2 Chronicles 3

1 Then Solomon [the king of peace] began [to initiate, to start] to build [to construct, to establish] the house [the temple, the dwelling place] of the LORD [Yehovah, the self-existent God] in Jerusalem [the city of peace] on Mount Moriah [the mountain of God’s provision], where the LORD [the Provider, the One who sees] had appeared [been seen, revealed Himself] to his father David [the beloved king]. This was the place [the location, the site] that David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] had prepared [made ready, established] on the threshing floor [the area for separating grain] of Ornan [the owner of the land] the Jebusite [a descendant of Canaan]. word study 2 Solomon began [to initiate, start anew] construction [to build, establish] on the second [again, another time] day of the second [another, repeated] month in the fourth year of his reign [royal power, kingdom]. word study 3 The foundation [base, starting point] that Solomon [king of Israel] laid [established, founded] for the house [dwelling place, temple] of God [Elohim, the supreme God] was sixty [threescore] cubits [units of measurement, about the length of a forearm] long and twenty cubits wide [broad, having a certain breadth], according to the old [first, primary] standard [measurement, cubit]. word study 4 The portico [a covered area, vestibule, or porch] at the front, extending across the width [breadth, or the distance from side to side] of the temple, was twenty cubits [a unit of measurement, about the length of a forearm] long and twenty cubits high [elevated, or a hundred and twenty, as in other accounts]. He overlaid [covered, or laid something over] the inside [within, or the interior space] with pure [clean, or untainted] gold [a valuable, yellow metal]. word study 5 He paneled the main room [greater house, the large hall] with cypress [fir tree, evergreen wood], which he overlaid with fine [good, pure] gold and decorated with palm trees [palms, decorative columns] and chains [garlands, ornate links]. word study 6 He adorned [decorated, overlaid] the temple [house, place of worship] with precious [valuable, costly] stones [gems, jewels] for beauty [glory, loveliness], and its gold [yellow metal, brilliant treasure] was from Parvaim [a region of gold production, possibly in Arabia]. word study 7 He overlaid [covered with gold leaf] its beams [rafters, support structures], thresholds [door sills, entrances], walls [barriers, dividers], and doors [gates, entrances] with gold [a valuable, brilliant metal], and he carved [engraved, cut into] cherubim [angelic beings, heavenly guardians] on the walls [the surfaces, the partitions]. word study 8 Then he made the Most Holy Place [the sacred inner sanctuary, the room of the Most Holy Place]; its length corresponded to the width of the temple [the house, the dwelling place]—twenty cubits [a unit of measurement, about the length of a forearm] long and twenty cubits wide [in breadth, spanning the same distance]. And he overlaid [covered, plated] the inside with six hundred talents [a unit of weight or currency, six times one hundred] of fine [pure, pleasant] gold [a valuable metal, highly valued]. word study 9 The weight [heaviness, full measure] of the nails [pegs, clasps] was fifty [a quantity of] shekels [units of gold, coins] of gold [a valuable metal]. He also overlaid [covered, plated] the upper area [lofty place, upper room] with gold [a precious metal]. word study 10 In the Most Holy Place [the inner sanctuary, sacred area] he made two [a pair, dual] cherubim [angelic beings, heavenly guardians] of sculptured work [image work, carved figures], and he overlaid [covered, layered] them with gold [a valuable metal]. word study 11 The total wingspan [stretching from tip to tip] of the cherubim [heavenly guardians, angelic beings] was twenty cubits [a unit of measurement, about the length of a forearm]. One wing [the edge or extremity] of the first cherub was five cubits [a measurement of length] long and touched [reaching to, making contact with] the wall [a barrier, a dividing structure] of the temple [the house of God, a place of worship], and its other wing was five cubits long and touched [meeting, joining] the wing of the other cherub [a companion, another heavenly guardian]. word study 12 The wing [edge or extremity] of the second cherub also measured five cubits [about the length of a forearm] and touched [reached to, made contact with] the wall [barrier or partition] of the temple [place of worship], while its other wing measured five cubits and touched [joined, cleaved to] the wing of the first cherub [angelic being, heavenly guardian]. word study 13 So the total wingspan [stretching forth, spread out] of these cherubim [angelic beings, guardians] was twenty cubits [a unit of measurement, about the length of a forearm]. They stood [upright, firmly] on their feet [foundation, base], facing [toward, inward] the main room [the house, the temple]. word study 14 He made [to create, construct] the veil [curtain, screen] of blue [violet, obtained from a specific type of mussel], purple [royal, luxurious], and crimson [deep red, carmine] yarn and fine linen [highly valued, luxurious], with cherubim [angelic beings, guardians] woven [embroidered, ornamented] into it [upon, on top of]. word study 15 In front [before the presence] of the temple [the house of God, a dwelling place] he made [to create, construct] two [a pair, dual] pillars [columns], which together were thirty-five [thirty and five] cubits [units of measurement, about the length of a forearm] high, each with a capital [the top part of a pillar, a crowning feature] on top measuring five [a quantity of five] cubits. word study 16 He made interwoven [like neck ornaments, decorative] chains [a series of linked objects] and put them on top of the pillars [a pillar or column]. He made a hundred [a multitude] pomegranates [a fruit or tree used as an ornament] and fastened them into the chainwork [a decorative garland]. word study 17 Then he set up [raised, erected, established] the pillars [columns, support structures] in front of [before, in the presence of] the temple [house of God, sacred building], one [a single, unique] on the south [right hand, southern direction] and one [another, a second] on the north [left hand, northern direction]. The pillar [column, monument] on the south [right hand, southern side] he named [called, designated] Jachin [He will establish], and the pillar [column, support] on the north [left hand, northern side] he named [called, designated] Boaz [strength, might]. word study