Solomon Builds the Temple
1Solomon began to build the temple of the Lord. It was 480 years after the Israelites came out of Egypt. It was in the fourth year of Solomon’s rule over Israel. He started in the second month. That was the month of Ziv.
2The temple King Solomon built for the Lord was 90 feet long. It was 30 feet wide. And it was 45 feet high. 3The temple had a porch in front of the main hall. The porch was as wide as the temple itself. It was 30 feet wide. It came out 15 feet from the front of the temple. 4Solomon made narrow windows high up in the temple walls. 5He built side rooms around the temple. They were built against the walls of the main hall and the Most Holy Room. 6On the first floor the side rooms were seven and a half feet wide. On the second floor they were nine feet wide. And on the third floor they were ten and a half feet wide. Solomon made the walls of the temple thinner as they went up floor by floor. The result was ledges along the walls. So the floor beams of the side rooms rested on the ledges. The beams didn’t go into the temple walls.
7All the stones used for building the temple were shaped where they were cut. So hammers, chisels and other iron tools couldn’t be heard where the temple was being built.
8The entrance to the first floor was on the south side of the temple. A stairway led up to the second floor. From there it went on up to the third floor. 9So Solomon built the temple and finished it. He made its roof out of beams and cedar boards. 10He built side rooms all along the temple. Each room was seven and a half feet high. They were joined to the temple by cedar beams.
11A message came to Solomon from the Lord. The Lord said, 12“You are now building this temple. Follow my orders. Keep my rules. Obey all my commands. Then I will make the promise I gave your father David come true. I will do it through you. 13I will live among my people Israel. I will not desert them.”
14So Solomon built the temple and finished it. 15He put cedar boards on its inside walls. He covered them from floor to ceiling. He covered the temple floor with juniper boards. 16He put up a wall 30 feet from the back of the temple. He made it with cedar boards from floor to ceiling. That formed a room inside the temple. It was the Most Holy Room. 17The main hall in front of the room was 60 feet long. 18The inside of the temple was covered with cedar wood. Gourds and open flowers were carved on the wood. Everything was cedar. There wasn’t any stone showing anywhere.
19Solomon prepared the Most Holy Room inside the temple. That’s where the ark of the covenant of the Lord would be placed. 20The Most Holy Room was 30 feet long. It was 30 feet wide. And it was 30 feet high. Solomon covered the inside of it with pure gold. He prepared the cedar altar for burning incense. He covered it with gold. 21Solomon covered the inside of the main hall with pure gold. He placed gold chains across the front of the Most Holy Room. That room was covered with gold. 22So Solomon covered the inside of the whole temple with gold. He also covered the altar for burning incense with gold. It was right in front of the Most Holy Room.
23For the Most Holy Room Solomon made a pair of cherubim. He made them out of olive wood. Each cherub was 15 feet high. 24One wing of the first cherub was seven and a half feet long. The other wing was also seven and a half feet long. So the wings measured 15 feet from tip to tip. 25The second cherub’s wings also measured 15 feet from tip to tip. The two cherubim had the same size and shape. 26Each cherub was 15 feet high. 27Solomon placed the cherubim inside the Most Holy Room in the temple. Their wings were spread out. The wing tip of one cherub touched one wall. The wing tip of the other touched the other wall. The tips of their wings touched each other in the middle of the room. 28Solomon covered the cherubim with gold.
29On the walls all around the temple he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers. He carved them on the walls of the Most Holy Room and the main hall. 30He also covered the floors of those two rooms with gold.
31For the entrance to the Most Holy Room he made two doors out of olive wood. Each door was one-fifth of the width of the Most Holy Room. 32On the two olive wood doors he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers. He covered the cherubim and palm trees with hammered gold. 33In the same way he made olive wood doorposts for the entrance to the main hall. Each doorpost was one-fourth of the width of the hall. 34He also made two doors out of juniper wood. Each door had two parts. They turned in bases shaped like cups. 35He carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers on the doors. He covered the doors with gold. He hammered the gold evenly over the carvings.
36He used blocks of stone to build a wall around the inside courtyard. The first three layers of the wall were made out of stone. The top layer was made out of beautiful cedar wood.
37The foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid in Solomon’s fourth year. It was in the month of Ziv. 38The temple was finished in his 11th year. It was in the month of Bul. That was the eighth month. Everything was finished just as the plans required. Solomon had spent seven years building the temple.
建造聖殿
1所羅門在做以色列王的第四年二月，即西弗月，開始為耶和華建殿。那時正是以色列人離開埃及後第四百八十年。 2所羅門王為耶和華建造的殿長二十七米，寬九米，高十三米半。 3殿前的門廊和殿一樣寬九米，深四米半。 4殿有精緻的窗戶。 5靠殿牆、圍著外殿和內殿又造了三層廂房， 6底層寬二點二五米，中層寬二點七米，上層寬三點一米。廂房的橫樑都搭在殿牆突出的地方，免得插入殿牆。 7建殿的石頭都在採石場鑿好了，建殿的時候聽不到錘子、斧頭或其他鐵器的響聲。
8底層廂房的進口在殿的南面，沿著一道螺旋樓梯可以通到第二層和第三層。 9殿建成後，殿頂裝上香柏木的梁木和木板。 10靠著殿牆所造的廂房每一層高二點二五米，用香柏木的梁木與殿牆接連起來。
耶和華的約
11耶和華對所羅門說： 12「關於你所建的這殿，若你遵行我的律例，順從我的典章，謹守我的一切誡命，我必實現我對你父親大衛的應許。 13我必住在以色列人當中，不拋棄我的以色列子民。」
14所羅門建造的殿落成了。 15殿裡的牆壁和天花板都鋪上了香柏木，地面都鋪上了松木板。 16在殿的後部，從地面至天花板用香柏木板隔出長九米的內殿，就是至聖所。 17在至聖所外面是外殿，長十八米。 18殿內全部鋪上香柏木，不露一點石頭，香柏木上刻著野瓜和花朵的圖案。 19殿的至聖所用來安放耶和華的約櫃。 20至聖所長、寬和高都是九米，裡面全貼上純金，香柏木造的祭壇也包上純金。 21殿內全部貼上純金，至聖所前面有金鏈攔著。 22殿內都貼上純金，至聖所內的祭壇也都包上純金。
23至聖所裡面放著兩個橄欖木造的基路伯天使，各高四米半， 24各有兩個二點二五米長的翅膀，雙翅展開，兩翅尖相距四點五米。 25兩個基路伯的大小和形狀一模一樣， 26高度都是四點五米。 27他將兩個基路伯安在至聖所內，兩個基路伯展開翅膀，各有一個翅膀在至聖所的中央相接，另一個翅膀的尖端觸到牆壁。 28這兩個基路伯天使也包上金。
29內殿和外殿的牆壁都刻上基路伯天使、棕樹和花朵的圖案， 30地板是鋪金的。 31至聖所的門、門楣和門柱都是橄欖木造的，門柱呈五角形。 32兩扇用橄欖木造的門上都刻著基路伯天使、棕樹和花朵的圖案，並包上金。 33外殿的四角形門柱也是用橄欖木造的， 34兩扇門是松木造的，每一扇門都分為可折疊的兩片， 35上面刻著基路伯天使、棕樹和花朵的圖案，並包上金。 36內院的牆是由三層鑿好的石頭和一層香柏木建的。
37耶和華的殿在所羅門執政第四年的西弗月奠基， 38在他執政的第十一年的布勒月，即八月全部按規格建成，歷經七年。
