2 Chronicles 4
Lexham English Bible
The Furnishings of Solomon’s Temple
4 And he made an altar of bronze, twenty cubits was its length, and twenty cubits was its width, and ten cubits was its height. 2 Then he made the sea of molten metal, from brim to brim it was ten cubits, completely round. And it was five cubits in height, and its circumference measured[a] thirty cubits. 3 Under it were figures of oxen all around it, ten cubits high, encircling the sea all around. The oxen were in two rows cast as one piece with it.[b] 4 It was standing upon twelve oxen, three facing north, and three facing west, and three facing south, and three facing east. The sea was set upon them from above, and all their hindquarters faced inward.[c] 5 And its thickness was a handbreadth, and its brim was like the working of the lip of a cup, the blossom of a lily. And it held three thousand baths. 6 And he made ten basins. And he set five on the south and five on the north in which to wash; they washed off the work of the burnt offering in them, but the sea was for the priests to wash therein. 7 And he made ten golden lampstands according to their custom, and he set them in the temple, five on the south and five on the north. 8 And he made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the south and five on the north. And he made a hundred drinking bowls of gold. 9 And he made the courtyard of the priests and the great outer courtyard and the doors for the outer court. And he overlaid their doors with bronze. 10 And he set the sea at the southeast corner of the temple. 11 And Huram[d] made the pots, the shovels, and the drinking bowls. So Hiram[e] finished making the work that he made on the house of God for King Solomon: 12 the two columns, the bowls, and the two capitals on top of the columns, and the two latticeworks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on top of the columns, 13 and the four hundred pomegranates for the two latticeworks, two rows of pomegranates for the latticework, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were before the columns. 14 And he made the water carts, and he made the basins on the water carts, 15 and the one sea and the twelve oxen underneath it.
16 And Huram-abi made for King Solomon the pots, the shovels, the three-pronged meat forks, and all the utensils of polished bronze for the house of Yahweh. 17 The king cast them in the plain of the Jordan, in the clay soil between Succoth and Zeredah. 18 Solomon made all these utensils in great abundance, for the weight of the bronze could not be determined. 19 So Solomon made all the objects that were in the house of God: the altar of gold; the tables upon which was the bread of the presence; 20 the lampstands, and the lamps for burning according to the custom before the inner sanctuary, of solid gold; 21 and the blossoms, the lamps, and the tongs that were of solid gold; 22 and the snuffers, the drinking bowls, the dishes, and the firepans, of solid gold; and the entrance to the house, the inner doors to the most holy place, and the doors to the house of the temple were of gold.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 4:2 Literally “and it measured a line all around it”
- 2 Chronicles 4:3 Literally “molten with its casting”
- 2 Chronicles 4:4 Literally “into the house”
- 2 Chronicles 4:11 This is the spelling in Hebrew, though many translations have “Hiram”
- 2 Chronicles 4:11 The spelling (“Hiram”) is different here than in the previous occurrences
2 Chronicles 4
English Standard Version
The Temple's Furnishings
4 He made (A)an altar of bronze, twenty cubits[a] long and twenty cubits wide and ten cubits high. 2 (B)Then he made the sea of cast metal. It was round, ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits high, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference. 3 Under it were figures of gourds,[b] for ten cubits, compassing the sea all around. The gourds were in two rows, cast with it when it was cast. 4 It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The sea was set on them, and all their rear parts were inward. 5 Its thickness was a handbreadth.[c] And its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily. (C)It held 3,000 baths.[d] 6 (D)He also made ten basins in which to wash, and set five on the south side, and five on the north side. In these they were to rinse off what was used for the burnt offering, and the sea was for the priests to wash in.
7 And he made ten golden lampstands (E)as prescribed, and set them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. 8 (F)He also made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. And he made a hundred basins of gold. 9 He made (G)the court of the priests (H)and the great court and doors for the court and overlaid their doors with bronze. 10 (I)And he set the sea at the southeast corner of the house.
11 (J)(K)Hiram also made the pots, the shovels, and the basins. (L)So Hiram finished the work that he did for King Solomon on the house of God: 12 the two pillars, (M)the bowls, and the two capitals on the top of the pillars; and the two latticeworks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars; 13 (N)and the 400 pomegranates for the two latticeworks, two rows of pomegranates for each latticework, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the pillars. 14 (O)He made the stands also, and the basins on the stands, 15 and the one sea, and the twelve oxen underneath it. 16 The pots, the shovels, (P)the forks, and all the equipment for these (Q)(R)Huram-abi made of burnished bronze for King Solomon for the house of the Lord. 17 In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah.[e] 18 (S)Solomon made all these things in great quantities, for the weight of the bronze was not sought.
19 So Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of God: the golden altar, (T)the tables for the bread of the Presence, 20 the lampstands and their lamps of pure gold (U)to burn before the inner sanctuary, as prescribed; 21 the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of purest gold; 22 the snuffers, basins, dishes for incense, and fire pans, of pure gold, and the sockets[f] of the temple, for the inner doors to the Most Holy Place and for the doors of the nave of the temple were of gold.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 4:1 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
- 2 Chronicles 4:3 Hebrew oxen; twice in this verse; compare 1 Kings 7:24
- 2 Chronicles 4:5 A handbreadth was about 3 inches or 7.5 centimeters
- 2 Chronicles 4:5 A bath was about 6 gallons or 22 liters
- 2 Chronicles 4:17 Spelled Zarethan in 1 Kings 7:46
- 2 Chronicles 4:22 Compare 1 Kings 7:50; Hebrew the entrance of the house
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