1 Kings 6
1 480 years after the Israeli people left Egypt, during the fourth year that Solomon ruled Israel, early in May, Solomon’s workers began to build the temple.
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 Inside, [the main part of] the temple was 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet 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 entrance room was 15 feet long and 30 feet wide, just as wide as the main part of the temple.
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 There were windows in [the walls of] the temple. The windows were narrower on the outside than on the inside.
And he made in the temple oblique windows.
5 Against the two sides and against the back of the temple walls, they built a structure/building that had rooms in it. [This structure had three levels/stories and each was 7-1/2 feet high].
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 [Each room in] the lowest level/story was 7-1/2 feet wide. [Each room in] the middle level/story was nine feet wide. [The rooms in] the top level/story were 10-1/2 feet wide. The wall of the temple at the top level/story was thinner than the wall at the middle level/story, and the wall of the middle level/story was thinner than the wall at the bottom level/story. The result was that the rooms could be supported by the wall underneath them, and did not require wooden beams to support them.
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 The huge stones for [the foundation of] the temple were cut and shaped at the quarry [to become very smooth]. The result was that while the workers were building the temple there was no noise, because they did not use hammers or chisels or any other iron tools there.
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 entrance to the bottom level/story [of that attached structure] was on the south side of the temple. There were stairs from the bottom level/story to the middle and top level/story.
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 Solomon’s [workers] finished building the [framework of the] temple. They made the ceiling from cedar beams and boards.
So he built the house, and finished it: and he covered the house with roofs of cedar.
10 They built the structure that had three levels/stories, that was against the walls of the temple. Each level/story was 7-1/2 feet high, and was joined to the temple with cedar beams.
And he built a floor over all the house five cubits in height, and he covered the house with timber of cedar.
11 Then Yahweh said this to Solomon:
And the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying:
12 “[I want to tell you] about this temple that you are building. If you continually obey all my statutes and laws and commands, I will do for you what I promised to your father David.
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 I will live among the Israeli people, [in this temple, ] and I will never abandon them.”
And I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel.
14 Solomon’s [workers] finished building the temple.
So Solomon built the house and finished it.
15 On the inside, they lined/covered the walls with cedar boards. They lined/covered them from the floor to the ceiling. They made the floor from cypress boards.
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 Inside the back part of the temple they built an inner room, called the Very Holy Place. It was 30 feet long. All the walls of this room were lined with cedar boards.
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 In front of the Very Holy Place there was a room that was 60 feet long.
And the temple itself before the doors of the oracle was forty cubits long.
18 The cedar [boards on the walls] inside the temple were decorated with carvings of gourds and flowers. [The walls were] completely covered with cedar boards, with the result that the stones [of the walls behind them] could not be seen.
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 At the back of the temple they made the Very Holy Place, where the Sacred Chest would be put.
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 That room was 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 30 feet high. They covered the walls with [very thin sheets of] pure gold. [For burning incense] they also made an altar of cedar [boards].
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 told them to cover the other walls inside the temple with [very thin sheets of] pure gold and to fasten gold chains across the entrance to the Very Holy Place.
And the house before the oracle he overlaid with most pure gold, and fastened on the plates with nails of gold.
22 They covered all the walls of the temple and the altar that was outside the Very Holy Place with [very thin sheets of] 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 Inside the Very Holy Place, they made from olive tree wood [large statues of] two creatures with wings. Each one was 15 feet tall.
And he made in the oracle two cherubims of olive tree, of ten cubits in height.
24 They each were the same size and had the same shape. They each had two wings [which were spread out]. Each wing was 7-1/2 feet long, with the result that the distance between the outer ends of the two wings was 15 feet.
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.
The second cherub also was ten cubits: and the measure, and the work was the same in both the cherubims:
That is to say, one cherub was ten cubits high, and in like manner the other cherub.
27 They put those statues next to each other in the Very Holy Place so that the wing of the one touched the one wing of the other in the center of the room, and the outer wings touched the walls.
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 They covered the statues with [very thin sheets of] gold.
And he overlaid the cherubims with gold.
29 [Solomon told them to] decorate the walls of the main room and the Very Holy Place by carving representations of winged creatures and palm trees and 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 They also covered the floor of both rooms with [very thin sheets of] gold.
And the floor of the house he also overlaid with gold within and without.
31 They made a set of doors from olive tree wood, and placed them at the entrance to the Very Holy Place. The doorposts joined at the top to form a pointed arch.
And in the entrance of the oracle he made little doors of olive tree, and posts of five corners,
32 The doors were decorated by carving on them representations of winged creatures, palm trees, and flowers. All of these things were covered with [very thin sheets of] 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 They made a rectangular door frame from olive tree wood, and put it [between the entrance room and] the main room.
And he made in the entrance of the temple posts of olive tree foursquare:
34 They made two folding doors from cypress wood [and fastened them to the door frame].
And two doors of fir tree, one of each side: and each door was double, and so opened with folding leaves.
35 The doors were also decorated with wood carvings of winged creatures, palm trees, and flowers, and they were also covered evenly with [very thin sheets of] 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 They built a courtyard in front of the temple. The walls around the courtyard were made of cedar and stone; to make the walls, between each layer of cedar beams they put down two layers of stone.
And he built the inner court with three rows of polished stones, and one row of beams of cedar.
37 They laid the foundation of the temple of Yahweh in early May, in the fourth year [that Solomon ruled].
In the fourth year was the house of the Lord founded in the month Zio:
38 In the eleventh year [that he ruled], in the middle of October, they finished building the temple and all of its parts, doing exactly what Solomon told them to do. It required seven years to build 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.
