1 Kings 6

1 In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites had come out of the land of Egypt, in the month of Ziv, the second month of the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, he began to build the house of the LORD.

Four hundred and eighty years after the Israelites left Egypt, in the fourth year of King Solomon's reign, in the month of Ziv, Solomon began building the Temple of the Lord.

2 The house that King Solomon built for the LORD was sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high.

The Temple King Solomon built for the Lord measured sixty cubits long by twenty cubits wide by thirty cubits high.

3 The portico at the front of the main hall of the temple was twenty cubits long, extending across the width of the temple and projecting out ten cubits in front of the temple.

The entrance room at the front of the Temple was twenty cubits wide. It ran the whole width of the Temple and projected out ten cubits in front of the Temple.

4 He also had narrow windows framed high in the temple.

He had latticed windows made to be placed high up in the Temple.

5 Against the walls of the temple and the inner sanctuary, Solomon built a chambered structure around the temple, in which he constructed the side rooms.

He also had a structure built against the outer wall of the Temple, both the outer and the inner sanctuary, to provide a series of side rooms.

6 The bottom floor was five cubits wide, the middle floor six cubits, and the third floor seven cubits. He also placed offset ledges around the outside of the temple, so that nothing would be inserted into its walls.

The ground floor measured five cubits wide, the first floor six cubits, and the second floor seven cubits. In addition he had offset ledges placed all the way around the outside, so that beams would not have to be inserted into the Temple walls.

7 The temple was constructed using finished stones cut at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any other iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.

When the Temple was built the stones were finished at the quarry so that no noise from any hammer, ax, or any iron tool was heard in the Temple during construction.

8 The entrance to the bottom floor was on the south side of the temple. A stairway led up to the middle level, and from there to the third floor.

The entrance to the ground floor was on the south side of the Temple. Stairs led to the first floor, and then on to the second floor.

9 So Solomon built the temple and finished it, roofing it with beams and planks of cedar.

So Solomon finished building the Temple, covering it with a roof made of cedar rafters and planks.

10 He built chambers all along the temple, each five cubits high and attached to the temple with beams of cedar.

He built the external structure along the whole of the Temple. It was five cubits high, joined to the Temple with cedar joists.

11 Then the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying:

The Lord sent this message to Solomon, telling him,

12 “As for this temple you are building, if you walk in My statutes, carry out My ordinances, and keep all My commandments by walking in them, I will fulfill through you the promise I made to your father David.

“About this Temple you are building: if you follow what I have said, fulfilling my requirements and keeping my commandments in what you do, I will keep the promise I made to your father David through you.

13 And I will dwell among the Israelites and will not abandon My people Israel.”

I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon Israel, my people.”

14 So Solomon built the temple and finished it.

Solomon finished building the Temple.

15 He lined the interior walls with cedar paneling from the floor of the temple to the ceiling, and he covered the floor with cypress boards.

He lined the walls with cedar panels from floor to ceiling and he covered the floor of the Temple with cypress boards.

16 He partitioned off the twenty cubits at the rear of the temple with cedar boards from floor to ceiling to form within the temple an inner sanctuary, the Most Holy Place.

He sectioned off twenty cubits at the rear of the Temple with boards of cedar from floor to ceiling, making an inner sanctuary as the Most Holy Place.

17 And the main hall in front of this room was forty cubits long.

The main Temple in front of this room measured forty cubits long.

18 The cedar paneling inside the temple was carved with gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; not a stone could be seen.

The cedar panels inside the Temple were decorated with carvings of gourds and open flowers. Everything was lined with cedar—none of the stone was visible.

19 Solomon also prepared the inner sanctuary within the temple to set the ark of the covenant of the LORD there.

He also had the inner sanctuary made within the Temple where the Ark of the Lord's Agreement would be placed.

20 The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold, and he also overlaid the altar of cedar.

The inner sanctuary measured twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high. He had the interior covered with a coating with pure gold, as well as the altar of cedar.

21 So Solomon overlaid the inside of the temple with pure gold, and he extended gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, which was overlaid with gold.

Solomon had the whole of the inside of the Temple covered with pure gold, He had gold chains stretched across the front of the inner sanctuary, which was also covered with gold.

22 So he overlaid with gold the whole interior of the temple, until everything was completely finished. He also overlaid with gold the entire altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary.

He covered the whole inside of the Temple with a coating of gold until it was all finished. He also covered with gold the entire altar for the inner sanctuary.

23 In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim, each ten cubits high, out of olive wood.

He had two cherubim made out of olive wood for the inner sanctuary, each one ten cubits tall.

24 One wing of the first cherub was five cubits long, and the other wing was five cubits long as well. So the full wingspan was ten cubits.

Both wings of the cherub measured five cubits, making a total wingspan of ten cubits.

25 The second cherub also measured ten cubits; both cherubim had the same size and shape,

The other cherub was also ten cubits tall, since they were identical both in size and shape.

26 and the height of each cherub was ten cubits.

Both cherubs were ten cubits tall.

27 And he placed the cherubim inside the innermost room of the temple. Since their wings were spread out, the wing of the first cherub touched one wall, while the wing of the second cherub touched the other wall, and in the middle of the room their wingtips touched.

He had the cherubim placed inside the inner sanctuary of the Temple. Since their wings were fully spread, a wing of the first cherub touched one wall, a wing of the second cherub touched the other wall, and in the middle of the Temple their wings touched.

28 He also overlaid the cherubim with gold.

The cherubim were also covered with a gold coating.

29 Then he carved the walls all around the temple, in both the inner and outer sanctuaries, with carved engravings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers.

He had all the Temple walls, both the inner and outer sanctuaries, carved with designs of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers.

30 And he overlaid the temple floor with gold in both the inner and outer sanctuaries.

He also had the floor of the Temple floor covered with gold, both the inner and outer sanctuaries.

31 For the entrance to the inner sanctuary, Solomon constructed doors of olive wood with five-sided doorposts.

He had doors of olive wood made for the entrance to the inner sanctuary, together with a lintel and doorposts that had five sides.

32 The double doors were made of olive wood, and he carved into them cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers and overlaid the cherubim and palm trees with hammered gold.

These olive wood double doors had carved into them designs of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. The cherubim and palm trees carvings were covered with beaten gold.

33 In the same way he made four-sided doorposts of olive wood for the sanctuary entrance.

Similarly he had four-sided doorposts of olive wood made for the entrance to the sanctuary.

34 The two doors were made of cypress wood, and each had two folding panels.

Its doors were made of cypress wood, each with two hinged panels.

35 He carved into them cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers; and he overlaid them with gold, hammered evenly over the carvings.

He had them carved with designs of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and covered them with gold beaten evenly over the carvings.

36 Solomon built the inner courtyard with three rows of dressed stone and one row of trimmed cedar beams.

Solomon had the inner courtyard built with three courses of dressed stone and one of cedar beams.

37 The foundation of the house of the LORD was laid in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign, in the month of Ziv.

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

38 In his eleventh year and eighth month, the month of Bul, the temple was finished in every detail and according to every specification. So he built the temple in seven years.

The Temple was finished exactly as specified and planned in Solomon's eleventh year, in the eighth month, the month of Bul. So it took him seven years to build the Temple.