He did evil in the sight of the Lord and committed the same horrible sins practiced by the nations whom the Lord drove out ahead of the Israelites.

He did what the Lord approved and followed in his ancestor David’s footsteps; he did not deviate to the right or the left.

supervised the laborers and all the foremen on their various jobs. Some of the Levites were scribes, officials, and guards.

Josiah observed a Passover festival for the Lord in Jerusalem. They slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the first month.

Slaughter the Passover lambs, consecrate yourselves, and make preparations for your countrymen to do what the Lord commanded through Moses.”

He did evil in the sight of the Lord his God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, the Lord’s spokesman.

So they sent an edict throughout Israel from Beer Sheba to Dan, summoning the people to come and observe a Passover for the Lord God of Israel in Jerusalem, for they had not observed it on a nationwide scale as prescribed in the law.

He passed his sons through the fire in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom and practiced divination, omen reading, and sorcery. He set up a ritual pit to conjure up underworld spirits and appointed magicians to supervise it. He did a great amount of evil in the sight of the Lord and angered him.

But the bronze altar made by Bezalel son of Uri, son of Hur, was in front of the Lord’s tabernacle. Solomon and the entire assembly prayed to him there.)

He designated 70,000 as common laborers, 80,000 as stonecutters in the hills, and 3,600 as supervisors to make sure the people completed the work.

In front of the temple he made two pillars which had a combined length of 52½ feet, with each having a plated capital seven and one-half feet high.

and the pots, shovels, and meat forks. All the items King Solomon assigned Huram Abi to make for the Lord’s temple were made from polished bronze.

Solomon also made these items for God’s temple: the gold altar, the tables on which the Bread of the Presence was kept,

listen from heaven and make a just decision about your servants’ claims. Condemn the guilty party, declare the other innocent, and give both of them what they deserve.

then listen from your heavenly dwelling place to their prayers for help, vindicate them, and forgive your sinful people.

You must serve me as your father David did. Do everything I commanded and obey my rules and regulations.

As for this temple, which was once majestic, everyone who passes by it will be shocked and say, ‘Why did the Lord do this to this land and this temple?’

King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; 600 measures of hammered gold were used for each shield.

There were twelve statues of lions on the six steps, one lion at each end of each step. There was nothing like it in any other kingdom.

King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned them to the officers of the royal guard who protected the entrance to the royal palace.