I Kings 6

¹In the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year that Solomon was king of Israel, in the month Ziv, which is the second month, the building of the Lord's house was started.

²The house which Solomon made for the Lord was sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide and thirty cubits high.

³The covered way before the Temple of the house was twenty cubits long, as wide as the house, and ten cubits wide in front of the house.

⁴And for the house he made windows, with network across.

⁵And against the walls all round, and against the walls of the Temple and of the inmost room, he put up wings, with side rooms all round:

⁶The lowest line of them being five cubits wide, the middle six cubits wide and the third seven cubits; for there was a space all round the outside walls of the house so that the boards supporting the rooms did not have to be fixed in the walls of the house.

⁷(And the stones used in the building of the house were squared at the place where they were cut out; there was no sound of hammer or axe or any iron instrument while they were building the house.)

⁸The door to the lowest side rooms was in the right side of the house; and they went up by twisting steps into the middle rooms, and from the middle into the third.

⁹So he put up the house and made it complete, roofing it with boards of cedar-wood.

¹⁰And he put up the line of side rooms against the walls of the house, fifteen cubits high, resting against the house on boards of cedar-wood.

¹¹(And the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying,

¹²About this house which you are building: if you will keep my laws and give effect to my decisions and be guided by my rules, I will give effect to my word which I gave to David your father.

¹³And I will be ever among the children of Israel, and will not go away from my people.

¹⁴So Solomon made the building of the house complete.)

¹⁵The walls of the house were covered inside with cedar-wood boards; from the floor to the roof of the house they were covered inside with wood; and the floor was covered with boards of cypress-wood.

¹⁶And at the back of the house a further space of twenty cubits was shut in with boards of cedar-wood, for the inmost room.

¹⁷And the house, that is, the Temple, in front of the holy place was forty cubits long.

¹⁸(All the inside of the house was cedar-wood, ornamented with designs of buds and flowers; no stonework was to be seen inside.)

¹⁹And he made ready an inmost room in the middle of the house, in which to put the ark of the agreement of the Lord.

²⁰And the inmost room was twenty cubits square and twenty cubits high, plated over with clear gold, and he made an altar of cedar-wood, plating it with gold.

²¹Solomon had all the inside of the house covered with gold, and he put chains of gold across in front of the inmost room, which itself was covered with gold.

²²Plates of gold were put all through the house till it was covered completely (and the altar in the inmost room was all covered with gold).

²³In the inmost room he made two winged beings of olive-wood, ten cubits high;

²⁴With outstretched wings five cubits wide; the distance from the edge of one wing to the edge of the other was ten cubits.

²⁵The two winged ones were ten cubits high, of the same size and form.

²⁶The two of them were ten cubits high.

²⁷These were placed inside the inner house, their outstretched wings touching the walls of the house, one touching one wall and one the other, while their other wings were touching in the middle.

²⁸These winged ones were plated over with gold.

²⁹And all the walls of the house inside and out were ornamented with forms of winged ones and palm-trees and open flowers.

³⁰And the floor of the house was covered with gold, inside and out.

³¹For the way into the inmost room he made doors of olive-wood, the arch and the door supports forming a five-sided opening.

³²On the olive-wood doors were cut designs of winged ones and palm-trees and open flowers, all of them, with the doors, plated with gold.

³³Then he made pillars of olive-wood for the way into the Temple; the pillars were square:

³⁴And two folding doors of cypress-wood, with two leaves.

³⁵These were ornamented with designs of winged ones and palm-trees and open flowers, plated over with gold.

³⁶And the inner space was walled with three lines of squared stones and a line of cedar-wood boards.

³⁷In the fourth year the base of the house was put in its place, in the month Ziv.

³⁸And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, the building of the house was complete in every detail, as it had been designed. So he was seven years building it.

I Kings 6

¹It happened 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, that he began to build the house of the Lord.

²The house which king Solomon built for the Lord, its length was sixty cubits, and its breadth twenty, and its height thirty cubits.

³The porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was its length, according to the breadth of the house. Ten cubits was its breadth before the house.

⁴For the house he made windows of fixed lattice work.

⁵Against the wall of the house he built stories all around, against the walls of the house all around, both of the temple and of the oracle; and he made side rooms all around.

⁶The nethermost story was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad; for on the outside he made offsets in the wall of the house all around, that the beams should not have hold in the walls of the house.

⁷The house, when it was in building, was built of stone prepared at the quarry; and there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.

⁸The door for the middle side rooms was in the right side of the house: and they went up by winding stairs into the middle story, and out of the middle into the third.

⁹So he built the house, and finished it; and he covered the house with beams and planks of cedar.

¹⁰He built the stories against all the house, each five cubits high: and they rested on the house with timber of cedar.

¹¹The 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 ordinances, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father.

¹³I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel."

¹⁴So Solomon built the house, and finished it.

¹⁵He 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 boards of fir.

¹⁶He built twenty cubits on the hinder part of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the ceiling: he built them for it within, for an oracle, even for the most holy place.

¹⁷In front of the temple sanctuary was forty cubits.

¹⁸There was cedar on the house within, carved with buds and open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen.

¹⁹He prepared an oracle in the midst of the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of the Lord.

²⁰Within the oracle was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in its height; and he overlaid it with pure gold: and he covered the altar with cedar.

²¹So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: and he drew chains of gold across before the oracle; and he overlaid it with gold.

²²The whole house he overlaid with gold, until all the house was finished: also the whole altar that belonged to the oracle he overlaid with gold.

²³In the oracle he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high.

²⁴Five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the uttermost part of the one wing to the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits.

²⁵The other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubim were of one measure and one form.

²⁶The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was it of the other cherub.

²⁷He set the cherubim within the inner house; and the wings of the cherubim were stretched forth, 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 midst of the house.

²⁸He overlaid the cherubim with gold.

²⁹He carved all the walls of the house around with carved figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, inside and outside.

³⁰The floor of the house he overlaid with gold, inside and outside.

³¹For the entrance of the oracle he made doors of olive wood: the lintel and door posts were a fifth part of the wall.

³²So he made two doors of olive wood; and he carved on them carvings of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold; and he spread the gold on the cherubim, and on the palm trees.

³³So also made he for the entrance of the temple door posts of olive wood, out of a fourth part of the wall;

³⁴and two doors of fir wood: the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding.

³⁵He carved cherubim and palm trees and open flowers; and he overlaid them with gold fitted on the engraved work.

³⁶He built the inner court with three courses of cut stone, and a course of cedar beams.

³⁷In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the Lord laid, in the month Ziv.

³⁸In the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all its parts, and according to all its fashion. So was he seven years in building it.