Solomon, however, took thirteen years to complete the construction of his entire palace.
Parallel translations
- WEB Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house.
- KJV But Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house.
- NKJV But Solomon took thirteen years to build his own house; so he finished all his house.
- NASB Now Solomon built his own house over the course of thirteen years, and he finished all of his house.
- NLT Solomon also built a palace for himself, and it took him thirteen years to complete the construction.
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 spent thirteen years building his own palace, nearly twice as long as the temple. The contrast invites reflection on priorities.
Overview
The palace's longer construction time is stated plainly without explicit judgment, though it has prompted readers to weigh Solomon's devotion to God against his personal grandeur. The temple, smaller and built first, was God's house; the palace served the king's reign. Scripture records the fact soberly, leaving us to consider where our own greatest efforts and resources are directed.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- 1 Kgs 9:10Now at the end of the twenty years during which Solomon built these two houses, the house of the LORD and the royal palace,
- 2 Chr 8:1Now at the end of the twenty years during which Solomon had built the house of the LORD and his own palace,
- Matt 6:33But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
- Eccl 2:4–5I expanded my pursuits. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself.
- 1 Kgs 3:1Later, Solomon formed an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt by marrying his daughter. Solomon brought her to the City of David until he had finished building his palace and the house of the LORD, as well as the wall around Jerusalem.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 7:1 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
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