1 Kings 6-8

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.

Solomon’s Other Buildings

7 But Solomon took ^(W)thirteen years to build his own house; so he finished all his house.

² He also built the ^(X)House of the Forest of Lebanon; its length was ^[u]one hundred cubits, its width ^[v]fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits, with four rows of cedar pillars, and cedar beams on the pillars. ³ And it was paneled with cedar above the beams that were on forty-five pillars, fifteen to a row. ⁴ There were windows with beveled frames in three rows, and window was opposite window in three tiers. ⁵ And all the doorways and doorposts had rectangular frames; and window was opposite window in three tiers.

⁶ He also made the Hall of Pillars: its length was fifty cubits, and its width thirty cubits; and in front of them was a portico with pillars, and a canopy was in front of them.

⁷ Then he made a hall for the throne, the Hall of Judgment, where he might judge; and it was paneled with cedar from floor to ^[w]ceiling.

⁸ And the house where he dwelt had another court inside the hall, of like workmanship. Solomon also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, ^(Y)whom he had taken as wife.

⁹ All these were of costly stones cut to size, trimmed with saws, inside and out, from the foundation to the eaves, and also on the outside to the great court. ¹⁰ The foundation was of costly stones, large stones, some ten cubits and some eight cubits. ¹¹ And above were costly stones, hewn to size, and cedar wood. ¹² The great court was enclosed with three rows of hewn stones and a row of cedar beams. So were the ^(Z)inner court of the house of the Lord ^(AA)and the vestibule of the temple.

Hiram the Craftsman

¹³ Now King Solomon sent and brought ^[x]Huram from Tyre. ^14 (AB)He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and ^(AC)his father was a man of Tyre, a bronze worker; ^(AD)he was filled with wisdom and understanding and skill in working with all kinds of bronze work. So he came to King Solomon and did all his work.

The Bronze Pillars for the Temple^(AE)

¹⁵ And he ^[y]cast ^(AF)two pillars of bronze, each one eighteen cubits high, and a line of twelve cubits measured the circumference of each. ¹⁶ Then he made two capitals of cast bronze, to set on the tops of the pillars. The height of one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits. ¹⁷ He made a lattice network, with wreaths of chainwork, for the capitals which were on top of the pillars: seven chains for one capital and seven for the other capital. ¹⁸ So he made the pillars, and two rows of pomegranates above the network all around to cover the capitals that were on top; and thus he did for the other capital.

¹⁹ The capitals which were on top of the pillars in the hall were in the shape of lilies, four cubits. ²⁰ The capitals on the two pillars also had pomegranates above, by the convex surface which was next to the network; and there were ^(AG)two hundred such pomegranates in rows on each of the capitals all around.

^21 (AH)Then he set up the pillars by the vestibule of the temple; he set up the pillar on the right and called its name ^[z]Jachin, and he set up the pillar on the left and called its name ^[aa]Boaz. ²² The tops of the pillars were in the shape of lilies. So the work of the pillars was finished.

The Sea and the Oxen

²³ And he made ^(AI)the Sea of cast bronze, ten cubits from one brim to the other; it was completely round. Its height was five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference.

²⁴ Below its brim were ornamental buds encircling it all around, ten to a cubit, ^(AJ)all the way around the Sea. The ornamental buds were cast in two rows when it was cast. ²⁵ It stood on ^(AK)twelve oxen: three looking toward the north, three looking toward the west, three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east; the Sea was set upon them, and all their back parts pointed inward. ²⁶ It was a handbreadth thick; and its brim was shaped like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It contained ^[ab]two thousand baths.

The Carts and the Lavers

²⁷ He also made ten ^[ac]carts of bronze; four cubits was the length of each cart, four cubits its width, and three cubits its height. ²⁸ And this was the design of the carts: They had panels, and the panels were between frames; ²⁹ on the panels that were between the frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim. And on the frames was a pedestal on top. Below the lions and oxen were wreaths of plaited work. ³⁰ Every cart had four bronze wheels and axles of bronze, and its four feet had supports. Under the laver were supports of cast bronze beside each wreath. ³¹ Its opening inside the crown at the top was one cubit in diameter; and the opening was round, shaped like a pedestal, one and a half cubits in outside diameter; and also on the opening were engravings, but the panels were square, not round. ³² Under the panels were the four wheels, and the axles of the wheels were joined to the cart. The height of a wheel was one and a half cubits. ³³ The workmanship of the wheels was like the workmanship of a chariot wheel; their axle pins, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all of cast bronze. ³⁴ And there were four supports at the four corners of each cart; its supports were part of the cart itself. ³⁵ On the top of the cart, at the height of half a cubit, it was perfectly round. And on the top of the cart, its flanges and its panels were of the same casting. ³⁶ On the plates of its flanges and on its panels he engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees, wherever there was a clear space on each, with wreaths all around. ³⁷ Thus he made the ten carts. All of them were of ^[ad]the same mold, one measure, and one shape.

³⁸ Then ^(AL)he made ten lavers of bronze; each laver contained ^[ae]forty baths, and each laver was four cubits. On each of the ten carts was a laver. ³⁹ And he put five carts on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house. He set the Sea on the right side of the house, toward the southeast.

Furnishings of the Temple^(AM)

^40 (AN)Huram^[af] made the lavers and the shovels and the bowls. So Huram finished doing all the work that he was to do for King Solomon for the house of the Lord: ⁴¹ the two pillars, the two bowl-shaped capitals that were on top of the two pillars; the two ^(AO)networks covering the two bowl-shaped capitals which were on top of the pillars; ^42 (AP)four hundred pomegranates for the two networks (two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowl-shaped capitals that were on top of the pillars); ⁴³ the ten carts, and ten lavers on the carts; ⁴⁴ one Sea, and twelve oxen under the Sea; ^45 (AQ)the pots, the shovels, and the bowls.

All these articles which ^[ag]Huram made for King Solomon for the house of the Lord were of burnished bronze. ^46 (AR)In the plain of Jordan the king had them cast in clay molds, between ^(AS)Succoth and ^(AT)Zaretan. ⁴⁷ And Solomon did not weigh all the articles, because there were so many; the weight of the bronze was not ^(AU)determined.

⁴⁸ Thus Solomon had all the furnishings made for the house of the Lord: ^(AV)the altar of gold, and ^(AW)the table of gold on which was ^(AX)the showbread; ⁴⁹ the lampstands of pure gold, five on the right side and five on the left in front of the inner sanctuary, with the flowers and the lamps and the wick-trimmers of gold; ⁵⁰ the basins, the trimmers, the bowls, the ladles, and the ^[ah]censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, both for the doors of the inner room (the Most Holy Place) and for the doors of the main hall of the temple.

⁵¹ So all the work that King Solomon had done for the house of the Lord was finished; and Solomon brought in the things ^(AY)which his father David had dedicated: the silver and the gold and the furnishings. He put them in the treasuries of the house of the Lord.

The Ark Brought into the Temple^(AZ)

8 Now ^(BA)Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, ^(BB)that they might bring ^(BC)up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the City of David, which is Zion. ² Therefore all the men of Israel assembled with King Solomon at the ^(BD)feast in the month of ^[ai]Ethanim, which is the seventh month. ³ So all the elders of Israel came, ^(BE)and the priests took up the ark. ⁴ Then they brought up the ark of the Lord, ^(BF)the ^[aj]tabernacle of meeting, and all the holy furnishings that were in the tabernacle. The priests and the Levites brought them up. ⁵ Also King Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled with him, were with him before the ark, ^(BG)sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted or numbered for multitude. ⁶ Then the priests ^(BH)brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord to ^(BI)its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the Most Holy Place, ^(BJ)under the wings of the cherubim. ⁷ For the cherubim spread their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles. ⁸ The poles ^(BK)extended so that the ^[ak]ends of the poles could be seen from the holy place, in front of the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day. ^9 (BL)Nothing was in the ark ^(BM)except the two tablets of stone which Moses ^(BN)put there at Horeb, ^(BO)when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁰ And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud ^(BP)filled the house of the Lord, ¹¹ so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the ^(BQ)glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

^12 (BR)Then Solomon spoke:

Solomon’s Speech at Completion of the Work^(BV)

¹⁴ Then the king turned around and ^(BW)blessed the whole assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing. ¹⁵ And he said: ^(BX)“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who ^(BY)spoke with His mouth to my father David, and with His hand has fulfilled it, saying, ¹⁶ ‘Since the day that I brought My people Israel out of Egypt, I have chosen no city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house, that ^(BZ)My name might be there; but I chose ^(CA)David to be over My people Israel.’ ¹⁷ Now ^(CB)it was in the heart of my father David to build a ^[al]temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel. ^18 (CC)But the Lord said to my father David, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a temple for My name, you did well that it was in your heart. ¹⁹ Nevertheless ^(CD)you shall not build the temple, but your son who will come from your body, he shall build the temple for My name.’ ²⁰ So the Lord has fulfilled His word which He spoke; and I have ^[am]filled the position of my father David, and sit on the throne of Israel, ^(CE)as the Lord promised; and I have built a temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel. ²¹ And there I have made a place for the ark, in which is ^(CF)the covenant of the Lord which He made with our fathers, when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.”

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication^(CG)

²² Then Solomon stood before ^(CH)the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and ^(CI)spread out his hands toward heaven; ²³ and he said: “Lord God of Israel, ^(CJ)there is no God in heaven above or on earth below like You, ^(CK)who keep Your covenant and mercy with Your servants who ^(CL)walk before You with all their hearts. ²⁴ You have kept what You promised Your servant David my father; You have both spoken with Your mouth and fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day. ²⁵ Therefore, Lord God of Israel, now keep what You promised Your servant David my father, saying, ^(CM)‘You shall not fail to have a man sit before Me on the throne of Israel, only if your sons take heed to their way, that they walk before Me as you have walked before Me.’ ^26 (CN)And now I pray, O God of Israel, let Your word come true, which You have spoken to Your servant David my father.

²⁷ “But ^(CO)will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the ^(CP)heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built! ²⁸ Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O Lord my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You today: ²⁹ that Your eyes may be open toward this ^[an]temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, ^(CQ)‘My name shall be ^(CR)there,’ that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes ^(CS)toward this place. ^30 (CT)And may You hear the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Hear in heaven Your dwelling place; and when You hear, forgive.

³¹ “When anyone sins against his neighbor, and is forced to take ^(CU)an oath, and comes and takes an oath before Your altar in this temple, ³² then hear in heaven, and act, and judge Your servants, ^(CV)condemning the wicked, bringing his way on his head, and justifying the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness.

^33 (CW)“When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, and ^(CX)when they turn back to You and confess Your name, and pray and make supplication to You in this temple, ³⁴ then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave to their ^(CY)fathers.

^35 (CZ)“When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, when they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and turn from their sin because You afflict them, ³⁶ then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, that You may ^(DA)teach them ^(DB)the good way in which they should walk; and send rain on Your land which You have given to Your people as an inheritance.

^37 (DC)“When there is famine in the land, pestilence or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers; when their enemy besieges them in the land of their ^[ao]cities; whatever plague or whatever sickness there is; ³⁸ whatever prayer, whatever supplication is made by anyone, or by all Your people Israel, when each one knows the plague of his own heart, and spreads out his hands toward this temple: ³⁹ then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and act, and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know (for You alone ^(DD)know the hearts of all the sons of men), ^40 (DE)that they may fear You all the days that they live in the land which You gave to our fathers.

⁴¹ “Moreover, concerning a foreigner, who is not of Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for Your name’s sake ⁴² (for they will hear of Your great name and Your ^(DF)strong hand and Your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this temple, ⁴³ hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, ^(DG)that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and ^(DH)fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this temple which I have built is called by Your name.

⁴⁴ “When Your people go out to battle against their enemy, wherever You send them, and when they pray to the Lord toward the city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name, ⁴⁵ then hear in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their ^[ap]cause.

⁴⁶ “When they sin against You ^(DI)(for there is no one who does not sin), and You become angry with them and deliver them to the enemy, and they take them captive ^(DJ)to the land of the enemy, far or near; ^47 (DK)yet when they ^[aq]come to themselves in the land where they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication to You in the land of those who took them captive, ^(DL)saying, ‘We have sinned and done wrong, we have committed wickedness’; ⁴⁸ and when they ^(DM)return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who led them away captive, and ^(DN)pray to You toward their land which You gave to their fathers, the city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name: ⁴⁹ then hear in heaven Your dwelling place their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their ^[ar]cause, ⁵⁰ and forgive Your people who have sinned against You, and all their transgressions which they have transgressed against You; and ^(DO)grant them compassion before those who took them captive, that they may have compassion on them ⁵¹ (for ^(DP)they are Your people and Your inheritance, whom You brought out of Egypt, ^(DQ)out of the iron furnace), ^52 (DR)that Your eyes may be open to the supplication of Your servant and the supplication of Your people Israel, to listen to them whenever they call to You. ⁵³ For You separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be Your inheritance, ^(DS)as You spoke by Your servant Moses, when You brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.”

Solomon Blesses the Assembly^(DT)

^54 (DU)And so it was, when Solomon had finished praying all this prayer and supplication to the Lord, that he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven. ⁵⁵ Then he stood ^(DV)and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying: ⁵⁶ “Blessed be the Lord, who has given ^(DW)rest^[as] to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. ^(DX)There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses. ⁵⁷ May the Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers. ^(DY)May He not leave us nor forsake us, ⁵⁸ that He may ^(DZ)incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers. ⁵⁹ And may these words of mine, with which I have made supplication before the Lord, be near the Lord our God day and night, that He may maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, as each day may require, ^60 (EA)that all the peoples of the earth may know that ^(EB)the Lord is God; there is no other. ⁶¹ Let your ^(EC)heart therefore be ^[at]loyal to the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, as at this day.”

Solomon Dedicates the Temple^(ED)

⁶² Then ^(EE)the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the Lord. ⁶³ And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered to the Lord, twenty-two thousand bulls and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord. ⁶⁴ On ^(EF)the same day the king consecrated the middle of the court that was in front of the house of the Lord; for there he offered burnt offerings, grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the ^(EG)bronze altar that was before the Lord was too small to receive the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.

⁶⁵ At that time Solomon held ^(EH)a feast, and all Israel with him, a great assembly from ^(EI)the entrance of Hamath to ^(EJ)the Brook of Egypt, before the Lord our God, ^(EK)seven days and seven more days—fourteen days. ^66 (EL)On the eighth day he sent the people away; and they ^[au]blessed the king, and went to their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the good that the Lord had done for His servant David, and for Israel His people.