The Complete Jewish Bible CJB
New Living Translation NLT
1 It was in the 480th year after the people of Isra'el had left the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Shlomo's reign over Isra'el, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of ADONAI.
1
It 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.
2 The house which King Shlomo built for ADONAI was 105 feet long, thirty-five feet wide and fifty-two-and-a-half feet high.
2
The Temple that King Solomon built for the LORD was 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high.
3 The hall fronting the temple of the house was thirty-five feet long, the same as the width of the house itself, so that its seventeen-and-a-half-foot width extended frontward from the house.
3
The 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.
4 The windows he made for the house were wide on the inside and narrow on the outside.
4
Solomon also made narrow recessed windows throughout the Temple.
5 Against the wall of the house he built an annex all the way around; it went all the way around the walls of the house, including both the temple and the sanctuary.
5
He built a complex of rooms against the outer walls of the Temple, all the way around the sides and rear of the building.
6 The lowest floor of the annex was eight-and-three-quarters feet wide, the middle floor ten-and-a-half feet wide and the third floor twelve-and-a-quarter feet wide; for he had made the outer part of the wall of the house step-shaped, so that the beams of the annex would not have to be attached to the house walls.
6
The complex was three stories high, the bottom floor being 7 feet wide, the second floor 9 feet wide, and the top floor 10 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.
7 For the house, when under construction, was built of stone prepared at the quarry; so that no hammer, chisel or iron tool of any kind was heard in the house while it was being built.
7
The 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.
8 The entrance to the lowest floor was on the south side of the house; a spiral staircase went up to the middle floor and on to the third.
8
The 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.
9 So he built the house, and after finishing it, he put its roof on - cedar planks over beams.
9
After completing the Temple structure, Solomon put in a ceiling made of cedar beams and planks.
10 Each floor of the annex surrounding the house was eight-and-three-quarters feet high and was attached to the house with beams of cedar.
10
As 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 feet high.
11 Then this word of ADONAI came to Shlomo:
11
Then the LORD gave this message to Solomon:
12 "Concerning this house which you are building: if you will live according to my regulations, follow my rulings and observe all my mitzvot and live by them, then I will establish with you my promise that I made to David your father-
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“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 live in it among the people of Isra'el, and I will not abandon my people Isra'el."
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I will live among the Israelites and will never abandon my people Israel.”
14 So Shlomo finished building the house.
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So Solomon finished building the Temple.
15 The insides of the walls of the house he built with boards of cedar: from the floor of the house to the joists of the ceiling he covered them on the inside with wood, and he covered the floor of the house with boards of cypress.
15
The 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.
16 The thirty-five-foot back portion of the house he built with boards of cedar from the floor to the joists and reserved this part of the house to be a sanctuary, the Especially Holy Place;
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He 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.
17 while the rest of the house, that is, the temple in front, was seventy feet long.
17
The main room of the Temple, outside the Most Holy Place, was 60 feet long.
18 The cedar covering the house was carved with gourds and open flowers; all was cedar; no stone was visible.
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Cedar paneling completely covered the stone walls throughout the Temple, and the paneling was decorated with carvings of gourds and open flowers.
19 In the inner part of the house he set up the sanctuary, so that the ark for the covenant of ADONAI could be placed there.
19
He prepared the inner sanctuary at the far end of the Temple, where the Ark of the LORD ’s Covenant would be placed.
20 This sanctuary was thirty-five feet long, wide and high; and it was overlaid with pure gold. In front of it he set an altar, which he covered with cedar.
20
This 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.
21 Shlomo overlaid the interior of the house with pure gold and had chains of gold placed before the sanctuary, which itself he overlaid with gold.
21
Then 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.
22 The entire house he overlaid with gold until it was completely covered with it. He also overlaid with gold the entire altar that belonged to the sanctuary.
22
So he finished overlaying the entire Temple with gold, including the altar that belonged to the Most Holy Place.
23 Inside the sanctuary he made two k'ruvim of olive-wood, each seventeen-and-a-half feet high.
23
He made two cherubim of wild olive wood, each 15 feet tall, and placed them in the inner sanctuary.
24 Each of the two wings of one of the k'ruvim was eight-and-three quarters feet long, so that the distance from the end of one wing to the end of the other was seventeen-and-a-half feet.
24
The wingspan of each of the cherubim was 15 feet, each wing being 7 feet long.
25 Likewise the [wingspread of the] other keruv was seventeen-and-a-half feet; both k'ruvim were identical in shape and size.
25
The two cherubim were identical in shape and size;
26 The height of the one keruv was seventeen-and-a-half feet, likewise that of the other.
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each was 15 feet tall.
27 He set the k'ruvim in the inner house; the wings of the k'ruvim were stretched out, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other keruv touched the other wall; their wings touched each other in the middle of the house.
27
He 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.
28 He overlaid the k'ruvim with gold.
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He overlaid the two cherubim with gold.
29 All around the walls of the house, both inside the sanctuary and outside it, he carved figures of k'ruvim, palm trees and open flowers.
29
He decorated all the walls of the inner sanctuary and the main room with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers.
30 He overlaid the floor of the house with gold, both inside the sanctuary and outside it.
30
He overlaid the floor in both rooms with gold.
31 For the entrance to the sanctuary he made doors of olive-wood, set within a five-sided door-frame.
31
For the entrance to the inner sanctuary, he made double doors of wild olive wood with five-sided doorposts.
32 On the two olive-wood doors he carved figures of k'ruvim, palm trees and open flowers. He overlaid the doors with gold, forcing the gold into the shapes of the k'ruvim and palm trees as well.
32
These 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.
33 For the entrance to the temple he also made doorposts of olive-wood, set within a rectangular door-frame,
33
Then he made four-sided doorposts of wild olive wood for the entrance to the Temple.
34 and two doors of cypress-wood; the two leaves of the one door were folding, as were the two leaves of the other.
34
There were two folding doors of cypress wood, and each door was hinged to fold back upon itself.
35 On them he carved k'ruvim, palm trees and open flowers, overlaying them with gold fitted to the carved work.
35
These doors were decorated with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers—all overlaid evenly with gold.
36 He built the inner courtyard with three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams.
36
The walls of the inner courtyard were built so that there was one layer of cedar beams between every three layers of finished stone.
37 The foundation of the house of ADONAI was laid in the fourth year, in the month of Ziv.
37
The foundation of the LORD ’s Temple was laid in midspring, in the month of Ziv, during the fourth year of Solomon’s reign.
38 In the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, all parts of the house were completed exactly as designed. Thus he was seven years building it.
38
The 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.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.