2 Chronicles 8:1-18 Solomon Continues Building

 

Solomon Continues Building

2 Chronicles 8:1-18                       2 Chronicles in [Smaller Chunks]

It [happened] at the end of 20 years, [when] Solomon had built the house of the Lord & his own [palace, that] the cities which Huram [a.k.a. Hiram] had restored to Solomon.

[He rebuilt] them & caused the children [people] of Israel to [live] there. Solomon went to Hamath Zobah & [seized] it. He built Tadmor in the wilderness & all the [storage] cities [that] he built in Hamath.

[Solomon] also [rebuilt] Upper Beth Horon & Lower Beth Horon, [as] fenced cities with walls, gates & bars.

[Also,] Baalath & all the [storage] cities that Solomon had & all the chariot cities & the cities [for] the horsemen & all that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon & through all the land [within] his [power.]

As for the people [who] were left of the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites & Jebusite, [who weren’t] of Israel, but their children, were left after them in the land of Israel. [Those] whom the [people] of Israel [didn’t destroy,]

Solomon [drafted them into forced labor,] until this day. Solomon [didn’t] make the [people] of Israel [forced laborers,] for his work, but they were men of war, [leaders] of his captains, captains of his chariots & horsemen.

These were [leaders] of king Solomon’s officers, even 250 were [supervisors] over the people. And Solomon brought [Pharaoh’s] daughter out of the city of David & [into] the house he built for her.

[Solomon had] said, My wife shall not [live] in [David’s] house, [Israel’s] [previous] king, because the places where the Ark of the Lord have come are holy. Then, Solomon offered burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar he built [for] the Lord, [in front of] the porch.

Offerings [were made] everyday, according to the rate [commanded by] Moses: [daily,] on Sabbaths, New Moons & on solemn feasts 3 times a year: The Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks & the Feast of the Tabernacles.

[Solomon continued to appoint the priests to their service] & the Levites, their [duties] to praise & minister before the priests, [to assist them in their] everyday [duties] required, according to the order of David, his father.

Also, the [gatekeepers [were assigned] to [each] gate [as] David, the man of God, [had] commanded. The priests & the Levites [didn’t] depart from the [king’s command on] any matter [about] the [dedicated] treasures.

All the work of Solomon from the day it was prepared to the day the foundation of the [Lord’s] house [was layed,] until it was finished & [completed.] Then, Solomon went to Ezion Geber & to Eloth, at the seaside in the land of Edom.

Huram [a.k.a. Hiram] sent [Solomon] ships & servants [who] had knowledge of the sea & they went with [Solomon’s] servants to Ophir & took 450 talents of gold & brought them to king Solomon.

[1 Kings 9:27 And Hiram sent his servants in the navy, shipmen [who] had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.]

2 Chronicles 7:1-22 The Lord God Has Fire Come Down from Heaven & Consume the Sacrifices

 

The Lord God Has Fire Come Down from Heaven & Consume the Sacrifices

2 Chronicles 7:1-22                    2 Chronicles in [Smaller Chunks]

When Solomon made an end of praying, fire came down from heaven & consumed the burnt offering & sacrifices. The glory of the Lord filled the house. The priests [couldn’t] enter the [Lord’s] house, because the glory of the Lord had filled the [Lord's] house.

When all the children [people] of Israel, saw as the fire come down & the glory of the Lord upon [His] house, they bowed on the pavement [facing] the ground & worshiped & praised the Lord, saying, For [the Lord] is good. For His mercy endures forever.

Then, the king & all the people offered sacrifices before the Lord. King Solomon [sacrificed] 120,000 oxen & 120,000 sheep. The king & all the people dedicated the house of God.

The priests [served] in their offices. Also, the Levites [served] with [musical] instruments of the Lord, [that] king David had made to praise the Lord, [saying,] His mercy endures forever.

The priests sounded trumpets before them & all Israel stood. [Also,] Solomon [consecrated] the middle of the [courtyard] that was [in front of] the [Lord’s] house.

[Solomon offered burnt offerings & the fat of the peace offerings, because the [brass] altar [he] had made [wasn’t] able to [hold all] the burnt offerings, [meat/grain] offerings & fat.

At the same time, Solomon & all Israel with him kept the feast [for] 7 days. [It was] a very [large] congregation [that went from] Hamath to the [Nile] River of Egypt.

They kept the dedication of the altar & the feast [for] 7 days. On the 8th day, they had a solemn assembly. On the 23rd day of the 7th month, [Solomon] sent the people away to their tents with [happy] & merry [hearts] for the goodness the Lord showed to David, to Solomon & to His people, Israel.

Solomon finished the [Lord’s] house & the kings [palace] & all that came into Solomon’s heart to make, [for] the Lord & [Solomon’s] own house. [Solomon prospered.]

The Lord appeared to Solomon [at] night & said to him, I have heard your prayer & have chosen this place [for] Myself for a house of sacrifice. If I shut up heaven & there [isn’t any] rain, or I command the locusts to devour the land, or I send pestilence among My people,

[1 Kings 17:9-11 And the children [people] of Israel did secretly those things that were not right & [were] against the Lord, their God. They built [themselves] high places in all their cities, from the watchman’s tower to the [fortified] city.

And they [put] images & groves in every high hill & under every green tree. And they burnt incense there in all the high places, [like] the heathen did, whom the Lord carried away before them & [they did] wicked things to provoke the Lord to anger.]

If My people [who] are called by My Name, shall humble themselves & pray & seek My face & turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven & will forgive their sin & will heal their land.

Now, [My] eyes shall be open & [My] heart [shall be attentive] to the prayer that is made in this place. For now, I have chosen & sanctified this house, [so] that My Name may be there forever. And [My] eyes & [My] heart shall be there [continually.]

As for you, if you will walk before me, [like] David, your father walked & do according to all that I have commanded you & shall observe my [rules] & judgments;

Then, I will [establish] the throne of your kingdom, according [to all I promised] David, your father, saying, There shall not fail to be a ruler in Israel [from your lineage.]

But, if you turn away & [abandon] My [rules] & commandments, [that] I have set before you & shall go & serve other gods & worship them; Then, I will pluck them up by their roots out of My land, [that] I have given them & I will cast this house, out of My sight, which I have sanctified for My Name.

And [I] will make it a proverb & [saying that provides truth.] And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to everyone [who] passes by it. So he shall say, Why has the Lord done [this] to this land & to this house?

And [they] shall [answer,] Because they [abandoned] the Lord God of their [forefathers, Who] brought them out of the land of Egypt & [clung to] other gods & worshiped them & served them. Therefore, [the Lord God] has brought all this evil upon them.

2 Chronicles 6:1-42 King Solomon Blesses the Lord God & His House & the Congregation

 

King Solomon Blesses the Congregation & the Lord God & His House

2 Chronicles 6:1-42                       2  Chronicles in [Smaller Chunks]

Then, Solomon said, The Lord [God has] said that He would dwell in the thick darkness. But, I have built a house for You, Lord,] to [inhabit] & a place for Your dwelling forever. King [Solomon] turned & [faced] the whole congregation of Israel & blessed them. All [Israel’s] congregation stood.

[Solomon] said, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, [Who] has with His [Own] hands fulfilled what He [spoke] by His mouth to my father, David, saying, Since the day I brought My people out of the land of Egypt, I [didn’t choose] a city among [Israel’s] tribes to build a house in, [so] that My Name might be there.

Neither [did] I [choose] any man to be a ruler over My people, Israel. But I have chosen Jerusalem, [so] My Name might be there & have chosen David to be over My people, Israel. It was in the heart of my father, David, to build a house for the Name of the Lord God of Israel.

But the Lord said to David, my father, [Since] it was in your heart to build a house for My Name, you did well, in that it was in your heart. [Still] you shall not build the house, but your son, [of your own flesh & blood] shall build the house for My Name.

Therefore, the Lord has [accomplished] His Word, that He [spoke;] for I have risen up in [place] of my father, David & [I’m] set on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised. [I’ve] built the house for the Name of the Lord God of Israel.

I have put [inside,] the Ark [that holds] the Covenant of the Lord that He made with the children [people] of Israel. [Solomon] stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all [Israel’s] congregation & spread [out] his hands.

Solomon had made a brass scaffold 5 cubits long [by] 5 cubits [wide by] 3 cubits high & had it set the [middle] of the court. And [Solomon] stood upon it & kneeled down before all the congregation of Israel & spread [out] his hands toward heaven.

And [Solomon] said, O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like You in heaven nor [on] earth, [Who keeps His] covenant & [shows] mercy to Your servants, [who] walk before You with all their hearts.

You have kept all that You spoke with Your mouth & promised my father, David & [have] fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day. Therefore, O Lord God of Israel, now keep what You [have] promised my father, David saying, There shall not fail [to be] a man in My sight of your [descendants] to sit upon the throne of Israel.

[As long as your descendants pay attention] to their [path] to [follow] in My Law, [like] you have [followed] before Me. Now, O Lord God of Israel, let Your Word [come true that] You have spoken to Your servant, David.

But will God [really] dwell with men on the earth? [If] heaven & the heaven of heavens [can’t] contain You; how [can] this house I have built[?] [Lord] respect [my] Your servant's prayer & [requests.]

O Lord, my God, listen when [I,] Your servant, [prays & cries out] before You. [I pray] Your eyes are open [both] day & night, upon [this] house [where] You have said You would put Your Name there.

[Pay attention] to the prayer, which Your servant prays toward this place. Therefore, [listen] to the request of [me,] Your servant & [to the requests] of Your people, Israel,  [that] they shall make toward this place

Hear [Lord,] from Your dwelling place, even from heaven. When You hear, forgive. [If] a man sins against his neighbor & has sworn an oath that comes before Your altar in this house, [then] [listen] from heaven & judge Your servants.

[Punish] the wicked by [repaying him for his evil deeds.] Justify the righteous, by giving him according to his righteousness. [If] Your people are [defeated] by their enemies, because they sinned against You, [like in:] [2 Kings 21:5-7 And he built a altars in the [Lord’s] house, for all the [stars & constellations] of heaven in the 2 [courtyards] of the [Lord’s] house.

And he [sacrificed] his son [by making him] pass through the fire & observed times [astrology & horoscopes] & used enchantments & dealt with familiar spirits [of the dead] & wizards, when he did much wickedness in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger.]

[But if they then] shall return & confess Your [Holy] Name & pray & make [requests] before You in this house, [Then] You hear from the heavens & forgive the sin of Your people, Israel.

Bring them again to the land You gave to them & their [forefathers.] [If there is a drought] & the heaven is shut up & there [isn’t any] rain, because they have sinned against you, yet [if] they pray toward this place & confess Your [Holy] Name & turn from their sin, When You afflict them:

[Then] You hear from heaven & forgive the sin of Your servants & of Your people Israel. When You have taught them the [right path] they should walk & send rain upon Your land, You have given to Your people for an inheritance.

[If] there is [famine, plague,] pestilence, [blight,] mildew, locusts, or caterpillars [in the land;] [if] their enemies [attack] them, in the cities of their land; or [whatever] sore or sickness there is, [Then,] Lord, hear from heaven the [prayers & requests] of any man or all Your people, Israel.

When [each person knows he has caused his own burden] & grief & [spreads out] his hands [toward] this house [in prayer.] [Then,] Lord, hear from heaven, Your dwelling place & forgive. [Give] to every man according to his [actions.]

Lord, (only You know the hearts of men:) [so] that they may fear [respect] You, to [follow in Your paths,] so long as they live in the land, which you gave to our [forefathers.]

[But about] the stranger [who isn’t] of Your people, Israel, but [has] come from a [distant] country to come for Your great Name’s sake & Your mighty hand & outstretched arm.

[If] they come & pray in this house; [Then,] You hear from Your dwelling place in the heavens & do according to all the stranger calls to You for, [so] all [the] people of the earth may know Your [Holy] Name & fear [respect] You as Your people, Israel do,

[So] they may know that this house which I have built is called by Your [Holy] Name. [If] Your people go out to war against their enemies by the [road,] that You shall send them & they pray to You toward this city, which You have chosen & the house I have built for Your [Holy] Name;

[Then,] You hear from heaven their [prayers & requests & uphold] their cause. [If] they sin against You (for there is no man [who doesn’t] sin) & You are angry with them & deliver them [t]o their enemies & they are [taken] away [captive] to a land far or near & they [regret their actions & repent] & pray to You

in [from] the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned & we have [gone astray] & have [done] wickedly. [If] they return to You with all their heart & all their soul in the land of their captivity,

[wherever] they have carried them [captive] & pray toward their land, which You gave to their [forefathers] & toward the city [that] You have chosen & toward the house [that] I have built for Your [Holy] Name,

[Then] You hear from the heavens, even from Your dwelling place, their prayer & [requests] & maintain their cause & forgive Your people, which have sinned against You.

Now, my God, I [beg] You that let Your eyes be open & let Your ears be [attentive] to the prayer made in this place. Therefore, O Lord, now arise into Your resting place, [both] You & the Ark of Your strength.

Let Your priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation & Your saints rejoice in [Your] goodness. O Lord God, [don't] turn away the face of your anointed: remember the mercies of David, Your servant. [Isaiah 55:3 [Lean] Your ear & come to Me. Hear & your soul shall live & I will make an everlasting covenant [contract] with you, even the sure mercies of David.]

2 Chronicles 5:1-14 The Work on the Lord’s House is Finished

 

The Work on the Lord’s House is Finished

2 Chronicles 5:1-14                       2 Chronicles in [Smaller Chunks]

All [Solomon’s] work for the [Lord’s] house was finished. Solomon brought in all the things David, his father, had dedicated. The silver & gold & all the [utensils,] he put among the treasures of the house of God.

Solomon assembled [in] Jerusalem, [Israel’s] elders, the [tribe’s leaders,] the [head of the forefathers] of the children [people] of Israel, to bring up the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion.

Therefore, all the [Israelite] men assembled themselves to king [Solomon at] the feast [held] in the 7th month. All [Israel’s] elders came & the Levites took up the Ark. The [priests & the Levites] brought [up] the Art & the Tabernacle of the Congregation & all the holy [articles] in the tabernacle.

Also, king Solomon & all the [Israelite] congregation [who] were assembled to [Solomon] before the Ark, sacrificed sheep & oxen, [so many, they couldn’t be counted.]

The priests brought in the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord to [its] place, in the inner sanctuary, into the Most Holy Place, under the wings of the cherubims [2 angelic statues.]

The [cherubim’s] wings spread above over the place of the Ark & the poles [to carry it.] They [pulled] out the [poles] of the Ark, so the ends of the [poles] were [only] seen from the Ark [in front of] the oracle [inner sanctuary,] but weren’t seen [outside it.] . And it is there [until] this day.

The [only thing] in the Ark was the 2 [tablets] [with the 10 Commandments,] which Moses put [in there] at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant [contract] with the children [people] of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.

It [happened] when the priests came out of the Holy Place: (for all the priests [who were there] were sanctified [regardless of their divisions.]

The Levite singers, all [those] of Asaph, of Heman & of Jeduthun, stood at the east end of the altar, with their sons & [relatives clothed] in white linen, having cymbals, [lyres] & harps & with them 120 priests sounding trumpets:)

It [happened] when the trumpeters & singers [worked together] to make one sound to be heard in praising & thanking the Lord, when they lifted up their [voices] with trumpets, cymbals & [musical] instruments, [they] praised the Lord, saying, For [God] is good & His mercy endures forever.

Then the house [of the Lord] was filled with a cloud. The priests couldn’t stand to minister, [because] of the cloud. For the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God.

2 Chronicles 4:1-22 The Inside Furnishings for the Temple Being Built

 

The Inside Furnishings for the Temple Being Built

2 Chronicles 4:1-22                       2 Chronicles in [Smaller Chunks]

[Additionally, Solomon] made an altar of brass 20 [ cubits long by] 20 [cubits wide by] 10 cubits [in] height. Also, he made a [molded brass] Sea, 10 cubits from [end to end of the circle] & [it was] 5 cubits [in] height [all around it & the circumference was] 30 cubits.

And under it [were] oxen images [circling] it, 10 [oxen to each] cubit. When it was cast, 2 rows of oxen were [molded.] [The brass Sea] stood upon 12 oxen. 3 [oxen] looked toward the north, 3 looked west, 3 looked south & 3 looked east. The Sea was set above upon them & [their tail ends were toward the middle.]

The thickness of it was a hand breadth & [its] brim was like the brim of a cup. [The brass Sea] held 3,000 baths of [lily blossoms.] He also made 10 [basins & put] 5 on the right [side] & 5 on the left.

[They were] to wash things [used] for the burnt offering, but the [brass] Sea was for the priests to wash in. He made 10 [lamp stands] of gold according to their [specifications] & put 5 on the right [side of] the temple & 5 on the left.

He also made 10 tables & placed them in the temple 5 on the right [side] & 5 on the left. He made 100 [bowls] of gold. Furthermore, he made the [priests’] court, the [large] court & the [court’s] doors & overlaid the doors of them with brass.

He [put] the Sea on the [southeast corner, on] the south [side.] [Huram Abi, the foreman] made the pots, shovels & [basins for sprinkling.]  And [Huram Abi] finished the work he was to make for king Solomon for the [temple] of God.

[He also made the] 2 pillars, the [bowl-shaped capitals upon] the top of the 2 pillars & the 2 [sets of] wreaths [of netting that covered] the [bowl shaped capitals that] were on top of the pillars

& 400 pomegranates [put on the netting] on the 2 wreaths, [with] 2 rows of pomegranates on each wreath [of netting,] to cover the 2 [bowl shaped capitals] on top of the pillars.

He also made [basins upon their stands;] One Sea & 12 oxen under it. Also, the pots, shovels & [meat forks] & all their instruments [Huram Abi] made for Solomon of bright brass for the [Lord’s] house.

In [Jordan’s] plain, the king cast them in the clay [molds made from the] ground, between Succoth & Zeredathan [a.k.a. Zarthan, Zeredatha, and Zarethan.]

Solomon [had] all these vessels made in great abundance. The weight of the brass [was too much to measure.] Solomon made all the vessels of the house of God & also the golden altar & the tables [where they put] the shewbread.

[Also, he made] the [lampstands & its] lamps [to burn in front] of the oracle, of pure gold. And the flowers, the lamps & the tongs he made of the [purest] gold.

[Also,] the [candle] snuffers, the [bowls for sprinkling,] spoons & the [incense] censers of pure gold. And the [temple’s entrance doors,] the inner doors for the Most Holy Place & the doors of the house of the temple, were of gold.

2 Chronicles 3:1-17 Solomon Begins Building the Lord’s House in Jerusalem

 

Solomon Begins Building the Lord’s House in Jerusalem

2 Chronicles 3:1-17                    2 Chronicles in [Smaller Chunks]

Then, Solomon began to build the [Lord’s] house in Jerusalem in Mount Moriah. Where the Lord appeared to his father, David & where David had prepared  the threshing floor of Ornan, the Jebusite.

[1 Chronicles 21:1 And Satan stood up against Israel & provoked David to number Israel.]

[1 Chronicles 21:18 Then, the angel of the Lord commanded Gad [the seer: prophet who has visions from the Lord God] to say to David, that David should go up & [put] up an altar to the Lord in the threshing floor of Ornan, the Jebusite.]

[Solomon] began to build on the 2nd day of the 2nd month in the 4th year [he ruled.] Now, Solomon instructed these things for building the [Lord’s] house. The length was 60 cubits & 20 cubits [wide, using standard measurement.]

The length & [width] of the [covered] porch in front of the [temple were] 20 cubits [by] 20 cubits & [its] height was 120 [cubits.] He overlaid it [inside] with pure gold. The [larger room] he [paneled] with fir [trees,] which he overlaid with fine gold & [decorated with] palm trees & chains.

[Solomon decorated] the [temple] with precious stones for beauty. The gold was [from] Parvaim. He also overlaid the house, the beams, the posts, the walls & doors [of it] & the [carved] cherubim [angelic figures] on the walls with gold.

He made the Most Holy [Place in the temple] 20 cubits [by] 20 cubits & he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to 600 talents. The weight of the nails was 50 shekels of gold. [Solomon] overlaid the upper [rooms] with gold.

And in the Most Holy [Place,] he made 2 cherubim [angelic statues] & overlaid them with gold. The wings of the cherubims were 20 cubits [total for the 2 angelic statues standing side by side.]

[Each] wing of [the 2 cherubs] was 5 cubits. [The 2 cherub's wings touched each other in the middle & touched a temple wall with their outer wing, as] they stood on their feet & [were faced] inward. The wings of [both] cherubs spread 20 cubits, [wing tip to wing tip.]

Solomon  made the veil of blue, purple & crimson & fine linen & [woven] cherubims [on them.] [For the front of] the [temple,] he made two 35 cubit high pillars. The [capitals] on top of each of them was 5 cubits.

He made [woven] chains [like what was] in the oracle & put them on the [tops] of the pillars. [He] made 100 pomegranates & put them on the chains. He [put] up the pillars in front of the temple, 1 on the right [side] & named it: Jachin & put the other [pillar] on the left & named it: Boaz.