King David said to the entire assembly: “My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is just an inexperienced young man, ¹  and the task is great, for this palace is not for man, but for the Lord God.

Make my son Solomon willing to obey your commands, rules, and regulations, and to complete building the palace for which I have made preparations.” ¹ 

Of course, who can really build a temple for him, since the sky ¹  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. ² 

They responded to us in the following way: ‘We are servants of the God of heaven and earth. We are rebuilding the temple which was previously built many years ago. A great king ¹  of Israel built it and completed it.

Its alcoves, its jambs, and its porches had the same dimensions as the others, and there were windows all around it and its porches; its length was 87½ feet ¹  and its width 43¾ feet. ² 

Its alcoves, its jambs, and its porches had the same dimensions as the others, and there were windows all around it and its porches; its length was 87½ feet ¹  and its width 43¾ feet. ² 

So each of his men also cut off a branch and followed Abimelech. They put the branches ¹  against the stronghold and set fire to it. ²  All the people ³  of the Tower of Shechem died – about a thousand men and women.

He lifts the weak ¹  from the dust; he raises ²  the poor from the ash heap to seat them with princes and to bestow on them an honored position. ³  The foundations of the earth belong to the Lord, and he has placed the world on them.

David said, “My son Solomon is just an inexperienced young man, ¹  and the temple to be built for the Lord must be especially magnificent so it will become famous and be considered splendid by all the nations. ²  Therefore I will make preparations for its construction.” So David made extensive preparations before he died.

King David rose to his feet and said: “Listen to me, my brothers and my people. I wanted to build a temple where the ark of the Lord’s covenant could be placed as a footstool for our God. ¹  I have made the preparations for building it.

I saw ¹  a wall all around the outside of the temple. ²  In the man’s hand was a measuring stick 10½ feet ³  long. He measured the thickness of the wall ⁴  as 10½ feet, ⁵  and its height as 10½ feet.

There were closed windows toward the alcoves and toward their jambs within the gate all around, and likewise for the porches. There were windows all around the inside, and on each jamb were decorative palm trees. ¹