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1 Kings

Starts with King Solomon's reign, his wisdom, and building the temple, then the kingdom dividing into Israel and Judah.

Chapter 6

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1 And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.

*In the 480th year since the Israelites left Egypt, during Solomon's fourth year as king, in the second month called Zif, he started building God's house.

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.

*The house King Solomon built for God was 60 cubits long, 20 cubits wide, and 30 cubits tall.

3 And the porch before 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 before the house.

*The porch in front of the temple was 20 cubits long, the same as the house's width. It was also 10 cubits wide, measured from the house's side.

4 And for the house he made windows of narrow lights.

*He put small window openings in the house.

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:

*He built rooms on the house's walls all around, for both the temple and the oracle. He did this everywhere around the building.

6 The nethermost chamber was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad: for without 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.

*The lowest room was 5 cubits wide, the middle room was 6 cubits wide, and the top room was 7 cubits wide. Inside the walls, he created small ledges (about 3 feet apart) so the wooden beams wouldn't need to be attached directly to the walls.

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 axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.

*While the house was being built, it was made from stones already prepared. No hammer, axe, or other metal tools were used, making no noise during construction.

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.

*The door to the middle room was on the house's right side. They climbed a spiral staircase to the middle room, then went from there to the third room.

9 So he built the house, and finished it; and covered the house with beams and boards of cedar.

*So, he constructed the house completely, adding cedar wood beams and planks on top.

10 And then he built chambers against all the house, five cubits high: and they rested on the house with timber of cedar.

*Then he constructed rooms next to the entire building, five feet tall, and they were supported by cedar wood.

11 And the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying,

*And God spoke to Solomon, saying,

12 Concerning this house which thou art in 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 spake unto David thy father:

*Regarding the house you are building, if you follow my rules, carry out my decisions, and obey all my commands to follow them; then I will fulfill my promise to you, which I told David your father.

13 And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel.

*I will live with the children of Israel and won't leave them.

14 So Solomon built the house, and finished it.

*So, Solomon constructed the building and completed it.

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.

*He put up cedar wood inside the house's walls, floor, and ceiling. He also covered the inside with more wood and made the house floor from strong fir 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.

*He constructed 20-cubit-long sides for the house, including the floor and walls, using cedar wood panels. He also built these inside, specifically for a special room called the oracle, which was considered very sacred.

17 And the house, that is, the temple before it, was forty cubits long.

*The building, also called the temple, was 40 times the length of a measuring stick called a cubit.

18 And the cedar of the house within was carved with knops and open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen.

*The inside house's cedar wood had decorations like bumps and open flowers; it was all made from cedar, with no stones visible.

19 And the oracle he prepared in the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of the LORD.

*He created a sacred space inside the building for placing the agreement box of God.

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.

*The front part was 20 units long, 20 units wide, and 20 units tall. It was covered with pure gold. This gold also covered an altar made from cedar wood.

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.

*Solomon covered the inside of the house with pure gold. He also put up a gold wall in front of the special room, and covered that too 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.

*He covered the entire house with gold until it was done, including the altar near the sacred room, which he also covered in gold.

23 And within the oracle he made two cherubims of olive tree, each ten cubits high.

*Inside the oracle, he created two cherubs from olive trees, each as tall as ten cubits.

24 And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits.

*The wings of the cherub were each five cubits long. From the tip of one wing to the tip of the other, they measured ten cubits.

25 And the other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubims were of one measure and one size.

*And the other cherub was as big as ten cubits; both cherubs were the same size and shape.

26 The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was it of the other cherub.

*The height of each cherub was ten cubits, identical for both cherubs.

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.

*He placed the cherubim angels inside the main room. They spread out their wings, reaching to touch the walls on either side. Their wings also met each other in the middle of the room.

28 And he overlaid the cherubims with gold.

*He covered the cherubim 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.

*He decorated the entire house with detailed carvings of cherubs, palm trees, and open flowers on both the inside and outside walls.

30 And the floor of the house he overlaid with gold, within and without.

*He covered the inside and outside floors of the house with gold.

31 And for the entering of the oracle he made doors of olive tree: the lintel and side posts were a fifth part of the wall.

*For the oracle entrance, he made doors from olive wood. The top and side posts were one-fifth the size of the wall.

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.

*The two doors were made from olive wood. He carved pictures of cherubs, palm trees, and open flowers on them. Then he covered everything in gold, including the cherubs and palm trees.

33 So also made he for the door of the temple posts of olive tree, a fourth part of the wall.

*He also made doors for the temple using olive wood, covering one-fourth of the wall.

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.

*The two doors were made of fir wood. Both doors had two parts that could fold up.

35 And he carved thereon cherubims and palm trees and open flowers: and covered them with gold fitted upon the carved work.

*He made carvings of cherubs, palm trees, and open flowers on it, then covered them with gold that fit perfectly on the carved designs.

36 And he built the inner court with three rows of hewed stone, and a row of cedar beams.

*He constructed the inner courtyard using three layers of carved stones, along with an additional layer of cedar wood planks.

37 In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the LORD laid, in the month Zif:

*In the fourth year, they began building God's house, during the month called Zif.

38 And in the eleventh year, in the month 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.

*In the 11th year, during the eighth month called Bul, the entire house was completed in every part, just as its design planned. It took him seven years to build it.

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