1 Kings 6
6
The Outside of the Temple Is Completed
1Solomon's workers started building the temple during Ziv,#6.1 Ziv: The second month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-April to mid-May. the second month of the year. It had been 4 years since Solomon became king of Israel, and 480 years since the people of Israel left Egypt.
2The inside of the Lord's temple was 27 meters long, 9 meters wide, and 13.5 meters high. 3A four-and-a-half-meter porch went all the way across the front of the temple. 4The windows were narrow on the outside but wide on the inside.
5-6Along the sides and back of the temple, there were three levels of storage rooms. The rooms on the bottom level were just over two meters wide, the rooms on the middle level were over two and a half meters wide, and those on the top level were just over three meters wide. There were ledges on the outside of the temple that supported the beams of the storage rooms, so that nothing was built into the temple walls.
7Solomon did not want the noise of hammers and axes to be heard at the place where the temple was being built. So he gave orders for the workers to shape the blocks of stone at the quarry.
8The entrance to the bottom storage rooms was on the south side of the building, and stairs to the other rooms were also there. 9The roof of the temple was made out of beams and cedar boards.
The workers finished building the outside of the temple. 10Storage rooms just over two meters high were all around the temple, and they were attached to the temple by cedar beams.
11The Lord told Solomon:
12-13If you obey my commands and do what I say, I will keep the promise I made to your father David. I will live among my people Israel in this temple you are building, and I will not desert them.
14So Solomon's workers finished building the temple.
The Inside of the Temple Is Furnished
(2 Chronicles 3.8-14)
15The floor of the temple was made out of pine, and the walls were lined with cedar from floor to ceiling.#6.15 from floor to ceiling: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
16 #
Ex 26.31-34. The most holy place was in the back of the temple, and it was nine meters square. Cedar boards standing from floor to ceiling#6.16 standing … ceiling: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. separated it from the rest of the temple. 17The temple's main room was 18 meters long, and it was in front of the most holy place.
18The inside walls were lined with cedar to hide the stones, and the cedar was decorated with carvings of gourds and flowers.
19The sacred chest was kept in the most holy place. 20-22#Ex 30.1-3. This room was nine meters long, nine meters wide, and nine meters high, and it was lined with pure gold. There were also gold chains across the front of the most holy place. The inside of the temple, as well as the cedar altar in the most holy place, was covered with gold.
23 #
Ex 25.18-20. Solomon had two statues of winged creatures#6.23 statues of winged creatures: These were symbols of the Lord's throne on earth (see Exodus 25.18-22). made from olive wood to put in the most holy place. Each creature was four and a half meters tall 24-26and four and a half meters across. They had two wings, and the wings were just over two meters long. 27Solomon put them next to each other in the most holy place. Their wings were spread out and reached across the room. 28The creatures were also covered with gold.
29The walls of the two rooms were decorated with carvings of palm trees, flowers, and winged creatures. 30Even the floor was covered with gold.
31-32The two doors to the most holy place were made out of olive wood and were decorated with carvings of palm trees, flowers, and winged creatures. The doors and the carvings were covered with gold. The door frame came to a point at the top.
33-34The two doors to the main room of the temple were made out of pine, and each one had two sections#6.33,34 two sections: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. so they could fold open. The door frame was shaped like a rectangle and was made out of olive wood. 35The doors were covered with gold and were decorated with carvings of palm trees, flowers, and winged creatures.
36The inner courtyard of the temple had walls made out of three layers of cut stones with one layer of cedar beams.
37Work began on the temple during Ziv,#6.37 Ziv: See the note at 6.1. the second month of the year, four years after Solomon became king of Israel. 38Seven years later the workers finished building it during Bul,#6.38 Bul: The eighth month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-October to mid-November. the eighth month of the year. It was built exactly as it had been planned.
Currently Selected:
1 Kings 6: CEVDCI
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
1 Kings 6
6
Solomon Builds the Temple
1So in the month of Ziv, the second month of the year, during Solomon’s fourth year as king, he began work on the Temple. This was 480 years after the Israelites left Egypt.#6:1 480 years … Egypt This was about 960 B.C. 2The Temple was 60 cubits#6:2 60 cubits 102' 3/8" (31.1 m). long, 20 cubits#6:2 20 cubits 34' 1/8" (10.37 m). Also in verses 16, 20. wide, and 30 cubits#6:2 30 cubits 51' 3/16" (15.55 m). The ancient Greek version has “25 cubits.” high. 3The porch of the Temple was 20 cubits long and 10 cubits#6:3 10 cubits 17' 1/16" (5.18 m). Also in verses 23, 24-26. wide. The porch ran along the front of the main part of the Temple itself. Its length was equal to the width of the Temple. 4There were narrow windows in the Temple. These windows were smaller on the inside of the wall than on the outside.#6:4 These windows … outside Or “These windows had lattice work over them.” 5Then Solomon built a row of rooms around the main part of the Temple. This row of rooms was three stories tall with the rooms built one above the other. 6The rooms touched the Temple wall, but their beams were not built into that wall. The Temple wall became thinner at the top, so the rooms on the upper floors were larger than the ones below them. The rooms on the bottom floor were 5 cubits#6:6 5 cubits 8' 6" (2.6 m). Also in verses 10, 24-26. wide. The rooms on the middle floor were 6 cubits#6:6 6 cubits 10' 2 7/16" (3.11 m). wide. The rooms above that were 7 cubits#6:6 7 cubits 11' 10 13/16" (3.63 m). wide. 7The stones were completely finished before they were brought into the Temple area, so there was no noise of hammers, axes, or any other iron tools in the Temple.
8The entrance to these rooms was on bottom floor at the south side of the Temple. Inside there were stairs that went up to the second floor and from there to the third floor.
9Solomon finished building the main part of the Temple and then covered it inside with cedar boards. 10Then he finished building the rooms around the Temple. Each story was 5 cubits tall. The cedar beams in these rooms rested on a ledge of the Temple wall.
11The Lord said to Solomon, 12“If you obey all my laws and commands, I will do for you what I promised your father David. 13I will live among the children of Israel in this Temple that you are building, and I will never leave the people of Israel.”
14When Solomon finished the stonework on the Temple, 15the stone walls inside the Temple were covered with cedar boards from floor to ceiling. Then the stone floor was covered with pine boards. 16They built an inner room 20 cubits long in the back part of the Temple. This room was called the Most Holy Place. They covered the walls in this room with cedar boards, from floor to ceiling. 17In front of the Most Holy Place was the main part of the Temple. This room was 40 cubits#6:17 40 cubits 68' 1/4" (20.73 m). long. 18They covered the walls in this room with cedar boards—none of the stones in the walls could be seen. They carved pictures of flowers and gourds into the cedar.
19Solomon finished the inner room in the back part of the Temple. This room was for the Box of the Lord’s Agreement. 20This room was 20 cubits long, 20 cubits wide, and 20 cubits high. Solomon covered this room with pure gold. He also covered the cedar altar with gold. 21He covered the inside of the Temple with pure gold and wrapped gold chains around it. 22The inside of the Temple was covered with gold, and the altar in front of the Most Holy Place was covered with gold.
23The workers made two statues of Cherub angels with wings. They made the statues from olive wood and put them in the Most Holy Place. Each angel was 10 cubits tall. 24-26Both Cherub angels were the same size and built the same way. Each one had two wings. Each wing was 5 cubits long. From the end of one wing to the end of the other wing was 10 cubits. And each Cherub angel was 10 cubits tall. 27They put the Cherub angels beside one another in the Most Holy Place. Their wings touched each other in the middle of the room. The other two wings touched each side wall. 28The two Cherub angels were covered with gold.
29The walls around the main room and the inner room were carved with pictures of Cherub angels, palm trees, and flowers. 30The floor of both rooms was covered with gold.
31The workers made two doors from olive wood. They put these doors at the entrance of the Most Holy Place. The frame around the doors was made with five sides.#6:31 The frame … sides This probably means there were three sections that formed an arch at the top of the door. 32They made the two doors from olive wood. The workers carved pictures of Cherub angels, palm trees, and flowers on the doors. Then they covered the doors with gold.
33They also made doors for the entrance to the main room. They used olive wood to make a square doorframe. 34There were two doors made from pine. Each door had two parts that folded together. 35They carved pictures of Cherub angels, palm trees, and flowers on the doors. Then they covered them with gold.
36Then they built a wall around the inner yard. Each wall was made from three rows of cut stones and one row of cedar timbers.
37They started working on the Lord’s Temple in the month of Ziv, the second month of the year. This was during Solomon’s fourth year as king of Israel. 38The Temple was finished in the month of Bul, the eighth month of the year, in Solomon’s eleventh year as king. It took seven years to build the Temple. It was built exactly as planned.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 1987, 2004 Bible League International