2 Chronicles 4
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Furnishings of the Temple
4 He made an altar of bronze, twenty cubits long, and twenty cubits wide, and ten cubits high. 2 Then he made the molten sea; 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,[a] for thirty[b] cubits, compassing the sea round about; the gourds[c] were in two rows, cast with it when it was cast. 4 It stood upon twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east; the sea was set upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward. 5 Its thickness was a handbreadth; and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily; it held over three thousand baths. 6 He also made ten lavers 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 as prescribed, and set them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. 8 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 the court of the priests, and the great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid their doors with bronze; 10 and he set the sea at the southeast corner of the house.
11 Huram also made the pots, the shovels, and the basins. So Huram finished the work that he did for King Solomon on the house of God: 12 the two pillars, the bowls, and the two capitals on the top of the pillars; and the two networks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars; 13 and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were upon the pillars. 14 He made the stands also, and the lavers upon the stands, 15 and the one sea, and the twelve oxen underneath it. 16 The pots, the shovels, the forks, and all the equipment for these 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 Zer′edah. 18 Solomon made all these things in great quantities, so that the weight of the bronze was not ascertained.
19 So Solomon made all the things that were in the house of God: the golden altar, the tables for the bread of the Presence, 20 the lampstands and their lamps of pure gold 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 firepans, of pure gold; and the sockets[d] 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 4:3 1 Kings 7.24: Heb oxen
- 2 Chronicles 4:3 Compare verse 2: Heb ten
- 2 Chronicles 4:3 1 Kings 7.24: Heb oxen
- 2 Chronicles 4:22 1 Kings 7.50: Heb the door of the house
2 Chronicles 4
Common English Bible
Solomon’s temple equipment
4 He[a] also made a bronze altar thirty feet long, thirty feet wide, and fifteen feet high. 2 Then he made a tank of cast metal called the Sea. It was circular in shape, fifteen feet from rim to rim, seven and a half feet high, and forty-five feet in circumference. 3 Under the rim were two rows of oxlike figures completely encircling it, ten every eighteen inches, each cast in its mold. 4 The Sea rested on twelve oxen with their backs toward the center, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. 5 The Sea was as thick as the width of a hand. Its rim was shaped like a cup or an open lily blossom. It could hold three thousand baths.[b] 6 He also made ten washbasins and put five on the south and five on the north. The items used for the entirely burned offerings were rinsed in these. The priests washed in the Sea. 7 He made ten gold lampstands as prescribed and put them in the sanctuary, five on the south and five on the north. 8 He also made ten tables and put them in the sanctuary, five on the south and five on the north, as well as a hundred gold bowls. 9 He made the courtyard of the priests and the great courtyard, with doors covered with bronze for the courtyard. 10 He placed the Sea at the southeast corner.
11 Huram made the pots, the shovels, and the bowls. So Huram finished all his work on God’s temple for King Solomon:
12 two columns;
two circular capitals on top of the columns;
two networks adorning the two circular capitals on top of the columns;
13 four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, with two rows of pomegranates for each network that adorned the two circular capitals on top of the columns;
14 ten[c] stands with ten[d] basins on them;
15 one Sea;
twelve oxen beneath the Sea;
16 and the pots, the shovels, and the meat forks.
All the things that Huram-abi made for King Solomon for the Lord’s temple were made of polished bronze. 17 The king cast them in clay molds in the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zarethan.[e] 18 Due to the very large number of objects, Solomon didn’t even try to weigh the bronze. 19 Solomon also made all the equipment for God’s temple: the gold altar; the tables for the bread of the presence; 20 the lampstands with their lamps, all of pure gold, to burn before the inner sanctuary as prescribed; 21 the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs of pure gold; 22 and the wick trimmers, bowls, ladles, and censers of pure gold. As for the temple entrance, the inner doors to the most holy place as well as the doors to the main hall were made of gold.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 4:1 Solomon or Huram; this ambiguity with the pronoun continues in the following verses, but compare 2 Chron 3:1, 3; 4:11. If Huram is meant, this is a worker whose name is spelled Hiram in 1 Kgs 7:13-14.
- 2 Chronicles 4:5 One bath is approximately twenty quarts or five gallons.
- 2 Chronicles 4:14 LXX and 1 Kgs 7:43; MT he made
- 2 Chronicles 4:14 1 Kgs 7:43; MT he made
- 2 Chronicles 4:17 With 1 Kgs 7:46; Heb Zeredah
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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