1 Kings 7
7
Solomon Builds His Palace
1Solomon also built a palace for himself, and it took him thirteen years to complete the construction.
2One of Solomon’s buildings was called the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. It was 150 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.#7:2 Hebrew 100 cubits [46 meters] long, 50 cubits [23 meters] wide, and 30 cubits [13.8 meters] high. There were four rows of cedar pillars, and great cedar beams rested on the pillars. 3The hall had a cedar roof. Above the beams on the pillars were forty-five side rooms,#7:3 Or 45 rafters, or 45 beams, or 45 pillars. The architectural details in 7:2-6 can be interpreted in many different ways. arranged in three tiers of fifteen each. 4On each end of the long hall were three rows of windows facing each other. 5All the doorways and doorposts#7:5 Greek version reads windows. had rectangular frames and were arranged in sets of three, facing each other.
6Solomon also built the Hall of Pillars, which was 75 feet long and 45 feet wide.#7:6 Hebrew 50 cubits [23 meters] long and 30 cubits [13.8 meters] wide. There was a porch in front, along with a canopy supported by pillars.
7Solomon also built the throne room, known as the Hall of Justice, where he sat to hear legal matters. It was paneled with cedar from floor to ceiling.#7:7 As in Syriac version and Latin Vulgate; Hebrew reads from floor to floor. 8Solomon’s living quarters surrounded a courtyard behind this hall, and they were constructed the same way. He also built similar living quarters for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had married.
9From foundation to eaves, all these buildings were built from huge blocks of high-quality stone, cut with saws and trimmed to exact measure on all sides. 10Some of the huge foundation stones were 15 feet long, and some were 12 feet#7:10 Hebrew 10 cubits [4.6 meters] . . . 8 cubits [3.7 meters]. long. 11The blocks of high-quality stone used in the walls were also cut to measure, and cedar beams were also used. 12The walls of the great courtyard were built so that there was one layer of cedar beams between every three layers of finished stone, just like the walls of the inner courtyard of the Lord’s Temple with its entry room.
Furnishings for the Temple
13King Solomon then asked for a man named Huram#7:13 Hebrew Hiram (also in 7:40, 45); compare 2 Chr 2:13. This is not the same person mentioned in 5:1. to come from Tyre. 14He was half Israelite, since his mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father had been a craftsman in bronze from Tyre. Huram was extremely skillful and talented in any work in bronze, and he came to do all the metal work for King Solomon.
15Huram cast two bronze pillars, each 27 feet tall and 18 feet in circumference.#7:15 Hebrew 18 cubits [8.3 meters] tall and 12 cubits [5.5 meters] in circumference. 16For the tops of the pillars he cast bronze capitals, each 7-1/2 feet#7:16 Hebrew 5 cubits [2.3 meters]. tall. 17Each capital was decorated with seven sets of latticework and interwoven chains. 18He also encircled the latticework with two rows of pomegranates to decorate the capitals over the pillars. 19The capitals on the columns inside the entry room were shaped like water lilies, and they were six feet#7:19 Hebrew 4 cubits [1.8 meters]; also in 7:38. tall. 20The capitals on the two pillars had 200 pomegranates in two rows around them, beside the rounded surface next to the latticework. 21Huram set the pillars at the entrance of the Temple, one toward the south and one toward the north. He named the one on the south Jakin, and the one on the north Boaz.#7:21 Jakin probably means “he establishes”; Boaz probably means “in him is strength.” 22The capitals on the pillars were shaped like water lilies. And so the work on the pillars was finished.
23Then Huram cast a great round basin, 15 feet across from rim to rim, called the Sea. It was 7-1/2 feet deep and about 45 feet in circumference.#7:23 Hebrew 10 cubits [4.6 meters] across. . . . 5 cubits [2.3 meters] deep and 30 cubits [13.8 meters] in circumference. 24It was encircled just below its rim by two rows of decorative gourds. There were about six gourds per foot#7:24 Or 20 gourds per meter; Hebrew reads 10 per cubit. all the way around, and they were cast as part of the basin.
25The Sea was placed on a base of twelve bronze oxen,#7:25 Hebrew 12 oxen; compare 2 Kgs 16:17, which specifies bronze oxen. all facing outward. Three faced north, three faced west, three faced south, and three faced east, and the Sea rested on them. 26The walls of the Sea were about three inches#7:26a Hebrew a handbreadth [8 centimeters]. thick, and its rim flared out like a cup and resembled a water lily blossom. It could hold about 11,000 gallons#7:26b Hebrew 2,000 baths [42 kiloliters]. of water.
27Huram also made ten bronze water carts, each 6 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 4-1/2 feet tall.#7:27 Hebrew 4 cubits [1.8 meters] long, 4 cubits wide, and 3 cubits [1.4 meters] high. 28They were constructed with side panels braced with crossbars. 29Both the panels and the crossbars were decorated with carved lions, oxen, and cherubim. Above and below the lions and oxen were wreath decorations. 30Each of these carts had four bronze wheels and bronze axles. There were supporting posts for the bronze basins at the corners of the carts; these supports were decorated on each side with carvings of wreaths. 31The top of each cart had a rounded frame for the basin. It projected 1-1/2 feet#7:31a Hebrew a cubit [46 centimeters]. above the cart’s top like a round pedestal, and its opening was 2-1/4 feet#7:31b Hebrew 1-1/2 cubits [69 centimeters]; also in 7:32. across; it was decorated on the outside with carvings of wreaths. The panels of the carts were square, not round. 32Under the panels were four wheels that were connected to axles that had been cast as one unit with the cart. The wheels were 2-1/4 feet in diameter 33and were similar to chariot wheels. The axles, spokes, rims, and hubs were all cast from molten bronze.
34There were handles at each of the four corners of the carts, and these, too, were cast as one unit with the cart. 35Around the top of each cart was a rim nine inches wide.#7:35 Hebrew half a cubit wide [23 centimeters]. The corner supports and side panels were cast as one unit with the cart. 36Carvings of cherubim, lions, and palm trees decorated the panels and corner supports wherever there was room, and there were wreaths all around. 37All ten water carts were the same size and were made alike, for each was cast from the same mold.
38Huram also made ten smaller bronze basins, one for each cart. Each basin was six feet across and could hold 220 gallons#7:38 Hebrew 40 baths [840 liters]. of water. 39He set five water carts on the south side of the Temple and five on the north side. The great bronze basin called the Sea was placed near the southeast corner of the Temple. 40He also made the necessary washbasins, shovels, and bowls.
So at last Huram completed everything King Solomon had assigned him to make for the Temple of the Lord:
41the two pillars;
the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars;
the two networks of interwoven chains that decorated the capitals;
42the 400 pomegranates that hung from the chains on the capitals (two rows of pomegranates for each of the chain networks that decorated the capitals on top of the pillars);
43the ten water carts holding the ten basins;
44the Sea and the twelve oxen under it;
45the ash buckets, the shovels, and the bowls.
Huram made all these things of burnished bronze for the Temple of the Lord, just as King Solomon had directed. 46The king had them cast in clay molds in the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zarethan. 47Solomon did not weigh all these things because there were so many; the weight of the bronze could not be measured.
48Solomon also made all the furnishings of the Temple of the Lord:
the gold altar;
the gold table for the Bread of the Presence;
49the lampstands of solid gold, five on the south and five on the north, in front of the Most Holy Place;
the flower decorations, lamps, and tongs—all of gold;
50the small bowls, lamp snuffers, bowls, ladles, and incense burners—all of solid gold;
the doors for the entrances to the Most Holy Place and the main room of the Temple, with their fronts overlaid with gold.
51So King Solomon finished all his work on the Temple of the Lord. Then he brought all the gifts his father, David, had dedicated—the silver, the gold, and the various articles—and he stored them in the treasuries of the Lord’s Temple.
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1 Kings 7: NLT
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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1 Kings 7
7
1And Solomon was thirteen years building his own house; and he finished all his house. 2And he built the house of the forest of Lebanon; its length was a hundred cubits, and its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar-pillars, with cedar-beams upon the pillars; 3and it was covered with cedar above upon the side-chambers, which were on forty-five pillars, fifteen in a row. 4And there were cross-beams in three rows, and window was against window in three ranks. 5And all the doors and posts were square, with an architrave; and window was against window in three ranks. 6And he made the porch of pillars; its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth thirty cubits; and there was a porch in front of them; and there were pillars, and steps in front of them. 7And he made the porch for the throne where he judged, the porch of judgment; and it was covered with cedar from floor to floor. 8And his house where he dwelt had another court within the porch, which was of the like work. And he made, like to this porch, a house for Pharaoh's daughter, whom Solomon had taken. 9All these buildings were of costly stones, hewn stones, according to the measures, sawed with saws, within and without, even from the foundation to the coping, and on the outside as far as the great court. 10And the foundations were of costly stones, great stones, stones of ten cubits and stones of eight cubits. 11And above were costly stones, hewn stones, according to the measures, and cedar. 12And the great court round about had three rows of hewn stones, and a row of cedar-beams; and so it was for the inner court of the house of Jehovah, and the porch of the house.
13And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre. 14He was a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass; and he was full of wisdom and understanding and knowledge, to do all kinds of works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and made all his work. 15And he formed the two pillars of brass; the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits, and a line of twelve cubits encompassed the second pillar. 16And he made two capitals of molten brass, to set upon the tops of the pillars; the height of the one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits; 17and nets of checker-work, wreaths of chain-work, for the capitals which were upon the top of the pillars; seven for the one capital and seven for the other capital. 18And he made pomegranates, namely two rows round about upon the one network, to cover the capitals that were upon the top of the pillars; and so he did for the other capital. 19And the capitals that were upon the top of the pillars were of lily-work as in the porch, four cubits. 20And the capitals upon the two pillars, above also, close to the enlargement which was behind the network, had two hundred pomegranates in rows round about, also on the other capital. 21And he set up the pillars for the porch of the temple; and he set up the right pillar, and called its name Jachin; and he set up the left pillar, and called its name Boaz. 22And upon the top of the pillars was lily-work; and the work of the pillars was finished. 23And he made the sea, molten, ten cubits from brim to brim, round all about; and its height was five cubits; and a line of thirty cubits encompassed it round about. 24And under the brim of it round about there were colocynths, encompassing it, ten in a cubit enclosing the sea round about; two rows of colocynths, cast when it was cast. 25It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east; and the sea was above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward. 26And its thickness was a hand-breadth, and its brim was like the work of the brim of a cup, with lily-blossoms; it held two thousand baths. 27And he made ten bases of brass: four cubits was the length of one base, and the breadth four cubits, and the height three cubits. 28And the work of the bases was this: they had panels, and the panels were between the fillets. 29And on the panels that were between the fillets were lions, oxen and cherubim; and over the fillets there was a base above; and beneath the lions and oxen were garlands of festoon-work. 30And every base had four wheels of brass, and axles of brass; and on its four corners were shoulder-pieces: under the laver were shoulder-pieces molten, behind every garland. 31And the mouth of it within the crown and above was a cubit; and its mouth was rounded, as the work of the base, a cubit and a half; and also upon its mouth was sculpture; but their panels were square, not round. 32And the four wheels were under the panels; and the supports of the wheels were in the base; and the height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit. 33And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel: their supports, and their rims, and their spokes and their naves were all molten. 34And there were four shoulder-pieces to the four corners of one base; of the base itself were its shoulder-pieces. 35And in the top of the base there was a circular elevation of half a cubit round about; and on the top of the base its stays and its panels were of the same. 36And he engraved on the plates of its stays and on its panels cherubim, lions and palm-trees, according to the space upon each; and garlands were round about. 37After this manner he made the ten bases: all of them had one casting, one measure, one form. 38And he made ten lavers of brass: one laver contained forty baths; every laver was four cubits; upon every one of the ten bases one laver. 39And he put the bases, five on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house; and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward, over against the south. 40And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the bowls. So Hiram ended doing all the work that he made for king Solomon for the house of Jehovah: 41two pillars, and the globes of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars, two; and the two networks, to cover the two globes of the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; 42and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, two rows of pomegranates for one network, to cover the two globes of the capitals which were upon the pillars; 43and the ten bases, and the ten lavers on the bases; 44and one sea, and the twelve oxen under the sea; 45and the pots, and the shovels, and the bowls. And all these things, which Hiram made king Solomon for the house of Jehovah, were of bright brass. 46In the plain of the Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay-ground between Succoth and Zaretan. 47And Solomon left all the vessels unweighed from their exceeding number; the weight of the brass was not ascertained.
48And Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of Jehovah: the golden altar; and the table of gold, whereon was the shewbread; 49and the candlesticks of pure gold, five on the right, and five on the left, before the oracle; and the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs of gold, 50and the basons, and the knives, and the bowls, and the cups, and the censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, for the folding-doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, of the temple. 51And all the work was finished that king Solomon made for the house of Jehovah. And Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated; the silver and the gold and the vessels he put among the treasures of the house of Jehovah.
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First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.