1 Kings 6
World English Bible
6 In the four hundred and 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 Ziv, which is the second month, he began to build Yahweh’s house. 2 The house which king Solomon built for Yahweh had a length of sixty cubits,[a] and its width twenty, and its height thirty cubits. 3 The porch in front of the temple of the house had a length of twenty cubits, which was along the width of the house. Ten cubits was its width in front of the house. 4 He made windows of fixed lattice work for the house. 5 Against the wall of the house, he built floors all around, against the walls of the house all around, both of the temple and of the inner sanctuary; and he made side rooms all around. 6 The lowest floor was five cubits wide, and the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for on the outside he made offsets in the wall of the house all around, that the beams should not be inserted into the walls of the house. 7 The house, when it was under construction, was built of stone prepared at the quarry; and no hammer or ax or any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was under construction. 8 The door for the middle side rooms was in the right side of the house. They went up by winding stairs into the middle floor, and out of the middle into the third. 9 So he built the house, and finished it; and he covered the house with beams and planks of cedar. 10 He built the floors all along the house, each five cubits high; and they rested on the house with timbers of cedar.
11 Yahweh’s word came to Solomon, saying, 12 “Concerning this house which you are building, if you will walk in my statutes, and execute my ordinances, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then I will establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father. 13 I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel.”
14 So Solomon built the house, and finished it. 15 He built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar: from the floor of the house to the walls of the ceiling, he covered them on the inside with wood; and he covered the floor of the house with cypress boards. 16 He built twenty cubits on the back part of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the ceiling. He built them for it within, for an inner sanctuary, even for the most holy place. 17 In front of the temple sanctuary was forty cubits. 18 There was cedar on the house within, carved with buds and open flowers. All was cedar. No stone was visible. 19 He prepared an inner sanctuary in the middle of the house within, to set the ark of Yahweh’s covenant there. 20 Within the inner sanctuary was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in width, and twenty cubits in its height; and he overlaid it with pure gold; and he covered the altar with cedar. 21 So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold. He drew chains of gold across before the inner sanctuary, and he overlaid it with gold. 22 He overlaid the whole house with gold, until all the house was finished. He also overlaid the whole altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary with gold. 23 In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim[b] of olive wood, each ten cubits high. 24 Five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub. From the tip of one wing to the tip of the other was ten cubits. 25 The other cherub was ten cubits. Both the cherubim were of one measure and one form. 26 One cherub was ten cubits high, and so was the other cherub. 27 He set the cherubim within the inner house. The wings of the cherubim were stretched out, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the middle of the house. 28 He overlaid the cherubim with gold. 29 He carved all the walls of the house around with carved figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, inside and outside. 30 He overlaid the floor of the house with gold, inside and outside. 31 For the entrance of the inner sanctuary, he made doors of olive wood. The lintel and door posts were a fifth part of the wall. 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. He spread the gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees. 33 He also did so for the entrance of the temple door posts of olive wood, out of a fourth part of the wall; 34 and two doors of cypress wood. The two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding. 35 He carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers; and he overlaid them with gold fitted on the engraved work. 36 He built the inner court with three courses of cut stone and a course of cedar beams. 37 The foundation of Yahweh’s house was laid in the fourth year, in the month Ziv. 38 In the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished throughout all its parts, and according to all its specifications. So he spent seven years building it.
1 Kings 6
International Standard Version
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.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 6:2 I.e. about 90 feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
- 1 Kings 6:2 I.e. about 30 feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
- 1 Kings 6:3 I.e. about 30 feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
- 1 Kings 6:3 I.e. about fifteen feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
- 1 Kings 6:4 Lit. He
- 1 Kings 6:4 Or latticed
- 1 Kings 6:5 The Heb. lacks the building
- 1 Kings 6:6 I.e. about seven and a half feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
- 1 Kings 6:6 I.e. about nine feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
- 1 Kings 6:6 I.e. about ten and a half feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
- 1 Kings 6:8 Lit. they
- 1 Kings 6:9 Lit. he
- 1 Kings 6:10 I.e. about seven and a half feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
- 1 Kings 6:12 The Heb. lacks Concerning
- 1 Kings 6:12 Lit. you walk
- 1 Kings 6:16 I.e. about 30 feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
- 1 Kings 6:17 I.e. about 60 feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
- 1 Kings 6:18 I.e. a genus of coniferous evergreen in the family Pinaceae; and so throughout the book
- 1 Kings 6:19 Lit. He
- 1 Kings 6:20 I.e. about 30 feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
- 1 Kings 6:20 I.e. about 30 feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
- 1 Kings 6:20 I.e. about 30 feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
- 1 Kings 6:23 Lit. he
- 1 Kings 6:23 I.e. about fifteen feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
- 1 Kings 6:24 I.e. about seven and a half feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
- 1 Kings 6:24 I.e. about seven and a half feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
- 1 Kings 6:24 I.e. about fifteen feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
- 1 Kings 6:25 I.e. about fifteen feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
- 1 Kings 6:26 I.e. about fifteen feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
- 1 Kings 6:27 Lit. He
- 1 Kings 6:29 Lit. He
- 1 Kings 6:31 Lit. He
- 1 Kings 6:33 Lit. He
- 1 Kings 6:35 Lit. He
- 1 Kings 6:35 The Heb. lacks the doors with
- 1 Kings 6:35 Or evenly
- 1 Kings 6:38 Lit. his
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