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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. 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.
  2. 1 Kings 6:2 A cubit is about 18 inches.
  3. 1 Kings 6:5 The meaning is uncertain, perhaps additional rooms.
  4. 1 Kings 6:5 Lit inner sanctuary and so throughout the passage except v 16.
  5. 1 Kings 6:21 The purpose of the chains may have been to hold the veil or curtain.
  6. 1 Kings 6:23 Cherubim is the Hebrew plural of “cherub.”
  7. 1 Kings 6:24 The repetitive language of the description emphasizes the size and grandeur of the cherubim.
  8. 1 Kings 6:27 Lit wing to wing.
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1 Kings 6
Lexham English Bible

Solomon Builds the Temple for Yahweh

6 It happened in the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites[a] went out from the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s rule[b] over Israel, the month of Ziv (that is the second month), that he began to build the house for Yahweh. 2 Now the house that King Solomon built for Yahweh was sixty cubits in its length and twenty cubits in its width and thirty cubits in its height. 3 The vestibule on the face of the main hall of the temple[c] was twenty cubits in its length, and the width of the temple[d] was ten cubits wide on the face of the temple.[e] 4 And he made for the temple[f] specially designed framed windows, 5 and he built a structure against the wall of the temple[g] running all along the walls of the house, for the outer sanctuary and for the inner sanctuary, and made side rooms all around. 6 The lower structure was five cubits in its width and the middle was six cubits in its width and the third was seven cubits in its width, for he made niches for the temple[h] all around to the outside, so that beams would not attach to the walls of the temple.[i] 7 Now while the temple[j] was being built, it was built with stones finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or stone shaping tool or any instrument of iron was heard in the temple[k] as it was being built. 8 The doorway of the side room in the middle of the side of the temple[l] was on the south; they went up with a stairway to the middle and from the middle to the third floor. 9 So he built the house and finished it. He covered the temple[m] with rafters and wood planks and with the cedars. 10 He also built the structure against all of the temple[n] five cubits in height and fastened it to the temple[o] with beams of cedar.

11 Then the word of Yahweh came to Solomon, saying, 12 “Regarding this temple[p] that you are building: if you walk in my ordinances and if you do my judgments and you keep all my commandments to walk in them, then I will establish my promise with you which I made to David your father. 13 And I will dwell among[q] the Israelites,[r] and I will not forsake my people Israel.”

14 So Solomon built the temple[s] and finished it. 15 He lined the walls of the inside of the house[t] with boards of cedar; from the floor of the temple[u] up to the rafters of the ceiling he covered them with wood on the inside.[v] He also covered the floor of the temple[w] with cypress boards. 16 He built twenty cubits from the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor up to the ceiling, and he built for it an inner sanctuary on the inside, as the most holy place.[x] 17 The main hall of the temple[y] was forty cubits in front of the inner sanctuary,[z] 18 with the cedar within the inner house having carvings of gourds and buds of flowers. It was entirely of cedar; there was not a stone visible. 19 Now in the inner sanctuary in the middle of the temple[aa] he prepared the inside to place the ark of the covenant of Yahweh there. 20 In front, the inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long and twenty cubits wide and twenty cubits high, and he overlaid it with pure gold and covered the altar with cedar. 21 Solomon overlaid the temple[ab] on the inside with pure gold, and he drew across it with golden chains in front of the inner sanctuary, which he overlaid with gold.

22 All of the temple[ac] he overlaid with gold until all of the temple[ad] was finished; all of the altar which belonged to the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold. 23 He made two cherubim of olive wood for the inner sanctuary, ten cubits high. 24 Five cubits was the first wing of the cherub, and five cubits the second wing of the cherub, from the tip of his one wing up to the tip of his other wing. 25 The second cherub was ten cubits according to the same[ae] measurement, and there was one shape for the two cherubim. 26 The height of the first cherub was ten cubits and so was the second cherub.

27 He placed the cherubim in the middle of the inner house, and they spread out the wings of the cherubim; the wing of the first cherub touched against the wall and the wing of the second cherub was touching against the second wall; their wings spread to the middle of the house and were touching wing to wing. 28 He also overlaid the cherubim with gold.

29 On all of the walls around the house, he carved engravings of cherubim and palm tree images and budding flowers both inside and out. 30 He overlaid the floor of the house with gold both inside and out. 31 He made doors of olive wood for the doorway of the inner sanctuary, as well as for the doorpost of the fifth doorframe. 32 On the two doors of olive wood he made carvings of cherubim and palm tree images and budding flowers, and he overlaid them with gold by beating[af] out the gold on the cherubim and the palm tree images. 33 Thus he made doorframes of olive wood on four sides for the doorway of the main hall 34 and two doors of cypress wood; one door with two folding panels and the second door with two folding panels. 35 He carved cherubim and palm tree images and budding flowers and overlaid them with gold evenly applied on the carved work. 36 Then he built the inner courtyard with three rows of dressed stone and a row of cedar beams. 37 In the fourth year,[ag] the house of Yahweh was founded in the month of Ziv. 38 In the eleventh year in the month of Bul, that is, the eighth month, the house was finished according to all his specifications and according to all his plans. He had built it in seven years.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 6:1 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  2. 1 Kings 6:1 Literally “Solomon to rule”
  3. 1 Kings 6:3 Or “house”
  4. 1 Kings 6:3 Or “house”
  5. 1 Kings 6:3 Or “house”
  6. 1 Kings 6:4 Or “house”
  7. 1 Kings 6:5 Or “house”
  8. 1 Kings 6:6 Or “house”
  9. 1 Kings 6:6 Or “house”
  10. 1 Kings 6:7 Or “house”
  11. 1 Kings 6:7 Or “house”
  12. 1 Kings 6:8 Or “house”
  13. 1 Kings 6:9 Or “house”
  14. 1 Kings 6:10 Or “house”
  15. 1 Kings 6:10 Or “house”
  16. 1 Kings 6:12 Or “house”
  17. 1 Kings 6:13 Literally “in the middle of”
  18. 1 Kings 6:13 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  19. 1 Kings 6:14 Or “house”
  20. 1 Kings 6:15 Literally “the house from house”
  21. 1 Kings 6:15 Or “house”
  22. 1 Kings 6:15 Literally “from house”
  23. 1 Kings 6:15 Or “house”
  24. 1 Kings 6:16 Literally “as the holy place of the holy places.” Often referred to as the Holy of Holies
  25. 1 Kings 6:17 Or “house”
  26. 1 Kings 6:17 So LXX supported by the Vulgate. MT has “before me”
  27. 1 Kings 6:19 Or “house”
  28. 1 Kings 6:21 Or “house”
  29. 1 Kings 6:22 Or “house”
  30. 1 Kings 6:22 Or “house”
  31. 1 Kings 6:25 Literally “one”
  32. 1 Kings 6:32 Literally “and he beat out”
  33. 1 Kings 6:37 That is, the fourth year of Solomon’s reign
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1 Kings 6
New King James Version

Solomon Builds the Temple(A)

6 And (B)it came to pass in the four hundred and [a]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 of [b]Ziv, which is the second month, (C)that he began to build the house of the Lord. 2 Now (D)the house which King Solomon built for the Lord, its length was sixty cubits, its width twenty, and its height thirty cubits. 3 The vestibule in front of the [c]sanctuary of the house was [d]twenty cubits long across the width of the house, and the width of [e]the vestibule extended [f]ten cubits from the front of the house. 4 And he made for the house (E)windows with beveled frames.

5 Against the wall of the [g]temple he built (F)chambers all around, against the walls of the temple, all around the sanctuary (G)and the [h]inner sanctuary. Thus he made side chambers all around it. 6 The lowest chamber was five cubits wide, the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for he made narrow ledges around the outside of the temple, so that the support beams would not be fastened into the walls of the [i]temple. 7 And (H)the temple, when it was being built, was built with stone finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built. 8 The doorway for the [j]middle story was on the right side of the temple. They went up by stairs to the middle story, and from the middle to the third.

9 (I)So he built the [k]temple and finished it, and he paneled the temple with beams and boards of cedar. 10 And he built side chambers against the entire temple, each five cubits high; they were attached to the temple with cedar beams.

11 Then the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying: 12 “Concerning this [l]temple which you are building, (J)if you walk in My statutes, execute My judgments, keep all My commandments, and walk in them, then I will perform My [m]word with you, (K)which I spoke to your father David. 13 And (L)I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not (M)forsake My people Israel.”

14 So Solomon built the temple and finished it. 15 And he built the inside walls of the temple with cedar boards; from the floor of the temple to the ceiling he paneled the inside with wood; and he covered the floor of the temple with planks of cypress. 16 Then he built the twenty-cubit room at the rear of the temple, from floor to ceiling, with cedar boards; he built it inside as the inner sanctuary, as the (N)Most Holy Place. 17 And in front of it the temple sanctuary was forty cubits long. 18 The inside of the temple was cedar, carved with ornamental buds and open flowers. All was cedar; there was no stone to be seen.

19 And he prepared the [n]inner sanctuary inside the temple, to set the ark of the covenant of the Lord there. 20 The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high. He overlaid it with pure gold, and overlaid the altar of cedar. 21 So Solomon overlaid the inside of the temple with pure gold. He stretched gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, and overlaid it with gold. 22 The whole temple he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the temple; also he overlaid with gold (O)the entire altar that was by the inner sanctuary.

23 Inside the inner sanctuary (P)he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high. 24 One wing of the cherub was five cubits, and the other wing of the cherub five cubits: ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other. 25 And the other cherub was ten cubits; both cherubim were of the same size and shape. 26 The height of one cherub was ten cubits, and so was the other cherub. 27 Then he set the cherubim inside the inner [o]room; and (Q)they stretched out the wings of the cherubim so that the wing of the one touched one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall. And their wings touched each other in the middle of the room. 28 Also he overlaid the cherubim with gold.

29 Then he carved all the walls of the temple all around, both the inner and outer sanctuaries, with carved (R)figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. 30 And the floor of the temple he overlaid with gold, both the inner and outer sanctuaries.

31 For the entrance of the inner sanctuary he made doors of olive wood; the lintel and doorposts were [p]one-fifth of the wall. 32 The two doors were of olive wood; and he carved on them figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold; and he spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees. 33 So for the door of the [q]sanctuary he also made doorposts of olive wood, [r]one-fourth of the wall. 34 And the two doors were of cypress wood; (S)two panels comprised one folding door, and two panels comprised the other folding door. 35 Then he carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers on them, and overlaid them with gold applied evenly on the carved work.

36 And he built the (T)inner court with three rows of hewn stone and a row of cedar beams.

37 (U)In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid, in the month of [s]Ziv. 38 And in the eleventh year, in the month of [t]Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its details and according to all its plans. So he was (V)seven years in building it.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 6:1 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX fortieth
  2. 1 Kings 6:1 Or Ayyar, April or May
  3. 1 Kings 6:3 Heb. heykal; here the main room of the temple; elsewhere called the holy place, Ex. 26:33; Ezek. 41:1
  4. 1 Kings 6:3 About 30 feet
  5. 1 Kings 6:3 Lit. it
  6. 1 Kings 6:3 About 15 feet
  7. 1 Kings 6:5 Lit. house
  8. 1 Kings 6:5 Heb. debir; here the inner room of the temple; elsewhere called the Most Holy Place, v. 16
  9. 1 Kings 6:6 Lit. house
  10. 1 Kings 6:8 So with MT, Vg.; LXX upper story; Tg. ground story
  11. 1 Kings 6:9 Lit. house
  12. 1 Kings 6:12 Lit. house
  13. 1 Kings 6:12 promise
  14. 1 Kings 6:19 The Most Holy Place
  15. 1 Kings 6:27 Lit. house
  16. 1 Kings 6:31 Or five-sided
  17. 1 Kings 6:33 temple
  18. 1 Kings 6:33 Or four-sided
  19. 1 Kings 6:37 Or Ayyar, April or May
  20. 1 Kings 6:38 Or Heshvan, October or November
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