1 Kings 6-8

Good News Translation

Solomon Builds the Temple

6 Four hundred and eighty years after the people of Israel left Egypt, during the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the second month, the month of Ziv, Solomon began work on the Temple. ² Inside it was 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high. ³ The entrance room was 15 feet deep and 30 feet wide, as wide as the sanctuary itself. ⁴ The walls of the Temple had openings in them, narrower on the outside than on the inside. ⁵ Against the outside walls, on the sides and the back of the Temple, a three-storied annex was built, each story 7½ feet high. ⁶ Each room in the lowest story was 7½ feet wide, in the middle story 9 feet wide, and in the top story 10½ feet wide. The Temple wall on each floor was thinner than on the floor below, so that the rooms could rest on the wall without having their beams built into it.

⁷ The stones with which the Temple was built had been prepared at the quarry, so that there was no noise made by hammers, axes, or any other iron tools as the Temple was being built.

⁸ The entrance to the lowest^[a] story of the annex was on the south side of the Temple, with stairs leading up to the second and third stories. ⁹ So King Solomon finished building the Temple. He put in a ceiling made of beams and boards of cedar. ¹⁰ The three-storied annex, each story^[b] 7½ feet high, was built against the outside walls of the Temple, and was joined to them by cedar beams.

¹¹ The Lord said to Solomon, ¹² “If you obey all my laws and commands, I will do for you what I promised your father David. ¹³ I will live among my people Israel in this Temple that you are building, and I will never abandon them.”

¹⁴ So Solomon finished building the Temple.

The Interior Furnishings of the Temple^(A)

¹⁵ The inside walls were covered with cedar panels from the floor to the ceiling, and the floor was made of pine. ^16 (B)An inner room, called the Most Holy Place, was built in the rear of the Temple. It was 30 feet long and was partitioned off by cedar boards reaching from the floor to the ceiling.^{[c] 17} The room in front of the Most Holy Place was 60 feet long. ¹⁸ The cedar panels were decorated with carvings of gourds and flowers; the whole interior was covered with cedar, so that the stones of the walls could not be seen.

¹⁹ In the rear of the Temple an inner room was built, where the Lord's Covenant Box was to be placed. ²⁰ This inner room was 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 30 feet high, all covered with pure gold. The altar was covered with cedar panels.^{[d] 21} The inside of the Temple was covered with gold, and gold chains were placed across the entrance of the inner room, which was also covered with gold. ^22 (C)The whole interior of the Temple was covered with gold, as well as the altar in the Most Holy Place.

^23 (D)Two winged creatures were made of olive wood and placed in the Most Holy Place, each one 15 feet tall. ^24-26 Both were of the same size and shape. Each had two wings, each wing 7½ feet long, so that the distance from one wing tip to the other was 15 feet. ²⁷ They were placed side by side in the Most Holy Place, so that two of their outstretched wings touched each other in the middle of the room, and the other two wings touched the walls. ²⁸ The two winged creatures were covered with gold.

²⁹ The walls of the main room and of the inner room were all decorated with carved figures of winged creatures, palm trees, and flowers. ³⁰ Even the floor was covered with gold.

³¹ A double door made of olive wood was set in place at the entrance of the Most Holy Place; the top of the doorway was a pointed arch. ³² The doors were decorated with carved figures of winged creatures, palm trees, and flowers. The doors, the winged creatures, and the palm trees were covered with gold. ³³ For the entrance to the main room a rectangular doorframe of olive wood was made. ³⁴ There were two folding doors made of pine ³⁵ and decorated with carved figures of winged creatures, palm trees, and flowers, which were evenly covered with gold.

³⁶ An inner court was built in front of the Temple, enclosed with walls which had one layer of cedar beams for every three layers of stone.

³⁷ The foundation of the Temple was laid in the second month, the month of Ziv, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign. ³⁸ In the eighth month, the month of Bul, in the eleventh year of Solomon's reign, the Temple was completely finished exactly as it had been planned. It had taken Solomon seven years to build it.

Solomon's Palace

7 Solomon also built a palace for himself, and it took him thirteen years. ^2-3 The Hall of the Forest of Lebanon^[e] was 150 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. It had three^[f] rows of cedar pillars, 15 in each row, with cedar beams resting on them. The ceiling was of cedar, extending over storerooms, which were supported by the pillars. ⁴ On each of the two side walls there were three rows of windows. ⁵ The doorways and the windows^[g] had rectangular frames, and the three rows of windows in each wall faced the opposite rows.

⁶ The Hall of Columns was 75 feet long and 45 feet wide. It had a covered porch, supported by columns.

⁷ The Throne Room, also called the Hall of Judgment, where Solomon decided cases, had cedar panels from the floor to the rafters.^[h]

^8 (E)Solomon's own quarters, in another court behind the Hall of Judgment, were made like the other buildings. He also built the same kind of house for his wife, the daughter of the king of Egypt.

⁹ All these buildings and the great court were made of fine stones from the foundations to the eaves. The stones were prepared at the quarry and cut to measure, with their inner and outer sides trimmed with saws. ¹⁰ The foundations were made of large stones prepared at the quarry, some of them twelve feet long and others fifteen feet long. ¹¹ On top of them were other stones, cut to measure, and cedar beams. ¹² The palace court, the inner court of the Temple, and the entrance room of the Temple had walls with one layer of cedar beams for every three layers of cut stones.

Huram's Task

¹³ King Solomon sent for a man named Huram, a craftsman living in the city of Tyre, who was skilled in bronze work. ¹⁴ His father, who was no longer living, was from Tyre, and had also been a skilled bronze craftsman; his mother was from the tribe of Naphtali. Huram was an intelligent and experienced craftsman. He accepted King Solomon's invitation to be in charge of all the bronze work.

The Two Bronze Columns^(F)

¹⁵ Huram cast two bronze columns, each one 27 feet tall and 18 feet in circumference,^[i] and placed them at the entrance of the Temple. ¹⁶ He also made two bronze capitals, each one 7½ feet tall, to be placed on top of the columns. ¹⁷ The top of each column was decorated with a design of interwoven chains^{[j] 18} and two rows of bronze pomegranates.

¹⁹ The capitals were shaped like lilies, 6 feet tall, ²⁰ and were placed on a rounded section which was above the chain design. There were 200 pomegranates in two rows around each^[k] capital.

²¹ Huram placed these two bronze columns in front of the entrance of the Temple: the one on the south side was named Jachin^[l] and the one on the north was named Boaz.^{[m] 22} The lily-shaped bronze capitals were on top of the columns.

And so the work on the columns was completed.

The Bronze Tank^(G)

²³ Huram made a round tank of bronze, 7½ feet deep, 15 feet in diameter, and 45 feet in circumference. ²⁴ All around the outer edge of the rim of the tank^[n] were two rows of bronze gourds, which had been cast all in one piece with the rest of the tank. ²⁵ The tank rested on the backs of twelve bronze bulls that faced outward, three facing in each direction. ²⁶ The sides of the tank were 3 inches thick. Its rim was like the rim of a cup, curving outward like the petals of a lily. The tank held about 10,000 gallons.

The Bronze Carts

²⁷ Huram also made ten bronze carts; each was 6 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 4½ feet high. ²⁸ They were made of square panels which were set in frames, ²⁹ with the figures of lions, bulls, and winged creatures on the panels; and on the frames, above and underneath the lions and bulls, there were spiral figures in relief. ³⁰ Each cart had four bronze wheels with bronze axles. At the four corners were bronze supports for a basin; the supports were decorated with spiral figures in relief. ³¹ There was a circular frame on top for the basin. It projected upward 18 inches from the top of the cart and 7 inches down into it. It had carvings around it. ³² The wheels were 25 inches high; they were under the panels, and the axles were of one piece with the carts. ³³ The wheels were like chariot wheels; their axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were all of bronze. ³⁴ There were four supports at the bottom corners of each cart, which were of one piece with the cart. ³⁵ There was a 9-inch band around the top of each cart; its supports and the panels were of one piece with the cart. ³⁶ The supports and panels were decorated with figures of winged creatures, lions, and palm trees, wherever there was space for them, with spiral figures all around. ³⁷ This, then, is how the carts were made; they were all alike, having the same size and shape.

^38 (H)Huram also made ten basins, one for each cart. Each basin was 6 feet in diameter and held 200 gallons. ³⁹ He placed five of the carts on the south side of the Temple, and the other five on the north side; the tank he placed at the southeast corner.

Summary List of Temple Furnishings^(I)

^40-45 Huram also made pots, shovels, and bowls. He completed all his work for King Solomon for the Lord's Temple. This is what he made:

All this equipment for the Temple, which Huram made for King Solomon, was of polished bronze. ⁴⁶ The king had it all made in the foundry between Sukkoth and Zarethan, in the Jordan Valley. ⁴⁷ Solomon did not have these bronze objects weighed, because there were too many of them, and so their weight was never determined.

^48 (J)Solomon also had gold furnishings made for the Temple: the altar, the table for the bread offered to God, ^49 (K)the ten lampstands that stood in front of the Most Holy Place, five on the south side and five on the north; the flowers, lamps, and tongs; ⁵⁰ the cups, lamp snuffers, bowls, dishes for incense, and the pans used for carrying live coals; and the hinges for the doors of the Most Holy Place and of the outer doors of the Temple. All these furnishings were made of gold.

^51 (L)When King Solomon finished all the work on the Temple, he placed in the Temple storerooms all the things that his father David had dedicated to the Lord—the silver, gold, and other articles.

The Covenant Box Is Brought to the Temple^(M)

8 ^(N)Then King Solomon summoned all the leaders of the tribes and clans of Israel to come to him in Jerusalem in order to take the Lord's Covenant Box from Zion, David's City, to the Temple. ^2 (O)They all assembled during the Festival of Shelters in the seventh month, in the month of Ethanim. ³ When all the leaders had gathered, the priests lifted the Covenant Box ⁴ and carried it to the Temple. The Levites and the priests also moved the Tent of the Lord's presence and all its equipment to the Temple. ⁵ King Solomon and all the people of Israel assembled in front of the Covenant Box and sacrificed a large number of sheep and cattle—too many to count. ⁶ Then the priests carried the Covenant Box into the Temple and put it in the Most Holy Place, beneath the winged creatures. ⁷ Their outstretched wings covered the box and the poles it was carried by. ⁸ The ends of the poles could be seen by anyone standing directly in front of the Most Holy Place, but from nowhere else. (The poles are still there today.) ^9 (P)There was nothing inside the Covenant Box except the two stone tablets which Moses had placed there at Mount Sinai, when the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel as they were coming from Egypt.

^10 (Q)As the priests were leaving the Temple, it was suddenly filled with a cloud ¹¹ shining with the dazzling light of the Lord's presence, and they could not go back in to perform their duties. ^12 (R)Then Solomon prayed:

Solomon's Address to the People^(S)

¹⁴ As the people stood there, King Solomon turned to face them, and he asked God's blessing on them. ¹⁵ He said, “Praise the Lord God of Israel! He has kept the promise he made to my father David, when he told him, ^16 (T)‘From the time I brought my people out of Egypt, I have not chosen any city in all the land of Israel in which a temple should be built where I would be worshiped. But I chose you, David, to rule my people.’”

^17 (U)And Solomon continued, “My father David planned to build a temple for the worship of the Lord God of Israel, ¹⁸ but the Lord said to him, ‘You were right in wanting to build a temple for me, ^19 (V)but you will never build it. It is your son, your own son, who will build my temple.’

²⁰ “And now the Lord has kept his promise. I have succeeded my father as king of Israel, and I have built the Temple for the worship of the Lord God of Israel. ²¹ I have also provided a place in the Temple for the Covenant Box containing the stone tablets of the covenant which the Lord made with our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt.”

Solomon's Prayer^(W)

²² Then in the presence of the people Solomon went and stood in front of the altar, where he raised his arms ²³ and prayed, “Lord God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven above or on earth below! You keep your covenant with your people and show them your love when they live in wholehearted obedience to you. ²⁴ You have kept the promise you made to my father David; today every word has been fulfilled. ^25 (X)And now, Lord God of Israel, I pray that you will also keep the other promise you made to my father when you told him that there would always be one of his descendants ruling as king of Israel, provided they obeyed you as carefully as he did. ²⁶ So now, O God of Israel, let everything come true that you promised to my father David, your servant.

^27 (Y)“But can you, O God, really live on earth? Not even all of heaven is large enough to hold you, so how can this Temple that I have built be large enough? ²⁸ Lord my God, I am your servant. Listen to my prayer, and grant the requests I make to you today. ^29 (Z)Watch over this Temple day and night, this place where you have chosen to be worshiped. Hear me when I face this Temple and pray. ³⁰ Hear my prayers and the prayers of your people when they face this place and pray. In your home in heaven hear us and forgive us.

³¹ “When a person is accused of wronging another and is brought to your altar in this Temple to take an oath that he is innocent, ³² O Lord, listen in heaven and judge your servants. Punish the guilty one as he deserves, and acquit the one who is innocent.

³³ “When your people Israel are defeated by their enemies because they have sinned against you, and then when they turn to you and come to this Temple, humbly praying to you for forgiveness, ³⁴ listen to them in heaven. Forgive the sins of your people and bring them back to the land which you gave to their ancestors.

³⁵ “When you hold back the rain because your people have sinned against you, and then when they repent and face this Temple, humbly praying to you, ³⁶ listen to them in heaven. Forgive the sins of the king and of the people of Israel, and teach them to do what is right. Then, O Lord, send rain on this land of yours, which you gave to your people as a permanent possession.

³⁷ “When there is famine in the land or an epidemic or the crops are destroyed by scorching winds or swarms of locusts, or when your people are attacked by their enemies, or when there is disease or sickness among them, ³⁸ listen to their prayers. If any of your people Israel, out of heartfelt sorrow, stretch out their hands in prayer toward this Temple, ³⁹ hear their prayer. Listen to them in your home in heaven, forgive them, and help them. You alone know the thoughts of the human heart. Deal with each person as he deserves, ⁴⁰ so that your people may obey you all the time they live in the land which you gave to our ancestors.

^41-42 “When a foreigner who lives in a distant land hears of your fame and of the great things you have done for your people and comes to worship you and to pray at this Temple, ⁴³ listen to his prayer. In heaven, where you live, hear him and do what he asks you to do, so that all the peoples of the world may know you and obey you, as your people Israel do. Then they will know that this Temple I have built is the place where you are to be worshiped.

⁴⁴ “When you command your people to go into battle against their enemies and they pray to you, wherever they are, facing this city which you have chosen and this Temple which I have built for you, ⁴⁵ listen to their prayers. Hear them in heaven and give them victory.

⁴⁶ “When your people sin against you—and there is no one who does not sin—and in your anger you let their enemies defeat them and take them as prisoners to some other land, even if that land is far away, ⁴⁷ listen to your people's prayers. If there in that land they repent and pray to you, confessing how sinful and wicked they have been, hear their prayers, O Lord. ⁴⁸ If in that land they truly and sincerely repent and pray to you as they face toward this land which you gave to our ancestors, this city which you have chosen, and this Temple which I have built for you, ⁴⁹ then listen to their prayers. In your home in heaven hear them and be merciful to them. ⁵⁰ Forgive all their sins and their rebellion against you, and make their enemies treat them with kindness. ⁵¹ They are your own people, whom you brought out of Egypt, that blazing furnace.

⁵² “Sovereign Lord, may you always look with favor on your people Israel and their king, and hear their prayer whenever they call to you for help. ⁵³ You chose them from all the peoples to be your own people, as you told them through your servant Moses when you brought our ancestors out of Egypt.”

The Final Prayer

⁵⁴ After Solomon had finished praying to the Lord, he stood up in front of the altar, where he had been kneeling with uplifted hands. ⁵⁵ In a loud voice he asked God's blessings on all the people assembled there. He said, ^56 (AA)“Praise the Lord who has given his people peace, as he promised he would. He has kept all the generous promises he made through his servant Moses. ⁵⁷ May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us or abandon us; ⁵⁸ may he make us obedient to him, so that we will always live as he wants us to live, keeping all the laws and commands he gave our ancestors. ⁵⁹ May the Lord our God remember at all times this prayer and these petitions I have made to him. May he always be merciful to the people of Israel and to their king, according to their daily needs. ⁶⁰ And so all the nations of the world will know that the Lord alone is God—there is no other. ⁶¹ May you, his people, always be faithful to the Lord our God, obeying all his laws and commands as you do today.”

The Dedication of the Temple^(AB)

⁶² Then King Solomon and all the people there offered sacrifices to the Lord. ⁶³ He sacrificed 22,000 head of cattle and 120,000 sheep as fellowship offerings. And so the king and all the people dedicated the Temple. ⁶⁴ That same day he also consecrated the central part of the courtyard, the area in front of the Temple, and then he offered there the sacrifices burned whole, the grain offerings, and the fat of the animals for the fellowship offerings. He did this because the bronze altar was too small for all these offerings.

⁶⁵ There at the Temple, Solomon and all the people of Israel celebrated the Festival of Shelters for seven^[p] days. There was a huge crowd of people from as far away as Hamath Pass in the north and the Egyptian border in the south. ⁶⁶ On the eighth day Solomon sent the people home. They all praised him and went home happy because of all the blessings that the Lord had given his servant David and his people Israel.