1 Kings 7
7
Solomon Builds His Palace
1But it took Solomon 13 years to finish constructing his palace and the other buildings related to it. 2He built the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. It was 150 feet long. It was 75 feet wide. And it was 45 feet high. It had four rows of cedar columns. They held up beautiful cedar beams. 3Above the beams was a roof made out of cedar boards. It rested on the columns. There were three rows of beams with 15 in each row. The total number of beams was 45. 4The windows of the palace were placed high up in the walls. They were in groups of three. And they faced each other. 5All the doorways had frames shaped like rectangles. They were in front. They were in groups of three. And they faced each other.
6Solomon made a covered area. It was 75 feet long. And it was 45 feet wide. Its roof was held up by columns. In front of it was a porch. In front of that were pillars and a roof that went out beyond them.
7Solomon built the throne hall. It was called the Hall of Justice. That’s where he would serve as judge. He covered the hall with cedar boards from floor to ceiling. 8The palace where he would live was set farther back. Its plan was something like the plan for the hall. Solomon had married Pharaoh’s daughter. He made a palace for her. It was like the hall.
9All those buildings were made out of blocks of good quality stone. They were cut to the right size. They were made smooth on their back and front sides. Those stones were used for the outside of each building and for the large courtyard. They were also used from the foundations up to the roofs. 10Large blocks of good quality stone were used for the foundations. Some were 15 feet long. Others were 12 feet long. 11The walls above them were made out of good quality stones. The stones were cut to the right size. On top of them was a layer of cedar beams. 12The large courtyard had a wall around it. The first three layers of the wall were made out of blocks of stone. The top layer was made out of beautiful cedar wood. The same thing was done with the inside courtyard of the Lord’s temple and its porch.
More Facts About the Temple
13King Solomon sent messengers to Tyre. He wanted them to bring Huram back with them. 14Huram’s mother was a widow. She was from the tribe of Naphtali. Huram’s father was from Tyre. He was skilled in working with bronze. Huram also had great skill, knowledge and understanding in working with bronze. He came to King Solomon and did all the work he was asked to do.
15Huram made two bronze pillars. Each of them was 27 feet high. And each was 18 feet around. 16Each pillar had a decorated top made out of bronze. Each top was seven and a half feet high. 17Chains that were linked together hung down from the tops of the pillars. There were seven chains for each top. 18Huram made two rows of pomegranates. They circled the chains. The pomegranates decorated the tops of the pillars. Huram did the same thing for each pillar. 19The tops on the pillars of the porch were shaped like lilies. The lilies were 6 feet high. 20On the tops of both pillars were 200 pomegranates. They were in rows all around the tops. They were above the part that was shaped like a bowl. And they were next to the chains. 21Huram set the pillars up at the temple porch. The pillar on the south he named Jakin. The one on the north he named Boaz. 22The tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. So the work on the pillars was finished.
23Huram made a huge metal bowl for washing. Its shape was round. It measured 15 feet from rim to rim. It was seven and a half feet high. And it was 45 feet around. 24Below the rim there was a circle of gourds around the bowl. In every 18 inches around the bowl there were ten gourds. The gourds were arranged in two rows. They were made as part of the bowl itself.
25The huge bowl stood on 12 bulls. Three of them faced north. Three faced west. Three faced south. And three faced east. The bowl rested on top of the bulls. Their rear ends were toward the center. 26The bowl was three inches thick. Its rim was like the rim of a cup. The rim was shaped like the bloom of a lily. The bowl held 12,000 gallons of water.
27Huram also made ten stands out of bronze. They could be moved around. Each stand was six feet long. It was six feet wide. And it was four and a half feet high. 28Here is how the stands were made. They had sides that were joined to posts. 29On the sides between the posts were lions, bulls and cherubim. They were also on all of the posts. Above and below the lions and bulls were wreaths made out of hammered metal. 30Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles. Each stand had a bowl that rested on four supports. The stand had wreaths on each side. 31There was a round opening on the inside of each stand. The opening had a frame 18 inches deep. The sides were 27 inches high from the top of the opening to the bottom of the base. There was carving around the opening. The sides of the stands were square, not round. 32The four wheels were under the sides. The axles of the wheels were connected to the stand. Each wheel was 27 inches across. 33The wheels were made like chariot wheels. All the axles, rims, spokes and hubs were made out of metal.
34Each stand had four handles on it. There was one on each corner. They came out from the stand. 35At the top of the stand there was a round band. It was nine inches deep. The sides and supports were connected to the top of the stand. 36Huram carved cherubim, lions and palm trees on the sides of the stands. He also carved them on the surfaces of the supports. His carving covered every open space. He had also carved wreaths all around. 37That’s how he made the ten stands. All of them were made in the same molds. And they had the same size and shape.
38Then Huram made ten bronze bowls. Each one held 240 gallons. The bowls measured six feet across. There was one bowl for each of the ten stands. 39He placed five of the stands on the south side of the temple. He placed the other five on the north side. He put the huge bowl on the south side. It was at the southeast corner of the temple. 40He also made the pots, shovels and sprinkling bowls.
So Huram finished all the work he had started for King Solomon. Here’s what he made for the Lord’s temple.
41He made the two pillars.
He made the two tops for the pillars. The tops were shaped like bowls.
He made the two sets of chains that were linked together. They decorated the two bowl-shaped tops of the pillars.
42He made the 400 pomegranates for the two sets of chains. There were two rows of pomegranates for each chain. They decorated the bowl-shaped tops of the pillars.
43He made the ten stands with their ten bowls.
44He made the huge bowl. He made the 12 bulls that were under it.
45He made the pots, shovels and sprinkling bowls.
Huram made all those objects for King Solomon for the Lord’s temple. He made them out of bronze. Then he shined them up. 46The king had made them in clay molds. It was done on the plain of the Jordan River between Sukkoth and Zarethan. 47Solomon didn’t weigh any of those things. There were too many of them to weigh. No one even tried to weigh the bronze they were made out of.
48Solomon also made everything in the Lord’s temple.
He made the golden altar.
He made the golden table for the holy bread.
49He made the pure gold lampstands. There were five on the right and five on the left. They were in front of the Most Holy Room.
He made the gold flowers. He made the gold lamps and tongs.
50He made the bowls, wick cutters, sprinkling bowls, dishes, and shallow cups for burning incense. All of them were made out of pure gold.
He made the gold bases for the doors of the inside room. That’s the Most Holy Room. He also made gold bases for the doors of the main hall of the temple.
51King Solomon finished all the work for the Lord’s temple. Then he brought in the things his father David had set apart for the Lord. They included the silver and gold and all the other things for the Lord’s temple. Solomon placed them with the other treasures that were there.
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1 Kings 7: NIrV
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Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
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1 Kings 7
7
Solomon’s Palace
1King Solomon also built a palace for himself. It took him 13 years to finish building it. 2He built the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. It was 150 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. It had four rows of cedar columns. They supported the cedar beams. 3The ceiling was covered with cedar above the beams. There were 45 beams on the roof, with 15 beams in each row. 4Windows were placed in three rows facing each other. 5All the doors were square. The three doors at each end faced each other.
6Solomon also built the porch of pillars. It was 75 feet long and 45 feet wide. Along the front of the porch, there was a covering supported by pillars.
7Solomon also built a throne room where he judged people. He called this the Hall of Justice. The room was covered with cedar from the floor to the ceiling. 8The palace where Solomon was to live was behind the Hall of Justice. And it was built like the Hall of Justice. Solomon also built the same kind of palace for his wife. She was the daughter of the king of Egypt.
9All these buildings were made with blocks of carefully cut fine stone. Then they were trimmed with a saw in the front and back. These fine stones went from the foundations of the buildings to the top of the walls. Even the courtyard was made with blocks of stone. 10The foundations were made with large blocks of fine stone. Some of the stones were 15 feet long. Others were 12 feet long. 11On top of those stones there were other cut blocks of fine stone and cedar beams. 12The palace courtyard, the courtyard inside the Temple and the porch to the Temple were surrounded by walls. All of these walls had three rows of cut stone blocks and one row of cedar beams.
The Temple Is Completed Inside
13King Solomon sent to Tyre and had Huram brought to him. 14Huram’s mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali. His father was from Tyre and had been skilled in making things from bronze. Huram was also very skilled and experienced in bronze work. So he came to King Solomon. And he did all the bronze work Solomon wanted.
15He made two bronze pillars. Each one was 27 feet tall and 18 feet around. 16He also made two bronze capitals that were 7½ feet tall. He put them on top of the pillars. 17Then he made a net of seven chains for each capital. They covered the capitals on top of the two pillars. 18Then he made two rows of bronze pomegranates to go on the nets. They were to cover the capitals at the top of the pillars. 19The capitals on top of the pillars in the porch were shaped like lilies. They were 6 feet tall. 20The capitals were on top of both pillars. They were above the bowl-shaped section and next to the nets. At that place there were 200 pomegranates in rows all around the capitals. 21Huram put these two bronze pillars at the porch of the Temple. He named the south pillar He Establishes. And he named the north pillar In Him Is Strength. 22The capitals on top of the pillars were shaped like lilies. So the work on the pillars was finished.
23Then Huram made a large round bowl from bronze, which was called the Sea. It was 45 feet around. It was 15 feet across and 7½ feet deep. 24There was a rim around the outer edge of the bowl. Under this rim there were two rows of bronze plants surrounding the bowl. There were ten plants in every 18 inches. They were made in one piece with the bowl. 25The bowl rested on the backs of 12 bronze bulls. They faced outward from the center of the bowl. Three bulls faced north, 3 faced east, 3 faced south and 3 faced west. 26The sides of the bowl were 4 inches thick. The rim was like the rim of a cup or like a lily blossom. The bowl held about 11,000 gallons.
27Then Huram made ten bronze stands. Each one was 6 feet long, 6 feet wide and 4½ feet high. 28The stands were made from square sides, which were put on frames. 29On the sides were bronze lions, bulls and creatures with wings. On the frames above and below the lions and bulls there were designs of flowers hammered into the bronze. 30Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles. At the corners there were bronze supports for a large bowl. The supports had designs of flowers. 31There was a frame on top of the bowls. It was 18 inches high above the bowls. The opening of the bowl was round, 27 inches deep. There were designs carved into the bronze on the frame. The frame was square, not round. 32The four wheels were under the frame. They were 27 inches high. The axles between the wheels were made as one piece with the stand. 33The wheels were like a chariot’s wheels. Everything on the wheels was made of bronze. The axles, rims, spokes and hubs were made of bronze.
34The four supports were on the four corners of each stand. They were made as one piece with the stand. 35There was a strip of bronze around the top of each stand. It was 9 inches deep. It was made as one piece with the stand. 36The sides of the stand and the frames were totally covered with carvings. They were carved with pictures of creatures with wings, lions and palm trees. There were also flowers carved all around. 37So this is the way Huram made the ten stands. The bronze for each stand was melted and poured into a mold. So all of the stands were the same size and shape.
38Huram also made ten bronze bowls. There was one bowl for each of the ten stands. Each bowl was six feet across and could hold about 230 gallons. 39Huram put five of the stands on the south side of the Temple. And he put the other five stands on the north side. He put the large bowl in the southeast corner of the Temple. 40Huram also made bowls, shovels and small bowls.
So Huram finished making everything King Solomon wanted him to make. Here is a list of what Huram made for the Temple of the Lord:
41two pillars;
two large bowls for the capitals on top of the pillars;
two nets to cover the two large bowls for the capitals on top of the pillars;
42400 pomegranates for the two nets (there were two rows of pomegranates for each net covering the bowls for the capitals on top of the pillars);
43ten stands with a bowl on each stand;
44the large bowl with 12 bulls under it;
45the pots, shovels, small bowls and all the dishes for the Temple of the Lord.
Huram made everything King Solomon wanted. They were all made from polished bronze. 46The king ordered these things to be made near the Jordan River between Succoth and Zarethan. They were made by melting and pouring bronze into clay molds. 47Solomon never weighed the bronze used to make these things. There was too much to weigh. So the total weight of all the bronze was never known.
48Solomon also commanded that many things be made of gold for the Temple:
the golden altar;
the golden table which held the bread that shows God’s people are in his presence;
49the lampstands of pure gold (five on the right side and five on the left side in front of the Most Holy Place);
the gold flowers, lamps and tongs;
50the pure gold bowls, wick trimmers, small bowls, pans and dishes used to carry coals;
the hinges for the doors of the Most Holy Place and the main room of the Temple.
51So the work King Solomon did for the Temple of the Lord was finished. David, Solomon’s father, had saved silver, gold and other articles for the Temple. So Solomon brought these things into the Temple. And he put them into the treasuries of the Temple of the Lord.
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