Furnishings of the Temple

Then (A)he made a bronze altar, [a]twenty cubits in length, [b]twenty cubits in width, and [c]ten cubits in height. (B)He also made the [d]Sea of cast metal, [e]ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in form, and its height was [f]five cubits and [g]its circumference [h]thirty cubits. Now figures like oxen were under it and all around it, [i]ten cubits, entirely encircling the Sea. The oxen were in two rows, cast [j]in one piece. It was standing 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 hindquarters turned inward. It was a [k]hand width thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom; it (C)could hold three thousand [l]baths.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 4:1 About 30 ft. or 9 m
  2. 2 Chronicles 4:1 About 30 ft. or 9 m
  3. 2 Chronicles 4:1 About 15 ft. or 4.6 m
  4. 2 Chronicles 4:2 I.e., large basin
  5. 2 Chronicles 4:2 About 15 ft. or 4.6 m
  6. 2 Chronicles 4:2 About 7.5 ft. or 2.3 m
  7. 2 Chronicles 4:2 Lit a line of 30 cubits encircling it round about
  8. 2 Chronicles 4:2 About 45 ft. or 14 m
  9. 2 Chronicles 4:3 About 15 ft. or 4.6 m
  10. 2 Chronicles 4:3 Lit in its casting
  11. 2 Chronicles 4:5 About 3 in. or 7.6 cm
  12. 2 Chronicles 4:5 About 18,000 gallons or 68,137 liters

Furnishings for the Temple

Solomon[a] also made a bronze altar 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 15 feet high.[b] Then he 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.[c] It was encircled just below its rim by two rows of figures that resembled oxen. There were about six oxen per foot[d] all the way around, and they were cast as part of the basin.

The Sea was placed on a base of twelve bronze oxen, all facing outward. Three faced north, three faced west, three faced south, and three faced east, and the Sea rested on them. The walls of the Sea were about three inches[e] thick, and its rim flared out like a cup and resembled a water lily blossom. It could hold about 16,500 gallons[f] of water.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 4:1a Or Huram-abi; Hebrew reads He.
  2. 4:1b Hebrew 20 cubits [9.2 meters] long, 20 cubits wide, and 10 cubits [4.6 meters] high.
  3. 4:2 Hebrew 10 cubits [4.6 meters] across . . . 5 cubits [2.3 meters] deep and 30 cubits [13.8 meters] in circumference.
  4. 4:3 Or 20 oxen per meter; Hebrew reads 10 per cubit.
  5. 4:5a Hebrew a handbreadth [8 centimeters].
  6. 4:5b Hebrew 3,000 baths [63 kiloliters].