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Then he made an altar of bronze, twenty cubits[a] long, twenty cubits wide, and ten cubits high. Also he made the molten sea[b] of ten cubits from brim to brim. It was round, five cubits high, and thirty cubits in circumference. Under it was the likeness of oxen, which encircled it, for ten cubits, encircling the sea. The oxen were in two rows, cast when it was cast. It stood on twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east; and the sea was set on them above, and all their hindquarters were inward. It was a handbreadth thick; and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily. It received and held three thousand baths.[c] He also made ten basins, and put five on the right hand, and five on the left, to wash in them. The things that belonged to the burnt offering were washed in them; but the sea was for the priests to wash in.

He made the ten lamp stands of gold according to the ordinance concerning them; and he set them in the temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left. He made also ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right side, and five on the left. He made one hundred basins of gold. Furthermore he made the court of the priests, the great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid their doors with bronze. 10 He set the sea on the right side of the house eastward, toward the south.

11 Huram made the pots, the shovels, and the basins.

So Huram finished doing the work that he did for king Solomon in God’s house: 12 the two pillars, the bowls, the two capitals which were on the top of the pillars, the two networks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars, 13 and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks; two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the pillars. 14 He also made the bases, and he made the basins on the bases; 15 one sea, and the twelve oxen under it. 16 Huram his father also made the pots, the shovels, the forks, and all its vessels for king Solomon, for Yahweh’s house, of bright bronze. 17 The king cast them in the plain of the Jordan, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah. 18 Thus Solomon made all these vessels in great abundance; for the weight of the bronze could not be determined.

19 Solomon made all the vessels that were in God’s house, the golden altar also, and the tables with the show bread on them; 20 and the lamp stands with their lamps, to burn according to the ordinance before the inner sanctuary, of pure gold; 21 and the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs of gold that was perfect gold; 22 and the snuffers, the basins, the spoons, and the fire pans of pure gold. As for the entry of the house, its inner doors for the most holy place and the doors of the main hall of the temple were of gold.

Thus all the work that Solomon did for Yahweh’s house was finished. Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated, even the silver, the gold, and all the vessels, and put them in the treasuries of God’s house.

Footnotes

  1. 4:1 A cubit is the length from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow on a man’s arm, or about 18 inches or 46 centimeters.
  2. 4:2 or, pool, or, reservoir
  3. 4:5 A bath is about 5.6 U. S. gallons or 21.1 liters, so 3,000 baths is about 16,800 gallons or 63.3 kiloliters.

Furnishings of the Temple

He made an altar of bronze, twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and ten cubits high.(A) Then he made the molten sea; it was round, ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits high. A line of thirty cubits would encircle it completely.(B) Under it were figures of bulls all around, each of ten cubits, surrounding the sea; there were two rows of bulls, cast when it was cast.(C) It stood on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east; the sea was set on them. The hindquarters of each were toward the inside. Its thickness was a handbreadth; its rim was made like the rim of a cup, like the flower of a lily; it held three thousand baths.[a](D) He also made ten basins in which to wash and set five on the right side and five on the left. In these they were to rinse what was used for the burnt offering. The sea was for the priests to wash in.(E)

He made ten golden lampstands as prescribed and set them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left.(F) He also made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. And he made one hundred basins of gold.(G) He made the court of the priests and the great court and doors for the court; he overlaid their doors with bronze.(H) 10 He set the sea at the southeast corner of the house.(I)

11 And Huram made the pots, the shovels, and the basins. Thus Huram finished the work that he did for King Solomon on the house of God:(J) 12 the two pillars, the bowls, and the two capitals on the top of the pillars; and the two latticeworks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars;(K) 13 the four hundred pomegranates for the two latticeworks, two rows of pomegranates for each latticework, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the pillars.(L) 14 He made the stands, the basins on the stands,(M) 15 the one sea, and the twelve bulls underneath it. 16 The pots, the shovels, the forks, and all the equipment for these Huram-abi made of burnished bronze for King Solomon for the house of the Lord.(N) 17 In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah.(O) 18 Solomon made all these things in great quantities, so that the weight of the bronze was not determined.(P)

19 So Solomon made all the things that were in the house of God: the golden altar, the tables for the bread of the Presence,(Q) 20 the lampstands and their lamps of pure gold to burn before the inner sanctuary, as prescribed;(R) 21 the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of purest gold; 22 the snuffers, basins, ladles, and firepans, of pure gold. As for the entrance to the temple: the inner doors to the most holy place and the doors of the main hall of the temple were of gold.

Thus all the work that Solomon did for the house of the Lord was finished. Solomon brought in the things that his father David had dedicated and stored the silver, the gold, and all the vessels in the treasuries of the house of God.(S)

Footnotes

  1. 4.5 A Hebrew measure of volume