1 Kings 6-8

New International Version

Solomon Builds the Temple^(A)

6 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)

²The temple^(D) that King Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits long, twenty wide and thirty high.^[b] ³The 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. ⁴He made narrow windows^(F) high up in the temple walls. ⁵Against the walls of the main hall and inner sanctuary he built a structure around the building, in which there were side rooms.^(G) ⁶The 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.

⁷In 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.

⁸The 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. ⁹So he built the temple and completed it, roofing it with beams and cedar^(J) planks. ¹⁰And 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.

¹¹The 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. ¹³And I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon^(N) my people Israel.”

¹⁴So Solomon^(O) built the temple and completed^(P) it. ¹⁵He 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) ¹⁶He 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) ¹⁷The main hall in front of this room was forty cubits^[i] long. ¹⁸The inside of the temple was cedar,^(T) carved with gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; no stone was to be seen.

¹⁹He prepared the inner sanctuary^(U) within the temple to set the ark of the covenant^(V) of the Lord there. ²⁰The 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) ²¹Solomon 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. ²²So he overlaid the whole interior with gold. He also overlaid with gold the altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary.

²³For the inner sanctuary he made a pair of cherubim^(Y) out of olive wood, each ten cubits high. ²⁴One wing of the first cherub was five cubits long, and the other wing five cubits—ten cubits from wing tip to wing tip. ²⁵The second cherub also measured ten cubits, for the two cherubim were identical in size and shape. ²⁶The height of each cherub was ten cubits. ²⁷He 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. ²⁸He overlaid the cherubim with gold.

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

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

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

³⁷The foundation of the temple of the Lord was laid in the fourth year, in the month of Ziv. ³⁸In 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.

Solomon Builds His Palace

7 It took Solomon thirteen years, however, to complete the construction of his palace.^(AH) ²He built the Palace^(AI) of the Forest of Lebanon^(AJ) a hundred cubits long, fifty wide and thirty high,^[j] with four rows of cedar columns supporting trimmed cedar beams. ³It was roofed with cedar above the beams that rested on the columns—forty-five beams, fifteen to a row. ⁴Its windows were placed high in sets of three, facing each other. ⁵All the doorways had rectangular frames; they were in the front part in sets of three, facing each other.^[k]

⁶He made a colonnade fifty cubits long and thirty wide.^[l] In front of it was a portico, and in front of that were pillars and an overhanging roof.

⁷He built the throne hall, the Hall of Justice, where he was to judge,^(AK) and he covered it with cedar from floor to ceiling.^[m]^(AL) ⁸And the palace in which he was to live, set farther back, was similar in design. Solomon also made a palace like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had married.^(AM)

⁹All these structures, from the outside to the great courtyard and from foundation to eaves, were made of blocks of high-grade stone cut to size and smoothed on their inner and outer faces. ¹⁰The foundations were laid with large stones of good quality, some measuring ten cubits^[n] and some eight.^[o] ¹¹Above were high-grade stones, cut to size, and cedar beams. ¹²The great courtyard was surrounded by a wall of three courses^(AN) of dressed stone and one course of trimmed cedar beams, as was the inner courtyard of the temple of the Lord with its portico.

The Temple’s Furnishings^(AO)^(AP)

¹³King Solomon sent to Tyre and brought Huram,^[p]^(AQ) ¹⁴whose mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali and whose father was from Tyre and a skilled craftsman in bronze. Huram was filled with wisdom,^(AR) with understanding and with knowledge to do all kinds of bronze work. He came to King Solomon and did all^(AS) the work assigned to him.

¹⁵He cast two bronze pillars,^(AT) each eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference.^[q] ¹⁶He also made two capitals^(AU) of cast bronze to set on the tops of the pillars; each capital was five cubits^[r] high. ¹⁷A network of interwoven chains adorned the capitals on top of the pillars, seven for each capital. ¹⁸He made pomegranates in two rows^[s] encircling each network to decorate the capitals on top of the pillars.^[t] He did the same for each capital. ¹⁹The capitals on top of the pillars in the portico were in the shape of lilies, four cubits^[u] high. ²⁰On the capitals of both pillars, above the bowl-shaped part next to the network, were the two hundred pomegranates^(AV) in rows all around. ²¹He erected the pillars at the portico of the temple. The pillar to the south he named Jakin^[v] and the one to the north Boaz.^[w]^(AW) ²²The capitals on top were in the shape of lilies. And so the work on the pillars^(AX) was completed.

²³He made the Sea^(AY) of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits high. It took a line^(AZ) of thirty cubits^[x] to measure around it. ²⁴Below the rim, gourds encircled it—ten to a cubit. The gourds were cast in two rows in one piece with the Sea.

²⁵The Sea stood on twelve bulls,^(BA) three facing north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east. The Sea rested on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center. ²⁶It was a handbreadth^[y] in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held two thousand baths.^[z]

²⁷He also made ten movable stands^(BB) of bronze; each was four cubits long, four wide and three high.^[aa] ²⁸This is how the stands were made: They had side panels attached to uprights. ²⁹On the panels between the uprights were lions, bulls and cherubim—and on the uprights as well. Above and below the lions and bulls were wreaths of hammered work. ³⁰Each stand^(BC) had four bronze wheels with bronze axles, and each had a basin resting on four supports, cast with wreaths on each side. ³¹On the inside of the stand there was an opening that had a circular frame one cubit^[ab] deep. This opening was round, and with its basework it measured a cubit and a half.^[ac] Around its opening there was engraving. The panels of the stands were square, not round. ³²The four wheels were under the panels, and the axles of the wheels were attached to the stand. The diameter of each wheel was a cubit and a half. ³³The wheels were made like chariot wheels; the axles, rims, spokes and hubs were all of cast metal.

³⁴Each stand had four handles, one on each corner, projecting from the stand. ³⁵At the top of the stand there was a circular band half a cubit^[ad] deep. The supports and panels were attached to the top of the stand. ³⁶He engraved cherubim, lions and palm trees on the surfaces of the supports and on the panels, in every available space, with wreaths all around. ³⁷This is the way he made the ten stands. They were all cast in the same molds and were identical in size and shape.

³⁸He then made ten bronze basins,^(BD) each holding forty baths^[ae] and measuring four cubits across, one basin to go on each of the ten stands. ³⁹He placed five of the stands on the south side of the temple and five on the north. He placed the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner of the temple. ⁴⁰He also made the pots^[af] and shovels and sprinkling bowls.^(BE)

So Huram finished all the work he had undertaken for King Solomon in the temple of the Lord:

⁴¹the two pillars;

the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars;

the two sets of network decorating the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars;

⁴²the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network decorating the bowl-shaped capitals^(BF) on top of the pillars);

⁴³the ten stands with their ten basins;

⁴⁴the Sea and the twelve bulls under it;

⁴⁵the pots, shovels and sprinkling bowls.^(BG)

All these objects that Huram^(BH) made for King Solomon for the temple of the Lord were of burnished bronze. ⁴⁶The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain^(BI) of the Jordan between Sukkoth^(BJ) and Zarethan.^(BK) ⁴⁷Solomon left all these things unweighed,^(BL) because there were so many;^(BM) the weight of the bronze^(BN) was not determined.

⁴⁸Solomon also made all^(BO) the furnishings that were in the Lord’s temple:

the golden altar;

the golden table^(BP) on which was the bread of the Presence;^(BQ)

⁴⁹the lampstands^(BR) of pure gold (five on the right and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary);

the gold floral work and lamps and tongs;

⁵⁰the pure gold basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes^(BS) and censers;^(BT)

and the gold sockets for the doors of the innermost room, the Most Holy Place, and also for the doors of the main hall of the temple.

⁵¹When all the work King Solomon had done for the temple of the Lord was finished, he brought in the things his father David had dedicated^(BU)—the silver and gold and the furnishings^(BV)—and he placed them in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple.

The Ark Brought to the Temple^(BW)

8 Then King Solomon summoned into his presence at Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs^(BX) of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark^(BY) of the Lord’s covenant from Zion, the City of David.^(BZ) ²All the Israelites came together to King Solomon at the time of the festival^(CA) in the month of Ethanim, the seventh month.^(CB)

³When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests^(CC) took up the ark, ⁴and they brought up the ark of the Lord and the tent of meeting^(CD) and all the sacred furnishings in it. The priests and Levites^(CE) carried them up, ⁵and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing^(CF) so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted.

⁶The priests then brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant^(CG) to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place,^(CH) and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim.^(CI) ⁷The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed^(CJ) the ark and its carrying poles. ⁸These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today.^(CK) ⁹There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets^(CL) that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt.

¹⁰When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud^(CM) filled the temple of the Lord. ¹¹And the priests could not perform their service^(CN) because of the cloud, for the glory^(CO) of the Lord filled his temple.

¹²Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud;^(CP) ¹³I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell^(CQ) forever.”

¹⁴While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around and blessed^(CR) them. ¹⁵Then he said:

“Praise be to the Lord,^(CS) the God of Israel, who with his own hand has fulfilled what he promised with his own mouth to my father David. For he said, ¹⁶‘Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt,^(CT) I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built so that my Name^(CU) might be there, but I have chosen^(CV) David^(CW) to rule my people Israel.’

¹⁷“My father David had it in his heart^(CX) to build a temple^(CY) for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁸But the Lord said to my father David, ‘You did well to have it in your heart to build a temple for my Name. ¹⁹Nevertheless, you^(CZ) are not the one to build the temple, but your son, your own flesh and blood—he is the one who will build the temple for my Name.’^(DA)

²⁰“The Lord has kept the promise he made: I have succeeded^(DB) David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised, and I have built^(DC) the temple for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel. ²¹I have provided a place there for the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord that he made with our ancestors when he brought them out of Egypt.”

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication^(DD)

²²Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands^(DE) toward heaven ²³and said:

“Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like^(DF) you in heaven above or on earth below—you who keep your covenant of love^(DG) with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. ²⁴You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it—as it is today.

²⁵“Now Lord, the God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises^(DH) you made to him when you said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants are careful in all they do to walk before me faithfully as you have done.’ ²⁶And now, God of Israel, let your word that you promised^(DI) your servant David my father come true.

²⁷“But will God really dwell^(DJ) on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven,^(DK) cannot contain^(DL) you. How much less this temple I have built! ²⁸Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day. ²⁹May your eyes be open^(DM) toward^(DN) this temple night and day, this place of which you said, ‘My Name^(DO) shall be there,’ so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. ³⁰Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray^(DP) toward this place. Hear^(DQ) from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.^(DR)

³¹“When anyone wrongs their neighbor and is required to take an oath and they come and swear the oath^(DS) before your altar in this temple, ³²then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, condemning the guilty by bringing down on their heads what they have done, and vindicating the innocent by treating them in accordance with their innocence.^(DT)

³³“When your people Israel have been defeated^(DU) by an enemy because they have sinned^(DV) against you, and when they turn back to you and give praise to your name, praying and making supplication to you in this temple,^(DW) ³⁴then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to their ancestors.

³⁵“When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain^(DX) because your people have sinned^(DY) against you, and when they pray toward this place and give praise to your name and turn from their sin because you have afflicted them, ³⁶then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach^(DZ) them the right way^(EA) to live, and send rain^(EB) on the land you gave your people for an inheritance.

³⁷“When famine^(EC) or plague^(ED) comes to the land, or blight^(EE) or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers,^(EF) or when an enemy besieges them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come, ³⁸and when a prayer or plea is made by anyone among your people Israel—being aware of the afflictions of their own hearts, and spreading out their hands^(EG) toward this temple— ³⁹then hear^(EH) from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive^(EI) and act; deal with everyone according to all they do, since you know^(EJ) their hearts (for you alone know every human heart), ⁴⁰so that they will fear^(EK) you all the time they live in the land^(EL) you gave our ancestors.

⁴¹“As for the foreigner^(EM) who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name— ⁴²for they will hear^(EN) of your great name and your mighty hand^(EO) and your outstretched arm—when they come and pray toward this temple, ⁴³then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know^(EP) your name and fear^(EQ) you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.^(ER)

⁴⁴“When your people go to war against their enemies, wherever you send them, and when they pray^(ES) to the Lord toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name, ⁴⁵then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.^(ET)

⁴⁶“When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin^(EU)—and you become angry with them and give them over to their enemies, who take them captive^(EV) to their own lands, far away or near; ⁴⁷and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead^(EW) with you in the land of their captors and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly’;^(EX) ⁴⁸and if they turn back^(EY) to you with all their heart^(EZ) and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray^(FA) to you toward the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you have chosen and the temple^(FB) I have built for your Name;^(FC) ⁴⁹then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause. ⁵⁰And forgive your people, who have sinned against you; forgive all the offenses they have committed against you, and cause their captors to show them mercy;^(FD) ⁵¹for they are your people and your inheritance,^(FE) whom you brought out of Egypt, out of that iron-smelting furnace.^(FF)

⁵²“May your eyes be open^(FG) to your servant’s plea and to the plea of your people Israel, and may you listen to them whenever they cry out to you.^(FH) ⁵³For you singled them out from all the nations of the world to be your own inheritance,^(FI) just as you declared through your servant Moses when you, Sovereign Lord, brought our ancestors out of Egypt.”

⁵⁴When Solomon had finished all these prayers and supplications to the Lord, he rose from before the altar of the Lord, where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven. ⁵⁵He stood and blessed^(FJ) the whole assembly of Israel in a loud voice, saying:

⁵⁶“Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest^(FK) to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises^(FL) he gave through his servant Moses. ⁵⁷May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us nor forsake^(FM) us. ⁵⁸May he turn our hearts^(FN) to him, to walk in obedience to him and keep the commands, decrees and laws he gave our ancestors. ⁵⁹And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day’s need, ⁶⁰so that all the peoples^(FO) of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other.^(FP) ⁶¹And may your hearts^(FQ) be fully committed^(FR) to the Lord our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time.”

The Dedication of the Temple^(FS)

⁶²Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices^(FT) before the Lord. ⁶³Solomon offered a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to the Lord: twenty-two thousand cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated^(FU) the temple of the Lord.

⁶⁴On that same day the king consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the Lord, and there he offered burnt offerings, grain offerings and the fat^(FV) of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar^(FW) that stood before the Lord was too small to hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings.^(FX)

⁶⁵So Solomon observed the festival^(FY) at that time, and all Israel with him—a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath^(FZ) to the Wadi of Egypt.^(GA) They celebrated it before the Lord our God for seven days and seven days more, fourteen days in all. ⁶⁶On the following day he sent the people away. They blessed the king and then went home, joyful and glad in heart for all the good^(GB) things the Lord had done for his servant David and his people Israel.

Footnotes

1 Kings 6:1 Hebrew; Septuagint four hundred and fortieth
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
1 Kings 6:3 That is, about 30 feet or about 9 meters; also in verses 16 and 20
1 Kings 6:3 That is, about 15 feet or about 4.5 meters; also in verses 23-26
1 Kings 6:6 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters; also in verses 10 and 24
1 Kings 6:6 That is, about 9 feet or about 2.7 meters
1 Kings 6:6 That is, about 11 feet or about 3.2 meters
1 Kings 6:8 Septuagint; Hebrew middle
1 Kings 6:17 That is, about 60 feet or about 18 meters
1 Kings 7:2 That is, about 150 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high or about 45 meters long, 23 meters wide and 14 meters high
1 Kings 7:5 The meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.
1 Kings 7:6 That is, about 75 feet long and 45 feet wide or about 23 meters long and 14 meters wide
1 Kings 7:7 Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew floor
1 Kings 7:10 That is, about 15 feet or about 4.5 meters; also in verse 23
1 Kings 7:10 That is, about 12 feet or about 3.6 meters
1 Kings 7:13 Hebrew Hiram, a variant of Huram; also in verses 40 and 45
1 Kings 7:15 That is, about 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference or about 8.1 meters high and 5.4 meters in circumference
1 Kings 7:16 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters; also in verse 23
1 Kings 7:18 Two Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts made the pillars, and there were two rows
1 Kings 7:18 Many Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts pomegranates
1 Kings 7:19 That is, about 6 feet or about 1.8 meters; also in verse 38
1 Kings 7:21 Jakin probably means he establishes.
1 Kings 7:21 Boaz probably means in him is strength.
1 Kings 7:23 That is, about 45 feet or about 14 meters
1 Kings 7:26 That is, about 3 inches or about 7.5 centimeters
1 Kings 7:26 That is, about 12,000 gallons or about 44,000 liters; the Septuagint does not have this sentence.
1 Kings 7:27 That is, about 6 feet long and wide and about 4 1/2 feet high or about 1.8 meters long and wide and 1.4 meters high
1 Kings 7:31 That is, about 18 inches or about 45 centimeters
1 Kings 7:31 That is, about 2 1/4 feet or about 68 centimeters; also in verse 32
1 Kings 7:35 That is, about 9 inches or about 23 centimeters
1 Kings 7:38 That is, about 240 gallons or about 880 liters
1 Kings 7:40 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac and Vulgate (see also verse 45 and 2 Chron. 4:11); many other Hebrew manuscripts basins