1 Kings 6

Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

6 And 480 years after the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the second month, Ziv, he began to build the Lord’s house.

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

³ The length of the vestibule in front of the temple was twenty cubits, equal to the width of the house, and its depth in front of the house was ten cubits.

⁴ For the house he made narrow [latticed] windows.

⁵ Against the wall of the house he built chambers running round the walls of the house both of the Holy Place and of the Holy of Holies; and he made side chambers all around.

⁶ The first story’s side chambers were five cubits wide, those of the middle story six cubits wide, and of the third story seven cubits wide; for around the outside of the wall of the house he made offsets in order that the supporting beams should not be thrust into the walls of the house.

⁷ When the house was being built, its stone was made ready at the quarry, and no hammer, ax, or tool of iron was heard in the house while it was in building.

⁸ The entrance to the lowest side chamber was on the right [or south] side of the house; and one went up winding stairs into the middle chamber and from the middle into the third.

⁹ So Solomon built the temple building and finished it, and roofed the house with beams and boards of cedar.

¹⁰ Then he built the stories of chambers [the lean-to] against all the house, each [story] five cubits high; and it was joined to the house with timbers of cedar.

¹¹ Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying,

¹² Concerning this house which you are building, if you will walk in My statutes, execute My precepts, and keep all My commandments to walk in them, then I will fulfill to you My promises which I made to David your father.

¹³ And I will dwell among the Israelites and will not forsake My people Israel.

¹⁴ So Solomon built the house and finished it.

¹⁵ He built the walls of the house (the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies) within with boards of cedar, from the floor of the house to the rafters of the ceiling. He covered the inside with wood, and the floor of the house with boards of cypress.

¹⁶ He built twenty cubits of the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the rafters; he built it within for the sanctuary, the Holy of Holies.

¹⁷ The [rest of the] house, that is, the temple in front of the Holy of Holies, was forty cubits long.

¹⁸ The cedar on the house within was carved with gourds and open flowers. All was cedar; no stone was visible.

¹⁹ And he prepared the Holy of Holies in the inner room in which to set the ark of the covenant of the Lord.

²⁰ The Holy of Holies was twenty cubits in length, in breadth, and in height. He overlaid it with pure gold. He also overlaid the cedar altar.

²¹ Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold, and he drew chains of gold across in front of the Holy of Holies and overlaid it with gold.

²² And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until all the house was finished. Also the whole [incense] altar that [stood outside the door but] belonged to the Holy of Holies he overlaid with gold.

²³ Within the Holy of Holies he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high.

²⁴ Five cubits was the length of one wing of the cherub and five cubits its other wing; from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other was ten cubits.

²⁵ The wings of the other cherub were also ten cubits. Both cherubim were the same,

²⁶ The height of one cherub ten cubits, as was the other.

²⁷ He put the cherubim within the inner sanctuary. Their wings were stretched out, so that the wing of one touched one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall, and their inner wings touched in the midst of the room.

²⁸ Solomon overlaid the cherubim with gold.

²⁹ He carved all the walls of the house (these two holy rooms) round about with figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, within and without.

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

³¹ For the Holy of Holies he made [folding] doors of olive wood; their entire width was one-fifth that of the wall.

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

³³ Also he made for the door of the Holy Place four-sided posts of olive wood.

³⁴ The two doors were of cypress wood; the two leaves of each door were folding.

³⁵ He carved on them cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, covered with gold evenly applied on the carved work.

³⁶ He built the inner court with three rows of hewn stone and a row of cedar beams.

³⁷ In the fourth year the foundation of the Lord’s house was laid, in the [second] month, Ziv.

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