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After the king was settled in his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him,
he said to Nathan the prophet, "Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent."
Nathan replied to the king, "Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the LORD is with you."
That night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying:
"Go and tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in?
I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling.
Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?" '
2 Samuel Chapter 7: Verses 1 - 7
The LORD gave Solomon wisdom, just as he had promised him. There were peaceful relations between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.
King Solomon conscripted laborers from all Israel,thirty thousand men.
He sent them off to Lebanon in shifts of ten thousand a month, so that they spent one month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor.
Solomon had seventy thousand carriers and eighty thousand stonecutters in the hills,
as well as thirty-three hundred foremen who supervised the project and directed the workmen.
At the king's command they removed from the quarry large blocks of quality stone to provide a foundation of dressed stone for the temple.
The craftsmen of Solomon and Hiram and the men of Gebal cut and prepared the timber and stone for the building of the temple.
1 Kings Chapter 5: Verses 12 - 18
So Solomon built the temple and completed it.
He lined its interior walls with cedar boards, paneling them from the floor of the temple to the ceiling, and covered the floor of the temple with planks of pine.
He partitioned off twenty cubits at the rear of the temple with cedar boards from floor to ceiling to form within the temple an inner sanctuary, the Most Holy Place.
The main hall in front of this room was forty cubits long.
The inside of the temple was cedar, carved with gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; no stone was to be seen.
He prepared the inner sanctuary within the temple to set the ark of the covenant of the LORD there.
The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty wide and twenty high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold, and he also overlaid the altar of cedar.
Solomon covered the inside of the temple with pure gold, and he extended gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, which was overlaid with gold.
So he overlaid the whole interior with gold. He also overlaid with gold the altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary.
In the inner sanctuary he made a pair of cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high.
One wing of the first cherub was five cubits long, and the other wing five cubits,ten cubits from wing tip to wing tip.
The second cherub also measured ten cubits, for the two cherubim were identical in size and shape.
The height of each cherub was ten cubits.
He placed the cherubim inside the innermost room of the temple, with their wings spread out. The wing of one cherub touched one wall, while the wing of the other touched the other wall, and their wings touched each other in the middle of the room.
He overlaid the cherubim with gold.
On the walls all around the temple, in both the inner and outer rooms, he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers.
He also covered the floors of both the inner and outer rooms of the temple with gold.
For the entrance of the inner sanctuary he made doors of olive wood with five-sided jambs.
And on the two olive wood doors he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid the cherubim and palm trees with beaten gold.
In the same way he made four-sided jambs of olive wood for the entrance to the main hall.
He also made two pine doors, each having two leaves that turned in sockets.
He carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers on them and overlaid them with gold hammered evenly over the carvings.
And he built the inner courtyard of three courses of dressed stone and one course of trimmed cedar beams.
The foundation of the temple of the LORD was laid in the fourth year, in the month of Ziv.
In the eleventh year in the month of Bul, the eighth month, the temple was finished in all its details according to its specifications. He had spent seven years building it.
1 Kings Chapter 6: Verses 14 - 38
Then King Solomon summoned into his presence at Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the LORD's covenant from Zion, the City of David.
All the men of Israel came together to King Solomon at the time of the festival in the month of Ethanim, the seventh month.
When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took up the ark,
and they brought up the ark of the LORD and the Tent of Meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it. The priests and Levites carried them up,
and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted.
The priests then brought the ark of the LORD's covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim.
The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the ark and its carrying poles.
These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today.
There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt.
1 Kings Chapter 8: Verses 1 - 9
Then Solomon said, "The LORD has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud;
I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever."
While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around and blessed them.
1 Kings Chapter 8: Verses 12 - 14
"When famine or plague comes to the land, or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when an enemy besieges them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come,
and when a prayer or plea is made by any of your people Israel,each one aware of the afflictions of his own heart, and spreading out his hands toward this temple-
then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive and act; deal with each man according to all he does, since you know his heart (for you alone know the hearts of all men),
1 Kings Chapter 8: Verses 37 - 39
At that time, when David saw that the LORD had answered him on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, he offered sacrifices there.
The tabernacle of the LORD, which Moses had made in the desert, and the altar of burnt offering were at that time on the high place at Gibeon.
But David could not go before it to inquire of God, because he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the LORD.
1 Chronicles Chapter 21: Verses 28 - 30
So David gave orders to assemble the aliens living in Israel, and from among them he appointed stonecutters 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 bronze than could be weighed.
He also provided more cedar logs than could be counted, for the Sidonians and Tyrians had brought large numbers of them to David.
David said, "My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the LORD 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.
Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him to build a house for the LORD, the God of Israel.
David said to Solomon: "My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God.
But this word of the LORD came to me: 'You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight.
But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon, and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign.
He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.'
1 Chronicles Chapter 22: Verses 2 - 10
Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon.
He said to them, "Is not the LORD 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 the LORD and to his people.
Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the LORD God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the sacred articles belonging to God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the LORD."
1 Chronicles Chapter 22: Verses 17 - 19
Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple:
three thousand talents of gold (gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents of refined silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings,
for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to consecrate himself today to the LORD ?"
Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king's work gave willingly.
They gave toward the work on the temple of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze and a hundred thousand talents of iron.
Any who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the temple of the LORD in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite.
The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD. David the king also rejoiced greatly. David's Prayer
1 Chronicles Chapter 29: Verses 3 - 9
O LORD, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep this desire in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you.
And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, requirements and decrees and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided."
1 Chronicles Chapter 29: Verses 18 - 19
Solomon gave orders to build a temple for the Name of the LORD and a royal palace for himself.
He conscripted seventy thousand men as carriers and eighty thousand as stonecutters in the hills and thirty-six hundred as foremen over them.
Solomon sent this message to Hiram king of Tyre: "Send me cedar logs as you did for my father David when you sent him cedar to build a palace to live in.
Now I am about to build a temple for the Name of the LORD my God and to dedicate it to him for burning fragrant incense before him, for setting out the consecrated bread regularly, and for making burnt offerings every morning and evening and on Sabbaths and New Moons and at the appointed feasts of the LORD our God. This is a lasting ordinance for Israel.
"The temple I am going to build will be great, because our God is greater than all other gods.
But who is able to build a temple for him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain him? Who then am I to build a temple for him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before him?
"Send me, therefore, a man skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, and in purple, crimson and blue yarn, and experienced in the art of engraving, to work in Judah and Jerusalem with my skilled craftsmen, whom my father David provided.
"Send me also cedar, pine and algum logs from Lebanon, for I know that your men are skilled in cutting timber there. My men will work with yours
to provide me with plenty of lumber, because the temple I build must be large and magnificent.
2 Chronicles Chapter 2: Verses 1 - 9
Then Solomon began to build the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David. It was on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, the place provided by David.
He began building on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign.
The foundation Solomon laid for building the temple of God was sixty cubits long and twenty cubits wide (using the cubit of the old standard).
The portico at the front of the temple was twenty cubits long across the width of the building and twenty cubits high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold.
He paneled the main hall with pine and covered it with fine gold and decorated it with palm tree and chain designs.
He adorned the temple with precious stones. And the gold he used was gold of Parvaim.
He overlaid the ceiling beams, doorframes, walls and doors of the temple with gold, and he carved cherubim on the walls.
He built the Most Holy Place, its length corresponding to the width of the temple,twenty cubits long and twenty cubits wide. He overlaid the inside with six hundred talents of fine gold.
The gold nails weighed fifty shekels. He also overlaid the upper parts with gold.
In the Most Holy Place he made a pair of sculptured cherubim and overlaid them with gold.
The total wingspan of the cherubim was twenty cubits. One wing of the first cherub was five cubits long and touched the temple wall, while its other wing, also five cubits long, touched the wing of the other cherub.
Similarly one wing of the second cherub was five cubits long and touched the other temple wall, and its other wing, also five cubits long, touched the wing of the first cherub.
The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits. They stood on their feet, facing the main hall.
He made the curtain of blue, purple and crimson yarn and fine linen, with cherubim worked into it.
In the front of the temple he made two pillars, which together were thirty-five cubits long, each with a capital on top measuring five cubits.
He made interwoven chains and put them on top of the pillars. He also made a hundred pomegranates and attached them to the chains.
He erected the pillars in the front of the temple, one to the south and one to the north. The one to the south he named Jakin and the one to the north Boaz.
2 Chronicles Chapter 3: Verses 1 - 17
When all the work Solomon had done for the temple of the LORD was finished, he brought in the things his father David had dedicated,the silver and gold and all the furnishings,and he placed them in the treasuries of God's temple. The Ark Brought to the Temple
2 Chronicles Chapter 5: Verse 1
Then Solomon said, "The LORD has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud;
I have built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever."
While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around and blessed them.
Then he said: "Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, who with his hands has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to my father David. For he said,
'Since the day I brought my people out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built for my Name to be there, nor have I chosen anyone to be the leader over my people Israel.
But now I have chosen Jerusalem for my Name to be there, and I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.'
"My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel.
But the LORD said to my father David, 'Because it was in your heart to build a temple for my Name, you did well to have this in your heart.
Nevertheless, you are not the one to build the temple, but your son, who is your own flesh and blood,he is the one who will build the temple for my Name.'
"The LORD has kept the promise he made. I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel.
There I have placed the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD that he made with the people of Israel." Solomon's Prayer of Dedication
Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands.
2 Chronicles Chapter 6: Verses 1 - 12
When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.
The priests could not enter the temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it.
When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, "He is good; his love endures forever."
Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the LORD.
And King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand head of cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the people dedicated the temple of God.
2 Chronicles Chapter 7: Verses 1 - 5
the LORD appeared to him at night and said: "I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.
2 Chronicles Chapter 7: Verse 12
O LORD, remember David and all the hardships he endured.
He swore an oath to the LORD and made a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:
"I will not enter my house or go to my bed-
I will allow no sleep to my eyes, no slumber to my eyelids,
till I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob."
Psalms Chapter 132: Verses 1 - 5
these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations."
Isaiah Chapter 56: Verse 7
"Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah. He told all the people of Judah, 'This is what the LORD Almighty says: " 'Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.'
Jeremiah Chapter 26: Verse 18
Therefore because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.
Micah Chapter 3: Verse 12
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