Temple Construction Begins^(A)

6 During the month of Ziv, which was the second month of the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, 480 years after the Israelis left the land of Egypt, Solomon began to build the Lord’s Temple. ² The Temple for the Lord that Solomon was building was 60 cubits^[a] long and 20 cubits^[b] wide. ³ A portico extended in front of the Temple for 20 cubits^[c] outward, corresponding to the width of the Temple. Along the front of the Temple its depth was ten cubits.^{[d] 4} Solomon^[e] also constructed windows in the Temple with specially designed^[f] frames.

⁵ Against the wall of the Temple he built a series of rooms that encompassed the exterior of the Temple walls around the inner sanctuary. He built these side chambers all around the building.^{[g] 6} The lower structures were five cubits^[h] wide, the middle structures were six cubits^[i] wide and the third structures were seven cubits^[j] wide. Offsets were placed all around the Temple so that beams would not protrude through the walls of the Temple. ⁷ The Temple was constructed of stone precut at the quarry so that no hammer, axe, or any other iron implement would be heard in the Temple while it was being built. ⁸ A passageway to the side chamber was constructed on the south side of the Temple by which people^[k] could ascend winding stairs to the middle story, then from there to the third story.

Interior Finishing with Gold and Cedar

⁹ After Solomon^[l] built the Temple and finished it, he covered the Temple with beams and planks made of cedar. ¹⁰ He constructed this structure to adjoin the entire Temple, five cubits^[m] high, and fastened it to the Temple with cedar timbers.

¹¹ Then this message from the Lord came to Solomon: ¹² “Concerning^[n] this Temple that you’re building, if you live your life^[o] according to my statutes, carry out my ordinances, and keep all of my commands, and live according to them, then I will do what I promised to your father David. ¹³ I will reside among the Israelis and will never abandon my people Israel.”

¹⁴ So Solomon kept on building the Temple and finished it. ¹⁵ Then he built the inside walls of the Temple, lining them from floor to ceiling with cedar boards, and overlaying the Temple floor with boards made of cypress wood. ¹⁶ He lined 20 cubits^[p] of the rear part of the Temple from floor to ceiling with cedar boards specially constructed for the inside to serve as the Most Holy Place. ¹⁷ The rest of the main nave in the front was 40 cubits^[q] long. ¹⁸ Cedar^[r] carvings in the form of gourds and blooming flowers covered the entire interior of the Temple so that no stone could be seen.

¹⁹ Solomon^[s] also prepared an inner sanctuary within the Temple where the Lord’s Ark of the Covenant was placed. ²⁰ The inner sanctuary was 20 cubits^[t] long, 20 cubits^[u] wide, and 20 cubits^[v] high, and overlaid with pure gold. The altar was also overlaid with cedar. ²¹ Solomon overlaid the inside of the Temple with pure gold, fastened gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, and overlaid it with gold. ²² He finished the Temple by overlaying it entirely with gold, including overlaying with gold the whole altar that was by the inner sanctuary.

Temple Furnishings^(B)

²³ Inside the inner sanctuary Solomon^[w] placed two cherubim crafted from olive wood, each ten cubits^[x] high. ²⁴ Each wing of one cherub was five cubits^[y] long, and each wing of the other cherub was five cubits^[z] long, so that the distance from the end of one wing to the end of the other wing was ten cubits.^{[aa] 25} Each cherub was ten cubits^[ab] high, and both were of the same size and shape, ²⁶ the height of one cherub being ten cubits,^[ac] as was the height of the other.

²⁷ Solomon^[ad] placed the cherubim in the middle of the inner sanctuary, with their wings spread in such a way that the wing of one was touching the one wall and the opposite wing of the other cherub was touching the opposite wall. Furthermore, their wings in the center of the wall were touching each other wing-to-wing. ²⁸ Each cherub was overlaid with gold.

²⁹ Solomon^[ae] also inlaid all the inner walls of the Temple—both the inner and outer sanctuaries—with carved engravings of cherubim, palm trees, and blooming flowers. ³⁰ He also overlaid the floor of the Temple with gold in both the inner and outer sanctuaries.

³¹ Solomon^[af] also provided doors, lintels, and five-sided doorposts for the entrance to the inner sanctuary. ³² He installed two doors made of olive wood, inlaying them with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and blooming flowers, and overlaying them with gold. Then he added more gold to cover the cherubim and palm trees.

³³ Solomon^[ag] also provided four-sided doorposts made of cypress wood for the entrance to the outer sanctuary, ³⁴ along with two doors of cypress wood, one door of which had two leaves that turned on hinges, as did the other door, which also had two leaves that turned on hinges.

³⁵ Solomon^[ah] also inlaid the doors with^[ai] cherubim, palm trees, and blooming flowers. He overlaid them with gold that was carefully^[aj] applied on the engraved work. ³⁶ He constructed the inner court with three rows of precut stone and a row of cedar beams.

Temple Construction is Completed

³⁷ The foundation for the Lord’s Temple was laid in the month of Ziv during the fourth year of Solomon’s reign, ³⁸ and the Temple was completely finished according to its plans and specifications in the eighth month of the eleventh year of Solomon’s^[ak] reign, that is, during the month of Bul. It took about seven years to build.