2 Chronicles 3

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, which had been pointed out to his father David, on the spot which David had selected, the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.	1 And Solomon began to build the house of the Lord, in Jerusalem on mount Moriah, as it had been shown to David his father, at the place which David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
2 He began to build in the second month of the fourth year of his reign.	2 Now he began to build in the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.
3 These were the specifications laid down by Solomon for building the house of God: the length was sixty cubits according to the old measure, and the width was twenty cubits;	3 And these are the foundations, which Solomon set forth so that he might build the house of God: the length in cubits by the first measure sixty, the width in cubits twenty.
4 the porch which lay before the nave along the width of the house was also twenty cubits, and it was twenty cubits high. He overlaid its interior with pure gold.	4 Truly, at the front, the portico, which was extended in length according to the measure of the width of the house, was of twenty cubits. Then the height was of one hundred twenty cubits. And he overlaid it on the interior with the purest gold.
5 The nave he overlaid with cypress wood which he covered with fine gold, embossing on it palms and chains.	5 Also, he covered the greater house with wooden panels of spruce, and he affixed layers of refined gold through it all. And he engraved in them palm trees, and the likeness of little chains interlaced with one another.
6 He also decorated the building with precious stones.	6 Also, he paved the floor of the temple with the most precious marble, of great beauty.
7 The house, its beams and thresholds, as well as its walls and its doors, he overlaid with gold, and he engraved cherubim upon the walls. (The gold was from Parvaim.)	7 Now the gold, with which he covered in layers the house and its beams and posts and walls and doors, was highly refined. And he engraved cherubim on the walls.
8 He also made the room of the holy of holies. Its length corresponded to the width of the house, twenty cubits, and its width was also twenty cubits. He overlaid it with fine gold to the amount of six hundred talents.	8 Also, he made the house of the Holy of Holies. Its length, in accord with the width of the temple, was of twenty cubits. And its width, similarly, was of twenty cubits. And he covered it with layers of gold, of about six hundred talents.
9 The weight of the nails was fifty gold shekels. The upper chambers he likewise covered with gold.	9 Then he also made nails of gold, such that each nail weighed fifty shekels. Also, he covered the upper rooms in gold.
10 For the room of the holy of holies he made two cherubim of carved workmanship, which were then overlaid with gold.	10 Now he also made, in the house of the Holy of Holies, two cherubim as a work of statues. And he covered them with gold.
11 The wings of the cherubim spanned twenty cubits:	11 The wings of the cherubim extended for twenty cubits, such that one wing had five cubits and it touched the wall of the house, and the other, having five cubits, touched the wing of the other cherub.
12 one wing of each cherub, five cubits in length, extended to a wall of the building, while the other wing, also five cubits in length, touched the corresponding wing of the second cherub.	12 Similarly, the wing of the other cherub was five cubits, and it touched the wall, and his other wing of five cubits also touched the wing of the other cherub.
13 The combined wingspread of the two cherubim was thus twenty cubits. They stood upon their own feet, facing toward the nave.	13 And so the wings of both cherubim were stretched out and extended for twenty cubits. Now they were standing upright on their feet, and their faces were turned toward the exterior house.
14 He made the veil of violet, purple, crimson and fine linen, and had cherubim embroidered upon it.	14 Also, he made a veil from hyacinth, purple, scarlet, and fine linen. And he wove within it cherubim.
15 In front of the building he set two columns thirty-five cubits high; the capital topping each was of five cubits.	15 And also, before the doors of the temple, there were two pillars, having a height of thirty-five cubits. But their heads were of five cubits.
16 He worked out chains in the form of a collar with which he encircled the capitals of the columns, and he made a hundred pomegranates which he set on the chains.	16 Then too, there were something like little chains on the oracle, and he placed these upon the heads of the pillars. And there were one hundred pomegranates, which he placed between the little chains.
17 He set up the columns to correspond with the nave, one for the right side and the other for the left, and he called the one to the right Jachin and the one to the left Boaz.	17 Also, he placed these pillars in the vestibule of the temple, one to the right, and the other to the left. The one that was on the right, he called Jachin; and the one that was on the left, Boaz.