1 Kings 7
1 But his own house was Solomon building thirteen years, and then he finished all his house.
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 Lebanon: a hundred cubits was its length, and fifty cubits was its breadth, and thirty cubits was its height, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the 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 it was covered with cedar above over the beams, that lay on the forty-five pillars, fifteen in a row.
[To support the roof] there were cedar beams that connected the rows of pillars.
4 And there were window-spaces in three rows, and windows were opposite each other in three ranks.
On each of the two side walls there were three rows of windows.
5 And all the entrances and door-posts formed a square in shape: and windows were opposite windows in three ranks.
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: fifty cubits was its length, and thirty cubits its breadth; and the porch was before them; and the other pillars with an entablature before them.
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 Then he made a porch for the throne where he might judge, the porch of judgment: and it was covered with cedar from one side of the floor to the other.
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 his house where he dwelt in another court within the porch, was of the like work: and Solomon made also a house for Pharaoh's daughter, whom he had taken for wife, like unto 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 these were of heavy stones, hewn after a fixed measure, sawed with the saw inside and outside, even from the foundation unto the coping, and from the outside 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 foundation was of heavy stones, large stones, stones of ten cubits, and stones of 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 were heavy stones, hewn after a fixed measure, and cedars.
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 great court round about was of three rows of hewn stones, and one row of cedar beams, both for the inner court of the house of the Lord, and for 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 fetched Hiram out of 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 He was the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in copper: and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and knowledge, to make every work in copper; and he came to king Solomon, and did all his work.
15 And he cast two pillars of copper, eighteen cubits was the height of the one pillar; and a line of twelve cubits did encompass the second pillar.
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 And he made two capitals, to set upon the tops of the pillars, of molten copper; five cubits was the height of the one capital, and five cubits was the height of the other capital;
He also made two bronze caps to be put on top of the pillars. Each cap was 7-1/2 feet tall.
17 And nets of checker-work, and wreaths of chain-work, for the capitals which were upon the top of the pillars; seven for the one capital, and seven for the other capital.
Then he made bronze wreaths of chains to decorate the top part of each pillar.
18 And he made the pillars, so that two rows of pomegranates were round about upon the one net-work, to cover the capitals that were upon the top: and the same he made for the other capital.
He also made bronze [figures that resembled] pomegranates. He put two rows of pomegranates over the top parts of each pillar.
19 And the capitals, that were upon the top of the pillars, furnished with lily-work, [as] those in the porch, were four cubits.
The top part over each pillar was shaped like a lily. Each [lily leaf] was six feet tall.
20 And the capitals upon the two pillars rose also above, close by the rounding which was on the side of the network: and the pomegranates were two hundred, in rows round about, upon either capital.
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 pillars for the porch of the temple; and he set up the right pillar, and called its name Yachin; and he set up the left pillar, and called its name Boaz.
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 top of the pillars there was lily-work: and so was finished the work of the pillars.
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 And he made the molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other, rounded all about, and it was five cubits in height: and a line of thirty cubits did encompass 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 colocynth-shaped knobs were under its brim round about encompassing it, ten in a cubit, encircling the sea round about: the colocynths were in two rows, and were cast [with it] when it was cast.
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 It was standing upon 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 resting above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward.
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 its thickness was a hand's breadth, and its brim was wrought like the brim of a cup, with lily-buds: it could contain two thousand baths.
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 copper: four cubits was the length of each one base, and four cubits its breadth, and three cubits its height.
Huram also made ten bronze carts. Each was six feet long and six feet wide and 4-1/2 feet tall.
28 And this was the workmanship of the bases: They had borders, and the borders were between the corner ledges;
[On the sides of the carts] there were panels which were set in frames.
29 And on the borders that were between the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubim; and upon the corner ledges it was thus also above; and likewise beneath the lions and oxen were pendant wreaths of plated work.
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 copper wheels, and axles of copper; and its four corners had undersetters; under the laver were the undersetters cast on; at the side of each were pendants.
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 And its mouth was within the capital and above a cubit in height; but the mouth of this was rounded after the work of the base, a cubit and a half cubit; and also upon its mouth were carvings; and their borders were square, not rounded.
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 were under the borders; and the axletrees of the wheels were joined to the base: and the height of each one wheel was a cubit and a half cubit.
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 the workmanship of the wheels was like the workmanship of a chariot-wheel: their axletrees, and their naves, and their felloes, and their spokes, were all cast.
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 there were four undersetters to the four corners of each one base; the undersetters were of one piece with the base itself.
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 on the top of the base was a rounded compass of half a cubit high: and on the top of the base were its side-ledges; and its borders were of one piece with 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 And he engraved on the plates of its side-ledges and on its borders, cherubim, lions, and palm-trees: and in the open space of every one were pendant wreaths 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 did he make the ten bases: one casting, one measure, one form, was there for all of them.
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 Then made he ten lavers of copper; forty baths could each one laver contain; every laver was four cubits: each one laver was upon each one base of the ten bases.
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 put the bases, five on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house: and the sea he set on the right side of the house eastward opposite the south.
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 the lavers, and the shovels, and the basins; so Hiram made an end of doing all the work that he made for king Solomon for the house 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 bowl-shaped capitals that were on the top of the two pillars; and the two net-works, to cover the two bowl-shaped capitals which 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 the four hundred pomegranates for the two net-works, two rows of pomegranates for each one net-work, to cover the two bowl-shaped, capitals that were upon the front 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 upon the bases;
the ten carts; the ten basins;
44 And the one sea, and the twelve oxen under the sea;
the big tank; the twelve [statues of] oxen on whose backs the tank was placed;
45 And the pots, and the shovels, and the basins; and all these vessels, which Hiram had made for king Solomon for the house of the Lord, were of polished copper.
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 plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay-ground between Succoth and Zarethan.
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 set down all the vessels [unweighed], because they were exceedingly many: the weight of the copper was not inquired into.
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 that pertained unto the house of the Lord: The altar of gold, and the table whereupon the show-bread was, of gold,
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 candlesticks, five on the right side, and five on the left, before the debir, of pure gold, with the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs of gold,
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 the bowls, and the knives, and the basins, and the spoons, and the censers of pure gold; and the hinges, for the doors of the inner house, for the holy of holies, for the doors of the house, and for 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 so was ended all the work that king Solomon made for the house of the Lord: and Solomon brought in the things sanctified by David his father, the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, [and] he placed [these] in the treasuries 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.
