2 Chronicles 2:3

2:3 Solomon sent a message to King Huram ¹  of Tyre: ²  “Help me ³  as you did my father David, when you sent him cedar logs ⁴  for the construction of his palace. ⁵ 

2 Chronicles 2:6

2:6 Of course, who can really build a temple for him, since the sky ⁶  and the highest heavens cannot contain him? Who am I that I should build him a temple! It will really be only a place to offer sacrifices before him. ⁷ 

2 Chronicles 3:1

The Building of the Temple

3:1 Solomon began building the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem ⁸  on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David. This was the place that David prepared at the threshing floor of Ornan ⁹  the Jebusite.

2 Chronicles 6:5

6:5 He told David, ¹⁰  ‘Since the day I brought my people out of the land of Egypt, I have not chosen a city from all the tribes of Israel to build a temple in which to live. ¹¹  Nor did I choose a man as leader of my people Israel.

2 Chronicles 8:6

8:6 and built up Baalath, all the storage cities that belonged to him, ¹²  and all the cities where chariots and horses were kept. ¹³  He built whatever he wanted in Jerusalem, ¹⁴  Lebanon, and throughout his entire kingdom. ¹⁵ 

2 Chronicles 36:23

36:23 It read: “This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: ‘The Lord God of the heavens has given to me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build for him a temple in Jerusalem ¹⁶  in Judah. May the Lord your God energize you who belong to his people, so you may be able to go back there!” ¹⁷ 

¹ tn Heb “Huram.” Some medieval Hebrew mss, along with the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate spell the name “Hiram,” agreeing with 1 Chr 14:1. “Huram” is a variant spelling referring to the same individual.

² map For location see Map1-A2; Map2-G2; Map4-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.

³ tn The words “help me” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic reasons.

⁴ tn Heb “cedars.” The word “logs” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

⁵ tn Heb “to build for him a house to live in it.”

⁶ tn Or “heavens” (also in v. 12). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

⁷ tn Heb “Who retains strength to build for him a house, for the heavens and the heavens of heavens do not contain him? And who am I that I should build for him a house, except to sacrifice before him?”

¹¹ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹² tn In 2 Sam 24:16 this individual is called אֲרַוְנָא (“Aravna”; traditionally “Araunah”). The form of the name found here also occurs in 1 Chr 21:15; 18-28.

¹⁶ tn Heb “saying.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “to build a house for my name to be there.” Here “name” is used by metonymy for the Lord himself, and thus the expression “to be there” refers to his taking up residence there (hence the translation, “a temple in which to live”). In this case the temple is referred to as a “house” where the Lord himself can reside.

²¹ tn Heb “Solomon.” The recurrence of the proper name is unexpected in terms of contemporary English style, so the pronoun has been used in the translation instead.

²² tn Heb “the cities of the chariots and the cities of the horses.”

²³ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

²⁴ tn Heb “and all the desire of Solomon which he desired to build in Jerusalem and in Lebanon and in all the land of his kingdom.”

²⁶ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

²⁷ tn Heb “Whoever [is] among you from all his people – may the Lord his God [be] with him so that he may go up.”