1 Kings 6
1 In the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Ziv, which is the second month, he began to build the LORD’s house.
In the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year that Solomon was king of Israel, in the month Ziv, which is the second month, the building of the Lord's house was started.
2 The house which King Solomon built for the LORD had a length of sixty cubits, and its width twenty, and its height thirty cubits.
The house which Solomon made for the Lord was sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide and thirty cubits high.
3 The porch in front of the temple of the house had a length of twenty cubits, which was along the width of the house. Ten cubits was its width in front of the house.
The covered way before the Temple of the house was twenty cubits long, as wide as the house, and ten cubits wide in front of the house.
4 He made windows of fixed lattice work for the house.
And for the house he made windows, with network across.
5 Against the wall of the house, he built floors all around, against the walls of the house all around, both of the temple and of the inner sanctuary; and he made side rooms all around.
And against the walls all round, and against the walls of the Temple and of the inmost room, he put up wings, with side rooms all round:
6 The lowest floor was five cubits wide, and the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for on the outside he made offsets in the wall of the house all around, that the beams should not be inserted into the walls of the house.
The lowest line of them being five cubits wide, the middle six cubits wide and the third seven cubits; for there was a space all round the outside walls of the house so that the boards supporting the rooms did not have to be fixed in the walls of the house.
7 The house, when it was under construction, was built of stone prepared at the quarry; and no hammer or ax or any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was under construction.
(And the stones used in the building of the house were squared at the place where they were cut out; there was no sound of hammer or axe or any iron instrument while they were building the house.)
8 The door for the middle side rooms was in the right side of the house. They went up by winding stairs into the middle floor, and out of the middle into the third.
The door to the lowest side rooms was in the right side of the house; and they went up by twisting steps into the middle rooms, and from the middle into the third.
9 So he built the house and finished it; and he covered the house with beams and planks of cedar.
So he put up the house and made it complete, roofing it with boards of cedar-wood.
10 He built the floors all along the house, each five cubits high; and they rested on the house with timbers of cedar.
And he put up the line of side rooms against the walls of the house, fifteen cubits high, resting against the house on boards of cedar-wood.
11 The LORD’s word came to Solomon, saying,
(And the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying,
12 “Concerning this house which you are building, if you will walk in my statutes, and execute my ordinances, and keep all my commandments to walk in them, then I will establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father.
About this house which you are building: if you will keep my laws and give effect to my decisions and be guided by my rules, I will give effect to my word which I gave to David your father.
13 I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel.”
And I will be ever among the children of Israel, and will not go away from my people.
14 So Solomon built the house and finished it.
So Solomon made the building of the house complete.)
15 He built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar; from the floor of the house to the walls of the ceiling, he covered them on the inside with wood. He covered the floor of the house with cypress boards.
The walls of the house were covered inside with cedar-wood boards; from the floor to the roof of the house they were covered inside with wood; and the floor was covered with boards of cypress-wood.
16 He built twenty cubits of the back part of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the ceiling. He built this within, for an inner sanctuary, even for the most holy place.
And at the back of the house a further space of twenty cubits was shut in with boards of cedar-wood, for the inmost room.
17 In front of the temple sanctuary was forty cubits long.
And the house, that is, the Temple, in front of the holy place was forty cubits long.
18 There was cedar on the house within, carved with buds and open flowers. All was cedar. No stone was visible.
(All the inside of the house was cedar-wood, ornamented with designs of buds and flowers; no stonework was to be seen inside.)
19 He prepared an inner sanctuary in the middle of the house within, to set the ark of the LORD’s covenant there.
And he made ready an inmost room in the middle of the house, in which to put the ark of the agreement of the Lord.
20 Within the inner sanctuary was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in width, and twenty cubits in its height. He overlaid it with pure gold. He covered the altar with cedar.
And the inmost room was twenty cubits square and twenty cubits high, plated over with clear gold, and he made an altar of cedar-wood, plating it with gold.
21 So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold. He drew chains of gold across before the inner sanctuary, and he overlaid it with gold.
Solomon had all the inside of the house covered with gold, and he put chains of gold across in front of the inmost room, which itself was covered with gold.
22 He overlaid the whole house with gold, until all the house was finished. He also overlaid the whole altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary with gold.
Plates of gold were put all through the house till it was covered completely (and the altar in the inmost room was all covered with gold).
23 In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high.
In the inmost room he made two winged beings of olive-wood, ten cubits high;
24 Five cubits was the length of one wing of the cherub, and five cubits was the length of the other wing of the cherub. From the tip of one wing to the tip of the other was ten cubits.
With outstretched wings five cubits wide; the distance from the edge of one wing to the edge of the other was ten cubits.
25 The other cherub was ten cubits. Both the cherubim were of one measure and one form.
The two winged ones were ten cubits high, of the same size and form.
26 One cherub was ten cubits high, and so was the other cherub.
The two of them were ten cubits high.
27 He set the cherubim within the inner house. The wings of the cherubim were stretched out, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the middle of the house.
These were placed inside the inner house, their outstretched wings touching the walls of the house, one touching one wall and one the other, while their other wings were touching in the middle.
28 He overlaid the cherubim with gold.
These winged ones were plated over with gold.
29 He carved all the walls of the house around with carved figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, inside and outside.
And all the walls of the house inside and out were ornamented with forms of winged ones and palm-trees and open flowers.
30 He overlaid the floor of the house with gold, inside and outside.
And the floor of the house was covered with gold, inside and out.
31 For the entrance of the inner sanctuary, he made doors of olive wood. The lintel and door posts were a fifth part of the wall.
For the way into the inmost room he made doors of olive-wood, the arch and the door supports forming a five-sided opening.
32 So he made two doors of olive wood; and he carved on them carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold. He spread the gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees.
On the olive-wood doors were cut designs of winged ones and palm-trees and open flowers, all of them, with the doors, plated with gold.
33 He also made the entrance of the temple door posts of olive wood, out of a fourth part of the wall,
Then he made pillars of olive-wood for the way into the Temple; the pillars were square:
34 and two doors of cypress wood. The two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding.
And two folding doors of cypress-wood, with two leaves.
35 He carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers; and he overlaid them with gold fitted on the engraved work.
These were ornamented with designs of winged ones and palm-trees and open flowers, plated over with gold.
36 He built the inner court with three courses of cut stone and a course of cedar beams.
And the inner space was walled with three lines of squared stones and a line of cedar-wood boards.
37 The foundation of the LORD’s house was laid in the fourth year, in the month Ziv.
In the fourth year the base of the house was put in its place, in the month Ziv.
38 In the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished throughout all its parts and according to all its specifications. So he spent seven years building it.
And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, the building of the house was complete in every detail, as it had been designed. So he was seven years building it.
