23 Inside the inner sanctuary (A)he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high. 24 One wing of the cherub was five cubits, and the other wing of the cherub five cubits: ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other. 25 And the other cherub was ten cubits; both cherubim were of the same size and shape. 26 The height of one cherub was ten cubits, and so was the other cherub. 27 Then he set the cherubim inside the inner [a]room; and (B)they stretched out the wings of the cherubim so that the wing of the one touched one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall. And their wings touched each other in the middle of the room. 28 Also he overlaid the cherubim with gold.

29 Then he carved all the walls of the temple all around, both the inner and outer sanctuaries, with carved (C)figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. 30 And the floor of the temple he overlaid with gold, both the inner and outer sanctuaries.

31 For the entrance of the inner sanctuary he made doors of olive wood; the lintel and doorposts were [b]one-fifth of the wall. 32 The two doors were of olive wood; and he carved on them figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold; and he spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees. 33 So for the door of the [c]sanctuary he also made doorposts of olive wood, [d]one-fourth of the wall. 34 And the two doors were of cypress wood; (D)two panels comprised one folding door, and two panels comprised the other folding door. 35 Then he carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers on them, and overlaid them with gold applied evenly on the carved work.

36 And he built the (E)inner court with three rows of hewn stone and a row of cedar beams.

37 (F)In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid, in the month of [e]Ziv. 38 And in the eleventh year, in the month of [f]Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its details and according to all its plans. So he was (G)seven years in building it.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 6:27 Lit. house
  2. 1 Kings 6:31 Or five-sided
  3. 1 Kings 6:33 temple
  4. 1 Kings 6:33 Or four-sided
  5. 1 Kings 6:37 Or Ayyar, April or May
  6. 1 Kings 6:38 Or Heshvan, October or November

Hiram the Craftsman

13 Now King Solomon sent and brought [a]Huram from Tyre. 14 (A)He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and (B)his father was a man of Tyre, a bronze worker; (C)he was filled with wisdom and understanding and skill in working with all kinds of bronze work. So he came to King Solomon and did all his work.

The Bronze Pillars for the Temple(D)

15 And he [b]cast (E)two pillars of bronze, each one eighteen cubits high, and a line of twelve cubits measured the circumference of each. 16 Then he made two capitals of cast bronze, to set on the tops of the pillars. The height of one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits. 17 He made a lattice network, with wreaths of chainwork, for the capitals which were on top of the pillars: seven chains for one capital and seven for the other capital. 18 So he made the pillars, and two rows of pomegranates above the network all around to cover the capitals that were on top; and thus he did for the other capital.

19 The capitals which were on top of the pillars in the hall were in the shape of lilies, four cubits. 20 The capitals on the two pillars also had pomegranates above, by the convex surface which was next to the network; and there were (F)two hundred such pomegranates in rows on each of the capitals all around.

21 (G)Then he set up the pillars by the vestibule of the temple; he set up the pillar on the right and called its name [c]Jachin, and he set up the pillar on the left and called its name [d]Boaz. 22 The tops of the pillars were in the shape of lilies. So the work of the pillars was finished.

The Sea and the Oxen

23 And he made (H)the Sea of cast bronze, ten cubits from one brim to the other; it was completely round. Its height was five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference.

24 Below its brim were ornamental buds encircling it all around, ten to a cubit, (I)all the way around the Sea. The ornamental buds were cast in two rows when it was cast. 25 It stood on (J)twelve oxen: three looking toward the north, three looking toward the west, three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east; the Sea was set upon them, and all their back parts pointed inward. 26 It was a handbreadth thick; and its brim was shaped like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It contained [e]two thousand baths.

The Carts and the Lavers

27 He also made ten [f]carts of bronze; four cubits was the length of each cart, four cubits its width, and three cubits its height. 28 And this was the design of the carts: They had panels, and the panels were between frames; 29 on the panels that were between the frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim. And on the frames was a pedestal on top. Below the lions and oxen were wreaths of plaited work. 30 Every cart had four bronze wheels and axles of bronze, and its four feet had supports. Under the laver were supports of cast bronze beside each wreath. 31 Its opening inside the crown at the top was one cubit in diameter; and the opening was round, shaped like a pedestal, one and a half cubits in outside diameter; and also on the opening were engravings, but the panels were square, not round. 32 Under the panels were the four wheels, and the axles of the wheels were joined to the cart. The height of a wheel was one and a half cubits. 33 The workmanship of the wheels was like the workmanship of a chariot wheel; their axle pins, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all of cast bronze. 34 And there were four supports at the four corners of each cart; its supports were part of the cart itself. 35 On the top of the cart, at the height of half a cubit, it was perfectly round. And on the top of the cart, its flanges and its panels were of the same casting. 36 On the plates of its flanges and on its panels he engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees, wherever there was a clear space on each, with wreaths all around. 37 Thus he made the ten carts. All of them were of [g]the same mold, one measure, and one shape.

38 Then (K)he made ten lavers of bronze; each laver contained [h]forty baths, and each laver was four cubits. On each of the ten carts was a laver. 39 And he put five carts on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house. He set the Sea on the right side of the house, toward the southeast.

Furnishings of the Temple(L)

40 (M)Huram[i] made the lavers and the shovels and the bowls. So Huram finished doing all the work that he was to do for King Solomon for the house of the Lord: 41 the two pillars, the two bowl-shaped capitals that were on top of the two pillars; the two (N)networks covering the two bowl-shaped capitals which were on top of the pillars; 42 (O)four hundred pomegranates for the two networks (two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowl-shaped capitals that were on top of the pillars); 43 the ten carts, and ten lavers on the carts; 44 one Sea, and twelve oxen under the Sea; 45 (P)the pots, the shovels, and the bowls.

All these articles which [j]Huram made for King Solomon for the house of the Lord were of burnished bronze. 46 (Q)In the plain of Jordan the king had them cast in clay molds, between (R)Succoth and (S)Zaretan. 47 And Solomon did not weigh all the articles, because there were so many; the weight of the bronze was not (T)determined.

48 Thus Solomon had all the furnishings made for the house of the Lord: (U)the altar of gold, and (V)the table of gold on which was (W)the showbread; 49 the lampstands of pure gold, five on the right side and five on the left in front of the inner sanctuary, with the flowers and the lamps and the wick-trimmers of gold; 50 the basins, the trimmers, the bowls, the ladles, and the [k]censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, both for the doors of the inner room (the Most Holy Place) and for the doors of the main hall of the temple.

51 So all the work that King Solomon had done for the house of the Lord was finished; and Solomon brought in the things (X)which his father David had dedicated: the silver and the gold and the furnishings. He put them in the treasuries of the house of the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 7:13 Heb. Hiram; cf. 2 Chr. 2:13, 14
  2. 1 Kings 7:15 fashioned
  3. 1 Kings 7:21 Lit. He Shall Establish
  4. 1 Kings 7:21 Lit. In It Is Strength
  5. 1 Kings 7:26 About 12,000 gallons; three thousand, 2 Chr. 4:5
  6. 1 Kings 7:27 Or stands
  7. 1 Kings 7:37 one
  8. 1 Kings 7:38 About 240 gallons
  9. 1 Kings 7:40 Heb. Hiram; cf. 2 Chr. 2:13, 14
  10. 1 Kings 7:45 Heb. Hiram; cf. 2 Chr. 2:13, 14
  11. 1 Kings 7:50 firepans

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