Read the Modern Pastor’s Version

Solomon began building the house of the Lord at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah. This was the very spot where the Lord had appeared to his father David in the place David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

Solomon started construction on the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign. He received detailed instructions for building God's house, which measured sixty cubits long and twenty cubits wide.

The magnificent porch that stood before the house was equal in length to its breadth, with dimensions of twenty cubits square. It rose an astonishing one hundred twenty cubits high, beautifully overlaid with pure gold inside.

Inside the main structure, Solomon used fir wood, which he carefully overlaid with fine gold and adorned with palm trees and chains. The house sparkled with precious stones, adding to its beauty. The gold came from a place called Parvaim.

Every part of the house, including its beams, posts, walls, and doors, was meticulously covered in gold. Solomon also crafted intricate designs of cherubim on the walls. He built a separate area known as the most holy house, measuring twenty cubits by twenty cubits. This space was lavishly overlaid with fine gold to the tune of six hundred talents.

Even the nails used for construction were made of solid gold, weighing fifty shekels each. The upper chambers above this sacred space were also coated in gold. Inside the most holy house, Solomon crafted two magnificent cherubim from image work and covered them with gold.

The wingspan of these majestic creatures was twenty cubits wide. One wing of each cherub stretched five cubits toward the wall of the house, while the other wing extended another five cubits to join its companion's wing, creating a beautiful symmetry.

As Solomon carefully positioned the cherubim, their wings spread out twenty cubits, and they stood firmly on their feet with their faces turned inward. He crafted a magnificent veil from blue, purple, crimson, and fine linen, adorned with embroidered cherubim.

To complete the temple's grandeur, Solomon erected two imposing pillars in front of it. Each pillar reached an astonishing thirty-five cubits high, topped by five-cubit-high capitals. He created chains, reminiscent of those used in the sanctuary, which he placed on top of these pillars. One hundred intricately crafted pomegranates were attached to these chains.

Finally, Solomon carefully positioned the two pillars before the temple, one on the right and the other on the left, naming them Jachin and Boaz respectively.