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.

And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which [is] the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.

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

And the house which the king built to the Lord [was] forty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and its height five and twenty cubits.

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.

And the porch in front of the temple—twenty cubits [was] its length according to the breadth of the house in front of the house: and he built the house, and finished it.

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

And he made to the house secret windows inclining inward.

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.

And against the wall of the house he set chambers round about the temple and the ark.

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 under side [was] five cubits broad, and the middle [part] six, and the third [was] seven cubits broad; for he formed an interval to the house round about without the house, that they might not touch the walls of the house.

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.

And the house was built in the construction of it with rough hewn stones: and there was not heard in the house in the building of it hammer or axe, or any iron tool.

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.

And the porch of the under side [was] below the right wing of the house, and [there was] a winding ascent into the middle [chamber], and from the middle to the third story.

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

So he built the house and finished it; and he made the ceiling of the house with cedars.

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

And he made the partitions through all the house, each five cubits high, and enclosed each partition with cedar boards.

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

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.

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

14 So Solomon built the temple and finished it.

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.

And he framed the walls of the house within with cedar boards, from the floor of the house and on to the inner walls and to the beams: he lined the parts enclosed with boards within, and compassed the inward parts of the house with planks of fir.

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.

And he built the twenty cubits from the top of the wall, one side from the floor to the beams, and he made it from the oracle to the most holy place.

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

And the temple was forty cubits [in extent],

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

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

in front of the oracle in the midst of the house within, [in order] to put there the ark of the covenant of the Lord.

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 length [was] twenty cubits, and the breadth [was] twenty cubits, and the height of it was twenty cubits. And he covered it with perfect gold, and he made an altar in front of the oracle, and covered it with gold.

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.

And he covered the whole house with gold, till he had finished [gilding] the whole house.

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.

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

And he made in the oracle two cherubs of ten cubits measured size.

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.

And the wing of one cherub was five cubits, and his other wing was five cubits; ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other wing.

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

Thus it was with the other cherub, both were alike finished with one measure.

26 and the height of each cherub was ten cubits.

And the height of the one cherub [was] ten cubits, and so [was it] with the second cherub.

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.

And both the cherubs [were] in the midst of the innermost part of the house; and they spread out their wings, and one wing touched the wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings in the midst of the house touched each other.

28 He also overlaid the cherubim with gold.

And he covered the cherubs with gold.

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 graved all the walls of the house round about with the graving of cherubs, and [he sculptured] palm trees within and without [the house].

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

And he covered the floor of the house within and without with gold.

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

And for the door-way of the oracle he made doors of juniper wood, [there were] porches in a four-fold way.

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.

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

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

In both the doors [were] planks of fir; the one door had two leaves and their hinges, and the other door had two leaves and turned [on hinges],

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

being carved with cherubs, and [there were] palm-trees and open flower-leaves, and it [was] overlaid with gold gilt upon the engraving.

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

And he built the inner court, three rows of hewn stones, and a row of wrought cedar round about, and he made the curtain of the court of the porch of the house that was in front of the temple.

37 The foundation of the house of the LORD 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.