Solomon's Palace Is Built
1 Solomon's palace took 13 years to build.
2-3 Forest Hall was the largest room in the palace. It was 44 meters long, 22 meters wide, and 13.5 meters high, and was lined with cedar from Lebanon. It had 4 rows of cedar pillars, 15 in a row, and they held up 45 cedar beams. The ceiling was covered with cedar. 4 Three rows of windows on each side faced each other, 5 and there were three doors on each side near the front of the hall.
6 Pillar Hall was 22 meters long and 13.5 meters wide. A covered porch supported by pillars went all the way across the front of the hall.
7 Solomon's throne was in Justice Hall, where he judged cases. This hall was completely lined with cedar.
8 The section of the palace where Solomon lived was behind Justice Hall and looked exactly like it. He had a similar place built for his wife, the daughter of the king of Egypt.
9 From the foundation all the way to the top, these buildings and the courtyard were made out of the best stones carefully cut to size, then smoothed on every side with saws. 10 The foundation stones were huge, good stones—some of them four and a half meters long and others three and a half meters long. 11 The cedar beams and other stones that had been cut to size were on top of these foundation stones. 12 The walls around the palace courtyard were made out of three layers of cut stones with one layer of cedar beams, just like the front porch and the inner courtyard of the temple.
Hiram Makes the Bronze Furnishings
(2 Chronicles 3.15-172 4.1-10)13-14 Hiram was a skilled bronze worker from the city of Tyre. His father was now dead, but he also had been a bronze worker from Tyre, and his mother was from the tribe of Naphtali.
King Solomon asked Hiram to come to Jerusalem and make the bronze furnishings to use for worship in the Lord's temple, and he agreed to do it.
15 Hiram made two bronze columns eight meters tall and almost two meters across. 16 For the top of each column, he also made a bronze cap just over two meters high. 17 The caps were decorated with seven rows of designs that looked like chains, 18 with two rows of designs that looked like pomegranates.
19 The caps for the columns of the porch were almost two meters high and were shaped like lilies.
20 The chain designs on the caps were right above the rounded tops of the two columns, and there were 200 pomegranates in rows around each cap. 21 Hiram placed the two columns on each side of the main door of the temple. The column on the south side was called Jachin, and the one on the north was called Boaz.
22 The lily-shaped caps were on top of the columns.
This completed the work on the columns.
23 Hiram also made a large bowl called the Sea. It was just over two meters deep, about 4.5 meters across, and 13.5 meters around. 24 Two rows of bronze gourds were around the outer edge of the bowl, ten gourds to every 45 centimeters. 25 The bowl itself sat on top of twelve bronze bulls with three bulls facing outward in each of four directions. 26 The sides of the bowl were 75 millimeters thick, and its rim was like a cup that curved outward like flower petals. The bowl held about 40,000 liters.
27 Hiram made ten movable bronze stands, each one over a meter high, almost two meters long, and almost two meters wide. 28-29 The sides were made with panels attached to frames decorated with flower designs. The panels themselves were decorated with figures of lions, bulls, and winged creatures. 30-31 Each stand had four bronze wheels and axles and a round frame 68 centimeters across, held up by four supports 45 centimeters high. A small bowl rested in the frame. The supports were decorated with flower designs, and the frame with carvings.
The side panels of the stands were square, 32 and the wheels and axles were underneath them. The wheels were about 68 centimeters high 33 and looked like chariot wheels. The axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were made out of bronze.
34-35 Around the top of each stand was a 22-centimeter strip, and there were four braces attached to the corners of each stand. The panels and the supports were attached to the stands, 36 and the stands were decorated with flower designs and figures of lions, palm trees, and winged creatures. 37 Hiram made the ten bronze stands from the same mold, so they were exactly the same size and shape.
38 Hiram also made ten small bronze bowls, one for each stand. The bowls were almost two meters across and could hold about 800 liters.
39 He put five stands on the south side of the temple, five stands on the north side, and the large bowl at the southeast corner of the temple.
40 Hiram made pans for hot ashes, and also shovels and sprinkling bowls.
A List of Everything inside the Temple
(2 Chronicles 4.11—5.1)This is a list of the bronze items that Hiram made for the Lord's temple: 41 two columns; two bowl-shaped caps for the tops of the columns; two chain designs on the caps; 42 400 pomegranates for the chain designs; 43 ten movable stands; ten small bowls for the stands; 44 a large bowl; twelve bulls that held up the bowl; 45 pans for hot ashes, and also shovels and sprinkling bowls.
Hiram made these bronze things for Solomon 46 near the Jordan River between Succoth and Zarethan by pouring melted bronze into clay molds.
47 There were so many bronze things that Solomon never bothered to weigh them, and no one ever knew how much bronze was used.
48 Solomon gave orders to make the following temple furnishings out of gold: the altar; the table that held the sacred loaves of bread; 49 ten lampstands that went in front of the most holy place; flower designs; lamps and tongs; 50 cups, lamp snuffers, and small sprinkling bowls; dishes for incense; fire pans; and the hinges for the doors to the most holy place and the main room of the temple.
51 After the Lord's temple was finished, Solomon put into its storage rooms everything that his father David had dedicated to the Lord, including the gold and the silver.
1 Bvt Salomon was building his owne house thirteene yeeres, and finished all his house. 2 He built also an house called the forest of Lebanon, an hundreth cubites long, and fiftie cubites broad, and thirtie cubites hie, vpon foure rowes of cedar pillars, and cedar beames were layed vpon the pillars. 3 And it was couered aboue with cedar vpon the beames, that lay on the fourtie and fiue pillars, fifteene in a rowe. 4 And the windowes were in three rowes, and windowe was against windowe in three rankes. 5 And all the doores, and the side postes with the windowes were foure square, and windowe was ouer against windowe in three rankes. 6 And he made a porche of pillars fiftie cubites long, and thirtie cubites broade, and the porch was before them, euen before them were thirtie pillars. 7 Then he made a porch for the throne, where he iudged, euen a porch of iudgement, and it was sieled with cedar from pauement to pauement. 8 And in his house, where he dwelt, was an other hall more inwarde then the porche which was of the same worke. Also Salomon made an house for Pharaohs daughter (whom he had taken to wife) like vnto this porche. 9 All these were of costly stones, hewed by measure, and sawed with sawes within and without, from the foundation vnto the stones of an hand breadth, and on the outside to the great court. 10 And the foundation was of costly stones, and great stones, euen of stones of ten cubites, and stones of eight cubites. 11 Aboue also were costly stones, squared by rule, and boardes of cedar. 12 And the great court round about was with three rowes of hewed stones, and a rowe of cedar beames: so was it to ye inner court of the house of the Lord, and to the porche of the house. 13 Then King Salomon sent, and set one Hiram out of Tyrus. 14 He was a widowes sonne of the tribe of Naphtali, his father being a man of Tyrus, and wrought in brasse: he was full of wisedome, and vnderstanding, and knowledge to worke all maner of worke in brasse: who came to King Salomon, and wrought all his worke. 15 For he cast two pillars of brasse: ye height of a pillar was eighteene cubites, and a threede of twelue cubites did compasse either of ye pillars. 16 And he made two chapiters of molten brasse to set on the tops of the pillars: the height of one of the chapiters was fiue cubites, and the height of the other chapiter was fiue cubites. 17 He made grates like networke, and wrethen worke like chaynes for the chapiters that were on the top of the pillars, euen seuen for the one chapiter, and seuen for the other chapiter. 18 So he made the pillars and two rowes of pomegranates round about in the one grate to couer the chapiters that were vpon the top. And thus did he for the other chapiter. 19 And the chapiters that were on the toppe of the pillars were after lilye worke in ye porch, foure cubites. 20 And the chapiters vpon the two pillars had also aboue, ouer against the belly within the networke pomegranates: for two hudreth pomegranates were in the two rankes about vpon either of the chapiters. 21 And he set vp the pillars in the porche of the Temple. And when hee had set vp the right pillar, he called the name thereof Iachin: and when he had set vp the left pillar, he called the name thereof Boaz. 22 And vpon the top of the pillars was worke of lilyes: so was the workemanship of the pillars finished. 23 And he made a molten sea ten cubites wide from brim to brim, rounde in compasse, and fiue cubites hie, and a line of thirtie cubites did compasse it about. 24 And vnder the brimme of it were knoppes like wilde cucumers compassing it round about, ten in one cubite, compassing the sea round about: and the two rowes of knoppes were cast, when it was molten. 25 It stoode on twelue bulles, three looking towarde the North, and three toward the West, and three toward the South, and three towarde the East: and the sea stoode aboue vpon them, and all their hinder partes were inward. 26 It was an hand bredth thicke, and the brim thereof was like the worke of the brim of a cup with floures of lilyes: it contained two thousad Baths. 27 And he made tenne bases of brasse, one base was foure cubites long, and foure cubites broad, and three cubites hie. 28 And the worke of the bases was on this maner, They had borders, and the borders were betweene the ledges: 29 And on the borders that were betweene the ledges, were lyons, bulles and Cherubims: and vpon the ledges there was a base aboue: and beneath the lyons and bulles, were addicions made of thinne worke. 30 And euery base had foure brasen wheeles, and plates of brasse: and the foure corners had vndersetters: vnder the caldron were vndersetters molten at the side of euery addicion. 31 And the mouth of it was within the chapiter and aboue to measure by the cubite: for the mouth thereof was round made like a base, and it was a cubite and halfe a cubite: and also vpon the mouth thereof were grauen workes, whose borders were foure square, and not round. 32 And vnder the borders were foure wheeles, and the axeltrees of the wheeles ioyned to the base: and the height of a wheele was a cubite and halfe a cubite. 33 And the facion of the wheeles was like the facion of a charet wheele, their axeltrees, and their naues and their felloes, and their spokes were all molten. 34 And foure vndersetters were vpon the foure corners of one base: and the vndersetters thereof were of the base it selfe. 35 And in the toppe of the base was a rounde compasse of halfe a cubite hie round about: and vpon the toppe of the base the ledges thereof and the borders thereof were of the same. 36 And vpon the tables of the ledges thereof, and on the borders thereof he did graue Cherubims, lions and palmetrees, on the side of euery one, and addicions round about. 37 Thus made he the tenne bases, They had all one casting, one measure, and one syse. 38 Then made he ten caldrons of brasse, one caldron conteyned fourty Baths: and euery caldron was foure cubites, one caldron was vpon one base throughout the ten bases. 39 And he set the bases, fiue on the right side of the house, and fiue on the left side of the house. And he set the sea on the right side of the house Eastward toward the South. 40 And Hiram made caldrons, and besomes, and basens, and Hiram finished all the worke that he made to King Salomon for the house of ye Lord: 41 To wit, two pillars and two bowles of the chapiters that were on the toppe of the two pillars, and two grates to couer the two bowles of the chapiters which were vpon the toppe of the pillars, 42 And foure hundreth pomegranates for the two grates, euen two rowes of pomegranates for euery grate to couer the two bowles of the chapiters, that were vpon the pillars, 43 And the ten bases, and ten caldrons vpon the bases, 44 And the sea, and twelue bulles vnder that sea, 45 And pottes, and besomes and basens: and all these vessels, which Hiram made to King Salomon for the house of the Lord, were of shining brasse. 46 In the plaine of Iorden did the King cast them in clay betweene Succoth and Zarthan. 47 And Salomon left to weigh all the vessels because of the exceeding aboundance, neyther could the weight of the brasse be counted. 48 So Salomon made all the vessels that perteyned vnto the house of the Lord, the golden altar, and the golden table, whereon the shewbread was, 49 And the candlestickes, fiue at the right side, and fiue at the left, before the oracle of pure gold, and the flowres, and the lampes, and the snuffers of golde, 50 And the bowles, and the hookes, and the basens, and the spoones, and the ashpannes of pure golde, and the hinges of golde for the doores of the house within, euen for the most holy place, and for the doores of the house, to wit, of the Temple. 51 So was finished all the worke that King Salomon made for the house of the Lord, and Salomon brought in the things which Dauid his father had dedicated: the siluer and the golde and the vessels, and layed them among the treasures of the house of the Lord.