1 Kings 6

1 So Solomon began to build the temple of Yahweh. This happened in the 480th year after the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month.

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.

2 The temple that King Solomon built for Yahweh was sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high.

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.

3 The portico in front of the temple's main hall was twenty cubits in length, equal to the width of the temple, and ten cubits deep in front of the temple.

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;

4 For the house he made windows with frames that made them more narrow at the outside than on the inside.

and he makes frames of narrowing windows for the house.

5 Against the walls of the main chamber he built rooms around it, around both the outer room and the inner room. He built rooms all around the sides.

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.

6 The lowest story was five cubits wide, the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide. For on the outside he made offsets in the wall of the house all around so that the beams would not be inserted in the walls of the house.

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.

7 The house was built of stones prepared at the quarry. No hammer, ax, or any iron tool was heard in the house while it was being built.

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.

8 On the south side of the temple there was an entrance at the ground level, then one went up by stairs to the middle level, and from the middle to the third level.

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.

9 So Solomon built the temple and finished it; he covered the house with beams and planks of cedar.

And he builds the house, and completes it, and covers the house [with] beams and rows of cedars.

10 He built the side rooms against the inner chambers of the temple, each side five cubits high; they were joined to the house with timbers of cedar.

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

11 The word of Yahweh came to Solomon, saying,

And the word of YHWH is to Solomon, saying,

12 “Concerning this temple which you are building, if you walk in my statutes and do justice, keep all my commandments and walk in them, then I will confirm my promise with you that I had made to David your father.

“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,

13 I will live among the people of Israel and will not forsake them.”

and have dwelt in the midst of the sons of Israel, and do not forsake My people Israel.”

14 So Solomon built the house and finished it.

And Solomon builds the house and completes it;

15 Then he built the interior walls of the house with boards of cedar. From the floor of the house to the ceiling, he covered them on the inside with wood, and he covered the floor of the house with cypress boards.

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.

16 He built twenty cubits onto the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the ceiling. He built this room to be the inner room, the most holy place.

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.

17 The main hall, that is, the holy place that was in front of the most holy place, was forty cubits long.

And [this area of] the house was forty by the cubit; it [is the area of] the temple before My face.

18 There was cedar inside the house, carved in the shape of gourds and open flowers. All was cedar inside. No stonework was visible on the inside.

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.

19 Solomon prepared the inner room inside the house in order to place the ark of the covenant of Yahweh there.

And he has prepared the oracle in the midst of the house within, to put the Ark of the Covenant of YHWH there.

20 The inner room was twenty cubits in length, twenty cubits in width, and twenty cubits in height. Solomon overlaid the walls with pure gold and covered the altar with cedar wood.

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.

21 Solomon overlaid the inside of the temple with pure gold, and he placed chains of gold across the front of the inner room, and overlaid the front with gold.

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.

22 He overlaid the entire interior with gold until all the temple was finished. He also overlaid with gold the whole altar that belonged to the inner room.

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.

23 Solomon made two cherubim of olivewood, each ten cubits high, for the inner room.

And he makes two cherubim of the oil-tree within the oracle; their height [is] ten cubits;

24 One wing of the first cherub was five cubits long and its other wing was also five cubits long. So from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other there was a distance of ten cubits.

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;

25 The other cherub also had a wingspan ten cubits. Both the cherubim were of the same dimensions and shape.

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

26 The height of one cherub was ten cubits and the other cherub was the same.

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

27 Solomon placed the cherubim in the innermost room. The wings of the cherubim were stretched out so that the wing of one touched one wall and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall. Their wings touched one another in the middle of the most holy place.

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;

28 Solomon overlaid the cherubim with gold.

and he overlays the cherubim with gold,

29 He carved all the walls of the house around about with figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, in the outer and inner rooms.

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.

30 Solomon overlaid the floor of the house with gold, in both the outer and inner rooms.

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

31 Solomon made doors of olivewood for the entrance to the inner room. The lintel and doorposts had five indented sections.

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

32 So he made two doors of olivewood, and he made on them carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. He overlaid them with gold and he spread the gold on the cherubim and palm trees.

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.

33 In this way, Solomon also made for the temple entrance doorposts of olive wood having four indented sections

And so he has made for the opening of the temple, doorposts of the oil-tree, from the fourth [of the wall].

34 and two doors of cypress wood. The two leaves of the one door were folding and the two leaves of the other door were folding.

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.

35 He carved on them cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and he evenly overlaid gold on the carved work.

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

36 He built the inner courtyard with three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams.

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

37 The foundation of the house of Yahweh was laid in the fourth year, in the month of Ziv.

In the fourth year the house of YHWH has been founded, in the month of Ziv,

38 In the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its parts and conforming to all its specifications. Solomon took seven years to build the temple.

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.