Solomon's workers started building the temple during Ziv, the second month of the year. It had been four years since Solomon became king of Israel, and four hundred and eighty years since the people of Israel left Egypt.
The LORD said: I heard your prayer and what you asked me to do. This temple you have built is where I will be worshipped for ever. It belongs to me, and I will never stop watching over it.
Obey the LORD your God with your heart and soul. Begin work on the temple to honour him, so that the sacred chest and the things used for worship can be kept there.
King Cyrus of Persia had said the Israelites could have cedar trees brought from Lebanon to Joppa by sea. So they sent grain, wine, and olive oil to the cities of Tyre and Sidon as payment for these trees, and they gave money to the stoneworkers and carpenters.
Wood from Lebanon's best trees will be brought to you— the pines, the firs, and the cypress trees. It will be used in my temple to make beautiful the place where I rest my feet.