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 going forth of the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year, in the month Ziv, which is the second month, of the reign of Solomon over Israel, that he built the house unto 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 king Solomon built unto the Lord, was sixty cubits in length, and twenty in breadth, and thirty cubits in height.

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 before the temple of the house, was twenty cubits in length, in front of the breadth of the house; and ten cubits in breadth at the east side of the house.

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

And he made for the house windows wide without and narrow within.

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 he built on the wall of the house a gallery round about, on the walls of the house round about, of the temple and of the most holy place: and he made side-chambers round about.

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 nethermost gallery was five cubits in breadth, and the middle was six cubits in breadth, and the third was seven cubits in breadth; for projections had he made to the house round about on the outside, so as to fasten nothing in 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, when it was in building, was built of entire stones as they had been prepared at the quarry: so that neither hammer, nor axe, nor any tool of iron was heard in the house, while it was in building.

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 door for the middle [gallery] sidechamber was in the right side of the house: and with winding stairs they went up into the middle chamber, and out of the middle into the third.

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 covered the house with hollow tiles, and with boards of cedar.

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

And he built the gallery against all the house, [each] five cubits in height; and it was fastened on to the house with timber of cedar.

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

And 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.

This house which thou art building—if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my ordinances, and keep all my commandments to walk in them: then will I perform my word with thee, which I have spoken unto David thy father.

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

And I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel, and I will not forsake my people Israel.

14 So Solomon built the temple and finished it.

So did Solomon build the house, and finish 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 built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar; from the floor of the house to where the walls touched the ceiling did he overlay it on the inside with wood; and he overlaid the floor of the house with boards 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 on the lower side of the house with boards of cedar, from the floor to the battlements; and he built it within, for the debir, for the holy of holies.

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

And the house, that is, the temple before it, was 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.

And the cedar on the house within was carved with colocynths and opening flowers; all was cedar, no stone was seen.

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

And the debir in the house within did he prepare, to set therein 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.

And the interior of the debir was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits was its height: and he overlaid it with pure gold; and he overlaid the altar with cedar-wood.

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 Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: and he barred by means of chains of gold the front of the debir; and he overlaid it 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.

And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until all the house was finished: also the whole altar that was before the debir did he overlay with gold.

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

And within the debir he made two cherubims of oleaster-wood, each ten cubits high.

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 five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: [there were] ten cubits from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other.

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

And the other cherub was also ten cubits: both the cherubim were of one measure and one form.

26 and the height of each cherub was ten cubits.

The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so that of the other 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 he set the cherubim within the innermost part of the house: and they spread forth the wings of the cherubim, 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 toward the middle of the house touched one another.

28 He also overlaid the cherubim with gold.

And he overlaid the cherubim 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.

And on all the wall of the house round about he carved figures of cherubim and palm-trees and opening flowers, in the debir and in the temple.

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

And the floor of the house he overlaid with gold for the debir and for the temple.

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

And for the entrance of the debir he made doors of oleaster-wood: the lintel with the side-posts forming 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.

And also upon the two doors of oleaster-wood he carved figures of cherubim and palm-trees and opening flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and spread the gold, by beating, upon the cherubim, and upon the palm-trees.

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

So also made he for the entrance of the temple door-posts of oleaster-wood in shape of a square;

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

And two doors of fir-wood: the one door having two leaves which were folding, and the other door having two leaves which were folding.

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

And he carved thereon cherubim, and palm-trees and opening flowers: and he overlaid them with gold fitting upon the carved work.

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 of three rows of hewn stone, and one row 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.

In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the Lord laid, in the month 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.

And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all its parts, and according to all its requirements. So was he building it seven years.