Solomon’s Palace

7 Now ^(A)Solomon built his own house over the course of thirteen years, and he finished all of his house. ^2 (B)He built the house of the timber from Lebanon; its length was ^[a]a hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits, on four rows of cedar pillars with cedar beams on the pillars. ³ And it was paneled with cedar above the side chambers which were on the forty-five pillars, fifteen in each row. ⁴ There were artistic window frames in three rows, and window was opposite window at three ^[b]intervals. ⁵ And all the doorways and doorposts had squared artistic frames, and window was opposite window at three ^[c]intervals.

⁶ Then he made ^(C)the hall of pillars; its length was ^[d]fifty cubits and its width thirty cubits, and a porch was in front of them and pillars and a ^(D)threshold in front of them.

⁷ And he made the hall of the ^(E)throne where he was to judge, the hall of judgment, and ^(F)it was paneled with cedar from floor to floor.

⁸ And his house where he was to live, the other courtyard inward from the hall, was of this same workmanship. ^(G)He also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, ^(H)whom Solomon had married.

⁹ All of these were made of valuable stones, of stone cut according to measure, sawed with saws, inside and outside; even from the foundation to the ^[e]coping, and from the outside to the large courtyard.

¹⁰ And the foundation was of valuable stones, large stones, stones of ^[f]ten cubits and stones of eight cubits. ¹¹ And above were valuable stones, cut according to measure, and cedar. ¹² So ^(I)the large courtyard all around had three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams as well as the inner courtyard of the house of the Lord, and ^(J)the porch of the house.

Hiram’s Work in the Temple

¹³ Now ^(K)King Solomon sent word and had Hiram brought from Tyre. ^14 (L)He was a widow’s son from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, an artisan in bronze; and ^(M)he was filled with wisdom, skill, and knowledge for doing any work in bronze. So he came to King Solomon and ^(N)performed all his work.

¹⁵ He fashioned ^(O)the two pillars of bronze; ^[g](P)eighteen cubits was the height of ^[h]each pillar, and a line of ^[i]twelve cubits ^[j]measured the circumference of both. ¹⁶ He also made two capitals of cast bronze to put on the tops of the pillars; the height of the one capital was ^[k]five cubits and the height of the other capital was ^[l]five cubits. ¹⁷ There were lattices of latticework and wreaths of chainwork for the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; seven for the one capital and seven for the other capital. ¹⁸ So he made the pillars, and two rows around on the one lattice to cover the capitals which were on the top of the pomegranates; and so he did for the other capital. ¹⁹ The capitals which were on the tops of the pillars in the porch were of lily design, four cubits. ²⁰ So there were capitals on the two pillars, also above and close to the ^[m]rounded projection which was beside the lattice; and ^(Q)the pomegranates totaled two hundred in rows around ^[n]both capitals. ^21 (R)And he set up the pillars at the ^(S)porch of the ^[o]main room: he set up the right pillar and named it ^[p]Jachin, and he set up the left pillar and named it ^[q]Boaz. ²² On the top of the pillars was the lily design. So the work of the pillars was finished.

^23 (T)He also he made the ^[r]Sea of ^(U)cast metal ^[s]ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in shape, and its height was five cubits, and ^[t]it was ^[u]thirty cubits in circumference. ²⁴ Under its brim ^(V)gourds went around encircling it ten to a cubit, ^(W)completely surrounding the Sea; the gourds were in two rows, cast ^[v]with the rest. ^25 (X)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 rear parts turned inward. ²⁶ And it was a ^[w]hand width thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom; it could hold ^[x]two thousand baths.

²⁷ Then ^(Y)he made the ten stands of bronze; the length of each stand was ^[y]four cubits, its width four cubits, and its height was three cubits. ²⁸ This was the design of the stands: they had borders, that is, borders between the crossbars, ²⁹ and on the borders which were between the crossbars were lions, oxen, and cherubim; and on the crossbars there was a pedestal above, and beneath the lions and oxen were wreaths of hanging work. ³⁰ Now each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles, and its four feet had supports; beneath the basin were cast supports with wreaths at each side. ³¹ And its opening inside the crown at the top was a ^[z]cubit, and its opening was round like the design of a pedestal, a cubit and a half; and on its opening also there were engravings, and their borders were square, not round. ³² The four wheels were underneath the borders, and the axles of the wheels were on the stand. And the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half. ³³ The workmanship of the wheels was like the workmanship of a chariot wheel. Their axles, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all cast. ³⁴ Now there were four supports at the four corners of each stand; its supports were part of the stand itself. ³⁵ And on the top of the stand there was a circular form ^[aa]half a cubit high, and on the top of the stand its ^[ab]stays and its borders were part of it. ³⁶ And he engraved on the plates of its stays and on its borders cherubim, lions, and palm trees, as there was clear space on each, with wreaths all around. ^37 (Z)He made the ten stands like this: all of them had the ^[ac]same casting, ^[ad]same measure, and ^[ae]same form.

^38 (AA)And he made ten basins of bronze, ^[af]each holding ^[ag]forty baths; each basin was ^[ah]four cubits, and on each of the ten stands was one basin. ³⁹ Then he placed the stands, five on the right side of the house and five on the left side of the house; and he set the ^[ai]Sea of cast metal on the right side of the house eastward toward the south.

⁴⁰ Now Hiram made the basins and the shovels and the bowls. So Hiram finished doing all the work which he performed for King Solomon in the house of the Lord: ⁴¹ the two pillars and the two bowls of the capitals which were on the top of the ^(AB)two pillars, and the two lattices to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; ⁴² and the ^(AC)four hundred pomegranates for the two lattices, two rows of pomegranates for each lattice to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the tops of the pillars; ⁴³ and the ten stands with the ten basins on the stands; ⁴⁴ and ^(AD)the one ^[aj]Sea and the twelve oxen under the Sea; ⁴⁵ and ^(AE)the buckets, the shovels, and the bowls; indeed, all these utensils which Hiram made for King Solomon in the house of the Lord were of polished bronze. ^46 (AF)The king had them cast in the plain of the Jordan, in the clay ground between ^(AG)Succoth and ^(AH)Zarethan. ⁴⁷ However, Solomon left all the utensils unweighed, because they were too many; ^(AI)the weight of the bronze could not be determined.

⁴⁸ Solomon also made all the furniture that was in the house of the Lord: ^(AJ)the golden altar and the golden table on which was set the ^(AK)bread of the Presence; ⁴⁹ and the lampstands of pure gold, five on the right side and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary; and ^(AL)the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of gold; ⁵⁰ also the cups, the ^[ak]shears, the bowls, the ladles, and the ^(AM)firepans, of pure gold; and the hinges both for the doors of the inner house, the Most Holy Place, and for the doors of the house, that is, for the main room, of gold.

^51 (AN)So all the work that King Solomon performed in the house of the Lord was finished. And ^(AO)Solomon brought in the offerings vowed by his father David, the silver and the gold and the utensils, and he put them in the treasuries of the house of the Lord.

³⁰ “After forty years had passed, ^(A)an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn bush. ³¹ When Moses saw it, he was astonished at the sight; and as he approached to look more closely, the voice of the Lord came: ³² ‘^(B)I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses shook with fear and did not dare to look closely. ^33 (C)But the Lord said to him, ‘^[a](D)Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. ^34 (E)I have certainly seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them; and ^(F)now come, I will send you to Egypt.’

³⁵ “This Moses whom they ^(G)disowned, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one whom God ^[b]sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer with the ^[c]help of the angel who appeared to him in the thorn bush. ^36 (H)This man led them out, performing ^(I)wonders and ^[d]signs in the land of Egypt and in the Red Sea, and in the ^(J)wilderness for forty years. ³⁷ This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, ‘^(K)God will raise up for you a prophet ^[e]like me from your countrymen.’ ³⁸ This is the one who was in ^(L)the ^[f]assembly in the wilderness together with ^(M)the angel who spoke to him at length on Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers; and he received ^(N)living ^(O)words to pass on to you. ³⁹ Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him; on the contrary they ^(P)rejected him and turned back to Egypt in their hearts, ^40 (Q)saying to Aaron, ‘Make us ^[g]a god who will go before us; for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt—we do not know what happened to him.’ ^41 [h]At that time ^(R)they made a ^[i]calf and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and were rejoicing in ^(S)the works of their hands. ⁴² But God ^(T)turned away and gave them over to ^[j]serve the heavenly ^[k]lights; as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘^(U)You did not offer Me victims and sacrifices ^(V)for forty years in the wilderness, did you, house of Israel? ^43 (W)You also took along the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of your god ^[l]Rompha, the images which you made to worship. I also will deport you beyond Babylon.’

⁴⁴ “Our fathers had ^(X)the tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness, just as He who spoke to Moses directed him to make it ^(Y)according to the pattern which he had seen. ⁴⁵ Our fathers in turn received it, and they also ^(Z)brought it in with Joshua upon dispossessing the ^[m]nations that God drove out from our fathers, until the time of David. ^46 [n](AA)David found favor in God’s sight, and ^(AB)asked that he might ^[o]find a dwelling place for the ^[p]house of Jacob. ⁴⁷ But it was ^(AC)Solomon who built a house for Him. ⁴⁸ However, ^(AD)the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says:

Blessedness of the Fear of the Lord.

A Song of Ascents.