1 Kings 6
Wycliffe's Bible
1Forsooth it was done in the four hundred and fourscore year of the going out of the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of the realm of Solomon (in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign), in the month Zif; that is, the second month of the fourth year of the realm of Solomon on Israel; he began to build an house to the Lord. 2Forsooth the house which king Solomon builded to the Lord, had sixty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and thirty cubits in height. 3And a porch was before the temple of twenty cubits of length, by the measure of the breadth of the temple; and the porch had ten cubits of breadth, before the face of the temple. (And there was a vestibule in front of the Temple, twenty cubits in length, equal to the measure of the breadth of the Temple; and the vestibule was ten cubits deep, projecting out in front of the Temple.) 4And Solomon made in the temple narrow windows withoutforth and large within. 5And he builded on the wall of the temple, buildings of boards by compass, in the walls of the house, by compass of the temple, and of God’s answering place; and he made [the] sides in the compass. (And he made chambers, or rooms, out of boards, against the walls of the Temple, all around the Temple, and the Inner Temple, that is, the Most Holy Place, or the Holy of Holies, on the sides, and at the back.) 6The building of boards, that was under, had five cubits of breadth; and the middle building of boards was of six cubits of breadth; and the third building of boards was having seven cubits of breadth (The bottom story, made out of boards, was five cubits in breadth; and the middle story, also made out of boards, was six cubits in breadth; and the third story, also made out of boards, was seven cubits in breadth). And he put beams in the house by compass withoutforth, (so) that those cleaved not to the walls of the temple.

7And when the house was builded, it was built of perfect(ly) hewn stones; and hammer, and ax, and all thing made of iron, were not heard in the house, while it was in building (while it was being built).

8The door of the middle side was in the wall of the right half of the house; and by a vice men went up into the middle solar, and from the middle solar into the third solar. (The door for the bottom story was in the wall for the right side of the House of the Lord; and by a stairway, men went up to the middle story, and from the middle story to the third story.) 9And Solomon builded the house, and ended it. And Solomon covered the house with couples of cedar, (And Solomon built the House, and finished it. And he braced the House with cedar couplings,) 10and he builded a building of boards over all the house, by five cubits of height, and covered the house with cedar wood. (and he built a building out of boards all around the sides of the House, or the Temple, five cubits in height, and joined it to the Temple with cedar beams.)

11And the word of the Lord was made to Solomon, and said, 12This is the house, which thou buildest; if thou goest in my behests, and doest my dooms, and keepest all my commandments, and goest by those, I shall make steadfast my word to thee, which word I spake to David, thy father; (This is the House, which thou should built; and then if thou followest my commands, and doest my judgements, and obeyest all my commandments, and goest by them, I shall make steadfast my word to thee, which word I spoke to thy father David;) 13and I shall dwell in the midst of the sons of Israel, and I shall not forsake my people Israel. (and I shall live in the midst of the Israelites, and I shall never desert my people Israel.)

14Therefore Solomon builded the house, and ended it; (And so Solomon built the House, and finished it;) 15and he builded the walls of the house within with boards of cedar, from the pavement of the house unto the highness of the wall, and unto the couples; and he covered them with wood of cedar within; and he covered the pavement of the house with boards of box. (and he built the walls of the House within out of cedar boards, from the floor of the House unto the top of the wall, and unto the couplings; and he covered them with cedar wood within; and he covered the floor of the House with fir, or pine, boards.) 16And he builded a wall of boards of cedar of twenty cubits at the hinder part of the temple, from the pavement unto the higher parts; and he made the inner house of God’s answering place into the holy of holy things, (and he made the Inner Temple, that is, the Most Holy Place, or the Holy of Holies). 17And that temple before the doors of God’s answering place was of forty cubits. (And the chamber in front of the doors of the Inner Temple was forty cubits in length.) 18And all the house within was clothed with cedar, and had his smoothnesses, and his joinings made subtly, and gravings appearing above; all things were clothed with boards of cedar, and utterly a stone might not appear in the wall. (And all the House within was covered with cedar, and had carvings of knops, or of gourds, and open flowers; everything was covered with cedar boards, and no stone appeared, or was visible, utterly anywhere on the wall.) 19And Solomon made God’s answering place in the midst of the house, in the inner part, that he should set there the ark of (the) bond of peace of the Lord (where he would put the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord). 20And God’s answering place had twenty cubits of length, and twenty cubits of breadth, and twenty cubits of height (And the Inner Temple was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in height); and he covered (it), and clothed it with purest gold; but also he clothed the altar with cedar. 21Also he covered with purest gold the house before God’s answering place, or the oracle, and he fastened the plates with golden nails. (And he covered the inside of the Temple all around the Inner Temple, or the oracle, with the purest gold; and he fastened plates to the walls with gold nails.) 22Nothing was in the temple that was not covered with gold; but also he covered with gold all the altar of God’s answering place. (There was nothing in the Temple that was not covered with gold; and he also covered all of the altar for the Inner Temple with gold.)

23And he made in God’s answering place two cherubims of the trees of olives, of ten cubits of height (each ten cubits in height); 24one wing of (the) cherub was of five cubits, and the tother wing of (the) cherub was (also) of five cubits, that is, having ten cubits, from the highness of the one wing till to the highness of the tother wing. 25And the second cherub was of ten cubits in even measure; and one work was in the two cherubims, (And the second cherub was also ten cubits in equal measure; and the two cherubim were of the same work, or design,) 26that is, one cherub had the height of ten cubits, and in like manner the tother cherub. 27And he set [the] cherubims in the midst of the inner temple; and the cherubims held forth their wings, and one wing touched the one wall, and the wing of the second cherub touched the tother wall; and the other wings in the middle part of the temple touched themselves together (and the other wings touched each other in the middle of the Inner Temple). 28And he covered the cherubims with gold, and (also) all the walls of the (whole) temple by compass/about;

29and he graved them with diverse gravings and smoothness; and he made in those walls cherubims, and palms, and diverse paintures, as standing forth and going out of the wall. (and he carved into them diverse carvings; he made cherubim, and palms, and open flowers on those walls, standing forth from the walls, and going out of them.) 30But also he covered with gold the pavement of the house, within and withoutforth. (And he also covered the floor of the Temple, within and without, with gold.)

31And in the entering of God’s answering place he made two little doors of the trees of olives; and he made posts of five corners, (And at the entrance to the Inner Temple, he made two doors of olive wood; and he made posts with five corners,) 32and [the] two doors (were) of the trees of olives; and he graved in those the painture of cherubims, and the likenesses of palms, and gravings above standing forth greatly; and he covered those with gold; and he covered as well the cherubims, as [the] palms, and (the) other things, with gold. (and the two doors were made out of olive wood; and he carved on them the likenesses of cherubim, and palms, and open flowers; and he covered them with gold; and he also covered the cherubim, and the palms, and the other things, with gold.)

33And in the entering of the temple he made posts four-cornered of (the) trees of olives; (And for the entrance to the Temple he made four-cornered posts out of olive wood;) 34and he made [the] two doors of the trees of box, each against (the) other (and he made the two doors out of fir, or pine, wood, each against the other); and ever either door was double, and it was opened holding itself together. 35And he graved cherubims, and palms, and gravings appearing greatly (And he carved cherubim, and palms, and open flowers); and he covered all things with golden plates, by square work at rule. 36And he builded a large street, or an alley, within, by three orders of stones made fair, and by one order of wood of cedar. (And he built a large courtyard within, with three rows of hewn stones, and one row of cedar beams.)

37The house of the Lord was founded in the fourth year of the realm of Solomon, in the month (of) Zif; (The House of the Lord was begun in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign, in the month of Zif;) 38and the house was made perfect, or ended, in all his work, and in all his vessels, either purtenances, in the eleventh year, in the month [of] Bul; that is the eighth month; and he builded that house in seven years. (and the House was finished with all of its work, and all of its vessels, or its purtenances, in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul; that is, the eighth month; and so he built that House in seven years.)

WYCLIFFE’S BIBLE

Comprising of
Wycliffe’s Old Testament

and

Wycliffe’s New Testament
(Revised Edition)


Translated by

JOHN WYCLIFFE
and JOHN PURVEY


A modern-spelling edition of their
14TH century Middle English translation,
the first complete English vernacular version,
with an Introduction by

TERENCE P. NOBLE

Used by Permission

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