1 Kings 6; 1 Kings 7; Luke 20:27-47

1 Four hundred and eighty years after the people of Israel left Egypt, during the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the second month, the month of Ziv, Solomon began work on the Temple.

2 Inside it was 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high.

3 The entrance room was 15 feet deep and 30 feet wide, as wide as the sanctuary itself.

4 The walls of the Temple had openings in them, narrower on the outside than on the inside.

5 Against the outside walls, on the sides and the back of the Temple, a three-storied annex was built, each story 7 1/2 feet high.

6 Each room in the lowest story was 7 1/2 feet wide, in the middle story 9 feet wide, and in the top story 10 1/2 feet wide. The Temple wall on each floor was thinner than on the floor below, so that the rooms could rest on the wall without having their beams built into it.

7 The stones with which the Temple was built had been prepared at the quarry, so that there was no noise made by hammers, axes, or any other iron tools as the Temple was being built.

8 The entrance to the lowest story of the annex was on the south side of the Temple, with stairs leading up to the second and third stories.

9 So King Solomon finished building the Temple. He put in a ceiling made of beams and boards of cedar.

10 The three-storied annex, each story 7 1/2 feet high, was built against the outside walls of the Temple, and was joined to them by cedar beams.

11 The Lord said to Solomon,

12 "If you obey all my laws and commands, I will do for you what I promised your father David.

13 I will live among my people Israel in this Temple that you are building, and I will never abandon them."

14 So Solomon finished building the Temple.

15 The inside walls were covered with cedar panels from the floor to the ceiling, and the floor was made of pine.

16 An inner room, called the Most Holy Place, was built in the rear of the Temple. It was 30 feet long and was partitioned off by cedar boards reaching from the floor to the ceiling.

17 The room in front of the Most Holy Place was 60 feet long.

18 The cedar panels were decorated with carvings of gourds and flowers; the whole interior was covered with cedar, so that the stones of the walls could not be seen.

19 In the rear of the Temple an inner room was built, where the Lord's Covenant Box was to be placed.

20 This inner room was 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 30 feet high, all covered with pure gold. The altar was covered with cedar panels.

21 The inside of the Temple was covered with gold, and gold chains were placed across the entrance of the inner room, which was also covered with gold.

22 The whole interior of the Temple was covered with gold, as well as the altar in the Most Holy Place.

23 Two winged creatures were made of olive wood and placed in the Most Holy Place, each one 15 feet tall.

24 Both were of the same size and shape. Each had two wings, each wing 7 1/2 feet long, so that the distance from one wing tip to the other was 15 feet.

27 They were placed side by side in the Most Holy Place, so that two of their outstretched wings touched each other in the middle of the room, and the other two wings touched the walls.

28 The two winged creatures were covered with gold.

29 The walls of the main room and of the inner room were all decorated with carved figures of winged creatures, palm trees, and flowers.

30 Even the floor was covered with gold.

31 A double door made of olive wood was set in place at the entrance of the Most Holy Place; the top of the doorway was a pointed arch.

32 The doors were decorated with carved figures of winged creatures, palm trees, and flowers. The doors, the winged creatures, and the palm trees were covered with gold.

33 For the entrance to the main room a rectangular doorframe of olive wood was made.

34 There were two folding doors made of pine

35 and decorated with carved figures of winged creatures, palm trees, and flowers, which were evenly covered with gold.

36 An inner court was built in front of the Temple, enclosed with walls which had one layer of cedar beams for every three layers of stone.

37 The foundation of the Temple was laid in the second month, the month of Ziv, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign.

38 In the eighth month, the month of Bul, in the eleventh year of Solomon's reign, the Temple was completely finished exactly as it had been planned. It had taken Solomon seven years to build it.

1 Solomon also built a palace for himself, and it took him thirteen years.

2 The Hall of the Forest of Lebanon was 150 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. It had three rows of cedar pillars, 15 in each row, with cedar beams resting on them. The ceiling was of cedar, extending over storerooms, which were supported by the pillars.

4 On each of the two side walls there were three rows of windows.

5 The doorways and the windows had rectangular frames, and the three rows of windows in each wall faced the opposite rows.

6 The Hall of Columns was 75 feet long and 45 feet wide. It had a covered porch, supported by columns.

7 The Throne Room, also called the Hall of Judgment, where Solomon decided cases, had cedar panels from the floor to the rafters.

8 Solomon's own quarters, in another court behind the Hall of Judgment, were made like the other buildings. He also built the same kind of house for his wife, the daughter of the king of Egypt.

9 All these buildings and the great court were made of fine stones from the foundations to the eaves. The stones were prepared at the quarry and cut to measure, with their inner and outer sides trimmed with saws.

10 The foundations were made of large stones prepared at the quarry, some of them twelve feet long and others fifteen feet long.

11 On top of them were other stones, cut to measure, and cedar beams.

12 The palace court, the inner court of the Temple, and the entrance room of the Temple had walls with one layer of cedar beams for every three layers of cut stones.

13 King Solomon sent for a man named Huram, a craftsman living in the city of Tyre, who was skilled in bronze work.

14 His father, who was no longer living, was from Tyre, and had also been a skilled bronze craftsman; his mother was from the tribe of Naphtali. Huram was an intelligent and experienced craftsman. He accepted King Solomon's invitation to be in charge of all the bronze work.

15 Huram cast two bronze columns, each one 27 feet tall and 18 feet in circumference, and placed them at the entrance of the Temple.

16 He also made two bronze capitals, each one 7 1/2 feet tall, to be placed on top of the columns.

17 The top of each column was decorated with a design of interwoven chains

18 and two rows of bronze pomegranates.

19 The capitals were shaped like lilies, 6 feet tall,

20 and were placed on a rounded section which was above the chain design. There were 200 pomegranates in two rows around each capital.

21 Huram placed these two bronze columns in front of the entrance of the Temple: the one on the south side was named Jachin and the one on the north was named Boaz.

22 The lily-shaped bronze capitals were on top of the columns. And so the work on the columns was completed.

23 Huram made a round tank of bronze, 7 1/2 feet deep, 15 feet in diameter, and 45 feet in circumference.

24 All around the outer edge of the rim of the tank were two rows of bronze gourds, which had been cast all in one piece with the rest of the tank.

25 The tank rested on the backs of twelve bronze bulls that faced outward, three facing in each direction.

26 The sides of the tank were 3 inches thick. Its rim was like the rim of a cup, curving outward like the petals of a lily. The tank held about 10,000 gallons.

27 Huram also made ten bronze carts; each was 6 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 4 1/2 feet high.

28 They were made of square panels which were set in frames,

29 with the figures of lions, bulls, and winged creatures on the panels; and on the frames, above and underneath the lions and bulls, there were spiral figures in relief.

30 Each cart had four bronze wheels with bronze axles. At the four corners were bronze supports for a basin; the supports were decorated with spiral figures in relief.

31 There was a circular frame on top for the basin. It projected upward 18 inches from the top of the cart and 7 inches down into it. It had carvings around it.

32 The wheels were 25 inches high; they were under the panels, and the axles were of one piece with the carts.

33 The wheels were like chariot wheels; their axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were all of bronze.

34 There were four supports at the bottom corners of each cart, which were of one piece with the cart.

35 There was a 9-inch band around the top of each cart; its supports and the panels were of one piece with the cart.

36 The supports and panels were decorated with figures of winged creatures, lions, and palm trees, wherever there was space for them, with spiral figures all around.

37 This, then, is how the carts were made; they were all alike, having the same size and shape.

38 Huram also made ten basins, one for each cart. Each basin was 6 feet in diameter and held 200 gallons.

39 He placed five of the carts on the south side of the Temple, and the other five on the north side; the tank he placed at the southeast corner.

40 Huram also made pots, shovels, and bowls. He completed all his work for King Solomon for the Lord's Temple. This is what he made: The two columns The two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the columns The design of interwoven chains on each capital The 400 bronze pomegranates, in two rows of 100 each around the design on each capital The ten carts The ten basins The tank The twelve bulls supporting the tank The pots, shovels, and bowls All this equipment for the Temple, which Huram made for King Solomon, was of polished bronze.

46 The king had it all made in the foundry between Sukkoth and Zarethan, in the Jordan Valley.

47 Solomon did not have these bronze objects weighed, because there were too many of them, and so their weight was never determined.

48 Solomon also had gold furnishings made for the Temple: the altar, the table for the bread offered to God,

49 the ten lampstands that stood in front of the Most Holy Place, five on the south side and five on the north; the flowers, lamps, and tongs;

50 the cups, lamp snuffers, bowls, dishes for incense, and the pans used for carrying live coals; and the hinges for the doors of the Most Holy Place and of the outer doors of the Temple. All these furnishings were made of gold.

51 When King Solomon finished all the work on the Temple, he placed in the Temple storerooms all the things that his father David had dedicated to the Lord - the silver, gold, and other articles.

27 Then some Sadducees, who say that people will not rise from death, came to Jesus and said,

28 "Teacher, Moses wrote this law for us: "If a man dies and leaves a wife but no children, that man's brother must marry the widow so that they can have children who will be considered the dead man's children.'

29 Once there were seven brothers; the oldest got married and died without having children.

30 Then the second one married the woman,

31 and then the third. The same thing happened to all seven - they died without having children.

32 Last of all, the woman died.

33 Now, on the day when the dead rise to life, whose wife will she be? All seven of them had married her."

34 Jesus answered them, "The men and women of this age marry,

35 but the men and women who are worthy to rise from death and live in the age to come will not then marry.

36 They will be like angels and cannot die. They are the children of God, because they have risen from death.

37 And Moses clearly proves that the dead are raised to life. In the passage about the burning bush he speaks of the Lord as "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'

38 He is the God of the living, not of the dead, for to him all are alive."

39 Some of the teachers of the Law spoke up, "A good answer, Teacher!"

40 For they did not dare ask him any more questions.

41 Jesus asked them, "How can it be said that the Messiah will be the descendant of David?

42 For David himself says in the book of Psalms, "The Lord said to my Lord: Sit here at my right side

43 until I put your enemies as a footstool under your feet.'

44 David called him "Lord'; how, then, can the Messiah be David's descendant?"

45 As all the people listened to him, Jesus said to his disciples,

46 "Be on your guard against the teachers of the Law, who like to walk around in their long robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplace; who choose the reserved seats in the synagogues and the best places at feasts;

47 who take advantage of widows and rob them of their homes, and then make a show of saying long prayers! Their punishment will be all the worse!"