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1 Kings 6
New King James Version

Solomon Builds the Temple(A)

6 And (B)it came to pass in the four hundred and [a]eightieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of [b]Ziv, which is the second month, (C)that he began to build the house of the Lord. 2 Now (D)the house which King Solomon built for the Lord, its length was sixty cubits, its width twenty, and its height thirty cubits. 3 The vestibule in front of the [c]sanctuary of the house was [d]twenty cubits long across the width of the house, and the width of [e]the vestibule extended [f]ten cubits from the front of the house. 4 And he made for the house (E)windows with beveled frames.

5 Against the wall of the [g]temple he built (F)chambers all around, against the walls of the temple, all around the sanctuary (G)and the [h]inner sanctuary. Thus he made side chambers all around it. 6 The lowest chamber was five cubits wide, the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for he made narrow ledges around the outside of the temple, so that the support beams would not be fastened into the walls of the [i]temple. 7 And (H)the temple, when it was being built, was built with stone finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built. 8 The doorway for the [j]middle story was on the right side of the temple. They went up by stairs to the middle story, and from the middle to the third.

9 (I)So he built the [k]temple and finished it, and he paneled the temple with beams and boards of cedar. 10 And he built side chambers against the entire temple, each five cubits high; they were attached to the temple with cedar beams.

11 Then the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying: 12 “Concerning this [l]temple which you are building, (J)if you walk in My statutes, execute My judgments, keep all My commandments, and walk in them, then I will perform My [m]word with you, (K)which I spoke to your father David. 13 And (L)I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not (M)forsake My people Israel.”

14 So Solomon built the temple and finished it. 15 And he built the inside walls of the temple with cedar boards; from the floor of the temple to the ceiling he paneled the inside with wood; and he covered the floor of the temple with planks of cypress. 16 Then he built the twenty-cubit room at the rear of the temple, from floor to ceiling, with cedar boards; he built it inside as the inner sanctuary, as the (N)Most Holy Place. 17 And in front of it the temple sanctuary was forty cubits long. 18 The inside of the temple was cedar, carved with ornamental buds and open flowers. All was cedar; there was no stone to be seen.

19 And he prepared the [n]inner sanctuary inside the temple, to set the ark of the covenant of the Lord there. 20 The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high. He overlaid it with pure gold, and overlaid the altar of cedar. 21 So Solomon overlaid the inside of the temple with pure gold. He stretched gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, and overlaid it with gold. 22 The whole temple he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the temple; also he overlaid with gold (O)the entire altar that was by the inner sanctuary.

23 Inside the inner sanctuary (P)he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high. 24 One wing of the cherub was five cubits, and the other wing of the cherub five cubits: ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other. 25 And the other cherub was ten cubits; both cherubim were of the same size and shape. 26 The height of one cherub was ten cubits, and so was the other cherub. 27 Then he set the cherubim inside the inner [o]room; and (Q)they stretched out the wings of the cherubim so that the wing of the one touched one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall. And their wings touched each other in the middle of the room. 28 Also he overlaid the cherubim with gold.

29 Then he carved all the walls of the temple all around, both the inner and outer sanctuaries, with carved (R)figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. 30 And the floor of the temple he overlaid with gold, both the inner and outer sanctuaries.

31 For the entrance of the inner sanctuary he made doors of olive wood; the lintel and doorposts were [p]one-fifth of the wall. 32 The two doors were of olive wood; and he carved on them figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold; and he spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees. 33 So for the door of the [q]sanctuary he also made doorposts of olive wood, [r]one-fourth of the wall. 34 And the two doors were of cypress wood; (S)two panels comprised one folding door, and two panels comprised the other folding door. 35 Then he carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers on them, and overlaid them with gold applied evenly on the carved work.

36 And he built the (T)inner court with three rows of hewn stone and a row of cedar beams.

37 (U)In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid, in the month of [s]Ziv. 38 And in the eleventh year, in the month of [t]Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its details and according to all its plans. So he was (V)seven years in building it.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 6:1 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX fortieth
  2. 1 Kings 6:1 Or Ayyar, April or May
  3. 1 Kings 6:3 Heb. heykal; here the main room of the temple; elsewhere called the holy place, Ex. 26:33; Ezek. 41:1
  4. 1 Kings 6:3 About 30 feet
  5. 1 Kings 6:3 Lit. it
  6. 1 Kings 6:3 About 15 feet
  7. 1 Kings 6:5 Lit. house
  8. 1 Kings 6:5 Heb. debir; here the inner room of the temple; elsewhere called the Most Holy Place, v. 16
  9. 1 Kings 6:6 Lit. house
  10. 1 Kings 6:8 So with MT, Vg.; LXX upper story; Tg. ground story
  11. 1 Kings 6:9 Lit. house
  12. 1 Kings 6:12 Lit. house
  13. 1 Kings 6:12 promise
  14. 1 Kings 6:19 The Most Holy Place
  15. 1 Kings 6:27 Lit. house
  16. 1 Kings 6:31 Or five-sided
  17. 1 Kings 6:33 temple
  18. 1 Kings 6:33 Or four-sided
  19. 1 Kings 6:37 Or Ayyar, April or May
  20. 1 Kings 6:38 Or Heshvan, October or November
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1 Kings 6
New International Version

Solomon Builds the Temple(A)

6 In the four hundred and eightieth[a] 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,(B) he began to build the temple of the Lord.(C)

2 The temple(D) that King Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits long, twenty wide and thirty high.[b] 3 The portico(E) at the front of the main hall of the temple extended the width of the temple, that is twenty cubits,[c] and projected ten cubits[d] from the front of the temple. 4 He made narrow windows(F) 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.(G) 6 The lowest floor was five cubits[e] wide, the middle floor six cubits[f] and the third floor seven.[g] 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(H) at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool(I) was heard at the temple site while it was being built.

8 The entrance to the lowest[h] 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(J) 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(K) to Solomon: 12 “As for this temple you are building, if you follow my decrees, observe my laws and keep all my commands(L) and obey them, I will fulfill through you the promise(M) I gave to David your father. 13 And I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon(N) my people Israel.”

14 So Solomon(O) built the temple and completed(P) it. 15 He lined its interior walls with cedar boards, paneling them from the floor of the temple to the ceiling,(Q) and covered the floor of the temple with planks of juniper.(R) 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.(S) 17 The main hall in front of this room was forty cubits[i] long. 18 The inside of the temple was cedar,(T) carved with gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; no stone was to be seen.

19 He prepared the inner sanctuary(U) within the temple to set the ark of the covenant(V) of the Lord there. 20 The inner sanctuary(W) was twenty cubits long, twenty wide and twenty high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold, and he also overlaid the altar of cedar.(X) 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(Y) 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(Z) 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(AA) all around the temple, in both the inner and outer rooms, he carved cherubim,(AB) 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(AC) 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(AD) of three courses(AE) 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(AF) according to its specifications.(AG) He had spent seven years building it.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 6:1 Hebrew; Septuagint four hundred and fortieth
  2. 1 Kings 6:2 That is, about 90 feet long, 30 feet wide and 45 feet high or about 27 meters long, 9 meters wide and 14 meters high
  3. 1 Kings 6:3 That is, about 30 feet or about 9 meters; also in verses 16 and 20
  4. 1 Kings 6:3 That is, about 15 feet or about 4.5 meters; also in verses 23-26
  5. 1 Kings 6:6 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters; also in verses 10 and 24
  6. 1 Kings 6:6 That is, about 9 feet or about 2.7 meters
  7. 1 Kings 6:6 That is, about 11 feet or about 3.2 meters
  8. 1 Kings 6:8 Septuagint; Hebrew middle
  9. 1 Kings 6:17 That is, about 60 feet or about 18 meters
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1 Kings 6
English Standard Version

Solomon Builds the Temple

6 (A)In the four hundred and eightieth 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, (B)he began to build the house of the Lord. 2 (C)The house that King Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits[a] long, twenty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high. 3 The vestibule in front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits long, equal to the width of the house, and ten cubits deep in front of the house. 4 And (D)he made for the house windows with recessed frames.[b] 5 (E)He also built a structure[c] against the wall of the house, running around the walls of the house, both the nave and (F)the inner sanctuary. And he made (G)side chambers all around. 6 The lowest story[d] was five cubits broad, the middle one was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad. For around the outside of the house he made offsets on the wall in order that the supporting beams should not be inserted into the walls of the house.

7 When the house was built, (H)it was with stone prepared at the quarry, so that neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was being built.

8 The entrance for the lowest[e] story was on the south side of the house, and one went up by stairs to the middle story, and from the middle story to the third. 9 (I)So he built the house and finished it, and he made the ceiling of the house of beams and planks of cedar. 10 He built the structure against the whole house, five cubits high, and it was joined to the house with timbers of cedar.

11 Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon, 12 “Concerning this house that you are building, (J)if you will walk in my statutes and obey my rules and keep all my commandments and walk in them, then I will establish my word with you, (K)which I spoke to David your father. 13 And (L)I will dwell among the children of Israel (M)and will not forsake my people Israel.”

14 (N)So Solomon built the house and finished it. 15 He lined the walls of the house on the inside with boards of cedar. From the floor of the house to the walls of the ceiling, he covered them on the inside with wood, (O)and he covered the floor of the house with boards of cypress. 16 (P)He built twenty cubits of the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the walls, and he built this within as an inner sanctuary, as (Q)the Most Holy Place. 17 The house, that is, the nave in front of the inner sanctuary, was forty cubits long. 18 The cedar within the house was carved in the form of (R)gourds and open flowers. All was cedar; no stone was seen. 19 The inner sanctuary he prepared in the innermost part of the house, to set there the ark of the covenant of the Lord. 20 The inner sanctuary[f] was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high, and he overlaid it with pure gold. He also overlaid[g] an altar of cedar. 21 And Solomon overlaid the inside of the house with pure gold, and he drew chains of gold across, in front of the inner sanctuary, and overlaid it with gold. 22 And he overlaid the whole house with gold, until all the house was finished. (S)Also the whole altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold.

23 (T)In the inner sanctuary (U)he made two cherubim of olivewood, each ten cubits high. 24 Five cubits was the length of one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the length of the other wing of the cherub; it was ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other. 25 The other cherub also measured ten cubits; both cherubim had the same measure and the same form. 26 The height of one cherub was ten cubits, and so was that of the other cherub. 27 He put the cherubim in the innermost part of the house. (V)And the wings of the cherubim were spread out so that a wing of one touched the one wall, and a wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; their other wings touched each other in the middle of the house. 28 And he overlaid the cherubim with gold.

29 Around all the walls of the house he carved engraved figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, in the inner and outer rooms. 30 The floor of the house he overlaid with gold in the inner and outer rooms.

31 For the entrance to the inner sanctuary he made doors of olivewood; the lintel and the doorposts were five-sided.[h] 32 He covered the two doors of olivewood with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. He overlaid them with gold and spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees.

33 So also he made for the entrance to the nave doorposts of olivewood, in the form of a square, 34 and two doors of cypress wood. (W)The two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding. 35 On them he carved cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, and he overlaid them with gold evenly applied on the carved work. 36 (X)He built the inner court with three courses of cut stone and one course of cedar beams.

37 (Y)In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid, in the month of Ziv. 38 And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its parts, and according to all its specifications. He was seven years in building it.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 6:2 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
  2. 1 Kings 6:4 Or blocked lattice windows
  3. 1 Kings 6:5 Or platform; also verse 10
  4. 1 Kings 6:6 Septuagint; Hebrew structure, or platform
  5. 1 Kings 6:8 Septuagint, Targum; Hebrew middle
  6. 1 Kings 6:20 Vulgate; Hebrew And before the inner sanctuary
  7. 1 Kings 6:20 Septuagint made
  8. 1 Kings 6:31 The meaning of the Hebrew phrase is uncertain
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1 Kings 6
New American Standard Bible

The Building of the Temple

6 (A)Now it came about in the four hundred and eightieth year after the sons of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, that is, the second month, that he [a]began to build the house of the Lord. 2 And the house which King Solomon built for the Lord was [b]sixty cubits in its length, and twenty cubits in its width, and its height was thirty cubits. 3 The porch in front of the main room of the house was [c]twenty cubits in [d]length, [e]corresponding to the width of the house, and its width along the front of the house was ten cubits. 4 Also for the house (B)he made windows with artistic frames. 5 (C)Against the wall of the house he built stories encompassing the walls of the house around both the main room and the [f](D)inner sanctuary; so he made (E)side chambers all around. 6 The lowest story was [g]five cubits wide, the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for on the outside he [h]made offsets in the wall of the house all around so that the beams would not [i]be inserted into the walls of the house.

7 (F)The house, while it was being built, was built of stone finished at the quarry, and neither hammer, nor axe, nor any iron tool was heard in the house while it was being built.

8 The doorway for the [j]lowest side chamber was on the right side of the house; and they would go up by a winding staircase to the middle story, and from the middle to the third. 9 So (G)he built the house and finished it; and he covered the house with beams and [k]planks of cedar. 10 He also built the stories against the whole house, each [l]five cubits high; and they [m]were attached to the house with timbers of cedar.

11 Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying, 12 “As for this house which you are building, (H)if you will walk in My statutes and execute My ordinances and keep all My commandments by walking in them, then I will fulfill My word with you which I spoke to David your father. 13 And (I)I will dwell among the sons of Israel, and (J)will not abandon My people Israel.”

14 (K)So Solomon built the house and finished it. 15 He (L)built the walls of the house on the inside with boards of cedar; from the floor of the house to the [n]ceiling he paneled the walls on the inside with wood, and he paneled the floor of the house with boards of juniper. 16 (M)He also built [o]twenty cubits on the rear part of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the [p]ceiling; he built them for it on the inside as an inner sanctuary, as (N)the Most Holy Place. 17 The house, that is, the main room in front of the inner sanctuary, was [q]forty cubits long. 18 There was cedar inside the house, carved in the shape of (O)gourds and open flowers; everything was cedar, there was no stone visible. 19 Then he prepared an inner sanctuary inside the house in order to place there the ark of the covenant of the Lord. 20 [r]The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits in length, twenty cubits in width, and twenty cubits in height; and he overlaid it with pure gold. He also paneled the altar with cedar. 21 So Solomon overlaid the inside of the house with pure gold. And he extended chains of gold across the front of the inner sanctuary, and he overlaid it with gold. 22 He overlaid the entire house with gold, until all the house was finished. Also (P)the entire altar which was by the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold.

23 (Q)And in the inner sanctuary he made two [s]cherubim of olive wood, each [t]ten cubits high. 24 The one wing of the first cherub was five cubits, and the other wing of the first cherub was five cubits; from the end of one wing to the end of the other wing were ten cubits. 25 The second cherub was ten cubits; both of the cherubim were of the same measurement and the same form. 26 The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was that of the other cherub. 27 He placed the cherubim in the midst of the inner house, and (R)the wings of the cherubim spread out so that the wing of the one was touching the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub was touching the other wall. And their wings were touching [u]end to [v]end in the center of the house. 28 He also overlaid the cherubim with gold.

29 Then he carved all the surrounding walls of the house with engravings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, for the inner and outer sanctuaries. 30 And he overlaid the floor of the house with gold, for the inner and outer sanctuaries.

31 And for the entrance of the inner sanctuary he made doors of olive wood, the lintel, and five-sided doorposts. 32 So he made two doors of olive wood, and he carved on them carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold; and he overlaid the cherubim and the palm trees with gold.

33 So too he made for the entrance of the main room four-sided doorposts of olive wood, 34 and (S)two doors of juniper wood; the two leaves of the one door turned on pivots, and the two [w]leaves of the other door turned on pivots. 35 He carved on it cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers; and he overlaid them with gold plated on the carved work. 36 And (T)he built the inner courtyard with three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams.

37 (U)In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid, in the month of Ziv. 38 And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, that is, the eighth month, the house was finished in all its parts and in accordance with all its plans. So he was seven years in building it.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 6:1 Lit built
  2. 1 Kings 6:2 About 90 ft. long, 30 ft. wide, and 45 ft. high or 27 m, 9 m, and 14 m
  3. 1 Kings 6:3 About 30 ft. long and 15 ft. deep or 9 m and 4.6 m
  4. 1 Kings 6:3 Lit its length
  5. 1 Kings 6:3 Lit on the face of
  6. 1 Kings 6:5 I.e., Most Holy Place
  7. 1 Kings 6:6 About 7.5 ft. wide, 9 ft. wide, and 11 ft. wide or 2.3 m, 2.7 m, and 3.3 m
  8. 1 Kings 6:6 Lit gave
  9. 1 Kings 6:6 Lit take hold
  10. 1 Kings 6:8 As in LXX and ancient versions; MT middle
  11. 1 Kings 6:9 Or rows
  12. 1 Kings 6:10 About 7.5 ft. or 2.3 m
  13. 1 Kings 6:10 Lit took hold
  14. 1 Kings 6:15 Lit walls of the ceiling
  15. 1 Kings 6:16 About 30 ft. or 9 m
  16. 1 Kings 6:16 Lit walls
  17. 1 Kings 6:17 About 60 ft. or 18 m
  18. 1 Kings 6:20 Lit Before the
  19. 1 Kings 6:23 Heb plural of cherub
  20. 1 Kings 6:23 About 15 ft. or 4.6 m
  21. 1 Kings 6:27 Lit wing
  22. 1 Kings 6:27 Lit wing
  23. 1 Kings 6:34 As in LXX; MT curtains
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