1 Kings 7
Living Bible
7 Then Solomon built his own palace, which took thirteen years to construct.
2 One of the rooms in the palace was called the Hall of the Forest of Lebanon. It was huge—measuring 150 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. The great cedar ceiling beams rested upon four rows of cedar pillars. 3-4 There were forty-five windows in the hall, set in three tiers, one tier above the other, five to a tier, facing each other from three walls. 5 Each of the doorways and windows had a square frame.
6 Another room was called the Hall of Pillars. It was seventy-five feet long and forty-five feet wide, with a porch in front covered by a canopy that was supported by pillars.
7 There was also the Throne Room or Judgment Hall, where Solomon sat to hear legal matters; it was paneled with cedar from the floor to the rafters.
8 His cedar-paneled living quarters surrounded a courtyard behind this hall. (He designed similar living quarters, the same size, in the palace that he built for Pharaoh’s daughter—one of his wives.) 9 These buildings were constructed entirely from huge, expensive stones, cut to measure. 10 The foundation stones were twelve to fifteen feet across. 11 The huge stones in the walls were also cut to measure and were topped with cedar beams. 12 The Great Court had three courses of hewn stone in its walls, topped with cedar beams, just like the inner court of the Temple and the porch of the palace.
13 King Solomon then asked for a man named Hiram to come from Tyre, for he was a skilled craftsman in bronze work. 14 He was half Jewish, being the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father had been a foundry worker from Tyre. So he came to work for King Solomon.
15 He cast two hollow bronze pillars, each twenty-seven feet high and eighteen feet around, with three-inch-thick walls. 16-22 At the tops of the pillars he made two lily-shaped capitals from molten bronze, each 7-1/2 feet high. The upper part of each capital was shaped like a lily, six feet high. Each capital was decorated with seven sets of bronze, chain-designed lattices and four hundred pomegranates in two rows. Hiram set these pillars at the entrance of the Temple. The one on the south was named the Jachin Pillar,[a] and the one on the north, the Boaz Pillar.
23 Then Hiram cast a round bronze tank, 7-1/2 feet high and 15 feet from brim to brim; 45 feet in circumference. 24 On the underside of the rim were two rows of ornaments an inch or two apart,[b] which were cast along with the tank. 25 It rested on twelve bronze[c] oxen standing tail to tail, three facing north, three west, three south, and three east. 26 The sides of the tank were four inches thick; its brim was shaped like a goblet, and it had a twelve thousand gallon capacity.
27-30 Then he made ten four-wheeled movable stands, each 6 feet square and 4-1/2 feet high. They were constructed with undercarriages braced with square[d] crosspieces. These crosspieces were decorated with carved lions, oxen, and Guardian Angels. Above and below the lions and oxen were wreath decorations. Each of these movable stands had four bronze wheels and bronze axles, and at each corner of the stands were supporting posts made of bronze and decorated with wreaths on each side. 31 The top of each stand was a round piece 1-1/2 feet high. Its center was concave, 2-1/4 feet deep, decorated on the outside with wreaths. Its panels were square, not round.
32 The stands rode on four wheels which were connected to axles that had been cast as part of the stands. The wheels were twenty-seven inches high 33 and were similar to chariot wheels. All the parts of the stands were cast from molten bronze, including the axles, spokes, rims, and hubs. 34 There were supports at each of the four corners of the stands, and these, too, were cast with the stands. 35 A nine-inch rim surrounded the tip of each stand, banded with lugs. All was cast as one unit with the stand. 36 Guardian Angels, lions, and palm trees surrounded by wreaths were engraved on the borders of the band wherever there was room. 37 All ten stands were the same size and were made alike, for each was cast from the same mold.
38 Then he made ten brass vats, and placed them on the stands. Each vat was six feet square and contained 240 gallons of water. 39 Five of these vats were arranged on the left and five on the right-hand side of the room. The tank was in the southeast corner, on the right-hand side of the room. 40 Hiram also made the necessary pots, shovels, and basins and at last completed the work in the Temple of the Lord that had been assigned to him by King Solomon.
41-46 Here is a list of the items he made:
Two pillars;
A capital at the top of each pillar;
Latticework covering the bases of the capitals of each pillar;
Four hundred pomegranates in two rows on the latticework, to cover the bases of the two capitals;
Ten movable stands holding ten vats;
One large tank and twelve oxen supporting it;
Pots;
Shovels;
Basins.
All these items were made of burnished bronze and were cast at the plains of the Jordan River between Succoth and Zarethan. 47 The total weight of these pieces was not known because they were too heavy to weigh!
48 All the utensils and furniture used in the Temple were made of solid gold. This included the altar, the table where the Bread of the Presence of God was displayed, 49 the lampstands (five on the right-hand side and five on the left, in front of the Most Holy Place), the flowers, lamps, tongs, 50 cups, snuffers, basins, spoons, firepans, the hinges of the doors to the Most Holy Place, and the main entrance doors of the Temple. Each of these was made of solid gold.
51 When the Temple was finally finished, Solomon took into the treasury of the Temple the silver, the gold, and all the vessels dedicated for that purpose by his father David.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 7:16 Jachin Pillar and Boaz Pillar. Jachin means “to establish,” and Boaz means “strength.”
- 1 Kings 7:24 an inch or two apart, literally, “ten in a cubit.”
- 1 Kings 7:25 bronze, implied.
- 1 Kings 7:27 square, implied in v. 31.
1 Kings 7
Legacy Standard Bible
Solomon Builds His Own House
7 Now (A)Solomon built his own house thirteen years, and he completed all his house. 2 (B)And he built the house of the forest of Lebanon; its length was [a]100 cubits and its width 50 cubits and its height 30 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 45 pillars, 15 in each row. 4 Now there were artistic window frames in three rows, and window was opposite window in three ranks. 5 And all the doorways and doorposts had squared artistic frames, and window was opposite window in three ranks.
6 Then he made (C)the hall of pillars; its length was 50 cubits and its width 30 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 Now his house where he was to live, the other court inward from the hall, was of the same workmanship. (G)He also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, (H)whom Solomon had married.
9 All these were of precious stones, of stone cut according to measure, sawed with saws, inside and outside; even from the foundation to the coping, and so on the outside to the great court.
10 And the foundation was of precious stones, even large stones, stones of ten cubits and stones of eight cubits. 11 And above were precious stones, stone cut according to measure, and cedar. 12 So (I)the great court all around had three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams even as the inner court of the house of Yahweh, and (J)the porch of the house.
Hiram’s Work in the House of Yahweh
13 Then (K)King Solomon sent and brought Hiram from Tyre. 14 (L)He was a widow’s son from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze; and (M)he was filled with wisdom and discernment and knowledge to do any work in bronze. So he came to King Solomon and (N)did all his work.
15 And he fashioned (O)the two pillars of bronze; (P)eighteen cubits was the height of one pillar, and a line of twelve cubits [b]measured the circumference of both. 16 He also made two capitals of molten bronze to set on the tops of the pillars; the height of the one capital was five [c]cubits and the height of the other capital was five cubits. 17 There were nets of network and twisted threads 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 network to cover the capitals which were on the top of the pomegranates; and so he did for the other capital. 19 Now the capitals which were on the top of the pillars in the porch were of lily design, four cubits. 20 And there were capitals on the two pillars, even right above the [d]rounded projection which was on the one side of the network; and (Q)the pomegranates numbered two hundred in rows around [e]both capitals. 21 (R)Thus he set up the pillars at the (S)porch of the nave; and he set up the right pillar and named it [f]Jachin, and he set up the left pillar and named it [g]Boaz. 22 And on the top of the pillars was lily design. So the work of the pillars was finished.
23 (T)And he made the sea of (U)cast metal ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in form, and its height was five cubits, and [h]thirty cubits in its circumference. 24 Now under its brim (V)gourds went around encircling it ten to a cubit, (W)entirely encircling the sea; the gourds were in two rows, cast with the Sea when it was cast. 25 (X)It stood 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 [i]handbreadth thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, as a lily blossom; it could hold [j]two thousand baths.
27 Then (Y)he made the ten stands of bronze; the length of each stand was four cubits and its width four cubits and its height three cubits. 28 Now this was the workmanship of the stands: they had borders, even borders between the [k]frames, 29 and on the borders which were between the [l]frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim; and on the [m]frames 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 laver were cast supports with wreaths at each side. 31 And its opening inside the capital at the top was a cubit, and its opening was round like the workmanship of a pedestal, a cubit and a half; and also on its opening there were engravings, and their borders were square, not round. 32 And 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 Now 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 half a [n]cubit high, and on the top of the stand its [o]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, according to the clear space on each, with wreaths all around. 37 (Z)He made the ten stands like this: all of them had one casting, one measure and one form.
38 (AA)He also made ten lavers of bronze, one laver held forty baths; each laver was four cubits, and on each of the ten stands was one laver. 39 Then he set the stands, five on the right side of the house and five on the left side of the house; and he set the sea of cast metal on the right side of the house eastward toward the south.
40 And Hiram made the lavers and the shovels and the bowls. So Hiram completed doing all the work that he did for King Solomon in the house of Yahweh: 41 the two pillars and the two bowls of the capitals which were on the top of the (AB)two pillars, and the two networks 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 networks, two rows of pomegranates for each network to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the tops of the pillars; 43 and the ten stands with the ten lavers on the stands; 44 and (AD)the one sea and the twelve oxen under the sea; 45 and (AE)the pots and the shovels and the bowls; and all these utensils which Hiram made for King Solomon in the house of Yahweh were of polished bronze. 46 (AF)On the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between (AG)Succoth and (AH)Zarethan. 47 And Solomon left all the utensils unweighed, because they were too many; (AI)the weight of the bronze could not be found out.
48 Solomon also made all the furniture which was in the house of Yahweh: (AJ)the golden altar and the golden table on which was the (AK)bread of the Presence; 49 and the lampstands, five on the right side and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary, of pure gold; and (AL)the flowers and the lamps and the tongs, of gold; 50 and the cups and the snuffers and the bowls and the spoons and the (AM)firepans, of pure gold; and the hinges both for the doors of the inner house, the Holy of Holies, and for the doors of the house, that is, of the nave, of gold.
51 (AN)Thus all the work that King Solomon did in the house of Yahweh was finished. And (AO)Solomon brought in the things set apart as holy by his father David, the silver and the gold and the utensils, and he put them in the treasuries of the house of Yahweh.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 7:2 Approx. 150 ft. long, 75 ft. wide, and 45 ft. tall or 45 m, 22.5 m, and 13.5 m
- 1 Kings 7:15 Lit went around the other pillar
- 1 Kings 7:16 A cubit was approx. 18 in. or 45 cm
- 1 Kings 7:20 Lit belly
- 1 Kings 7:20 Lit on the other capital
- 1 Kings 7:21 Lit he shall establish
- 1 Kings 7:21 Lit in it is strength
- 1 Kings 7:23 Lit a line of thirty cubits went around it
- 1 Kings 7:26 A handbreadth was approx. 3 in. or 7.6 cm
- 1 Kings 7:26 Approx. 12,000 gal. or 45,424 l, a bath was approx. 6 gal. or 23 l
- 1 Kings 7:28 Or crossbars
- 1 Kings 7:29 Or crossbars
- 1 Kings 7:29 Or crossbars
- 1 Kings 7:35 A cubit was approx. 18 in. or 45 cm
- 1 Kings 7:35 Lit hands
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