1 Kings 4; 1 Kings 6

1 Kings 4

1 So King Solomon ruled over the whole nation of Israel.

2 Here are the names of his chief officials. Azariah was the priest. He was the son of Zadok.

3 Elihoreph and Ahijah were secretaries. They were the sons of Shisha. Jehoshaphat kept the records. He was the son of Ahilud.

4 Benaiah was the commander in chief. He was the son of Jehoiada. Zadok and Abiathar were priests.

5 Azariah was in charge of the local officials. He was the son of Nathan. Zabud was a priest. He was the king's personal adviser. He was the son of Nathan.

6 Ahishar was in charge of the palace. Adoniram was in charge of those who were forced to work for the king. He was the son of Abda.

7 Solomon also had 12 local governors over the whole land of Israel. They provided supplies for the king and the royal family. Each governor had to provide supplies for one month out of each year.

8 Here are their names and areas. Ben-Hur's area was the hill country of Ephraim.

9 Ben-Deker's area was Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh and Elon Bethhanan.

10 Ben-Hesed's area was Arubboth. Socoh and the whole land of Hepher were included in his area.

11 Ben-Abinadab's area was Naphoth Dor. He got married to Solomon's daughter Taphath.

12 Baana's area was Taanach, Megiddo and the whole territory of Beth Shan. Beth Shan was next to Zarethan below Jezreel. Baana's area reached from Beth Shan all the way to Abel Meholah. It also went across to Jokmeam. Baana was the son of Ahilud.

13 Ben-Geber's area was Ramoth Gilead. The settlements of Jair, the son of Manasseh, were included in his area in Gilead. The area of Argob in Bashan was also included. That area had 60 large cities that had high walls around them. The city gates were made secure with heavy bronze bars.

14 Ahinadab's area was Mahanaim. He was the son of Iddo.

15 Ahimaaz's area was Naphtali. He had gotten married to Basemath. She was Solomon's daughter.

16 Baana's area was Asher and Aloth. He was the son of Hushai.

17 Jehoshaphat's area was Issachar. He was the son of Paruah.

18 Shimei's area was Benjamin. He was the son of Ela.

19 Geber's area was Gilead. He was the only governor over the area. He was the son of Uri. Gilead had been the country of Sihon and Og. Sihon had been king of the Amorites. Og had been king of Bashan.

20 There were many people in Judah and Israel. In fact, they were as many as the grains of sand on the seashore. They ate, drank and were happy.

21 Solomon ruled over all of the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines. He ruled as far as the border of Egypt. All of those countries brought the gifts he required them to bring him. And Solomon ruled over those countries for his whole life.

22 Here are the supplies Solomon required every day.

23 ten head of cattle that had been fed by hand 20 head of cattle that had been fed on grasslands 100 sheep and goats deer, antelopes and roebucks the finest birds

24 Solomon ruled over all of the kingdoms that were west of the Euphrates River. He ruled from Tiphsah all the way to Gaza. And he had peace and rest on every side.

25 While Solomon was king, Judah and Israel lived in safety. They were secure from Dan all the way to Beersheba. Each man had his own vine and fig tree.

26 Solomon had 4,000 spaces where he kept his chariot horses. He had a total of 12,000 horses.

27 The local officials provided supplies for King Solomon. They provided them for all who ate at the king's table. Each official provided supplies for one month every year. The officials made sure the king had everything he needed.

28 They also brought barley and straw for the chariot horses and the other horses. Each of them brought the amounts that were required of them. They brought them to the proper places.

29 God made Solomon very wise. His understanding couldn't even be measured. It was like the sand on the seashore. People can't measure that either.

30 Solomon's wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all of the people of the east. It was greater than all of the wisdom of Egypt.

31 Solomon was wiser than any other man. He was wiser than Ethan, the Ezrahite. He was wiser than Heman, Calcol and Darda. They were the sons of Mahol. Solomon became famous in all of the nations that were around him.

32 He spoke 3,000 proverbs. He wrote 1,005 songs.

33 He explained all about plants. He knew everything about them, from the cedar trees in Lebanon to the hyssop plants that grow out of walls. He taught about animals and birds. He also taught about reptiles and fish.

34 The kings of all of the world's nations heard about how wise Solomon was. So they sent their people to listen to him.

1 Kings 6

1 Solomon began to build the temple of the Lord. It was 480 years after the people of Israel had come out of Egypt. It was in the fourth year of Solomon's rule over Israel. He started in the second month. That was the month of Ziv.

2 The temple King Solomon built for the LORD was 90 feet long. It was 30 feet wide. And it was 45 feet high.

3 The temple had a porch in front of the main hall. The porch was as wide as the temple itself. It was 30 feet wide. It came out 15 feet from the front of the temple.

4 Solomon made narrow windows high up in the temple walls.

5 He built side rooms around the temple. They were built against the walls of the main hall and the Most Holy Room.

6 On the first floor the side rooms were seven and a half feet wide. On the second floor they were nine feet wide. And on the third floor they were ten and a half feet wide. Solomon made the walls of the temple thinner as they went up floor by floor. The result was ledges along the walls. So the floor beams of the side rooms rested on the ledges. The beams didn't go into the temple walls.

7 All of the stones that were used for building the temple were shaped where they were cut. So hammers, chisels and other iron tools couldn't be heard where the temple was being built.

8 The entrance to the first floor was on the south side of the temple. A stairway led up to the second floor. From there it went on up to the third floor.

9 So Solomon built the temple and finished it. He made its roof out of beams and cedar boards.

10 He built side rooms all along the temple. Each room was seven and a half feet high. They were joined to the temple by cedar beams.

11 A message came to Solomon from the LORD. The LORD said,

12 "You are now building this temple. Follow my orders. Keep my rules. Obey all of my commands. Then I will make the promise I gave your father David come true. I will do it through you.

13 I will live among my people Israel. I will not desert them."

14 So Solomon built the temple and finished it.

15 He put cedar boards on its inside walls. He covered them from floor to ceiling. He covered the temple floor with pine boards.

16 He put up a wall 30 feet from the back of the temple. He made it with cedar boards from floor to ceiling. That formed a room inside the temple. It was the Most Holy Room.

17 The main hall in front of the room was 60 feet long.

18 The inside of the temple was covered with cedar wood. Gourds and open flowers were carved on the wood. Everything was cedar. There wasn't any stone showing anywhere.

19 Solomon prepared the Most Holy Room inside the temple. That's where the ark of the covenant of the LORD would be placed.

20 The Most Holy Room was 30 feet long. It was 30 feet wide. And it was 30 feet high. Solomon covered the inside of it with pure gold. He prepared the cedar altar for burning incense. He covered it with gold.

21 Solomon covered the inside of the main hall with pure gold. He placed gold chains across the front of the Most Holy Room. That room was covered with gold.

22 So Solomon covered the inside of the whole temple with gold. He also covered the altar for burning incense with gold. It was right in front of the Most Holy Room.

23 For the Most Holy Room Solomon made a pair of cherubim. He made them out of olive wood. Each cherub was 15 feet high.

24 One wing of the first cherub was seven and a half feet long. The other wing was also seven and a half feet long. So the wings measured 15 feet from tip to tip.

25 The second cherub's wings also measured 15 feet from tip to tip. The two cherubim had the same size and shape.

26 Each cherub was 15 feet high.

27 Solomon placed the cherubim inside the Most Holy Room in the temple. Their wings were spread out. The wing tip of one cherub touched one wall. The wing tip of the other touched the other wall. The tips of their wings touched each other in the middle of the room.

28 Solomon covered the cherubim with gold.

29 On the walls that were all around the temple he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers. He carved them on the walls of the Most Holy Room and the main hall.

30 He also covered the floors of those two rooms with gold.

31 For the entrance to the Most Holy Room he made two doors out of olive wood. Each doorpost had five sides.

32 On the two olive wood doors he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers. He covered the cherubim and palm trees with hammered gold.

33 In the same way he made olive wood doorposts for the entrance to the main hall. Each doorpost had four sides.

34 He also made two pine doors. Each door had two parts. They turned in bases that were shaped like cups.

35 He carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers on the doors. He covered the doors with gold. He hammered the gold evenly over the carvings.

36 He used blocks of stone to build a wall around the inside courtyard. The first three layers of the wall were made out of stone. The top layer was made out of beautiful cedar wood.

37 The foundation of the LORD's temple was laid in Solomon's fourth year. It was in the month of Ziv.

38 The temple was finished in his 11th year. It was in the month of Bul. That was the eighth month. Everything was finished just as the plans required. Solomon had spent seven years building the temple.