1Ki 7 | BSB | STEP | Solomon, however, took thirteen years to complete the construction of his entire palace.

1 Kings 7

Solomon Builds His Palace

1 Solomon, however, took thirteen years to complete the construction of his entire palace. 2 He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon a hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high, ^{▼▼That is, about 150 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high (46 meters long, 23 meters wide, and 14 meters high)} with four rows of cedar pillars supporting the cedar beams. 3 [The house] was roofed with cedar above the beams that rested on the pillars— forty-five [beams] , fifteen per row. 4 There were three rows of [high] windows facing each other in three tiers. 5 All the doorways ^{▼▼Or doorways and doorposts} had rectangular frames, with the openings facing each other [in] tiers of three. 6 [Solomon] made his colonnade fifty cubits long and thirty cubits wide, ^{▼▼That is, about 75 feet long and 45 feet wide (23 meters long and 14 meters wide)} with a portico in front of it and a canopy with pillars in front of [the portico] . 7 In addition, he built a hall for the throne, the Hall of Justice, where he was to judge. It was paneled with cedar from floor to ceiling. ^{▼▼Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew from floor to floor} 8 And the palace where [Solomon] would live, set further back , was of similar construction. He also made a palace like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom [he] had married. 9 All these [buildings] were constructed with costly stones, cut to size and trimmed with saws inside and out from the foundation to the eaves, from the outside to the great courtyard. 10 The foundations were [laid with] large, costly stones, some eight cubits ^{▼▼That is, about 12 feet or 3.7 meters} and some ten cubits [in length] . ^{▼▼That is, about 15 feet or 4.6 meters; also in verse 23} 11 Above these were high-grade stones, cut to size, and cedar beams. 12 The great courtyard was surrounded by three rows of dressed stone and a row of trimmed cedar beams, as were the inner courtyard and portico of the house of the LORD.

The Work of Hiram

13 Now King Solomon sent to bring Huram ^{▼▼Huram is a variant of Hiram; also in verses 40 and 45} from Tyre. 14 He [was] the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a craftsman in bronze. Huram had great skill, understanding, and knowledge for every kind of bronze work. So he came to King Solomon and carried out all his work. 15 He cast two pillars of bronze, each eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference. ^{▼▼That is, about 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference (8.2 meters high and 5.5 meters in circumference)} 16 He also made two capitals of cast bronze to set on top of the pillars, [each] capital five cubits ^{▼▼That is, about 7.5 feet or 2.3 meters; also in verse 23} high. 17 For the capitals on top of the pillars [he made] a network of lattice, with wreaths of chainwork, seven ^{▼▼Hebrew; LXX a lattice} for [each] capital. 18 Likewise, he made the pillars with two rows of pomegranates around [each] grating to cover each capital atop [the pillars] . 19 And the capitals atop the pillars in the portico were shaped like lilies, four cubits [high] . ^{▼▼That is, about 6 feet or 1.8 meters; also in verse 38} 20 On the capitals of both pillars, just above the rounded projection next to the network, [were] the two hundred pomegranates in rows encircling each capital. 21 Thus he set up the pillars at the portico of the temple. The pillar to the south he named Jachin, ^{▼▼Jachin probably means he establishes} and the pillar to the north he named Boaz. ^{▼▼Boaz probably means in him is strength} 22 And the tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. So the work of the pillars was completed.

The Molten Sea

23 He also made the Sea of cast metal. [It was] circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to [rim] , five cubits in height, and thirty cubits in circumference. ^{▼▼That is, 15 feet from rim to rim, 7.5 feet in height and 45 feet in circumference (4.6 meters from rim to rim, 2.3 meters in height and 13.7 meters in circumference)} 24 Below the rim, ornamental buds encircled it, ten per cubit all the way around the Sea, cast in two rows as a part of [the Sea] . 25 [The Sea] stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. [The Sea] rested on them, with all their hindquarters toward the center. 26 It was a handbreadth ^{▼▼That is, about 2.9 inches or 7.4 centimeters} thick, and its rim was fashioned like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It could hold two thousand baths. ^{▼▼That is, about 11,800 gallons or 44,000 liters; LXX does not include this sentence}

The Ten Bronze Stands

27 In addition, he made ten movable stands of bronze, each four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high. ^{▼▼That is, about 6 feet in length and width, and about 4.5 feet high or 1.8 meters in length and width, and 1.4 meters high} 28 This was the design of the stands: They had side panels attached to uprights, 29 and on the panels between the uprights were lions, oxen, and cherubim. On the uprights was a pedestal above, and below the lions and oxen were wreaths of beveled work. 30 Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles and a basin resting on four supports, with wreaths at each side. 31 The opening [to each stand] inside the crown at the top [was] one cubit [deep] , ^{▼▼That is, about 18 inches or 45 centimeters} with a round opening like the design of a pedestal, a cubit and a half [wide] . ^{▼▼That is, about 2.25 feet or 68 centimeters; also in verse 32} And around its opening [were] engravings, but the panels [of the stands] were square, not round. 32 There were four wheels under the panels, and the axles of the wheels were attached to the stand; each wheel [was] a cubit and a half in diameter. 33 The wheels were made like chariot wheels; their axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were all of cast metal. 34 Each stand had four handles, [one for each] corner, projecting from the stand. 35 At the top of each stand [was] a circular band half a cubit ^{▼▼That is, about 9 inches or 23 centimeters} high. The supports and panels were cast as a unit with the top of the stand. 36 He engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees on the surfaces of the supports and panels, wherever each had space, with wreaths all around. 37 In this way he made the ten stands, each with the same casting, dimensions, and shape.

The Ten Bronze Basins

38 He also made ten bronze basins, each holding forty baths ^{▼▼That is, about 236 gallons or 880 liters} and measuring four cubits across, one basin for each of the ten stands. 39 He set five stands on the south side of the temple and five on the north, and he put the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner of the temple.

Completion of the Bronze Works

40 In addition, Huram made the pots, ^{▼▼Many Hebrew manuscripts, LXX, Syriac and Vulgate (see also verse 45 and 2 Chronicles 4:11); many other Hebrew manuscripts basins} . . . shovels, and sprinkling bowls. So Huram finished all the work he had undertaken for King Solomon [in] the house of the LORD: 41 the two pillars; the two bowl-shaped capitals atop the pillars; the two sets of network covering both bowls of the capitals atop the pillars; 42 the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network covering both the bowl-shaped capitals atop the pillars) ; 43 the ten stands; the ten basins on the stands; 44 the Sea; the twelve oxen underneath the Sea; 45 and the pots, shovels, and sprinkling bowls. All the articles that Huram made for King Solomon [in] the house of the LORD were made of burnished bronze. 46 The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Succoth and Zarethan. 47 Solomon {left} all these articles unweighed, because there were so many. The weight of the bronze could not be determined.

Completion of the Gold Furnishings

48 Solomon also made all the furnishings for the house of the LORD: the golden altar; the golden table on which was placed the Bread of the Presence; 49 the lampstands of pure gold in front of the inner sanctuary, five on the right [side] and five on the left; the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs; 50 the pure gold basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, ladles, and censers; and the gold hinges for the doors of the inner temple (that is, the Most Holy Place) as well as for the doors of the main hall of the temple. 51 So all the work that King Solomon had performed for the house of the LORD was completed. Then Solomon brought in the consecrated items of his father David— the silver, the gold, and the furnishings— and he placed them in the treasuries of the house of the LORD.