2 Chronicles 1-6

II Chronicles 1

¹And Solomon, the son of David, made himself strong in his kingdom, and the Lord his God was with him, and made him very great.

²And Solomon sent word to all Israel, to the captains of thousands and of hundreds and to the judges and to every chief in all Israel, heads of their families.

³Then Solomon, and all the men of Israel with him, went to the high place at Gibeon, because the Tent of meeting of God, which Moses, the servant of the Lord, had made in the waste land, was there.

⁴But the ark of God had been moved by David from Kiriath-jearim to the place which he had made ready for it, for he had put up a tent for it at Jerusalem.

⁵And the altar of brass which Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, was there before the Tent of the Lord; and Solomon and all the people went to give worship there.

⁶And Solomon went up there to the brass altar before the Lord at the Tent of meeting, offering on it a thousand burned offerings.

⁷In that night God came to Solomon in a vision, and said to him, Say what I am to give you.

⁸And Solomon said to God, Great was your mercy to David my father, and you have made me king in his place.

⁹Now, O Lord God, let your word to David my father come true; for you have made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in number.

¹⁰Give me now wisdom and knowledge, so that I may go out and come in before this people: for who is able to be the judge of this great people of yours?

¹¹And God said to Solomon, Because this was in your heart, and you did not make request for money, property, or honour, or for the destruction of your haters, or for long life; but you have made request for wisdom and knowledge for yourself, so that you may be the judge of my people over whom I have made you king:

¹²Wisdom and knowledge are given to you; and I will give you wealth and honour, such as no king has had before you or ever will have after you.

¹³So Solomon went back from the high place at Gibeon, from before the Tent of meeting, to Jerusalem; and he was king over Israel.

¹⁴And Solomon got together war-carriages and horsemen; he had one thousand, four hundred carriages and twelve thousand horsemen, which he kept, some in the carriage-towns and some with the king at Jerusalem.

¹⁵And the king made silver and gold as common as stones in Jerusalem, and cedar like the sycamore-trees of the lowland in number.

¹⁶And Solomon's horses came out of Egypt; the king's traders got them from Kue at a price.

¹⁷A war-carriage might be got from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty: they got them at the same rate for all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.

II Chronicles 2

¹Now it was Solomon's purpose to put up a house for the name of the Lord and a house for himself as king.

²And Solomon had seventy thousand men numbered for transport, and eighty thousand for cutting stone in the mountains, and three thousand, six hundred as overseers.

³And Solomon sent to Huram, king of Tyre, saying, As you did for my father David, sending him cedar-trees for the building of his house,

⁴See! I am building a house for the name of the Lord my God, to be made holy to him, where perfumes of sweet spices will be burned before him, and the holy bread will be placed at all times, and burned offerings will be offered morning and evening, on the Sabbaths and at the new moons, and on the regular feasts of the Lord our God. This is a law for ever to Israel.

⁵And the house which I am building is to be great, for our God is greater than all gods.

⁶But who may have strength enough to make a house for him, seeing that the heaven and the heaven of heavens are not wide enough to be his resting-place? who am I then to make a house for him? But I am building it only for the burning of perfume before him.

⁷So now send me an expert worker in gold and silver and brass and iron? in purple and red and blue, and in the cutting of all sorts of ornament, to be with the expert workmen who are here in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom my father David got together.

⁸And send me cedar-trees, cypress-trees and sandal-wood from Lebanon, for, to my knowledge, your servants are expert wood-cutters in Lebanon; and my servants will be with yours,

⁹To get trees for me in great numbers, for the house which I am building is to be great and a wonder.

¹⁰And I will give as food to your servants, the wood-cutters, twenty thousand measures of grain, and twenty thousand measures of barley and twenty thousand measures of wine and twenty thousand measures of oil.

¹¹Then Huram, king of Tyre, sent Solomon an answer in writing, saying, Because of his love for his people the Lord has made you king over them.

¹²And Huram said, Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, maker of heaven and earth, who has given to David the king a wise son, full of wisdom and good sense, to be the builder of a house for the Lord and a house for himself as king.

¹³And now I am sending you a wise and expert man, Huram who is as my father,

¹⁴The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, whose father was a man of Tyre, an expert worker in gold and silver and brass and iron, in stone and wood, in purple and blue and fair linen and red, trained in the cutting of every sort of ornament and the invention of every sort of design; let him be given a place among your expert workmen and those of my lord, your father David.

¹⁵So now let my lord send to his servants the grain and the oil and the wine as my lord has said;

¹⁶And we will have wood cut from Lebanon, as much as you have need of, and will send it to you on flat boats by sea to Joppa, and from there you may take it up to Jerusalem.

¹⁷Then Solomon took the number of all the men from strange lands who were living in Israel, as his father David had done; there were a hundred and fifty-three thousand, six hundred.

¹⁸Seventy thousand he put to the work of transport, eighty thousand to cutting stone in the mountains, and three thousand, six hundred as overseers to put the people to work.

II Chronicles 3

¹Then Solomon made a start at building the house of the Lord on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, where the Lord had been seen by his father David, in the place which David had made ready in the grain-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

²The building was started in the second month in the fourth year of his rule.

³And Solomon put the base of the house of God in position; by the older measure it was sixty cubits long and twenty cubits wide.

⁴And the covered way in front of the house was twenty cubits long, as wide as the house, and a hundred and twenty cubits high, all plated inside with the best gold.

⁵And the greater house was roofed with cypress-wood, plated with the best gold and ornamented with designs of palm-trees and chains.

⁶And the house was made beautiful with stones of great value, and the gold was gold of Parvaim.

⁷All the house was plated with gold, the supports, the steps, the walls and the doors; and the walls were ornamented with designs of winged ones.

⁸And he made the most holy place; it was twenty cubits long, and twenty cubits wide, like the greater house, and was plated all over with the best gold; six hundred talents were used for it.

⁹And fifty shekels weight of gold was used for the nails. He had all the higher rooms plated with gold.

¹⁰And in the most holy place he made images of two winged beings, covering them with gold.

¹¹Their outstretched wings were twenty cubits across; one wing, five cubits long, touching the wall of the house, and the other, of the same size, meeting the wing of the other winged one.

¹²And in the same way, the wings of the other, five cubits long, were stretched out, one touching the wall and the other meeting the wing of the first winged one.

¹³Their outstretched wings were twenty cubits across; they were placed upright on their feet, facing the inner part of the house.

¹⁴And he made the veil of blue and purple and red, of the best linen, worked with winged ones.

¹⁵And in front of the house he made two pillars, thirty-five cubits high, with crowns on the tops of them, five cubits high.

¹⁶And he made chains, like neck ornaments, and put them on the tops of the pillars, and a hundred apples on the chains.

¹⁷He put up the pillars in front of the Temple, one on the right side and one on the left, naming the one on the right Jachin and that on the left Boaz.

II Chronicles 4

¹Then he made a brass altar, twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide and ten cubits high.

²And he made the great water-vessel of metal, round in form, measuring ten cubits across from edge to edge; it was five cubits high and thirty cubits round.

³And under it was a design of flowers all round it, ten to a cubit, circling the water-vessel in two lines; they were made from liquid metal at the same time as the water-vessel.

⁴It was supported on twelve oxen, three facing to the north, three to the west, three to the south, and three to the east, the water-vessel resting on top of them; their back parts were all turned to the middle of it.

⁵It was as thick as a man's open hand, and the edge of it was curved like the edge of a cup, like a lily flower; it would take three thousand baths.

⁶And he made ten washing-vessels, putting five on the right side and five on the left; such things as were used in making the burned offering were washed in them; but the great water-vessel was to be used by the priests for washing themselves.

⁷And he made the ten gold supports for the lights, as directions had been given for them, and he put them in the Temple, five on the right side and five on the left.

⁸He made ten tables, and put them in the Temple, five on the right side and five on the left. And he made a hundred gold basins.

⁹Then he made the open space for the priests, and the great open space and its doors, plating the doors with brass.

¹⁰He put the great water-vessel on the right side of the house to the east, facing south.

¹¹And Huram made all the pots and the spades and the basins. So he came to the end of all the work he did for King Solomon in the house of God:

¹²The two pillars, and the two crowns on the tops of the pillars, and the network covering the two cups of the crowns on the tops of the pillars;

¹³And the four hundred apples for the network, two lines of apples for the network covering the two cups of the crowns on the pillars.

¹⁴And he made the ten bases and the ten washing-vessels which were on the bases;

¹⁵The great water-vessel with the twelve oxen under it.

¹⁶All the pots and the spades and the meat-hooks and their vessels, which Huram, who was as his father, made for King Solomon for the house of the Lord, were of polished brass.

¹⁷The king made them of liquid metal in the lowland of Jordan, in the soft earth between Succoth and Zeredah.

¹⁸So Solomon made all these vessels, a very great store of them, and the weight of the brass used was not measured.

¹⁹And Solomon made all the vessels used in the house of God, the gold altar and the tables on which the holy bread was placed,

²⁰And the supports for the lights with their lights, to be burning in the regular way in front of the inmost room, of the best gold;

²¹The flowers and the vessels for the lights and the instruments used for them, were all of gold; it was the best gold.

²²The scissors and the basins and the spoons and the fire-trays, of the best gold; and the inner doors of the house, opening into the most holy place, and the doors of the Temple, were all of gold.

II Chronicles 5

¹So all the work which Solomon did for the house of the Lord was complete. And Solomon took the holy things which David his father had given, the silver and the gold and all the vessels, and put them in the store-houses of the house of God.

²Then Solomon sent for all the responsible men of Israel, all the chiefs of the tribes and the heads of families of the children of Israel, to come to Jerusalem and take the ark of the Lord's agreement up out of the town of David, which is Zion.

³And all the men of Israel came together to the king at the feast in the seventh month.

⁴All the responsible men of Israel came, and the Levites took up the ark.

⁵They took up the ark and the Tent of meeting and all the holy vessels which were in the Tent; all these the priests, the Levites, took up.

⁶And King Solomon and all the men of Israel who had come together there with him, were before the ark, making offerings of sheep and oxen more than might be numbered.

⁷And the priests took the ark of the Lord's agreement and put it in its place, in the inner room of the house, in the most holy place, under the wings of the winged ones.

⁸For their wings were outstretched over the place where the ark was, covering the ark and its rods.

⁹The rods were so long that their ends were seen from the holy place before the inmost room; but they were not seen from outside; and there they are to this day.

¹⁰Nothing was in the ark but the two flat stones which Moses put there at Horeb, where the Lord made an agreement with the children of Israel when they came out of Egypt.

¹¹Now when the priests had come out of the holy place, (for all the priests who were present had made themselves holy, not keeping to their divisions;

¹²And the Levites who made the music, all of them, Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and brothers, robed in fair linen, were in their places with their brass and corded instruments at the east side of the altar, and with them a hundred and twenty priests blowing horns;)

¹³And when the players on horns, and those who made melody in song, with one voice were sounding the praise and glory of the Lord; with loud voices and with wind instruments, and brass and corded instruments of music, praising the Lord and saying, He is good; his mercy is unchanging for ever: then the house was full of the cloud of the glory of the Lord,

¹⁴So that the priests were not able to keep their places to do their work because of the cloud; for the house of God was full of the glory of the Lord.

II Chronicles 6

¹Then Solomon said, O Lord, to the sun you have given the heaven for a living-place, but your living-place was not seen by men,

²So I have made for you a living-place, a house in which you may be for ever present.

³Then, turning his face about, the king gave a blessing to all the men of Israel; and they were all on their feet together.

⁴And he said, Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who himself gave his word to my father David, and with his strong hand has made his word come true, saying,

⁵From the day when I took my people out of the land of Egypt, no town in all the tribes of Israel has been marked out by me for the building of a house for the resting-place of my name; and I took no man to be a ruler over my people Israel;

⁶But now I have made selection of Jerusalem, that my name might be there, and of David, to be over my people Israel.

⁷Now it was in the heart of my father David to put up a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.

⁸But the Lord said to David my father, You did well to have in your heart the desire to make a house for my name:

⁹But you yourself will not be the builder of the house; but your son, the offspring of your body, he it is who will put up a house for my name.

¹⁰And the Lord has kept his word; for I have taken my father David's place on the seat of the kingdom of Israel, as the Lord gave his word; and I have made the house for the name of the Lord the God of Israel.

¹¹And there I have put the ark, in which is the agreement of the Lord, which he made with the people of Israel.

¹²Then he took his place in front of the altar of the Lord, all the men of Israel being present,

¹³(For Solomon had made a brass stage, five cubits long, five cubits wide and three cubits high, and had put it in the middle of the open space; on this he took his place and went down on his knees before all the meeting of Israel, stretching out his hands to heaven.)

¹⁴And he said, O Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven or on earth; keeping faith and mercy unchanging for your servants, while they go in your ways with all their hearts;

¹⁵For you have kept the word which you gave to your servant David, my father; with your mouth you said it and with your hand you have made it come true this day.

¹⁶So now, O Lord, the God of Israel, let your word to your servant David, my father, come true, when you said, You will never be without a man to take his place before me on the seat of the kingdom of Israel; if only your children give attention to their ways, walking in my law, as you have done before me.

¹⁷So now, O Lord, the God of Israel, make your word come true which you said to your servant David.

¹⁸But is it truly possible that God may be housed with men on earth? see, heaven and the heaven of heavens are not wide enough to be your resting-place: how much less this house which I have made:

¹⁹Still, let your heart be turned to the prayer of your servant and to his prayer for grace, O Lord my God, and give ear to the cry and the prayer which your servant makes before you;

²⁰That your eyes may be open to this house day and night, to this place of which you have said that you would put your name there; to give ear to the prayer which your servant may make, turning to this place.

²¹And give ear to the prayers of your servant and of your people Israel, when they make their prayers, turning to this place; give ear from heaven your living-place; and hearing have mercy.

²²If a man does wrong to his neighbour and has to take an oath, and comes before your altar to take his oath in this house:

²³Then let your ear be open in heaven, and be the judge of your servants, giving punishment to the wrongdoer, so that his sin may come on his head; and, by your decision, keeping from evil him who has done no wrong.

²⁴And if your people Israel are overcome in war, because of their sin against you; if they are turned to you again, honouring your name, making prayers and requesting your grace in this house:

²⁵Then give ear from heaven, and let the sin of your people Israel have forgiveness, and take them back again to the land which you gave to them and to their fathers.

²⁶When heaven is shut up and there is no rain, because of their sin against you: if they make prayers with their faces turned to this place, honouring your name and turning away from their sin when you send trouble on them:

²⁷Then give ear from heaven, so that the sin of your servants and the sin of your people Israel may have forgiveness, when you make clear to them the good way in which they are to go; and send rain on your land which you have given to your people for their heritage.

²⁸If there is no food in the land, if there is disease, if the fruits of the earth are damaged by heat or water, locust or worm; if their towns are shut in by their attackers: whatever trouble or whatever disease there may be:

²⁹Whatever prayer or request for your grace is made by any man, or by all your people Israel, whatever his trouble may be, whose hands are stretched out to this house:

³⁰Then give ear from heaven your living-place, answering with forgiveness, and give to every man, whose secret heart is open to you, the reward of all his ways; (for you, and you only, have knowledge of the hearts of the children of men;)

³¹So that they may give you worship, walking in your ways, as long as they are living in the land which you gave to our fathers.

³²And as for the man from a strange land, who is not of your people Israel but comes from a far country because of the glory of your name and your strong hand and your outstretched arm; when he comes to make his prayer, turning to this house:

³³Then give ear from heaven your living-place, and give him his desire, whatever it may be; so that all the peoples of the earth may have knowledge of your name, worshipping you as do your people Israel, and may see that this house which I have made is truly named by your name.

³⁴If your people go out to war against their attackers, by whatever way you may send them, if they make their prayers to you turning their faces to this town of yours and to this house which I have put up for your name:

³⁵Then give ear from heaven to their prayer and their cry for grace, and see right done to them.

³⁶If they do wrong against you, (for no man is without sin,) and you are angry with them, and give them up into the power of those who are fighting against them, so that they take them away prisoners to a land far off or near;

³⁷And if they take thought, in the land where they are prisoners, turning again to you, crying out in prayer to you in that land, and saying, We are sinners, we have done wrong, we have done evil;

³⁸If with all their heart and soul they are turned again to you, in the land where they are prisoners, the land where they have been taken, and make their prayers, turning their eyes to their land which you gave to their fathers, and to the town which you took for yourself, and the house which I have made for your name:

³⁹Then give ear from heaven your living-place to their prayer and their cry, and see right done to them, answering with forgiveness your people who have done wrong against you.

⁴⁰Now, O my God, may your eyes be open and your ears awake to the prayers made in this place.

⁴¹Up! now, O Lord God, come back to your resting-place, you and the ark of your strength: let your priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation, and let your saints be glad in what is good.

⁴²O Lord God, let him whom you have taken for yourself never be given up by you: keep in mind your mercies to David your servant.