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1 Kings 6
Christian Standard Bible

Building the Temple

6 Solomon began to build the temple for the Lord in the four hundred eightieth year(A) after the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of his reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month.[a](B) 2 The temple that King Solomon built for the Lord(C) was ninety feet[b] long, thirty feet[c] wide, and forty-five feet[d] high.(D) 3 The portico in front of the temple sanctuary was thirty feet long extending across the temple’s width, and fifteen feet deep[e] in front of the temple.(E) 4 He also made windows with beveled frames[f] for the temple.(F)

5 He then built a chambered structure[g] along the temple wall, encircling the walls of the temple, that is, the sanctuary and the inner sanctuary.(G) And he made side chambers[h] all around.(H) 6 The lowest chamber was 7½ feet[i] wide, the middle was 9 feet[j] wide, and the third was 10½ feet[k] wide. He also provided offset ledges for the temple all around the outside so that nothing would be inserted into the temple walls. 7 The temple’s construction used finished stones cut at the quarry so that no hammer, chisel, or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.(I)

8 The door for the lowest[l] side chamber was on the right side of the temple. They[m] went up a stairway[n] to the middle chamber, and from the middle to the third. 9 When he finished building the temple,(J) he paneled it with boards and planks of cedar. 10 He built the chambers along the entire temple, joined to the temple with cedar beams;(K) each story was 7½ feet high.

11 The word of the Lord came to Solomon:(L) 12 “As for this temple you are building—if you walk in my statutes, observe my ordinances, and keep all my commands by walking in them,(M) I will fulfill my promise to you, which I made to your father David.(N) 13 I will dwell among the Israelites and not abandon my people Israel.”(O)

14 When Solomon finished building the temple,[o](P) 15 he paneled the interior temple walls with cedar boards; from the temple floor to the surface of the ceiling he overlaid the interior with wood. He also overlaid the floor with cypress boards.(Q) 16 Then he lined thirty feet of the rear of the temple with cedar boards from the floor to the surface of the ceiling,[p] and he built the interior as an inner sanctuary, the most holy place.(R) 17 The temple, that is, the sanctuary in front of the most holy place,[q] was sixty feet[r] long. 18 The cedar paneling inside the temple was carved with ornamental gourds(S) and flower blossoms. Everything was cedar;(T) not a stone could be seen.

19 He prepared the inner sanctuary(U) inside the temple to put the ark of the Lord’s covenant(V) there. 20 The interior of the sanctuary was thirty feet long, thirty feet wide, and thirty feet high; he overlaid it with pure gold.(W) He also overlaid the cedar altar. 21 Next, Solomon overlaid the interior of the temple with pure gold, and he hung[s] gold chains(X) across the front of the inner sanctuary(Y) and overlaid it with gold. 22 So he added the gold overlay to the entire temple until everything was completely finished, including the entire altar(Z) that belongs to the inner sanctuary.

23 In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim(AA) 15 feet[t] high out of olive wood. 24 One wing of the first cherub was 7½ feet long, and the other wing was 7½ feet long. The wingspan was 15 feet from tip to tip. 25 The second cherub also was 15 feet; both cherubim had the same size and shape. 26 The first cherub’s height was 15 feet and so was the second cherub’s. 27 Then he put the cherubim inside the inner temple. Since their wings were spread out, the first one’s wing touched one wall while the second cherub’s wing touched the other[u] wall, and in the middle of the temple their wings were touching wing to wing.(AB) 28 He also overlaid the cherubim with gold.

29 He carved all the surrounding temple walls with carved engravings—cherubim,(AC) palm trees, and flower blossoms—in the inner and outer sanctuaries. 30 He overlaid the temple floor with gold in both the inner and the outer sanctuaries.

31 For the entrance of the inner sanctuary, he made olive wood doors.(AD) The pillars of the doorposts were five-sided.[v] 32 The two doors were made of olive wood. He carved cherubim, palm trees, and flower blossoms on them and overlaid them with gold, hammering gold over the cherubim and palm trees. 33 In the same way, he made four-sided[w] olive wood doorposts for the sanctuary entrance. 34 The two doors(AE) were made of cypress wood; the first door had two folding sides, and the second door had two folding panels. 35 He carved cherubim, palm trees, and flower blossoms on them and overlaid them with gold applied evenly over the carving. 36 He built the inner courtyard(AF) with three rows of dressed stone(AG) and a row of trimmed cedar beams.

37 The foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid in Solomon’s fourth year in the month of Ziv. 38 In his eleventh year in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month,[x] the temple was completed in every detail and according to every specification.(AH) So he built it in seven years.(AI)

Footnotes

  1. 6:1 April–May
  2. 6:2 Lit 60 cubits
  3. 6:2 Lit 20 cubits, also in vv. 3,16,20
  4. 6:2 Lit 30 cubits
  5. 6:3 Lit 10 cubits wide
  6. 6:4 Hb obscure
  7. 6:5 Lit built the temple of chamber
  8. 6:5 Lit made ribs or sides
  9. 6:6 Lit five cubits, also in vv. 10,24
  10. 6:6 Lit six cubits
  11. 6:6 Lit seven cubits
  12. 6:8 LXX, Tg; MT reads middle
  13. 6:8 = People
  14. 6:8 Hb obscure
  15. 6:11–14 LXX omits these vv.
  16. 6:16 LXX; MT omits of the ceiling; 1Kg 6:15
  17. 6:17 Lit front of me; Hb obscure
  18. 6:17 Lit 40 cubits
  19. 6:21 Lit he caused to pass across
  20. 6:23 Lit 10 cubits, also in vv. 24,25,26
  21. 6:27 Lit the second
  22. 6:31 Hb obscure
  23. 6:33 Hb obscure
  24. 6:38 = October–November
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1 Kings 6
New Living Translation

Solomon Builds the Temple

6 It was in midspring, in the month of Ziv,[a] 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.

2 The Temple that King Solomon built for the Lord was 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high.[b] 3 The entry room at the front of the Temple was 30 feet[c] wide, running across the entire width of the Temple. It projected outward 15 feet[d] from the front of the Temple. 4 Solomon also made narrow recessed windows throughout the Temple.

5 He built a complex of rooms against the outer walls of the Temple, all the way around the sides and rear of the building. 6 The 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.[e] 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.

7 The 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.

8 The entrance to the bottom floor[f] 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. 9 After completing the Temple structure, Solomon put in a ceiling made of cedar beams and planks. 10 As 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[g] high.

11 Then 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. 13 I will live among the Israelites and will never abandon my people Israel.”

The Temple’s Interior

14 So Solomon finished building the Temple. 15 The 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. 16 He 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. 17 The main room of the Temple, outside the Most Holy Place, was 60 feet[h] long. 18 Cedar paneling completely covered the stone walls throughout the Temple, and the paneling was decorated with carvings of gourds and open flowers.

19 He prepared the inner sanctuary at the far end of the Temple, where the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant would be placed. 20 This 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.[i] 21 Then Solomon overlaid the rest of the Temple’s interior with solid gold, and he made gold chains to protect the entrance[j] to the Most Holy Place. 22 So he finished overlaying the entire Temple with gold, including the altar that belonged to the Most Holy Place.

23 He made two cherubim of wild olive[k] wood, each 15 feet[l] tall, and placed them in the inner sanctuary. 24 The wingspan of each of the cherubim was 15 feet, each wing being 7 1⁄2 feet[m] long. 25 The two cherubim were identical in shape and size; 26 each was 15 feet tall. 27 He 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. 28 He overlaid the two cherubim with gold.

29 He decorated all the walls of the inner sanctuary and the main room with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. 30 He overlaid the floor in both rooms with gold.

31 For the entrance to the inner sanctuary, he made double doors of wild olive wood with five-sided doorposts.[n] 32 These 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.

33 Then he made four-sided doorposts of wild olive wood for the entrance to the Temple. 34 There were two folding doors of cypress wood, and each door was hinged to fold back upon itself. 35 These doors were decorated with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers—all overlaid evenly with gold.

36 The walls of the inner courtyard were built so that there was one layer of cedar beams between every three layers of finished stone.

37 The foundation of the Lord’s Temple was laid in midspring, in the month of Ziv,[o] during the fourth year of Solomon’s reign. 38 The entire building was completed in every detail by midautumn, in the month of Bul,[p] during the eleventh year of his reign. So it took seven years to build the Temple.

Footnotes

  1. 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.
  2. 6:2 Hebrew 60 cubits [27.6 meters] long, 20 cubits [9.2 meters] wide, and 30 cubits [13.8 meters] high.
  3. 6:3a Hebrew 20 cubits [9.2 meters]; also in 6:16, 20.
  4. 6:3b Hebrew 10 cubits [4.6 meters].
  5. 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.
  6. 6:8 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads middle floor.
  7. 6:10 Hebrew 5 cubits [2.3 meters].
  8. 6:17 Hebrew 40 cubits [18.4 meters].
  9. 6:20 Or overlaid the altar with cedar. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
  10. 6:21 Or to draw curtains across. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
  11. 6:23a Or pine; Hebrew reads oil tree; also in 6:31, 33.
  12. 6:23b Hebrew 10 cubits [4.6 meters]; also in 6:24, 26.
  13. 6:24 Hebrew 5 cubits [2.3 meters].
  14. 6:31 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
  15. 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.
  16. 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.
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