1 Kings 6
Contemporary English Version
The Outside of the Temple Is Completed
6 Solomon's workers started building the temple during Ziv,[a] the second month of the year. It had been 4 years since Solomon became king of Israel, and 480 years since the people of Israel left Egypt.
2 The inside of the Lord's temple was 27 meters long, 9 meters wide, and 13.5 meters high. 3 A four-and-a-half-meter porch went all the way across the front of the temple. 4 The windows were narrow on the outside but wide on the inside.
5-6 Along the sides and back of the temple, there were three levels of storage rooms. The rooms on the bottom level were just over two meters wide, the rooms on the middle level were over two and a half meters wide, and those on the top level were just over three meters wide. There were ledges on the outside of the temple that supported the beams of the storage rooms, so that nothing was built into the temple walls.
7 Solomon did not want the noise of hammers and axes to be heard at the place where the temple was being built. So he gave orders for the workers to shape the blocks of stone at the quarry.
8 The entrance to the bottom storage rooms was on the south side of the building, and stairs to the other rooms were also there. 9 The roof of the temple was made out of beams and cedar boards.
The workers finished building the outside of the temple. 10 Storage rooms just over two meters high were all around the temple, and they were attached to the temple by cedar beams.
11 The Lord told Solomon:
12-13 If you obey my commands and do what I say, I will keep the promise I made to your father David. I will live among my people Israel in this temple you are building, and I will not desert them.
14 So Solomon's workers finished building the temple.
The Inside of the Temple Is Furnished
(2 Chronicles 3.8-14)
15 The floor of the temple was made out of pine, and the walls were lined with cedar from floor to ceiling.[b]
16 (A) The most holy place was in the back of the temple, and it was nine meters square. Cedar boards standing from floor to ceiling[c] separated it from the rest of the temple. 17 The temple's main room was 18 meters long, and it was in front of the most holy place.
18 The inside walls were lined with cedar to hide the stones, and the cedar was decorated with carvings of gourds and flowers.
19 The sacred chest was kept in the most holy place. 20-22 (B) This room was nine meters long, nine meters wide, and nine meters high, and it was lined with pure gold. There were also gold chains across the front of the most holy place. The inside of the temple, as well as the cedar altar in the most holy place, was covered with gold.
23 (C) Solomon had two statues of winged creatures[d] made from olive wood to put in the most holy place. Each creature was four and a half meters tall 24-26 and four and a half meters across. They had two wings, and the wings were just over two meters long. 27 Solomon put them next to each other in the most holy place. Their wings were spread out and reached across the room. 28 The creatures were also covered with gold.
29 The walls of the two rooms were decorated with carvings of palm trees, flowers, and winged creatures. 30 Even the floor was covered with gold.
31-32 The two doors to the most holy place were made out of olive wood and were decorated with carvings of palm trees, flowers, and winged creatures. The doors and the carvings were covered with gold. The door frame came to a point at the top.
33-34 The two doors to the main room of the temple were made out of pine, and each one had two sections[e] so they could fold open. The door frame was shaped like a rectangle and was made out of olive wood. 35 The doors were covered with gold and were decorated with carvings of palm trees, flowers, and winged creatures.
36 The inner courtyard of the temple had walls made out of three layers of cut stones with one layer of cedar beams.
37 Work began on the temple during Ziv,[f] the second month of the year, four years after Solomon became king of Israel. 38 Seven years later the workers finished building it during Bul,[g] the eighth month of the year. It was built exactly as it had been planned.
Footnotes
- 6.1 Ziv: The second month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-April to mid-May.
- 6.15 from floor to ceiling: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 6.16 standing … ceiling: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 6.23 statues of winged creatures: These were symbols of the Lord's throne on earth (see Exodus 25.18-22).
- 6.33,34 two sections: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 6.37 Ziv: See the note at 6.1.
- 6.38 Bul: The eighth month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-October to mid-November.
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 Kings 6:1 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX fortieth
- 1 Kings 6:1 Or Ayyar, April or May
- 1 Kings 6:3 Heb. heykal; here the main room of the temple; elsewhere called the holy place, Ex. 26:33; Ezek. 41:1
- 1 Kings 6:3 About 30 feet
- 1 Kings 6:3 Lit. it
- 1 Kings 6:3 About 15 feet
- 1 Kings 6:5 Lit. house
- 1 Kings 6:5 Heb. debir; here the inner room of the temple; elsewhere called the Most Holy Place, v. 16
- 1 Kings 6:6 Lit. house
- 1 Kings 6:8 So with MT, Vg.; LXX upper story; Tg. ground story
- 1 Kings 6:9 Lit. house
- 1 Kings 6:12 Lit. house
- 1 Kings 6:12 promise
- 1 Kings 6:19 The Most Holy Place
- 1 Kings 6:27 Lit. house
- 1 Kings 6:31 Or five-sided
- 1 Kings 6:33 temple
- 1 Kings 6:33 Or four-sided
- 1 Kings 6:37 Or Ayyar, April or May
- 1 Kings 6:38 Or Heshvan, October or November
1 Kings 6
English Standard Version
Solomon Builds the Temple
6 (A)In the four hundred and eightieth year after the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, (B)he began to build the house of the Lord. 2 (C)The house that King Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits[a] long, twenty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high. 3 The vestibule in front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits long, equal to the width of the house, and ten cubits deep in front of the house. 4 And (D)he made for the house windows with recessed frames.[b] 5 (E)He also built a structure[c] against the wall of the house, running around the walls of the house, both the nave and (F)the inner sanctuary. And he made (G)side chambers all around. 6 The lowest story[d] was five cubits broad, the middle one was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad. For around the outside of the house he made offsets on the wall in order that the supporting beams should not be inserted into the walls of the house.
7 When the house was built, (H)it was with stone prepared at the quarry, so that neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was being built.
8 The entrance for the lowest[e] story was on the south side of the house, and one went up by stairs to the middle story, and from the middle story to the third. 9 (I)So he built the house and finished it, and he made the ceiling of the house of beams and planks of cedar. 10 He built the structure against the whole house, five cubits high, and it was joined to the house with timbers of cedar.
11 Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon, 12 “Concerning this house that you are building, (J)if you will walk in my statutes and obey my rules and keep all my commandments and walk in them, then I will establish my word with you, (K)which I spoke to David your father. 13 And (L)I will dwell among the children of Israel (M)and will not forsake my people Israel.”
14 (N)So Solomon built the house and finished it. 15 He lined the walls of the house on the inside with boards of cedar. From the floor of the house to the walls of the ceiling, he covered them on the inside with wood, (O)and he covered the floor of the house with boards of cypress. 16 (P)He built twenty cubits of the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the walls, and he built this within as an inner sanctuary, as (Q)the Most Holy Place. 17 The house, that is, the nave in front of the inner sanctuary, was forty cubits long. 18 The cedar within the house was carved in the form of (R)gourds and open flowers. All was cedar; no stone was seen. 19 The inner sanctuary he prepared in the innermost part of the house, to set there the ark of the covenant of the Lord. 20 The inner sanctuary[f] was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high, and he overlaid it with pure gold. He also overlaid[g] an altar of cedar. 21 And Solomon overlaid the inside of the house with pure gold, and he drew chains of gold across, in front of the inner sanctuary, and overlaid it with gold. 22 And he overlaid the whole house with gold, until all the house was finished. (S)Also the whole altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold.
23 (T)In the inner sanctuary (U)he made two cherubim of olivewood, each ten cubits high. 24 Five cubits was the length of one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the length of the other wing of the cherub; it was ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other. 25 The other cherub also measured ten cubits; both cherubim had the same measure and the same form. 26 The height of one cherub was ten cubits, and so was that of the other cherub. 27 He put the cherubim in the innermost part of the house. (V)And the wings of the cherubim were spread out so that a wing of one touched the one wall, and a wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; their other wings touched each other in the middle of the house. 28 And he overlaid the cherubim with gold.
29 Around all the walls of the house he carved engraved figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, in the inner and outer rooms. 30 The floor of the house he overlaid with gold in the inner and outer rooms.
31 For the entrance to the inner sanctuary he made doors of olivewood; the lintel and the doorposts were five-sided.[h] 32 He covered the two doors of olivewood with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. He overlaid them with gold and spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees.
33 So also he made for the entrance to the nave doorposts of olivewood, in the form of a square, 34 and two doors of cypress wood. (W)The two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding. 35 On them he carved cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, and he overlaid them with gold evenly applied on the carved work. 36 (X)He built the inner court with three courses of cut stone and one course of cedar beams.
37 (Y)In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid, in the month of Ziv. 38 And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its parts, and according to all its specifications. He was seven years in building it.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 6:2 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
- 1 Kings 6:4 Or blocked lattice windows
- 1 Kings 6:5 Or platform; also verse 10
- 1 Kings 6:6 Septuagint; Hebrew structure, or platform
- 1 Kings 6:8 Septuagint, Targum; Hebrew middle
- 1 Kings 6:20 Vulgate; Hebrew And before the inner sanctuary
- 1 Kings 6:20 Septuagint made
- 1 Kings 6:31 The meaning of the Hebrew phrase is uncertain
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