2 Chronicles 3

1Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the Lord appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.footnote afootnote b

2And he began to build in the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.

3Now these are the things wherein Solomon was instructed for the building of the house of God. The length by cubits after the first measure was threescore cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits.footnote c

4And the porch that was in the front of the house, the length of it was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the height was an hundred and twenty: and he overlaid it within with pure gold.

5And the greater house he cieled with fir tree, which he overlaid with fine gold, and set thereon palm trees and chains.

6And he garnished the house with precious stones for beauty: and the gold was gold of Parvaim.footnote d

7He overlaid also the house, the beams, the posts, and the walls thereof, and the doors thereof, with gold; and graved cherubims on the walls.

8And he made the most holy house, the length whereof was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits: and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents.

9And the weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold.

10And in the most holy house he made two cherubims of image work, and overlaid them with gold.footnote e

11And the wings of the cherubims were twenty cubits long: one wing of the one cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was likewise five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other cherub.

12And one wing of the other cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was five cubits also, joining to the wing of the other cherub.

13The wings of these cherubims spread themselves forth twenty cubits: and they stood on their feet, and their faces were inward.footnote f

14And he made the vail of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubims thereon.footnote g

15Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits high, and the chapiter that was on the top of each of them was five cubits.footnote h

16And he made chains, as in the oracle, and put them on the heads of the pillars; and made an hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains.

17And he reared up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand, and the other on the left; and called the name of that on the right hand Jachin, and the name of that on the left Boaz.footnote ifootnote j

Temple Construction Begins

1Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appearedfootnote a to his father David. This was the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornanfootnote b the Jebusite. 2Solomon began construction on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign.

3The foundation that Solomon laid for the house of God was sixty cubits long and twenty cubits wide,footnote c according to the old standard.footnote d 4The portico at the front, extending across the width of the temple, was twenty cubits longfootnote e and twenty cubits high.footnote f He overlaid the inside with pure gold.

The Temple’s Interior

5He paneled the main room with cypress,footnote g which he overlaid with fine gold and decorated with palm trees and chains. 6He adorned the temple with precious stones for beauty, and its gold was from Parvaim. 7He overlaid its beams, thresholds, walls, and doors with gold, and he carved cherubim on the walls.

8Then he made the Most Holy Place;footnote h its length corresponded to the width of the temple—twenty cubits long and twenty cubits wide. And he overlaid the inside with six hundred talents of fine gold.footnote i 9The weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold.footnote j He also overlaid the upper rooms with gold.

The Cherubim

10In the Most Holy Place he made two cherubim of sculptured work, and he overlaid them with gold. 11The total wingspan of the cherubim was twenty cubits. One wing of the first cherub was five cubits longfootnote k and touched the wall of the temple, and its other wing was five cubits long and touched the wing of the other cherub. 12The wing of the second cherub also measured five cubits and touched the wall of the temple, while its other wing measured five cubits and touched the wing of the first cherub. 13So the total wingspan of these cherubim was twenty cubits. They stood on their feet, facing the main room.

The Veil and Pillars

14He made the veil of blue, purple, and crimson yarn and fine linen, with cherubim woven into it.

15In front of the temple he made two pillars, which together were thirty-five cubits high,footnote l each with a capital on top measuring five cubits.

16He made interwoven chainsfootnote m and put them on top of the pillars. He made a hundred pomegranates and fastened them into the chainwork. 17Then he set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the south and one on the north. The pillar on the south he named Jachin,footnote n and the pillar on the north he named Boaz.footnote o