Back to 1 Kings 6

1 Kings 6:20-22

Within the inner sanctuary was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in width, and twenty cubits in its height; and he overlaid it with pure gold; and he covered the altar with cedar. So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold. He drew chains of gold across before the inner sanctuary, and he overlaid it with gold. He overlaid the whole house with gold, until all the house was finished. He also overlaid the whole altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary with gold.

World English Bible · Public Domain
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So Solomon built the house, and finished it. He built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar: from the floor of the house to the walls of the ceiling, he covered them on the inside with wood; and he covered the floor of the house with cypress boards. He built twenty cubits on the back part of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the ceiling. He built them for it within, for an inner sanctuary, even for the most holy place. In front of the temple sanctuary was forty cubits. There was cedar on the house within, carved with buds and open flowers. All was cedar. No stone was visible. He prepared an inner sanctuary in the middle of the house within, to set the ark of Yahweh’s covenant there. Within the inner sanctuary was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in width, and twenty cubits in its height; and he overlaid it with pure gold; and he covered the altar with cedar. So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold. He drew chains of gold across before the inner sanctuary, and he overlaid it with gold. He overlaid the whole house with gold, until all the house was finished. He also overlaid the whole altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary with gold. In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high. Five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub. From the tip of one wing to the tip of the other was ten cubits. The other cherub was ten cubits. Both the cherubim were of one measure and one form. One cherub was ten cubits high, and so was the other cherub. He set the cherubim within the inner house. The wings of the cherubim were stretched out, 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 middle of the house. He overlaid the cherubim with gold. He carved all the walls of the house around with carved figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, inside and outside. He overlaid the floor of the house with gold, inside and outside. For the entrance of the inner sanctuary, he made doors of olive wood. The lintel and door posts were a fifth part of the wall. So he made two doors of olive wood; and he carved on them carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold. He spread the gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees. He also did so for the entrance of the temple door posts of olive wood, out of a fourth part of the wall; and two doors of cypress wood. The two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding. He carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers; and he overlaid them with gold fitted on the engraved work. He built the inner court with three courses of cut stone and a course of cedar beams. The foundation of Yahweh’s house was laid in the fourth year, in the month Ziv. In the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished throughout all its parts, and according to all its specifications. So he spent seven years building it.

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Parallel Translations

  • WEB World English Bible

    Within the inner sanctuary was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in width, and twenty cubits in its height; and he overlaid it with pure gold; and he covered the altar with cedar.

    So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold. He drew chains of gold across before the inner sanctuary, and he overlaid it with gold.

    He overlaid the whole house with gold, until all the house was finished. He also overlaid the whole altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary with gold.

  • KJV King James Version

    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.

    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.

    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.

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  • JPS JPS Tanakh (1917)

    And before the Sanctuary which was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof, overlaid with pure gold, he set an altar, which he covered with cedar.

    So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold; and he drew chains of gold across the wall before the Sanctuary; and he overlaid it with gold.

    And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until all the house was finished; also the whole altar that belonged to the Sanctuary he overlaid with gold.

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Cross-references (15)

  • Exodus 30:1 (v22) “You shall make an altar to burn incense on. You shall make it of acacia wood.
  • Exodus 30:3 (v22) You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top, its sides around it, and its horns; and you shall make a gold molding around it.
  • Exodus 26:29 (v21) You shall overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings of gold for places for the bars. You shall overlay the bars with gold.
  • Exodus 26:32-33 (v21) You shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold; their hooks shall be of gold, on four sockets of silver. You shall hang up…
  • Exodus 30:1-3 (v20) “You shall make an altar to burn incense on. You shall make it of acacia wood. Its length shall be a cubit, and its width a cubit. It shall…
Show all 15 cross-references
  • Exodus 30:5-6 (v22) You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. You shall put it before the veil that is by the ark of the covenant,…
  • Exodus 36:34 (v21) He overlaid the boards with gold, and made their rings of gold as places for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold.
  • 1 Kings 6:2-3 (v20) The house which king Solomon built for Yahweh had a length of sixty cubits, and its width twenty, and its height thirty cubits. The porch…
  • 1 Kings 6:5 (v21) Against the wall of the house, he built floors all around, against the walls of the house all around, both of the temple and of the inner…
  • 1 Kings 6:20 (v22) Within the inner sanctuary was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in width, and twenty cubits in its height; and he overlaid it…
  • 1 Kings 6:22 (v20) He overlaid the whole house with gold, until all the house was finished. He also overlaid the whole altar that belonged to the inner…
  • 1 Kings 7:48 (v20) Solomon made all the vessels that were in Yahweh’s house: the golden altar and the table that the show bread was on, of gold;
  • 2 Chronicles 3:7-9 (v21) He also overlaid the house, the beams, the thresholds, its walls, and its doors with gold; and engraved cherubim on the walls. He made the…
  • 2 Chronicles 3:7-14 (v22) He also overlaid the house, the beams, the thresholds, its walls, and its doors with gold; and engraved cherubim on the walls. He made the…
  • 2 Chronicles 3:14-16 (v21) He made the veil of blue, purple, crimson, and fine linen, and ornamented it with cherubim. Also he made before the house two pillars of…

Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)

Explain this passage (14 sources)

Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.

Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv21–22 Hebrew, he drew through chains of gold before.

Hebrew, he drew through chains of gold before.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.

John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv20–22 1Ki 6:20 And the oracle in the forepart [was]…
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv20–22 In the forepart, or rather, which was in the…
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv20–22 So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold,....…
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv20–22 Forepart - Which was in the inner part of…
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v22 Verse 22. The whole house he overlaid with gold]…
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv21–22 1Ki 6:21. So Solomon overlaid the house within with…
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv20–22 The fore part - Perhaps “the interior.”
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv20–21 Pure gold. Hebrew, "reserved" by David, or "gold locked…
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv20–22 20. The oracle in the forepart — That is,…
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv20–22 20. the oracle in the fore-part] The two words…
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv20–22 (20) In the forepart.—Although this is a literal translation…
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv20–22 And the oracle in the forepart or, the interior…
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v21 Solomon overlaid ... he placed ... He overlaid ...…
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