¹ sn Offering sacrifices at the high places. The “high places” were places of worship that were naturally or artificially elevated.

² tn Heb “for the name of the Lord.” The word “name” sometimes refers to one’s reputation or honor (thus the translation here, “to honor the Lord”). The “name” of the Lord sometimes designates the Lord himself, being indistinguishable from the proper name.

³ tn Heb “and he built on the wall of the temple an extension all around, the walls of the temple all around, for the main hall and for the holy place, and he made side rooms all around.”

⁴ tn Heb “Cedar was inside the temple, carvings of gourds (i.e., gourd-shaped ornaments) and opened flowers; the whole was cedar, no stone was seen.”

⁵ tn Heb “with plated gold” (or perhaps, “with pure gold”).

⁶ tn Heb “it.”

⁷ sn In the month Ziv. This would be April-May, 966 b.c. by modern reckoning.

⁸ tn The words “of Solomon’s reign” are added for clarification. See v. 1.

⁹ tn Heb “Hiram.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹⁰ tn Heb “Hiram finished doing all the work which he did for King Solomon [on] the house of the Lord.”

¹¹ tn Heb “which Hiram made for King Solomon [for] the house of the Lord.”

¹² tn Heb “the bread of the face [or presence].” Many recent English versions employ “the bread of the Presence,” although this does not convey much to the modern reader.

sn This bread was viewed as a perpetual offering to God and was regarded as holy. See Lev 24:5-9.

¹³ tn Heb “Because it was with your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was with your heart.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “Indeed, can God really live on the earth?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course not,” the force of which the translation above seeks to reflect.

¹⁵ tn Heb “so your eyes might be open toward this house night and day, toward the place about which you said, ‘My name will be there.’”

¹⁶ tn Heb “by listening to the prayer which your servant is praying concerning this place.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “every prayer, every request for help which will be to all the people, to all your people Israel.”

¹⁸ tn Heb “which they know, each the pain of his heart.”

¹⁹ tn Heb “your great name.” See the note on the word “reputation” in the previous verse.

²⁰ tn Heb “and your strong hand and your outstretched arm.”

²¹ tn Heb “and all the desire of Solomon which he wanted to do.”

²² tn Heb “and he brought the holy things of his father and his holy things (into) the house of the Lord, silver, gold, and items.” Instead of “his holy things,” a marginal reading (Qere) in the Hebrew text has “the holy things of [the house of the Lord].”