2 Chronicles 4:1-5
New American Standard Bible
Furnishings of the Temple
4 Then (A)he made a bronze altar, [a]twenty cubits in length, [b]twenty cubits in width, and [c]ten cubits in height. 2 (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. 3 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. 4 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. 5 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. 6 (D)He also made ten basins in which to wash, and he set five on the right side and five on the left [m]to rinse things for the burnt offering; but the Sea was for the priests to wash in.
7 Then (E)he made the ten golden lampstands in the way prescribed for them, and he set them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. 8 He also made (F)ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. And he made a hundred golden bowls. 9 Then he made (G)the courtyard of the priests and (H)the great courtyard, and doors for the courtyard, and overlaid their doors with bronze. 10 (I)He put the Sea on the right side of the house toward the southeast.
11 (J)Huram also made the pails, the shovels, and the bowls. So Huram finished the work that he did for King Solomon in the house of God: 12 the two pillars, the bowls and the two capitals on top of the pillars, and the two latticeworks to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on top of the pillars, 13 and (K)the four hundred pomegranates for the two latticeworks, two rows of pomegranates for each latticework to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the pillars. 14 (L)He also made the stands and he made the basins on the stands, 15 and the one Sea with the twelve oxen under it. 16 The pails, the shovels, the forks, and all its utensils, (M)Huram-abi made of polished bronze for King Solomon, for the house of the Lord. 17 On the plain of the Jordan the king cast them in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah. 18 (N)So Solomon made all these utensils in great quantities, for the weight of the bronze could not be determined.
19 Solomon also made all the things that were in the house of God: the golden altar, (O)the tables with the bread of the Presence on them, 20 the lampstands with their lamps of pure gold, (P)to burn in front of the inner sanctuary in the way prescribed; 21 the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs of gold, that is, of purest gold; 22 and the snuffers, the bowls, the spoons, and the firepans of pure gold; and the entrance of the house, its inner doors for the Most Holy Place and the doors of the house, that is, of the main room, of gold.
The Ark Is Brought into the Temple
5 (Q)So all the work that Solomon performed for the house of the Lord was finished. And Solomon brought in the [n](R)things that his father David had dedicated, the silver, the gold, and all the utensils, and he put them in the treasuries of the house of God.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 4:1 About 30 ft. or 9 m
- 2 Chronicles 4:1 About 30 ft. or 9 m
- 2 Chronicles 4:1 About 15 ft. or 4.6 m
- 2 Chronicles 4:2 I.e., large basin
- 2 Chronicles 4:2 About 15 ft. or 4.6 m
- 2 Chronicles 4:2 About 7.5 ft. or 2.3 m
- 2 Chronicles 4:2 Lit a line of 30 cubits encircling it round about
- 2 Chronicles 4:2 About 45 ft. or 14 m
- 2 Chronicles 4:3 About 15 ft. or 4.6 m
- 2 Chronicles 4:3 Lit in its casting
- 2 Chronicles 4:5 About 3 in. or 7.6 cm
- 2 Chronicles 4:5 About 18,000 gallons or 68,137 liters
- 2 Chronicles 4:6 Lit in which to
- 2 Chronicles 5:1 Lit dedicated things of his
2 Chronicles 4:1-5
Common English Bible
Solomon’s temple equipment
4 He[a] also made a bronze altar thirty feet long, thirty feet wide, and fifteen feet high. 2 Then he made a tank of cast metal called the Sea. It was circular in shape, fifteen feet from rim to rim, seven and a half feet high, and forty-five feet in circumference. 3 Under the rim were two rows of oxlike figures completely encircling it, ten every eighteen inches, each cast in its mold. 4 The Sea rested on twelve oxen with their backs toward the center, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. 5 The Sea was as thick as the width of a hand. Its rim was shaped like a cup or an open lily blossom. It could hold three thousand baths.[b] 6 He also made ten washbasins and put five on the south and five on the north. The items used for the entirely burned offerings were rinsed in these. The priests washed in the Sea. 7 He made ten gold lampstands as prescribed and put them in the sanctuary, five on the south and five on the north. 8 He also made ten tables and put them in the sanctuary, five on the south and five on the north, as well as a hundred gold bowls. 9 He made the courtyard of the priests and the great courtyard, with doors covered with bronze for the courtyard. 10 He placed the Sea at the southeast corner.
11 Huram made the pots, the shovels, and the bowls. So Huram finished all his work on God’s temple for King Solomon:
12 two columns;
two circular capitals on top of the columns;
two networks adorning the two circular capitals on top of the columns;
13 four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, with two rows of pomegranates for each network that adorned the two circular capitals on top of the columns;
14 ten[c] stands with ten[d] basins on them;
15 one Sea;
twelve oxen beneath the Sea;
16 and the pots, the shovels, and the meat forks.
All the things that Huram-abi made for King Solomon for the Lord’s temple were made of polished bronze. 17 The king cast them in clay molds in the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zarethan.[e] 18 Due to the very large number of objects, Solomon didn’t even try to weigh the bronze. 19 Solomon also made all the equipment for God’s temple: the gold altar; the tables for the bread of the presence; 20 the lampstands with their lamps, all of pure gold, to burn before the inner sanctuary as prescribed; 21 the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs of pure gold; 22 and the wick trimmers, bowls, ladles, and censers of pure gold. As for the temple entrance, the inner doors to the most holy place as well as the doors to the main hall were made of gold.
5 When all of Solomon’s work on the Lord’s temple was finished, he brought the silver, gold, and all the objects his father David had dedicated and put them in the treasuries of God’s temple.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 4:1 Solomon or Huram; this ambiguity with the pronoun continues in the following verses, but compare 2 Chron 3:1, 3; 4:11. If Huram is meant, this is a worker whose name is spelled Hiram in 1 Kgs 7:13-14.
- 2 Chronicles 4:5 One bath is approximately twenty quarts or five gallons.
- 2 Chronicles 4:14 LXX and 1 Kgs 7:43; MT he made
- 2 Chronicles 4:14 1 Kgs 7:43; MT he made
- 2 Chronicles 4:17 With 1 Kgs 7:46; Heb Zeredah
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