New American Standard Bible 1995

New Living Translation

1Now it came about in the four hundred and eightieth year after the sons of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv 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.

2As for the house which King Solomon built for the LORD, its length was sixty cubits and its width twenty cubits and its height thirty cubits.

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

3The porch in front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits in length, corresponding to the width of the house, and its depth along the front of the house was ten cubits.

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.

4Also for the house he made windows with artistic frames.

4Solomon also made narrow recessed windows throughout the Temple.

5Against the wall of the house he built stories encompassing the walls of the house around both the nave and the inner sanctuary; thus he made side chambers all around.

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 lowest story was five cubits wide, and the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for on the outside he made offsets in the wall of the house all around in order that the beams would not be inserted 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.

7The house, while it was being built, was built of stone prepared at the quarry, and there was neither hammer nor axe nor any iron tool heard in the house while it was being built.

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 doorway for the lowest side chamber was on the right side of the house; and they would go up by winding stairs to the middle story, and from the middle to 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 he covered the house with beams and planks of cedar.

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

10He also built the stories against the whole house, each five cubits high; and they were fastened to the house with timbers 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.

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

11Then the LORD gave this message to Solomon:

12"Concerning this house which you are building, if you will walk in My statutes and execute My ordinances and keep all My commandments by walking in them, then I will carry out My word with you which I spoke to David your 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.

13"I will dwell among the sons 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.

15Then he built the walls of the house on the inside with boards of cedar; from the floor of the house to the ceiling he overlaid the walls on the inside with wood, and he overlaid the floor of the house with boards of cypress.

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.

16He built twenty cubits on the rear part of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the ceiling; he built them for it on the inside as an inner sanctuary, even as 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.

17The house, that is, the nave in front of the inner sanctuary, was forty cubits long.

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

18There was cedar on the house within, carved in the shape of gourds 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.

19Then he prepared an inner sanctuary within the house in order to place 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.

20The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits in length, twenty cubits in width, and twenty cubits in height, and he overlaid it with pure gold. He also overlaid the altar with 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 inside of the house with pure gold. And he drew chains of gold across the front of the inner sanctuary, 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.

22He overlaid the whole house with gold, until all the house was finished. Also the whole altar which was by the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold.

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

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

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

24Five cubits was the one wing of the cherub and five cubits the other wing of the cherub; from the end of one wing to the end of the other wing were ten cubits.

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

25The other cherub was ten cubits; both the cherubim were of the same measure and the same form.

25The two cherubim were identical in shape and size;

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

26each was 15 feet tall.

27He placed the cherubim in the midst of the inner house, and the wings of the cherubim were spread out, so that the wing of the one was touching the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub was touching the other wall. So their wings were touching each other in the center 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.

28He also overlaid the cherubim with gold.

28He overlaid the two cherubim with gold.

29Then he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved engravings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, inner and outer sanctuaries.

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

30He overlaid the floor of the house with gold, inner and outer sanctuaries.

30He overlaid the floor in both rooms with gold.

31For the entrance of the inner sanctuary he made doors of olive wood, the lintel and five-sided doorposts.

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

32So he made two doors of olive wood, and he carved on them carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold; and he spread the gold on the cherubim and on 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 he made for the entrance of the nave four-sided doorposts of olive wood

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

34and two doors of cypress wood; the two leaves of the one door turned on pivots, and the two leaves of the other door turned on pivots.

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

35He carved on it cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers; and he overlaid them with gold evenly applied on the engraved work.

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

36He built the inner court with three rows of cut 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 the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid, in the month of Ziv.

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

38In the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished throughout all its parts and according to all its plans. So he was 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.

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