The Outside of the Temple Is Completed
1 Solomon's workers started building the temple during Ziv, the second month of the year. It had been 4 years since Solomon became king of Israel, and 480 years since the people of Israel left Egypt.
2 The inside of the Lord's temple was 27 meters long, 9 meters wide, and 13.5 meters high. 3 A four-and-a-half-meter porch went all the way across the front of the temple. 4 The windows were narrow on the outside but wide on the inside.
5-6 Along the sides and back of the temple, there were three levels of storage rooms. The rooms on the bottom level were just over two meters wide, the rooms on the middle level were over two and a half meters wide, and those on the top level were just over three meters wide. There were ledges on the outside of the temple that supported the beams of the storage rooms, so that nothing was built into the temple walls.
7 Solomon did not want the noise of hammers and axes to be heard at the place where the temple was being built. So he gave orders for the workers to shape the blocks of stone at the quarry.
8 The entrance to the bottom storage rooms was on the south side of the building, and stairs to the other rooms were also there. 9 The roof of the temple was made out of beams and cedar boards.
The workers finished building the outside of the temple. 10 Storage rooms just over two meters high were all around the temple, and they were attached to the temple by cedar beams.
11 The Lord told Solomon:
12-13 If you obey my commands and do what I say, I will keep the promise I made to your father David. I will live among my people Israel in this temple you are building, and I will not desert them.
14 So Solomon's workers finished building the temple.
The Inside of the Temple Is Furnished
(2 Chronicles 3.8-14)15 The floor of the temple was made out of pine, and the walls were lined with cedar from floor to ceiling.
16 The most holy place was in the back of the temple, and it was nine meters square. Cedar boards standing from floor to ceiling separated it from the rest of the temple. 17 The temple's main room was 18 meters long, and it was in front of the most holy place.
18 The inside walls were lined with cedar to hide the stones, and the cedar was decorated with carvings of gourds and flowers.
19 The sacred chest was kept in the most holy place. 20-22 This room was nine meters long, nine meters wide, and nine meters high, and it was lined with pure gold. There were also gold chains across the front of the most holy place. The inside of the temple, as well as the cedar altar in the most holy place, was covered with gold.
23 Solomon had two statues of winged creatures made from olive wood to put in the most holy place. Each creature was four and a half meters tall 24-26 and four and a half meters across. They had two wings, and the wings were just over two meters long. 27 Solomon put them next to each other in the most holy place. Their wings were spread out and reached across the room. 28 The creatures were also covered with gold.
29 The walls of the two rooms were decorated with carvings of palm trees, flowers, and winged creatures. 30 Even the floor was covered with gold.
31-32 The two doors to the most holy place were made out of olive wood and were decorated with carvings of palm trees, flowers, and winged creatures. The doors and the carvings were covered with gold. The door frame came to a point at the top.
33-34 The two doors to the main room of the temple were made out of pine, and each one had two sections so they could fold open. The door frame was shaped like a rectangle and was made out of olive wood. 35 The doors were covered with gold and were decorated with carvings of palm trees, flowers, and winged creatures.
36 The inner courtyard of the temple had walls made out of three layers of cut stones with one layer of cedar beams.
37 Work began on the temple during Ziv, the second month of the year, four years after Solomon became king of Israel. 38 Seven years later the workers finished building it during Bul, the eighth month of the year. It was built exactly as it had been planned.
1 And in the foure hundreth and foure score yeere (after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt) and in the fourth yere of the reigne of Salomon ouer Israel, in the moneth Zif, (which is the second moneth) he built the house of the Lord. 2 And the house which King Salomon built for the Lord, was three score cubites long, and twentie broade, and thirtie cubites hie. 3 And the porch before the Temple of the house was twentie cubites long according to the breadth of the house, and ten cubites broade before the house. 4 And in the house he made windowes, broad without, and narrowe within. 5 And by the wall of the house hee made galleries round about, euen by the walles of the house round about the Temple and the oracle, and made chambers round about. 6 The nethermost gallerie was fiue cubites broade, and the middlemost sixe cubites broade, and the third seuen cubites broade: for he made restes round about without the house, that the beames should not be fastened in the walles of the house. 7 And when the house was built, it was built of stone perfite, before it was brought, so that there was neither hammer, nor axe, nor any toole of yron heard in the house, while it was in building. 8 The doore of the middle chamber was in the right side of the house, and men went vp with winding stayres into the middlemost, and out of the middlemost into the third. 9 So he built the house and finished it, and sieled the house being vawted with sieling of cedar trees. 10 And he built the galleries vpon al the wall of the house of fiue cubites height, and they were ioyned to the house with beames of cedar. 11 And the worde of the Lord came to Salomon, saying, 12 Cocerning this house which thou buildest, if thou wilt walke in mine ordinances, and execute my iudgements, and keepe al my commadements, to walke in them, then will I performe vnto thee my promise, which I promised to Dauid thy father. 13 And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and wil not forsake my people Israel. 14 So Salomon built the house and finished it, 15 And built the walles of the house within, with boards of cedar tree from the pauement of the house vnto the walles of the sieling, and within he couered them with wood, and couered the floore of the house with planks of firre. 16 And he built twentie cubites in the sides of the house with boards of cedar, from the floore to the walles, and he prepared a place within it for the oracle, euen the most holy place. 17 But the house, that is, the Temple before it, was fourtie cubites long. 18 And the cedar of the house within was carued with knops, and grauen with floures: all was cedar, so that no stone was seene. 19 Also he prepared the place of the oracle in the mids of the house within, to set the Arke of the couenant of the Lord there. 20 And the place of the oracle within was twentie cubites long, and twentie cubites broad, and twentie cubites hie, and hee couered it with pure golde, and couered the altar with cedar. 21 So Salomon couered the house within with pure golde: and he shut the place of the oracle with chaines of gold, and couered it with golde. 22 And he ouerlayde all the house with gold, vntill all the house was made perfite. also he couered the whole altar, that was before the oracle, with golde. 23 And within the oracle he made two Cherubims of oliue tree, ten cubites hie. 24 The wing also of the one Cherub was fiue cubites, and the wing of the other Cherub was fiue cubites: from the vttermost part of one of his wings vnto the vttermost part of the other of his wings, were ten cubites. 25 Also the other Cherub was of ten cubites: both the Cherubims were of one measure and one sise. 26 For the height of the one Cherub was ten cubits, and so was the other Cherub. 27 And he put the Cherubims within the inner house, and the Cherubims stretched out their wings, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other Cherub touched the other wall: and their other wings touched one another in the middes of the house. 28 And he ouerlaied the Cherubims with golde. 29 And he carued all the walles of the house round about with grauen figures of Cherubims and of Palmetrees, and grauen flowres within and without. 30 And the floore of the house hee couered with golde within and without. 31 And in the entring of the oracle he made two doores of oliue tree: and the vpper post and side postes were fiue square. 32 The two doores also were of oliue tree, and he graued them with grauing of Cherubims and palme trees, and grauen floures, and couered them with golde, and layed thin golde vpon the Cherubims and vpon the palme trees. 33 And so made he for the doore of the Temple, postes of oliue tree foure square. 34 But the two doores were of firre tree, the two sides of the one doore were round, and the two sides of the other doore were round. 35 And he graued Cherubims, and palme trees, and carued floures and couered the carued worke with golde, finely wrought. 36 And hee built the court within with three rowes of hewed stone, and one rowe of beames of cedar. 37 In the fourth yeere was the foundation of the house of the Lord layed in the moneth of Zif: 38 And in the eleuenth yeere in the moneth of Bul, (which is the eight moneth) hee finished the house with all the furniture thereof, and in euery point: so was he seuen yeere in building it.