“Now, my son, may the Lord be with you! May you succeed and build a temple for the Lord your God, just as he announced you would. ¹ 

But God said to me, ‘You must not build a temple to honor me, ¹  for you are a warrior and have spilled blood.’

everyone who has determined to follow God, ¹  the Lord God of his ancestors, even if he is not ceremonially clean according to the standards of the temple.” ² 

Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the Lord’s house. I noticed ¹  women sitting there weeping for Tammuz. ² 

No one brings grain offerings or drink offerings to the temple ¹  of the Lord anymore. ²  So the priests, those who serve the Lord, are in mourning.

On that day I will punish all who leap over the threshold, ¹  who fill the house of their master ²  with wealth taken by violence and deceit. ³ 

Then ¹  he ²  sat down opposite the offering box, ³  and watched the crowd putting coins into it. Many rich people were throwing in large amounts.

If we allow him to go on in this way, ¹  everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away our sanctuary ²  and our nation.”

Abimelech heard ¹  that all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem were in one place. ² 

Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” He pushed hard ¹  and the temple collapsed on the rulers and all the people in it. He killed many more people in his death than he had killed during his life. ² 

“You know that my father David was unable to build a temple to honor the Lord ¹  his God, for he was busy fighting battles on all fronts while the Lord subdued his enemies. ² 

He told David, ¹  ‘Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city from all the tribes of Israel to build a temple in which to live. ²  But I have chosen David to lead my people Israel.’

Then listen from your heavenly dwelling place and answer all the prayers of the foreigners. ¹  Then all the nations of the earth will acknowledge your reputation, ²  obey ³  you like your people Israel do, and recognize that this temple I built belongs to you. ⁴ 

That day the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard that is in front of the Lord’s temple. He offered there burnt sacrifices, grain offerings, and the fat from the peace offerings, because the bronze altar that stood before the Lord was too small to hold all these offerings. ¹ 

The Lord said to him, “I have answered ¹  your prayer and your request for help that you made to me. I have consecrated this temple you built by making it my permanent home; ²  I will be constantly present there. ³ 

then I will remove Israel from the land ¹  I have given them, I will abandon this temple I have consecrated with my presence, ²  and Israel will be mocked and ridiculed ³  among all the nations.

Here are the details concerning the work crews ¹  King Solomon conscripted ²  to build the Lord’s temple, his palace, the terrace, the wall of Jerusalem, ³  and the cities of ⁴  Hazor, ⁵  Megiddo, ⁶  and Gezer.

the food in his banquet hall, ¹  his servants and attendants, ²  their robes, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings which he presented in the Lord’s temple, she was amazed. ³ 

With the timber the king made supports ¹  for the Lord’s temple and for the royal palace and stringed instruments ²  for the musicians. No one has seen so much of this fine timber to this very day. ³ )

Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of the royal palace and handed it to his servants. He then told them to deliver it ¹  to Ben Hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, ruler in Damascus, along with this message: