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1 Kings 7:23-39
New English Translation

23 He also made the large bronze basin called “The Sea.”[a] It measured 15 feet[b] from rim to rim, was circular in shape, and stood 7½ feet[c] high. Its circumference was 45 feet.[d] 24 Under the rim all the way around it were round ornaments[e] arranged in settings 15 feet long.[f] The ornaments were in two rows and had been cast with “The Sea.”[g] 25 “The Sea”[h] stood on top of twelve bulls. Three faced northward, three westward, three southward, and three eastward. “The Sea” was placed on top of them, and they all faced outward.[i] 26 It was four fingers thick and its rim was like that of a cup shaped like a lily blossom. It could hold about 12,000 gallons.[j]

27 He also made ten bronze movable stands. Each stand was 6 feet[k] long, 6 feet[l] wide, and 4½ feet[m] high. 28 The stands were constructed with frames between the joints. 29 On these frames and joints were ornamental lions, bulls, and cherubim. Under the lions and bulls were decorative wreaths.[n] 30 Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles and four supports.[o] Under the basin the supports were fashioned on each side with wreaths.[p] 31 Inside the stand was a round opening that was 18 inches deep; it had a support that was 27 inches long.[q] On the edge of the opening were carvings in square frames.[r] 32 The four wheels were under the frames, and the crossbars of the axles were connected to the stand. Each wheel was 27 inches[s] high. 33 The wheels were constructed like chariot wheels; their crossbars, rims, spokes, and hubs were made of cast metal. 34 Each stand had four supports, one per side projecting out from the stand.[t] 35 On top of each stand was a round opening three-quarters of a foot deep;[u] there were also supports and frames on top of the stands. 36 He engraved ornamental cherubim, lions, and palm trees on the plates of the supports and frames wherever there was room,[v] with wreaths[w] all around. 37 He made the ten stands in this way. All of them were cast in one mold and were identical in measurements and shape.

38 He also made ten bronze basins, each of which could hold about 240 gallons.[x] Each basin was 6 feet in diameter;[y] there was one basin for each stand. 39 He put five basins on the south side of the temple and five on the north side. He put “The Sea” on the south side, in the southeast corner.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 7:23 tn Heb “He made the sea, cast.”sn This large basin was mounted on twelve bronze bulls and contained water for the priests to bathe themselves (2 Chr 4:6; cf. Exod 30:17-21).
  2. 1 Kings 7:23 tn Heb “10 cubits.”
  3. 1 Kings 7:23 tn Heb “5 cubits.”
  4. 1 Kings 7:23 tn Heb “and a measuring line went around it 30 cubits all around.” The measurements are an approximation. The LXX has the number 33. Neither fit a strict calculation of the diameter time pi, but the precise details of measuring (e.g. the width of the lip or other factors) are not known and numbers may be rounded.
  5. 1 Kings 7:24 tn Or “gourd-shaped ornaments.”
  6. 1 Kings 7:24 tn Heb “10 cubits surrounding the sea all around.” The precise meaning of this description is uncertain.
  7. 1 Kings 7:24 tn Heb “the gourd-shaped ornaments were in two rows, cast in its casting.”
  8. 1 Kings 7:25 tn Heb “It.” The proper noun “The Sea” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  9. 1 Kings 7:25 tn Heb “all their hindquarters were toward the inside.”
  10. 1 Kings 7:26 tn Heb “2,000 baths” (a bath was a liquid measure roughly equivalent to six gallons).
  11. 1 Kings 7:27 tn Heb “4 cubits.”
  12. 1 Kings 7:27 tn Heb “4 cubits.”
  13. 1 Kings 7:27 tn Heb “3 cubits.”
  14. 1 Kings 7:29 tn The precise meaning of these final words is uncertain. A possible literal translation would be, “wreaths, the work of descent.”
  15. 1 Kings 7:30 tn Heb “and four its feet, supports to them.”
  16. 1 Kings 7:30 tn The precise meaning of this last word, translated “wreaths,” is uncertain.
  17. 1 Kings 7:31 tn Heb “And its opening from the inside to the top and upwards [was] a cubit, and its opening was round, the work of a stand, a cubit-and-a-half.” The precise meaning of this description is uncertain.
  18. 1 Kings 7:31 tn Heb “also over its opening were carvings and their frames [were] squared, not round.”
  19. 1 Kings 7:32 tn Heb “a cubit-and-a-half” (a cubit was a unit of measure roughly equivalent to 18 inches or 45 cm).
  20. 1 Kings 7:34 tn Heb “four shoulders to the four sides of each stand, from the stand its shoulders.” The precise meaning of the description is uncertain.
  21. 1 Kings 7:35 tn Heb “and on top of the stand, a half cubit [in] height, round all around” (the meaning of this description is uncertain).
  22. 1 Kings 7:36 tn Heb “according to the space of each.”
  23. 1 Kings 7:36 tn The precise meaning of this last word, translated “wreaths,” is uncertain.
  24. 1 Kings 7:38 tn Heb “forty baths” (a bath was a liquid measure roughly equivalent to six gallons).
  25. 1 Kings 7:38 tn Heb “4 cubits, each basin.” It is unclear which dimension is being measured.
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