The First Book of the Kings

⭑ Literal Standard Version :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 7 -

And Solomon has built his own house [in] thirteen years, and he finishes all his house.

And he builds the House of the Forest of Lebanon; its length [is] one hundred cubits, and its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits, on four rows of cedar pillars, and cedar-beams on the pillars;

and [it is] covered with cedar above, on the sides that [are] on the forty-five pillars, fifteen in the row.

And frames [are] in three rows, and window [is] toward window three times.

And all the openings and the doorposts [are of] square frame; and window [is] toward window three times.

And he has made the porch of the pillars; its length fifty cubits, and its breadth thirty cubits, and the porch [is] before them, and pillars and a thick place [are] before them.

And the porch of the throne where he judges—the porch of judgment—he has made, and [it is] covered with cedar from the floor to the floor.

As for his house where he dwells, the other court [is] within the porch—it has been as this work; and he makes a house for the daughter of Pharaoh—whom Solomon has taken—like this porch.

All these [are] of precious stones, according to the measures of hewn work, sawn with a saw, inside and outside, even from the foundation to the coping, and at the outside, to the great court.

And the foundation [is] of precious stones, great stones, stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits;

and precious stones [are] above, according to the measures of hewn work, and cedar;

and the great court around [is] three rows of hewn work, and a row of cedar-beams, even for the inner court of the house of YHWH, and for the porch of the house.

The Pillars and Capitals

(2 Chronicles 3:14–17)

And King Solomon sends and takes Hiram out of Tyre—

he [is the] son of a woman, a widow, of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father [is] a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze, and he is filled with the wisdom and the understanding, and the knowledge to do all work in bronze—and he comes to King Solomon, and does all his work.

And he forms the two pillars of bronze; eighteen cubits [is] the height of the first pillar, and a cord of twelve cubits goes around the second pillar.

And he has made two chapiters to put on the tops of the pillars, cast in bronze; five cubits the height of the first capital, and five cubits the height of the second capital.

Nets of network, wreaths of chain-work [are] for the chapiters that [are] on the top of the pillars, seven for the first capital, and seven for the second capital.

And he makes the pillars, and two rows around on the one network, to cover the chapiters that [are] on the top, with the pomegranates, and so he has made for the second capital.

And the chapiters that [are] on the top of the pillars [are] of lily-work in the porch, four cubits;

and the chapiters on the two pillars also [have pomegranates] above, close by the protuberance that [is] beside the net; and the pomegranates [are] two hundred, in rows around on the second capital.

And he raises up the pillars for the porch of the temple, and he raises up the right pillar, and calls its name Jachin, and he raises up the left pillar, and calls its name Boaz;

and on the top of the pillars [is] lily-work; and the work of the pillars [is] completed.

The Molten Sea

(2 Chronicles 4:1–5)

And he makes the molten sea, ten by the cubit from its edge to its edge; [it is] round all about, and its height [is] five by the cubit, and a line of thirty by the cubit surrounds it around;

and knobs beneath its brim around are going around it, ten by the cubit, going around the sea; the knobs [are] in two rows, cast in its being cast.

It is standing on twelve oxen, three facing the north, and three facing the west, and three facing the south, and three facing the east, and the sea [is] on them above, and all their back parts [are] inward.

And its thickness [is] a handbreadth, and its edge [is] as the work of the edge of a cup, [as] flowers of lilies; it contains two thousand baths.

The Ten Bronze Stands

And he makes the ten bases of bronze; the length of the one base [is] four by the cubit, and its breadth [is] four by the cubit, and its height [is] three by the cubit.

And this [is] the work of the base: they have borders, and the borders [are] between the joinings;

and on the borders that [are] between the joinings [are] lions, oxen, and cherubim, and on the joinings a base above, and beneath the lions and the oxen [are] additions—sloping work.

And four wheels of bronze [are] for the one base, and axles of bronze; and its four corners have shoulders—the molten shoulders [are] under the laver, beside each addition.

And its mouth within the capital and above [is] by the cubit, and its mouth [is] round, the work of the base, a cubit and half a cubit; and also on its mouth [are] carvings and their borders, square, not round.

And the four wheels [are] under the borders, and the spokes of the wheels [are] in the base, and the height of the one wheel [is] a cubit and half a cubit.

And the work of the wheels [is] as the work of the wheel of a chariot, their spokes, and their axles, and their felloes, and their naves; the whole [is] molten.

And four shoulders [are] for the four corners of the one base; its shoulders [are] out of the base.

And in the top of the base [is] the half of a cubit in the height all around; and on the top of the base its spokes and its borders [are] of the same.

And he engraves on the tablets of its spokes, and on its borders, cherubim, lions, and palm-trees, according to the void space of each, and additions all around.

Thus he has made the ten bases; they all have one casting, one measure, one form.

The Ten Bronze Basins

(2 Chronicles 4:6–8)

And he makes ten lavers of bronze; the one laver contains forty baths [and] the one laver [is] four by the cubit; one laver on the one base [is] for [each of] the ten bases;

and he puts the five bases on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house, and he has put the sea on the right side of the house eastward—from toward the south.

Completion of the Bronze Works

(2 Chronicles 4:11–18)

And Hiram makes the lavers, and the shovels, and the bowls; and Hiram completes to do all the work that he made for King Solomon, [for] the house of YHWH:

two pillars, and bowls of the chapiters that [are] on the top of the two pillars, and the two nets to cover the two bowls of the chapiters that [are] on the top of the pillars;

and the four hundred pomegranates for the two nets (two rows of pomegranates for the one net to cover the two bowls of the chapiters that [are] on the front of the pillars);

and the ten bases, and the ten lavers on the bases;

and the one sea, the twelve oxen under the sea,

and the pots, and the shovels, and the bowls; and all these vessels, that Hiram has made for King Solomon [for] the house of YHWH, [are] of polished bronze.

The king has cast them in the circuit of the Jordan, in the thick soil of the ground, between Succoth and Zarthan.

And Solomon places the whole of the vessels; because of the very great abundance, the weight of the bronze has not been searched out.

Completion of the Gold Furnishings

(2 Chronicles 4:19–22)

And Solomon makes all the vessels that [are] in the house of YHWH: the altar of gold, and the table of gold (on which [is] the Bread of the Presentation),

and the lampstands, five on the right, and five on the left, before the oracle, of refined gold, and the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs, of gold,

and the basins, and the snuffers, and the bowls, and the spoons, and the censers, of refined gold, and the hinges for the doors of the inner-house, for the Holy of Holies, for the doors of the house of the temple, of gold.

And it is complete—all the work that King Solomon has made [for] the house of YHWH, and Solomon brings in the sanctified things of his father David; he has put the silver, and the gold, and the vessels in the treasuries of the house of YHWH.

Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house.

For he built the House of the Forest of Lebanon. Its length was one hundred cubits,(a) its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits, on four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams on the pillars.

It was covered with cedar above over the forty-five beams that were on the pillars, fifteen in a row.

There were beams in three rows, and window was facing window in three ranks.

All the doors and posts were made square with beams; and window was facing window in three ranks.

He made the hall of pillars. Its length was fifty cubits and its width thirty cubits, with a porch before them, and pillars and a threshold before them.

He made the porch of the throne where he was to judge, even the porch of judgment; and it was covered with cedar from floor to floor.

His house where he was to dwell, the other court within the porch, was of the same construction. He made also a house for Pharaoh’s daughter (whom Solomon had taken as wife), like this porch.

All these were of costly stones, even of stone cut according to measure, sawed with saws, inside and outside, even from the foundation to the coping, and so on the outside to the great court.

The foundation was of costly stones, even great stones, stones of ten cubits and stones of eight cubits.

Above were costly stones, even cut stone, according to measure, and cedar wood.

The great court around had three courses of cut stone with a course of cedar beams, like the inner court of the LORD’s house and the porch of the house.

The Pillars and Capitals

(2 Chronicles 3:14–17)

King Solomon sent and brought Hiram out of Tyre.

He was the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze; and he was filled with wisdom and understanding and skill to work all works in bronze. He came to King Solomon and performed all his work.

For he fashioned the two pillars of bronze, eighteen cubits high apiece; and a line of twelve cubits encircled either of them.

He made two capitals of molten bronze to set on the tops of the pillars. The height of the one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits.

There were nets of checker work and wreaths of chain work for the capitals which were on the top of the pillars: seven for the one capital, and seven for the other capital.

So he made the pillars; and there were two rows of pomegranates around the one network, to cover the capitals that were on the top of the pillars; and he did so for the other capital.

The capitals that were on the top of the pillars in the porch were of lily work, four cubits.

There were capitals above also on the two pillars, close by the belly which was beside the network. There were two hundred pomegranates in rows around the other capital.

He set up the pillars at the porch of the temple. He set up the right pillar and called its name Jachin; and he set up the left pillar and called its name Boaz.

On the tops of the pillars was lily work. So the work of the pillars was finished.

The Molten Sea

(2 Chronicles 4:1–5)

He made the molten sea ten cubits from brim to brim, round in shape. Its height was five cubits; and a line of thirty cubits encircled it.

Under its brim around there were buds which encircled it for ten cubits, encircling the sea. The buds 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 hand width thick. Its brim was worked like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily. It held two thousand baths.

The Ten Bronze Stands

He made the ten bases of bronze. The length of one base was four cubits, four cubits its width, and three cubits its height.

The work of the bases was like this: they had panels; and there were panels between the ledges;

and on the panels that were between the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubim; and on the ledges there was a pedestal above; and beneath the lions and oxen were wreaths of hanging work.

Every base had four bronze wheels and axles of bronze; and its four feet had supports. The supports were cast beneath the basin, with wreaths at the side of each.

Its opening within the capital and above was a cubit. Its opening was round like the work of a pedestal, a cubit and a half; and also on its opening were engravings, and their panels were square, not round.

The four wheels were underneath the panels; and the axles of the wheels were in the base. The height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit.

The work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel. Their axles, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all of cast metal.

There were four supports at the four corners of each base. Its supports were of the base itself.

In the top of the base there was a round band half a cubit high; and on the top of the base its supports and its panels were the same.

On the plates of its supports and on its panels, he engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees, each in its space, with wreaths all around.

He made the ten bases in this way: all of them had one casting, one measure, and one form.

The Ten Bronze Basins

(2 Chronicles 4:6–8)

He made ten basins of bronze. One basin contained forty baths.(b) Every basin measured four cubits. One basin was on every one of the ten bases.

He set the bases, five on the right side of the house and five on the left side of the house. He set the sea on the right side of the house eastward and toward the south.

Completion of the Bronze Works

(2 Chronicles 4:11–18)

Hiram made the pots, the shovels, and the basins. So Hiram finished doing all the work that he worked for King Solomon in the LORD’s house:

the two pillars; the two bowls of the capitals that 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;

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;

the ten bases; the ten basins on the bases;

the one sea; the twelve oxen under the sea;

the pots; the shovels; and the basins. All of these vessels, which Hiram made for King Solomon in the LORD’s house, were of burnished bronze.

The king cast them in the plain of the Jordan, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan.

Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because there were so many of them. The weight of the bronze could not be determined.

Completion of the Gold Furnishings

(2 Chronicles 4:19–22)

Solomon made all the vessels that were in the LORD’s house: the golden altar and the table that the show bread was on, of gold;

and the lamp stands, five on the right side and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary, of pure gold; and the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of gold;

the cups, the snuffers, the basins, the spoons, and the fire pans, of pure gold; and the hinges, both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, of the temple, of gold.

Thus all the work that King Solomon did in the LORD’s house was finished. Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated—the silver, the gold, and the vessels—and put them in the treasuries of the LORD’s house.

Footnotes

(a)7:2 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.

(b)7:38 1 bath is one tenth of a cor, or about 5.6 U. S. gallons or 21 liters, so 40 baths was about 224 gallons or 840 liters.