1 Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD {YHWH, Covenant King} in Jerusalem, on Mount Moriah—the place where He appeared to David his father—at the site David had prepared, on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite {yevusi: ancient Jerusalem inhabitant}.
2 He began the building work in the fourth year of his reign {malchut: period of rule}, on the second {yom: day of the month} day of the second month.
3 And these are the foundations that Solomon laid for building the house of God {Elohim: Worship Dwelling} according to the former measure {ba-middah: standard unit}, with a length of sixty cubits and a width of twenty cubits.
4 The portico {ulam: entrance hall} in front of the house was twenty cubits long, matching the width of the house, and it rose one hundred and twenty cubits high. He overlaid its interior with pure gold {zahav: refined precious metal}.
5 And he paneled the great house{bayit gadol: main sanctuary} with cypress wood{etz beroshim: evergreen timbers}, and he overlaid it with fine gold, and he set upon it palm trees and chainwork.
6 He overlaid the house {bayit: temple structure} with precious stones for beauty, and the gold was from Parvaim {Parvayim: distant gold region}.
7 And he overlaid the house—the beams, the thresholds {sippim: door sills}, its walls, and its doors—with gold; and he carved cherubim {keruvim: angelic figures} on the walls.
8 And he made the Most Holy Place {beit-kodesh-ha-kodashim: innermost sanctuary}; it measured twenty cubits by twenty cubits, its length matching the width of the house. He overlaid it with fine gold for six hundred talents {kikkarim: ancient weight unit}.
9 The gold used for the nails {mismerot: metal fasteners} weighed fifty shekels, and he overlaid {chippah: applied layer} the upper chambers with gold.
10 And he made in the inner sanctuary {beit kodesh ha-kodashim: most holy chamber} two cherubim, a work of sculptured elegance {tsa'atsu'im: intricate sculpture}, and they overlaid them with gold.
11 And the wings of the cherubim {keruvim: throne guardians} were twenty cubits {ammot: unit of measure} long; one wing of one cherub was five cubits long, touching the wall of the house, and the other wing was five cubits long, touching the wing of the other cherub.
12 As for the wing of the one cherub {k'ruv: angelic figure}, it was five cubits {amot: cubit measure} long and touched the wall of the house; the other wing was also five cubits long and was joined to the wing of the other cherub.
13 The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits {ammot: ancient measurement}, and they stood on their feet with their faces toward the house {bayit: royal sanctuary}.
14 And he made the curtain of blue {tekhelet: priestly dye}, purple, crimson, and fine linen, and he set cherubim {keruvim: heavenly guardians} upon it.
15 And he made before the house two pillars {ammudim: support columns}, thirty-five cubits high, and the capital {hatzefet: crowning element} on the top of each was five cubits.
16 He made chains {sharsherot: linked ornamental work} in the inner sanctuary {dvir: most holy place} and set them on the tops of the pillars. He made one hundred pomegranates and placed them on the chains.
17 And he raised the pillars {ammudim: ceremonial columns} in front of the temple {heikhal: sacred structure}, one on the right and one on the left. The right pillar he named Jakin, and the left he named Boaz.