« | 2 Chronicles 3 | » |
1 Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, which had been pointed out to his father David, on the spot which David had selected, the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
2 He began to build in the second month of the fourth year of his reign.
3 These were the specifications laid down by Solomon for building the house of God: the length was sixty cubits according to the old measure, and the width was twenty cubits;
4 the porch which lay before the nave along the width of the house was also twenty cubits, and it was twenty cubits high. He overlaid its interior with pure gold.
5 The nave he overlaid with cypress wood which he covered with fine gold, embossing on it palms and chains.
6 He also decorated the building with precious stones.
7 The house, its beams and thresholds, as well as its walls and its doors, he overlaid with gold, and he engraved cherubim upon the walls. (The gold was from Parvaim.)
8 He also made the room of the holy of holies. Its length corresponded to the width of the house, twenty cubits, and its width was also twenty cubits. He overlaid it with fine gold to the amount of six hundred talents.
9 The weight of the nails was fifty gold shekels. The upper chambers he likewise covered with gold.
10 For the room of the holy of holies he made two cherubim of carved workmanship, which were then overlaid with gold.
11 The wings of the cherubim spanned twenty cubits:
12 one wing of each cherub, five cubits in length, extended to a wall of the building, while the other wing, also five cubits in length, touched the corresponding wing of the second cherub.
13 The combined wingspread of the two cherubim was thus twenty cubits. They stood upon their own feet, facing toward the nave.
14 He made the veil of violet, purple, crimson and fine linen, and had cherubim embroidered upon it.
15 In front of the building he set two columns thirty-five cubits high; the capital topping each was of five cubits.
16 He worked out chains in the form of a collar with which he encircled the capitals of the columns, and he made a hundred pomegranates which he set on the chains.
17 He set up the columns to correspond with the nave, one for the right side and the other for the left, and he called the one to the right Jachin and the one to the left Boaz.
The New American Standard Updated Version (NASU)
The New American Standard Updated Version (NASU) is a highly respected English translation of the Bible known for its rigorous adherence to the original languages of Scripture. First published in 1995 by the Lockman Foundation, the NASU is an update of the New American Standard Bible (NASB), which was originally completed in 1971. The NASU seeks to improve upon the NASB by enhancing readability and modernizing the language while maintaining the translation’s reputation for being one of the most literal translations available. This makes the NASU a preferred choice for serious Bible study, preaching, and teaching.
A key feature of the NASU is its commitment to formal equivalence, or a word-for-word translation philosophy. The translators aimed to produce a text that is as close as possible to the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek manuscripts. This approach ensures that the NASU captures the precise meaning and structure of the original texts, providing readers with a highly accurate and reliable representation of the Scriptures. The use of formal equivalence makes the NASU particularly valuable for those who desire a deep and detailed understanding of the Bible, including scholars, theologians, and students of the Word.
In updating the NASB, the NASU made several important changes to improve clarity and readability. While maintaining the accuracy and literalness of the translation, the NASU incorporates modern English expressions and smoother sentence structures. This makes the text more accessible to contemporary readers without compromising the precision that the NASB is known for. The NASU also includes updated cross-references and footnotes, which provide additional context and insights, further aiding in the study and understanding of the biblical text.
Despite its many strengths, the NASU has faced some criticism. Some readers and scholars argue that the translation’s emphasis on literalness can sometimes result in a text that feels stiff or less fluid than more dynamic translations. Additionally, while the NASU’s updated language makes it more accessible, some feel that it could go further in adapting to contemporary usage without losing its accuracy. Nevertheless, the New American Standard Updated Version remains a highly esteemed translation, valued for its fidelity to the original texts and its usefulness for in-depth study and precise interpretation of the Bible.