Daily reading in version Bible In Basic English - English
Solomon was thirteen years building a house for himself till it was complete.
And he made the house of the Woods of Lebanon, which was a hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high, resting on four lines of cedar-wood pillars with cedar-wood supports on the pillars.
And it was covered with cedar over the forty-five supports which were on the pillars, fifteen in a line.
There were three lines of window-frames, window facing window in every line.
And all the doors and windows had square frames, with the windows facing one another in three lines.
And he made a covered room of pillars, fifty cubits long and thirty cubits wide, and...with steps before it.
Then he made a covered room for his high seat when he gave decisions this was the covered room of judging it was covered with cedar-wood from floor to roof.
And the house for his living-place, the other open square in the covered room, was made in the same way. And then he made a house like it for Pharaoh's daughter, whom Solomon had taken as his wife.
All these buildings were made, inside and out, from base to crowning stone, and outside to the great walled square, of highly priced stone, cut to different sizes with cutting-instruments.
And the base was of great masses of highly priced stone, some ten cubits and some eight cubits square.
Overhead were highly priced stones cut to measure, and cedar-wood.
The great outer square all round was walled with three lines of squared stones and a line of cedar-wood boards, round about the open square inside the house of the Lord and the covered room of the king's house.
Then King Solomon sent and got Hiram from Tyre.
He was the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass he was full of wisdom and knowledge and an expert worker in brass. He came to King Solomon and did all his work for him.
He it was who made the two brass pillars the first pillar was eighteen cubits high, and a line of twelve cubits went round it and the second was the same.
And he made the two crowns to be put on the tops of the pillars, of brass made soft in the fire the crowns were five cubits high.
There were nets of open-work for the crowns on the tops of the pillars, a net of open-work for one and a net of open-work for the other.
And he made ornaments of apples and two lines of apples all round over the network, covering the crowns of the pillars, the two crowns in the same way.
The crowns on the tops of the pillars were ornamented with a design of flowers, and were four cubits across.
And there were crowns on the two pillars near the round part by the network, and there were two hundred apples in lines round every crown.
He put up the pillars at the doorway of the Temple, naming the one on the right Jachin, and that on the left Boaz.
The tops of the pillars had a design of flowers and the work of making the pillars was complete.
And he made a great metal water-vessel ten cubits across from edge to edge, five cubits high and thirty cubits round.
And under the edge of it, circling it all round for ten cubits, were two lines of flower buds, made together with it from liquid metal.
It was supported on twelve oxen, with their back parts turned to the middle of it, three of them facing to the north, three to the west, three to the south, and three to the east the vessel was resting on top of them.
It was as thick as a man's open hand, and was curved like the edge of a cup, like the flower of a lily: it would take two thousand baths.
And he made ten wheeled bases of brass every one four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high.
And the bases were made in this way their sides were square, fixed in a framework
And on the square sides between the frames were lions, oxen, and winged ones and the same on the frame and over and under the lions and the oxen and the winged ones were steps.
Every base had four wheels of brass, turning on brass rods, and their four angles had angle-plates under them the angle-plates under the base were of metal, and there were ornaments at the side of every one.
The mouth of it inside the angle-plate was one cubit across it was round like a pillar, a cubit and a half across it had designs cut on it the sides were square, not round.
The four wheels were under the frames, and the rods on which the wheels were fixed were in the base the wheels were a cubit and a half high.
The wheels were made like carriage-wheels, the rods on which they were fixed, the parts forming their edges, their rods and the middle points of them, were all formed out of liquid metal.
And there were four angle-plates at the four angles of every base, forming part of the structure of the base.
And at the top of the base there was a round vessel, half a cubit high
In the spaces of the flat sides and on the frames of them, he made designs of winged ones, lions, and palm-trees, with ornamented edges all round.
All the ten bases were made in this way, after the same design, of the same size and form.
And he made ten brass washing-vessels, everyone taking forty baths, and measuring four cubits one vessel was placed on every one of the ten bases.
And he put the bases by the house, five on the right side and five on the left and he put the great water-vessel on the right side of the house, to the east, facing south.
And Hiram made the pots and spades and the basins. So Hiram came to the end of all the work he did for King Solomon in the house of the Lord:
The two pillars and the two cups of the crowns which were on the tops of the two pillars and the network covering the two cups of the crowns on the tops of the pillars,
And the four hundred apples for the network, two lines of apples for every network, covering the two cups of the crowns on the pillars
And the ten bases, with the ten washing-vessels on them
And the great water-vessel, with the twelve oxen under it
And the pots and the spades and the basins all the vessels which Hiram made for King Solomon, for the house of the Lord, were of polished brass.
He made them of liquid metal in the lowland of Jordan, at the way across the river, at Adama, between Succoth and Zarethan.
The weight of all these vessels was not measured, because there was such a number of them it was not possible to get the weight of the brass.
And Solomon had all the vessels made for use in the house of the Lord: the altar of gold and the gold table on which the holy bread was placed
And the supports for the lights, five on the right side and five on the left before the inmost room, of clear gold and the flowers and the lights and all the instruments of gold
And the cups and the scissors and the basins and the spoons and the fire-trays, all of gold and the pins on which the doors were turned, the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and the doors of the Temple, all of gold.
So all the work King Solomon had done in the house of the Lord was complete. Then Solomon took the holy things which David his father had given, the silver and the gold and all the vessels, and put them in the store-houses of the house of the Lord.
Then Solomon sent for all the responsible men of Israel, and all the chiefs of the tribes, and the heads of families of the children of Israel, to come to him in Jerusalem to take the ark of the Lord's agreement up out of the town of David, which is Zion.
And all the men of Israel came together to King Solomon at the feast, in the month Ethanim, the seventh month.
And all the responsible men of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.
They took up the ark of the Lord, and the Tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels which were in the Tent all these the priests and the Levites took up.
And King Solomon and all the men of Israel who had come together there, were with him before the ark, making offerings of sheep and oxen more than might be numbered.
And the priests took the ark of the agreement of the Lord and put it in its place in the inner room of the house, in the most holy place, under the wings of the winged ones.
For their wings were outstretched over the place where the ark was, covering the ark and its rods.
The rods were so long that their ends were seen from the holy place, in front of the inmost room but they were not seen from outside: and there they are to this day.
There was nothing in the ark but the two flat stones which Moses put there at Horeb, where the Lord made an agreement with the children of Israel when they came out of the land of Egypt.
Now when the priests had come out of the holy place, the house of the Lord was full of the cloud,
So that the priests were not able to keep their places to do their work because of the cloud, for the house of the Lord was full of the glory of the Lord.
Then Solomon said, O Lord, to the sun you have given the heaven for a living-place, but your living-place was not seen by men
So I have made for you a living-place, a house in which you may be for ever present.
Then, turning his face about, the king gave a blessing to all the men of Israel and they were all on their feet together.
And he said, Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who himself gave his word to David my father, and with his strong hand has made his word come true, saying,
From the day when I took my people Israel out of Egypt, no town in all the tribes of Israel has been marked out by me for the building of a house for the resting-place of my name but I made selection of David to be king over my people Israel.
Now it was in the heart of David my father to put up a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
But the Lord said to David my father, You did well to have in your heart the desire to make a house for my name
But you yourself will not be the builder of my house but your son, the offspring of your body, he it is who will put up a house for my name.
And the Lord has made his word come true for I have taken my father David's place on the seat of the kingdom of Israel, as the Lord gave his word and I have made a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
In it I have made a place for the ark, in which is the agreement which the Lord made with our fathers, when he took them out of the land of Egypt.
Then Solomon took his place before the altar of the Lord, all the men of Israel being present, and stretching out his hands to heaven,
Said, O Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven or on the earth keeping faith and mercy unchanging for your servants, while they go in your ways with all their hearts.
And you have kept the word which you gave to your servant David, my father with your mouth you said it and with your hand you have made it come true this day.
So now, O Lord, the God of Israel, let your word to your servant David, my father, come true, when you said, You will never be without a man to take his place on the seat of the kingdom of Israel before me, if only your children give attention to their ways, walking before me as you have done.
So now, O God of Israel, it is my prayer that you will make your word come true which you said to your servant David, my father.
But is it truly possible that God may be housed on earth? see, heaven and the heaven of heavens are not wide enough to be your resting-place how much less this house which I have made!
Still, let your heart be turned to the prayer of your servant, O Lord God, and to his prayer for grace give ear to the cry and the prayer which your servant sends up to you this day
That your eyes may be open to this house night and day, to this place of which you have said, My name will be there hearing the prayer which your servant may make, turning to this place.
Give ear to the prayers of your servant, and the prayers of your people Israel, when they make their prayers, turning to this place give ear in heaven your living-place, and hearing, have mercy.
If a man does wrong to his neighbour, and has to take an oath, and comes before your altar to take his oath in this house:
Then let your ear be open in heaven, and be the judge of your servants, giving your decision against the wrongdoer, so that punishment for his sins may come on his head and, by your decision, keeping from evil him who has done no wrong.
When your people Israel are overcome in war, because of their sin against you if they are turned to you again, honouring your name, making prayers to you and requesting your grace in this house:
Then give ear in heaven, and let the sin of your people Israel have forgiveness, and take them back again into the land which you gave to their fathers.
When heaven is shut up and there is no rain, because of their sin against you if they make prayers with their faces turned to this place, honouring your name and turning away from their sin when you send trouble on them:
Then give ear in heaven, so that the sin of your servants, and of your people Israel, may have forgiveness, when you make clear to them the good way in which they are to go and send rain on your land which you have given to your people for their heritage.
If there is no food in the land, or if there is disease, or if the fruits of the earth are damaged through heat or water, locust or worm if their towns are shut in by their attackers whatever trouble, whatever disease there may be:
Whatever prayer or request for your grace is made by any man, or by all your people Israel, whatever his trouble may be, whose hands are stretched out to this house:
Give ear in heaven your living-place, acting in mercy and give to every man whose secret heart is open to you, the reward of all his ways for you, and you only, have knowledge of the hearts of all the children of men:
So that they may give you worship all the days of their life in the land which you gave to our fathers.
And as for the man from a strange land, who is not of your people Israel when he comes from a far country because of the glory of your name:
(For they will have news of your great name and your strong hand and your out-stretched arm) when he comes to make his prayer, turning to this house:
Give ear in heaven your living-place, and give him his desire, whatever it may be so that all the peoples of the earth may have knowledge of your name, worshipping you as do your people Israel, and that they may see that this house which I have put up is truly named by your name.
If your people go out to war against their attackers, by whatever way you may send them, if they make their prayer to the Lord, turning their faces to this town of yours and to this house which I have made for your name:
Give ear in heaven to their prayer and their cry for grace, and see right done to them.
If they do wrong against you, (for no man is without sin,) and you are angry with them and give them up into the power of those who are fighting against them, so that they take them away as prisoners into a strange land, far off or near
And if they take thought, in the land where they are prisoners, and are turned again to you, crying out in prayer to you in that land, and saying, We are sinners, we have done wrong, we have done evil
And with all their heart and soul are turned again to you, in the land of those who took them prisoners, and make their prayer to you, turning their eyes to this land which you gave to their fathers, and to the town which you took for yourself, and the house which I made for your name:
Then give ear to their prayer and to their cry in heaven your living-place, and see right done to them
Answering with forgiveness the people who have done wrong against you, and overlooking the evil which they have done against you let those who made them prisoners be moved with pity for them, and have pity on them
For they are your people and your heritage, which you took out of Egypt, out of the iron fireplace
Let your eyes be open to your servant's prayer for grace and to the prayer of your people Israel, hearing them when their cry comes to you.
For you made them separate from all the peoples of the earth, to be your heritage, as you said by Moses your servant, when you took our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.
Then Solomon, after making all these prayers and requests for grace to the Lord, got up from his knees before the altar of the Lord, where his hands had been stretched out in prayer to heaven
And, getting on his feet, he gave a blessing to all the men of Israel, saying with a loud voice,
Praise be to the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, as he gave them his word to do every word of all his oath, which he gave by the hand of Moses his servant, has come true.
Now may the Lord our God be with us as he was with our fathers let him never go away from us or give us up
Turning our hearts to himself, guiding us to go in all his ways, to keep his orders and his laws and his decisions, which he gave to our fathers.
And may these my words, the words of my prayer to the Lord, be before the Lord our God day and night, so that he may see right done to his servant and to his people Israel, day by day as we have need.
So that all the peoples of the earth may see that the Lord is God, and there is no other.
Then let your hearts be without sin before the Lord our God, walking in his laws and keeping his orders as at this day.
Now the king, and all Israel with him, were making offerings before the Lord.
And Solomon gave to the Lord for peace-offerings, twenty-two thousand oxen and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel kept the feast of the opening of the Lord's house.
The same day the king made holy the middle of the open square in front of the house of the Lord, offering there the burned offering and the meal offering and the fat of the peace-offerings for there was not room on the brass altar of the Lord for the burned offerings and the meal offerings and the fat of the peace-offerings.
So Solomon and all Israel with him, a very great meeting, (for the people had come together from the way into Hamath to the river of Egypt,) kept the feast at that time before the Lord our God, for two weeks, even fourteen days.
And on the eighth day he sent the people away, and, blessing the king, they went to their tents full of joy and glad in their hearts, because of all the good which the Lord had done to David his servant and to Israel his people.
But if you have bitter envy in your heart and the desire to get the better of others, have no pride in this, talking falsely against what is true.
This wisdom is not from heaven, but is of the earth and the flesh and the Evil One.
For where envy is, and the desire to get the better of others, there is no order, but every sort of evil-doing.
But the wisdom which is from heaven is first holy, then gentle, readily giving way in argument, full of peace and mercy and good works, not doubting, not seeming other than it is.
And the fruit of righteousness is planted in peace for those who make peace.
What is the cause of wars and fighting among you? is it not in your desires which are at war in your bodies?
You are burning with desire, and have not your desire, so you put men to death you are full of envy, and you are not able to get your desire, so you are fighting and making war you have not your desire, because you do not make request for it.
You make your request but you do not get it, because your request has been wrongly made, desiring the thing only so that you may make use of it for your pleasure.
O you who are false to God, do you not see that the friends of this world are not God's friends? Every man desiring to be a friend of this world makes himself a hater of God.
Or does it seem to you that it is for nothing that the holy Writings say, The spirit which God put into our hearts has a strong desire for us?
But he gives more grace. So that the Writings say, God is against the men of pride, but he gives grace to those who make themselves low before him.
For this cause be ruled by God but make war on the Evil One and he will be put to flight before you.
Come near to God and he will come near to you. Make your hands clean, you evil-doers put away deceit from your hearts, you false in mind.
Be troubled, with sorrow and weeping let your laughing be turned to sorrow and your joy to grief.
Make yourselves low in the eyes of the Lord and you will be lifted up by him.
Do not say evil against one another, my brothers. He who says evil against his brother or makes himself his brother's judge, says evil against the law and is judging the law: and in judging the law you become, not a doer of the law but a judge.
There is only one judge and law-giver, even he who has the power of salvation and of destruction but who are you to be your neighbour's judge?