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, whichisthe second month,^(C)that he began to build the house of theLord.² Now^(D)the house which King Solomon built for theLord, its lengthwassixty cubits, its width twenty, and its height thirty cubits.³ The vestibule in front of the^[c]sanctuary of the housewas^[d]twenty cubits long across the width of the house,andthe 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,againstthe 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 chamberwasfive cubits wide, the middlewassix cubits wide, and the thirdwasseven cubits wide; for he made narrow ledges around the outside of the temple, so thatthe support beamswould 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 chiselorany iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.⁸ The doorway for the^[j]middle storywason the right side of the temple. They went up by stairs to the middlestory,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 theLordcame to Solomon, saying:¹² “Concerningthis^[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 builtitinside as the inner sanctuary, as the^(N)Most HolyPlace.¹⁷ And in front of it the temple sanctuary was forty cubitslong.¹⁸ The inside of the temple was cedar, carved with ornamental buds and open flowers. Allwascedar; there was no stoneto beseen.

¹⁹ And he prepared the^[n]inner sanctuary inside the temple, to set the ark of the covenant of theLordthere.²⁰ The inner sanctuarywastwenty 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 thatwasby the inner sanctuary.

²³ Inside the inner sanctuary^(P)he made two cherubimofolive wood,eachten cubits high.²⁴ One wing of the cherubwasfive 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 cherubwasten cubits; both cherubimwereof the same size and shape.²⁶ The height of one cherubwasten cubits, and sowasthe 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 touchedonewall, 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 outersanctuaries,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 outersanctuaries.

³¹ For the entrance of the inner sanctuary he made doorsofolive wood; the lintelanddoorpostswere^[p]one-fifthof the wall.³² The two doorswere ofolive wood; and he carved on them figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and overlaidthemwith 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 doorpostsofolive wood,^[r]one-fourthof the wall.³⁴ And the two doorswere ofcypress wood;^(S)two panelscomprisedone folding door, and two panelscomprisedthe other folding door.³⁵ Then he carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowerson them,and overlaidthemwith 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 theLordwas 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.