Third Millennium Bible TMB
GOD'S WORD Translation GW
1 And it came to pass in 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 of Ziv, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.
1
Solomon began to build the LORD's temple 480 years after Israel left Egypt. He began building in the month of Ziv (the second month) of the fourth year of his reign over Israel.
2 And 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.
2
The temple that King Solomon built for the LORD was 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high.
3 And the porch in front of 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 in front of the house.
3
The entrance hall in front of the main room of the temple was the same length as the shorter side of the temple. It extended 15 feet in front of the temple.
4 And for the house he made windows broad within and narrow without.
4
He also made latticed windows for the temple.
5 And 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.
5
He built an annex containing side rooms all around the temple. This annex was next to the walls of the main building and the inner sanctuary.
6 The nethermost chamber was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad; for outside 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.
6
The [interior of] the lowest story of the annex was 7½ feet wide, the second story was 9 feet wide, and the third story was 10½ feet wide. Solomon made ledges all around the temple so that this annex would not be fastened to the walls of the temple.
7 And 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 ax nor any tool of iron heard in the house while it was in building.
7
The temple was built with stone blocks that were finished at the quarry. No hammer, chisel, or any other iron tool made a sound at the temple construction site.
8 The 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.
8
The entrance to the first story was on the south side of the temple. A staircase went up to the middle story and then to the third story.
9 So he built the house and finished it, and covered the house with beams and boards of cedar.
9
When he had finished building the walls, he roofed the temple with rows of cedar beams and planks.
10 And then he built chambers against all the house, five cubits high; and they rested on the house with timber of cedar.
10
He built [each story of the] annex 7½ feet high alongside the entire temple. Its cedar beams were attached to the temple.
11 And the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying,
11
The LORD spoke to Solomon, saying,
12 "Concerning this house which thou art 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 spoke unto David thy father.
12
"This concerns the temple you are building: If you live by my laws, follow my rules, and keep my commands, I will fulfill the promise I made about you to your father David.
13 And I will dwell among the children of Israel and will not forsake My people Israel."
13
I will live among the Israelites and never abandon my people."
14 So Solomon built the house and finished it.
14
When Solomon had finished building the temple's [frame],
15 And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar, both the floor of the house and the walls of the ceiling; and he covered them on the inside with wood, and covered the floor of the house with planks of fir.
15
he began to line the inside walls of the temple with cedar boards. He paneled the inside of the temple with wood from floor to ceiling. He covered the floor of the temple with cypress planks.
16 And 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.
16
He sectioned off a 30-foot-long room at the rear of the temple with cedar boards from the floor to the rafters. He built it to serve as an inner room, the most holy place.
17 And the house, that is, the temple before it, was forty cubits long.
17
The 60-foot-long room at the front of the temple served as the main hall.
18 And the cedar of the house within was carved with buds and open flowers. All was cedar; there was no stone seen.
18
Gourds and flowers were carved into the cedar paneling inside the temple. Everything was [covered with] cedar. No stone could be seen.
19 And the oracle he prepared in the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of the LORD.
19
He prepared the inner room of the temple in order to put the ark of the LORD's promise there.
20 And 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.
20
The inner room was 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 30 feet high. Solomon covered it and the cedar altar with pure gold.
21 So 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.
21
He covered the inside of the temple with pure gold. He put golden chains across the front of the inner room which was covered with gold.
22 And 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.
22
He covered the entire inside of the temple with gold. He also covered the entire altar in the inner room with gold.
23 And within the oracle he made two cherubims of olive tree, each ten cubits high.
23
In the inner room he made two 15-foot-tall angels out of olive wood.
24 And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the outermost part of the one wing unto the outermost part of the other was ten cubits.
24
Each wing of the angels was 7½ feet long. The distance from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other was 15 feet.
25 And the other cherub was ten cubits; both the cherubims were of one measure and one size.
25
Both angels had a 15-foot [wingspan]. Both had the same measurements and the same shape.
26 The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was it of the other cherub.
26
Each was 15 feet high.
27 And 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.
27
Solomon put the angels in the inner room of the temple. The wings of the angels extended so that the wing of one of the angels touched the one wall, and the wing of the other touched the other wall. Their remaining wings touched each other in the center of the room.
28 And he overlaid the cherubims with gold.
28
He covered the angels with gold.
29 And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, within and without.
29
He carved angels, palm trees, and flowers into the walls all around the inner and outer rooms of the temple.
30 And the floor of the house he overlaid with gold, within and without.
30
He covered the floor of the inner and outer rooms of the temple with gold.
31 And for the entrance of the oracle he made doors of olive tree; the lintel and side posts were a fifth part of the wall.
31
He made doors for the entrance to the inner room out of olive wood. The doorposts had five sides.
32 The 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.
32
The two doors were [made out of] olive wood. He carved angels, palm trees, and flowers into them and covered them with gold. The gold was hammered onto the angels and the palm trees.
33 So also made he for the door of the temple posts of olive tree, a fourth part of the wall.
33
In the same way he made square doorposts out of olive wood for the temple's entrance.
34 And 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.
34
He made two doors from cypress. Each of the doors had two folding panels.
35 And he carved thereon cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, and covered them with gold fitted upon the carved work.
35
On them he carved angels, palm trees, and flowers. He evenly covered them with gold.
36 And he built the inner court with three rows of hewn stone and a row of cedar beams.
36
He built the inner courtyard with three courses of finished stones and a course of finished cedar beams.
37 In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the LORD laid, in the month of Ziv.
37
In the month of Ziv of the fourth year of Solomon's reign, the foundation of the LORD's temple was laid.
38 And in the eleventh year, in the month of 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.
38
In the month of Bul (the eighth month) of the eleventh year [of his reign], the temple was finished according to all its plans and specifications. He spent seven years building it.
Third Millennium Bible (TMB), New Authorized Version, Copyright 1998 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc., Gary, SD 57237. All rights reserved.
GOD'S WORD® is a copyrighted work of God's Word to the Nations. Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. All rights reserved. Used by permission.