The First of Kings

7 And it took Solʹo·mon 13 years to build his own house,*+ until his whole house was completed.+

2 And he built the House of the Forest of Lebʹa·non+ 100 cubits* long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high on four rows of cedar pillars; and there were cedar beams+ on the pillars. 3 It was paneled above with cedar on the girders that rested on the pillars; they numbered 45, with 15 to a row. 4 There were three rows of framed windows, and each window was opposite another window in three tiers. 5 All the entrances and the doorposts had square* frames, as did the front of the windows that were opposite each other in three tiers.

6 And he built the Hall* of Pillars 50 cubits long and 30 cubits wide, and there was a porch in front of it with pillars and a canopy.

7 He also built the Hall* of the Throne,+ where he would judge—the Hall of Judgment+—and they paneled it with cedar from the floor to the rafters.

8 The house* where he was to live, at the other courtyard,+ was set back from the Hall,* and it was similar in workmanship. He also built a house similar to this Hall for Pharʹaoh’s daughter, whom Solʹo·mon had taken as a wife.+

9 All of these were made of expensive stones+ hewn according to measure, trimmed with stonesaws inside and out, from the foundation up to the coping, and outside as far as the great courtyard.+ 10 And the foundation was laid with very large, expensive stones; some stones measured ten cubits, and other stones, eight cubits. 11 And above these were expensive stones, hewn according to measure, as well as cedar. 12 Around the great courtyard were three rows of hewn stone and a row of cedar beams, like that for the inner courtyard+ of the house of Jehovah and the porch of the house.+

13 King Solʹo·mon sent for Hiʹram+ and brought him from Tyre. 14 He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphʹta·li, and his father was a Tyrʹi·an coppersmith;+ and he had great skill, understanding,+ and experience for all kinds of work in copper.* So he came to King Solʹo·mon and did all his work.

15 He cast the two pillars of copper;+ each pillar was 18 cubits high, and it took a measuring cord 12 cubits long to encircle each of the two pillars.*+ 16 And he made two capitals cast in copper to put on the tops of the pillars. One capital was five cubits high, and the other capital was five cubits high. 17 The capital on top of each pillar had mesh network with wreathed chains;+ seven for the one capital and seven for the other capital. 18 And he made pomegranates in two rows around the one network to cover the capitals that were on the top of the pillars; he did the same for both capitals. 19 The capitals on top of the pillars at the porch were of a lily pattern four cubits high. 20 The capitals were on the two pillars, just above the rounded portion adjoining the network; and there were 200 pomegranates in rows all around on each capital.+

21 He set up the pillars of the porch of the temple.*+ He set up the right-hand* pillar and named it Jaʹchin,* and then he set up the left-hand* pillar and named it Boʹaz.*+ 22 And the top of the pillars were of a lily pattern. So the work of the pillars was completed.

23 Then he made the Sea* of cast metal.+ It was circular in shape, 10 cubits from brim to brim and 5 cubits high, and it took a measuring line 30 cubits long to encircle it.*+ 24 And there were ornamental gourds+ below its brim, completely encircling it, ten to a cubit all around the Sea, with two rows of the gourds cast in one piece with it. 25 It stood on 12 bulls,+ 3 facing north, 3 facing west, 3 facing south, and 3 facing east; and the Sea rested on them, and all their hindquarters were toward the center. 26 And its thickness was a handbreadth;* and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It would hold 2,000 bath measures.*

27 Then he made the ten carriages*+ of copper. Each carriage was four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high. 28 And this was how the carriages were constructed: They had side panels, and the side panels were between the crossbars. 29 And on the side panels between the crossbars were lions,+ bulls, and cherubs,+ and the same design was on the crossbars. Above and beneath the lions and the bulls were wreaths in relief. 30 And each carriage had four copper wheels and copper axles, and its four cornerpieces served as supports for them. Beneath the basin were the supports, cast with wreaths at the side of each. 31 Its opening was inside the crown, extending upward one cubit; and its opening was round, making up a stand of one and a half cubits, and on its mouth were engravings. And their side panels were square, not round. 32 The four wheels were below the side panels, and the supports of the wheels were attached to the carriage, and the height of each wheel was one and a half cubits. 33 And the wheels were made like chariot wheels. Their supports, rims,* spokes, and hubs were all of cast metal. 34 There were four supports on the four corners of each carriage; its supports were cast as part of* the carriage. 35 On top of the carriage was a circular band half a cubit high, and on the top of the carriage, its framing pieces and its side panels were cast as part of* it. 36 On the surfaces of its framing pieces and on its side panels he engraved cherubs, lions, and palm trees according to the amount of space on each, with wreaths all around.+ 37 This is how he made the ten carriages;+ they were all cast alike,+ with the same measure and shape.

38 He made ten copper basins;+ each could hold 40 bath measures. Each basin measured four cubits.* There was one basin for each of the ten carriages. 39 Then he put five carriages on the right side of the house and five on the left side of the house, and he placed the Sea on the right side of the house, toward the southeast.+

40 Hiʹram+ also made the basins, the shovels,+ and the bowls.+

So Hiʹram finished all the work that he did for King Solʹo·mon on the house of Jehovah:+ 41 the two pillars+ and the bowl-shaped capitals that were on top of the two pillars; the two networks+ to cover the two bowl-shaped capitals that were on top of the pillars; 42 the 400 pomegranates+ for the two networks, two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowl-shaped capitals that were on the two pillars; 43 the ten carriages+ and the ten basins+ on the carriages; 44 the Sea+ and the 12 bulls beneath the Sea; 45 and the cans, the shovels, the bowls, and all the utensils, which Hiʹram made of polished copper for King Solʹo·mon for the house of Jehovah. 46 The king cast them in clay molds in the district of the Jordan, between Sucʹcoth and Zarʹe·than.

47 Solʹo·mon left all the utensils unweighed because they were in such great quantities. The weight of the copper was not ascertained.+ 48 Solʹo·mon made all the utensils for the house of Jehovah: the altar+ of gold; the gold table+ on which to put the showbread; 49 the lampstands+ of pure gold, five on the right and five on the left before the innermost room; and the blossoms,+ the lamps, and the snuffers,* of gold;+ 50 the basins, the extinguishers,+ the bowls, the cups,+ and the fire holders,+ of pure gold; and the sockets for the doors of the inner house,+ that is, the Most Holy, and for the doors of the house of the temple,+ of gold.

51 So King Solʹo·mon completed all the work he had to do for the house of Jehovah. Solʹo·mon then brought in the things that David his father had made holy,+ and he put the silver, the gold, and the articles into the treasuries of the house of Jehovah.+