Building the Temple

Solomon began to build the temple for the Lord in the four hundred eightieth year(A) after the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of his reign over Israel, in the second month, in the month of Ziv.[a](B) The temple that King Solomon built for the Lord(C) was 90 feet[b] long, 30 feet[c] wide, and 45 feet[d] high.(D) The portico in front of the temple sanctuary was 30 feet[e] long extending across the temple’s width, and 15 feet deep[f] in front of the temple.(E) He also made windows with beveled frames[g] for the temple.(F)

He then built a chambered structure[h] along the temple wall, encircling the walls of the temple, that is, the sanctuary and the inner sanctuary.(G) And he made side chambers[i] all around.(H) The lowest chamber was 7½ feet[j] wide, the middle was nine feet[k] wide, and the third was 10½ feet[l] wide. He also provided offset ledges for the temple all around the outside so that nothing would be inserted into the temple walls. The temple’s construction used finished stones cut at the quarry so that no hammer, chisel, or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.(I)

The door for the lowest[m] side chamber was on the right side of the temple. They[n] went up a stairway[o] to the middle chamber, and from the middle to the third. When he finished building the temple,(J) he paneled it with boards and planks of cedar. 10 He built the chambers along the entire temple, joined to the temple with cedar beams;(K) each story was 7½ feet[p] high.

11 The word of the Lord came to Solomon:(L) 12 “As for this temple you are building—if you walk in My statutes, observe My ordinances, and keep all My commands by walking in them,(M) I will fulfill My promise to you, which I made to your father David.(N) 13 I will live among the Israelites and not abandon My people Israel.”(O)

14 When Solomon finished building the temple,[q](P) 15 he paneled the interior temple walls with cedar boards; from the temple floor to the surface of the ceiling he overlaid the interior with wood. He also overlaid the floor with cypress boards.(Q) 16 Then he lined 30 feet[r] of the rear of the temple with cedar boards from the floor to the surface of the ceiling,[s] and he built the interior as an inner sanctuary, the most holy place.(R) 17 The temple, that is, the sanctuary in front of the most holy place,[t] was 60 feet[u] long. 18 The cedar paneling inside the temple was carved with ornamental gourds(S) and flower blossoms. Everything was cedar;(T) not a stone could be seen.

19 He prepared the inner sanctuary(U) inside the temple to put the ark of the Lord’s covenant(V) there. 20 The interior of the sanctuary was 30 feet[v] long, 30 feet[w] wide, and 30 feet[x] high; he overlaid it with pure gold.(W) He also overlaid the cedar altar. 21 Next, Solomon overlaid the interior of the temple with pure gold, and he hung[y] gold chains(X) across the front of the inner sanctuary(Y) and overlaid it with gold. 22 So he added the gold overlay to the entire temple until everything was completely finished, including the entire altar(Z) that belongs to the inner sanctuary.

23 In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim(AA) 15 feet[z] high out of olive wood. 24 One wing of the first cherub was 7½ feet long,[aa] and the other wing was 7½ feet long. The wingspan was 15 feet[ab] from tip to tip. 25 The second cherub also was 15 feet;[ac] both cherubim had the same size and shape. 26 The first cherub’s height was 15 feet[ad] and so was the second cherub’s. 27 Then he put the cherubim inside the inner temple. Since their wings were spread out, the first one’s wing touched one wall while the second cherub’s wing touched the other[ae] wall, and in the middle of the temple their wings were touching wing to wing.(AB) 28 He also overlaid the cherubim with gold.

29 He carved all the surrounding temple walls with carved engravings—cherubim,(AC) palm trees and flower blossoms—in both the inner and outer sanctuaries. 30 He overlaid the temple floor with gold in both the inner and outer sanctuaries.

31 For the entrance of the inner sanctuary, he made olive wood doors.(AD) The pillars of the doorposts were five-sided.[af] 32 The two doors were made of olive wood. He carved cherubim, palm trees, and flower blossoms on them and overlaid them with gold, hammering gold over the cherubim and palm trees. 33 In the same way, he made four-sided[ag] olive wood doorposts for the sanctuary entrance. 34 The two doors(AE) were made of cypress wood; the first door had two folding sides, and the second door had two folding panels. 35 He carved cherubim, palm trees, and flower blossoms on them and overlaid them with gold applied evenly over the carving. 36 He built the inner courtyard(AF) with three rows of dressed stone(AG) and a row of trimmed cedar beams.

37 The foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid in Solomon’s fourth year in the month of Ziv. 38 In his eleventh year in the eighth month, in the month of Bul,[ah] the temple was completed in every detail and according to every specification.(AH) So he built it in seven years.(AI)

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 6:1 April–May
  2. 1 Kings 6:2 Lit 60 cubits
  3. 1 Kings 6:2 Lit 20 cubits
  4. 1 Kings 6:2 Lit 30 cubits
  5. 1 Kings 6:3 Lit 20 cubits
  6. 1 Kings 6:3 Lit 10 cubits wide
  7. 1 Kings 6:4 Hb obscure
  8. 1 Kings 6:5 Lit built the house of chamber
  9. 1 Kings 6:5 Lit made ribs or sides
  10. 1 Kings 6:6 Lit five cubits
  11. 1 Kings 6:6 Lit six cubits
  12. 1 Kings 6:6 Lit seven cubits
  13. 1 Kings 6:8 LXX, Tg; MT reads middle
  14. 1 Kings 6:8 = people
  15. 1 Kings 6:8 Hb obscure
  16. 1 Kings 6:10 Lit five cubits
  17. 1 Kings 6:14 LXX omits these vv.
  18. 1 Kings 6:16 Lit 20 cubits
  19. 1 Kings 6:16 LXX; MT omits of the ceiling; 1Kg 6:15
  20. 1 Kings 6:17 Lit front of me; Hb obscure
  21. 1 Kings 6:17 Lit 40 cubits
  22. 1 Kings 6:20 Lit 20 cubits
  23. 1 Kings 6:20 Lit 20 cubits
  24. 1 Kings 6:20 Lit 20 cubits
  25. 1 Kings 6:21 Lit he caused to pass across
  26. 1 Kings 6:23 Lit 10 cubits
  27. 1 Kings 6:24 Lit five cubits
  28. 1 Kings 6:24 Lit 10 cubits
  29. 1 Kings 6:25 Lit 10 cubits
  30. 1 Kings 6:26 Lit 10 cubits
  31. 1 Kings 6:27 Lit the second
  32. 1 Kings 6:31 Hb obscure
  33. 1 Kings 6:33 Hb obscure
  34. 1 Kings 6:38 = October–November

Solomon Builds the Temple(A)

In the four hundred and eightieth[a] year after the Israelites came out of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the second month,(B) he began to build the temple of the Lord.(C)

The temple(D) that King Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits long, twenty wide and thirty high.[b] The portico(E) at the front of the main hall of the temple extended the width of the temple, that is twenty cubits,[c] and projected ten cubits[d] from the front of the temple. He made narrow windows(F) high up in the temple walls. Against the walls of the main hall and inner sanctuary he built a structure around the building, in which there were side rooms.(G) The lowest floor was five cubits[e] wide, the middle floor six cubits[f] and the third floor seven.[g] He made offset ledges around the outside of the temple so that nothing would be inserted into the temple walls.

In building the temple, only blocks dressed(H) at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool(I) was heard at the temple site while it was being built.

The entrance to the lowest[h] floor was on the south side of the temple; a stairway led up to the middle level and from there to the third. So he built the temple and completed it, roofing it with beams and cedar(J) planks. 10 And he built the side rooms all along the temple. The height of each was five cubits, and they were attached to the temple by beams of cedar.

11 The word of the Lord came(K) to Solomon: 12 “As for this temple you are building, if you follow my decrees, observe my laws and keep all my commands(L) and obey them, I will fulfill through you the promise(M) I gave to David your father. 13 And I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon(N) my people Israel.”

14 So Solomon(O) built the temple and completed(P) it. 15 He lined its interior walls with cedar boards, paneling them from the floor of the temple to the ceiling,(Q) and covered the floor of the temple with planks of juniper.(R) 16 He partitioned off twenty cubits at the rear of the temple with cedar boards from floor to ceiling to form within the temple an inner sanctuary, the Most Holy Place.(S) 17 The main hall in front of this room was forty cubits[i] long. 18 The inside of the temple was cedar,(T) carved with gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; no stone was to be seen.

19 He prepared the inner sanctuary(U) within the temple to set the ark of the covenant(V) of the Lord there. 20 The inner sanctuary(W) was twenty cubits long, twenty wide and twenty high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold, and he also overlaid the altar of cedar.(X) 21 Solomon covered the inside of the temple with pure gold, and he extended gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, which was overlaid with gold. 22 So he overlaid the whole interior with gold. He also overlaid with gold the altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary.

23 For the inner sanctuary he made a pair of cherubim(Y) out of olive wood, each ten cubits high. 24 One wing of the first cherub was five cubits long, and the other wing five cubits—ten cubits from wing tip to wing tip. 25 The second cherub also measured ten cubits, for the two cherubim were identical in size and shape. 26 The height of each cherub was ten cubits. 27 He placed the cherubim(Z) inside the innermost room of the temple, with their wings spread out. The wing of one cherub touched one wall, while the wing of the other touched the other wall, and their wings touched each other in the middle of the room. 28 He overlaid the cherubim with gold.

29 On the walls(AA) all around the temple, in both the inner and outer rooms, he carved cherubim,(AB) palm trees and open flowers. 30 He also covered the floors of both the inner and outer rooms of the temple with gold.

31 For the entrance to the inner sanctuary he made doors out of olive wood that were one fifth of the width of the sanctuary. 32 And on the two olive-wood doors(AC) he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid the cherubim and palm trees with hammered gold. 33 In the same way, for the entrance to the main hall he made doorframes out of olive wood that were one fourth of the width of the hall. 34 He also made two doors out of juniper wood, each having two leaves that turned in sockets. 35 He carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers on them and overlaid them with gold hammered evenly over the carvings.

36 And he built the inner courtyard(AD) of three courses(AE) of dressed stone and one course of trimmed cedar beams.

37 The foundation of the temple of the Lord was laid in the fourth year, in the month of Ziv. 38 In the eleventh year in the month of Bul, the eighth month, the temple was finished in all its details(AF) according to its specifications.(AG) He had spent seven years building it.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 6:1 Hebrew; Septuagint four hundred and fortieth
  2. 1 Kings 6:2 That is, about 90 feet long, 30 feet wide and 45 feet high or about 27 meters long, 9 meters wide and 14 meters high
  3. 1 Kings 6:3 That is, about 30 feet or about 9 meters; also in verses 16 and 20
  4. 1 Kings 6:3 That is, about 15 feet or about 4.5 meters; also in verses 23-26
  5. 1 Kings 6:6 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters; also in verses 10 and 24
  6. 1 Kings 6:6 That is, about 9 feet or about 2.7 meters
  7. 1 Kings 6:6 That is, about 11 feet or about 3.2 meters
  8. 1 Kings 6:8 Septuagint; Hebrew middle
  9. 1 Kings 6:17 That is, about 60 feet or about 18 meters