6 So it was that four hundred and eighty years after the Israelis left Egypt, in the second month of the fourth year of Shelomoh’s reign over Israel, he began the construction of Yahweh’s residence. 2 It would be twenty-seven metres long, nine metres wide, and fourteen metres high.[fn] 3 The five-metre wide porch on the front was the same length as the temple width, so nine metres long. 4 The window openings narrowed towards the outer edge of the wall. 5 Against the outside of the back wall and the two sides, he built three-storey (but lower than the wall) side rooms. 6 The lowest level was just over two metres wide, the middle level was half a metre wider, and the top level the same again (because the temple wall got thinner as it went up). The temple walls had ledges built into them for the beams to sit on, so they wouldn’t have to go through the walls.

7 While the temple was being built, all of the huge stones were dressed at the quarry site, so there was no noise from any hammer or axe or iron tool at the construction site.

8 The entrance to the bottom level of siderooms was on the south side of the temple, then from there, stairs went up to the middle level, and more stairs to the top level. 9 So he built the temple walls, then it was roofed with cedar beams and planks, 10 and he built the siderooms—each level just over two metres high and attached to the temple with cedar beams.

11 Then Yahweh had this message sent to Shelomoh, 12 “This residence that you’re building, if you comply with my regulations and follow my judgements and obey all my commands, then I’ll ensure that everything I promised your father David will come to pass. 13 I will live among you Israelis and I’ll never abandon my people Israel.”

14 So Shelomoh finished the construction of the temple, 15 and on the inside he made walls of cedar boards. The floor was made with cypress boards, and the walls were panelled from the floor to the ceiling. 16 Inside the temple, nine metres at the rear were closed off to make an inner room called ‘the very holy place’. That too had walls made of cedar boards.[ref] 17 That left the main temple room as eighteen metres long, 18 and it had cedar boards on the walls decorated with carvings of buds and flowers in blossom. All the internal walls were covered with cedar so none of the large stones were visible.

19 The inner room at the back was to house the box containing Yahweh’s agreement, 20 and the room (nine metres long and wide and high) was overlaid with pure gold and equipped with an incense altar overlaid with cedar. 21 Then Shelomoh overlaid the main room with pure gold, and he hung gold chains crossing across the entrance to the inner room that was overlaid with gold. 22 He overlaid the interior of the entire temple with gold until it was all finished, including overlaying the altar belonging to the inner room with gold.[ref]

23 In the inner room, he made two winged creatures that were five metres high and made of olive wood.[ref] 24 Each wing was over two metres long, giving each one a total wingspan of four and a half metres. 25 Both creatures were the same size and shape, 26 and they were both five metres high. 27 The two winged creatures were placed across the inner room where their wingtips touched each other in the centre and their outer wings touched the walls. 28 Both of the wooden carvings were overlaid with gold.

29 He had all the interior walls of the temple engraved with winged creatures and palm trees and flowers in bloom, 30 and he overlaid the floor of both rooms with gold.

31 He made doors and doorposts for the inner room with olive wood, 32 and both doors were decorated with carvings of winged creatures and palm trees and flowers in bloom, then they were overlaid with gold that was hammered over the carvings. 33 He made the doorposts for the main temple entrance with olive wood, 34 and the two folding doors themselves each had two folding sections made of cypress. 35 These doors were also decorated with carvings of winged creatures and palm trees and flowers in bloom, and then overlaid with gold smoothed down over the carvings.

36 He built the inner courtyard with three rows of dressed stones and a row of cedar beams.

37 The foundation for Yahweh’s residence was laid in the second month of the fourth year of Shelomoh’s reign, 38 and it was completed in the eighth month of his eleventh year—meeting all his specifications and requirements. So it took over seven years to build it.