King James Bible

New Living Translation

1And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.

1It was in midspring, in the month of Ziv, during the fourth year of Solomon’s reign, that he began to construct the Temple of the LORD. This was 480 years after the people of Israel were rescued from their slavery in the land of Egypt.

2And the house which king Solomon built for the LORD, the length thereof was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits.

2The Temple that King Solomon built for the LORD was 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high.

3And the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits was the breadth thereof before the house.

3The entry room at the front of the Temple was 30 feet wide, running across the entire width of the Temple. It projected outward 15 feet from the front of the Temple.

4And for the house he made windows of narrow lights.

4Solomon also made narrow recessed windows throughout the Temple.

5And against the wall of the house he built chambers round about, against the walls of the house round about, both of the temple and of the oracle: and he made chambers round about:

5He built a complex of rooms against the outer walls of the Temple, all the way around the sides and rear of the building.

6The nethermost chamber was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad: for without in the wall of the house he made narrowed rests round about, that the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the house.

6The complex was three stories high, the bottom floor being 7 1/2 feet wide, the second floor 9 feet wide, and the top floor 10 1/2 feet wide. The rooms were connected to the walls of the Temple by beams resting on ledges built out from the wall. So the beams were not inserted into the walls themselves.

7And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.

7The stones used in the construction of the Temple were finished at the quarry, so there was no sound of hammer, ax, or any other iron tool at the building site.

8The door for the middle chamber was in the right side of the house: and they went up with winding stairs into the middle chamber, and out of the middle into the third.

8The entrance to the bottom floor was on the south side of the Temple. There were winding stairs going up to the second floor, and another flight of stairs between the second and third floors.

9So he built the house, and finished it; and covered the house with beams and boards of cedar.

9After completing the Temple structure, Solomon put in a ceiling made of cedar beams and planks.

10And then he built chambers against all the house, five cubits high: and they rested on the house with timber of cedar.

10As already stated, he built a complex of rooms along the sides of the building, attached to the Temple walls by cedar timbers. Each story of the complex was 7 1/2 feet high.

11And the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying,

11Then the LORD gave this message to Solomon:

12Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father:

12“Concerning this Temple you are building, if you keep all my decrees and regulations and obey all my commands, I will fulfill through you the promise I made to your father, David.

13And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel.

13I will live among the Israelites and will never abandon my people Israel.” The Temple’s Interior

14So Solomon built the house, and finished it.

14So Solomon finished building the Temple.

15And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar, both the floor of the house, and the walls of the cieling: and he covered them on the inside with wood, and covered the floor of the house with planks of fir.

15The entire inside, from floor to ceiling, was paneled with wood. He paneled the walls and ceilings with cedar, and he used planks of cypress for the floors.

16And he built twenty cubits on the sides of the house, both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar: he even built them for it within, even for the oracle, even for the most holy place.

16He partitioned off an inner sanctuary—the Most Holy Place—at the far end of the Temple. It was 30 feet deep and was paneled with cedar from floor to ceiling.

17And the house, that is, the temple before it, was forty cubits long.

17The main room of the Temple, outside the Most Holy Place, was 60 feet long.

18And the cedar of the house within was carved with knops and open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen.

18Cedar paneling completely covered the stone walls throughout the Temple, and the paneling was decorated with carvings of gourds and open flowers.

19And the oracle he prepared in the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of the LORD.

19He prepared the inner sanctuary at the far end of the Temple, where the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant would be placed.

20And the oracle in the forepart was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof: and he overlaid it with pure gold; and so covered the altar which was of cedar.

20This inner sanctuary was 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 30 feet high. He overlaid the inside with solid gold. He also overlaid the altar made of cedar.

21So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: and he made a partition by the chains of gold before the oracle; and he overlaid it with gold.

21Then Solomon overlaid the rest of the Temple’s interior with solid gold, and he made gold chains to protect the entrance to the Most Holy Place.

22And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the house: also the whole altar that was by the oracle he overlaid with gold.

22So he finished overlaying the entire Temple with gold, including the altar that belonged to the Most Holy Place.

23And within the oracle he made two cherubims of olive tree, each ten cubits high.

23He made two cherubim of wild olive wood, each 15 feet tall, and placed them in the inner sanctuary.

24And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits.

24The wingspan of each of the cherubim was 15 feet, each wing being 7 1/2 feet long.

25And the other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubims were of one measure and one size.

25The two cherubim were identical in shape and size;

26The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was it of the other cherub.

26each was 15 feet tall.

27And he set the cherubims within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house.

27He placed them side by side in the inner sanctuary of the Temple. Their outspread wings reached from wall to wall, while their inner wings touched at the center of the room.

28And he overlaid the cherubims with gold.

28He overlaid the two cherubim with gold.

29And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, within and without.

29He decorated all the walls of the inner sanctuary and the main room with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers.

30And the floor of the house he overlaid with gold, within and without.

30He overlaid the floor in both rooms with gold.

31And for the entering of the oracle he made doors of olive tree: the lintel and side posts were a fifth part of the wall.

31For the entrance to the inner sanctuary, he made double doors of wild olive wood with five-sided doorposts.

32The two doors also were of olive tree; and he carved upon them carvings of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and spread gold upon the cherubims, and upon the palm trees.

32These double doors were decorated with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. The doors, including the decorations of cherubim and palm trees, were overlaid with gold.

33So also made he for the door of the temple posts of olive tree, a fourth part of the wall.

33Then he made four-sided doorposts of wild olive wood for the entrance to the Temple.

34And the two doors were of fir tree: the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding.

34There were two folding doors of cypress wood, and each door was hinged to fold back upon itself.

35And he carved thereon cherubims and palm trees and open flowers: and covered them with gold fitted upon the carved work.

35These doors were decorated with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers—all overlaid evenly with gold.

36And he built the inner court with three rows of hewed stone, and a row of cedar beams.

36The walls of the inner courtyard were built so that there was one layer of cedar beams between every three layers of finished stone.

37In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the LORD laid, in the month Zif:

37The foundation of the LORD’s Temple was laid in midspring, in the month of Ziv, during the fourth year of Solomon’s reign.

38And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.

38The entire building was completed in every detail by midautumn, in the month of Bul, during the eleventh year of his reign. So it took seven years to build the Temple.

King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.