1 Kings 6

1 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.

And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of the reign of Solomon over Israel, in the month Zio (the same is the second month), he began to build a house to the Lord.

2 The house which Solomon made for the Lord was sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide and thirty cubits high.

And the house, which king Solomon built to the Lord, was threescore cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and thirty cubits in height.

3 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.

And there was a porch before the temple of twenty cubits in length, according to the measure of the breadth of the temple: and it was ten cubits in breadth before the face of the temple.

4 And for the house he made windows, with network across.

And he made in the temple oblique windows.

5 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:

And upon the wall of the temple he built floors round about, in the walls of the house round about the temple and the oracle, and he made sides round about.

6 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.

The floor that was underneath, was five cubits in breadth, and the middle floor was six cubits in breadth, and the third door was seven cubits in breadth. And he put beams in the house round about on the outside, that they might not be fastened in the walls of the temple.

7 (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.)

And the house, when it was in building, was built of stones hewed and made ready: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house when it was in building.

8 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.

The door for the middle side was on the right hand of the house: and by winding stairs they went up to the middle room, and from the middle to the third.

9 So he put up the house and made it complete, roofing it with boards of cedar-wood.

So he built the house, and finished it: and he covered the house with roofs of cedar.

10 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.

And he built a floor over all the house five cubits in height, and he covered the house with timber of cedar.

11 (And the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying,

And the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying:

12 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.

This house, which thou buildest, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments, walking in them, I will fulfill my word to thee which I spoke to David thy father.

13 And I will be ever among the children of Israel, and will not go away from my people.

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

14 So Solomon made the building of the house complete.)

So Solomon built the house and finished it.

15 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.

And he built the walls of the house on the inside, with boards of cedar, from the floor of the house to the top of the walls, and to the roots, he covered it with boards of cedar on the inside: and he covered the floor of the house with planks of fir.

16 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.

And he built up twenty cubits with boards of cedar at the hinder part of the temple, from the floor to the top: and made the inner house of the oracle to be the holy of holies.

17 And the house, that is, the Temple, in front of the holy place was forty cubits long.

And the temple itself before the doors of the oracle was forty cubits long.

18 (All the inside of the house was cedar-wood, ornamented with designs of buds and flowers; no stonework was to be seen inside.)

And all the house was covered within with cedar, having the turnings, and the joints thereof artfully wrought and carvings projecting out: all was covered with boards of cedar: and no stone could be seen in the wall at all.

19 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.

And he made the oracle in the midst of the house, in the inner part, to set there the ark of the covenant of the Lord.

20 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.

Now the oracle was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in height. And he covered and overlaid it with most pure gold. And the altar also he covered with cedar.

21 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.

And the house before the oracle he overlaid with most pure gold, and fastened on the plates with nails of gold.

22 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).

And there was nothing in the temple that was not covered with gold: the whole altar of the oracle he covered also with gold.

23 In the inmost room he made two winged beings of olive-wood, ten cubits high;

And he made in the oracle two cherubims of olive tree, of ten cubits in height.

24 With outstretched wings five cubits wide; the distance from the edge of one wing to the edge of the other was ten cubits.

One wing of the cherub was five cubits, and the other wing of the cherub was five cubits: that is, in all ten cubits, from the extremity of one wing to the extremity of the other wing.

25 The two winged ones were ten cubits high, of the same size and form.

The second cherub also was ten cubits: and the measure, and the work was the same in both the cherubims:

26 The two of them were ten cubits high.

That is to say, one cherub was ten cubits high, and in like manner the other cherub.

27 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.

And he set the cherubims in the midst of the inner temple: and the cherubims stretched forth their wings, and the wing of the one touched one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall: and the other wings in the midst of the temple touched one another.

28 These winged ones were plated over with gold.

And he overlaid the cherubims with gold.

29 And all the walls of the house inside and out were ornamented with forms of winged ones and palm-trees and open flowers.

And all the walls of the temple round about he carved with divers figures and carvings: and he made in them cherubims and palm trees, and divers representations, as it were standing out, and coming forth from the wall.

30 And the floor of the house was covered with gold, inside and out.

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

31 For the way into the inmost room he made doors of olive-wood, the arch and the door supports forming a five-sided opening.

And in the entrance of the oracle he made little doors of olive tree, and posts of five corners,

32 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.

And two doors of olive tree: and he carved upon them figures of cherubims, and figures of palm trees, and carvings very much projecting: and he overlaid them with gold: and he covered both the cherubims and the palm trees, and the other things with gold.

33 Then he made pillars of olive-wood for the way into the Temple; the pillars were square:

And he made in the entrance of the temple posts of olive tree foursquare:

34 And two folding doors of cypress-wood, with two leaves.

And two doors of fir tree, one of each side: and each door was double, and so opened with folding leaves.

35 These were ornamented with designs of winged ones and palm-trees and open flowers, plated over with gold.

And he carved cherubims, and palm trees, and carved work standing very much out: and he overlaid all with golden plates in square work by rule.

36 And the inner space was walled with three lines of squared stones and a line of cedar-wood boards.

And he built the inner court with three rows of polished stones, and one row of beams of cedar.

37 In the fourth year the base of the house was put in its place, in the month Ziv.

In the fourth year was the house of the Lord founded in the month Zio:

38 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.

And in the eleventh year in the month Bul (which is the eighth month) the house was finished in all the works thereof, and in all the appurtenances thereof: and he was seven years in building it.