And Solomon was thirteen years building his own  ¹house, and he finished all his house.

And he built the Lebanon Forest House, a hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars.

And it was roofed with cedar above the forty-five beams that were upon the pillars, fifteen in a row.

And there were window frames in three rows, and window was next to window in three tiers.

And all the doorways and doorposts had square frames, and window was next to window in three tiers.

And he made the portico of pillars, fifty cubits long and thirty cubits wide, with a portico before them and with pillars and a threshold before them.

And he made the throne portico, where he would execute judgment, the judgment portico; and it was covered with cedar from floor to floor.

And his house that he was to dwell in, in the court to the rear of the throne portico, was of the same workmanship. He also made a house for Pharaoh's daughter, whom Solomon had taken as his wife, like this portico.

All these were of costly stones, cut according to measure, sawed with saws, within and without, from the foundation to the coping, and from the outside to the great court.

And the foundation was of costly stones, large stones, stones of ten cubits and stones of eight cubits.

And above were costly stones, cut according to measure, and cedar.

And the great court surrounding had three rows of hewn stone and a row of cedar beams, as did the inner court of the house of Jehovah and the portico of the house.

And King Solomon sent for  ¹Hiram and brought him from Tyre.

He was the son of a widow and of the tribe of  ¹Naphtali, and his father was a man of  ²Tyre, a bronze worker; and he was full of wisdom and understanding and skill to do all kinds of work in bronze. And he  ³came to King Solomon and did all his work.

And he formed the two bronze  ¹pillars;  ²eighteen cubits was the height of  ³each pillar, and a line of  ²twelve cubits encompassed  ³each pillar.

And he made two  ¹capitals of molten bronze to set upon the tops of the pillars; the height of the one capital was five cubits, and the height of the second capital was five cubits.

There were nets of checker work with wreaths of chain work for the capitals that were at the top of the pillars, seven for the one capital, and seven for the second capital.

So he made the pillars; and there were two rows of pomegranates around the one network, to cover the capitals that were at the top of the  ¹pillars. And he did the same for the second capital.

And the capitals that were at the top of the pillars in the portico were of lily work, four cubits in diameter.

So then the capitals that were on the two pillars were above and close to the bulge that was beside the network. And there were two hundred pomegranates, in rows around  ¹both capitals.

And he erected the pillars at the portico of the temple. When he erected the right pillar, he called its name  ¹Jachin; and when he erected the left pillar, he called its name  ²Boaz.

And at the top of the pillars was lily work. And the work on the pillars was completed.

And he made the  ¹molten sea, ten cubits from brim to brim, fully round; and it was five cubits high, and a line of thirty cubits encompassed it.

And under its brim there were gourds all around, encircling it, ten to a cubit, surrounding the sea all around; the gourds were cast in two rows when they were cast.

It stood upon twelve oxen, three facing north and three facing west and three facing south and three facing east; and the sea was upon them, and all their hindquarters were within.

And it was a handbreadth thick; and its brim was like the work of a cup's brim, like the flower of a lily; it held two thousand baths.

And he made the ten bases of bronze; one base was four cubits long and four cubits wide, and it was three cubits high.

And this was the work of each base: They had panels, and the panels were between frames.

And on the panels that were between the frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim. And above the frames was a pedestal, and below the lions and oxen there were wreaths of hanging work.

And each base had four bronze wheels with bronze axles. And its four feet had supports; underneath the laver the supports had been cast, with wreaths at the side of each.

And the mouth of  ¹the laver was within this crown, and it rose above it by one cubit; and its mouth was round like the work of a pedestal; it was a cubit and a half across; and upon its mouth were engravings as well, and its panels were square, not round.

And the four wheels were underneath the panels, and the wheel axles were in the base; each wheel was a cubit and a half high.

And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel: their axles and their rims and their spokes and their hubs were all molten.

And there were four supports at the four corners of each base; its supports were part of the base.

And at the top of the base there was a round band half a cubit high; and at the top of the base, its stays and its panels were of one piece.

And on the surfaces of the stays and on its panels he engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees, as there was space on each, with wreaths all around.

In this manner he made the ten bases; all of them had one casting, one measure, and one form.

And he made ten bronze lavers; each laver held forty baths; each laver was four cubits across; there was one laver upon every one of the ten bases.

And he set the bases, five on the right side of the house and five on the left side of the house; and the sea he set on the right side of the house, on the east side at the south.

And Hiram made the  ¹pots and the shovels and the bowls.

Thus Hiram finished doing all the work that he was doing for King Solomon in the house of Jehovah:

The two pillars, and the two bowls of the capitals that were at the top of the pillars, and the two networks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were at the top of the pillars;

And the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the pillars;

And the ten bases and the ten lavers upon the bases;

And the one sea and the twelve oxen under the sea;

And the pots and the shovels and the bowls; all these vessels that Hiram made for King Solomon in the house of Jehovah were of burnished bronze.

The king cast them in the plain of the Jordan, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan.

And Solomon left all the vessels unweighed because of the very great number; the weight of bronze could not be ascertained.

And Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of Jehovah: the golden  ¹altar; and the golden  ²table upon which the bread of the Presence was put;

And the  ¹lampstands of pure gold, five on the right and five on the left, before the innermost sanctuary; and the flowers and the lamps and the tongs, of gold;

And the cups and the snuffers and the bowls and the cups and the firepans, of pure gold; and the hinges, for the doors of the inner house, the Holy of Holies, and for the doors of the house of the temple, of gold.

Thus all the work that King Solomon did in the house of Jehovah was finished. And Solomon brought in the things that David his father had sanctified, the silver and the gold and the vessels, and he put them in the treasuries of the house of Jehovah.

Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers' houses of the children of Israel, before King Solomon in Jerusalem in order to bring up the Ark of the Covenant of Jehovah from the city of David, which is Zion.

And all the men of Israel assembled themselves before King Solomon at the feast in the month of Ethanim, which is the seventh month.

And when all the elders of Israel came, the priests took up the Ark;

And they brought up the Ark of Jehovah and the  ¹Tent of Meeting and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; and the priests and Levites brought them up.

And King Solomon and all the assembly of Israel, who had assembled before him and were with him before the Ark, were sacrificing sheep and oxen which could not be counted or numbered for multitude.

And the priests brought the Ark of the Covenant of Jehovah to its place, into the innermost sanctuary of the house, into the Holy of Holies under the wings of the cherubim.

For the cherubim had their wings spread out over the place of the Ark, and the cherubim covered the Ark and its poles overhead.

And the poles extended out so that the ends of the poles could be seen from the Holy Place before the innermost sanctuary, but they were not seen outside; and they are there to this day.

There was nothing in the Ark except the two stone tablets, which Moses placed there at Horeb when Jehovah made a covenant with the children of Israel when they came out of the land of Egypt.

And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, the cloud filled the house of Jehovah;

And the priests were not able to stand and minister because of the cloud, for the  ¹glory of Jehovah filled the house of Jehovah.

Then Solomon said, Jehovah has said that He would dwell in deep darkness.

I have surely built You a lofty house, a place for You to dwell in forever.

And the king turned about and blessed all the congregation of Israel while all the congregation of Israel stood.

And he said, Blessed be Jehovah the God of Israel, who spoke with His mouth to David my father and fulfilled it with His hand, saying,

Since the day when I brought My people Israel out from Egypt, I have not chosen a city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house for My name that it might be there; but I chose David to be over My people Israel.

And it was on David my father's heart to build a house for the name of Jehovah the God of Israel;

But Jehovah said to David my father, Because it was on your heart to build a house for My name, you have done well that it was on your heart;

However you will not build the house, but your  ¹son, who will come forth from your loins, he will build the house for My name.

And Jehovah has established His word which He spoke; for I have risen up in the place of David my father, and I sit upon the throne of Israel, as Jehovah promised, and I have built the house for the name of Jehovah the God of Israel.

And there I have set a place for the Ark, in which is the covenant of Jehovah, which He made with our fathers when He brought them out from the land of Egypt.

Then Solomon stood before the altar of Jehovah in front of all the congregation of Israel and spread his hands toward heaven.

And he said, O Jehovah, God of Israel, there is no god like You, in heaven above or on the earth below, who keeps covenant and lovingkindness with Your servants who walk before You with all their heart;

You who have kept with Your servant David my father that which You have promised him; indeed You have spoken with Your mouth and have fulfilled with Your hand this day.

And now, O Jehovah, God of Israel, keep with Your servant David my father that which You promised him, saying, There shall not fail you a man in My sight to sit upon the throne of Israel, if only your children keep their way by walking before Me as you have walked before Me.

Now therefore, O God of Israel, may Your word that You spoke to Your servant David my father be confirmed.

But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heavens and the heaven of heavens are not able to contain You; how much less this house which I have built.

Yet have regard to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplication, O Jehovah my God, and listen to the cry and to the prayer which Your servant is praying before You today;

That Your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, toward the place of which You have said, My name will be there, to listen to the prayer which Your servant will pray toward this place.

And listen to the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear then in Your dwelling place in the  ¹heavens; and when You hear, forgive.

If a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take an oath, and he comes and takes an oath before Your altar in this house;

Then hear in the heavens and act and judge Your servants, condemning the wicked by bringing his way on his head and justifying the righteous by giving to him according to his righteousness.

When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, and they turn to You and confess Your name and pray and make supplication to You in this house;

Then hear in the heavens, and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave to their fathers.

When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name and turn from their sin when You afflict them;

Then hear in the heavens and forgive the sin of Your servants and of Your people Israel; indeed teach them the good way in which they should walk, and bring rain upon Your land, which You have given to Your people for an inheritance.

If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence, if there is blight or mildew, swarming locust or consuming locust, if their enemy besieges them in the land of their cities, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is;

Whatever prayer, whatever supplication, which will be made by any man of all Your people Israel, each knowing the plague of his own heart, when he spreads out his hands toward this house;

Then hear in the heavens Your dwelling place, and forgive and act and render to each man according to all his ways, whose heart You know; for You, You alone know the hearts of all the children of men;

That they may fear You all the days that they live in the land which You have given to our fathers.

And also concerning the foreigner, who is not of Your people Israel but comes from a distant country for the sake of Your name

(For they will hear about Your great name and Your strong hand and Your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house;

Then hear in the heavens Your dwelling place, and act according to all that the foreigner calls upon You for, that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name and that they may fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by Your name.

If Your people go out to battle against their enemy by the way which You have sent them, and they pray to Jehovah toward the city which You have chosen and the house which I have built for Your name;

Then hear their prayer and their supplication in the heavens and maintain their cause.

If they have sinned against You (for there is no man who does not sin) and You are angry with them and deliver them up to the enemy, so that they are carried away captive unto the land of the enemy, far away or nearby;

But if they take it to heart in the land where they were carried captive, and they repent and make supplication to You in the land of those who carried them away captive, saying, We have sinned and committed iniquity and acted wickedly;

And if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who have carried them captive, and they pray to You toward their  ¹land that You have given to their fathers, the  ¹city that You have chosen, and the  ¹house that I have built for Your name;

Then hear their prayer and their supplication in the heavens Your dwelling place and maintain their cause,

And forgive Your people who have sinned against You and all their transgressions which they have transgressed against You, and grant them compassion in the sight of those who lead them captive, that they might have compassion on them

(For they are Your people and Your inheritance, whom You brought out from Egypt, from the midst of an iron furnace);

That Your eyes may be open to the supplication of Your servant and to the supplication of Your people Israel to listen to them whenever they call upon You.

For You have separated them from all the peoples of the earth to be Your inheritance, as You spoke through Moses Your servant, when You brought our fathers out from Egypt, O Lord Jehovah.

And when Solomon had finished praying all this prayer and supplication to Jehovah, he rose up from before the altar of Jehovah, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread toward the heavens.

And he stood and blessed the whole congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying,

Blessed be Jehovah, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. Not one word of all His good promises which He spoke through Moses His servant has failed.

May Jehovah our God be with us, as He was with our fathers; let Him not forsake us nor abandon us,

That He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His ordinances, which He commanded our fathers.

And let these words of mine, with which I made supplication to Jehovah, be near to Jehovah our God day and night to maintain the cause of His servant and the  ¹cause of His people Israel as each day requires;

That all the peoples of the earth may know that Jehovah is God; there is none else.

Let your heart therefore be perfect with Jehovah our God, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments as on this day.

And the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before Jehovah.

And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered to Jehovah: twenty-two thousand oxen and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep. Thus the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of Jehovah.

On that day the king sanctified the middle of the court that was before the house of Jehovah, for there he offered the  ¹burnt offering and the  ¹meal offering and the fat of  ¹peace offerings because the bronze altar which was before Jehovah was too small to receive the burnt offering and the meal offering and the fat of peace offerings.

And Solomon held a feast at that time and all Israel with him, a great congregation, from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of Egypt, before Jehovah our God, seven days and seven more days, fourteen days in all.

On the eighth day he sent the people away, and they blessed the king and went to their tents joyful and happy in heart for all the goodness which Jehovah had shown to David His servant and to Israel His people.

And when  ¹Solomon had finished building the house of Jehovah and the king's house and everything that Solomon desired to make,

Jehovah appeared to Solomon a second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon.

And Jehovah said to him, I have heard your prayer and your supplication which you have made before Me; I have sanctified this house which you have built by putting My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there continually.

And as for you, if you walk before Me, as David your father walked, with a perfect and upright heart by doing according to all that I have commanded you and keep My statutes and My ordinances,

Then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised to David your father, saying, You will not lack a man on the throne of Israel.

But if you or your sons indeed turn away from following Me and do not keep My commandments and My statutes, which I have put before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them,

Then I will cut Israel off from the face of the land which I have given them, and the house which I have sanctified for My name I will cast out of My sight, and Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all the peoples.

And this house will become  ¹heaps, and everyone who passes by it will be astonished and hiss and say, Why has Jehovah done this to this land and to this house?

And they will say, Because they forsook Jehovah their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold of other gods and worshipped them and served them; therefore Jehovah brought all this evil upon them.

And at the end of the twenty years in which Solomon had built the two houses, the house of Jehovah and the king's house,

Since Hiram the king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar wood and with cypress wood and with gold, according to all that he desired, King Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.

And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him, and they did not please him.

And he said, What are these cities which you have given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul, as it is unto this day.

And Hiram sent to the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold.

Now this is the account of the forced labor which King Solomon levied to build the house of Jehovah and his own house and the  ¹Millo and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor and Megiddo and Gezer.

(Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, had gone up and captured Gezer and burned it with fire and had slain the Canaanites who lived in the city and given it as a dowry to his daughter, the wife of Solomon.)

And Solomon rebuilt Gezer and lower Beth-Horon,

And Baalath and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land of Judah,

And all the storage cities that Solomon had, even the cities for chariots, and the cities for horsemen and what Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem and in Lebanon and in all the land of his dominion.

All of the people that were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the children of Israel,

Their children who were left after them in the land whom the children of Israel were not able to destroy utterly, Solomon levied as forced labor, as they are unto this day.

But Solomon did not make slaves of the children of Israel; for they were the men of war and his servants and his officers and his captains and the officers over his chariots and his horsemen.

These were the chief of the officers over Solomon's work, five hundred and fifty, who ruled over the people doing the work.

As soon as Pharaoh's daughter came up from the city of David into her house which  ¹Solomon had built for her, he built the Millo.

And three times a year Solomon offered up burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he had built to Jehovah, and he burned incense with them on the altar which was before Jehovah. Thus he finished the house.

King Solomon also built ships in Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom.

And Hiram sent his servants in the ships, sailors who knew the sea, with the servants of Solomon.

And they went to Ophir and took four hundred and twenty talents of gold from there and brought it to King Solomon.