They built a palace for Solomon

7 They also built a palace for Solomon, but it required 13 years to build it. 2 One of the buildings they constructed was a large ceremonial hall. It was called the Hall of the Forest of Lebanon. It was 150 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. It was supported/held up by four rows of pillars of wood from cedar trees. There were 15 pillars in each row. There were cedar beams across each row. 3 To support the roof there were cedar beams that connected the rows of pillars. 4 On each of the two side walls there were three rows of windows. 5 All the windows and doorways had rectangular frames. The windows along the long wall on one side faced the windows on the other side.

6 They also built another building called the Hall of Pillars. It was 75 feet long and 45 feet wide. It had a covered porch whose roof was supported by pillars.

7 Then they made a building called the Hall of the Throne. It was also called the Hall of Judgment. That was where Solomon decided/judged concerning people’s disputes. The walls were covered with cedar boards, from the floor to the rafters.

8 In the courtyard behind the Hall of Judgment they built a house for Solomon to live in that was made like the other buildings. They also built the same kind of house for his wife, who was the daughter of the king of Egypt.

9 All of those buildings and the walls around the palace courtyard were made from costly blocks of stone, from the foundations up to the eaves. The stones were cut at the quarry, according to the sizes that were needed, and the sides of the stones were shaped by cutting/smoothing them with saws. 10 The foundations were also made from huge blocks of stone that were prepared at the quarry. Some of them were twelve feet long and some were fifteen feet long. 11 On top of the foundation stones were other blocks of stone that were cut according to the sizes they needed, and cedar beams. 12 The palace courtyard, the inner courtyard in front of the temple, and the entrance room of the temple had walls made by putting down three layers of cut stones between each layer of cedar beams.