as well as bronze and iron beyond calculation, since there is so much of it. I've also provided timber and stone, but you'll need to obtain more.

Now determine in your mind and heart to seek the Lord your God. Get started building the Lord God’s sanctuary so that you may bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant and the holy articles of God to the temple that is to be built for the name of Yahweh.”

“Of these,” David said, “24,000 are to be in charge of the work on the Lord’s temple, 6,000 are to be officers and judges,

These were the sons of Levi by their ancestral houses—the heads of families, according to their registration by name in the headcount—20 years old or more, who worked in the service of the Lord’s temple.

“but their duty will be to assist the sons of Aaron with the service of the Lord’s temple, being responsible for the courts and the chambers, the purification of all the holy things, and the work of the service of God’s temple—

"Instead, they are to assist by lending a hand to the descendants of Aaron regarding service to the Temple of the LORD relating to the courts, the chambers, purification of everything pertaining to holiness, and to anything else pertaining to service on behalf of the Temple of God, including assisting with the rows of showbread, selecting flour for the grain offerings, the unleavened bread, baked offerings, and oil-based offerings, no matter what the quantity or sizes.

They are to carry out their responsibilities for the tent of meeting, for the holy place, and for their relatives, the sons of Aaron, in the service of the Lord’s temple.”

These had their assigned duties for service when they entered the Lord’s temple, according to their regulations, which they received from their ancestor Aaron, as the Lord God of Israel had commanded him.

Moreover, David and the commanders of the army selected for the [temple] service some of the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, who were to prophesy with lyres, harps, and cymbals. The list of the musicians who performed their service was as follows:

All these men were under their own fathers’ authority for the music in the Lord’s temple, with cymbals, harps, and lyres for the service of God’s temple. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the king’s authority.

These divisions of the gatekeepers, under their leading men, had duties for ministering in the Lord’s temple, just as their brothers did.

At the colonnade on the west side [of the outer court of the temple] there were four at the road and two at the colonnade.

From the Levites, Ahijah was in charge of the treasuries of God’s temple and the treasuries of what had been dedicated.

The sons of Jehieli, Zetham and his brother Joel, were in charge of the treasuries of the Lord’s temple.

They dedicated part of the plunder from their battles for the repair of the Lord’s temple.

As for the Izharites: Kenaniah and his sons were given responsibilities outside the temple as officers and judges over Israel.

King David rose to his feet and said: "Listen to me, my brothers and my people. I wanted to build a temple where the ark of the Lord's covenant could be placed as a footstool for our God. I have made the preparations for building it.

But then God told me, "You will not build a temple to my name, because you are a man of war, and you have committed bloodshed.'

He said to me, 'Solomon your son is the one who will build my temple and my courts, for I have chosen him to become my son and I will become his father.

"I chose your son Solomon to be the one who will construct my Temple and my courts, because I have chosen him to be a son to me, and I will be a father to him. I will establish his kingdom forever, assuming he remains strongly committed to carry out my commandments and ordinances, as he is doing today.'

So keep watching, because the LORD has chosen you to build the Temple of his sanctuary. So be strong, and get to work!"

Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch of the temple , and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper rooms thereof, and of the inner chambers thereof, and of the place of the mercy-seat;

and the plans for everything else that he had in mind for the courtyards of the Temple of the LORD. Included were plans for all of the surrounding vaults and treasuries of the Temple of God intended for storage of dedicated gifts,

for use by the ranks of priests and descendants of Levi, for all the work of service responsibilities in the Temple of the LORD, and for all of the utensils used in the work of the Temple of the LORD.

He gave him the prescribed weight for all the gold items to be used in various types of service in the Lord's temple, for all the silver items to be used in various types of service,

David continued with these words for his son Solomon: "Be strong and courageous, and get to work. Never be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you nor will he abandon you right up to your completion of the work for the service of the Temple of the LORD.

Now look! Here are the ranks of the priests and the descendants of Levi for the entire service of the Temple of God, and in all of the work there will be all types of volunteers who have skills for anything needed for the services. Furthermore, the officers and all of the people will be at your complete 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.

To the extent that I have been able to do so, I have provided supplies for the Temple of my God, including gold for what is to be made of gold, silver for what is to be made of silver, bronze for what is to be made of bronze, iron for what is to be made of iron, wood for what is to be made of wood, and great quantities of onyx, precious stones, antimony, colored stones, all types of other semi-precious stones, and plenty of marble.

"In addition to everything that I have supplied for the Temple, it pleases me to provide my own treasure of gold and silver, so because of my love for the Temple of my God I hereby give to the Temple of my God the following:

3,000 gold talents imported from Ophir, 7,000 talents of refined silver for gilding the walls of the Temple

They presented 5,000 gold talents and 10,000 gold darics for the work of the Temple of God, 10,000 silver talents, 18,000 bronze talents, and 100,000 iron talents.

Whoever owned precious stones gave them to the treasury of the Temple of the LORD, in care of Jehiel the Gershonite.

LORD our God, all of this abundance that we have given for building a temple for your great name was provided by you and all of it belongs to you.

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.

Now Solomon decided to build a house (temple) for the Name of the Lord, and a royal palace for himself.

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?

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

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.

Then Solomon began to build the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah where the Lord had appeared to his father David, at the site David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

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

The portico, which was across the front extending across the width of the temple, was 30 feet wide; its height was 30 feet; he overlaid its inner surface with pure gold.

The main room of the Temple was trimmed with a wainscoting composed of cypress wood, overlaid with fine gold ornamented with palm trees and chains.

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

He overlaid the temple—the beams, the thresholds, its walls and doors—with gold, and he carved cherubim on the walls.

Then he made the most holy place; its length corresponded to the width of the temple, 30 feet, and its width was 30 feet. He overlaid it with 45,000 pounds of fine gold.

He crafted two cherubim from wood, overlaid them with gold, and placed them in the Most Holy Place in the Temple.

The wingspan of the cherubim was 20 cubits; the wing of one, five cubits long, touched the wall of the Temple, and its other wing, five cubits long, touched the wing of the other cherub.

The wing of the other cherub, five cubits long, touched the opposite wall of the Temple and its other wing, five cubits long, touched the wing of the first cherub.

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

In front of the temple he made two pillars, each 27 feet high. The capital on top of each was 7½ feet high.

And he reared up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand, and the other on the left; and called the name of that on the right hand Jachin, and the name of that on the left Boaz.

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 also ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right side, and five on the left. And he made an hundred basons of gold.

And he set the sea at the southeast [corner of the temple].

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:

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.

Solomon also made all the equipment in God’s temple: the gold altar; the tables on which to put the bread of the Presence;

And the snuffers, and the basons, and the spoons, and the censers, of pure gold: and the entry of the house, the inner doors thereof for the most holy place, and the doors of the house of the temple, were 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.

The priests brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the most holy place, beneath the wings of the cherubim.

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.

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

“Since the day I brought My people Israel
out of the land of Egypt,
I have not chosen a city to build a temple in
among any of the tribes of Israel,
so that My name would be there,
and I have not chosen a man
to be ruler 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.

However, Yahweh said to my father David,
“Since it was your desire to build a temple for My name,
you have done well to have this desire.

Yet, you are not the one to build the temple,
but your son, your own offspring,
will build the temple for My name.”

So Yahweh has fulfilled what He promised.
I have taken the place of my father David
and I sit on the throne of Israel, as Yahweh promised.
I have built the temple for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

But will God indeed live on earth with man?
Even heaven, the highest heaven, cannot contain You,
much less this temple I have built.

so that Your eyes watch over this temple
day and night,
toward the place where You said
You would put Your name;
and so that You may hear the prayer
Your servant prays toward this place.

If a man sins against his neighbor
and is forced to take an oath
and he comes to take an oath
before Your altar in this temple,

If Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy,
because they have sinned against You,
and they return to You and praise Your name,
and they pray and plead for mercy
before You in this temple,

whatever prayer or petition
anyone from your people Israel might have—
each man knowing his own affliction and suffering,
and spreading out his hands toward this temple—

Even for the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel
but has come from a distant land
because of Your great name
and Your mighty hand and outstretched arm:
when he comes and prays toward this temple,

may You hear in heaven in Your dwelling place,
and do all the foreigner asks You.
Then all the peoples of the earth will know Your name,
to fear You as Your people Israel do
and know that this temple I have built
is called by Your name.

When Your people go out to fight against their enemies,
wherever You send them,
and they pray to You
in the direction of this city You have chosen
and the temple that I have built for Your name,

and when they return to You with their whole mind and heart
in the land of their captivity where they were taken captive,
and when they pray in the direction of their land
that You gave their ancestors,
and the city You have chosen,
and toward the temple I have built for Your name,

“Now, O my God, I pray, let Your eyes be open and Your ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place.

When Solomon finished praying, fire descended from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.

The priests were not able to enter the Lord’s temple because the glory of the Lord filled the temple of the Lord.

All the Israelites were watching when the fire descended and the glory of the Lord came on the temple. They bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground. They worshiped and praised the Lord:

For He is good,
for His faithful love endures forever.

King Solomon offered a sacrifice of 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep. In this manner the king and all the people dedicated God’s temple.

Since the bronze altar that Solomon had made could not accommodate the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the fat of the fellowship offerings, Solomon first consecrated the middle of the courtyard that was in front of the Lord’s temple and then offered the burnt offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings there.

So Solomon finished the Lord’s temple and the royal palace. Everything that had entered Solomon’s heart to do for the Lord’s temple and for his own palace succeeded.

Then the Lord appeared to Solomon at night and said to him:

I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a temple of sacrifice.

"I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for a sacrificial temple to me. Whenever I close the skies so there is no rain, or whenever I command locusts to lay waste to the land, or whenever I send epidemics among my people,

And I have now chosen and consecrated this temple so that My name may be there forever; My eyes and My heart will be there at all times.

then I will uproot Israel from the soil that I gave them, and this temple that I have sanctified for My name I will banish from My presence; I will make it an object of scorn and ridicule among all the peoples.

As for this temple, which was exalted, everyone who passes by will be appalled and will say: Why did the Lord do this to this land and this temple?