1 Kings 7
1 And Solomon built his own house in thirteen years, and brought it to perfection.
They also built a palace for Solomon, but it required 13 years to build it.
2 He built also the house of the forest of Libanus, the length of it was a hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty cubits, and the height thirty cubits: and four galleries between pillars of cedar: for he had cut cedar trees into pillars.
One of the buildings they constructed was [a] large [ceremonial hall]. It was called the Hall of the Forest of Lebanon. It was 150 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. It was supported/held up by four rows of pillars of [wood from] cedar [trees]. There were 15 pillars in each row. There were cedar beams across each row.
3 And he covered the whole vault with boards of cedar, and it was held up with five and forty pillars. And one row had fifteen pillars,
[To support the roof] there were cedar beams that connected the rows of pillars.
4 Set one against another,
On each of the two side walls there were three rows of windows.
5 And looking one upon another, with equal space between the pillars, and over the pillars were square beams in all things equal.
All the windows and doorways had rectangular frames. The windows along the long wall on one side faced the windows on the other side.
6 And he made a porch of pillars of fifty cubits in length, and thirty cubits in breadth: and another porch before the greater porch: and pillars, and chapiters upon the pillars.
They also built another building called the Hall of Pillars. It was 75 feet long and 45 feet wide. It had a covered porch [whose roof was] supported by pillars.
7 He made also the porch of the throne, wherein is the seat of judgment: and covered it with cedar wood from the floor to the top.
Then they made a building called the Hall of the Throne. It was also called the Hall of Judgment. That was where Solomon decided/judged concerning people’s disputes. The walls were covered with cedar boards, from the floor to the rafters.
8 And in the midst of the porch, was a small house where he sat in judgment, of the like work. He made also a house for the daughter of Pharao (whom Solomon had taken to wife) of the same work, as this porch,
In the courtyard behind the Hall of Judgment they built a house for Solomon to live in that was made like the other buildings. They also built the same kind of house for his wife, who was the daughter of the king of Egypt.
9 All of costly stones, which were sawed by a certain rule and measure both within and without: from the foundation to the top of the walls, and without unto the great court.
All of those buildings and the walls around the palace courtyard were made from costly blocks of stone, from the foundations up to the eaves. The stones were cut [at the quarry], according to the sizes that were needed, and the sides of the stones were shaped by cutting/smoothing them with saws.
10 And the foundations were of costly stones, great stones of ten cubits or eight cubits:
The foundations were also made from huge blocks of stone [that were prepared at the quarry]. Some of them were twelve feet long and some were fifteen feet long.
11 And above there were costly stones, or equal measure, hewed; and, in like manner, planks of cedar:
On top of the foundation stones were other blocks of stone that were cut according to the sizes they needed, and cedar beams.
12 And the greater court was made round with three rows of hewed stones, and one row of planks of cedar, moreover also in the inner court of the house of the Lord, and in the porch of the house.
The palace courtyard, the inner courtyard in front of the temple, and the entrance room of the temple had walls made by putting down three layers of cut stones between each layer of cedar beams.
13 And king Solomon sent, and brought Hiram from Tyre,
There was a man who lived in Tyre [city] whose name was Huram. He knew how to make very nice things from bronze. His father had also lived in Tyre and had also been very skilled at making things from bronze, but Huram’s father was no longer living. His mother was from the tribe of Naphtali. Huram was very wise and intelligent and was very skilled at making things from bronze. Solomon invited him to come [to Jerusalem and supervise] all the work of making things from bronze, and Huram agreed.
14 The son of a widow woman of the tribe of Nephtali, whose father was a Tyrian, an artificer in brass, and full of wisdom, and understanding, and skill to work all work in brass. And when he was come to king Solomon, he wrought all his work.
15 And he cast two pillars in brass, each pillar was eighteen cubits high: and a line of twelve cubits compassed both the pillars.
He made two bronze pillars. Each one was 27 feet tall and 18 feet around. Each was hollow, and the walls of the pillars were 3 in./7.4 cm. thick.
16 He made also two chapiters of molten brass, to be set upon the tops of the pillars: the height of one chapiter was five cubits, and the height of the other chapiter was five cubits:
He also made two bronze caps to be put on top of the pillars. Each cap was 7-1/2 feet tall.
17 And a kind of network, and chain work wreathed together with wonderful art. Both the chapiters of the pillars were cast: seven rows of nets were on one chapiter, and seven nets on the other chapiter.
Then he made bronze wreaths of chains to decorate the top part of each pillar.
18 And he made the pillars, and two rows round about each network to cover the chapiters, that were upon the top, with pomegranates: and in like manner did he to the other chapiter.
He also made bronze [figures that resembled] pomegranates. He put two rows of pomegranates over the top parts of each pillar.
19 And the chapiters that were upon the top of the pillars, were of lily work in the porch, of four cubits.
The top part over each pillar was shaped like a lily. Each [lily leaf] was six feet tall.
20 And again other chapiters in the top of the pillars above, according to the measure of the pillar over against the network: and of pomegranates there were two hundred in rows round about the other chapiter.
These top parts were placed on a bowl-shaped section around which was draped the wreaths of chains. He made 200 [figures that represented] pomegranates and put them in two rows around the top/head of each pillar.
21 And he set up the two pillars in the porch of the temple: and when he had set up the pillar on the right hand, he called the name thereof Jachin: in like manner he set up the second pillar, and called the name thereof Booz.
His [helpers] set up the pillars in front of the entrance of the temple. The pillar on the south side was named Jakin, and the pillar on the north side was named Boaz.
22 And upon the tops of the pillars he made lily work: so the work of the pillars was finished.
The bronze top parts that were shaped like lilies were placed on top of the pillars. So Huram and his helpers finished making the bronze pillars.
23 He made also a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round all about; the height of it was five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits compassed it round about.
Huram also constructed a very large round bronze tank that was made of metal and cast [in a clay mold]. It was 7-1/2 ft./2.3 meters high, 30 feet/9 meters across/wide, and 45 feet/13.5 meters around it.
24 And a graven work under the brim of it compassed it, for ten cubits going about the sea: there were two rows cast of chamfered sculptures.
Around the outer edge of the rim of the tank were two rows of gourds that were made of bronze. [But] the gourds [were not cast separately; they] were cast in the same mold as the rest of the tank. For each foot of length around the rim of the tank there were six [figures of] gourds.
25 And it stood upon twelve oxen, of which three looked towards the north, and three towards the west, and three towards the south, and three towards the east, and the sea was above upon them, and their hinder parts were all hid within.
Huram [also cast] twelve [bronze statues of] oxen. He placed them to face outward. He placed three of them to face north, three to face west, three to face south, and three to face east. His helpers put the bronze tank on the backs of [the statues of] the oxen.
26 And the laver was a handbreadth thick: and the brim thereof was like the brim of a cup, or the leaf of a crisped lily: it contained two thousand bates.
The sides [of the tank] were 3 in./8 cm. thick. The rim was like the rim of a cup. It [curved outward, ] like the petals of a lily. [When the tank was full, ] it held about 10,000 gallons [of water].
27 And he made ten bases of brass, every base was four cubits in length, and four cubits in breadth, and three cubits high.
Huram also made ten bronze carts. Each was six feet long and six feet wide and 4-1/2 feet tall.
28 And the work itself of the bases, was intergraven: and there were gravings between the joinings.
[On the sides of the carts] there were panels which were set in frames.
29 And between the little crowns and the ledges were lions, and oxen, and cherubims: and in the joinings likewise above: and under the lions and oxen, as it were bands of brass hanging down.
On those panels were [bronze figures of] lions, bulls, and winged creatures. Below and above the lions and bulls there were decorations of bronze wreaths.
30 And every base had four wheels, and axletrees of brass: and at the four sides were undersetters under the laver molten, looking one against another.
Each cart had four bronze wheels and two axles made of bronze. At the top corners of each cart were bronze supports to hold up a basin. On these supports were also decorations of bronze wreaths.
31 The mouth also of the laver within, was in the top of the chapiter: and that which appeared without, was of one cubit all round, and together it was one cubit and a half: and in the corners of the pillars were divers engravings: and the spaces between the pillars were square, not round.
On top of each cart, [under each basin, ] was a frame [that resembled] a circular collar. The top of each circular frame was 18 inches above the top of the cart, and the bottom of it was nine inches below the top of the cart. There were also decorations of bronze wreaths on the frame engraved within square panels.
32 And the four wheels, which were at the four corners of the base, were joined one to another under the base: the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half.
The wheels were 27 inches high. They were below the panels. The wheels were connected to axles that had been cast in the same mold as the rest of the cart.
33 And they were such wheels as are used to be made in a chariot: and their axletrees, and spokes, and strakes, and naves, were all east.
The wheels of the carts were like the wheels of chariots. The axles, the rims, the spokes, and the hubs were all cast [from bronze].
34 And the four undersetters that were at every corner of each base, were of the base itself cast and joined together.
At the top corners of each cart there were handles. These were cast in the same mold as the rest of the cart.
35 And in the top of the base there was a round compass of half a cubit, so wrought that the laver might be set thereon, having its gravings, and divers sculptures of itself.
There was a nine-inch bronze band around the top of each cart. There were braces attached to the corners of each cart. The bands and the braces were cast in the same mold as the rest of the cart.
36 He engraved also in those plates, which were of brass. and in the corners, cherubims, and lions, and palm trees, in likeness of a man standing, so that they seemed not to be engraven, but added round about.
The braces and the panels [on the sides of the carts] were also decorated with [figures of] winged creatures, lions, and palm trees, whenever there was space for them, and there were bronze wreaths all around them.
37 After this manner he made ten bases, of one casting and measure, and the like graving.
That is how Huram made the ten carts. They [were all cast in the same mold, so they] were all alike: They all were the same size and had the same shape.
38 He made also ten lavers of brass: one laver contained four bases, and was of four cubits: and upon every base, in all ten, he put as many lavers.
Huram also made ten bronze basins, one for each cart. Each basin was six feet across and held 200 gallons [of water].
39 And he set the ten bases, five on the right side of the temple, and five on the left: and the sea he put on the right side of the temple over against the east southward.
Huram placed five of the carts on the south side of the temple and five on the north side. He put the big tank at the southeast corner.
40 And Hiram made caldrons, and shovels, and basins, and finished all the work of king Solomon in the temple of the Lord.
Huram also made pots, shovels [for carrying ashes], and bowls [for carrying the blood of the animals that would be sacrificed]. He completed all the work that King Solomon requested him to do for the temple. [This is a list of the bronze things he made]:
41 The two pillars and the two cords of the chapiters, upon the chapiters of the pillars: and the two networks, to cover the two cords, that were upon the top of the pillars.
the two pillars; the two top parts to be put over the pillars; the two wreaths of chains to decorate the tops of the pillars;
42 And four hundred pomegranates for the two networks: two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the cords of the chapiters, which were upon the tops of the pillars.
the 400 [figures of] pomegranates, in two rows, with 100 in each row, that were placed over the top parts of the pillars;
43 And the ten bases, and the ten lavers on the bases.
the ten carts; the ten basins;
44 And one sea, and twelve oxen under the sea.
the big tank; the twelve [statues of] oxen on whose backs the tank was placed;
45 And the caldrons, and the shovels, and the basins. All the vessels that Hiram made for king Solomon for the house of the Lord, were of fine brass.
the pots, shovels [for the ashes of the altar], and bowls. Huram [and his workers] made all these things for King Solomon and put them outside the temple. They were all made of polished bronze.
46 In the plains of the Jordan did the king cast them in a clay ground, between Socoth and Sartham.
They made them by pouring melted bronze into the clay molds that Huram had set up near the Jordan [River] Valley, between [the cities of] Succoth and Zarethan.
47 And Solomon placed all the vessels: but for exceeding great multitude the brass could not be weighed.
Solomon did not [tell his workers to] weigh those bronze objects, because there were many items. So no one ever knew what they weighed.
48 And Solomon made all the vessels for the house of the Lord: the altar of gold, and the table of gold, upon which the leaves of proposition should be set:
Solomon’s [workers] also made all the gold items for the temple: the altar; the table on which the priests put the sacred bread placed before God;
49 And the golden candlesticks, five on the right hand, and five on the left, over against the oracle, of pure gold: and the flowers like lilies, and the lamps over them of gold: and golden snuffers,
the ten lampstands [that were put] in front of the Very Holy Place, five on the south side and five on the north side; the [decorations that resembled] flowers; the lamps; the tongs [to grasp the hot coals];
50 And pots, and fleshhooks, and bowls, and mortars, and censers, of most pure gold: and the hinges for the doors of the inner house of the holy of holies, and for the doors of the house of the temple were of gold.
the cups, the gold lamp wick snuffers, the small lamp bowls, the dishes for incense, the pans [for carrying the hot coals], and the hinges for the doors at the entrance to the Very Holy Place and for the doors at the entrance [to the main room] of the temple. Those things were all made of gold.
51 And Solomon finished all the work that he made in the house of the Lord, and brought in the things that David his father had dedicated, the silver and the gold, and the vessels, and laid them up in the treasures of the house of the Lord.
So Solomon’s [workers] finished all the work for the temple. Then they placed in the temple storerooms all the things that his father David had dedicated to Yahweh—all the silver and gold, and the other valuable items.
