1 Kings 7
1 But, his own house, was Solomon thirteen years in building, —so he finished all his house.
They also built a palace for Solomon, but it required 13 years to build it.
2 Yea he built the house of the forest of Lebanon, a hundred cubits, the length thereof, and, fifty cubits, the breadth thereof, and, thirty cubits, the height thereof, —upon four rows of pillars of cedar, with beams of cedar, 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 upon the joists, that were on 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 light over against light, three times.
On each of the two side walls there were three rows of windows.
5 And, all the openings and the posts, were square in their frame, —and light was over against light, three times.
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, a porch of pillars, made he, fifty cubits, in length, and, thirty cubits, in breadth, —and, a porch, was on the one front of them, and pillars and threshold, were on the other front of 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 And, a porch for the throne, where he should judge, even the porch of judgment, made he, and it was wainscotted with cedar, from floor to ceiling.
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 own house where he should dwell, in the other court within the porch, was, of like workmanship unto this, —a house also, made he, for the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Solomon had taken [to wife], in a similar 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 costly stones, after the dimensions of hewn stones, sawn with saws, within and without, —even from the foundation, unto the coping, and without as far as 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 costly 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 costly stones, after the dimensions of hewn stone, and 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 great court round about, was of three rows of hewn stone, and a row of beams of cedar, —both to the inner court of the house of Yahweh, and to 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 son of a widow woman, was he of the tribe of Naphtali, but, his father, was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze, and he was filled with wisdom, and discernment, and knowledge, for executing all manner of work in bronze, —so he came unto King Solomon, and executed all his work.
15 And he cast two pillars of bronze, —eighteen cubits, the height of each pillar, and, a line of twelve cubits, would surround 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, two capitals, made he, to set upon the tops of the pillars, of molten bronze, —five cubits, was the height of the one capital, and, five cubits, 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 with a frame of checker work, 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 So he made the pillars, —and, two rows round about, upon the one frame of checker work, covering the capitals which were upon the top with pomegranates, thus also, did he 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 which were upon the top of the pillars, were of lily work, in span, four cubits.
The top part over each pillar was shaped like a lily. Each [lily leaf] was six feet tall.
20 And there were capitals upon the two pillars, above also, close by the belly, which was beside the checker work, —and there were two hundred pomegranates, 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 So he reared the pillars for the porch of the temple, —yea he reared the right pillar, and called the name thereof Jachin, and reared the left pillar, and called the name thereof, 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, was lily work, —which gave finish to 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 a molten sea, —ten cubits from the one brim to the other, it was round all about, and, five cubits, was the height thereof, and, a line of thirty cubits, would 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, colocynths, were under the brim thereof round about, encompassing it, ten in a cubit, encircling the sea, round about, —two rows of colocynths, made in the casting thereof:
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 standing upon twelve oxen, three looking northward, and three looking westward, and three looking southward, and three looking eastward, the sea, being upon them above, —all their hinder parts, being, 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, the thickness thereof, was a hand breadth, and, the brim thereof, was like the brim-work of a cup, of lily-blossoms, —two thousand baths, did it contain.
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 stands of bronze, —four cubits, the length of each stand, and, four cubits, the breadth thereof, and, three cubits, the height thereof.
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 work of the stand, there were, side walls, to them, —and, the side-walls, were between joining ledges;
[On the sides of the carts] there were panels which were set in frames.
29 and, upon the side-walls which were between the ledges, were lions, oxen, and cherubim, and, upon the ledges, was a pedestal above, and, beneath the lions and oxen, a wreath of hanging 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, four wheels of bronze, had each stand, with axles of bronze, and, the four steps thereof, had shoulder pieces, —under the laver, were the molten shoulder-pieces, over against each wreath.
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, the mouth thereof, within the capital and upwards, was a cubit, and, the mouth thereof, was round, of pedestal work, a cubit and a half, —moreover also, upon the mouth thereof, were gravings, with their side-walls four-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, four wheels, were beneath the side-walls, the axletrees of the wheels, being in the stands, —and, the height of each 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, the work of the wheels, was like the work of a chariot-wheel; and, their axletrees, and their felloes, and their spokes, and their naves, the whole, were molten.
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 shoulder-pieces, at the four corners of each stand, of the stand itself, were the shoulder-pieces thereof.
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 stand, half a cubit in height, was a circular piece round about, —and, on the top of the stand, the tenons thereof, and, the side-walls thereof, were of the same.
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 Then carved he, upon the plates of the tenons thereof, and upon the side-walls thereof, cherubim, lions, and palm-trees, —according to the open space of each with a wreath 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 Thus, made he the ten stands, —one mould, one measure, one shape, had they, all.
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 bronze, —forty baths, would each laver contain, four cubits, was each laver, one laver, was on each of, the ten stands.
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 stands, five on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house, —but, the sea, he set on the right side of the house eastward, over against 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 lavers, and shovels, and bowls, —and Hiram ended the doing of all the work which he wrought for King Solomon, for the house of Yahweh:
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 two pillars, —and the bowls of the capitals which were upon the top of the two pillars, —and the two frames of checker-work, covering the two bowls of the 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 frames of checker-work, —two rows of pomegranates to each frame, for covering the two bowls of the capitals, which were on the face 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 stands, —with the ten lavers upon the stands;
the ten carts; the ten basins;
44 and the one sea, —with the twelve oxen under the sea;
the big tank; the twelve [statues of] oxen on whose backs the tank was placed;
45 and the pans, and the shovels, and the tossing bowls, and, all these vessels which Hiram made King Solomon, for the house of Yahweh, were of burnished bronze.
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 circuit of the 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 let all the vessels be, because of their exceeding great multitude, —the weight of the bronze was not found out.
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 were in the house of Yahweh, —the altar of gold, and the table of gold, whereon was the presence-bread;
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 lamp-holders—five on the right and five on the left, before the shrine, of pure gold, —with the blossoms, 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 snuffers, and the tossing bowls, and the spoons, and the censers, of pure gold, —and the hinge-holes, for the doors of the inner house, the holy of holies, and for the doors of the house itself, the temple, 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 So was completed all the work which King Solomon made for the house of Yahweh, and Solomon brought in the hallowed things of David his father—the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, did he put in the treasuries of the house of Yahweh.
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.
