The Temple Is Completed Inside^(A)

¹³ King Solomon sent to Tyre and had ·Huram [^LHiram; ^Ca variant spelling of Huram (2 Chr. 2:13; 4:11); this craftsman is to be distinguished from the king of the same name (5:1)] brought to him. ¹⁴ ·Huram’s mother was [^LHe was the son of] a widow from the tribe of Naphtali. His father was from Tyre and had been ·skilled in making things from [a craftsman/artisan in] bronze. ·Huram [^LHe] was also very skilled and ·experienced [knowledgeable; wise] in bronze work. So he came to King Solomon and did all ·the bronze [his] work.

¹⁵ He made two bronze pillars, each one ·twenty-seven feet [^Leighteen cubits] tall and ·eighteen feet [^Ltwelve cubits] ·around [in circumference]. ¹⁶ He also made two bronze capitals that were ·seven and one-half feet [^Lfive cubits] tall, and he put them on top of the pillars. ¹⁷ Then he made a net of seven ·chains [sets of filigree/latticework] for each capital, which covered the capitals on top of the two pillars. ¹⁸ He made two rows of bronze pomegranates to go ·on [around] the nets. These covered the capitals at the top of the pillars. ¹⁹ The capitals on top of the pillars in the porch were shaped like lilies, and they were ·six feet [^Lfour cubits] tall. ²⁰ The capitals were on top of both pillars, above the ·bowl-shaped [round] section and next to the nets. At that place there were two hundred pomegranates in rows all around the capitals. ²¹ ·Huram [^LHe] put these two bronze pillars at the ·porch [portico; entrance] of the ·Temple [^Lhouse]. He named the ·south [right-hand] pillar ·He Establishes [^LJachin] and the ·north [left-hand] pillar ·In Him Is Strength [^LBoaz]. ²² The capitals on top of the pillars were shaped like lilies. So the work on the pillars was finished [^Cpillars represent establishment].

²³ Then ·Huram [^Lhe] made from bronze a large round bowl, which was called the Sea [^Csymbol of chaos subdued]. It was ·forty-five feet [^Lthirty cubits] around, ·fifteen feet [^Lten cubits] across, and ·seven and one-half feet [^Lfive cubits] deep. ²⁴ Around the outer edge of the bowl was a rim. Under this rim were two rows of ·bronze plants [gourds] which surrounded the ·bowl [Sea]. There were ten ·plants [gourds] every ·eighteen inches [^Lcubit], and these ·plants [gourds] were made in one piece with the bowl. ²⁵ The ·bowl [Sea] rested on the backs of twelve ·bronze bulls [oxen] that faced outward from the center of the bowl. Three bulls faced north, three faced west, three faced south, and three faced east. ²⁶ The sides of the bowl were ·four inches [^La hand’s breadth] thick, and it held ·about eleven thousand gallons [^Ltwo thousand baths]. The rim of the bowl was like the rim of a cup or like a lily blossom.

²⁷ Then ·Huram [^Lhe] made ten bronze ·stands [water carts], each one ·six feet [^Lfour cubits] long, ·six feet [^Lfour cubits] wide, and ·four and one-half feet [^Lthree cubits] high. ²⁸ The ·stands [water carts] were made from ·square sides, which were put on frames [or side panels braced with crossbars/uprights]. ²⁹ On the sides were bronze lions, ·bulls [oxen], and ·creatures with wings [^Lcherubim]. On the ·frames [panels] above and below the lions and ·bulls [oxen] were ·designs of flowers [wreaths] hammered into the bronze. ³⁰ Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles. At the corners there were bronze supports for a ·large bowl [basin], and the supports had ·designs of flowers [wreaths]. ³¹ There was a frame on top of the bowls, ·eighteen inches [^Lone cubit] high above the bowls. The opening of the bowl was round, ·twenty-seven inches [^Lone and one-half cubits] deep. ·Designs [Engravings] were carved into the bronze on the frame, which was square, not round. ³² The four wheels, placed under the frame, were ·twenty-seven inches [^Lone and one-half cubits] high. The axles between the wheels were ·made as one piece with [within; attached to] the stand. ³³ The wheels were like a chariot’s wheels. Everything on the wheels—the axles, rims, spokes, and hubs—were ·made [cast] of bronze.

³⁴ The four supports were on the four corners of each stand. They were made as one piece with the stand. ³⁵ A ·strip of bronze [rim; band] around the top of each stand was ·nine inches [^Lone-half cubit] deep. ·It was [The corner supports were] also made as one piece with the stand. ³⁶ ·Wherever there was room [^LAccording to the space of each], the sides of the stand and the frames were ·covered with carvings of [engraved with] ·creatures with wings [cherubim; 6:23], as well as lions, palm trees, and ·flowers [wreaths]. ³⁷ This is the way ·Huram [^Lhe; v. 13] made the ten ·stands [water carts]. ·The bronze for each stand [^LEach] was melted and poured into a mold, ·so all the stands were [^Lall] the same size and shape.

³⁸ ·Huram [^LHe] also made ten bronze ·bowls [basins], one ·bowl [basin] for each of the ten ·stands [water carts]. Each bowl was ·six feet [^Lfour cubits] across and could hold ·about two hundred thirty gallons [^Lforty baths]. ³⁹ ·Huram [Hiram] put five stands on the ·south [right] side of the ·Temple [^Lhouse] and five on the ·north [left] side. He put the ·large bowl [Sea on the right] in the southeast corner of the ·Temple [^Lhouse]. ⁴⁰ ·Huram [Hiram] also made ·bowls [washbasins; pots], shovels, and small bowls.

So ·Huram [^LHiram; v. 13] finished all his work for King Solomon on the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of the Lord:

·Huram [^LHiram] made everything King Solomon wanted from ·polished [burnished] bronze. ⁴⁶ The king had these things ·poured [cast] into clay molds that were made in the plain of the Jordan River between Succoth and Zarethan. ⁴⁷ Solomon never weighed the bronze used to make these things, because there ·was too much to weigh [were so many]. So the total weight of all the bronze was never ·known [calculated].