Preparations for Building the Temple^(A)

5 ^[a]When Hiram^(B) king of Tyre heard that Solomon had been anointed king to succeed his father David, he sent his envoys to Solomon, because he had always been on friendly terms with David. ² Solomon sent back this message to Hiram:

⁷ When Hiram heard Solomon’s message, he was greatly pleased and said, “Praise be to the Lord^(K) today, for he has given David a wise son to rule over this great nation.”

⁸ So Hiram sent word to Solomon:

¹⁰ In this way Hiram kept Solomon supplied with all the cedar and juniper logs he wanted, ¹¹ and Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand cors^[b] of wheat as food^(N) for his household, in addition to twenty thousand baths^[c][d] of pressed olive oil. Solomon continued to do this for Hiram year after year. ¹² The Lord gave Solomon wisdom,^(O) just as he had promised him. There were peaceful relations between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.^(P)

¹³ King Solomon conscripted laborers^(Q) from all Israel—thirty thousand men. ¹⁴ He sent them off to Lebanon in shifts of ten thousand a month, so that they spent one month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram^(R) was in charge of the forced labor. ¹⁵ Solomon had seventy thousand carriers and eighty thousand stonecutters in the hills, ¹⁶ as well as thirty-three hundred^[e] foremen^(S) who supervised the project and directed the workers. ¹⁷ At the king’s command they removed from the quarry^(T) large blocks of high-grade stone^(U) to provide a foundation of dressed stone for the temple. ¹⁸ The craftsmen of Solomon and Hiram^(V) and workers from Byblos^(W) cut and prepared the timber and stone for the building of the temple.

Solomon Builds the Temple^(X)

6 In the four hundred and eightieth^[f] year after the Israelites came out of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the second month,^(Y) he began to build the temple of the Lord.^(Z)

² The temple^(AA) that King Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits long, twenty wide and thirty high.^{[g] 3} The portico^(AB) at the front of the main hall of the temple extended the width of the temple, that is twenty cubits,^[h] and projected ten cubits^[i] from the front of the temple. ⁴ He made narrow windows^(AC) high up in the temple walls. ⁵ Against the walls of the main hall and inner sanctuary he built a structure around the building, in which there were side rooms.^{(AD) 6} The lowest floor was five cubits^[j] wide, the middle floor six cubits^[k] and the third floor seven.^[l] He made offset ledges around the outside of the temple so that nothing would be inserted into the temple walls.

⁷ In building the temple, only blocks dressed^(AE) at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool^(AF) was heard at the temple site while it was being built.

⁸ The entrance to the lowest^[m] floor was on the south side of the temple; a stairway led up to the middle level and from there to the third. ⁹ So he built the temple and completed it, roofing it with beams and cedar^(AG) planks. ¹⁰ And he built the side rooms all along the temple. The height of each was five cubits, and they were attached to the temple by beams of cedar.

¹¹ The word of the Lord came^(AH) to Solomon: ¹² “As for this temple you are building, if you follow my decrees, observe my laws and keep all my commands^(AI) and obey them, I will fulfill through you the promise^(AJ) I gave to David your father. ¹³ And I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon^(AK) my people Israel.”

¹⁴ So Solomon^(AL) built the temple and completed^(AM) it. ¹⁵ He lined its interior walls with cedar boards, paneling them from the floor of the temple to the ceiling,^(AN) and covered the floor of the temple with planks of juniper.^{(AO) 16} He partitioned off twenty cubits at the rear of the temple with cedar boards from floor to ceiling to form within the temple an inner sanctuary, the Most Holy Place.^{(AP) 17} The main hall in front of this room was forty cubits^[n] long. ¹⁸ The inside of the temple was cedar,^(AQ) carved with gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; no stone was to be seen.

¹⁹ He prepared the inner sanctuary^(AR) within the temple to set the ark of the covenant^(AS) of the Lord there. ²⁰ The inner sanctuary^(AT) was twenty cubits long, twenty wide and twenty high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold, and he also overlaid the altar of cedar.^{(AU) 21} Solomon covered the inside of the temple with pure gold, and he extended gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, which was overlaid with gold. ²² So he overlaid the whole interior with gold. He also overlaid with gold the altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary.

²³ For the inner sanctuary he made a pair of cherubim^(AV) out of olive wood, each ten cubits high. ²⁴ One wing of the first cherub was five cubits long, and the other wing five cubits—ten cubits from wing tip to wing tip. ²⁵ The second cherub also measured ten cubits, for the two cherubim were identical in size and shape. ²⁶ The height of each cherub was ten cubits. ²⁷ He placed the cherubim^(AW) inside the innermost room of the temple, with their wings spread out. The wing of one cherub touched one wall, while the wing of the other touched the other wall, and their wings touched each other in the middle of the room. ²⁸ He overlaid the cherubim with gold.

²⁹ On the walls^(AX) all around the temple, in both the inner and outer rooms, he carved cherubim,^(AY) palm trees and open flowers. ³⁰ He also covered the floors of both the inner and outer rooms of the temple with gold.

³¹ For the entrance to the inner sanctuary he made doors out of olive wood that were one fifth of the width of the sanctuary. ³² And on the two olive-wood doors^(AZ) he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid the cherubim and palm trees with hammered gold. ³³ In the same way, for the entrance to the main hall he made doorframes out of olive wood that were one fourth of the width of the hall. ³⁴ He also made two doors out of juniper wood, each having two leaves that turned in sockets. ³⁵ He carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers on them and overlaid them with gold hammered evenly over the carvings.

³⁶ And he built the inner courtyard^(BA) of three courses^(BB) of dressed stone and one course of trimmed cedar beams.

³⁷ The foundation of the temple of the Lord was laid in the fourth year, in the month of Ziv. ³⁸ In the eleventh year in the month of Bul, the eighth month, the temple was finished in all its details^(BC) according to its specifications.^(BD) He had spent seven years building it.

Preparations for Building the Temple^(A)

2 ^[a]Solomon gave orders to build a temple^(B) for the Name of the Lord and a royal palace for himself.^{(C) 2} He conscripted 70,000 men as carriers and 80,000 as stonecutters in the hills and 3,600 as foremen over them.^(D)

³ Solomon sent this message to Hiram^[b](E) king of Tyre:

¹¹ Hiram king of Tyre replied by letter to Solomon:

¹² And Hiram added:

¹⁷ Solomon took a census of all the foreigners^(AA) residing in Israel, after the census^(AB) his father David had taken; and they were found to be 153,600. ¹⁸ He assigned^(AC) 70,000 of them to be carriers and 80,000 to be stonecutters in the hills, with 3,600 foremen over them to keep the people working.

Solomon Builds the Temple^(AD)

3 Then Solomon began to build^(AE) the temple of the Lord^(AF) in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David. It was on the threshing floor of Araunah^[g](AG) the Jebusite, the place provided by David. ² He began building on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign.^(AH)

³ The foundation Solomon laid for building the temple of God was sixty cubits long and twenty cubits wide^[h](AI) (using the cubit of the old standard). ⁴ The portico at the front of the temple was twenty cubits^[i] long across the width of the building and twenty^[j] cubits high.

He overlaid the inside with pure gold. ⁵ He paneled the main hall with juniper and covered it with fine gold and decorated it with palm tree^(AJ) and chain designs. ⁶ He adorned the temple with precious stones. And the gold he used was gold of Parvaim. ⁷ He overlaid the ceiling beams, doorframes, walls and doors of the temple with gold, and he carved cherubim^(AK) on the walls.

⁸ He built the Most Holy Place,^(AL) its length corresponding to the width of the temple—twenty cubits long and twenty cubits wide. He overlaid the inside with six hundred talents^[k] of fine gold. ⁹ The gold nails^(AM) weighed fifty shekels.^[l] He also overlaid the upper parts with gold.

¹⁰ For the Most Holy Place he made a pair^(AN) of sculptured cherubim and overlaid them with gold. ¹¹ The total wingspan of the cherubim was twenty cubits. One wing of the first cherub was five cubits^[m] long and touched the temple wall, while its other wing, also five cubits long, touched the wing of the other cherub. ¹² Similarly one wing of the second cherub was five cubits long and touched the other temple wall, and its other wing, also five cubits long, touched the wing of the first cherub. ¹³ The wings of these cherubim^(AO) extended twenty cubits. They stood on their feet, facing the main hall.^[n]

¹⁴ He made the curtain^(AP) of blue, purple and crimson yarn and fine linen, with cherubim^(AQ) worked into it.

¹⁵ For the front of the temple he made two pillars,^(AR) which together were thirty-five cubits^[o] long, each with a capital^(AS) five cubits high. ¹⁶ He made interwoven chains^[p](AT) and put them on top of the pillars. He also made a hundred pomegranates^(AU) and attached them to the chains. ¹⁷ He erected the pillars in the front of the temple, one to the south and one to the north. The one to the south he named Jakin^[q] and the one to the north Boaz.^[r]

The Temple’s Furnishings^(AV)

4 He made a bronze altar^(AW) twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide and ten cubits high.^{[s] 2} He made the Sea^(AX) of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits^[t] high. It took a line of thirty cubits^[u] to measure around it. ³ Below the rim, figures of bulls encircled it—ten to a cubit.^[v] The bulls were cast in two rows in one piece with the Sea.

⁴ The Sea stood on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east.^(AY) The Sea rested on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center. ⁵ It was a handbreadth^[w] in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held three thousand baths.^[x]

⁶ He then made ten basins^(AZ) for washing and placed five on the south side and five on the north. In them the things to be used for the burnt offerings^(BA) were rinsed, but the Sea was to be used by the priests for washing.

⁷ He made ten gold lampstands^(BB) according to the specifications^(BC) for them and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north.

⁸ He made ten tables^(BD) and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. He also made a hundred gold sprinkling bowls.^(BE)

⁹ He made the courtyard^(BF) of the priests, and the large court and the doors for the court, and overlaid the doors with bronze. ¹⁰ He placed the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner.

¹¹ And Huram also made the pots and shovels and sprinkling bowls.

So Huram finished^(BG) the work he had undertaken for King Solomon in the temple of God:

All the objects that Huram-Abi^(BI) made for King Solomon for the temple of the Lord were of polished bronze. ¹⁷ The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Sukkoth^(BJ) and Zarethan.^{[y] 18} All these things that Solomon made amounted to so much that the weight of the bronze^(BK) could not be calculated.

¹⁹ Solomon also made all the furnishings that were in God’s temple:

5 When all the work Solomon had done for the temple of the Lord was finished,^(BP) he brought in the things his father David had dedicated^(BQ)—the silver and gold and all the furnishings—and he placed them in the treasuries of God’s temple.