Study Desk

Solomon replied to God, "You showed great and faithful love to David, my father, and now you have made me king in his place.

O Lord God, please continue to keep your promise to David my father, for you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth!

God said to Solomon, "Because your greatest desire is to help your people, and you did not ask for wealth, riches, fame, or even the death of your enemies or a long life, but rather you asked for wisdom and knowledge to properly govern my people—

I am about to build a Temple to honor the name of the Lord my God. It will be a place set apart to burn fragrant incense before him, to display the special sacrificial bread, and to sacrifice burnt offerings each morning and evening, on the Sabbaths, at new moon celebrations, and at the other appointed festivals of the Lord our God. He has commanded Israel to do these things forever.

"This must be a magnificent Temple because our God is greater than all other gods.

Praise the Lord , the God of Israel, who made the heavens and the earth! He has given King David a wise son, gifted with skill and understanding, who will build a Temple for the Lord and a royal palace for himself.

These are the dimensions Solomon used for the foundation of the Temple of God (using the old standard of measurement). It was 90 feet long and 30 feet wide.

Huram-abi also made the necessary washbasins, shovels, and bowls. So at last Huram-abi completed everything King Solomon had assigned him to make for the Temple of God:

Solomon also made all the furnishings for the Temple of God: the gold altar; the tables for the Bread of the Presence;

So Solomon finished all his work on the Temple of the Lord . Then he brought all the gifts his father, David, had dedicated—the silver, the gold, and the various articles—and he stored them in the treasuries of the Temple of God.

The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of God.

"Praise the Lord , the God of Israel, who has kept the promise he made to my father, David. For he told my father,

Then Solomon said, "My father, David, wanted to build this Temple to honor the name of the Lord , the God of Israel.

"And now the Lord has fulfilled the promise he made, for I have become king in my father's place, and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised. I have built this Temple to honor the name of the Lord , the God of Israel.

He prayed, "O Lord , God of Israel, there is no God like you in all of heaven and earth. You keep your covenant and show unfailing love to all who walk before you in wholehearted devotion.

"And now, O Lord , God of Israel, carry out the additional promise you made to your servant David, my father. For you said to him, ‘If your descendants guard their behavior and faithfully follow my Law as you have done, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel.'

Now, O Lord , God of Israel, fulfill this promise to your servant David.

"But will God really live on earth among people? Why, even the highest heavens cannot contain you. How much less this Temple I have built!

Nevertheless, listen to my prayer and my plea, O Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is making to you.

"O my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive to all the prayers made to you in this place.