New Living Translation

English Standard Version

1Solomon also built a palace for himself, and it took him thirteen years to complete the construction.

1Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished his entire house.

2One of Solomon’s buildings was called the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. It was 150 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. There were four rows of cedar pillars, and great cedar beams rested on the pillars.

2He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon. Its length was a hundred cubits and its breadth fifty cubits and its height thirty cubits, and it was built on four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams on the pillars.

3The hall had a cedar roof. Above the beams on the pillars were forty-five side rooms, arranged in three tiers of fifteen each.

3And it was covered with cedar above the chambers that were on the forty-five pillars, fifteen in each row.

4On each end of the long hall were three rows of windows facing each other.

4There were window frames in three rows, and window opposite window in three tiers.

5All the doorways and doorposts had rectangular frames and were arranged in sets of three, facing each other.

5All the doorways and windows had square frames, and window was opposite window in three tiers.

6Solomon also built the Hall of Pillars, which was 75 feet long and 45 feet wide. There was a porch in front, along with a canopy supported by pillars.

6And he made the Hall of Pillars; its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth thirty cubits. There was a porch in front with pillars, and a canopy in front of them.

7Solomon also built the throne room, known as the Hall of Justice, where he sat to hear legal matters. It was paneled with cedar from floor to ceiling.

7And he made the Hall of the Throne where he was to pronounce judgment, even the Hall of Judgment. It was finished with cedar from floor to rafters.

8Solomon’s living quarters surrounded a courtyard behind this hall, and they were constructed the same way. He also built similar living quarters for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had married.

8His own house where he was to dwell, in the other court back of the hall, was of like workmanship. Solomon also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter whom he had taken in marriage.

9From foundation to eaves, all these buildings were built from huge blocks of high-quality stone, cut with saws and trimmed to exact measure on all sides.

9All these were made of costly stones, cut according to measure, sawed with saws, back and front, even from the foundation to the coping, and from the outside to the great court.

10Some of the huge foundation stones were 15 feet long, and some were 12 feet long.

10The foundation was of costly stones, huge stones, stones of eight and ten cubits.

11The blocks of high-quality stone used in the walls were also cut to measure, and cedar beams were also used.

11And above were costly stones, cut according to measurement, and cedar.

12The walls of the great courtyard were built so that there was one layer of cedar beams between every three layers of finished stone, just like the walls of the inner courtyard of the LORD’s Temple with its entry room. Furnishings for the Temple

12The great court had three courses of cut stone all around, and a course of cedar beams; so had the inner court of the house of the LORD and the vestibule of the house.

13King Solomon then asked for a man named Huram to come from Tyre.

13And King Solomon sent and brought Hiram from Tyre.

14He was half Israelite, since his mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father had been a craftsman in bronze from Tyre. Huram was extremely skillful and talented in any work in bronze, and he came to do all the metal work for King Solomon.

14He 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 full of wisdom, understanding, and skill for making any work in bronze. He came to King Solomon and did all his work.

15Huram cast two bronze pillars, each 27 feet tall and 18 feet in circumference.

15He cast two pillars of bronze. Eighteen cubits was the height of one pillar, and a line of twelve cubits measured its circumference. It was hollow, and its thickness was four fingers. The second pillar was the same.

16For the tops of the pillars he cast bronze capitals, each 7 1/2 feet tall.

16He also made two capitals of cast 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.

17Each capital was decorated with seven sets of latticework and interwoven chains.

17There were lattices of checker work with wreaths of chain work for the capitals on the tops of the pillars, a lattice for the one capital and a lattice for the other capital.

18He also encircled the latticework with two rows of pomegranates to decorate the capitals over the pillars.

18Likewise he made pomegranates in two rows around the one latticework to cover the capital that was on the top of the pillar, and he did the same with the other capital.

19The capitals on the columns inside the entry room were shaped like water lilies, and they were six feet tall.

19Now the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars in the vestibule were of lily-work, four cubits.

20The capitals on the two pillars had 200 pomegranates in two rows around them, beside the rounded surface next to the latticework.

20The capitals were on the two pillars and also above the rounded projection which was beside the latticework. There were two hundred pomegranates in two rows all around, and so with the other capital.

21Huram set the pillars at the entrance of the Temple, one toward the south and one toward the north. He named the one on the south Jakin, and the one on the north Boaz.

21He set up the pillars at the vestibule of the temple. He set up the pillar on the south and called its name Jachin, and he set up the pillar on the north and called its name Boaz.

22The capitals on the pillars were shaped like water lilies. And so the work on the pillars was finished.

22And on the tops of the pillars was lily-work. Thus the work of the pillars was finished.

23Then Huram cast a great round basin, 15 feet across from rim to rim, called the Sea. It was 7 1/2 feet deep and about 45 feet in circumference.

23Then he made the sea of cast metal. It was round, ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits high, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference.

24It was encircled just below its rim by two rows of decorative gourds. There were about six gourds per foot all the way around, and they were cast as part of the basin.

24Under its brim were gourds, for ten cubits, compassing the sea all around. The gourds were in two rows, cast with it when it was cast.

25The Sea was placed on a base of twelve bronze oxen, all facing outward. Three faced north, three faced west, three faced south, and three faced east, and the Sea rested on them.

25It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The sea was set on them, and all their rear parts were inward.

26The walls of the Sea were about three inches thick, and its rim flared out like a cup and resembled a water lily blossom. It could hold about 11,000 gallons of water.

26Its thickness was a handbreadth, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily. It held two thousand baths.

27Huram also made ten bronze water carts, each 6 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 4 1/2 feet tall.

27He also made the ten stands of bronze. Each stand was four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high.

28They were constructed with side panels braced with crossbars.

28This was the construction of the stands: they had panels, and the panels were set in the frames,

29Both the panels and the crossbars were decorated with carved lions, oxen, and cherubim. Above and below the lions and oxen were wreath decorations.

29and on the panels that were set in the frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim. On the frames, both above and below the lions and oxen, there were wreaths of beveled work.

30Each of these carts had four bronze wheels and bronze axles. There were supporting posts for the bronze basins at the corners of the carts; these supports were decorated on each side with carvings of wreaths.

30Moreover, each stand had four bronze wheels and axles of bronze, and at the four corners were supports for a basin. The supports were cast with wreaths at the side of each.

31The top of each cart had a rounded frame for the basin. It projected 1 1/2 feet above the cart’s top like a round pedestal, and its opening was 2 1/4 feet across; it was decorated on the outside with carvings of wreaths. The panels of the carts were square, not round.

31Its opening was within a crown that projected upward one cubit. Its opening was round, as a pedestal is made, a cubit and a half deep. At its opening there were carvings, and its panels were square, not round.

32Under the panels were four wheels that were connected to axles that had been cast as one unit with the cart. The wheels were 2 1/4 feet in diameter

32And the four wheels were underneath the panels. The axles of the wheels were of one piece with the stands, and the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half.

33and were similar to chariot wheels. The axles, spokes, rims, and hubs were all cast from molten bronze.

33The wheels were made like a chariot wheel; their axles, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all cast.

34There were handles at each of the four corners of the carts, and these, too, were cast as one unit with the cart.

34There were four supports at the four corners of each stand. The supports were of one piece with the stands.

35Around the top of each cart was a rim nine inches wide. The corner supports and side panels were cast as one unit with the cart.

35And on the top of the stand there was a round band half a cubit high; and on the top of the stand its stays and its panels were of one piece with it.

36Carvings of cherubim, lions, and palm trees decorated the panels and corner supports wherever there was room, and there were wreaths all around.

36And on the surfaces of its stays and on its panels, he carved cherubim, lions, and palm trees, according to the space of each, with wreaths all around.

37All ten water carts were the same size and were made alike, for each was cast from the same mold.

37After this manner he made the ten stands. All of them were cast alike, of the same measure and the same form.

38Huram also made ten smaller bronze basins, one for each cart. Each basin was six feet across and could hold 220 gallons of water.

38And he made ten basins of bronze. Each basin held forty baths, each basin measured four cubits, and there was a basin for each of the ten stands.

39He set five water carts on the south side of the Temple and five on the north side. The great bronze basin called the Sea was placed near the southeast corner of the Temple.

39And he set the stands, five on the south side of the house, and five on the north side of the house. And he set the sea at the southeast corner of the house.

40He also made the necessary washbasins, shovels, and bowls. So at last Huram completed everything King Solomon had assigned him to make for the Temple of the LORD:

40Hiram also made the pots, the shovels, and the basins. So Hiram finished all the work that he did for King Solomon on the house of the LORD:

41the two pillars; the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars; the two networks of interwoven chains that decorated the capitals;

41the two pillars, the two bowls of the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars, and the two latticeworks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars;

42the 400 pomegranates that hung from the chains on the capitals (two rows of pomegranates for each of the chain networks that decorated the capitals on top of the pillars);

42and the four hundred pomegranates for the two latticeworks, two rows of pomegranates for each latticework, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the pillars;

43the ten water carts holding the ten basins;

43the ten stands, and the ten basins on the stands;

44the Sea and the twelve oxen under it;

44and the one sea, and the twelve oxen underneath the sea.

45the ash buckets, the shovels, and the bowls. Huram made all these things of burnished bronze for the Temple of the LORD, just as King Solomon had directed.

45Now the pots, the shovels, and the basins, all these vessels in the house of the LORD, which Hiram made for King Solomon, were of burnished bronze.

46The king had them cast in clay molds in the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zarethan.

46In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan.

47Solomon did not weigh all these things because there were so many; the weight of the bronze could not be measured.

47And Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because there were so many of them; the weight of the bronze was not ascertained.

48Solomon also made all the furnishings of the Temple of the LORD: the gold altar; the gold table for the Bread of the Presence;

48So Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of the LORD: the golden altar, the golden table for the bread of the Presence,

49the lampstands of solid gold, five on the south and five on the north, in front of the Most Holy Place; the flower decorations, lamps, and tongs—all of gold;

49the lampstands of pure gold, five on the south side and five on the north, before the inner sanctuary; the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of gold;

50the small bowls, lamp snuffers, bowls, ladles, and incense burners—all of solid gold; the doors for the entrances to the Most Holy Place and the main room of the Temple, with their fronts overlaid with gold.

50the cups, snuffers, basins, dishes for incense, and fire pans, of pure gold; and the sockets of gold, for the doors of the innermost part of the house, the Most Holy Place, and for the doors of the nave of the temple.

51So King Solomon finished all his work on the Temple of the LORD. Then he brought all the gifts his father, David, had dedicated—the silver, the gold, and the various articles—and he stored them in the treasuries of the LORD’s Temple.

51Thus all the work that King Solomon did on the house of the LORD was finished. And Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated, the silver, the gold, and the vessels, and stored them in the treasuries of the house of the LORD.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.