Solomon’s Palace Complex

1Solomon completed his entire palace complex after 13 years of construction.a 2He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon.b It was 150 feetc long, 75 feetd wide, and 45 feete high on four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams on top of the pillars. 3It was paneled above with cedar at the top of the chambers that rested on 45 pillars, 15 per row. 4There were three rows of window frames, facing each otherf in three tiers.g, h 5All the doors and doorposts had rectangular frames, the openings facing each otheri in three tiers.j 6He made the hall of pillars 75 feetk long and 45 feetl wide. A portico was in front of the pillars, and a canopy with pillarsm was in front of them. 7He made the Hall of the Throne where he would judgen — the Hall of Judgment. It was paneled with cedar from the floor to the rafters.o 8Solomon’s own palace where he would live, in the other courtyard behind the hall, was of similar construction. And he made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, his wife.p, q

9All of these buildings were of costly stones, cut to size and sawed with saws on the inner and outer surfaces, from foundation to coping and from the outside to the great courtyard. 10The foundation was made of large, costly stones 12 and 15 feetr long. 11Above were also costly stones, cut to size, as well as cedar wood. 12Around the great courtyard, as well as the inner courtyard of the LORD’s temple and the portico of the temple, were three rows of dressed stone and a row of trimmed cedar beams.s

13King Solomon had Hiramt, u brought from Tyre. 14He was a widow’s son from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a bronze craftsman. Hiram had great skill,v understanding, and knowledge to do every kind of bronze work. So he came to King Solomon and carried out all his work.w

The Bronze Pillars

15He cast two hollow bronze pillars:x each 27 feety high and 18 feetz in circumference.aa, ab 16He also made two capitalsac of cast bronze to set on top of the pillars; 7 ¹/₂ feetad was the height of the first capital, and 7 ¹/₂ feetae was also the height of the second capital. 17The capitals on top of the pillars had gratings of latticework, wreathsaf made of chainwork — seven for the first capital and seven for the second.

18He made the pillars with two encircling rows of pomegranates on the one grating to cover the capital on top; he did the same for the second capital. 19And the capitals on top of the pillars in the portico were shaped like lilies, six feetag high. 20The capitals on the two pillars were also immediately above the rounded surface next to the grating, and 200 pomegranatesah were in rows encircling eachai capital. 21He set up the pillars at the porticoaj of the sanctuary: he set up the right pillar and named it Jachin;ak then he set up the left pillar and named it Boaz.al, am 22The tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. Then the work of the pillars was completed.an

The Reservoir

23He made the cast metal reservoir,ao, ap 15 feetaq from brim to brim, perfectly round. It was 7 ¹/₂ feetar high and 45 feetas in circumference. 24Ornamental gourdsat encircled it below the brim, 10 every half yard,au completely encircling the reservoir.av The gourds were cast in two rows when the reservoir was cast. 25It stood on 12 oxen,aw three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The reservoir was on top of them and all their hindquarters were toward the center. 26The reservoir was three inchesax thick, and its rim was fashioned like the brim of a cup or of a lily blossom. It held 11,000 gallons.ay

The Bronze Water Carts

27Then he made 10 bronze water carts.az, ba Each water cart was six feetbb long, six feetbc wide, and 4 ¹/₂ feetbd high. 28This was the design of the carts: They had frames; the frames were between the cross-pieces, 29and on the frames between the cross-pieces were lions, oxen, and •cherubim.be On the cross-pieces there was a pedestal above, and below the lions and oxen were wreaths of hangingbf work. 30Each cartbg had four bronze wheels with bronze axles. Underneath the four corners of the basin were cast supports, each next to a wreath. 31And the water cart’s opening inside the crown on top was 18 inchesbh wide. The opening was round, made as a pedestal 27 inchesbi wide. On it were carvings, but their frames were square, not round. 32There were four wheels under the frames, and the wheel axles were part of the water cart; each wheel was 27 inchesbj tall. 33The wheels’ design was similar to that of chariot wheels: their axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were all of cast metal. 34Four supports were at the four corners of each water cart; each support was one piece with the water cart. 35At the top of the cart was a band nine inchesbk high encircling it; also, at the top of the cart, its braces and its frames were one piece with it. 36He engraved cherubim, lions, and palm treesbl on the plates of its braces and on its frames, wherever each had space, with encircling wreaths. 37In this way he made the 10 water carts using the same casting, dimensions, and shape for all of them.

Bronze Basins and Other Utensils

38Then he made 10 bronze basinsbm — each basin holding 220 gallonsbn and each was six feetbo wide — one basin for each of the 10 water carts. 39He set five water carts on the right side of the temple and five on the left side. He put the reservoir near the right side of the temple toward the southeast.bp 40Then Hiram madebq the basins, the shovels, and the sprinkling basins.

Completion of the Bronze Works

So Hiram finished all the work that he was doing for King Solomon on the LORD’s temple: 41two pillars;br bowls for the capitals that were on top of the two pillars; the two gratings for covering both bowls of the capitals that were on top of the pillars;bs 42the 400 pomegranates for the two gratings (two rows of pomegranates for each grating covering both capitals’ bowls on top of the pillarsbt); 43the 10 water carts;bu the 10 basins on the water carts;bv 44the reservoir;bw the 12 oxen underneath the reservoir;bx 45and the pots, shovels, and sprinkling basins.by All the utensils that Hiram made for King Solomon at the LORD’s temple were made of burnished bronze. 46The king had them cast in clay molds in the Jordan Valley between Succothbz and Zarethan.ca 47Solomon left all the utensils unweighed because there were so many; the weight of the bronze was not determined.cb

Completion of the Gold Furnishings

48Solomon also made all the equipment in the LORD’s temple: the gold altar; the gold table that the •bread of the Presence was placed on;cc 49the pure gold lampstands in front of the inner sanctuary, five on the right and five on the left;cd the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs; 50the pure gold ceremonial bowls, wick trimmers, sprinkling basins, ladles,ce and firepans;cf and the gold hinges for the doors of the inner temple (that is, the most holy place) and for the doors of the temple sanctuary.

51So all the work King Solomon did in the LORD’s temple was completed.cg Then Solomon brought in the consecrated things of his father Davidch — the silver, the gold, and the utensils — and put them in the treasuries of the LORD’s temple.ci