FIRST KINGS

 

1 Kings Chapter 7

1 ¶ But it took Solomon thirteen years to build his own house, and he completed the entire palace.

2 He also built the house of the forest of Lebanon; which was one hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams on top of the pillars.

3 And it was covered with cedar above the beams, that rested on forty five pillars, fifteen in a row.

4 And there were three rows of windows, facing each other in three tiers.

5 And all the doorways and windows were rectangular: the openings facing each other in three tiers.

6 And he made a hall of pillars; its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth thirty cubits: and a porch was in front of them: and a canopy with pillars was in front of them.

7 Then he made a hall for the throne where he would judge, the hall of judgment: and it was covered with cedar from the floor to the rafters.

8 And the house where he lived had another court behind the hall, which was of similar construction. Solomon also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had taken as a wife.

9 All these were made of costly stones, hewed according to measure, sawed with saws, back and front, from the foundation to the coping, and from the outside to the great court.

10 And the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones, stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits.

11 And above them were costly stones, cut according to measure, and cedar.

12 And the great encircling court had with three courses of cut stone, and a row of cedar beams, for both the inner court of the house of the LORD, and for the porch of the house.

13 ¶ And king Solomon brought Hiram from Tyre.

14 He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, understanding, and skill for doing any kind of work in brass. So he came to king Solomon, and did all his work.

15 For he fashioned two pillars of brass, each eighteen cubits high: and a line of twelve cubits measured the distance around.

16 And he made two capitals of molten brass, to set upon the tops of the pillars: the height of one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits:

17 And nets of checker work, and wreaths of chain work, for the capitals that were on top of the pillars; seven for the one capital, and seven for the other capital.

18 And he made the pillars, and two rows of pomegranates encircling each network, to cover the capital that was on the top: and he did the same for the other capital.

19 And the capitals that were on the top of the pillars in the porch were of lily work, four cubits.

20 And the capitals on the two pillars also had pomegranates above the rounded projection that was by the network: and there were two hundred pomegranates in two rows round about, and so with the other capital.

21 And he set up the pillars of the porch of the temple: and he set up the right pillar, and named it Jachin: and he set up the left pillar, and named it Boaz.

22 And on the top of the pillars was lily work: so the work on the pillars was finished.

23 And he made a round molten sea, ten cubits from one brim to the other: and it was five cubits high: and a line thirty cubits long reached around it.

24 And under its brim there were gourds, cast in two rows when it was cast, going all the way around it.

25 It sat on twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, three looking toward the west, three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea sat on them, and their rears pointed inward.

26 And it was a hand breadth thick, and its brim was fashoned like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom: it contained two thousand baths.

27 And he made ten brass bases; the length of one base was four cubits, and its width was four cubits, and its height was three cubits.

28 And the construction of the bases was like this: they had borders, and the borders were between the ledges:

29 And on the borders that were between the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubim: and upon the ledges there was a pedestal above: and below the lions and oxen were certain additions made of thin work.

30 And every base had four brass wheels, and plates of brass: and at its four corners were supports: there were molten supports under the basin, with wreaths at the side of each.

31 And its opening within a crown that projected upward was a cubit: but its opening was round after the design of the base, one and a half cubits: and also upon its mouth were carvings, and their borders were square not round.

32 And under the borders were four wheels; and the axles of the wheels were fastened to the base: and the height of a wheel was one and a half cubits.

33 And the wheels were fashioned like a chariot wheel: their axles, their rims, their hubs, and their spokes, were all molten.

34 And there were four supports to the four corners of each base: and the supports were part of the base itself.

35 And on the top of the base there was a circular elevation a half cubit high: and on top of the base its ledges and borders were of one piece with it.

36 And on the surface of its ledges and borders, he carved cherubim, lions, and palm trees, according to the space of each one, with wreaths all the way around.

37 After this design he made ten bases: and they all had one casting, one measure, and one size.

38 Then he made ten brass basins: each basin held forty baths: and every basin was four cubits: and one basin was on each of the ten bases.

39 And he put five bases on the south side of the house, and five on the north side of the house: and he set the sea on the southeast corner of the house.

40 And Hiram made the pots, the shovels, and the basins. So Hiram finished all the work that he did for king Solomon on the house of the LORD:

41 The two pillars, the two bowls of the capitals that were on top of the two pillars; the two networks, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on top of the pillars;

42 And four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the pillars;

43 And ten bases, with ten basins on the bases;

44 And one sea, with twelve oxen under the sea;

45 Now the pots, and the shovels, and the basins: and all these vessels, which Hiram made for king Solomon for the house of the LORD, were of bright brass.

46 The king cast them in the plain of Jordan, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarthan.

47 And Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because there were so many: nor was the weight of the brass known.

48 ¶ And Solomon made all the vessels that pertained to the house of the LORD: the altar of gold, and the table of gold, for the showbread,

49 And the lamp stands of pure gold, five on the right side, and five on the left, before the holy of holies, with the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs of gold,

50 And the bowls, and the snuffers, and the basins, and the spoons, and the firepans of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, both for the doors of the inner room, the most holy place, and for the doors of the nave of the temple.

51 So all the work that king Solomon did on the house of the LORD was completed. And Solomon brought in the things that his father David had dedicated; the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, and put them among the treasures of the house of the LORD.