1 Finalmente começou a construção do templo. Localizou-se em Jerusalém, no cimo do monte Moriá, onde o Senhor aparecera a David, seu pai, no sítio onde se localizava a eira de Ornã, o jebuseu. Foi David quem escolheu esse sítio. O início da construção concretizou-se no décimo sétimo dia de Abril , no quarto ano do reinado de Salomão.3 Os alicerces tinham trinta metros de comprimento e dez de largura. Havia um alpendre ao longo dos dez metros da largura do edifício, na parte da frente. A sua parte interior e o tecto eram cobertos de ouro puro. O telhado estava à altura de sessenta metros.5 A parte principal do templo era forrada com madeira de cipreste e coberta de ouro puro, com gravações de folhas de palmeiras e de cadeias. Havia pedras preciosas incrustadas nas paredes, para aumentar a beleza; o ouro, aliás, era do melhor, de Parvaim. Todas as paredes, as traves, as portas e as ombreiras das entradas em todo o templo estavam cobertas de ouro, com querubins gravados.8 Dentro, numa extremidade, havia o local mais sagrado - o lugar santíssimo - com dez metros quadrados. Esta área também era toda coberta de ouro do mais puro, pesando vinte toneladas. Os pregos aí usados, igualmente de ouro, pesavam meio quilo cada. Os quartos superiores estavam também forrados a ouro.10 Dentro da referida dependência, o lugar santíssimo, Salomão colocou duas esculturas de querubins, recobrindo-as de ouro. Estavam de pé, voltados para a sala, com as asas abertas, tocando-se e tocando as extremidades do compartimento, de ponta a ponta. À entrada deste quarto colocou um véu, de azul, carmezim, púrpura e linho fino, decorado com querubins, também.15 Em frente do templo havia dois pilares de dezassete metros e meio de altura, com capitéis, de dois metros e meio, ligando-os ao tecto. Mandou fazer cadeias, como as do santuário, e colocou-as no cimo dos pilares; havia cem romãs ligas às cadeias. Os pilares, colocou-os um à direita outro à esquerda, na parte da frente do templo. Deu-lhes nomes: o da direita, Jaquim, o da esquerda, Boaz.

1 Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the LORD appeared to David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.2 And he began to build in the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign.3 Now these are the things in which Solomon was instructed for the building of the house of God. The length by cubits after the first measure was sixty cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits.4 And the porch that was in the front of the house, the length of it was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the hight was a hundred and twenty: and he overlaid it within with pure gold.5 And the greater house he cieled with fir tree, which he overlaid with fine gold, and set on it palm trees and chains.6 And he garnished the house with precious stones for beauty: and the gold was gold of Parvaim.7 He overlaid also the house, the beams, the posts, and the walls of it, and the doors of it, with gold; and engraved cherubim on the walls.8 And he made the most holy house, the length of which was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the breadth of it twenty cubits: and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents.9 And the weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold.10 And in the most holy house he made two cherubim of image work, and overlaid them with gold.11 And the wings of the cherubim were twenty cubits long: one wing of the one cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was likewise five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other cherub.12 And one wing of the other cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was five cubits also, joining to the wing of the other cherub.13 The wings of these cherubim spread themselves forth twenty cubits: and they stood on their feet, and their faces were inward.14 And he made the vail of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubim upon it.15 Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits high, and the capital that was on the top of each of them was five cubits.16 And he made chains, as in the oracle, and put them on the heads of the pillars; and made a hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains.17 And he erected the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand, and the other on the left; and called the name of that on the right hand Jachin, and the name of that on the left Boaz.