Solomon’s Palace

1Now Solomon built his own house over the course of thirteen years, and he finished all of his house. 2He built the house of the timber from Lebanon; its length was [a]a hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits, on four rows of cedar pillars with cedar beams on the pillars. 3And it was paneled with cedar above the side chambers which were on the forty-five pillars, fifteen in each row. 4There were artistic window frames in three rows, and window was opposite window at three [b]intervals. 5And all the doorways and doorposts had squared artistic frames, and window was opposite window at three [c]intervals.

6Then he made the hall of pillars; its length was [d]fifty cubits and its width thirty cubits, and a porch was in front of them and pillars and a threshold in front of them.

7And he made the hall of the throne where he was to judge, the hall of judgment, and it was paneled with cedar from floor to floor.

8And his house where he was to live, the other courtyard inward from the hall, was of this same workmanship. He also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom Solomon had married.

9All of these were made of valuable stones, of stone cut according to measure, sawed with saws, inside and outside; even from the foundation to the [e]coping, and from the outside to the large courtyard.

10And the foundation was of valuable stones, large stones, stones of [f]ten cubits and stones of eight cubits. 11And above were valuable stones, cut according to measure, and cedar. 12So the large courtyard all around had three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams as well as the inner courtyard of the house of the LORD, and the porch of the house.

Hiram’s Work in the Temple

13Now King Solomon sent word and had Hiram brought from Tyre. 14He was a widow’s son from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, an artisan in bronze; and he was filled with wisdom, skill, and knowledge for doing any work in bronze. So he came to King Solomon and performed all his work.

15He fashioned the two pillars of bronze; [g]eighteen cubits was the height of [h]each pillar, and a line of [i]twelve cubits [j]measured the circumference of both. 16He also made two capitals of cast bronze to put on the tops of the pillars; the height of the one capital was [k]five cubits and the height of the other capital was [l]five cubits. 17There were lattices of latticework and wreaths of chainwork for the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; seven for the one capital and seven for the other capital. 18So he made the pillars, and two rows around on the one lattice to cover the capitals which were on the top of the pomegranates; and so he did for the other capital. 19The capitals which were on the tops of the pillars in the porch were of lily design, four cubits. 20So there were capitals on the two pillars, also above and close to the [m]rounded projection which was beside the lattice; and the pomegranates totaled two hundred in rows around [n]both capitals. 21And he set up the pillars at the porch of the [o]main room: he set up the right pillar and named it [p]Jachin, and he set up the left pillar and named it [q]Boaz. 22On the top of the pillars was the lily design. So the work of the pillars was finished.

23He also he made the [r]Sea of cast metal [s]ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in shape, and its height was five cubits, and [t]it was [u]thirty cubits in circumference. 24Under its brim gourds went around encircling it ten to a cubit, completely surrounding the Sea; the gourds were in two rows, cast [v]with the rest. 25It was standing on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east; and the Sea was set on top of them, and all their rear parts turned inward. 26And it was a [w]hand width thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom; it could hold [x]two thousand baths.

27Then he made the ten stands of bronze; the length of each stand was [y]four cubits, its width four cubits, and its height was three cubits. 28This was the design of the stands: they had borders, that is, borders between the crossbars, 29and on the borders which were between the crossbars were lions, oxen, and cherubim; and on the crossbars there was a pedestal above, and beneath the lions and oxen were wreaths of hanging work. 30Now each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles, and its four feet had supports; beneath the basin were cast supports with wreaths at each side. 31And its opening inside the crown at the top was a [z]cubit, and its opening was round like the design of a pedestal, a cubit and a half; and on its opening also there were engravings, and their borders were square, not round. 32The four wheels were underneath the borders, and the axles of the wheels were on the stand. And the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half. 33The workmanship of the wheels was like the workmanship of a chariot wheel. Their axles, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all cast. 34Now there were four supports at the four corners of each stand; its supports were part of the stand itself. 35And on the top of the stand there was a circular form [aa]half a cubit high, and on the top of the stand its [ab]stays and its borders were part of it. 36And he engraved on the plates of its stays and on its borders cherubim, lions, and palm trees, as there was clear space on each, with wreaths all around. 37He made the ten stands like this: all of them had the [ac]same casting, [ad]same measure, and [ae]same form.

38And he made ten basins of bronze, [af]each holding [ag]forty baths; each basin was [ah]four cubits, and on each of the ten stands was one basin. 39Then he placed the stands, five on the right side of the house and five on the left side of the house; and he set the [ai]Sea of cast metal on the right side of the house eastward toward the south.

40Now Hiram made the basins and the shovels and the bowls. So Hiram finished doing all the work which he performed for King Solomon in the house of the LORD: 41the two pillars and the two bowls of the capitals which were on the top of the two pillars, and the two lattices to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; 42and the four hundred pomegranates for the two lattices, two rows of pomegranates for each lattice to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the tops of the pillars; 43and the ten stands with the ten basins on the stands; 44and the one [aj]Sea and the twelve oxen under the Sea; 45and the buckets, the shovels, and the bowls; indeed, all these utensils which Hiram made for King Solomon in the house of the LORD were of polished bronze. 46The king had them cast in the plain of the Jordan, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan. 47However, Solomon left all the utensils unweighed, because they were too many; the weight of the bronze could not be determined.

48Solomon also made all the furniture that was in the house of the LORD: the golden altar and the golden table on which was set the bread of the Presence; 49and the lampstands of pure gold, five on the right side and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary; and the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of gold; 50also the cups, the [ak]shears, the bowls, the ladles, and the firepans, 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, that is, for the main room, of gold.

51So all the work that King Solomon performed in the house of the LORD was finished. And Solomon brought in the offerings vowed by his father David, the silver and the gold and the utensils, and he put them in the treasuries of the house of the LORD.

[a] 2 About 150 ft. long, 75 wide, and 45 high or 46 m long, 23 wide, and 14 high;
[b] 4 Lit paces
[c] 5 Lit paces
[d] 6 About 75 ft. long and 45 ft. wide or 23 m long and 7 m wide
[e] 9 I.e., top sloping course of stone
[f] 10 About 15 and 12 ft. or 4.5 and 3.7 m
[g] 15 About 27 ft. or 8 m
[h] 15 Lit the one
[i] 15 About 18 ft. or 5.5 m
[j] 15 Lit went around the other pillar
[k] 16 About 7.5 ft. or 2.3 m
[l] 16 About 7.5 ft. or 2.3 m
[m] 20 Lit belly
[n] 20 Lit on the other capital
[o] 21 Lit sanctuary
[p] 21 I.e., he shall establish
[q] 21 I.e., in it is strength
[r] 23 I.e., large basin
[s] 23 About 15 ft. in diameter and 7.5 ft. high or 4.6 m and 2.3 m high
[t] 23 Lit a line of 30 cubits went around it all around;
[u] 23 About 45 ft. or 14 m
[v] 24 Lit in its casting
[w] 26 About 3 in. or 7.6 cm
[x] 26 About 12,000 gallons or 45,424 liters
[y] 27 About 6 ft. long and wide and 4.5 ft. high or 1.8 m and 1.4 m
[z] 31 About 18 in. or 45 cm
[aa] 35 About 9 in. or 23 cm
[ab] 35 Lit hands
[ac] 37 Lit one
[ad] 37 Lit one
[ae] 37 Lit one
[af] 38 Lit the one basin held
[ag] 38 About 240 gallons or 908 liters
[ah] 38 About 6 ft. or 1.8 m
[ai] 39 I.e., large basin
[aj] 44 I.e., large basin
[ak] 50 I.e., a tool to trim wicks