The Temple Is Built
(1 Kings 6.1-38)1-2 Solomon's workers began building the temple in Jerusalem on the second day of the second month, four years after Solomon had become king of Israel. It was built on Mount Moriah where the Lord had appeared to David at the threshing place that had belonged to Araunah from Jebus.
3 The inside of the temple was 27 meters long and 9 meters wide, according to the older standards. 4 Across the front of the temple was a porch 9 meters wide and 9 meters high. The inside walls of the porch were covered with pure gold.
5 Solomon had the inside walls of the temple's main room paneled first with pine and then with a layer of gold, and he had them decorated with carvings of palm trees and designs that looked like chains. 6 He used precious stones to decorate the temple, and he used gold imported from Parvaim 7 to decorate the ceiling beams, the doors, the door frames, and the walls. Solomon also told the workers to carve designs of winged creatures into the walls.
8 The most holy place was nine meters square, and its walls were covered with over 20 tons of fine gold. 9 Five hundred and seventy grams of gold was used to cover the heads of the nails. The walls of the small storage rooms were also covered with gold.
10 Solomon had two statues of winged creatures made to put in the most holy place, and he covered them with gold. 11-13 Each creature had two wings and was four and a half meters from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other wing. Solomon set them next to each other in the most holy place, facing the doorway. Their wings were spread out and reached all the way across the nine-meter room.
14 A curtain was made of fine linen woven with blue, purple, and red wool, and embroidered with designs of winged creatures.
The Two Columns
(1 Kings 7.15-22)15 Two columns were made for the entrance to the temple. Each one was 16 meters tall and had a cap on top that was over 2 meters high. 16 The top of each column was decorated with designs that looked like chains and with 100 carvings of pomegranates. 17 Solomon had one of the columns placed on the south side of the temple's entrance; it was called Jachin. The other one was placed on the north side of the entrance; it was called Boaz.
1 So Salomon began to buyld the house of the Lord in Ierusalem, in mount Moriah which had bene declared vnto Dauid his father, in the place that Dauid prepared in the thresshing floore of Ornan the Iebusite. 2 And he beganne to buylde in the seconde moneth and the second day, in the fourth yeere of his reigne. 3 And these are the measures, whereon Salomon grounded to buylde the house of God: the length of cubites after the first measure was threescore cubites, and the breadth twenty cubites: 4 And the porch, that was before the length in the front of the breadth was twentie cubits, and the height was an hundreth and twentie, and he ouerlayd it within with pure golde. 5 And the greater house he sieled with firre tree which he ouerlayd with good golde, and graued thereon palme trees and chaines. 6 And hee ouerlayde the house with precious stone for beautie: and the golde was gold of Paruaim. 7 The house, I say, the beames, postes, and walles thereof and the doores thereof ouerlayde he with gold, and graued Cherubims vpon the walles. 8 He made also the house of the most holy place: the length thereof was in the front of the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof twentie cubites: and he ouerlayde it with the best golde, of sixe hundreth talents. 9 And the weight of the nayles was fiftie shekels of golde, and hee ouerlayde the chambers with golde. 10 And in the house of the most holy place he made two Cherubims wrought like children, and ouerlayd them with golde. 11 And the winges of the Cherubims were twentie cubites long: the one wing was fiue cubites, reaching to the wall of the house, and the other wing fiue cubites, reaching to the wing of the other Cherub. 12 Likewise the wing of ye other Cherub was fiue cubites, reaching to the wall of the house, and the other wing fiue cubites ioyning to the wing of the other Cherub. 13 The wings of these Cherubims were spread abroade twentie cubites: they stoode on their feete, and their faces were toward the house. 14 He made also the vaile of blew silke and purple, and crimosin, and fine linen, and wrought Cherubims thereon. 15 And he made before the house two pillars of fiue and thirtie cubites hie: and the chapiter that was vpon the top of eche of them, was fiue cubites. 16 He made also chaines for the oracle, and put them on the heads of the pillars, and made an hundreth pomegranates, and put them among the chaines. 17 And he set vp the pillars before the Temple, one on the right hande and the other on the left, and called that on the right hand Iachin, and that on the left hand Boaz.