1 Kings 6:23

Easy-to-Read Version

The workers made two statues of Cherub angels with wings. They made the statues from olive wood and put them in the Most Holy Place. Each angel was 10 cubits tall.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim 15 feet high out of olive wood.

Hebrew Names Version
In the oracle he made two Keruvim of olive-wood, each ten cubits high.

King James Version
And within the oracle he made two cherubims of olive tree, each ten cubits high.

English Standard Version
In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olivewood, each ten cubits high.

New Century Version
Solomon made two creatures from olive wood and placed them in the Most Holy Place. Each creature was fifteen feet tall

New English Translation
In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive wood; each stood 15 feet high.

Amplified Bible
Within the Holy of Holies he made two cherubim (sculptured figures) of olive wood, each ten cubits high.

New American Standard Bible
And in the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And within the oracle he made two Cherubims of oliue tree, ten cubites hie.

Legacy Standard Bible
Also in the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high.

Contemporary English Version
Solomon had two statues of winged creatures made from olive wood to put in the most holy place. Each creature was fifteen feet tall

Complete Jewish Bible
Inside the sanctuary he made two k'ruvim of olive-wood, each seventeen-and-a-half feet high.

Darby Translation
And he made in the oracle two cherubim of olive-wood, ten cubits high;

George Lamsa Translation
And within the sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high.

Good News Translation
Two winged creatures were made of olive wood and placed in the Most Holy Place, each one 15 feet tall.

Lexham English Bible
He made two cherubim of olive wood for the inner sanctuary, ten cubits high.

Literal Translation
And inside the Holy of Holies he made two cherubs of the olive tree; their height was ten cubits.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
He made also in the quere two Cherubins ten cubites hye of Olyue tre.

American Standard Version
And in the oracle he made two cherubim of olive-wood, each ten cubits high.

Bible in Basic English
In the inmost room he made two winged beings of olive-wood, ten cubits high;

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And within the quier he made two Cherubims of Oliue tree ten cubites hie.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And in the Sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive-wood, each ten cubits high.

King James Version (1611)
And within the Oracle he made two Cherubims of Oliue tree, each ten cubites high.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And he made the sea, ten cubits from one rim to the other, the same was completely circular round about: its height was five cubits, and its circumference thirty-three cubits.

English Revised Version
And in the oracle he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high.

Berean Standard Bible
In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim, each ten cubits high, out of olive wood.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And he made in `Goddis answeryng place twey cherubyns of the trees of olyues, of ten cubits of heiyte;

Young's Literal Translation
And he maketh within the oracle two cherubs, of the oil-tree, ten cubits [is] their height;

Update Bible Version
And in the oracle he made two cherubim of olive-wood, each ten cubits high.

Webster's Bible Translation
And within the oracle he made two cherubim [of] olive tree, [each] ten cubits high.

World English Bible
In the oracle he made two cherubim of olive-wood, each ten cubits high.

New King James Version
Inside the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high.

New Living Translation
He made two cherubim of wild olive wood, each 15 feet tall, and placed them in the inner sanctuary.

New Life Bible
In the most holy place he made two cherubim of olive wood. Each one was almost three times taller than a man.

New Revised Standard
In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olivewood, each ten cubits high.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And he made, within the shrine, two cherubim of wild olive wood, - ten cubits in height;

Douay-Rheims Bible
And he made in the oracle two cherubims of olive tree, of ten cubits in height.

Revised Standard Version
In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olivewood, each ten cubits high.

THE MESSAGE
Then he made two cherubim, gigantic angel-like figures, from olivewood. Each was fifteen feet tall. The outstretched wings of the cherubim (they were identical in size and shape) measured another fifteen feet. He placed the two cherubim, their wings spread, in the Inner Sanctuary. The combined wingspread stretched the width of the room, the wing of one cherub touched one wall, the wing of the other the other wall, and the wings touched in the middle. The cherubim were gold-plated.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Also in the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high.

Contextual Overview

¹⁵ the stone walls inside the Temple were covered with cedar boards from floor to ceiling. Then the stone floor was covered with pine boards. ¹⁶ They built an inner room 20 cubits long in the back part of the Temple. This room was called the Most Holy Place. They covered the walls in this room with cedar boards, from floor to ceiling. ¹⁷ In front of the Most Holy Place was the main part of the Temple. This room was 40 cubits long. ¹⁸ They covered the walls in this room with cedar boards—none of the stones in the walls could be seen. They carved pictures of flowers and gourds into the cedar. ¹⁹ Solomon finished the inner room in the back part of the Temple. This room was for the Box of the Lord 's Agreement. ²⁰ This room was 20 cubits long, 20 cubits wide, and 20 cubits high. Solomon covered this room with pure gold. He also covered the cedar altar with gold. ²¹ He covered the inside of the Temple with pure gold and wrapped gold chains around it. ²² The inside of the Temple was covered with gold, and the altar in front of the Most Holy Place was covered with gold. ²³ The workers made two statues of Cherub angels with wings. They made the statues from olive wood and put them in the Most Holy Place. Each angel was 10 cubits tall. ²⁴Both Cherub angels were the same size and built the same way. Each one had two wings. Each wing was 5 cubits long. From the end of one wing to the end of the other wing was 10 cubits. And each Cherub angel was 10 cubits tall.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

two cherubims: These were distinct from, and much larger than those which covered the mercy-seat. Genesis 3:24, Exodus 25:18-22, Exodus 37:7-9, 2 Chronicles 3:10-13, Psalms 18:10, Psalms 80:1, Isaiah 37:16, Ezekiel 10:2-22, Hebrews 1:14, 1 Peter 1:12

olive tree: or, oily trees, Heb. trees of oil

Reciprocal: Exodus 36:8 - cherubims Numbers 7:89 - two cherubims 1 Chronicles 28:18 - the chariot 2 Chronicles 5:7 - to the oracle Psalms 28:2 - thy holy oracle

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And within the oracle he made two cherubim [of] olive tree,.... Or of the oil tree, as in Isaiah 41:19; see Nehemiah 8:15; for there are other trees besides olives, out of which oil is pressed, as pine trees, cypress trees, c. and which some think are here meant though the Targum interprets it of the olive tree: these cherubim are different from those made by Moses, and were besides them; these were larger than they; these were made of olive wood, they of gold; these stood on the floor of the house, they at the two ends of the mercy seat, and were made out of it, and were with it in this holy place in Solomon's temple: these two cherubim may be emblems of the angels in their greatness and glory, who are always in the presence of God, behold his face, and wait to do his will; or it may be rather of the two witnesses, said to be the two olive trees standing before the God of the whole earth, Revelation 11:3; who have boldness to enter into the holiest of all, and have sight and knowledge of the mysteries of the ark and mercy seat; have their commission from heaven, and speak according to the oracles of God; these are said to be of image work, 2 Chronicles 3:10; that is, of various forms, as the thee of a man, a lion, an ox, and eagle, Ezekiel 1:10. Dr. Lightfoot thinks g they resembled the two Testaments, which in their beginning and end reach the two sides of the world, the creation and the last judgment, and in the middle do sweetly join the one to the other:

[each] ten cubits high; half as high as the most holy place; emblems either of the high angels, those thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers, or of men of uncommon size as to their gifts and grace.

g Prospect of the Temple, c. 15. sect. 4.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Two cherubims - The pattern of the tabernacle was followed (marginal reference), but without servile imitation. The original cherubs were entirely of gold. These, being so much larger, were of wood, merely overlaid with a golden plating. The arrangement of the wings, and the direction of the faces, seem also to have been different. Moses’ cherubim “covered with their wings over the mercy seat;” Solomon’s stretched out theirs to the full 1 Kings 6:27, so that the four wings, each five cubits long 1 Kings 6:24, extended across the whole sanctuary, the width of which was twenty cubits 1 Kings 6:20. The former looked toward one another, and were bent downward toward the mercy-seat; the latter looked outward, toward the great chamber. (See 2 Chronicles 3:13, and note.)

Of olive-tree - The oleaster or wild olive, not the cultivated species.