2Ch 3 | BSB | STEP | Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where [the LORD] had appeared to his father David. [This was] the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

2 Chronicles 3

Temple Construction Begins

1 Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where [the LORD] ^{▼▼LXX; Hebrew does not include the LORD} had appeared to his father David. [This was] the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 2 [Solomon] began construction on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign. 3 The foundation that Solomon laid for the house of God [was] sixty cubits long and twenty cubits wide, ^{▼▼That is, about 90 feet long and 30 feet wide (27.4 meters long and 9.1 meters wide)} according to the old standard. 4 The portico at the front, extending across the width of the temple, [was] twenty cubits [long] ^{▼▼That is, about 30 feet or 9.1 meters; also in verses 8, 11, and 13} [and] twenty [cubits] ^{▼▼Some LXX and Syriac manuscripts; Hebrew 120 cubits} high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold.

The Temple's Interior

5 He paneled the main room with cypress, which he overlaid with fine gold and decorated with palm tree and chain [designs] . 6 He adorned the temple with precious stones for beauty, and its gold [was] from Parvaim. 7 He overlaid [its] beams, thresholds, walls, and doors with gold, and he carved cherubim on the walls. 8 Then he made the Most Holy Place; 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 ^{▼▼That is, about 22.6 tons or 20.5 metric tons} of fine gold. 9 The weight of the nails was fifty shekels ^{▼▼That is, about 1.26 pounds or 570 grams} of gold. He also overlaid the upper area with gold.

The Cherubim

10 In the Most Holy Place he made two cherubim of sculptured work, and he overlaid them with gold. 11 The total wingspan of the cherubim [was] twenty cubits. One wing of the first [cherub] [was] five cubits [long] ^{▼▼That is, about 7.5 feet or 2.3 meters; also in verse 15} and touched the wall of the temple, and [its] other wing [was] five cubits [long] and touched the wing of the other cherub. 12 The wing of the second cherub [also measured] five cubits and touched the wall of the house, while [its] other wing [measured] five cubits and touched the wing of the first cherub. 13 So the total wingspan of these cherubim [was] twenty cubits. They stood on their feet, facing the [main] room.

The Veil and Pillars

14 He made the veil of blue, purple, and crimson yarn and fine linen, with cherubim woven into it. 15 In front of the temple he made two pillars, which [together] were thirty-five cubits ^{▼▼That is, about 53 feet or 16 meters} high, each with a capital on top [measuring] five cubits. 16 He made interwoven chains ^{▼▼Or chains in the inner sanctuary} and put them on top of the pillars. He made a hundred pomegranates and fastened them into the chainwork. 17 Then 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, ^{▼▼Jachin probably means he establishes} and the [pillar] on the north he named Boaz. ^{▼▼Boaz probably means in him is strength}