1 Kings 6

1 And it comes to pass, in the four hundred and eightieth year of the going out of the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt, in the fourth year—in the month of Ziv, it [is] the second month—of the reigning of Solomon over Israel, that he builds the house for YHWH.

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 As for the house that King Solomon has built for YHWH, its length [is] sixty cubits, and its breadth twenty, and its height thirty cubits.

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 As for the porch on the front of the temple of the house, its length [is] twenty cubits on the front of the breadth of the house; its breadth [is] ten by the cubit on the front 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 makes frames of narrowing windows for the house.

And he made oblique windows in the temple.

5 And he builds a couch against the wall of the house all around, [even] the walls of the house all around, of the temple and of the oracle, and makes sides all around.

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 lowest couch, its breadth [is] five by the cubit; and the middle, its breadth [is] six by the cubit; and the third, its breadth [is] seven by the cubit, for he has put withdrawings of the house all around outside—not to lay hold on 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, in its being built, has been built of perfect stone [that was] brought; and hammer and the axe—any instrument of iron—was not heard in the house in its being built.

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 opening of the middle side [is] at the right shoulder of the house, and with windings they go up on the middle one, and from the middle one to 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 And he builds the house, and completes it, and covers the house [with] beams and rows of cedars.

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

10 And he builds the couch against all the house, its breadth [is] five cubits, and it takes hold of the house by cedar-wood.

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 YHWH is to Solomon, saying,

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

12 “This house that you are building—if you walk in My statutes, and do My judgments, indeed, have done all My commands, to walk in them, then I have established My word with you, which I spoke to your father David,

“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 have dwelt in the midst of the sons of Israel, and do 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 And Solomon builds the house and completes it;

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

15 and he builds the walls of the house within with beams of cedar, from the floor of the house to the walls of the ceiling; he has overlaid the inside with wood, and covers the floor of the house with ribs 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 builds the twenty cubits on the sides of the house with ribs of cedar, from the floor to the walls; and he builds for it within, for the oracle, 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 [this area of] the house was forty by the cubit; it [is the area of] the temple before My face.

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

18 And the cedar for the house within [is] carvings of knobs and openings of flowers; the whole [is] cedar, there is not a stone 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 he has prepared the oracle in the midst of the house within, to put the Ark of the Covenant of YHWH there.

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 before the oracle [is] twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and its height [is] twenty cubits; and he overlays it with gold refined, and overlays the altar with cedar.

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 overlays the house within with gold refined, and causes [it] to pass over in chains of gold before the oracle, and overlays 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 he has overlaid the whole of the house with gold, until the completion of all the house; and the whole of the altar that the oracle has, he has overlaid 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 he makes two cherubim of the oil-tree within the oracle; their height [is] ten cubits;

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

24 and the first wing of the cherub [is] five cubits, and the second wing of the cherub five cubits—ten cubits from the ends of his wings even to the ends of his wings;

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 second cherub [is] ten by the cubit; one measure and one form [are] of the two cherubim,

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 first cherub [is] ten by the cubit, and so [is] the second cherub;

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

27 and he sets the cherubim in the midst of the inner house, and they spread out the wings of the cherubim, and a wing of the first comes against the wall, and a wing of the second cherub is coming against the second wall, and their wings [stretched] into the midst of the house, coming wing against wing;

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 overlays the cherubim with gold,

He also overlaid the cherubim with gold.

29 and he has carved all around the walls of the house with engravings of carvings, cherubim, and palm trees, and openings of flowers, inside and outside.

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 he has overlaid the floor of the house with gold, inside and outside;

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

31 as for the opening of the oracle, he made doors of the oil-tree; the lintel [and] doorposts [are] a fifth [of the wall].

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

32 And the two doors [are] of the oil-tree, and he has carved on them carvings of cherubim, and palm-trees, and openings of flowers, and overlaid with gold, and he causes the gold to go down on the cherubim and on 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 And so he has made for the opening of the temple, doorposts of the oil-tree, from the fourth [of the wall].

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

34 And the two doors [are] of fir-tree, the two sides of the first door are revolving, and the two hangings of the second door are revolving.

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 has carved cherubim, and palms, and openings of flowers, and overlaid the carved work with straightened gold.

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 builds the inner court, three rows of hewn work, and a row of beams of cedar.

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

37 In the fourth year the house of YHWH has been founded, in the month of 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 of Bul (the eighth month), the house has been finished in all its matters, and in all its ordinances, and he builds it [in] 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.