He prepared an inner sanctuary in the middle of the house within, to set the ark of Yahweh’s covenant there.
Parallel translations
- KJV And the oracle he prepared in the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of the LORD.
- BSB Solomon also prepared the inner sanctuary within the temple to set the ark of the covenant of the LORD there.
- NKJV And he prepared the inner sanctuary inside the temple, to set the ark of the covenant of the Lord there.
- NASB Then he prepared an inner sanctuary inside the house in order to place there the ark of the covenant of the Lord.
- NLT He prepared the inner sanctuary at the far end of the Temple, where the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant would be placed.
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
Solomon prepared the inner sanctuary to house the ark of the covenant. The holiest room was made ready for God's throne on earth.
Overview
The inner sanctuary's purpose was to hold the ark, the symbol of God's presence and covenant with Israel. The ark's mercy seat was where atonement was made and God met His people. This central place of meeting and atonement points to Christ, our mercy seat and the meeting place of God and man (Romans 3:25).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 1 Kgs 6:5Against the wall of the house, he built floors all around, against the walls of the house all around, both of the temple and of the inner sanctuary; and he made side rooms all around.
- Heb 9:3–4After the second veil was the tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies,
- 2 Chr 4:20and the lamp stands with their lamps, to burn according to the ordinance before the inner sanctuary, of pure gold;
- 2 Chr 5:7The priests brought in the ark of Yahweh’s covenant to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubim.
- 1 Kgs 6:16He built twenty cubits on the back part of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the ceiling. He built them for it within, for an inner sanctuary, even for the most holy place.
- Exod 40:20–21He took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the poles on the ark, and put the mercy seat above on the ark.
- Ps 28:2Hear the voice of my petitions, when I cry to you, when I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place.
- 1 Kgs 8:6–10The priests brought in the ark of Yahweh’s covenant to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the most holy place, even under the cherubim’s wings.
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 6:19 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.