Furnishings of the Temple

Then (A)he made a bronze altar, [a]twenty cubits in length, [b]twenty cubits in width, and [c]ten cubits in height. (B)He also made the [d]Sea of cast metal, [e]ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in form, and its height was [f]five cubits and [g]its circumference [h]thirty cubits. Now figures like oxen were under it and all around it, [i]ten cubits, entirely encircling the Sea. The oxen were in two rows, cast [j]in one piece. It was standing on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east; and the Sea was set on top of them and all their hindquarters turned inward. It was a [k]hand width thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom; it (C)could hold three thousand [l]baths. (D)He also made ten basins in which to wash, and he set five on the right side and five on the left [m]to rinse things for the burnt offering; but the Sea was for the priests to wash in.

Then (E)he made the ten golden lampstands in the way prescribed for them, and he set them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. He also made (F)ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. And he made a hundred golden bowls. Then he made (G)the courtyard of the priests and (H)the great courtyard, and doors for the courtyard, and overlaid their doors with bronze. 10 (I)He put the Sea on the right side of the house toward the southeast.

11 (J)Huram also made the pails, the shovels, and the bowls. So Huram finished the work that he did for King Solomon in the house of God: 12 the two pillars, the bowls and the two capitals on top of the pillars, and the two latticeworks to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on top of the pillars, 13 and (K)the four hundred pomegranates for the two latticeworks, two rows of pomegranates for each latticework to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the pillars. 14 (L)He also made the stands and he made the basins on the stands, 15 and the one Sea with the twelve oxen under it. 16 The pails, the shovels, the forks, and all its utensils, (M)Huram-abi made of polished bronze for King Solomon, for the house of the Lord. 17 On the plain of the Jordan the king cast them in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah. 18 (N)So Solomon made all these utensils in great quantities, for the weight of the bronze could not be determined.

19 Solomon also made all the things that were in the house of God: the golden altar, (O)the tables with the bread of the Presence on them, 20 the lampstands with their lamps of pure gold, (P)to burn in front of the inner sanctuary in the way prescribed; 21 the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs of gold, that is, of purest gold; 22 and the snuffers, the bowls, the spoons, and the firepans of pure gold; and the entrance of the house, its inner doors for the Most Holy Place and the doors of the house, that is, of the main room, of gold.

The Ark Is Brought into the Temple

(Q)So all the work that Solomon performed for the house of the Lord was finished. And Solomon brought in the [n](R)things that his father David had dedicated, the silver, the gold, and all the utensils, and he put them in the treasuries of the house of God.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 4:1 About 30 ft. or 9 m
  2. 2 Chronicles 4:1 About 30 ft. or 9 m
  3. 2 Chronicles 4:1 About 15 ft. or 4.6 m
  4. 2 Chronicles 4:2 I.e., large basin
  5. 2 Chronicles 4:2 About 15 ft. or 4.6 m
  6. 2 Chronicles 4:2 About 7.5 ft. or 2.3 m
  7. 2 Chronicles 4:2 Lit a line of 30 cubits encircling it round about
  8. 2 Chronicles 4:2 About 45 ft. or 14 m
  9. 2 Chronicles 4:3 About 15 ft. or 4.6 m
  10. 2 Chronicles 4:3 Lit in its casting
  11. 2 Chronicles 4:5 About 3 in. or 7.6 cm
  12. 2 Chronicles 4:5 About 18,000 gallons or 68,137 liters
  13. 2 Chronicles 4:6 Lit in which to
  14. 2 Chronicles 5:1 Lit dedicated things of his

Furnishings for the Temple

Solomon[a] also made a bronze altar 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 15 feet high.[b] Then he 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.[c] It was encircled just below its rim by two rows of figures that resembled oxen. There were about six oxen per foot[d] all the way around, and they were cast as part of the basin.

The Sea was placed on a base of twelve bronze oxen, all facing outward. Three faced north, three faced west, three faced south, and three faced east, and the Sea rested on them. The walls of the Sea were about three inches[e] thick, and its rim flared out like a cup and resembled a water lily blossom. It could hold about 16,500 gallons[f] of water.

He also made ten smaller basins for washing the utensils for the burnt offerings. He set five on the south side and five on the north. But the priests washed themselves in the Sea.

He then cast ten gold lampstands according to the specifications that had been given, and he put them in the Temple. Five were placed against the south wall, and five were placed against the north wall.

He also built ten tables and placed them in the Temple, five along the south wall and five along the north wall. Then he molded 100 gold basins.

He then built a courtyard for the priests, and also the large outer courtyard. He made doors for the courtyard entrances and overlaid them with bronze. 10 The great bronze basin called the Sea was placed near the southeast corner of the Temple.

11 Huram-abi also made the necessary washbasins, shovels, and bowls.

So at last Huram-abi completed everything King Solomon had assigned him to make for the Temple of God:

12 the two pillars;
the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars;
the two networks of interwoven chains that decorated the capitals;
13 the 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);
14 the water carts holding the basins;
15 the Sea and the twelve oxen under it;
16 the ash buckets, the shovels, the meat hooks, and all the related articles.

Huram-abi made all these things of burnished bronze for the Temple of the Lord, just as King Solomon had directed. 17 The king had them cast in clay molds in the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zarethan.[g] 18 Solomon used such great quantities of bronze that its weight could not be determined.

19 Solomon also made all the furnishings for the Temple of God:

the gold altar;
the tables for the Bread of the Presence;
20 the lampstands and their lamps of solid gold, to burn in front of the Most Holy Place as prescribed;
21 the flower decorations, lamps, and tongs—all of the purest gold;
22 the 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, overlaid with gold.

So 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 Temple of God.

Footnotes

  1. 4:1a Or Huram-abi; Hebrew reads He.
  2. 4:1b Hebrew 20 cubits [9.2 meters] long, 20 cubits wide, and 10 cubits [4.6 meters] high.
  3. 4:2 Hebrew 10 cubits [4.6 meters] across . . . 5 cubits [2.3 meters] deep and 30 cubits [13.8 meters] in circumference.
  4. 4:3 Or 20 oxen per meter; Hebrew reads 10 per cubit.
  5. 4:5a Hebrew a handbreadth [8 centimeters].
  6. 4:5b Hebrew 3,000 baths [63 kiloliters].
  7. 4:17 As in parallel text at 1 Kgs 7:46; Hebrew reads Zeredah.