1 Kings 6
6
1 AND 480 years after the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the second month, Ziv, he began to build the Lord's house.
2 The length of the house Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits, its breadth twenty, and its height thirty cubits.
3 The length of the vestibule in front of the temple was twenty cubits, equal to the width of the house, and its depth in front of the house was ten cubits.
4 For the house he made narrow [latticed] windows.
5 Against the wall of the house he built chambers running round the walls of the house both of the Holy Place and of the Holy of Holies; and he made side chambers all around.
6 The first story's side chambers were five cubits wide, those of the middle story six cubits wide, and of the third story seven cubits wide; for around the outside of the wall of the house he made offsets in order that the supporting beams should not be thrust into the walls of the house.
7 When the house was being built, its stone was made ready at the quarry, and no hammer, ax, or tool of iron was heard in the house while it was in building.
8 The entrance to the lowest side chamber was on the right [or south] side of the house; and one went up winding stairs into the middle chamber and from the middle into the third.
9 So Solomon built the temple building and finished it, and roofed the house with beams and boards of cedar.
10 Then he built the stories of chambers [the lean-to] against all the house, each [story] five cubits high; and it was joined to the house with timbers of cedar.
11 Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying,
12 Concerning this house which you are building, if you will walk in My statutes, execute My precepts, and keep all My commandments to walk in them, then I will fulfill to you My promises which I made to David your father.
13 And I will dwell among the Israelites and will not forsake My people Israel.
14 So Solomon built the house and finished it.
15 He built the walls of the house (the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies) within with boards of cedar, from the floor of the house to the rafters of the ceiling. He covered the inside with wood, and the floor of the house with boards of cypress.
16 He built twenty cubits of the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the rafters; he built it within for the sanctuary, the Holy of Holies.
17 The [rest of the] house, that is, the temple in front of the Holy of Holies, was forty cubits long.
18 The cedar on the house within was carved with gourds and open flowers. All was cedar; no stone was visible.
19 And he prepared the Holy of Holies in the inner room in which to set the ark of the covenant of the Lord.
20 The Holy of Holies was twenty cubits in length, in breadth, and in height. He overlaid it with pure gold. He also overlaid the cedar altar.
21 Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold, and he drew chains of gold across in front of the Holy of Holies and overlaid it with gold.
22 And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until all the house was finished. Also the whole [incense] altar that [stood outside the door but] belonged to the Holy of Holies he overlaid with gold.
23 Within the Holy of Holies he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high.
24 Five cubits was the length of one wing of the cherub and five cubits its other wing; from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other was ten cubits.
25 The wings of the other cherub were also ten cubits. Both cherubim were the same,
26 The height of one cherub ten cubits, as was the other.
27 He put the cherubim within the inner sanctuary. Their wings were stretched out, so that the wing of one touched one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall, and their inner wings touched in the midst of the room.
28 Solomon overlaid the cherubim with gold.
29 He carved all the walls of the house (these two holy rooms) round about with figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, within and without.
30 The floor of the house he overlaid with gold, inside and out.
31 For the Holy of Holies he made [folding] doors of olive wood; their entire width was one-fifth that of the wall.
32 On the two doors of olive wood he carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers; he overlaid them with gold, and spread gold on the cherubim and palm trees.
33 Also he made for the door of the Holy Place four-sided posts of olive wood.
34 The two doors were of cypress wood; the two leaves of each door were folding.
35 He carved on them cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, covered with gold evenly applied on the carved work.
36 He built the inner court with three rows of hewn stone and a row of cedar beams.
37 In the fourth year the foundation of the Lord's house was laid, in the [second] month, Ziv.
38 In the eleventh year, in Bul, the eighth month, the house was finished throughout according to all its specifications. So he was seven years in building it.
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1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
1 Kings 6
6
Solomon Builds the Temple
1It was in midspring, in the month of Ziv,#6:1 Hebrew It was in the month of Ziv, which is the second month. This month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar usually occurs within the months of April and May. during the fourth year of Solomon’s reign, that he began to construct the Temple of the Lord. This was 480 years after the people of Israel were rescued from their slavery in the land of Egypt.
2The Temple that King Solomon built for the Lord was 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high.#6:2 Hebrew 60 cubits [27.6 meters] long, 20 cubits [9.2 meters] wide, and 30 cubits [13.8 meters] high. 3The entry room at the front of the Temple was 30 feet#6:3a Hebrew 20 cubits [9.2 meters]; also in 6:16, 20. wide, running across the entire width of the Temple. It projected outward 15 feet#6:3b Hebrew 10 cubits [4.6 meters]. from the front of the Temple. 4Solomon also made narrow recessed windows throughout the Temple.
5He built a complex of rooms against the outer walls of the Temple, all the way around the sides and rear of the building. 6The complex was three stories high, the bottom floor being 7-1/2 feet wide, the second floor 9 feet wide, and the top floor 10-1/2 feet wide.#6:6 Hebrew the bottom floor being 5 cubits [2.3 meters] wide, the second floor 6 cubits [2.8 meters] wide, and the top floor 7 cubits [3.2 meters] wide. The rooms were connected to the walls of the Temple by beams resting on ledges built out from the wall. So the beams were not inserted into the walls themselves.
7The stones used in the construction of the Temple were finished at the quarry, so there was no sound of hammer, ax, or any other iron tool at the building site.
8The entrance to the bottom floor#6:8 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads middle floor. was on the south side of the Temple. There were winding stairs going up to the second floor, and another flight of stairs between the second and third floors. 9After completing the Temple structure, Solomon put in a ceiling made of cedar beams and planks. 10As already stated, he built a complex of rooms along the sides of the building, attached to the Temple walls by cedar timbers. Each story of the complex was 7-1/2 feet#6:10 Hebrew 5 cubits [2.3 meters]. high.
11Then the Lord gave this message to Solomon: 12“Concerning this Temple you are building, if you keep all my decrees and regulations and obey all my commands, I will fulfill through you the promise I made to your father, David. 13I will live among the Israelites and will never abandon my people Israel.”
The Temple’s Interior
14So Solomon finished building the Temple. 15The entire inside, from floor to ceiling, was paneled with wood. He paneled the walls and ceilings with cedar, and he used planks of cypress for the floors. 16He partitioned off an inner sanctuary—the Most Holy Place—at the far end of the Temple. It was 30 feet deep and was paneled with cedar from floor to ceiling. 17The main room of the Temple, outside the Most Holy Place, was 60 feet#6:17 Hebrew 40 cubits [18.4 meters]. long. 18Cedar paneling completely covered the stone walls throughout the Temple, and the paneling was decorated with carvings of gourds and open flowers.
19He prepared the inner sanctuary at the far end of the Temple, where the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant would be placed. 20This inner sanctuary was 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 30 feet high. He overlaid the inside with solid gold. He also overlaid the altar made of cedar.#6:20 Or overlaid the altar with cedar. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. 21Then Solomon overlaid the rest of the Temple’s interior with solid gold, and he made gold chains to protect the entrance#6:21 Or to draw curtains across. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. to the Most Holy Place. 22So he finished overlaying the entire Temple with gold, including the altar that belonged to the Most Holy Place.
23He made two cherubim of wild olive#6:23a Or pine; Hebrew reads oil tree; also in 6:31, 33. wood, each 15 feet#6:23b Hebrew 10 cubits [4.6 meters]; also in 6:24, 26. tall, and placed them in the inner sanctuary. 24The wingspan of each of the cherubim was 15 feet, each wing being 7-1/2 feet#6:24 Hebrew 5 cubits [2.3 meters]. long. 25The two cherubim were identical in shape and size; 26each was 15 feet tall. 27He placed them side by side in the inner sanctuary of the Temple. Their outspread wings reached from wall to wall, while their inner wings touched at the center of the room. 28He overlaid the two cherubim with gold.
29He decorated all the walls of the inner sanctuary and the main room with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. 30He overlaid the floor in both rooms with gold.
31For the entrance to the inner sanctuary, he made double doors of wild olive wood with five-sided doorposts.#6:31 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. 32These double doors were decorated with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. The doors, including the decorations of cherubim and palm trees, were overlaid with gold.
33Then he made four-sided doorposts of wild olive wood for the entrance to the Temple. 34There were two folding doors of cypress wood, and each door was hinged to fold back upon itself. 35These doors were decorated with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers—all overlaid evenly with gold.
36The walls of the inner courtyard were built so that there was one layer of cedar beams between every three layers of finished stone.
37The foundation of the Lord’s Temple was laid in midspring, in the month of Ziv,#6:37 Hebrew was laid in the month of Ziv. This month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar usually occurs within the months of April and May. during the fourth year of Solomon’s reign. 38The entire building was completed in every detail by midautumn, in the month of Bul,#6:38 Hebrew by the month of Bul, which is the eighth month. This month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar usually occurs within the months of October and November. during the eleventh year of his reign. So it took seven years to build the Temple.
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