1 Kings 6

1In the four hundred eightieth year after the sons of Israel came out from the land of Egypt, in Solomon's fourth year reigning over Israel, in the month Ziv—which is the second month—he built the house for Yahweh.

2The house that King Solomon built for Yahweh was sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high.

3The porch in front of the temple of the house was twenty cubits long, matching the width of the house, and ten cubits wide in front of the house.

4He made narrow-latticed windows for the house.

5He attached chambers to the wall of the house on all sides, to the walls of the house on all sides, both to the temple and to the oracle, and constructed side chambers all around.

6The lowest chamber was five cubits wide, the middle six cubits wide, and the third seven cubits wide, for he made recesses around the outside of the house so the beams would not fasten into the walls of the house.

7The house, while being built, was constructed from fully finished quarry stones, and no hammers, axe, or any iron tool was heard in the house during its construction.

8The entrance to the middle side chamber was at the house's right shoulder, and by winding stairs they went up to the middle, from the middle to the third.

9He built the house and completed it, and he paneled the house with beams and cedar planks.

10He built the chambers against the whole house, five cubits high, and attached them to the house with cedar beams.

11The word of Yahweh came to Solomon, saying,

12As for this house you are building, if you walk in my statutes, carry out my ordinances, and keep all my commandments by walking in them, then I will establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father.

13I will dwell among the sons of Israel and will not abandon my people Israel.

14Solomon built the house and completed it.

15He built the walls of the house from within with cedar boards, from the floor of the house to the walls of the ceiling, overlaid them from within with wood, and covered the floor of the house with fir boards.

16He built twenty cubits from the rear of the house with cedar boards along the sides from the floor to the walls, and built them inside for the oracle, the holy of holies.

17The house—that is, the temple before it—was forty cubits.

18Inside the house, cedar was carved with buds and open flowers; everything was cedar—no stone was visible.

19He prepared the inner sanctuary in the midst of the house inward to set there the ark of Yahweh's covenant.

20The front of the oracle was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high, and he overlaid it with pure gold; he overlaid the altar with cedar.

21Solomon overlaid the house's interior with pure gold, drew gold chains across before the oracle, and overlaid it with gold.

22He overlaid the whole house with gold until the whole house was finished, and he overlaid the whole altar of the oracle with gold.

23In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high.

24The one wing of the cherub reached five cubits, and the other wing of the cherub five cubits—from the ends of its wings to the ends of its wings, ten cubits.

25The second cherub was ten cubits, both cherubim of one measure and one size.

26The one cherub was ten cubits high, and so was the other cherub.

27He placed the cherubim inside the inner house, and they spread the wings of the cherubim, with one wing touching one wall, the wing of the other cherub touching the other wall, and their wings touching wing to wing in the middle of the house.

28He covered the cherubim with gold.

29He carved all the walls of the house all around with carved engravings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, inside and outside.

30He overlaid the floor of the house with gold inside and outside.

31He made doors of olive wood for the entrance of the oracle, the lintel and doorposts a fifth of the wall.

32He made two doors of olive wood and carved on them carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, overlaying them with gold and spreading gold over the cherubim and the palm trees.

33So he made olive-wood doorposts for the temple entrance, a fourth part of the wall.

34And two doors of fir trees: two boards of the one door were folding, and two leaves of the second door were folding.

35He carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold fitted upon the carved work.

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

37In the fourth year the house of Yahweh was founded, in the month Ziv.

38In the eleventh year, in the month Bul—which is the eighth month—the house was completed according to all its matters and according to all its ordinances, and he built it in seven years.