Solomon Prepares to Build the Temple(A)

Now (B)Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, because he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, (C)for Hiram had always loved David. Then (D)Solomon sent to Hiram, saying:

(E)You know how my father David could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God (F)because of the wars which were fought against him on every side, until the Lord put [a]his foes under the soles of his feet.

But now the Lord my God has given me (G)rest[b] on every side; there is neither adversary nor [c]evil occurrence.

(H)And behold, [d]I propose to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, (I)as the Lord spoke to my father David, saying, “Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, he shall build the house for My name.”

Now therefore, command that they cut down (J)cedars for me from Lebanon; and my servants will be with your servants, and I will pay you wages for your servants according to whatever you say. For you know there is none among us who has skill to cut timber like the Sidonians.

So it was, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly and said,

Blessed be the Lord this day, for He has given David a wise son over this great people!

Then Hiram sent to Solomon, saying:

I have considered the message which you sent me, and I will do all you desire concerning the cedar and cypress logs.

My servants shall bring them down (K)from Lebanon to the sea; I will float them in rafts by sea to the place you indicate to me, and will have them broken apart there; then you can take them away. And you shall fulfill my desire (L)by giving food for my household.

10 Then Hiram gave Solomon cedar and cypress logs according to all his desire. 11 (M)And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand [e]kors of wheat as food for his household, and [f]twenty kors of pressed oil. Thus Solomon gave to Hiram year by year.

12 So the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, (N)as He had promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty together.

13 Then King Solomon raised up a labor force out of all Israel; and the labor force was thirty thousand men. 14 And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month in shifts: they were one month in Lebanon and two months at home; (O)Adoniram was in charge of the labor force. 15 (P)Solomon had seventy thousand who carried burdens, and eighty thousand who quarried stone in the mountains, 16 besides three thousand [g]three hundred from the (Q)chiefs of Solomon’s deputies, who supervised the people who labored in the work. 17 And the king commanded them to quarry large stones, costly stones, and (R)hewn stones, to lay the foundation of the [h]temple. 18 So Solomon’s builders, Hiram’s builders, and the Gebalites quarried them; and they prepared timber and stones to build the [i]temple.

Solomon Builds the Temple(S)

And (T)it came to pass in the four hundred and [j]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 [k]Ziv, which is the second month, (U)that he began to build the house of the Lord. Now (V)the house which King Solomon built for the Lord, its length was sixty cubits, its width twenty, and its height thirty cubits. The vestibule in front of the [l]sanctuary of the house was [m]twenty cubits long across the width of the house, and the width of [n]the vestibule extended [o]ten cubits from the front of the house. And he made for the house (W)windows with beveled frames.

Against the wall of the [p]temple he built (X)chambers all around, against the walls of the temple, all around the sanctuary (Y)and the [q]inner sanctuary. Thus he made side chambers all around it. The lowest chamber was five cubits wide, the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for he made narrow ledges around the outside of the temple, so that the support beams would not be fastened into the walls of the [r]temple. And (Z)the temple, when it was being built, was built with stone finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built. The doorway for the [s]middle story was on the right side of the temple. They went up by stairs to the middle story, and from the middle to the third.

(AA)So he built the [t]temple and finished it, and he paneled the temple with beams and boards of cedar. 10 And he built side chambers against the entire temple, each five cubits high; they were attached to the temple with cedar beams.

11 Then the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying: 12 Concerning this [u]temple which you are building, (AB)if you walk in My statutes, execute My judgments, keep all My commandments, and walk in them, then I will perform My [v]word with you, (AC)which I spoke to your father David. 13 And (AD)I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not (AE)forsake My people Israel.”

14 So Solomon built the temple and finished it. 15 And he built the inside walls of the temple with cedar boards; from the floor of the temple to the ceiling he paneled the inside with wood; and he covered the floor of the temple with planks of cypress. 16 Then he built the twenty-cubit room at the rear of the temple, from floor to ceiling, with cedar boards; he built it inside as the inner sanctuary, as the (AF)Most Holy Place. 17 And in front of it the temple sanctuary was forty cubits long. 18 The inside of the temple was cedar, carved with ornamental buds and open flowers. All was cedar; there was no stone to be seen.

19 And he prepared the [w]inner sanctuary inside the temple, to set the ark of the covenant of the Lord there. 20 The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high. He overlaid it with pure gold, and overlaid the altar of cedar. 21 So Solomon overlaid the inside of the temple with pure gold. He stretched gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, and overlaid it with gold. 22 The whole temple he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the temple; also he overlaid with gold (AG)the entire altar that was by the inner sanctuary.

23 Inside the inner sanctuary (AH)he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high. 24 One wing of the cherub was five cubits, and the other wing of the cherub five cubits: ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other. 25 And the other cherub was ten cubits; both cherubim were of the same size and shape. 26 The height of one cherub was ten cubits, and so was the other cherub. 27 Then he set the cherubim inside the inner [x]room; and (AI)they stretched out the wings of the cherubim so that the wing of the one touched one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall. And their wings touched each other in the middle of the room. 28 Also he overlaid the cherubim with gold.

29 Then he carved all the walls of the temple all around, both the inner and outer sanctuaries, with carved (AJ)figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. 30 And the floor of the temple he overlaid with gold, both the inner and outer sanctuaries.

31 For the entrance of the inner sanctuary he made doors of olive wood; the lintel and doorposts were [y]one-fifth of the wall. 32 The two doors were of olive wood; and he carved on them figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold; and he spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees. 33 So for the door of the [z]sanctuary he also made doorposts of olive wood, [aa]one-fourth of the wall. 34 And the two doors were of cypress wood; (AK)two panels comprised one folding door, and two panels comprised the other folding door. 35 Then he carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers on them, and overlaid them with gold applied evenly on the carved work.

36 And he built the (AL)inner court with three rows of hewn stone and a row of cedar beams.

37 (AM)In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid, in the month of [ab]Ziv. 38 And in the eleventh year, in the month of [ac]Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its details and according to all its plans. So he was (AN)seven years in building it.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 5:3 Lit. them
  2. 1 Kings 5:4 peace
  3. 1 Kings 5:4 misfortune
  4. 1 Kings 5:5 Lit. I am saying
  5. 1 Kings 5:11 Each about 5 bushels
  6. 1 Kings 5:11 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX, Syr. twenty thousand kors
  7. 1 Kings 5:16 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX six hundred
  8. 1 Kings 5:17 Lit. house
  9. 1 Kings 5:18 Lit. house
  10. 1 Kings 6:1 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX fortieth
  11. 1 Kings 6:1 Or Ayyar, April or May
  12. 1 Kings 6:3 Heb. heykal; here the main room of the temple; elsewhere called the holy place, Ex. 26:33; Ezek. 41:1
  13. 1 Kings 6:3 About 30 feet
  14. 1 Kings 6:3 Lit. it
  15. 1 Kings 6:3 About 15 feet
  16. 1 Kings 6:5 Lit. house
  17. 1 Kings 6:5 Heb. debir; here the inner room of the temple; elsewhere called the Most Holy Place, v. 16
  18. 1 Kings 6:6 Lit. house
  19. 1 Kings 6:8 So with MT, Vg.; LXX upper story; Tg. ground story
  20. 1 Kings 6:9 Lit. house
  21. 1 Kings 6:12 Lit. house
  22. 1 Kings 6:12 promise
  23. 1 Kings 6:19 The Most Holy Place
  24. 1 Kings 6:27 Lit. house
  25. 1 Kings 6:31 Or five-sided
  26. 1 Kings 6:33 temple
  27. 1 Kings 6:33 Or four-sided
  28. 1 Kings 6:37 Or Ayyar, April or May
  29. 1 Kings 6:38 Or Heshvan, October or November

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