1 Kings 6

1 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.

Then it happened that, in the four hundred and eightieth year after the sons of Israel departed from the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of the reign of Solomon over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, the house of the Lord began to be built.

2 And the house which king Solomon built unto the Lord, was sixty cubits in length, and twenty in breadth, and thirty cubits in height.

Now the house, which king Solomon was building to the Lord, was sixty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in width, and thirty cubits in height.

3 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.

And a portico was before the temple, of twenty cubits in length, in accord with the measure of the width of the temple. And it had ten cubits of width before the face of the temple.

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

And he made oblique windows in the temple.

5 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.

And upon the wall of the temple, he built panels on all sides, in the walls of the house around the temple and the oracle. And he made side chambers all around.

6 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.

The flooring on the bottom level held five cubits in width, and the middle floor was six cubits in width, and the third floor held seven cubits in width. Then he positioned beams on the house all around the outside, in such a way that they would not be fastened to the walls of the temple.

7 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.

Now the house, while it was being built, was made from cut and finished stones. And so, neither mallet, nor chisel, nor any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was being built.

8 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.

The door at the side of the middle section was to the right of the house. And they would ascend along winding stairs to the middle level, and from the middle level to the third level.

9 So he built the house, and finished it; and covered the house with hollow tiles, and with boards of cedar.

And he built the house, and finished it. And he overlaid the house with boards of cedar.

10 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.

And he built a paneling over the entire house, five cubits in height, and he covered the house with cedar wood.

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

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

12 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.

“Concerning this house, which you are building: if you will walk in my precepts, and carry out my judgments, and keep all my commandments, advancing by them, I will confirm my word to you, which I spoke to your father David.

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

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

14 So did Solomon build the house, and finish it.

And so, Solomon built the house, and finished it.

15 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.

And he built the walls of the house, on the interior, with panels of cedar, from the floor of the house, to the top of the walls, and even to the ceiling. He covered it with cedar wood on the interior. And he overlaid the floor of the house with panels of spruce.

16 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.

And he built panels of cedar, of twenty cubits, at the back part of the temple, from the floor even to the top. And he made the inner house of the oracle as the Holy of Holies.

17 And the house, that is, the temple before it, was forty cubits long.

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

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

And the entire house was clothed with cedar on the interior, having its turnings and junctures artfully wrought, with carvings projecting outward. Everything was clothed with panels of cedar. And no stone at all was able to be seen in the wall.

19 And the debir in the house within did he prepare, to set therein the ark of the covenant of the Lord.

Now he made the oracle in the middle of the house, in the inner part, so that he might station the ark of the covenant of the Lord there.

20 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.

And the oracle held twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in width, and twenty cubits in height. And he covered and clothed it with the purest gold. Then, too, he clothed the altar in cedar.

21 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.

Also, the house before the oracle, he covered with the purest gold, and he fastened the plates with nails of gold.

22 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.

And there was nothing in the temple that was not covered with gold. Moreover, the entire altar of the oracle he overlaid with gold.

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

And he made in the oracle two cherubim from wood of the olive tree, of ten cubits in height.

24 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.

One wing of a cherub was five cubits, and the other wing of a cherub was five cubits, that is, having ten cubits from the summit of one wing even to the summit of the other wing.

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

Likewise, the second cherub was ten cubits. And the measure was equal and the work was one, in the two cherubim,

26 The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so that of the other cherub.

that is, one cherub had a height of ten cubits, and similarly the second cherub.

27 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.

And he stationed the cherubim in the middle of the inner temple. And the cherubim extended their wings, and the wing of the one was touching the wall, and the wing of the second cherub was touching the other wall. But the other wings, in the middle of the temple, were touching each another.

28 And he overlaid the cherubim with gold.

He also overlaid the cherubim with gold.

29 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.

And all the walls of the temple all around he engraved with diverse carvings and turnings. And he made in them cherubim, and palm trees, and various images, as if these were projecting out, and going forth from, the wall.

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

Then, too, the floor of the house he overlaid with gold within and without.

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

And at the entrance of the oracle, he made little doors, from wood of the olive tree, with posts of five corners.

32 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.

And there were two doors, from wood of the olive tree. And he carved upon them pictures of cherubim, and images of palm trees, and very prominent figures. And he overlaid these with gold. And he covered the cherubim, as well as the palm trees and the other things, with gold.

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

And he made, at the entrance of the temple, posts from wood of the olive tree, with four corners,

34 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.

and two doors, from wood of the spruce tree, on the other side. And each door was double, and so it opened by folding upon itself.

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

And he carved cherubim, and palm trees, and very prominent engravings. And he covered everything with gold plates, worked to be perfectly square.

36 And he built the inner court of three rows of hewn stone, and one row of cedar beams.

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

37 In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the Lord laid, in the month Ziv;

In the fourth year, the house of the Lord was founded, in the month of Ziv.

38 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.

And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was perfected in all its works and in all its equipment. And he built it for seven years.