⁸ The entrance to the lowest^[a] floor was on the south side of the temple; a stairway led up to the middle level and from there to the third. ⁹ So he built the temple and completed it, roofing it with beams and cedar^(A) planks. ¹⁰ And he built the side rooms all along the temple. The height of each was five cubits, and they were attached to the temple by beams of cedar.

¹¹ The word of the Lord came^(B) to Solomon: ¹² “As for this temple you are building, if you follow my decrees, observe my laws and keep all my commands^(C) and obey them, I will fulfill through you the promise^(D) I gave to David your father. ¹³ And I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon^(E) my people Israel.”

¹⁴ So Solomon^(F) built the temple and completed^(G) it. ¹⁵ He lined its interior walls with cedar boards, paneling them from the floor of the temple to the ceiling,^(H) and covered the floor of the temple with planks of juniper.^{(I) 16} He partitioned off twenty cubits at the rear of the temple with cedar boards from floor to ceiling to form within the temple an inner sanctuary, the Most Holy Place.^{(J) 17} The main hall in front of this room was forty cubits^[b] long. ¹⁸ The inside of the temple was cedar,^(K) carved with gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; no stone was to be seen.

¹⁹ He prepared the inner sanctuary^(L) within the temple to set the ark of the covenant^(M) of the Lord there. ²⁰ The inner sanctuary^(N) was twenty cubits long, twenty wide and twenty high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold, and he also overlaid the altar of cedar.^{(O) 21} Solomon covered the inside of the temple with pure gold, and he extended gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, which was overlaid with gold. ²² So he overlaid the whole interior with gold. He also overlaid with gold the altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary.

²³ For the inner sanctuary he made a pair of cherubim^(P) out of olive wood, each ten cubits high.

⁵ He also followed their counsel when he went with Joram^[a] son of Ahab king of Israel to wage war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth Gilead.^(A) The Arameans wounded Joram;

⁶ so he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds they had inflicted on him at Ramoth^[a] in his battle with Hazael^(A) king of Aram.

Then Ahaziah^[b] son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to Jezreel to see Joram son of Ahab because he had been wounded.