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2 Chronicles 4:1-5
Christian Standard Bible

The Altar and Basins

4 He made a bronze altar(A) 30 feet[a] long, 30 feet wide, and 15 feet[b] high.

2 Then he made the cast metal basin,[c](B) 15 feet from brim to brim, perfectly round. It was 7½ feet[d] high and 45 feet[e] in circumference. 3 The likeness of oxen[f] was below it, completely encircling it, ten every half yard,[g] completely surrounding the basin. The oxen were cast in two rows when the basin was cast. 4 It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The basin was on top of them and all their hindquarters were toward the center. 5 The basin was three inches[h] thick, and its rim was fashioned like the brim of a cup or a lily blossom. It could hold eleven thousand gallons.[i]

6 He made ten basins for washing and he put five on the right and five on the left.(C) The parts of the burnt offering were rinsed in them,(D) but the basin was used by the priests for washing.

The Lampstands, Tables, and Courts

7 He made the ten gold lampstands according to their specifications and put them in the sanctuary, five on the right and five on the left.(E) 8 He made ten tables and placed them in the sanctuary, five on the right and five on the left.(F) He also made a hundred gold bowls.

9 He made the courtyard(G) of the priests and the large court, and doors for the court. He overlaid the doors with bronze. 10 He put the basin on the right side, toward the southeast.(H) 11 Then Huram[j](I) made(J) the pots, the shovels, and the bowls.

Completion of the Bronze Furnishings

So Huram finished doing the work that he was doing for King Solomon in God’s temple: 12 two pillars; the bowls and the capitals on top of the two pillars; the two gratings for covering both bowls of the capitals that were on top of the pillars; 13 the four hundred pomegranates for the two gratings (two rows of pomegranates for each grating covering both capitals’ bowls on top of the pillars(K)). 14 He also made the water carts[k](L) and the basins on the water carts. 15 The one basin and the twelve oxen underneath it, 16 the pots, the shovels, the forks, and all their utensils—Huram-abi[l](M) made them for King Solomon for the Lord’s temple. All these were made of polished bronze. 17 The king had them cast in clay molds in the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zeredah. 18 Solomon made all these utensils in such great abundance that the weight of the bronze was not determined.

Completion of the Gold Furnishings

19 Solomon also made all the equipment in God’s temple: the gold altar; the tables on which to put the Bread of the Presence;(N) 20 the lampstands and their lamps of pure gold to burn in front of the inner sanctuary according to specifications;(O) 21 the flowers, lamps, and gold tongs—of purest gold; 22 the wick trimmers, sprinkling basins, ladles,[m] and firepans—of purest gold; and the entryway to the temple, its inner doors to the most holy place, and the doors of the temple sanctuary—of gold.

5 So all the work Solomon did for the Lord’s temple was completed. Then Solomon brought the consecrated things of his father David—the silver, the gold, and all the utensils—and put them in the treasuries of God’s temple.

Footnotes

  1. 4:1 Lit 20 cubits
  2. 4:1 Lit 10 cubits, also in v. 2
  3. 4:2 Lit sea
  4. 4:2 Lit five cubits
  5. 4:2 Lit 30 cubits
  6. 4:3 = gourds in 1Kg 7:24
  7. 4:3 Lit 10 per cubit
  8. 4:5 Lit a handbreadth
  9. 4:5 Text emended; MT reads 3,000 baths in 1Kg 7:26
  10. 4:11 = Hiram in 1Kg 7:13,40,45
  11. 4:14 Lit the stands
  12. 4:16 Lit Huram my father
  13. 4:22 Or dishes, or spoons; lit palms
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2 Chronicles 4:1-5
New English Translation

4 He made a bronze altar, 30 feet[a] long, 30 feet[b] wide, and 15 feet[c] high. 2 He also made the big bronze basin called “The Sea.”[d] It measured 15 feet[e] from rim to rim, was circular in shape, and stood 7½[f] high. Its circumference was 45 feet.[g] 3 Images of bulls were under it all the way around, ten every 18 inches[h] all the way around. The bulls were in two rows and had been cast with “The Sea.”[i] 4 “The Sea” stood on top of twelve bulls. Three faced northward, three westward, three southward, and three eastward. “The Sea” was placed on top of them, and they all faced outward.[j] 5 It was four fingers thick, and its rim was like that of a cup shaped like a lily blossom. It could hold 18,000 gallons.[k] 6 He made ten washing basins; he put five on the south side and five on the north side. In them they rinsed the items used for burnt sacrifices; the priests washed in “The Sea.”

7 He made ten gold lampstands according to specifications and put them in the temple, five on the right and five on the left. 8 He made ten tables and set them in the temple, five on the right and five on the left. He also made 100 gold bowls. 9 He made the courtyard of the priests and the large enclosure and its doors;[l] he plated their doors with bronze. 10 He put “The Sea” on the south side, in the southeast corner.

11 Huram Abi[m] made the pots, shovels, and bowls. He finished all the work on God’s temple he had been assigned by King Solomon.[n] 12 He made[o] the two pillars, the two bowl-shaped tops of the pillars, the latticework for the bowl-shaped tops of the two pillars, 13 the 400 pomegranate-shaped ornaments for the latticework of the two pillars (each latticework had two rows of these ornaments at the bowl-shaped top of the pillar), 14 the ten[p] movable stands with their ten[q] basins, 15 the big bronze basin called “The Sea” with its twelve bulls underneath, 16 and the pots, shovels, and meat forks.[r] All the items King Solomon assigned Huram Abi to make for the Lord’s temple[s] were made from polished bronze. 17 The king had them cast in earth foundries[t] in the region of the Jordan between Sukkoth and Zarethan. 18 Solomon made so many of these items they did not weigh the bronze.[u]

19 Solomon also made these items for God’s temple: the gold altar, the tables on which the Bread of the Presence[v] was kept, 20 the pure gold lampstands and their lamps which burned as specified at the entrance to the inner sanctuary, 21 the pure gold flower-shaped ornaments, lamps, and tongs, 22 the pure gold trimming shears, basins, pans, and censers, and the gold door sockets for the inner sanctuary (the Most Holy Place) and for the doors of the main hall of the temple. 5 1 When Solomon had finished constructing the Lord’s temple, he put the holy items that belonged to his father David (the silver, gold, and all the other articles) in the treasuries of God’s temple.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 4:1 tn Heb “20 cubits.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), the length would have been 30 feet (9 m).
  2. 2 Chronicles 4:1 tn Heb “20 cubits.”
  3. 2 Chronicles 4:1 tn Heb “10 cubits.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), the height would have been 15 feet (4.5 m).
  4. 2 Chronicles 4:2 tn Heb “He made the sea, cast.”sn The large bronze basin known as “The Sea” was mounted on twelve bronze bulls and contained water for the priests to bathe themselves (see v. 6; cf. Exod 30:17-21).
  5. 2 Chronicles 4:2 tn Heb “10 cubits.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), the diameter would have been 15 feet (4.5 m).
  6. 2 Chronicles 4:2 tn Heb “5 cubits.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), the height would have been 7.5 feet (2.25 m).
  7. 2 Chronicles 4:2 tn Heb “and a measuring line went around it 30 cubits all around.”
  8. 2 Chronicles 4:3 tn Heb “ten every cubit.”
  9. 2 Chronicles 4:3 tn Heb “rows being cast with its casting.”
  10. 2 Chronicles 4:4 tn Heb “all their hindquarters were toward the inside.”
  11. 2 Chronicles 4:5 tn Heb “3,000 baths” (note that the capacity is given in 1 Kings 7:26 as “2,000 baths”). A bath was a liquid measure roughly equivalent to six gallons (about 22 liters), so 3,000 baths was a quantity of about 18,000 gallons (66,000 liters).
  12. 2 Chronicles 4:9 tn Heb “and the doors for the enclosure.”
  13. 2 Chronicles 4:11 tn Heb “Huram,” but here this refers to Huram Abi (2 Chr 2:13). The complete name has been used in the translation to avoid possible confusion with King Huram of Tyre.
  14. 2 Chronicles 4:11 tn Heb “Huram finished doing all the work which he did for King Solomon [on] the house of God.”
  15. 2 Chronicles 4:12 tn The words “he made” are added for stylistic reasons.
  16. 2 Chronicles 4:14 tc The Hebrew text has עָשָׂה (ʿasah, “he made”), which probably should be emended to עֶשֶׂר (ʿeser, “ten”; see 1 Kgs 7:43).
  17. 2 Chronicles 4:14 tc The Hebrew text has עָשָׂה (ʿasah, “he made”), which probably should be emended to עֲשָׂרָה (ʿasarah, “ten”; see 1 Kgs 7:43).
  18. 2 Chronicles 4:16 tc Some prefer to read here “bowls,” see v. 11 and 1 Kgs 7:45.
  19. 2 Chronicles 4:16 tn Heb “Huram Abi made for King Solomon [for] the house of the Lord.”
  20. 2 Chronicles 4:17 tn Or perhaps, “molds.”
  21. 2 Chronicles 4:18 tn Heb “Solomon made all these items in great abundance so that the weight of the bronze was not sought.”
  22. 2 Chronicles 4:19 tn Heb “the bread of the face/presence.”sn This bread offered to God was viewed as a perpetual offering to God. See Lev 24:5-9.
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