1 Kings 6:18
New International Version
The inside of the temple was cedar, carved with gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; no stone was to be seen.

New Living Translation
Cedar paneling completely covered the stone walls throughout the Temple, and the paneling was decorated with carvings of gourds and open flowers.

English Standard Version
The cedar within the house was carved in the form of gourds and open flowers. All was cedar; no stone was seen.

Berean Standard Bible
The cedar paneling inside the temple was carved with gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; not a stone could be seen.

King James Bible
And the cedar of the house within was carved with knops and open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen.

New King James Version
The inside of the temple was cedar, carved with ornamental buds and open flowers. All was cedar; there was no stone to be seen.

New American Standard Bible
There was cedar inside the house, carved in the shape of gourds and open flowers; everything was cedar, there was no stone visible.

NASB 1995
There was cedar on the house within, carved in the shape of gourds and open flowers; all was cedar, there was no stone seen.

NASB 1977
And there was cedar on the house within, carved in the shape of gourds and open flowers; all was cedar, there was no stone seen.

Legacy Standard Bible
And there was cedar on the house within, carved in the shape of gourds and open flowers; all was cedar, there was no stone seen.

Amplified Bible
The cedar on the house within had wood carvings in the shape of gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; no stone was visible.

Christian Standard Bible
The cedar paneling inside the temple was carved with ornamental gourds and flower blossoms. Everything was cedar; not a stone could be seen.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The cedar paneling inside the temple was carved with ornamental gourds and flower blossoms. Everything was cedar; not a stone could be seen.

American Standard Version
And there was cedar on the house within, carved with knops and open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen.

Contemporary English Version
The inside walls were lined with cedar to hide the stones, and the cedar was decorated with carvings of gourds and flowers.

English Revised Version
And there was cedar on the house within, carved with knops and open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Gourds and flowers were carved into the cedar paneling inside the temple. Everything was [covered with] cedar. No stone could be seen.

Good News Translation
The cedar panels were decorated with carvings of gourds and flowers; the whole interior was covered with cedar, so that the stones of the walls could not be seen.

International Standard Version
Cedar carvings in the form of gourds and blooming flowers covered the entire interior of the Temple so that no stone could be seen.

Majority Standard Bible
The cedar paneling inside the temple was carved with gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; not a stone could be seen.

NET Bible
The inside of the temple was all cedar and was adorned with carvings of round ornaments and of flowers in bloom. Everything was cedar; no stones were visible.

New Heart English Bible
And the inside of the house was cedar, carved with buds and open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the cedar of the house within was carved with knobs and open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen.

World English Bible
There was cedar on the house within, carved with buds and open flowers. All was cedar. No stone was visible.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And the cedar for the house within [is] carvings of knobs and openings of flowers; the whole [is] cedar, there is not a stone seen.

Young's Literal Translation
And the cedar for the house within is carvings of knobs and openings of flowers; the whole is cedar, there is not a stone seen.

Smith's Literal Translation
And cedar to the house within carved work with ornaments and opening flower-buds; all cedar: no stone was seen.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And all the house was covered within with cedar, having the turnings, and the joints thereof artfully wrought and carvings projecting out: all was covered with boards of cedar: and no stone could be seen in the wall at all.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And the entire house was clothed with cedar on the interior, having its turnings and junctures artfully wrought, with carvings projecting outward. Everything was clothed with panels of cedar. And no stone at all was able to be seen in the wall.

New American Bible
The cedar in the interior of the house was carved in the form of gourds and open flowers; all was of cedar, and no stone was to be seen.

New Revised Standard Version
The cedar within the house had carvings of gourds and open flowers; all was cedar, no stone was seen.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And the house was covered within with cedar, which was carved with buds and open flowers; all was cedar; there was no stone seen in it.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And cedar was covering the house from within, and it was lattice work and carved ornaments, and lilies and all was of cedar, and a stone was not seen in it.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And the cedar on the house within was carved with knops and open flowers; all was cedar; there was no stone seen.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Temple's Interior
17And the main hall in front of this room was forty cubits long. 18The cedar paneling inside the temple was carved with gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; not a stone could be seen. 19Solomon also prepared the inner sanctuary within the temple to set the ark of the covenant of the LORD there.…

Cross References
Exodus 26:33-35
And hang the veil from the clasps and place the ark of the Testimony behind the veil. So the veil will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. / Put the mercy seat on the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy Place. / And place the table outside the veil on the north side of the tabernacle, and put the lampstand opposite the table, on the south side.

Exodus 36:35-38
Next, he made the veil of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and finely spun linen, with cherubim skillfully worked into it. / He also made four posts of acacia wood for it and overlaid them with gold, along with gold hooks; and he cast four silver bases for the posts. / For the entrance to the tent, he made a curtain embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and finely spun linen, ...

2 Chronicles 3:5-7
He paneled the main room with cypress, which he overlaid with fine gold and decorated with palm trees and chains. / He adorned the temple with precious stones for beauty, and its gold was from Parvaim. / He overlaid its beams, thresholds, walls, and doors with gold, and he carved cherubim on the walls.

1 Kings 7:48-50
Solomon also made all the furnishings for the house of the LORD: the golden altar; the golden table on which was placed the Bread of the Presence; / the lampstands of pure gold in front of the inner sanctuary, five on the right side and five on the left; the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs; / the pure gold basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, ladles, and censers; and the gold hinges for the doors of the inner temple (that is, the Most Holy Place) as well as for the doors of the main hall of the temple.

Hebrews 9:2-5
A tabernacle was prepared. In its first room were the lampstand, the table, and the consecrated bread. This was called the Holy Place. / Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, / containing the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. Inside the ark were the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. ...

Exodus 25:8-9
And they are to make a sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them. / You must make the tabernacle and design all its furnishings according to the pattern I show you.

Exodus 25:31-40
Then you are to make a lampstand of pure, hammered gold. It shall be made of one piece, including its base and shaft, its cups, and its buds and petals. / Six branches are to extend from the sides of the lampstand—three on one side and three on the other. / There are to be three cups shaped like almond blossoms on the first branch, each with buds and petals, three on the next branch, and the same for all six branches that extend from the lampstand. ...

2 Chronicles 4:19-22
Solomon also made all the furnishings for the house of God: the golden altar; the tables on which was placed the Bread of the Presence; / the lampstands of pure gold and their lamps, to burn in front of the inner sanctuary as prescribed; / the flowers, lamps, and tongs of gold—of purest gold; ...

Exodus 37:17-24
Then he made the lampstand out of pure hammered gold, all of one piece: its base and shaft, its cups, and its buds and petals. / Six branches extended from the sides, three on one side and three on the other. / There were three cups shaped like almond blossoms on the first branch, each with buds and petals, three on the next branch, and the same for all six branches that extended from the lampstand. ...

1 Kings 8:6-8
Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, beneath the wings of the cherubim. / For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the ark and its poles. / The poles extended far enough that their ends were visible from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are there to this day.

Exodus 40:20-21
Moses took the Testimony and placed it in the ark, attaching the poles to the ark; and he set the mercy seat atop the ark. / Then he brought the ark into the tabernacle, put up the veil for the screen, and shielded off the ark of the Testimony, just as the LORD had commanded him.

2 Chronicles 5:7-9
Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, beneath the wings of the cherubim. / For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the ark and its poles. / The poles of the ark extended far enough that their ends were visible from in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are there to this day.

Exodus 25:10-22
And they are to construct an ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. / Overlay it with pure gold both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it. / Cast four gold rings for it and fasten them to its four feet, two rings on one side and two on the other. ...

Revelation 11:19
Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple. And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.

Exodus 30:1-10
“You are also to make an altar of acacia wood for the burning of incense. / It is to be square, a cubit long, a cubit wide, and two cubits high. Its horns must be of one piece. / Overlay with pure gold the top and all the sides and horns, and make a molding of gold around it. ...


Treasury of Scripture

And the cedar of the house within was carved with knops and open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen.

knops.

2 Kings 4:39
And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not.

open flowers.

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Buds Carved Carvings Cedar Cedar-Wood Colocynths Designs Flowers Form Gourds Half-Open House Inside Knobs Knops Open Openings Ornamented Shape Stone Temple Whole Within
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Buds Carved Carvings Cedar Cedar-Wood Colocynths Designs Flowers Form Gourds Half-Open House Inside Knobs Knops Open Openings Ornamented Shape Stone Temple Whole Within
1 Kings 6
1. The building of Solomon's temple
5. The chambers thereof
11. God's promise unto it
15. The ceiling and adorning of it
23. The cherubim
31. The doors
36. The court
37. The time of building it














The inside of the temple
This phrase refers to the inner sanctum of Solomon's Temple, a sacred space designed for the worship of Yahweh. The Hebrew word for "temple" is "הֵיכָל" (heikal), which denotes a large and significant structure. The temple was the center of Israelite worship and symbolized God's presence among His people. Its construction was a fulfillment of God's promise to David, Solomon's father, and represented a permanent dwelling place for the Ark of the Covenant.

was cedar
Cedar wood, known in Hebrew as "אֶרֶז" (erez), was highly valued in ancient times for its durability, fragrance, and resistance to decay. The use of cedar in the temple's construction signifies the importance and sacredness of the building. Cedar was imported from Lebanon, indicating the extensive trade networks and alliances Solomon maintained. The choice of cedar also reflects the temple's intended permanence and beauty, as it was a material fit for a king and, more importantly, for the King of Kings.

carved with gourds and open flowers
The carvings of "gourds" and "open flowers" (Hebrew: פְּקָעִים וּפְטוּרֵי צִצִּים, peqa'im u'peturei tzitzim) are decorative elements that adorned the temple's interior. These motifs are reminiscent of the Garden of Eden, symbolizing life, fertility, and divine blessing. The artistic craftsmanship reflects the creativity endowed by God to human artisans, and the beauty of creation itself. Such intricate designs would inspire worshippers to contemplate the glory and majesty of God, who is the ultimate Creator.

Everything was cedar
This repetition emphasizes the completeness and uniformity of the temple's interior design. The phrase underscores the exclusivity of cedar as the chosen material, highlighting its significance and the care taken in the temple's construction. It also suggests a sense of purity and holiness, as the temple was set apart for God's presence. The use of a single material throughout the interior creates a cohesive and harmonious environment, suitable for worship and reflection.

no stone was visible
The phrase "no stone was visible" indicates that the stone structure of the temple was entirely covered with cedar wood. This detail signifies the transformation of raw materials into a sacred space, where the focus is on the beauty and sanctity of the worship environment rather than the mundane aspects of construction. It also reflects the idea that God's dwelling place is not just a physical structure but a spiritual sanctuary, where the visible points to the invisible reality of God's presence. The covering of stone with cedar can be seen as a metaphor for the covering of human imperfection with divine grace.

Verse 18. - And the cedar of the house within [lit. cedar (wood) was placed against the house inside] was carved with knops [Heb. sculpture of gourds. The sculpture is in apposition to cedar. The authorities are divided as to the kind of sculpture intended. Keil thinks they were bassi relievi; Bahr contends that, like those of the Egyptian monuments, they were sunken, פְּקָעִים is generally assumed to be synonymous with פְּקֻעֹת "squirting cucumbers" (2 Kings 4:39, note). Bahr, however, justly observes that a deadly fruit, such as this is described to have been, was hardly likely to be employed in the decoration of the sanctuary, and he would render the word "buds." Keil thinks the gourds were oval ornaments, something like the wild gourd, which ran in rows along the walls. See the illustration, "Slab from Kouyunjik," Dict. Bib. 2 p. 49] and open flowers [lit. burstings of flowers. These words again are very variously interpreted. Thenius: festoons of flowers; Keil: open flower buds; Gesen.: expanded flowers]: all was cedar; there was no stone seen. [Really, the cedar was no more seen than the stone, for this in turn was overlaid with gold (ver. 22.)]

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
The cedar
וְאֶ֤רֶז (wə·’e·rez)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 730: A cedar tree

paneling inside
פְּנִ֔ימָה (pə·nî·māh)
Adverb
Strong's 6441: Toward the side or inside, within

the temple
הַבַּ֙יִת֙ (hab·ba·yiṯ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1004: A house

was carved
מִקְלַ֣עַת (miq·la·‘aṯ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 4734: A sculpture

with gourds
פְּקָעִ֔ים (pə·qā·‘îm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 6497: Gourd (shaped) ornaments

and open
וּפְטוּרֵ֖י (ū·p̄ə·ṭū·rê)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - QalPassParticiple - masculine plural construct
Strong's 6358: Opened, a bud

flowers.
צִצִּ֑ים (ṣiṣ·ṣîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 6731: Glistening, a burnished plate, a flower, a wing

Everything
הַכֹּ֣ל (hak·kōl)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

was cedar;
אֶ֔רֶז (’e·rez)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 730: A cedar tree

not
אֵ֥ין (’ên)
Adverb
Strong's 369: A non-entity, a negative particle

a stone
אֶ֖בֶן (’e·ḇen)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 68: A stone

could be seen.
נִרְאָֽה׃ (nir·’āh)
Verb - Nifal - Participle - feminine singular
Strong's 7200: To see


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OT History: 1 Kings 6:18 There was cedar on the house within (1Ki iKi i Ki 1 Kg 1kg)
1 Kings 6:17
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