Solomon Builds His Palace

7 It took Solomon thirteen years, however, to complete the construction of his palace.^{(A) 2} He built the Palace^(B) of the Forest of Lebanon^(C) a hundred cubits long, fifty wide and thirty high,^[a] with four rows of cedar columns supporting trimmed cedar beams. ³ It was roofed with cedar above the beams that rested on the columns—forty-five beams, fifteen to a row. ⁴ Its windows were placed high in sets of three, facing each other. ⁵ All the doorways had rectangular frames; they were in the front part in sets of three, facing each other.^[b]

⁶ He made a colonnade fifty cubits long and thirty wide.^[c] In front of it was a portico, and in front of that were pillars and an overhanging roof.

⁷ He built the throne hall, the Hall of Justice, where he was to judge,^(D) and he covered it with cedar from floor to ceiling.^{[d](E) 8} And the palace in which he was to live, set farther back, was similar in design. Solomon also made a palace like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had married.^(F)

⁹ All these structures, from the outside to the great courtyard and from foundation to eaves, were made of blocks of high-grade stone cut to size and smoothed on their inner and outer faces. ¹⁰ The foundations were laid with large stones of good quality, some measuring ten cubits^[e] and some eight.^{[f] 11} Above were high-grade stones, cut to size, and cedar beams. ¹² The great courtyard was surrounded by a wall of three courses^(G) of dressed stone and one course of trimmed cedar beams, as was the inner courtyard of the temple of the Lord with its portico.

The Temple’s Furnishings^(H)(I)

¹³ King Solomon sent to Tyre and brought Huram,^{[g](J) 14} whose mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali and whose father was from Tyre and a skilled craftsman in bronze. Huram was filled with wisdom,^(K) with understanding and with knowledge to do all kinds of bronze work. He came to King Solomon and did all^(L) the work assigned to him.

¹⁵ He cast two bronze pillars,^(M) each eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference.^{[h] 16} He also made two capitals^(N) of cast bronze to set on the tops of the pillars; each capital was five cubits^[i] high. ¹⁷ A network of interwoven chains adorned the capitals on top of the pillars, seven for each capital. ¹⁸ He made pomegranates in two rows^[j] encircling each network to decorate the capitals on top of the pillars.^[k] He did the same for each capital. ¹⁹ The capitals on top of the pillars in the portico were in the shape of lilies, four cubits^[l] high. ²⁰ On the capitals of both pillars, above the bowl-shaped part next to the network, were the two hundred pomegranates^(O) in rows all around. ²¹ He erected the pillars at the portico of the temple. The pillar to the south he named Jakin^[m] and the one to the north Boaz.^{[n](P) 22} The capitals on top were in the shape of lilies. And so the work on the pillars^(Q) was completed.