7. The temple’s construction used finished stones cut at the quarry so that no hammer, chisel, or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.
8. The door for the lowest side chamber was on the right side of the temple. They went up a stairway to the middle chamber, and from the middle to the third.
9. When he finished building the temple, he paneled it with boards and planks of cedar.
10. He built the chambers along the entire temple, joined to the temple with cedar beams; each story was 7 1/2 feet high.
11. The word of the Lord came to Solomon:
12. “As for this temple you are building — if you walk in My statutes, observe My ordinances, and keep all My commands by walking in them, I will fulfill My promise to you, which I made to your father David.
13. I will live among the Israelites and not abandon My people Israel.”
14. When Solomon finished building the temple,
15. he paneled the interior temple walls with cedar boards; from the temple floor to the surface of the ceiling he overlaid the interior with wood. He also overlaid the floor with cypress boards.
16. Then he lined 30 feet of the rear of the temple with cedar boards from the floor to the surface of the ceiling, and he built the interior as an inner sanctuary, the most holy place.
17. The temple, that is, the sanctuary in front of the most holy place, was 60 feet long.
18. The cedar paneling inside the temple was carved with ornamental gourds and flower blossoms. Everything was cedar; not a stone could be seen.
19. He prepared the inner sanctuary inside the temple to put the ark of the Lord’s covenant there.
20. The interior of the sanctuary was 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 30 feet high; he overlaid it with pure gold. He also overlaid the cedar altar.