28 Bible Verses about The First Temple

Over and above all this that I have provided, I have given silver and gold from my personal property because of my love for God's Temple.

The king said to the prophet Nathan: I live in a house built of cedar. Yet the Ark of God is kept in a tent!

David said to Solomon: My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of Jehovah my God.

Remember how he swore an oath to Jehovah and made this vow to the Mighty One of Jacob. He said: I will not step inside my house, get into my bed, shut my eyes, or close my eyelids read more.
until I find a place for Jehovah, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.

I have made every effort to prepare materials for the Temple: gold, silver, bronze, iron, timber, precious stones and gems, stones for mosaics, and quantities of marble. Over and above all this that I have provided, I have given silver and gold from my personal property because of my love for God's Temple. I have given one hundred and fifteen tons of the finest gold and two hundred and sixty five tons of pure silver for decorating the walls of the Temple read more.
and for all the objects which the skilled workers are to make. Now who else is willing to give a generous offering to Jehovah?

So David gave orders to assemble the foreigners living in Israel. He appointed stonecutters from among them to prepare dressed stone for building the house of God. He provided a large amount of iron to make nails for the doors of the gateways and for the fittings, and more copper than could be weighed. He also provided more cedar logs than could be counted. The Sidonians and Tyrians had brought large numbers of them to David. read more.
David said: My son Solomon is young and inexperienced. The house to be built for Jehovah should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations. Therefore I will make preparations for it. So David made extensive preparations before his death.

I have taken great pains to provide for the temple of Jehovah three thousand seven hundred and fifty tons of gold, about thirty-seven thousand five hundred tons of silver, quantities of copper and iron too great to be weighed, and wood and stone. And you may add to them. You have many workmen: stonecutters, masons and carpenters, as well as men skilled in every kind of work in gold and silver, copper and iron, craftsmen beyond number. Now begin the work, and Jehovah will be with you.

Solomon began to build Jehovah's Temple in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah. That is where Jehovah appeared to his father David. David had prepared the site on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

David said: The house of Jehovah God is to be here, and also the altar of burnt offering for Israel.

David saw by this that Jehovah answered his prayer. So he offered sacrifices on the altar at Araunah's threshing place. Jehovah's tent that Moses made in the desert and the altar for burnt offerings were at the worship site at Gibeon. David could not go there to consult God because the sword of Jehovah's angel frightened him.

And what agreement does a temple of God have with idols? We are the temple of the living God. God said: I will dwell in them, and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they will be my people. (Leviticus 26:12) (Zechariah 8:8)

Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

You are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Christ Jesus is the chief corner stone. In him each building fits together and grows into a holy Temple for Jehovah. (Zechariah 6:12) In Christ you are assembled together as a place for God's Spirit to dwell.

Manasseh had a carved idol made. Then he set it up in God's Temple, where God had said to David and his son Solomon: I have chosen this temple and Jerusalem from all the tribes of Israel. I will put my name here from generation to generation.

He built heathen altars in the Temple of Jehovah. The same Temple that Jehovah spoke of when he said: In Jerusalem will I put my name. And he built altars for all the stars of heaven in the two outer courts of the Temple of Jehovah. He made his own son pass through fire. He burned him as an offering to Molech. He practiced reading the future; gave positions to those who had control of spirits and to wonder-workers. He did much evil in the eyes of Jehovah and provoked him to anger. read more.
He made an image of the goddess Asherah and set it in the Temple of Jehovah. This is the same Temple that Jehovah said to David and to Solomon his son: In this house, and in Jerusalem, the town which I have made mine out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever (for a very long time).

He built altars in Jehovah's Temple, of which Jehovah said: My name will be in Jerusalem from generation to generation. He built altars for the entire army of heaven in the two courtyards of Jehovah's Temple.

He had the Temple of Jehovah, the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem, even every great house, burned with fire.

The copper pillars in the Temple of Jehovah, and the wheeled bases, and the great copper water-vessel in the Temple of Jehovah were broken up by the Chaldaeans. They took the copper to Babylon. The pots and the spades and the scissors for the lights and the spoons, and all the copper vessels used in Jehovah's Temple were taken away. The captain of the guard took all of the incense burners and bowls that were made of gold or silver. read more.
The bronze from the two pillars, the pool, and the stands that Solomon made for Jehovah's Temple could not be weighed. One pillar was twenty-seven feet high and had a copper crown on it that was four and one half feet high. The filigree and the pomegranates around the crown were all made of copper. The second pillar and its filigree were the same.

He brought to Babylon each of the utensils from God's temple, the treasures from Jehovah's Temple, and the treasures of the king and his officials. He burned down the Temple and the city, with all its palaces and its wealth, and broke down the city wall.

He drafted seventy thousand men to carry heavy loads, eighty thousand to quarry stones in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred foremen.

Solomon counted all the men who were foreigners in the land of Israel, as his father David had counted them. Solomon counted one hundred and fifty-three thousand and six hundred foreigners. He directed seventy thousand of them carry heavy loads, eighty thousand of them quarry stone in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred of them supervise the work as foremen.

Solomon also had eighty thousand stonecutters in the mountains. There were seventy thousand men to carry the stones.

As the priests were leaving the Temple, it was suddenly filled with a cloud. It shined with the dazzling light of Jehovah's presence. They could not go back in to perform their duties.

the trumpeters and singers praised and thanked Jehovah in unison. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other musical instruments, they sang in praise to Jehovah: He is good; his mercy (lovingkindness) endures forever. Then Jehovah's Temple was filled with a cloud.

The priests could not go into Jehovah's Temple because Jehovah's glory had filled it.

King Tillegath Pilneser of Assyria attacked Ahaz. Instead of strengthening Ahaz, Tillegath Pilneser made trouble for him. Ahaz took some of the things from Jehovah's temple, the royal palace, and the princes. He gave them to the king of Assyria. But that did not help him.

He removed the covered way they built in the Temple court and the king's outer entrance. This was because of the king of Assyria.

He removed the copper alter that was before Jehovah from the front of the Temple between his altar and the Temple of Jehovah. He put it on the north side of his altar.

You know my father David could not build a Temple for the worship of Jehovah due to the constant wars he had to fight. There were enemies in countries all around him. First Jehovah had to give him victory over all his enemies.

The word of Jehovah came to me, saying: 'You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my name. This is because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight.

Go tell my servant David that I say to him: 'You are not the one to build a temple for me to live in. From the time I rescued the people of Israel from Egypt until now, I have never lived in a temple. I have traveled around living in a tent. In all my traveling with the people of Israel I never asked any of the leaders that I appointed why they had not built me a temple made of cedar.' read more.
Say this to my servant David: 'This is what Jehovah of Hosts says: I took you from the pasture where you followed sheep so that you could be the leader of my people Israel. I was with you wherever you went. I destroyed all your enemies in front of you. I will make your name famous like the names of the greatest people on earth.

The foundation of the Temple was laid in the second month, the month of Ziv, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign.

Solomon began work on the Temple. It was four hundred and eighty years after the people of Israel left Egypt, during the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the second month, the month of Ziv.

He began to build on the second day in the second month of the fourth year of his reign. It was in the place David had povided.

A third-story annex, seven and one half feet high, was built against the outside walls. It was on the sides and the back of the Temple. Each room in the lowest story was seven and one half feet wide. The middle story was nine feet wide. The top story was ten and one half feet wide. The Temple wall on each floor was thinner than on the floor below, so that the rooms could rest on the wall without having their beams built into it.

The entrance to the lowest story of the annex was on the south side of the Temple. It had stairs leading up to the second and third stories.

The three-story annex, each story seven and one half feet high, was built against the outside walls of the Temple. Cedar beams were used to join it to them.

Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him to build a house for Jehovah, the God of Israel. David said to Solomon: My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of Jehovah my God.

Now, my son, Jehovah is with you, and may you have success and build the house of Jehovah your God, as he said you would.

I am sending you a wise and skillful master metalworker named Huram (Hiram-abi). He was the son of a woman from the tribe of Dan. His father is a native of Tyre. Huram knows how to work with gold, silver, copper, iron, stone, wood, purple, violet, and dark red cloth, and linen. He also knows how to make all kinds of engravings and follow any set of plans that will be given to him. He can work with your skilled workmen and the skilled workmen of His Majesty David, your father.

Send me a man with skill in engraving, in working gold, silver, copper, and iron, and in making blue, purple, and red cloth. He will work with the craftsmen of Judah and Jerusalem whom my father David selected.

Two cherubim made of olive wood were placed in the Most Holy Place. Each one was fifteen feet tall. Each had two wings, each wing was seven and one half feet long. The distance from one wing tip to the other was fifteen feet. The other cherub was fifteen feet tall. read more.
Both were the same size and shape. They were placed side by side in the Most Holy Place. Their outstretched wings touched each other in the middle of the room, and the other two wings touched the walls. The two cherubim were covered with gold.

The combined length of the cherubim wings was thirty feet. A wing of one of the cherub was seven and one half feet long and touched the wall of the building. Its other wing was seven and one half feet long and touched one wing of the other cherub. The wing of the other one of the cherub (angels) was seven and one half feet long and touched the other wall of the building. Its other wing was seven and one half feet long and touched the wing of the first cherub. So the cherubs' combined wingspan was thirty feet. They stood on their feet facing the main hall.

Jehoash said to the priests: All the money of the holy things, which comes into the house of Jehovah, the amount fixed for every man's payment, and all the money given by any man freely by motivation of his heart, Let the priests take, every man from his friends and neighbors, to make good what is damaged in the Temple, wherever it is to be seen. But in the twenty-third year of King Jehoash, the priests had not made good the damaged parts of the Temple. read more.
He called in Jehoiada and the other priests and asked them: Why are you not repairing the Temple? From now on you are not to keep the money you receive. You must hand it over, so that the repairs can be made. The priests agreed to this and also agreed not to make the repairs in the Temple. Then Jehoiada took a box, made a hole in the lid, and placed the box by the altar, on the right side as one enters the Temple. The priests on duty at the entrance put in the box all the money given by the worshipers. Whenever there was a large amount of money in the box, the royal secretary and the High Priest would come, melt down the silver, and weigh it. After recording the exact amount, they would hand the silver over to the men in charge of the work in the Temple. These would pay the carpenters, the builders, the masons, and the stonecutters, buy the timber and the stones used in the repairs, and pay all other necessary expenses. None of the money was used to pay for making silver cups, bowls, trumpets, or tools for tending the lamps, or any other article of silver or of gold. It was all used to pay the workers and to buy the materials used in the repairs.

Joash wanted to renovate Jehovah's Temple. He gathered the priests and the Levites and said to them: Go to the cities of Judah, and collect money throughout Israel to repair the Temple of your God every year. Do it immediately! But the Levites did not do it immediately. The king called for the chief priest Jehoiada and asked him: Why have you not required the Levites to bring the contributions from Judah and Jerusalem? Jehovah's servant Moses and the assembly required Israel to give contributions for the use of the Tent of Testimony of God's promise. read more.
The sons of that wicked woman Athaliah had broken into God's Temple and used all the holy things of Jehovah's Temple to worship other gods, the Baals. The king issued an order. They made a box and placed it outside the gate of Jehovah's Temple. They issued a proclamation in Judah and Jerusalem that the contributions should be brought to Jehovah. Moses required Israel to make contributions while they were in the desert. All the officials and all the people were filled with joy. They brought money and dropped it into the box until it was full. When the Levites brought the box to the king's officers and they saw a lot of money. The king's scribe and the chief priest's officer would empty the box and put it back in its place. They would do this every day. They collected a lot of money. The king and Jehoiada gave the money to the foremen who were working on Jehovah's Temple. They hired masons and carpenters to renovate Jehovah's Temple. They also hired men who worked with iron and bronze to repair Jehovah's Temple. The men worked and the project progressed under the foremen's guidance. They restored God's Temple to its proper condition and reinforced it.

Huram cast two copper columns. Each one was twenty-seven feet tall and eighteen feet in circumference. They were placed at the entrance of the Temple. He also made two copper crowns. Each one was seven and one half feet tall. They were to be placed on top of the columns. The top of each column was decorated with a design of interwoven chains. read more.
They had two rows of copper pomegranates. The crowns on the top of the columns were shaped like lilies, six feet tall, and were placed on a rounded section which was above the chain design. There were two hundred pomegranates in two rows around each crown. Huram placed these two copper columns in front of the entrance of the Temple. The column on the south side was named Jachin and the one on the north was named Boaz. The lily-shaped copper crowns were on top of the columns. The work on the columns was completed.

He made two pillars for the front of the Temple. They were fifty-three feet long, and the crown on each pillar was seven and one half feet high. He made chains for the inner room and also put them on the crowns. He made one hundred pomegranates and put them on the chains. He set up the pillars in front of the Temple, one on the right and the other on the left. He named the one on the right Jachin (He Establishes) and the one on the left Boaz (In Him Is Strength).

Another third must be at the royal palace. And another third must be at Foundation Gate. All the people must be in the courtyards of Jehovah's Temple.

Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king. She entered into the house of Jehovah to the people.

Now in the eighteenth year after he became king, Josiah sent Shaphan son of Azaliah son of Meshullam the scribe, to the Temple of Jehovah. He said to him: Go to Hilkiah the high priest. Let him count the money brought into the Temple of Jehovah that the keepers of the door gathered from the people. Let them deliver it to the workmen who have oversight of the work of Jehovah's Temple. Then they can pay it to the workmen who are making good what was damaged in the Temple of Jehovah. read more.
To the woodworkers and the builders and the stonecutters; and for getting wood and cut stones for building the Temple. Since the workmen are honest, do not require them to account for the money you give them.

In his eighteenth year as king as he was making the land and the temple clean, Josiah sent Shaphan, son of Azaliah, Maaseiah, the mayor of the city, and Joah, the royal historian and son of Joahaz, to repair the Temple of Jehovah his God. They came to the chief priest Hilkiah and gave him the money that had been brought into God's Temple. It was the money that the Levite doorkeepers had collected from the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim, from all who were left in Israel, from everyone in the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and from the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They gave the money to the foremen who were in charge of Jehovah's Temple. These foremen gave it to the workmen who were restoring and repairing the Temple. read more.
These workers included carpenters and builders. They were to buy quarried stones and wood for the fittings and beams of the buildings that the kings of Judah had allowed to become run-down. The men did their work faithfully under the supervision of Jahath and Obadiah; Levites descended from Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam descendants of Kohath. The Levites, who were skilled musicians, also supervised the workers and directed all the workmen on the various jobs. Some of the Levites served as scribes, officials, or gatekeepers.

I will choose one of your sons to be king when you reach the end of your life and are buried in the tomb of your ancestors. I will make him a strong ruler. I will allow no one to take his long lasting kingdom away from him. He will be the one to build a temple for me.

He is the one who will build a house for me. I will establish his throne forever.

King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of Rehoboam's reign. He took the treasures from Jehovah's Temple and the royal palace. He took them all. He took all the gold shields Solomon had made.

King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem and took away the treasures from Jehovah's temple and the royal palace. He took them all! He even took the gold shields Solomon had made.

I know how skillful your lumbermen are, so send me cedar, cypress, and juniper logs from Lebanon. I am ready to send my men to assist yours. Prepare large quantities of timber, because this Temple I intend to build will be large and magnificent. As provisions for your lumbermen, I will send you one hundred thousand bushels of wheat, one hundred thousand bushels of barley, one hundred and ten thousand gallons of wine, and one hundred and ten thousand gallons of olive oil.

Send your men to Lebanon to cut down cedars for me. My men will work with them. I will pay your men whatever you decide. You may already know, my men do not know how to cut down trees as well as yours do. Hiram was extremely pleased when he received Solomon's message. He said: Praise Jehovah today for giving David such a wise son to succeed him as king of the great nation of Israel! Then Hiram sent Solomon the following message: I received your message. I am ready to do what you ask. I will provide the cedars and the pine trees. read more.
My men will bring the logs from Lebanon to the sea and will tie them together in rafts to float them down the coast to the place you choose. My men will untie them. There your men will take charge of them. On your part, I would like you to supply the food for my men. So Hiram supplied Solomon with all the cedar and pine logs he wanted. Solomon provided Hiram with one hundred thousand bushels of wheat and one hundred and ten thousand gallons of pure olive oil every year to feed his men. Jehovah kept his promise and gave Solomon wisdom. There was peace between Hiram and Solomon for they made a treaty with each other.

Then Solomon assembled the respected leaders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes, and the leaders of the Israelite families. They came to Jerusalem to take the Ark of the Covenant of Jehovah from the City of David, which is Zion. The men of Israel gathered around the king at the Festival of Booths in the seventh month. When all the leaders of Israel had arrived, the Levites picked up the ark. read more.
They brought the Ark, the Tent of Meeting, and all the holy utensils in it to the Temple. The priests and the Levites carried them while King Solomon and the whole assembly from Israel were offering countless sheep and cattle sacrifices in front of the Ark. The priests brought Jehovah's Ark of the Covenant to its place in the inner room of the Temple, the most holy place, under the wings of the cherubim (angels). The cherubim (angels) outstretched wings were over the place where the Ark rested so that the cherubim became a covering above the Ark and its poles. The poles were so long that their ends could be seen in the holy place by anyone standing in front of the inner room. However they could not be seen outside. They are still there today. There was nothing in the Ark except the two tablets Moses placed there at Horeb, where Jehovah made a covenant with the Israelites after they left Egypt.

King Solomon summoned all the leaders of the tribes and clans of Israel to come to him in Jerusalem. They were to take Jehovah's Ark of the Covenant from Zion, David's City, to the Temple. They all assembled during the festival. It was the seventh month, the month of Ethanim. As soon as all the elders gathered, the priests lifted the Ark read more.
and carried it to the Temple. The Levites and the priests also moved the Tent of Jehovah's presence and all its equipment to the Temple. King Solomon and all the people of Israel assembled in front of the Ark and sacrificed a large number of sheep and cattle, too many to count. Then the priests carried the Ark of the Covenant into the Temple and put it in the Most Holy Place, beneath the cherubim (angel). Their outstretched wings covered the box and the poles it was carried by. The ends of the poles could be seen by anyone standing directly in front of the Most Holy Place, but from nowhere else. There was nothing inside the Ark of the Covenant except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed there at Mount Sinai, when Jehovah made a covenant with the people of Israel as they were coming from Egypt.

I am determined to build a great Temple. This is because our God is greater than all other gods.

Prepare large quantities of timber, because this Temple I intend to build will be large and magnificent.

He also overlaid the building, the rafters, the threshold, the walls, and the doors with gold. He carved cherubim (angels) on the walls.

The inside of the Temple was covered with gold. Gold chains were placed across the entrance of the inner room. The whole interior of the Temple was covered with gold, as well as the altar in the Most Holy Place.

Then the king ordered the high priest Hilkiah, the priests who served under Hilkiah, and the doorkeepers to remove from Jehovah's Temple all utensils that had been made for Baal, Asherah, and the entire army of heaven. Josiah burned the utensils outside Jerusalem. It was in an open field near the Kidron Brook. Then he carried their ashes to Bethel. He got rid of the pagan priests. The kings of Judah appointed them to sacrifice at the illegal places of worship in the cities of Judah and all around Jerusalem. They had been sacrificing to Baal, the sun god, the moon god, the constellations of the zodiac (Mazzalohth Constellation-Job 38:32), and the entire army of heaven. He removed the pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah from the temple. He took it to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem. There he burned it in the Kidron Valley, ground it to dust, and threw its ashes on the tombs of the common people. read more.
He tore down the houses of the male temple (cult) prostitutes who were in Jehovah's Temple. This is where women did weaving for Asherah.

He also removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the worship of the sun. He burned the chariots used in this worship. The altars the kings of Judah built on the palace roof above King Ahaz' quarters, King Josiah tore down, along with the altars put up by King Manasseh in the two courtyards of the Temple. He smashed the altars to bits and threw them into Kidron Valley.

Solomon prayed: Jehovah, you have placed the sun in the sky, yet you have chosen to live in clouds and darkness. Now I have built a majestic temple for you, a place for you to live in for a very long time. King Solomon turned to face the people standing there. He asked God's blessing on them. read more.
He said: Praise Jehovah the God of Israel! He kept the promise he made to my father David, when he told him: Since the time I brought my people out of Egypt, I have not chosen any city in all the land of Israel in which a temple should be built where I would be worshiped. But I chose you, David, to rule my people.' Solomon continued: My father David planned to build a temple for the worship of Jehovah the God of Israel, Jehovah said to him: 'You were right in wanting to build a temple for me. However you will never build it. It is your son who will build my temple.' Now Jehovah has kept his promise. I have succeeded my father as king of Israel. And I have built the Temple for the worship of Jehovah the God of Israel. I also provided a place in the Temple for the Ark of the Covenant containing the stone tablets of the covenant Jehovah made with our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt. In the presence of the people Solomon stood in front of the altar. He raised his arms and prayed: Jehovah God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven above or on earth below! You keep your covenant with your people and show them your love when they live in wholehearted obedience to you. You kept the promise you made to my father David. Every word has been fulfilled. Jehovah, God of Israel, I pray that you will also keep the other promise you made to my father when you told him there would always be one of his descendants ruling as king of Israel, provided they obeyed you as carefully as he did. So now, O God of Israel, let your word come true that you promised to my father David, your servant. Can you, O God, really live on earth? Not even heaven or the heaven of heavens is large enough to hold you. How can this Temple I have built be large enough? Jehovah my God, I am your servant. Listen to my prayer. Grant the requests I make to you today. Watch over this Temple day and night. For this is the place where you have chosen to be worshiped. Hear me when I face this Temple and pray. Hear my prayers and the prayers of your people. In your home in heaven hear us and forgive us. When a person is accused of wronging another and is brought to your altar in this Temple to take an oath that he is innocent, O Jehovah, listen in heaven and judge your servants. Punish the guilty one, as he deserves. Justify the one who is innocent. When your people Israel have sinned against you their enemies defeat them. They can turn to you and come to this Temple, humbly praying to you for forgiveness. Listen to them in heaven. Forgive the sins of your people and bring them back to the land that you gave to their ancestors. When you hold back the rain because your people have sinned against you. And when they repent in this Temple, humbly praying to you, listen to them in heaven. Forgive the sins of the king and of the people of Israel, and teach them to do what is right. Then, O Jehovah, send rain on this land of yours, which you gave to your people as a permanent possession. When there is famine in the land or an epidemic or scorching winds or swarms of locusts, or when their enemies attack your people, or when disease or sickness among them destroys the crops, listen to their prayers. If any of your people Israel, out of heartfelt sorrow, stretch out their hands in prayer toward this Temple, hear their prayer. Listen to them in your home in heaven, help them and forgive them. You alone know the thoughts of the human heart. Deal with each person, as he deserves, so that your people may obey you all the time they live in the land you gave to our ancestors. When a foreigner who lives in a distant land hears of your fame and of the great things you have done for your people and comes to worship you and to pray at this Temple, For they will have news of your great name and your strong hand and your out-stretched arm. When he comes to pray in this house: Listen to him and give him his desire. Let all the peoples of the earth know about your name. Let them worship you as your people Israel, and that they may see that this house which I have built is truly named by your name. When your people go to war against their enemies, they pray to you, O Jehovah, toward the city you have chosen and the temple I built for your name. Hear their prayer for mercy in heaven, and do what is right for them. They may sin against you, for everyone sins. You may become angry with them and hand them over to an enemy far or near who takes them to another country as captives. If they come to their senses and are sorry for what they have done, and plead with you in the land where they are captives, saying: We have sinned. We have done wrong. We have been wicked. If they change their attitude toward you in the land of their enemies where they are captives, if they pray to you toward the land that you gave their ancestors, and the city you have chosen, and the temple I have built for your name, then in heaven, the place where you live, hear their prayer for mercy. Do what is right for them. Forgive your people, who have sinned against you. Forgive all their wrongs when they rebelled against you. Cause those who captured them to have mercy on them. They are your own people. You brought them out of Egypt from the middle of an iron smelter. May your eyes always see my plea and your people Israel's plea so that you will listen to them whenever they call on you. You Jehovah set them apart from all the people of the world. They are your own as you promised through your servant Moses when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt. When Solomon finished praying this prayer for mercy to Jehovah, he stood in front of Jehovah's altar, where he had been kneeling with his hands stretched out toward heaven. Then he stood and in a loud voice blessed the entire assembly of Israel: THANKS TO JEHOVAH! He has given his people Israel rest, as he has promised. None of the good promises he made through his servant Moses has failed to come true. May Jehovah our God be with us as he was with our ancestors. May he not leave us or abandon us. May he bend our hearts toward him. Then we will follow him and obey his commands, laws, and rules, which he commanded our ancestors to obey. May these words I have prayed to Jehovah be near Jehovah our God day and night. Then he will give his people Israel and me justice every day as it is needed. In this way all the people of the earth may know that Jehovah is God and there is no other god. Let your hearts be committed to Jehovah our God. Then you will live by his laws and keep his commands as you have today. Then the king and all Israel offered sacrifices to Jehovah. Solomon sacrificed twenty-two thousand cattle and one hundred twenty thousand sheep as fellowship offerings to Jehovah. So the king and all the people of Israel dedicated Jehovah's Temple. On that day the king designated the courtyard in front of Jehovah's Temple as a holy place. He sacrificed the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat from the fellowship offerings because the copper altar in front of Jehovah was too small to hold all of them. At that time Solomon and all Israel celebrated the festival. A large crowd had come from the territory between the border of Hamath and the River of Egypt to be near Jehovah our God for seven days. On the eighth day he dismissed the people. They blessed the king and went to their tents. They rejoiced with cheerful hearts for all the blessings Jehovah had given his servant David and his people Israel.

He also overlaid the building, the rafters, the threshold, the walls, and the doors with gold. He carved cherubim (angels) on the walls.

A rectangular doorframe of olive wood was made for the entrance to the main room.

An inner court was built in front of the Temple. They enclosed it with walls that had one layer of cedar beams for every three layers of stone.

He also made the priests' courtyard and the large courtyard and its doors. He covered the doors with copper.

This is how Solomon laid the foundation to build God's Temple. It was ninety feet long and thirty feet wide. (They used the old standard measurement.)

The Temple Solomon built was ninety feet long, thirty feet wide, and forty-five feet high inside.

An inner room, called the Most Holy Place, was built in the rear of the Temple. It was thirty feet long and was partitioned off by cedar boards reaching from the floor to the ceiling.

This inner room was thirty feet long, thirty feet wide, and thirty feet high, all covered with pure gold. The altar was covered with cedar panels.

It is your fault that Zion will be plowed like a field. Jerusalem will become heaps of ruin, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.

Years ago when Hezekiah was king of Judah, a prophet named Micah from the town of Moresheth said: 'Jehovah of Hosts says, Jerusalem will be plowed under and left in ruins. Thorns will cover the mountain where the Temple now stands.'

I will bring them to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar. My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.

He told them: It is written, 'My house is to be named a house of prayer,' but you are making it a hiding place of thieves.

David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon. He said to them: Is not Jehovah your God with you? And has he not granted you rest on every side? For he has handed the inhabitants of the land over to me, and the land is subject to Jehovah and to his people. Devote your mind and heart to seek Jehovah your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of Jehovah God. That way you may bring the Ark of the Covenant of Jehovah and the sacred articles belonging to God into the Temple that will be built for the name of Jehovah.

In the first month of his first year as king, he opened the doors of Jehovah's temple and repaired them. He assembled the priests and Levites in the square on the east side of the temple. He said: Listen to me, Levites. Perform the ceremonies to make the temple of Jehovah the God of your ancestors holy. Remove anything that has been corrupted from the holy place. read more.
Our ancestors were unfaithful and did what Jehovah our God considered evil. They deserted him. They turned away from Jehovah's tent and turned their backs on him. They also shut the doors of the temple's entrance hall. They extinguished the lamps, and did not burn incense or sacrifice burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel. Jehovah was angry with Judah and Jerusalem. He made them something that shocks and terrifies people and that people ridicule, as you can see with your own eyes. Our fathers were killed in battle. Our sons, daughters, and wives are prisoners because of this. Now I intend to make a pledge to Jehovah the God of Israel so that he may turn his burning anger away from us. Do not be negligent, my sons. Jehovah has chosen you to stand in front of him, serve him, be his servants, and burn sacrifices. So the Levites started to work. From Kohath's descendants were Mahath, son of Amasai, and Joel, son of Azariah. From Merari's descendants were Kish, son of Abdi, and Azariah, son of Jehallelel. From Gershon's descendants were Joah, son of Zimmah, and Eden, son of Joah. From Elizaphan's descendants were Shimri and Jeiel. From Asaph's descendants were Zechariah and Mattaniah. From Heman's descendants were Jehiel and Shimei. From Jeduthun's descendants were Shemaiah and Uzziel. These men gathered their relatives and performed the ceremonies to make themselves holy. They obeyed the king's order from Jehovah's word and entered the Temple to make it clean. The priests entered Jehovah's temple to make it clean. They carried into the courtyard every unclean thing that they found in Jehovah's Temple. Then the Levites took the unclean items outside the city to the Kidron Brook. They started on the first day of the first month. On the eighth day they went into Jehovah's entrance hall. For eight days they performed the ceremonies to make Jehovah's Temple holy. They finished on the sixteenth day of the first month. Then they went to King Hezekiah. They said: We have made Jehovah's entire temple clean. This includes the altar for burnt offerings, all its utensils, the table for the rows of bread and all its utensils, and all the utensils King Ahaz refused to use during his reign when he was unfaithful. We have restored them and made them holy. They are in front of Jehovah's altar. Early in the morning Hezekiah assembled the leaders of the city and went to Jehovah's Temple. They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats as an offering for sin for the kingdom, the holy place, and Judah. Hezekiah told the priests, Aaron's descendants, to sacrifice the animals on Jehovah's altar. So they slaughtered the bulls. The priests sprinkled the blood on the altar. Then they slaughtered the rams and sprinkled the blood on the altar. After that, they slaughtered the lambs and sprinkled the blood on the altar. Then they brought the male goats for the offering for sin in front of the king and the assembly, who laid their hands on them. The priests killed the goats and poured their blood on the altar as a sacrifice to take away the sin of all the people. The king commanded that burnt offerings and sin offerings be made for all Israel. The king followed the instructions Jehovah gave to King David through Gad, the king's prophet, and through the prophet Nathan. He stationed Levites in the Temple, with harps and cymbals, and instruments like those that King David used. The priests also stood there with trumpets. Hezekiah gave the order for the burnt offering to be presented. The offering began and the people sang praise to Jehovah. The musicians began to play the trumpets and all the other instruments. Everyone there joined in worship. The singing and the rest of the music continued until all the sacrifices were burned. King Hezekiah and all the people knelt down and worshiped God. The king and the leaders of the nation told the Levites to sing to Jehovah the songs of praise that were written by David and by Asaph the prophet. So everyone sang with great joy as they knelt and worshiped God. Hezekiah said to the people: Now that you are ritually clean, bring sacrifices as offerings of thanksgiving to Jehovah. They obeyed, and some of them also voluntarily brought animals to be sacrificed as burnt offerings. They brought seventy bulls, one hundred sheep, and two hundred lambs as burnt offerings for Jehovah. They also brought six hundred bulls and three thousand sheep as sacrifices for the people to eat. Since there were not enough priests to kill all these animals, the Levites helped them until the work was finished. By then more priests had made themselves ritually clean. The Levites were more faithful in keeping ritually clean than the priests were. In addition to offering the sacrifices that were burned whole, the priests were responsible for burning the fat that was offered from the sacrifices the people ate, and for pouring out the wine that was presented with the burnt offerings. Thus worship in the Temple began again.

Jesus replied: Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.

But he spoke of the temple of his body.

Then the heads of the clans, the officials of the tribes, the commanders of the army, and the administrators of the royal property volunteered to give. They gave the following for the work on the Temple: one hundred and ninety tons of gold, three hundred and eighty tons of silver, six hundred and seventy five tons of bronze, and three thousand seven hundred and fifty tons of iron. Those who had precious stones gave them to the Temple treasury, which was administered by Jehiel of the Levite clan of Gershon. read more.
The people gave willingly to Jehovah and were happy that so much had been given. King David also was extremely happy.

What? Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit? That one (Greek: hos he ho which, that one) is in you. You received it from God. You are not your own.

Give my son Solomon a wholehearted desire to obey everything that you command and to build the Temple for which I have made these preparations.

Solomon made the canopy of violet, purple, and dark red cloth and of linen and decorated it with cherubim.

JEHOVAH APPEARED TO SOLOMON THAT NIGHT. He said to Solomon: I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a Temple for sacrifices.

Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came up against all the walled towns of Judah and took them. Hezekiah sent a message to Sennacherib at Lachish: I have done wrong. Stop your attack and I will pay whatever you demand. The emperor's answer was that Hezekiah should send him ten tons of silver and one ton of gold. Hezekiah sent him all the silver in the Temple and in the palace treasury. read more.
Hezekiah had the gold from the doors of Jehovah's Temple and from the doorposts plated by him. He stripped it off and gave it to the king of Assyria.

King Hazael of Syria attacked the city of Gath and conquered it. Then he decided to attack Jerusalem. King Jehoash of Judah took all the offerings that his predecessors Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah had dedicated to Jehovah, added to them his own offerings and all the gold in the treasuries of the Temple and the palace, and sent them all as a gift to King Hazael, who then led his army away from Jerusalem.

The entrance hall in front of the main room was thirty feet wide (the same as the width of the temple) and thirty feet high. He covered its inside walls with pure gold.

He paneled the larger building with cypress. Then he overlaid it with fine gold. It was decorated with designs in the form of palm trees and chains.

The entrance hall in front of the main room was thirty feet wide (the same as the width of the temple) and thirty feet high. He covered its inside walls with pure gold.

This is how Solomon laid the foundation to build God's Temple. It was ninety feet long and thirty feet wide. (They used the old standard measurement.)

Solomon gave orders to begin building the Temple for Jehovah's name and a royal palace for himself.

When all the Israelites saw the fire come down and Jehovah's glory on the Temple, they knelt down with their faces on the pavement. They worshiped and praised Jehovah. They said: He is good; his mercy (lovingkindness) endures forever.

He covered the building with gems to beautify it and used gold from Parvaim.

The work Solomon did on Jehovah's Temple was finished. He brought the holy things that had belonged to his father David, the silver, gold, and all the utensils. He put them in the storerooms of God's Temple.

He paneled the larger building with cypress. Then he overlaid it with fine gold. It was decorated with designs in the form of palm trees and chains.

A double door made of olive wood was hung at the entrance of the Most Holy Place. There was a pointed arch on top of the doorway. The doors were decorated with carved figures of cherubim, palm trees, and flowers. The doors, the cherubim, and the palm trees were covered with gold.

There were two folding doors made of pine and decorated with carved figures of cherubim, palm trees, and flowers, which were evenly covered with gold.

King Solomon drafted thirty thousand men as forced labor from all over Israel. He appointed Adoniram to be in charge of them. He divided them into three groups of ten thousand men. Each group spent one month in Lebanon and two months back home.

If you obey all my laws and commands, I will do for you what I promised your father David. I will live among my people Israel in this Temple that you are building. I will never abandon them.

The inside of the Temple was covered with gold. Gold chains were placed across the entrance of the inner room.

Elisha prayed: O Jehovah, open his eyes that he may see. Jehovah answered his prayer. Elisha's servant looked up and saw the hillside covered with horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

An inner room was built in the rear of the Temple. The Ark of the Covenant was to be placed there.

([Psalm of Korah]) How lovely are your dwelling places, O Jehovah of Hosts! How I want to be there! I long to be in Jehovah's temple. With my whole being I sing for joy to the living God. Even small birds have built a nest, and the swallows have their own home. They keep their young near your altars O Jehovah my king and my God. read more.
How happy (blessed) are those who live in your temple always singing praise to you. How happy are those whose strength comes from you, who are eager to make the pilgrimage to Mount Zion. As they pass through the dry valley of Baca, it becomes a place of springs; the autumn rain fills it with pools. They grow stronger as they go and they will see the God of gods on Zion.

In the eighth month, the month of Bul, in the eleventh year of Solomon's reign, the Temple was completely finished exactly as it had been planned. It took Solomon seven years to build it.

The inside walls were covered with cedar panels from the floor to the ceiling. The floor was made of pine.

The cedar panels were decorated with carvings of gourds and flowers. The entire interior was covered with cedar. The stones of the walls could not be seen.

But Solomon built him a house. The most High does not dwell in houses made with hands as the prophet says,

In the eighth month, the month of Bul, in the eleventh year of Solomon's reign, the Temple was completely finished exactly as it had been planned. It took Solomon seven years to build it.

The entrance room was fifteen feet deep and thirty feet wide. It was as wide as the sanctuary.

The stones with which the Temple was built were prepared at the quarry. That way there was no noise made by hammers, axes, or any other iron tools as the Temple was built.

He made windows for the Temple. Their openings were narrower on the outside than on the inside.

King Solomon finished building the Temple. He put in a ceiling made of beams and boards of cedar.

In the last days the mountain of the house of Jehovah will be established as the highest of the mountains and exalted above the hills. All the nations will stream to it.

Then many people will come and say: Let us go to the mountain of Jehovah, to the House of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways so that we may live by them. The law will go out from Zion. The word of Jehovah will go out from Jerusalem.

Remember your congregation, which you purchased long ago. For you have redeemed it to be the tribe of your inheritance, Mount Zion, in which you have lived.