2 Chronicles 3
1 Then Solomon’s workers started to build the temple for Yahweh in Jerusalem. They built it on Moriah Hill, where [an angel from] Yahweh had appeared to his father David. They built it on the ground that Araunah, a descendant of the Jebus people-group, had sold to David and where David said that it should be built.
Then Solomon began to build the house of Yahweh at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where Yahweh had appeared to David his father. He prepared the place that David had planned for it, at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
2 They began the work in April, when Solomon had been ruling almost four years.
He began to build on the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.
3 The foundation of the temple was about 90 feet long and 30 feet wide.
Now these are the dimensions of the foundation that Solomon laid for the house of God. Using the old style cubit, the length was sixty cubits, and the width was twenty cubits.
4 The entrance room across the front of the temple was 30 feet wide and 30 feet high.
The length of the portico at the front of the house was twenty cubits, matching the building's width. Its height was also twenty cubits, and Solomon overlaid its interior with pure gold.
5 Solomon’s workers used [panels/boards of] pine [wood] to line the main hall of the temple. Then they covered those panels with [very thin sheets of] pure gold. Then they decorated the walls with [carved images of] palm trees and designs that resembled chains.
He fashioned the ceiling of the main hall with cypress, which he overlaid with fine gold, and which he carved with palm trees and chains.
6 They decorated the temple with very valuable stones. The gold that they used was from [the land of] Parvaim.
He decorated the house with precious stones; the gold was gold from Parvaim.
7 They covered the ceiling beams, the door frames, the walls and the doors of the temple with [very thin sheets of] gold. They also carved [statues of] winged creatures on the walls.
He also overlaid its beams, thresholds, walls, and doors with gold; he carved cherubs on its walls.
8 They also built the Very Holy Place [inside the temple]. It was 30 feet wide and 30 feet long. They covered its walls with sheets of pure gold that altogether weighed 23 tons.
He built the most holy place. Its length matched the house's width, twenty cubits, and its width was also twenty cubits. He overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents.
9 They used 1-1/4 pounds of gold to [cover the heads of] the nails. They also covered the walls of the upper rooms with sheets of gold.
The weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. He overlaid its high surfaces with gold.
10 Solomon’s workers made two statues of creatures with wings to put inside the Very Holy Place. They covered those statues with [very thin sheets of] gold.
He made two images of cherubs for the most holy place; craftsmen overlaid them with gold.
11 [Each statue had two long wings]. One wing of each statue touched one of the walls of the Temple. The other wing of each statue touched a wing of the other statue. It was 7-1/2 feet from the outer tip of one wing to the outer tip of the other wing. The inner wings of the two statues touched each other.
The wings of the cherubs were twenty cubits long all together; the wing of one cherub was five cubits long, reaching to the wall of the room; the other wing was likewise five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other cherub.
The wing of the other cherub was also five cubits, reaching to the wall of the room; its other wing was also five cubits, touching the wing of the first cherub.
13 It was 30 feet from the outer wing of the one statue to the outer wing of the other statue. The statues faced the doorway to the main room.
The wings of these cherubs spread a total of twenty cubits. The cherubs stood on their feet, with their faces toward the main hall.
14 Solomon’s workers made a curtain [to separate the main room from the Very Holy Place]. It was made of blue, purple, and red thread and fine linen. There were figures of winged creatures that were embroidered on the curtain.
He made the curtain of blue, purple, and crimson wool and fine linen, and he fashioned cherubs on it.
15 They made two [bronze] pillars and put them at the entrance of the temple. They were each 27 feet high. Each had a top over it that was 7-1/2 feet high.
Solomon also made two pillars, each thirty-five cubits high, for in front of the house; the capitals that were on the top of them were five cubits high.
16 The workers made [carvings that resembled] chains and put them on top of the pillars. They made [carvings that resembled] pomegranates and attached them to the chains.
He made chains for the pillars and put them on top of them; he also made one hundred pomegranates and joined them to the chains.
17 They set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the south side [of the entrance] and the other on the north side. The one on the south side was named Jakin and the one on the north side was named Boaz.
He set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the right hand, and the other on the left; he named the pillar on the right Jakin, and the pillar on the left Boaz.
