The Bible

1 Kings Chapter 6

¹In the four hundred and 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 Ziv, which is the second month, he began to build Yahweh's house. ²The house which King Solomon built for Yahweh had a length of sixty cubits, and its width twenty, and its height thirty cubits. ³The porch in front of the temple of the house had a length of twenty cubits, which was along the width of the house. Ten cubits was its width in front of the house. ⁴He made windows of fixed lattice work for the house. ⁵Against the wall of the house, he built floors all around, against the walls of the house all around, both of the temple and of the inner sanctuary; and he made side rooms all around. ⁶The lowest floor 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, that [the beams] should not be inserted into the walls of the house. ⁷The house, when it was under construction, was built of stone prepared at the quarry; and no hammer or axe or any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was being built. ⁸The door for the middle side rooms was in the right side of the house: and they went up by winding stairs into the middle [floor], and out of the middle into the third. ⁹So he built the house, and finished it; and he covered the house with beams and planks of cedar. ¹⁰He built the floors all along the house, each five cubits high; and they rested on the house with timbers of cedar.

¹¹The word of Yahweh came to Solomon, saying, ¹²"Concerning this house which you are building, if you will walk in my statutes, and execute my ordinances, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then I will establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father. ¹³I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel."

¹⁴So Solomon built the house, and finished it. ¹⁵He built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar: from the floor of the house to the walls of the ceiling, he covered them on the inside with wood; and he covered the floor of the house with boards of fir. ¹⁶He built twenty cubits on the back of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the walls [of the ceiling]: he built [them] for it within, for an oracle, even for the most holy place. ¹⁷The house, that is, the temple before [the oracle], was forty cubits [long]. ¹⁸There was cedar on the house within, carved with buds and open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen. ¹⁹He prepared an oracle in the midst of the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of Yahweh. ²⁰Within the oracle was [a space of] twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in width, and twenty cubits in its height; and he overlaid it with pure gold. He covered the altar with cedar. ²¹So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold. He drew chains of gold across before the oracle; and he overlaid it with gold. ²²The whole house he overlaid with gold, until all the house was finished: also the whole altar that belonged to the oracle he overlaid with gold.

²³In the oracle he made two throne-angels of olive wood, each ten cubits high. ²⁴Five cubits was the one wing of the throne-angel, and five cubits the other wing of the throne-angel: from the uttermost part of the one wing to the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits. ²⁵The other throne-angel was ten cubits: both the throne-angels were of one measure and one form. ²⁶The height of the one throne-angel was ten cubits, and so was it of the other throne-angel. ²⁷He set the throne-angels within the inner house; and the wings of the throne-angels were stretched out, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other throne-angel touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house. ²⁸He overlaid the throne-angels with gold.

²⁹He carved all the walls of the house around with carved figures of throne-angels and palm trees and open flowers, inside and outside. ³⁰The floor of the house he overlaid with gold, inside and outside. ³¹For the entrance of the oracle he made doors of olive wood: the lintel [and] door posts were a fifth part [of the wall]. ³²So [he made] two doors of olive wood; and he carved on them carvings of throne-angels and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold; and he spread the gold on the throne-angels, and on the palm trees. ³³So he also made door posts of olive wood for the entrance of the temple, out of a fourth part [of the wall]; ³⁴and two doors of fir wood: the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding. ³⁵He carved throne-angels, palm trees and open flowers; and he smoothly overlaid the carving with gold. ³⁶He built the inner court with three courses of cut stone, and a course of cedar beams.

³⁷In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of Yahweh laid, in the month Ziv. ³⁸In the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all its parts, and according to all its fashion. So was he seven years in building it.