Solomon Builds His Palace

7 Solomon also built a palace for himself, and it took him thirteen years to complete the construction.

² One of Solomon’s buildings was called the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. It was 150 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.^[a] There were four rows of cedar pillars, and great cedar beams rested on the pillars. ³ The hall had a cedar roof. Above the beams on the pillars were forty-five side rooms,^[b] arranged in three tiers of fifteen each. ⁴ On each end of the long hall were three rows of windows facing each other. ⁵ All the doorways and doorposts^[c] had rectangular frames and were arranged in sets of three, facing each other.

⁶ Solomon also built the Hall of Pillars, which was 75 feet long and 45 feet wide.^[d] There was a porch in front, along with a canopy supported by pillars.

⁷ Solomon also built the throne room, known as the Hall of Justice, where he sat to hear legal matters. It was paneled with cedar from floor to ceiling.^{[e] 8} Solomon’s living quarters surrounded a courtyard behind this hall, and they were constructed the same way. He also built similar living quarters for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had married.

⁹ From foundation to eaves, all these buildings were built from huge blocks of high-quality stone, cut with saws and trimmed to exact measure on all sides. ¹⁰ Some of the huge foundation stones were 15 feet long, and some were 12 feet^[f] long. ¹¹ The blocks of high-quality stone used in the walls were also cut to measure, and cedar beams were also used. ¹² The walls of the great courtyard were built so that there was one layer of cedar beams between every three layers of finished stone, just like the walls of the inner courtyard of the Lord’s Temple with its entry room.

Furnishings for the Temple

¹³ King Solomon then asked for a man named Huram^[g] to come from Tyre. ¹⁴ He was half Israelite, since his mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father had been a craftsman in bronze from Tyre. Huram was extremely skillful and talented in any work in bronze, and he came to do all the metal work for King Solomon.

¹⁵ Huram cast two bronze pillars, each 27 feet tall and 18 feet in circumference.^{[h] 16} For the tops of the pillars he cast bronze capitals, each 7 1⁄2 feet^[i] tall. ¹⁷ Each capital was decorated with seven sets of latticework and interwoven chains. ¹⁸ He also encircled the latticework with two rows of pomegranates to decorate the capitals over the pillars. ¹⁹ The capitals on the columns inside the entry room were shaped like water lilies, and they were six feet^[j] tall. ²⁰ The capitals on the two pillars had 200 pomegranates in two rows around them, beside the rounded surface next to the latticework. ²¹ Huram set the pillars at the entrance of the Temple, one toward the south and one toward the north. He named the one on the south Jakin, and the one on the north Boaz.^{[k] 22} The capitals on the pillars were shaped like water lilies. And so the work on the pillars was finished.

²³ Then Huram cast a great round basin, 15 feet across from rim to rim, called the Sea. It was 7 1⁄2 feet deep and about 45 feet in circumference.^{[l] 24} It was encircled just below its rim by two rows of decorative gourds. There were about six gourds per foot^[m] all the way around, and they were cast as part of the basin.

²⁵ The Sea was placed on a base of twelve bronze oxen,^[n] all facing outward. Three faced north, three faced west, three faced south, and three faced east, and the Sea rested on them. ²⁶ The walls of the Sea were about three inches^[o] thick, and its rim flared out like a cup and resembled a water lily blossom. It could hold about 11,000 gallons^[p] of water.

²⁷ Huram also made ten bronze water carts, each 6 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 4 1⁄2 feet tall.^{[q] 28} They were constructed with side panels braced with crossbars. ²⁹ Both the panels and the crossbars were decorated with carved lions, oxen, and cherubim. Above and below the lions and oxen were wreath decorations. ³⁰ Each of these carts had four bronze wheels and bronze axles. There were supporting posts for the bronze basins at the corners of the carts; these supports were decorated on each side with carvings of wreaths. ³¹ The top of each cart had a rounded frame for the basin. It projected 1 1⁄2 feet^[r] above the cart’s top like a round pedestal, and its opening was 2 1⁄4 feet^[s] across; it was decorated on the outside with carvings of wreaths. The panels of the carts were square, not round. ³² Under the panels were four wheels that were connected to axles that had been cast as one unit with the cart. The wheels were 2 1⁄4 feet in diameter ³³ and were similar to chariot wheels. The axles, spokes, rims, and hubs were all cast from molten bronze.

³⁴ There were handles at each of the four corners of the carts, and these, too, were cast as one unit with the cart. ³⁵ Around the top of each cart was a rim nine inches wide.^[t] The corner supports and side panels were cast as one unit with the cart. ³⁶ Carvings of cherubim, lions, and palm trees decorated the panels and corner supports wherever there was room, and there were wreaths all around. ³⁷ All ten water carts were the same size and were made alike, for each was cast from the same mold.

³⁸ Huram also made ten smaller bronze basins, one for each cart. Each basin was six feet across and could hold 220 gallons^[u] of water. ³⁹ He set five water carts on the south side of the Temple and five on the north side. The great bronze basin called the Sea was placed near the southeast corner of the Temple. ⁴⁰ He also made the necessary washbasins, shovels, and bowls.

So at last Huram completed everything King Solomon had assigned him to make for the Temple of the Lord:

Huram made all these things of burnished bronze for the Temple of the Lord, just as King Solomon had directed. ⁴⁶ The king had them cast in clay molds in the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zarethan. ⁴⁷ Solomon did not weigh all these things because there were so many; the weight of the bronze could not be measured.

⁴⁸ Solomon also made all the furnishings of the Temple of the Lord:

⁵¹ So King Solomon finished all his work on the Temple of the Lord. Then he brought all the gifts his father, David, had dedicated—the silver, the gold, and the various articles—and he stored them in the treasuries of the Lord’s Temple.

God’s Judgment of Sin

2 You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things. ² And we know that God, in his justice, will punish anyone who does such things. ³ Since you judge others for doing these things, why do you think you can avoid God’s judgment when you do the same things? ⁴ Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?

⁵ But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. ⁶ He will judge everyone according to what they have done. ⁷ He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers. ⁸ But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness. ⁹ There will be trouble and calamity for everyone who keeps on doing what is evil—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile.^{[a] 10} But there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all who do good—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. ¹¹ For God does not show favoritism.

¹² When the Gentiles sin, they will be destroyed, even though they never had God’s written law. And the Jews, who do have God’s law, will be judged by that law when they fail to obey it. ¹³ For merely listening to the law doesn’t make us right with God. It is obeying the law that makes us right in his sight. ¹⁴ Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. ¹⁵ They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right. ¹⁶ And this is the message I proclaim—that the day is coming when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge everyone’s secret life.

The Jews and the Law

¹⁷ You who call yourselves Jews are relying on God’s law, and you boast about your special relationship with him. ¹⁸ You know what he wants; you know what is right because you have been taught his law. ¹⁹ You are convinced that you are a guide for the blind and a light for people who are lost in darkness. ²⁰ You think you can instruct the ignorant and teach children the ways of God. For you are certain that God’s law gives you complete knowledge and truth.

²¹ Well then, if you teach others, why don’t you teach yourself? You tell others not to steal, but do you steal? ²² You say it is wrong to commit adultery, but do you commit adultery? You condemn idolatry, but do you use items stolen from pagan temples?^{[b] 23} You are so proud of knowing the law, but you dishonor God by breaking it. ²⁴ No wonder the Scriptures say, “The Gentiles blaspheme the name of God because of you.”^[c]

²⁵ The Jewish ceremony of circumcision has value only if you obey God’s law. But if you don’t obey God’s law, you are no better off than an uncircumcised Gentile. ²⁶ And if the Gentiles obey God’s law, won’t God declare them to be his own people? ²⁷ In fact, uncircumcised Gentiles who keep God’s law will condemn you Jews who are circumcised and possess God’s law but don’t obey it.

²⁸ For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision. ²⁹ No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise^[d] from God, not from people.