28 Bible Verses about The First Temple

Moreover, because I delight in the house of my God, the [personal] treasure that I have of gold and silver, I give to the house of my God, in addition to all that I have already provided for the holy house:

the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells within tent curtains.”

David said to Solomon, “My son, I had intended to build a house for the Name (Presence) of the Lord my God.

How he swore to the Lord and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob: Surely I will not enter my dwelling house or get into my bed -- " I will not permit my eyes to sleep or my eyelids to slumber, read more.
Until I have found a place for the Lord, a habitation for the Mighty One of Jacob.

So I have provided with all my might for the house of my God the gold for things to be of gold, silver for things of silver, bronze for things of bronze, iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood, as well as onyx or beryl stones, stones to be set, stones of antimony, stones of various colors, and all sorts of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance. Moreover, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, in addition to all I have prepared for the holy house, I have a private treasure of gold and silver which I give for the house of my God: It is 3,000 talents of gold, gold of Ophir, 7,000 talents of refined silver for overlaying the walls of the house, read more.
Gold for the uses of gold, silver for the uses of silver, and for every work to be done by craftsmen. Now who will offer willingly to fill his hand [and consecrate it] today to the Lord [like one consecrating himself to the priesthood]?

David commanded to gather together the strangers who were in the land of Israel, and he set stonecutters to hew out stones to build the house of God. David prepared iron in abundance for nails for the doors of the gates and for the couplings, and bronze in abundance without weighing, Also cedar trees without number, for the Sidonians and they of Tyre brought much cedar timber to David. read more.
David said, Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly magnificent, of fame and glory throughout all lands. I will therefore make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.

In my affliction and trouble I have provided for the house of the Lord 100,000 talents of gold, 1,000,000 talents of silver, and bronze and iron without weighing. I have also provided timber and stone; you must add to them. You have workmen in abundance: hewers, workers of stone and timber, and all kinds of craftsmen without number, skillful in doing every kind of work With gold, silver, bronze, and iron. So arise and be doing, and the Lord be with you!

Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord appeared to his father David, in the place that David had prepared, on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

Then David said, “This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”

When David saw that the Lord had answered him at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there. For the tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering were at that time in the high place at Gibeon. But David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the Lord.

What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said:“I will dwell among them and walk among them;
And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Do you not know and understand that you [the church] are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells [permanently] in you [collectively and individually]?

You are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus Himself the chief Cornerstone. In Him the whole structure is joined (bound, welded) together harmoniously, and it continues to rise (grow, increase) into a holy temple in the Lord [a sanctuary dedicated, consecrated, and sacred to the presence of the Lord]. In Him [and in fellowship with one another] you yourselves also are being built up [into this structure] with the rest, to form a fixed abode (dwelling place) of God in (by, through) the Spirit.

Then he set the carved image of the idol which he had made in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, I will put My Name [and the symbol of my Presence] forever;

And he built [heathen] altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord said, In Jerusalem will I put My Name [and the pledge of My presence]. And he [good Hezekiah's son] built altars for all the hosts of the heavens in the two courts of the house of the Lord! And he made his son pass through the fire and burned him as an offering [to Molech]; he practiced soothsaying and augury, and dealt with mediums and wizards! He did much wickedness in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him to anger. read more.
He made a graven image of [the goddess] Asherah and set it in the house, of which the Lord said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will I put My Name [and the pledge of My presence] forever;

Also he built [heathen] altars in the Lord's house, of which the Lord had said, In Jerusalem shall My Name be forever. He built altars for all the hosts of the heavens in the two courts of the Lord's house.

He burned the house (temple) of the Lord, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down.

The bronze pillars in the Lord's house and [its] bases and the bronze Sea the Chaldeans smashed and carried the bronze to Babylon. And they took away the pots, shovels, snuffers, dishes for incense, all the bronze vessels used in the temple service, The firepans, and bowls. Such things as were of gold the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver [he took away] as silver. read more.
The two pillars, the one Sea, and the bases, which Solomon had made for the house of the Lord, the bronze of all these articles was incalculable. The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and upon it was a capital of bronze. The height of the capital was three cubits; a network and pomegranates round about the capital were all of bronze. And the second pillar had the same as these, with a network.

And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the Lord's house, of the king, and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon. And they burned God's house and broke down Jerusalem's wall and burned all its palaces with fire and destroyed all its choice vessels.

So Solomon assigned 70,000 men to carry loads, 80,000 men to quarry stone in the mountains, and 3,600 to supervise them.

Then Solomon took a census of all the aliens in the land of Israel, like the census of them which his father David had taken. They were found to be 153,600. And he assigned 70,000 of them to be burden bearers, 80,000 to work in the mountain quarries, and 3,600 as overseers to direct the people's work.

Solomon had 70,000 burden bearers (transporters) and 80,000 stonemasons in the hill country [of Judah],

When the priests had come out of the Holy Place, the cloud filled the Lord's house, So the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord's house.

in unison when the trumpeters and singers were to make themselves heard with one voice praising and thanking the Lord, and when they raised their voices accompanied by the trumpets and cymbals and [other] instruments of music, and when they praised the Lord, saying, “For He is good, for His mercy and lovingkindness endure forever,” then the house of the Lord was filled with a cloud,

The priests could not enter the house of the Lord because the glory and brilliance of the Lord had filled the Lord’s house.

So Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came to him and distressed him without strengthening him. For Ahaz took [treasure] from the house of the Lord and out of the house of the king and from the princes and gave it as tribute to the king of Assyria, but it did not help Ahaz.

He removed from the house of the Lord the covered way for the Sabbath which they had built in the house, and the outer entrance of the king, because of the king of Assyria [who might confiscate them].

He brought the bronze altar, which was before the Lord, from the front of the house (temple), from between the [new] altar and the house of the Lord, and put it on the north side of the [new] altar.

“You know that David my father could not build a house (temple) for the Name (Presence) of the Lord his God because of the wars which surrounded him, until the Lord put his enemies under his feet.

But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have waged great wars; you shall not build a house for My Name, because you have shed so much blood on the earth before me.

Go and tell My servant David, Thus says the Lord: Shall you build Me a house in which to dwell? For I have not dwelt in a house since I brought the Israelites out of Egypt to this day, but have moved about with a tent for My dwelling. In all the places where I have moved with all the Israelites, did I speak a word to any from the tribes of Israel whom I commanded to be shepherd of My people Israel, asking, Why do you not build Me a house of cedar? read more.
So now say this to My servant David, Thus says the Lord of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be prince over My people Israel. And I was with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make you a great name, like [that] of the great men of the earth.

In the fourth year [of King Solomon’s reign] the foundation of the Lord’s house was laid, in the [second] month, Ziv (April-May).

Now it came about in the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv (April-May) which is the second month, that he began to build the Lord’s house (temple).

Solomon began to build on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign.

Against the wall of the house he built chambers running round the walls of the house both of the Holy Place and of the Holy of Holies; and he made side chambers all around. The first story's side chambers were five cubits wide, those of the middle story six cubits wide, and of the third story seven cubits wide; for around the outside of the wall of the house he made offsets in order that the supporting beams should not be thrust into the walls of the house.

The entrance to the lowest side chamber was on the right [or south] side of the house; and they would go up winding stairs to the middle [level], and from the middle to the third.

Then he built the extensions [of rooms] against the entire house, each [story] five cubits high; and they were attached to the house with timbers of cedar.

Then he called for Solomon his son and charged him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. David said to Solomon, My son, it was in my heart to build a house to the Name and [for the symbol of] the Presence of the Lord my God.

Now, my son, may the Lord be with you so that you may be successful and build the house of the Lord your God, just as He has spoken concerning you.

Now I have sent a skilled man, endued with understanding, even Huram-abi, my trusted counselor, The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan; his father was a man of Tyre. He is a trained worker in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood; in purple, blue, and crimson colors, and in fine linen; and also to engrave any type of engraving and to carry out any design given him, with your skilled men and those of my lord, David your father.

Now send me a man who is skilled to work in gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and in purple, crimson, and blue fabrics, and who knows how to make engravings, to work with the skilled men who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem, whom my father David provided.

Within the Holy of Holies he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high. Five cubits was the length of one wing of the cherub and five cubits its other wing; from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other was ten cubits. The wings of the other cherub were also ten cubits. Both cherubim were the same, read more.
The height of one cherub ten cubits, as was the other. He put the cherubim within the inner sanctuary. Their wings were stretched out, so that the wing of one touched one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall, and their inner wings touched in the midst of the room. Solomon overlaid the cherubim with gold.

And the wings of the cherubim [combined] extended twenty cubits: one wing of one cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house, and its other wing of five cubits touched the other cherub's wing. And of the other cherub one wing of five cubits touched the wall of the house, and the other wing, also five cubits, joined the wing of the first cherub. The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits; the cherubim stood on their feet, their faces toward the Holy Place.

And Joash said to the priests, All the current money brought into the house of the Lord to provide the dedicated things, also the money [which the priests by command have] assessed on all those bound by vows, also all the money that it comes into any man's heart voluntarily to bring into the house of the Lord, Let the priests solicit and receive such contributions, every man from his acquaintance, and let them repair the Lord's house wherever any such need may be found. But in the twenty-third year of King Joash's reign the priests had not made the needed repairs on the Lord's house. read more.
Then King Joash called for Jehoiada the priest and the other priests and said to them, Why are you not repairing the [Lord's] house? Do not take any more money from your acquaintances, but turn it all over for the repair of the house. [You are no longer responsible for this work. I will take it into my own hands.] And the priests consented to receive no more money from the people, nor to repair the breaches of the house. Then Jehoiada the priest took a chest and bored a hole in the lid of it and set it beside the altar on the right side as one entered the house of the Lord; and the priests who guarded the door put in the chest all the money that was brought into the house of the Lord. And whenever they saw that there was much money in the chest, the king's scribe and the high priest came up and counted the money that was found in the house of the Lord and tied it up in bags. Then they gave the money, when it was weighed, into the hands of those who were doing the work, who had the oversight of the house of the Lord; and they paid it out to the carpenters and builders who worked on the house of the Lord And to the masons and stonecutters, and to buy timber and hewn stone for making the repairs on the house of the Lord, and for all that was outlay for repairing the house. However, there were not made for the house of the Lord basins of silver, snuffers, bowls, trumpets, any vessels of gold or of silver, from the money that was brought into the house of the Lord. But they gave that to the workmen, and repaired with it the house of the Lord.

After this, Joash decided to repair the Lord's house. He gathered the priests and the Levites and said to them, Go out to the cities of Judah, and gather from all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year; and see that you hasten the matter. But the Levites did not hasten it. So the king called for Jehoiada the high priest and said to him, Why have you not required the Levites to bring in from Judah and Jerusalem the tax authorized by Moses the servant of the Lord and of the assembly of Israel for the Tent of the Testimony? read more.
For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken into the house of God and also had used for the Baals all the dedicated things of the house of the Lord. And at the king's command they made a chest and set it outside the gate of the house of the Lord. And they made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem to bring in for the Lord the tax that Moses the servant of God laid upon Israel in the wilderness. And all the princes and people rejoiced and brought their tax and dropped it into the chest until they had finished. When the Levites brought the chest to the king's office, and whenever they saw that there was much money, the king's secretary and the high priest's officer came and emptied the chest and carried it to its place again. Thus they did day by day and collected money in abundance. And the king and Jehoiada gave it to those who did the work of the temple service; and they hired masons and carpenters and also those who worked in iron and bronze to repair the house of the Lord. So the workmen labored, and the work of repairing went forward in their hands; and they set up the house of God according to its design and strengthened it.

He fashioned the two pillars of bronze, each eighteen cubits high, and a line of twelve cubits measured its circumference. He made two capitals of molten bronze to set upon the tops of the pillars; the height of each capital was five cubits. Nets of checkerwork and wreaths of chainwork for the capitals were on the tops of the pillars, seven for each capital. read more.
So Hiram made the pillars. There were two rows of pomegranates encircling each network to cover the capitals that were upon the top. The capitals that were upon the top of the pillars in the porch were of lily work [design], four cubits. The capitals were upon the two pillars and also above the rounded projection beside the network. There were 200 pomegranates in two rows round about, and so with the other capital. Hiram set up the pillars of the porch of the temple; he set up the right pillar and called its name Jachin [he will establish], and he set up the left pillar and called its name Boaz [in strength]. On the tops of the pillars was lily work [design]. So the work of the pillars was finished.

Before the house he made two pillars, 35 cubits high, with a capital on the top of each which was five cubits. He made chains like a necklace and put them on the heads of the pillars, and he made 100 pomegranates and put them on the chains. He erected the pillars before the temple, one on the right, the other on the left, and called the one on the right Jachin [he shall establish] and the one on the left Boaz [in it is strength].

a [second] third shall be at the king’s house (palace), and a [final] third at the Gate of the Foundation; and all the people shall be in the courtyards of the house of the Lord.

When Athaliah heard the sound of the people running and praising the king, she went into the house of the Lord to [see what] the people [were doing].

In the eighteenth year of King Josiah, he sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, the scribe, to the Lord's house, saying, Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may count the money brought into the house of the Lord, which the keepers of the door have gathered from the people. And let them deliver it into the hands of the workmen who have oversight of the Lord's house, to give to the laborers engaged in the repairing of the Lord's house -- " read more.
That is, to the carpenters, builders, and masons -- "and to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house. However, there was no accounting required of them for the money delivered into their hands, because they dealt faithfully.

In the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign, when he had purged the land and the [Lord's] house, he sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah governor of the city, and Joah son of Joahaz, the recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his God. When they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered the money that had been brought into the house of God, which the Levites who kept the doors had collected from Manasseh, Ephraim, all the remnant of Israel, and from all Judah, Benjamin, and Jerusalem. They delivered it to the workmen who had oversight of the Lord's house, who gave it to repair and restore the temple: read more.
To the carpenters and builders to buy hewn stone, and timber for couplings and beams for the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed [by neglect]. The men did the work faithfully. Their overseers were Jahath and Obadiah, Levites of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites. The Levites -- "all who were skillful with instruments of music -- " Also had oversight of the burden bearers and all who did work in any kind of service; and some of the Levites were scribes, officials, and gatekeepers.

And when your days are fulfilled and you sleep with your fathers, I will set up after you your offspring who shall be born to you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My Name [and My Presence], and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

He shall build Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever.

In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt [Jeroboam's brother-in-law] came up against Jerusalem. He took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and of the king's house; he took away all, including all the shields of gold which Solomon had made.

So Shishak king of Egypt went up against Jerusalem; he took the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house (palace). He took everything. He even took the shields of gold which Solomon had made.

Send me also from Lebanon cedar, cypress, and algum timber, for I know your servants can skillfully cut timber in Lebanon; and my servants will be with your servants, To prepare for me timber in abundance, for the house I am about to build shall be great and wonderful. And I will give to your servants who cut timber 20,000 measures of crushed wheat and also of barley, and 20,000 baths of wine and also of oil.

So, Hiram, command them to hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; my servants shall join yours, and I will give you whatever wages you set for your servants. For you know that no one among us can equal the skill of the Sidon men in cutting timber. When Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly and said, Blessed be the Lord this day, Who has given David a wise son to be over this great people. And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things for which you sent to me; I will do all you wish concerning the cedar and cypress timber. read more.
My servants shall bring the logs down from Lebanon to the sea, make them into rafts, and float them by sea to the place that you direct. I will have them released there, and you shall take them away. And you shall fulfill my desire by providing food for my household. So Hiram gave Solomon all the cedar and cypress trees he desired, And Solomon gave Hiram 20,000 measures of wheat for food for his household, and 20 measures of pure, beaten oil. He gave these to Hiram yearly. The Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as He promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and they made a treaty.

Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chiefs of the fathers' houses of the Israelites, to Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the City of David, which is Zion. All the men of Israel gathered to the king at the feast in the seventh month. And all the elders of Israel came, and the Levites took up the ark. read more.
And the priests and Levites brought up the ark, the Tent of Meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the Tent. Also King Solomon and all the assembly of Israel who were gathered to him before the ark sacrificed sheep and oxen so numerous that they could not be counted or reported. And the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, to the sanctuary of the house, into the Holy of Holies, under the wings of the cherubim; For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, making a covering above the ark and its poles. And they drew out the poles of the ark, so that the ends of the poles protruding from the ark were visible from the front of the Holy of Holies, but were not visible from without. It is there to this day. There was nothing in the ark except the two tables [the Ten Commandments] which Moses put in it at Mount Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites when they came out of Egypt.

Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chiefs of the fathers' houses of the Israelites, before the king in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of Zion, the City of David. All the men of Israel assembled themselves before King Solomon at the feast in the seventh month, Ethanim. All the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark. read more.
And they brought up the ark of the Lord, the Tent of Meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up. King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel who had assembled before him were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, so many that they could not be reported or counted. And the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place in the Holy of Holies of the house, under the wings of the cherubim. For the cherubim spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and its poles. The poles were so long that the ends of them were seen from the Holy Place before the Holy of Holies, but they were not seen outside; they are there to this day. There was nothing in the ark except the two tables of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites when they came out of the land of Egypt.

The house I am going to build will be great, for our God is greater than all the gods.

to prepare for me an abundance of timber, because the house I am about to build will be great and wonderful.

He also overlaid the house [the Holy Place] with gold—the beams, the thresholds, and its walls and its doors; and he carved cherubim on the walls.

Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold, and he drew chains of gold across in front of the Holy of Holies and overlaid it with gold. And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until all the house was finished. Also the whole [incense] altar that [stood outside the door but] belonged to the Holy of Holies he overlaid with gold.

And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second rank and the keepers of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels made for Baal, for [the goddess] Asherah, and for all the hosts of the heavens; and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel [where Israel's idolatry began]. He put away the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in Judah's cities and round about Jerusalem -- "also those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations [or twelve signs of the zodiac], and to all the hosts of the heavens. And Josiah brought the Asherah from the house of the Lord to outside Jerusalem to the brook Kidron and burned it there, and beat it to dust and cast its dust upon the graves of the common people [who had sacrificed to it]. read more.
And he broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes, which were by the house of the Lord, where the women wove [tent] hangings for the Asherah [shrines].

And he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had devoted to the sun from the entrance of the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the area, and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. And the altars on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, [Josiah] pulled down and beat them in pieces, and he [ran and] cast their dust into the brook Kidron.

Then Solomon said, The Lord said that He would dwell in the thick darkness. I have surely built You a house of habitation, a settled place for You to dwell in forever. And the king turned his face about and blessed all the assembly of Israel, and all the assembly of Israel stood. read more.
He said, Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, Who spoke with His mouth to David my father and has with His hand fulfilled it, saying, Since the day that I brought forth My people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house that My Name [and My Presence] might be in it, but I chose David to be over My people Israel. Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the Name [the Presence] of the Lord, the God of Israel. And the Lord said to David my father, Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for My Name, you did well that it was in your heart. Yet you shall not build the house, but your son, who shall be born to you, shall build it to My Name [and My actively present Person]. And the Lord has fulfilled His promise which He made: I have risen up in the place of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and have built a house for the Name (renown) of the Lord, the God of Israel. And I have made there a place for the ark [the token of His presence], in which is the covenant [the Ten Commandments] of the Lord which He made with our fathers when He brought them out of the land of Egypt. Then Solomon stood [in the court] before the Lord's burnt offering altar in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven And he said, O Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like You in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing mercy and loving-kindness to Your servants who walk before You with all their heart. You have kept what You promised Your servant David my father. You also spoke with Your mouth and have fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day. Therefore now, O Lord, the God of Israel, keep with Your servant David my father what You promised him when You said, There shall not fail you a man before Me to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your children take heed to their way, that they walk before Me as you have done. Now, O God of Israel, let Your word which You spoke to Your servant David my father be confirmed [by experience]. But will God indeed dwell with men on the earth? Behold, the heavens and heaven of heavens [in its most extended compass] cannot contain You; how much less this house that I have built? Yet graciously consider the prayer and supplication of Your servant, O Lord my God, to hearken to the [loud] cry and prayer which he prays before You today, That Your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, toward the place of which You have said, My Name [and the token of My presence] shall be there, that You may hearken to the prayer which Your servant shall make in [or facing toward] this place. Hearken to the prayer of Your servant and of Your people Israel when they pray in or toward this place. Hear in heaven, Your dwelling place, and when You hear, forgive. Whenever a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take an oath and comes and swears the oath before Your altar in this house, Then hear in heaven and do and judge Your servants, condemning the wicked by bringing his guilt upon his own head and justifying the [uncompromisingly] righteous by rewarding him according to his righteousness (his uprightness, right standing with God). When Your people Israel are struck down before the enemy because they have sinned against You, and they turn again to You, confess Your name (Your revelation of Yourself), and pray, beseeching You in this house, Then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of Your people Israel and return them to the land You gave to their fathers. When heaven is shut up and no rain falls because they have sinned against You, if they pray in [or toward] this place and confess Your name (Your revelation of Yourself) and turn from their sin when You afflict them, Then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, when You teach them the good way in which they should walk. And give rain upon Your land which You have given to Your people as an inheritance. If there is famine in the land or pestilence, blight, mildew, locust, or caterpillar, if their enemy besieges them in the land of their cities, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, Whatever prayer or supplication is made by any or all of Your people Israel -- "each man knowing the affliction of his own heart, and spreading forth his hands toward this house [and its pledge of Your presence] -- " Then hear in heaven, Your dwelling place, and forgive and act and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart You know, for You and You only know the hearts of all the children of men, That they may fear and revere You all the days that they live in the land which You gave to our fathers. Moreover, concerning a stranger who is not of Your people Israel but comes from a far country for the sake of Your name [and Your active Presence] -- " For they will hear of Your great name (Your revelation of Yourself), Your strong hand, and outstretched arm -- "when he shall pray in [or toward] this house, Hear in heaven, Your dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger asks of You, so that all peoples of the earth may know Your name [and Your revelation of Your presence] and fear and revere You, as do Your people Israel, and may know and comprehend that this house which I have built is called by Your Name [and contains the token of Your presence]. If Your people go out to battle against their enemy, wherever You shall send them, and shall pray to the Lord toward the city which You have chosen and the house that I have built for Your Name [and Your revelation of Yourself], Then hear in heaven their prayer and supplication, and defend their cause and maintain their right. If they sin against You -- "for there is no man who does not sin -- "and You are angry with them and deliver them to the enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the enemy's land, far or near; Yet if they think and consider in the land where they were carried captive, and repent and make supplication to You there, saying, We have sinned and have done perversely and wickedly; If they repent and turn to You with all their mind and with all their heart in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to You toward their land which You gave to their fathers, the city which You have chosen, and the house which I have built for Your Name; Then hear their prayer and their supplication in heaven, Your dwelling place, and defend their cause and maintain their right. And forgive Your people, who have sinned against You, and all their transgressions against You, and grant them compassion before those who took them captive, that they may have pity and be merciful to them; For they are Your people and Your heritage, which You brought out of Egypt, from the midst of the iron furnace. Let Your eyes be open to the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, to hearken to them in all for which they call to You. For You separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be Your heritage, as You declared through Moses Your servant when You brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God. When Solomon finished offering all this prayer and supplication to the Lord, he arose from before the Lord's altar, where he had knelt with hands stretched toward heaven. And he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, Blessed be the Lord, Who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. Not one word has failed of all His good promise which He promised through Moses His servant. May the Lord our God be with us as He was with our fathers; may He not leave us or forsake us, That He may incline our hearts to Him, to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His precepts which He commanded our fathers. Let these my words, with which I have made supplication before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, that He may maintain the cause and right of His servant and of His people Israel as each day requires, That all the earth's people may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other. Let your hearts therefore be blameless and wholly true to the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments, as today. And the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifice before the Lord. Solomon offered as peace offerings to the Lord: 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated the house of the Lord. On that same day the king consecrated the middle of the court that was before the Lord's house; there he offered burnt offerings, cereal offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar that was before the Lord was too small to receive [all] the offerings. So at that time Solomon held the feast, and all Israel with him, a great assembly, from the entrance of Hamath to the Brook of Egypt, before the Lord our God, for seven days [for the dedication] and seven days [for the Feast of Tabernacles], fourteen days in all. On the eighth day he sent the people away; they blessed the king and went to their tents with greatest joy and gratitude for all the goodness the Lord had shown to David His servant and Israel His people.

He also overlaid the house [the Holy Place] with gold—the beams, the thresholds, and its walls and its doors; and he carved cherubim on the walls.

Also he made for the entrance of the [outer] sanctuary (the Holy Place) four-sided doorposts (frames) of olive wood

He built the inner courtyard with three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams.

Moreover, he made the courtyard of the priests, and the great courtyard [for the people] and doors for the courtyard, and he overlaid their doors with bronze.

Now this is the [measurement of the] foundation which Solomon laid for the house of God: the length in cubits—by the old standard of measure—was sixty cubits (90 ft.), and the width was twenty cubits (30 ft.).

The length of the house which King Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits (90 ft.), its width twenty (30 ft.), and its height thirty cubits (45 ft.).

He built twenty cubits on the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the ceiling; he built its interior as the [inner] sanctuary, the Holy of Holies.

The Holy of Holies was twenty cubits in length, twenty cubits in width, and twenty cubits in height (a cube), and he overlaid it with pure gold. He also overlaid the cedar altar [with gold].

Therefore, on account of you
Zion shall be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,
And the mountain of the house [of the Lord] shall become like a densely wooded hill.

“Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts,

“Zion will be plowed like a field,
And Jerusalem will become [heaps of] ruins,
And the mountain of the house [of the Lord—Mount Moriah, on which stands the temple, shall become covered not with buildings, but] like a densely wooded height.”’

All these I will bring to My holy mountain
And make them joyful in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar;
For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.”

Jesus said to them, “It is written [in Scripture], ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a robbers’ den.”

David also commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, Is not the Lord your God with you? And has He not given you peace on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and His people. Now set your mind and heart to seek (inquire of and require as your vital necessity) the Lord your God. Arise and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy vessels of God may be brought into the house built to the Name and renown of the Lord.

In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord [which his father had closed] and repaired them. He brought together the priests and Levites in the square on the east And said to them, Levites, hear me! Now sanctify (purify and make free from sin) yourselves and the house of the Lord, the God of your fathers, and carry out the filth from the Holy Place. read more.
For our fathers have trespassed and have done what was evil in the sight of the Lord our God, and they have forsaken Him and have turned away their faces from the dwelling place of the Lord and have turned their backs. Also they have closed the doors of the porch and put out the lamps, and they have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the place holy to the God of Israel. Therefore the wrath of the Lord was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and He has delivered them to be a terror and a cause of trembling, to be an astonishment, and a hissing, as you see with your own eyes. For, behold, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity for this. Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, that His fierce anger may turn away from us. My sons, do not now be negligent, for the Lord has chosen you to stand in His presence, to serve Him, to be His ministers, and to burn incense to Him. Then the Levites arose: Mahath son of Amasai, Joel son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites; of the sons of Merari: Kish son of Abdi, Azariah son of Jehallelel; of the Gershonites: Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah; Of the sons of Elizaphan: Shimri and Jeiel; of the sons of Asaph: Zechariah, and Mattaniah; Of the sons of Heman: Jehiel and Shimei; and of the sons of Jeduthun: Shemaiah and Uzziel. They gathered their brethren and sanctified themselves and went in, as the king had commanded by the words of the Lord, to cleanse the house of the Lord. The priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness they found in the temple of the Lord into the court of the Lord's house. And the Levites carried it out to the brook Kidron. They began on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day they came to the porch of the Lord. Then for eight days they sanctified the house of the Lord, and on the sixteenth day they finished. Then they went to King Hezekiah and said, We have cleansed all the house of the Lord and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils and the showbread table with all its utensils. Moreover, all the utensils which King Ahaz in his reign cast away when he was transgressing [faithless] we have made ready and sanctified; and behold, they are before the altar of the Lord. Then King Hezekiah rose early and gathered the officials of the city and went up to the house of the Lord. They brought seven each of bulls, rams, lambs, and he-goats for a sin offering for the kingdom, the sanctuary, and Judah. He commanded the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the Lord's altar. So they killed the bulls, and the priests received the blood and dashed it against the altar. Likewise, when they had killed the rams and then the lambs, they dashed the blood against the altar. Then the he-goats for the sin offering were brought before the king and the assembly, and they laid their hands on them. The priests killed them and made a sin offering with their blood upon the altar to make atonement for all Israel, for the king commanded that the burnt offering and sin offering be made for all Israel. Hezekiah stationed the Levites in the Lord's house with cymbals, harps, and lyres, as David [his forefather] and Gad the king's seer and Nathan the prophet had commanded; for the commandment was from the Lord through His prophets. The Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets. Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of the Lord began also with the trumpets and with the instruments ordained by King David of Israel. And all the congregation worshiped, the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded; all this continued until the burnt offering was finished. When they had stopped offering, the king and all present with him bowed themselves and worshiped. Also King Hezekiah and the princes ordered the Levites to sing praises to the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness and bowed themselves and worshiped. Then Hezekiah said, Now you have consecrated yourselves to the Lord; come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the Lord. And the assembly brought in sacrifices and thank offerings, and as many as were of a willing heart brought burnt offerings. And the number of the burnt offerings which the assembly brought was 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 lambs. All these were for a burnt offering to the Lord. And the consecrated things were 600 oxen and 3,000 sheep. But the priests were too few and could not skin all the burnt offerings. So until the other priests had sanctified themselves, their Levite kinsmen helped them until the work was done, for the Levites were more upright in heart than the priests in sanctifying themselves. Also the burnt offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace offerings, and the drink offerings for every burnt offering. So the service of the Lord's house was set in order.

Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

But He was speaking of the temple which was His body.

Then the chiefs of the fathers and princes of the tribes of Israel and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers of the king's work, offered willingly And gave for the service of the house of God -- "of gold 5,000 talents and 10,000 darics, of silver 10,000 talents, of bronze 18,000 talents, and 100,000 talents of iron. And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the Lord in the care of Jehiel the Gershonite. read more.
Then the people rejoiced because these had given willingly, for with a whole and blameless heart they had offered freely to the Lord. King David also rejoiced greatly.

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is within you, whom you have [received as a gift] from God, and that you are not your own [property]?

and give to my son Solomon a perfect heart to keep Your commandments, Your testimonies, and Your statutes, and to do all [that is necessary] to build the temple [for You], for which I have made provision.”

He made the veil [between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies] of blue, purple, and crimson colors, and fine linen, and embroidered cherubim on it.

Then the Lord appeared to Solomon by night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice.

In the fourteenth year of Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, I have done wrong. Depart from me; what you put on me I will bear. And the king of Assyria exacted of Hezekiah king of Judah 300 talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king's house. read more.
Then Hezekiah stripped off the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord and from the doorposts which he as king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.

Then Hazael king of Syria went up, fought against Gath [in Philistia], and took it. And Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem. And Joash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his [forefathers], kings of Judah, had dedicated and his own hallowed things and all the gold that was found in the treasuries of the house of the Lord and in the king's house, and sent them to Hazael king of Syria; and Hazael went away from Jerusalem.

The porch in front of the house was as long as the width of the house, twenty cubits, and the height was 120 cubits. He overlaid it inside with pure gold.

He overlaid the main room [the Holy Place] with cypress wood and overlaid it with fine gold, and decorated it with palm trees and chains.

The porch in front of the house was as long as the width of the house, twenty cubits, and the height was 120 cubits. He overlaid it inside with pure gold.

Now this is the [measurement of the] foundation which Solomon laid for the house of God: the length in cubits—by the old standard of measure—was sixty cubits (90 ft.), and the width was twenty cubits (30 ft.).

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

When all the people of Israel saw how the fire came down and saw the glory and brilliance of the Lord upon the house, they bowed down on the stone pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and praised the Lord, saying, “For He is good, for His mercy and lovingkindness endure forever.”

And he adorned the house with precious stones; and the gold was gold from Parvaim.

Thus all the work that Solomon did for the house of the Lord was finished. He brought in the things that his father David had dedicated, and he put the silver and the gold and all the utensils in the treasuries of the house of God.

He overlaid the main room [the Holy Place] with cypress wood and overlaid it with fine gold, and decorated it with palm trees and chains.

For the Holy of Holies he made [folding] doors of olive wood; their entire width was one-fifth that of the wall. On the two doors of olive wood he carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers; he overlaid them with gold, and spread gold on the cherubim and palm trees.

The two doors were of cypress wood; the two leaves of each door were folding. He carved on them cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, covered with gold evenly applied on the carved work.

King Solomon raised a levy [of forced labor] out of all Israel; and the levy was 30,000 men. He sent them to Lebanon, 10,000 a month by divisions; one month they were in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was over the levy.

Concerning this house which you are building, if you will walk in My statutes, execute My precepts, and keep all My commandments to walk in them, then I will fulfill to you My promises which I made to David your father. And I will dwell among the Israelites and will not forsake My people Israel.

Solomon overlaid the interior of the house with pure gold, and he drew chains of gold across the front of the Holy of Holies (inner sanctuary), and he overlaid it with gold.

Then Elisha prayed and said, “Lord, please, open his eyes that he may see.” And the Lord opened the servants eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha.

Then he prepared the Holy of Holies within the house in order to put the ark of the covenant of the Lord there.

How lovely are Your tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul yearns, yes, even pines and is homesick for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out and sing for joy to the living God. Yes, the sparrow has found a house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young -- "even Your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. read more.
Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are those who dwell in Your house and Your presence; they will be singing Your praises all the day long. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]! Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. Passing through the Valley of Weeping (Baca), they make it a place of springs; the early rain also fills [the pools] with blessings. They go from strength to strength [increasing in victorious power]; each of them appears before God in Zion.

In the eleventh year [of King Solomon’s reign] in the month of Bul (October-November), that is, the eighth month, the house was finished throughout all its parts and in accordance with all its specifications. So he built it in seven years.

He built the walls of the interior of the house [that is, the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies] with boards of cedar, from the floor of the house to the rafters of the ceiling. He overlaid the interior with wood, and he overlaid the floor of the house with boards of cypress.

The cedar on the house within had wood carvings in the shape of gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; no stone was visible.

But it was Solomon who built a house for Him. However, the Most High does not dwell in houses and temples made with hands; as the prophet says,

In the eleventh year [of King Solomon’s reign] in the month of Bul (October-November), that is, the eighth month, the house was finished throughout all its parts and in accordance with all its specifications. So he built it in seven years.

The porch in front of the main room of the house (temple) was twenty cubits long, corresponding to the width of the house, and its depth in front of the house was ten cubits.

While it was being built, the house was built of stone prepared and finished (precut) at the quarry, and no hammer, axe, or iron tool of any kind was heard in the house while it was under construction.

He also made framed (artistic) window openings for the house.

So Solomon built the house (temple) and finished it, and roofed the house with beams and boards of cedar.

Now it will come to pass that
In the last days
The mountain of the house of the Lord
Will be [firmly] established as the highest of the mountains,
And will be exalted above the hills;
And all the nations will stream to it.

And many peoples shall come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house (temple) of the God of Jacob;
That He may teach us His ways
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For the law will go out from Zion
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

Remember Your congregation, which You have purchased of old,
Which You have redeemed to be the tribe of Your inheritance;
Remember Mount Zion, where You have dwelt.