And the king commanded them to quarry large stones, costly stones, and hewn stones, to lay the foundation of the temple.
Parallel translations
- WEB The king commanded, and they cut out large stones, costly stones, to lay the foundation of the house with worked stone.
- KJV And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house.
- BSB And the king commanded them to quarry large, costly stones to lay the foundation of the temple with dressed stones.
- NASB Then the king issued orders, and they quarried large stones, valuable stones, to lay the foundation of the house with cut stones.
- NLT At the king’s command, they quarried large blocks of high-quality stone and shaped them to make the foundation of the Temple.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
At the king's command, large, costly stones were quarried and dressed for the temple foundation. The best stone was prepared for God's house.
Overview
Great worked stones formed a strong and worthy foundation for the temple. The care taken with costly, well-cut stone reflects the reverence due to the dwelling of God's name. This foundation imagery resonates with the New Testament, where Christ is the cornerstone and believers are living stones (1 Peter 2:5-6).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- 1 Kgs 6:7The house, when it was under construction, was built of stone prepared at the quarry; and no hammer or ax or any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was under construction.
- 1 Chr 22:2David gave orders to gather together the foreigners who were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to cut dressed stones to build God’s house.
- 1 Kgs 7:9All these were of costly stones, even of cut stone, according to measure, sawed with saws, inside and outside, even from the foundation to the coping, and so on the outside to the great court.
- 1 Cor 3:11–12For no one can lay any other foundation than that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ.
- Isa 28:16Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh, “Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone of a sure foundation. He who believes shall not act hastily.
- 1 Pet 2:6–7Because it is contained in Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, chosen, and precious: He who believes in him will not be disappointed.”
- Rev 21:14–21The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them twelve names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.
How 1 Kings 5:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.