Chronological
Preparations to Build the Temple(A)
5 [a]King Hiram of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he learned that Solomon[b] had been anointed king to replace his father, because Hiram had been David’s lifelong friend.[c] 2 Solomon sent this message to Hiram:
3 “You know that my father David was unable to build a temple dedicated to[d] the Lord his God because he was busy fighting wars all around him until the Lord defeated his enemies. 4 But now the Lord has given me rest all around, since I have neither foreign adversaries nor domestic crises. 5 So now I’m planning to build a temple dedicated to[e] the Lord my God, just as the Lord told my father when he said, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne to replace you, will build the Temple dedicated to me.’[f] 6 Now therefore please order that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me. My servants will work with your servants, and I will pay your servants whatever wages you set, because you know there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians do.”
7 As soon as Hiram received the message from Solomon, he became so ecstatic that he exclaimed, “Blessed be the Lord today, who has given David a wise son to rule this great people!” Then he sent this message to Solomon:
8 “I have read the letter that you sent me. I’ll do what you’ve asked about the cedar and cypress timber. 9 My servants will transport them from Lebanon to the sea, where we’ll make them into rafts and float them by sea to the port that you tell me to send them. We’ll have them prepared for transport there and then you can carry them from there. You can meet my needs by providing provisions for my household.”
10 That’s how Hiram came to provide Solomon as much cedar and cypress timber as he needed. 11 In return, Solomon paid Hiram 20,000 kors of wheat as food for his household, and 20 kors of beaten oil. Solomon provided this amount every year during the construction.[g]
12 The Lord continued giving Solomon wisdom, just as he had promised, and Hiram and Solomon entered into a peace treaty between themselves.
Conscripted Labor for the Building Program
13 King Solomon conscripted laborers from throughout Israel. The work force numbered 30,000 men. 14 He sent 10,000 men to Lebanon in shifts lasting one month. They worked one month in Lebanon for every two months they worked at home. Adoniram was placed in charge of the conscripted labor. 15 Solomon also employed 70,000 heavy-lift workers and 80,000 stonecutters in the hill country. 16 Solomon also employed 3,300 officials to supervise the work and to manage the people employed in the construction. 17 The king specified that large, expensive stones be quarried so the foundation of the Temple could be laid with cut stones. 18 As a result, Solomon’s builders worked with Hiram’s builders, accompanied by the Gebalites, to quarry the stone and to prepare the timber and other[h] stone for the Temple’s construction.
Temple Construction Begins(B)
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[i] long and 20 cubits[j] wide. 3 A portico extended in front of the Temple for 20 cubits[k] outward, corresponding to the width of the Temple. Along the front of the Temple its depth was ten cubits.[l] 4 Solomon[m] also constructed windows in the Temple with specially designed[n] 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.[o] 6 The lower structures were five cubits[p] wide, the middle structures were six cubits[q] wide and the third structures were seven cubits[r] 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[s] could ascend winding stairs to the middle story, then from there to the third story.
Interior Finishing with Gold and Cedar
9 After Solomon[t] 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[u] high, and fastened it to the Temple with cedar timbers.
11 Then this message from the Lord came to Solomon: 12 “Concerning[v] this Temple that you’re building, if you live your life[w] 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[x] 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[y] long. 18 Cedar[z] 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[aa] 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[ab] long, 20 cubits[ac] wide, and 20 cubits[ad] 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(C)
23 Inside the inner sanctuary Solomon[ae] placed two cherubim crafted from olive wood, each ten cubits[af] high. 24 Each wing of one cherub was five cubits[ag] long, and each wing of the other cherub was five cubits[ah] long, so that the distance from the end of one wing to the end of the other wing was ten cubits.[ai] 25 Each cherub was ten cubits[aj] high, and both were of the same size and shape, 26 the height of one cherub being ten cubits,[ak] as was the height of the other.
27 Solomon[al] 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[am] 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[an] 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[ao] 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[ap] also inlaid the doors with[aq] cherubim, palm trees, and blooming flowers. He overlaid them with gold that was carefully[ar] 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[as] reign, that is, during the month of Bul. It took about seven years to build.
Solomon Enlists King Hiram’s Help to Build the Temple(A)
2 [a]Now Solomon was determined[b] to build a temple dedicated to the Name of the Lord as well as his own royal palace. 2 [c]So Solomon conscripted 70,000 men to do heavy work, 80,000 men to quarry in the hill country, and 3,600 to supervise them. 3 Solomon also sent this message to King Hiram[d] of Tyre:
“Just as you did with my father David, sending him cedars to build him a palace to live in, do the same for me. 4 Look, I’m building a temple dedicated to the name of the Lord my God, to his glory, so we can burn fragrant incense in his presence, display rows of the bread of his presence continuously, and make burnt offerings in the morning, evening, on Sabbath days,[e] during New Moon festivals,[f] and during appointed festivals scheduled[g] by the Lord our God. This is mandated forever in Israel.
5 “The Temple that I’m building will be great, because the greatness of our God surpasses that of[h] all gods. 6 But who can build a temple for him, since neither heaven nor the highest of the heavens can contain him? So who am I, that I should build a temple to him, except to burn incense in his presence?
7 “At any rate, send me an individual who is a skilled craftsman in gold, silver, bronze, and iron, as well as in purple, crimson, and blue[i] materials,[j] who knows how to craft engravings, so he may work with the craftsmen whom I have assembled in Judah and Jerusalem, as provided for by my father David. 8 Also send me cedar, cypress, and algum timber from Lebanon, since I’m aware that your servants know how to cut down timber from Lebanon. My servants will accompany your servants 9 to prepare an abundant amount of timber for me, because the Temple that I’m building is to be great and awesome.
10 “Now look! I will pay your servants, the lumberjacks who prepare the timber, 20,000 measures[k] of barley, 20,000 baths[l] of wine, and 20,000 baths[m] of oil.”
Solomon’s Wealth
11 In a letter that he sent to Solomon, King Hiram of Tyre wrote,[n] “Because he loves his people, the Lord has placed you as king over them.” 12 Hiram also wrote:
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who made the heavens and the earth. He gave King David a wise son, who is acquainted with discretion and understanding, and who is building a temple to the Lord, as well as a royal palace for himself.
13 Now I’m sending along Hiram-abi,[o] a skilled craftsman, who is very creative.[p] 14 He is the son of a mother from the tribe of Dan, and his father is from Tyre. He’s skilled in working with gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and timber, as well as in purple, blue,[q] linen, and crimson materials.[r] He is skilled in engravings, and can craft any design to which he may be assigned. He will work with your skilled artisans and with all of your craftsmen who have been assigned by my lord David, your father.
15 “So then, may my lord send to his servants the wheat, barley, oil, and wine about which he has spoken. 16 We’ll cut down the timber you need from Lebanon and transport it to you on rafts by sea to Joppa, so you can move it to Jerusalem.”
17 Solomon took a census of all the non-Israeli men[s] who lived in the land of Israel, after the census that his father David had taken, and 153,600 were counted. 18 He conscripted 70,000 of them to do heavy work, 80,000 to quarry in the hill country, and 3,600 men to supervise the people.
Temple Construction(B)
3 So Solomon began construction of the Lord’s Temple in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah where the Lord[t] had appeared to his father David, that is, where David had prepared Ornan the Jebusite’s threshing floor. 2 He began construction on the second day[u] of the second month of the fourth year of his reign.
Dimensions of the Temple
3 These are the foundations that Solomon set in place for God’s Temple. The length in terms of the former standard measurements: 60 cubits;[v] its width: 20 cubits.[w] 4 A portico extended in front of the Temple for its entire width of 20 cubits,[x] and was[y] 120 cubits[z] high. Inside he had it overlaid with pure gold. 5 The main room of the Temple was trimmed with a wainscoting composed of cypress wood, overlaid with fine gold ornamented with palm trees and chains. 6 The Temple was adorned with precious stones, including gold from the Orient.[aa] 7 The Temple was overlaid with gold, including the beams, thresholds, walls, and doors. Cherubim were engraved on the walls. 8 With respect to the Most Holy Place in the Temple, its length across the width of the Temple was 20 cubits,[ab] and its width extended 20 cubits.[ac]
Materials of the Temple
Solomon[ad] overlaid it with 600 talents[ae] of pure gold. 9 The gold nails weighed 50 shekels.[af] He also overlaid the upper rooms with gold. 10 He crafted two cherubim from wood, overlaid them with gold, and placed them in the Most Holy Place in the Temple. 11 The wingspan of the cherubim was 20 cubits;[ag] the wing of one, five cubits[ah] long, touched the wall of the Temple, and its other wing, five cubits[ai] long, touched the wing of the other cherub. 12 The wing of the other cherub, five cubits[aj] long, touched the opposite[ak] wall of the Temple and its other wing, five cubits[al] long, touched the wing of the first[am] cherub. 13 The wings of these cherubim extended for 20 cubits[an] as they stood on their feet and faced the front of[ao] the Temple. 14 He constructed the veil from blue,[ap] purple, crimson, and fine linen, embroidering cherubim on it. 15 He also made two pillars 35 cubits[aq] high for the front of the Temple, topped by a capital that was five cubits[ar] high. 16 He crafted chains for the inner sanctuary and placed them on top of the pillars, attaching 100 pomegranates to each of the chains. 17 He set up the pillars at the front of the Temple, one on the south side of the entrance[as] and the other on the north side of the entrance.[at] He named the south pillar Jachin[au] and the north pillar Boaz.[av]
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.