1 Kings 6
Amplified Bible
The Building of the Temple
6 [a]Now it came about in the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv (April-May) which is the second month, that he began to build the Lord’s house (temple). 2 The length of the house which King Solomon built for the Lord was [b]sixty cubits (90 ft.), its width twenty (30 ft.), and its height thirty cubits (45 ft.). 3 The porch in front of the main room of the house (temple) was twenty cubits long, corresponding to the width of the house, and its depth in front of the house was ten cubits. 4 He also made framed (artistic) window openings for the house. 5 Against the wall of the house he built [c]extensions around the walls of the house, around both the main room (Holy Place) and the [d]Holy of Holies; and he made side chambers all around. 6 The lowest story was five cubits wide, the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for he made offsets (niches) in the walls all around on the outside of the house so that the supporting beams would not be inserted into the walls of the house.
7 While it was being built, the house was built of stone prepared and finished (precut) at the quarry, and no hammer, axe, or iron tool of any kind was heard in the house while it was under construction.
8 The entrance to the lowest side chamber was on the right [or south] side of the house; and they would go up winding stairs to the middle [level], and from the middle to the third. 9 So Solomon built the house (temple) and finished it, and roofed the house with beams and boards of cedar. 10 Then he built the extensions [of rooms] against the entire house, each [story] five cubits high; and they were attached to the house with timbers of cedar.
11 Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying, 12 “Concerning this house which you are building, if you will walk in My statutes and execute My precepts and keep all My commandments by walking in them, then I will carry out My word (promises) with you which I made to David your father. 13 I will dwell among the sons (descendants) of Israel, and will not abandon My people Israel.”
14 So Solomon built the house (temple) and finished it. 15 He built the walls of the interior of the house [that is, the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies] with boards of cedar, from the floor of the house to the rafters of the ceiling. He overlaid the interior with wood, and he overlaid the floor of the house with boards of cypress. 16 He built twenty cubits on the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the ceiling; he built its interior as the [inner] sanctuary, the Holy of Holies. 17 The [rest of the] house, that is, the temple in front of the Holy of Holies, was forty cubits long. 18 The cedar on the house within had wood carvings in the shape of gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; no stone was visible. 19 Then he prepared the Holy of Holies within the house in order to put the ark of the covenant of the Lord there. 20 The Holy of Holies was twenty cubits in length, twenty cubits in width, and twenty cubits in height (a cube), and he overlaid it with pure gold. He also overlaid the cedar altar [with gold]. 21 Solomon overlaid the interior of the house with pure gold, and he drew [e]chains of gold across the front of the Holy of Holies (inner sanctuary), and he overlaid it with gold. 22 Then he overlaid the entire house with gold, until the whole house was finished. He also overlaid the entire [incense] altar which was by the Holy of Holies with gold.
23 Within the Holy of Holies he made two [f]cherubim (sculptured figures) of olive wood, each ten cubits high. 24 [g]One wing of the cherub was five cubits long, and the other wing was also five cubits long; it was ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other. 25 The [wingspan of the] other cherub was also ten cubits. The measurements and cut (shape) of the two cherubim were the same; 26 the height of the one cherub was ten cubits, as was the other. 27 He put the cherubim [above the ark] inside the innermost room of the house, and their wings were spread out so that the wing of the one touched one wall, and the wing of the other cherub was touching the other wall; and their inner wings were touching [h]each other in the middle of the house. 28 Solomon also overlaid the cherubim with gold.
29 He carved all the walls of the house all around with carved engravings of cherubim, palm-shaped decorations, and open flowers, [both] the inner and the outer sanctuaries. 30 He overlaid the floor of the house with gold, [both] the inner and outer sanctuaries.
31 For the entrance of the Holy of Holies he made two [folding] doors of olive wood, the lintel (header above the door) and five-sided doorposts (frames). 32 So he made two doors of olive wood, and he carved on them carvings of cherubim, palm-shaped decorations, and open flowers; and overlaid them with gold; and he hammered out overlays of gold on the cherubim and palm decorations.
33 Also he made for the entrance of the [outer] sanctuary (the Holy Place) four-sided doorposts (frames) of olive wood 34 and two doors of cypress wood; the two leaves of the one door turned on pivots and were folding, and the two leaves of the other door also turned on pivots. 35 He carved cherubim, palm-shaped decorations, and open flowers on the doors, and overlaid them with gold evenly applied on the carved work. 36 He built the inner courtyard with three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams.
37 In the fourth year [of King Solomon’s reign] the foundation of the Lord’s house was laid, in the [second] month, Ziv (April-May). 38 In the eleventh year [of King Solomon’s reign] in the month of Bul (October-November), that is, the eighth month, the house was finished throughout all its parts and in accordance with all its specifications. So he built it in seven years.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 6:1 This is a key verse in determining the date of the exodus of the Jews from Egypt. Since the fourth year of Solomon’s reign is believed to be 966 b.c., the date of the exodus was about 1446 b.c.
- 1 Kings 6:2 A cubit is about 18 inches.
- 1 Kings 6:5 The meaning is uncertain, perhaps additional rooms.
- 1 Kings 6:5 Lit inner sanctuary and so throughout the passage except v 16.
- 1 Kings 6:21 The purpose of the chains may have been to hold the veil or curtain.
- 1 Kings 6:23 Cherubim is the Hebrew plural of “cherub.”
- 1 Kings 6:24 The repetitive language of the description emphasizes the size and grandeur of the cherubim.
- 1 Kings 6:27 Lit wing to wing.
1 Kings 6
Contemporary English Version
The Outside of the Temple Is Completed
6 Solomon's workers started building the temple during Ziv,[a] the second month of the year. It had been 4 years since Solomon became king of Israel, and 480 years since the people of Israel left Egypt.
2 The inside of the Lord's temple was 27 meters long, 9 meters wide, and 13.5 meters high. 3 A four-and-a-half-meter porch went all the way across the front of the temple. 4 The windows were narrow on the outside but wide on the inside.
5-6 Along the sides and back of the temple, there were three levels of storage rooms. The rooms on the bottom level were just over two meters wide, the rooms on the middle level were over two and a half meters wide, and those on the top level were just over three meters wide. There were ledges on the outside of the temple that supported the beams of the storage rooms, so that nothing was built into the temple walls.
7 Solomon did not want the noise of hammers and axes to be heard at the place where the temple was being built. So he gave orders for the workers to shape the blocks of stone at the quarry.
8 The entrance to the bottom storage rooms was on the south side of the building, and stairs to the other rooms were also there. 9 The roof of the temple was made out of beams and cedar boards.
The workers finished building the outside of the temple. 10 Storage rooms just over two meters high were all around the temple, and they were attached to the temple by cedar beams.
11 The Lord told Solomon:
12-13 If you obey my commands and do what I say, I will keep the promise I made to your father David. I will live among my people Israel in this temple you are building, and I will not desert them.
14 So Solomon's workers finished building the temple.
The Inside of the Temple Is Furnished
(2 Chronicles 3.8-14)
15 The floor of the temple was made out of pine, and the walls were lined with cedar from floor to ceiling.[b]
16 (A) The most holy place was in the back of the temple, and it was nine meters square. Cedar boards standing from floor to ceiling[c] separated it from the rest of the temple. 17 The temple's main room was 18 meters long, and it was in front of the most holy place.
18 The inside walls were lined with cedar to hide the stones, and the cedar was decorated with carvings of gourds and flowers.
19 The sacred chest was kept in the most holy place. 20-22 (B) This room was nine meters long, nine meters wide, and nine meters high, and it was lined with pure gold. There were also gold chains across the front of the most holy place. The inside of the temple, as well as the cedar altar in the most holy place, was covered with gold.
23 (C) Solomon had two statues of winged creatures[d] made from olive wood to put in the most holy place. Each creature was four and a half meters tall 24-26 and four and a half meters across. They had two wings, and the wings were just over two meters long. 27 Solomon put them next to each other in the most holy place. Their wings were spread out and reached across the room. 28 The creatures were also covered with gold.
29 The walls of the two rooms were decorated with carvings of palm trees, flowers, and winged creatures. 30 Even the floor was covered with gold.
31-32 The two doors to the most holy place were made out of olive wood and were decorated with carvings of palm trees, flowers, and winged creatures. The doors and the carvings were covered with gold. The door frame came to a point at the top.
33-34 The two doors to the main room of the temple were made out of pine, and each one had two sections[e] so they could fold open. The door frame was shaped like a rectangle and was made out of olive wood. 35 The doors were covered with gold and were decorated with carvings of palm trees, flowers, and winged creatures.
36 The inner courtyard of the temple had walls made out of three layers of cut stones with one layer of cedar beams.
37 Work began on the temple during Ziv,[f] the second month of the year, four years after Solomon became king of Israel. 38 Seven years later the workers finished building it during Bul,[g] the eighth month of the year. It was built exactly as it had been planned.
Footnotes
- 6.1 Ziv: The second month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-April to mid-May.
- 6.15 from floor to ceiling: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 6.16 standing … ceiling: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 6.23 statues of winged creatures: These were symbols of the Lord's throne on earth (see Exodus 25.18-22).
- 6.33,34 two sections: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 6.37 Ziv: See the note at 6.1.
- 6.38 Bul: The eighth month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-October to mid-November.
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