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1 Kings 7
New English Translation

The Building of the Royal Palace

7 Solomon took thirteen years to build his palace.[a] 2 He named[b] it “The Palace of the Lebanon Forest”;[c] it was 150 feet[d] long, 75 feet[e] wide, and 45 feet[f] high. It had four rows of cedar pillars and cedar beams above the pillars. 3 The roof above the beams supported by the pillars was also made of cedar; there were forty-five beams, fifteen per row. 4 There were three rows of windows arranged in sets of three.[g] 5 All the entrances[h] were rectangular in shape[i] and they were arranged in sets of three.[j] 6 He made a colonnade[k] 75 feet[l] long and 45 feet[m] wide. There was a porch in front of this and pillars and a roof in front of the porch.[n] 7 He also made a throne room, called “The Hall of Judgment,” where he made judicial decisions.[o] It was paneled with cedar from the floor to the rafters.[p] 8 The palace where he lived was constructed in a similar way.[q] He also constructed a palace like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had married.[r] 9 All these were built with the best[s] stones, chiseled to the right size[t] and cut with a saw on all sides,[u] from the foundation to the edge of the roof[v] and from the outside to the great courtyard. 10 The foundation was made of large valuable stones, measuring either 15 feet or 12 feet.[w] 11 Above the foundation[x] the best[y] stones, chiseled to the right size,[z] were used along with cedar. 12 Around the great courtyard were three rows of chiseled stones and one row of cedar beams, like the inner courtyard of the Lord’s temple and the hall of the palace.[aa]

Solomon Commissions Hiram to Supply the Temple

13 King Solomon sent for Hiram[ab] of Tyre. 14 He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali,[ac] and his father was a craftsman in bronze from Tyre. He had the skill and knowledge[ad] to make all kinds of works of bronze. He reported to King Solomon and did all the work he was assigned.

15 He fashioned two bronze pillars; each pillar was 27 feet[ae] high and 18 feet[af] in circumference. 16 He made two bronze tops for the pillars; each was 7½ feet high.[ag] 17 The latticework on the tops of the pillars was adorned with ornamental wreaths and chains; the top of each pillar had seven groupings of ornaments.[ah] 18 When he made the pillars, there were two rows of pomegranate-shaped ornaments around the latticework covering the top of each pillar.[ai] 19 The tops of the two pillars in the porch were shaped like lilies and were six feet high.[aj] 20 On the top of each pillar, right above the bulge beside the latticework, there were 200 pomegranate-shaped ornaments arranged in rows all the way around.[ak] 21 He set up the pillars on the porch in front of the main hall. He erected one pillar on the right[al] side and called it Yakin;[am] he erected the other pillar on the left[an] side and called it Boaz.[ao] 22 The tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. So the construction of the pillars was completed.

23 He also made the large bronze basin called “The Sea.”[ap] It measured 15 feet[aq] from rim to rim, was circular in shape, and stood 7½ feet[ar] high. Its circumference was 45 feet.[as] 24 Under the rim all the way around it were round ornaments[at] arranged in settings 15 feet long.[au] The ornaments were in two rows and had been cast with “The Sea.”[av] 25 “The Sea”[aw] stood on top of twelve bulls. Three faced northward, three westward, three southward, and three eastward. “The Sea” was placed on top of them, and they all faced outward.[ax] 26 It was four fingers thick and its rim was like that of a cup shaped like a lily blossom. It could hold about 12,000 gallons.[ay]

27 He also made ten bronze movable stands. Each stand was 6 feet[az] long, 6 feet[ba] wide, and 4½ feet[bb] high. 28 The stands were constructed with frames between the joints. 29 On these frames and joints were ornamental lions, bulls, and cherubim. Under the lions and bulls were decorative wreaths.[bc] 30 Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles and four supports.[bd] Under the basin the supports were fashioned on each side with wreaths.[be] 31 Inside the stand was a round opening that was 18 inches deep; it had a support that was 27 inches long.[bf] On the edge of the opening were carvings in square frames.[bg] 32 The four wheels were under the frames, and the crossbars of the axles were connected to the stand. Each wheel was 27 inches[bh] high. 33 The wheels were constructed like chariot wheels; their crossbars, rims, spokes, and hubs were made of cast metal. 34 Each stand had four supports, one per side projecting out from the stand.[bi] 35 On top of each stand was a round opening three-quarters of a foot deep;[bj] there were also supports and frames on top of the stands. 36 He engraved ornamental cherubim, lions, and palm trees on the plates of the supports and frames wherever there was room,[bk] with wreaths[bl] all around. 37 He made the ten stands in this way. All of them were cast in one mold and were identical in measurements and shape.

38 He also made ten bronze basins, each of which could hold about 240 gallons.[bm] Each basin was 6 feet in diameter;[bn] there was one basin for each stand. 39 He put five basins on the south side of the temple and five on the north side. He put “The Sea” on the south side, in the southeast corner.

40 Hiram also made basins, shovels, and bowls. He[bo] finished all the work on the Lord’s temple he had been assigned by King Solomon.[bp] 41 He made[bq] the two pillars, the two bowl-shaped tops of the pillars, the latticework for the bowl-shaped tops of the two pillars, 42 the 400 pomegranate-shaped ornaments for the latticework of the two pillars (each latticework had two rows of these ornaments at the bowl-shaped top of the pillar), 43 the ten movable stands with their ten basins, 44 the big bronze basin called “The Sea” with its twelve bulls underneath,[br] 45 and the pots, shovels, and bowls. All these items King Solomon assigned Hiram to make for the Lord’s temple[bs] were made from polished bronze. 46 The king had them cast in earth foundries[bt] in the region of the Jordan between Sukkoth and Zarethan. 47 Solomon left all these items unweighed; there were so many of them they did not weigh the bronze.[bu]

48 Solomon also made all these items for the Lord’s temple: the gold altar, the gold table on which was kept the Bread of the Presence,[bv] 49 the pure gold lampstands at the entrance to the inner sanctuary (five on the right and five on the left), the gold flower-shaped ornaments, lamps, and tongs, 50 the pure gold bowls, trimming shears, basins, pans, and censers, and the gold door sockets for the inner sanctuary (the Most Holy Place) and for the doors of the main hall of the temple. 51 When King Solomon finished constructing the Lord’s temple, he[bw] put the holy items that belonged to his father David (the silver, gold, and other articles) in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 7:1 tn Heb “His house Solomon built in thirteen years and he completed all his house.”
  2. 1 Kings 7:2 tn Heb “he built.”
  3. 1 Kings 7:2 sn The Palace of the Lebanon Forest. This name was appropriate because of the large amount of cedar, undoubtedly brought from Lebanon, used in its construction. The cedar pillars in the palace must have given it the appearance of a forest.
  4. 1 Kings 7:2 tn Heb “100 cubits.”
  5. 1 Kings 7:2 tn Heb “50 cubits.”
  6. 1 Kings 7:2 tn Heb “30 cubits.”
  7. 1 Kings 7:4 tn Heb “and framed [windows in] three rows, and opening to opening three times.” The precise meaning of this description is uncertain. Another option might be, “overhung [in] three rows.” This might mean they were positioned high on the walls.
  8. 1 Kings 7:5 tn Heb “all of the doors and doorposts.”
  9. 1 Kings 7:5 sn Rectangular in shape. That is, rather than arched.
  10. 1 Kings 7:5 tn Heb “and all the entrances and the doorposts [had] four frames, and in front of opening to opening three times” (the precise meaning of the description is uncertain).
  11. 1 Kings 7:6 tn Heb “a porch of pillars.”
  12. 1 Kings 7:6 tn Heb “50 cubits.”
  13. 1 Kings 7:6 tn Heb “30 cubits.”
  14. 1 Kings 7:6 tn Heb “and a porch was in front of them (i.e., the aforementioned pillars) and pillars and a roof in front of them (i.e., the aforementioned pillars and porch).” The precise meaning of the term translated “roof” is uncertain; it occurs only here and in Ezek 41:25-26.
  15. 1 Kings 7:7 tn Heb “and a porch for the throne, where he was making judicial decisions, the Porch of Judgment, he made.”
  16. 1 Kings 7:7 tc The Hebrew text reads, “from the floor to the floor.” The second occurrence of the term הַקַּרְקָע (haqqarqaʿ, “the floor”) is probably an error; one should emend to הַקּוֹרוֹת (haqqorot, “the rafters”). See 6:16.
  17. 1 Kings 7:8 tn Heb “and his house where he lived, the other court [i.e., as opposed to the great court], separated from the house belonging to the hall, was like this work [i.e., this style of architecture].”
  18. 1 Kings 7:8 tn Heb “and a house he was making for the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Solomon had taken, like this porch.”
  19. 1 Kings 7:9 tn Or “valuable” (see 5:17).
  20. 1 Kings 7:9 tn Heb “according to the measurement of chiseled [stone].”
  21. 1 Kings 7:9 tn Heb “inside and out.”
  22. 1 Kings 7:9 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word טְפָחוֹת (tefakhot) is uncertain, but it is clear that the referent stands in opposition to the foundation.
  23. 1 Kings 7:10 tn Heb “stones of 10 cubits and stones of 8 cubits” (it is unclear exactly what dimension is being measured). If both numbers refer to the length of the stones (cf. NCV, CEV, NLT), then perhaps stones of two different sizes were used in some alternating pattern.
  24. 1 Kings 7:11 tn Heb “on top,” or “above.”
  25. 1 Kings 7:11 tn Or “valuable” (see 5:17).
  26. 1 Kings 7:11 tn Heb “according to the measurement of chiseled [stone].”
  27. 1 Kings 7:12 tn Or “the porch of the temple.”
  28. 1 Kings 7:13 tn Heb “King Solomon sent and took Hiram from Tyre.” In 2 Chr 2:13 (MT v. 12) and 4:11, 16 his name is spelled “Huram.”
  29. 1 Kings 7:14 tn 2 Chr 2:14 (13 HT) says “from the daughters of Dan.”
  30. 1 Kings 7:14 tn Heb “he was filled with the skill, understanding, and knowledge.”
  31. 1 Kings 7:15 tn Heb “18 cubits.”
  32. 1 Kings 7:15 tn Heb “12 cubits.”
  33. 1 Kings 7:16 tn Heb “two capitals he made to place on the tops of the pillars, cast in bronze; 5 cubits was the height of the first capital, and 5 cubits was the height of the second capital.”
  34. 1 Kings 7:17 tn Heb “there were seven for the first capital, and seven for the second capital.”
  35. 1 Kings 7:18 tn Heb “he made the pillars, and two rows surrounding one latticework to cover the capitals which were on top of the pomegranates, and so he did for the second latticework.” The translation supplies “pomegranates” after “two rows,” and understands “pillars,” rather than “pomegranates,” to be the correct reading after “on top of.” The latter change finds support from many Hebrew mss and the ancient Greek version.
  36. 1 Kings 7:19 tn Heb “the capitals which were on the top of the pillars were the work of lilies, in the porch, 4 cubits.” It is unclear exactly what dimension is being measured.
  37. 1 Kings 7:20 tn Heb “and the capitals on the two pillars, also above, close beside the bulge which was beside the latticework, two hundred pomegranates in rows around, on the second capital.” The precise meaning of the word translated “bulge” is uncertain.
  38. 1 Kings 7:21 tn Or “south.”
  39. 1 Kings 7:21 tn The name “Yakin” appears to be a verbal form and probably means, “he establishes.”
  40. 1 Kings 7:21 tn Or “north.”
  41. 1 Kings 7:21 sn The meaning of the name Boaz is uncertain. For various proposals, see BDB 126-27 s.v. בעז. One attractive option is to revocalize the name as בְּעֹז (beʿoz, “in strength”) and to understand it as completing the verbal form on the first pillar. Taking the words together and reading from right to left, one can translate the sentence, “he establishes [it] in strength.”
  42. 1 Kings 7:23 tn Heb “He made the sea, cast.”sn This large basin was mounted on twelve bronze bulls and contained water for the priests to bathe themselves (2 Chr 4:6; cf. Exod 30:17-21).
  43. 1 Kings 7:23 tn Heb “10 cubits.”
  44. 1 Kings 7:23 tn Heb “5 cubits.”
  45. 1 Kings 7:23 tn Heb “and a measuring line went around it 30 cubits all around.” The measurements are an approximation. The LXX has the number 33. Neither fit a strict calculation of the diameter time pi, but the precise details of measuring (e.g. the width of the lip or other factors) are not known and numbers may be rounded.
  46. 1 Kings 7:24 tn Or “gourd-shaped ornaments.”
  47. 1 Kings 7:24 tn Heb “10 cubits surrounding the sea all around.” The precise meaning of this description is uncertain.
  48. 1 Kings 7:24 tn Heb “the gourd-shaped ornaments were in two rows, cast in its casting.”
  49. 1 Kings 7:25 tn Heb “It.” The proper noun “The Sea” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  50. 1 Kings 7:25 tn Heb “all their hindquarters were toward the inside.”
  51. 1 Kings 7:26 tn Heb “2,000 baths” (a bath was a liquid measure roughly equivalent to six gallons).
  52. 1 Kings 7:27 tn Heb “4 cubits.”
  53. 1 Kings 7:27 tn Heb “4 cubits.”
  54. 1 Kings 7:27 tn Heb “3 cubits.”
  55. 1 Kings 7:29 tn The precise meaning of these final words is uncertain. A possible literal translation would be, “wreaths, the work of descent.”
  56. 1 Kings 7:30 tn Heb “and four its feet, supports to them.”
  57. 1 Kings 7:30 tn The precise meaning of this last word, translated “wreaths,” is uncertain.
  58. 1 Kings 7:31 tn Heb “And its opening from the inside to the top and upwards [was] a cubit, and its opening was round, the work of a stand, a cubit-and-a-half.” The precise meaning of this description is uncertain.
  59. 1 Kings 7:31 tn Heb “also over its opening were carvings and their frames [were] squared, not round.”
  60. 1 Kings 7:32 tn Heb “a cubit-and-a-half” (a cubit was a unit of measure roughly equivalent to 18 inches or 45 cm).
  61. 1 Kings 7:34 tn Heb “four shoulders to the four sides of each stand, from the stand its shoulders.” The precise meaning of the description is uncertain.
  62. 1 Kings 7:35 tn Heb “and on top of the stand, a half cubit [in] height, round all around” (the meaning of this description is uncertain).
  63. 1 Kings 7:36 tn Heb “according to the space of each.”
  64. 1 Kings 7:36 tn The precise meaning of this last word, translated “wreaths,” is uncertain.
  65. 1 Kings 7:38 tn Heb “forty baths” (a bath was a liquid measure roughly equivalent to six gallons).
  66. 1 Kings 7:38 tn Heb “4 cubits, each basin.” It is unclear which dimension is being measured.
  67. 1 Kings 7:40 tn Heb “Hiram.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  68. 1 Kings 7:40 tn Heb “Hiram finished doing all the work which he did for King Solomon [on] the house of the Lord.”
  69. 1 Kings 7:41 tn The words “he made” are added for stylistic reasons.
  70. 1 Kings 7:44 tn Heb “underneath ‘The Sea.’”
  71. 1 Kings 7:45 tn Heb “which Hiram made for King Solomon [for] the house of the Lord.”
  72. 1 Kings 7:46 tn Or perhaps, “molds.”
  73. 1 Kings 7:47 tn Heb “Solomon left all the items, due to their very great abundance; the weight of the bronze was not sought.”
  74. 1 Kings 7:48 tn Heb “the bread of the face [or presence].” Many recent English versions employ “the bread of the Presence,” although this does not convey much to the modern reader.sn This bread was viewed as a perpetual offering to God and was regarded as holy. See Lev 24:5-9.
  75. 1 Kings 7:51 tn Heb “Solomon.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
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1 Kings 7
Tree of Life Version

Solomon’s Palace Complex

7 But it took Solomon 13 years to build and complete his own palace. 2 He also built the Forest House of Lebanon: its length was 100 cubits, its width 50 cubits and its height 30 cubits, built on four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars. 3 It was paneled with cedar above the side chambers, which were on 45 pillars—15 in a row. 4 And there were window frames in three rows, with window opposite window in three ranks. 5 And all the doorways had rectangular frame, and with window opposite to window in three tiers.

6 He also made a portico of columns, 50 cubits long and 30 cubits wide, with a porch in front, and in front of that were pillars and an overhanging roof. 7 He also made the Hall of the Throne where he would judge—the Hall of Justice. It was paneled with cedar from the floor to the ceiling.

8 His house where he would dwell, set farther back of the hall, was of the same construction. He also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom Solomon had taken to wife.

9 All these were made of expensive stones—stone cut to size and sawed with saws inside and outside—from the foundation to the top and from the outside to the great court. 10 The foundation was also made of expensive stones—huge stones, stones eight cubits and stones ten cubits. 11 Above were expensive stones, cut to measure, and cedar wood. 12 The surrounding great courtyard had three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams, the same as the inner court of the House of Adonai and the portico of the House.

Hiram the Bronze Craftsman

13 King Solomon sent for and had Hiram brought from Tyre. 14 He was a widow’s son from the tribe of Naphtali, while his father was a man of Tyre, a coppersmith, and he was filled with wisdom, understanding and skill to do any work in bronze. So he came to King Solomon and executed all his work. 15 He fashioned the two bronze pillars, 18 cubits high and 12 cubits in circumference each. 16 He also made two capitals of molten bronze to set upon the tops of the pillars (the height of each capital was five cubits), 17 nettings of latticework and twisted threads of chain work for the capitals were on top of the pillars—seven for the one capital and seven for the other capital. 18 So he made the pillars with two rows of pomegranates all around on the netting covering the capitals on top of each capital. 19 The capitals that were on the top of the pillars in the portico were of lily design, four cubits high. 20 So also the capitals on the two pillars—close to the belly next to the netting were the pomegranates in rows of 200 around both capitals.

21 Thus he set up the pillars at the porticos of the Temple. He set up the right pillar and named it Jachin, and he set up the left pillar and named it Boaz. [a] 22 On the top of the pillars was lily design. So the work of the pillars was finished.

23 Next he made the sea of cast metal, ten cubits across from brim to brim, circular in form, five cubits in its height and 30 cubits in circumference. 24 Under its brim there were gourds encircling it, ten per cubit, completely surrounding the sea. The gourds were cast in two rows in one piece with it. 25 It stood 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 rear parts were inward. 26 It was a handbreadth thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like the petals of a lily; it held 11,000 gallons.

27 Then he made ten bases of bronze—the length of each base was four cubits, the width four cubits and the height three cubits. 28 The structure of the bases was as follows: they had borders, and borders between the frames, 29 and on the borders that were below the frames were lions, oxen and cheruvim. On the frames there was a pedestal manner above, and beneath the lions and oxen were wreaths of hanging work. 30 Each base had four bronze wheels with bronze axles. Its four legs had brackets; the brackets were beneath the laver, cast with wreaths at each side. 31 Its opening inside the crown at the top was a cubit high, and its opening was round like the design of a pedestal, a cubit and a half, and also on its opening were engravings, and their borders were square, not round. 32 The four wheels were underneath the borders, and the axles of the wheels were in the base. The height of a wheel was a cubit and half. 33 And the structure of the wheels was like the structure of a chariot wheel; their axletrees, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all cast metal. 34 There were four brackets at the four corners of each base; each bracket was of one piece with the base itself. 35 On top of the base there was a band half a cubit high encircling it—its braces and its borders were part of it. 36 On the plates of the braces and on its borders, he engraved cheruvim, lions and palm trees, wherever there was clear space around each, with encircling wreaths. 37 He made the ten bases like this—all of them cast from the same mold, the same size and same shape.

38 Then he made ten basins of bronze: one basin held 220 gallons. Each basin was four cubits, and on each of the ten bases was one basin. 39 Then he set up the laver stands, five on the right side of the House and five on the left side of the House, and set up the sea of cast metal on the right side of the House eastward, toward the south. 40 Then Hiram made the basins, the shovels, and the sprinkling bowls.

So Hiram finished doing all the work that he performed for King Solomon on Adonai’s House: 41 the two pillars, the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars, the two nettings to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars, 42 the 400 pomegranates for the two nettings, two rows of pomegranates for each to cover the two bowls of the capitals on top of the pillars, 43 the ten bases and the ten basins on the bases, 44 the one sea and the 12 oxen under the sea, 45 the pots, the shovels and the basins. All these vessels Hiram made for King Solomon in the House of Adonai were made of polished bronze. 46 The king had them cast in the plain of the Jordan, with clay of the ground between Sukkot and Zarethan. 47 Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because they were too many—the weight of the bronze could not be determined.

48 So Solomon made all the equipment that was to be in the House of Adonai: the golden altar, the table on which was the bread of the presence, of gold; 49 the menorahs—five on the right side and five on the left in front of the inner Sanctuary—of pure gold; the flowers, the lamps and the tongs, of gold; 50 the cups, the snuffers, the bowls, the wick trimmers and the fire pans, of pure gold; the hinges for the doors of the inner House, the Holy of Holies, and for the doors of the House, that is, of the Temple, of gold.

51 When all the work that King Solomon did in Adonai’s House was finished, Solomon brought in the things that his father David had dedicated—the silver, the gold and the vessels—and put them in the treasuries of the House of Adonai.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 7:22 Meaning, He Will Establish and In Him is Strength.
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Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.