1 Kings 7 | New International Reader’s Version

New International Reader’s Version

Solomon builds his palace

1 But it took Solomon 13 years to finish constructing his palace and the other buildings related to it. 2 He built the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. It was 50 metres long. It was 25 metres wide. And it was 15 metres high. It had four rows of cedar columns. They held up beautiful cedar beams. 3 Above the beams was a roof made out of cedar boards. It rested on the columns. There were three rows of beams with 15 in each row. The total number of beams was 45. 4 The windows of the palace were placed high up in the walls. They were in groups of three. And they faced each other. 5 All the doorways had frames shaped like rectangles. They were in front. They were in groups of three. And they faced each other. 6 Solomon made a covered area. It was 25 metres long. And it was 15 metres wide. Its roof was held up by columns. In front of it was a porch. In front of that were pillars and a roof that went out beyond them. 7 Solomon built the throne hall. It was called the Hall of Justice. That’s where he would serve as judge. He covered the hall with cedar boards from floor to ceiling. 8 The palace where he would live was set further back. Its plan was something like the plan for the hall. Solomon had married Pharaoh’s daughter. He made a palace for her. It was like the hall. 9 All those buildings were made out of blocks of good quality stone. They were cut to the right size. They were made smooth on their back and front sides. Those stones were used for the outside of each building and for the large courtyard. They were also used from the foundations up to the roofs. 10 Large blocks of good quality stone were used for the foundations. Some were 5 metres long. Others were 4 metres long. 11 The walls above them were made out of good quality stones. The stones were cut to the right size. On top of them was a layer of cedar beams. 12 The large courtyard had a wall around it. The first three layers of the wall were made out of blocks of stone. The top layer was made out of beautiful cedar wood. The same thing was done with the inside courtyard of the LORD’s temple and its porch.

More facts about the temple

13 King Solomon sent messengers to Tyre. He wanted them to bring Huram back with them. 14 Huram’s mother was a widow. She was from the tribe of Naphtali. Huram’s father was from Tyre. He was skilled in working with bronze. Huram also had great skill, knowledge and understanding in working with bronze. He came to King Solomon and did all the work he was asked to do. 15 Huram made two bronze pillars. Each of them was 9 metres high. And each was 6 metres round. 16 Each pillar had a decorated top made out of bronze. Each top was 2.5 metres high. 17 Chains that were linked together hung down from the tops of the pillars. There were seven chains for each top. 18 Huram made two rows of pomegranates. They circled the chains. The pomegranates decorated the tops of the pillars. Huram did the same thing for each pillar. 19 The tops on the pillars of the porch were shaped like lilies. The lilies were 2 metres high. 20 On the tops of both pillars were 200 pomegranates. They were in rows all around the tops. They were above the part that was shaped like a bowl. And they were next to the chains. 21 Huram set the pillars up at the temple porch. The pillar on the south he named Jakin. The one on the north he named Boaz. 22 The tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. So the work on the pillars was finished. 23 Huram made a huge metal bowl for washing. Its shape was round. It measured 5 metres from rim to rim. It was 2.5 metres high. And it was 15 metres round. 24 Below the rim there was a circle of gourds around the bowl. In every half a metre round the bowl there were ten gourds. The gourds were arranged in two rows. They were made as part of the bowl itself. 25 The huge bowl stood on 12 bulls. Three of them faced north. Three faced west. Three faced south. And three faced east. The bowl rested on top of the bulls. Their rear ends were towards the centre. 26 The bowl was 8 centimetres thick. Its rim was like the rim of a cup. The rim was shaped like the bloom of a lily. The bowl held 48,000 litres of water. 27 Huram also made ten stands out of bronze. They could be moved around. Each stand was 2 metres long. It was 2 metres wide. And it was 1.5 metres high. 28 Here is how the stands were made. They had sides that were joined to posts. 29 On the sides between the posts were lions, bulls and cherubim. They were also on all of the posts. Above and below the lions and bulls were wreaths made out of hammered metal. 30 Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles. Each stand had a bowl that rested on four supports. The stand had wreaths on each side. 31 There was a round opening on the inside of each stand. The opening had a frame half a metre deep. The sides were 75 centimetres high from the top of the opening to the bottom of the base. There was carving around the opening. The sides of the stands were square, not round. 32 The four wheels were under the sides. The axles of the wheels were connected to the stand. Each wheel was 75 centimetres across. 33 The wheels were made like chariot wheels. All the axles, rims, spokes and hubs were made out of metal. 34 Each stand had four handles on it. There was one on each corner. They came out from the stand. 35 At the top of the stand there was a round band. It was 25 centimetres deep. The sides and supports were connected to the top of the stand. 36 Huram carved cherubim, lions and palm trees on the sides of the stands. He also carved them on the surfaces of the supports. His carving covered every open space. He had also carved wreaths all around. 37 That’s how he made the ten stands. All of them were made in the same moulds. And they had the same size and shape. 38 Then Huram made ten bronze bowls. Each one held 960 litres. The bowls measured 2 metres across. There was one bowl for each of the ten stands. 39 He placed five of the stands on the south side of the temple. He placed the other five on the north side. He put the huge bowl on the south side. It was at the southeast corner of the temple. 40 He also made the pots, shovels and sprinkling bowls. So Huram finished all the work he had started for King Solomon. Here’s what he made for the LORD’s temple. 41 He made the two pillars. He made the two tops for the pillars. The tops were shaped like bowls. He made the two sets of chains that were linked together. They decorated the two bowl-shaped tops of the pillars. 42 He made the 400 pomegranates for the two sets of chains. There were two rows of pomegranates for each chain. They decorated the bowl-shaped tops of the pillars. 43 He made the ten stands with their ten bowls. 44 He made the huge bowl. He made the 12 bulls that were under it. 45 He made the pots, shovels and sprinkling bowls. Huram made all those objects for King Solomon for the LORD’s temple. He made them out of bronze. Then he polished them. 46 The king had made them in clay moulds. It was done on the plain of the River Jordan between Sukkoth and Zarethan. 47 Solomon didn’t weigh any of those things. There were too many of them to weigh. No one even tried to weigh the bronze they were made out of. 48 Solomon also made everything in the LORD’s temple. He made the golden altar. He made the golden table for the holy bread. 49 He made the pure gold lampstands. There were five on the right and five on the left. They were in front of the Most Holy Room. He made the gold flowers. He made the gold lamps and tongs. 50 He made the bowls, wick cutters, sprinkling bowls, dishes, and shallow cups for burning incense. All of them were made out of pure gold. He made the gold bases for the doors of the inside room. That’s the Most Holy Room. He also made gold bases for the doors of the main hall of the temple. 51 King Solomon finished all the work for the LORD’s temple. Then he brought in the things his father David had set apart for the LORD. They included the silver and gold and all the other things for the LORD’s temple. Solomon placed them with the other treasures that were there.

English Standard Version

Solomon Builds His Palace

1 Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished his entire house. (1Ki 3:1; 1Ki 9:10; 2Ch 8:1) 2 He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon. Its length was a hundred cubits^[1] and its breadth fifty cubits and its height thirty cubits, and it was built on four^[2] rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams on the pillars. (1Ki 10:17; 1Ki 10:21) 3 And it was covered with cedar above the chambers that were on the forty-five pillars, fifteen in each row. 4 There were window frames in three rows, and window opposite window in three tiers. 5 All the doorways and windows^[3] had square frames, and window was opposite window in three tiers. 6 And he made the Hall of Pillars; its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth thirty cubits. There was a porch in front with pillars, and a canopy in front of them. (1Ki 7:12; Eze 41:25) 7 And he made the Hall of the Throne where he was to pronounce judgment, even the Hall of Judgment. It was finished with cedar from floor to rafters.^[4] (1Ki 6:15) 8 His own house where he was to dwell, in the other court back of the hall, was of like workmanship. Solomon also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter whom he had taken in marriage. (1Ki 3:1; 2Ch 8:11) 9 All these were made of costly stones, cut according to measure, sawed with saws, back and front, even from the foundation to the coping, and from the outside to the great court. 10 The foundation was of costly stones, huge stones, stones of eight and ten cubits. 11 And above were costly stones, cut according to measurement, and cedar. 12 The great court had three courses of cut stone all around, and a course of cedar beams; so had the inner court of the house of the Lord and the vestibule of the house. (1Ki 6:36; 1Ki 7:6)

The Temple Furnishings

13 And King Solomon sent and brought Hiram from Tyre. (2Ch 2:14) 14 He was the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze. And he was full of wisdom, understanding, and skill for making any work in bronze. He came to King Solomon and did all his work. (Ex 31:3; Ex 35:31) 15 He cast two pillars of bronze. Eighteen cubits was the height of one pillar, and a line of twelve cubits measured its circumference. It was hollow, and its thickness was four fingers. The second pillar was the same.^[5] (1Ki 7:41; 2Ki 25:17; 1Ch 18:8; 2Ch 3:15; 2Ch 4:12; Jer 52:21)

1Ki 7:412Ki 25:171Ch 18:82Ch 3:152Ch 4:12Jer 52:21

16 He also made two capitals of cast bronze to set on the tops of the pillars. The height of the one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits. (1Ki 7:15) 17 There were lattices of checker work with wreaths of chain work for the capitals on the tops of the pillars, a lattice^[6] for the one capital and a lattice for the other capital. 18 Likewise he made pomegranates^[7] in two rows around the one latticework to cover the capital that was on the top of the pillar, and he did the same with the other capital. 19 Now the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars in the vestibule were of lily-work, four cubits. 20 The capitals were on the two pillars and also above the rounded projection which was beside the latticework. There were two hundred pomegranates in two rows all around, and so with the other capital. (1Ki 7:42; 2Ch 3:16; 2Ch 4:13; Jer 52:23)

1Ki 7:422Ch 3:162Ch 4:13Jer 52:23

21 He set up the pillars at the vestibule of the temple. He set up the pillar on the south and called its name Jachin, and he set up the pillar on the north and called its name Boaz. (2Ch 3:17) 22 And on the tops of the pillars was lily-work. Thus the work of the pillars was finished. 23 Then he made the sea of cast metal. It was round, ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits high, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference. (Ex 30:18; 2Ki 16:17; 2Ki 25:13; 1Ch 18:8; 2Ch 4:2; Jer 52:17)

Ex 30:182Ki 16:172Ki 25:131Ch 18:82Ch 4:2Jer 52:17

24 Under its brim were gourds, for ten cubits, compassing the sea all around. The gourds were in two rows, cast with it when it was cast. (1Ki 6:18) 25 It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The sea was set on them, and all their rear parts were inward. (Jer 52:20) 26 Its thickness was a handbreadth,^[8] and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily. It held two thousand baths.^[9] 27 He also made the ten stands of bronze. Each stand was four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high. (2Ki 25:13; 2Ch 4:14; Jer 52:17) 28 This was the construction of the stands: they had panels, and the panels were set in the frames, 29 and on the panels that were set in the frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim. On the frames, both above and below the lions and oxen, there were wreaths of beveled work. 30 Moreover, each stand had four bronze wheels and axles of bronze, and at the four corners were supports for a basin. The supports were cast with wreaths at the side of each. 31 Its opening was within a crown that projected upward one cubit. Its opening was round, as a pedestal is made, a cubit and a half deep. At its opening there were carvings, and its panels were square, not round. 32 And the four wheels were underneath the panels. The axles of the wheels were of one piece with the stands, and the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half. 33 The wheels were made like a chariot wheel; their axles, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all cast. 34 There were four supports at the four corners of each stand. The supports were of one piece with the stands. 35 And on the top of the stand there was a round band half a cubit high; and on the top of the stand its stays and its panels were of one piece with it. 36 And on the surfaces of its stays and on its panels, he carved cherubim, lions, and palm trees, according to the space of each, with wreaths all around. 37 After this manner he made the ten stands. All of them were cast alike, of the same measure and the same form. (1Ki 7:27) 38 And he made ten basins of bronze. Each basin held forty baths, each basin measured four cubits, and there was a basin for each of the ten stands. (Ex 30:18; 2Ch 4:6) 39 And he set the stands, five on the south side of the house, and five on the north side of the house. And he set the sea at the southeast corner of the house. 40 Hiram also 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: (Ex 27:3; Ex 38:3; 2Ch 4:11) 41 the two pillars, the two bowls of the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars, and the two latticeworks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars; (1Ki 7:17) 42 and the four hundred pomegranates for the two latticeworks, two rows of pomegranates for each latticework, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the pillars; (1Ki 7:20) 43 the ten stands, and the ten basins on the stands; 44 and the one sea, and the twelve oxen underneath the sea. (1Ki 7:23; 1Ki 7:25) 45 Now the pots, the shovels, and the basins, all these vessels in the house of the Lord, which Hiram made for King Solomon, were of burnished bronze. (Ex 27:3; Ex 38:3) 46 In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan. (Jos 3:16; Jos 13:27) 47 And Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because there were so many of them; the weight of the bronze was not ascertained. (1Ch 22:3; 1Ch 22:14) 48 So Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of the Lord: the golden altar, the golden table for the bread of the Presence, (Ex 25:30; Ex 37:10; Ex 37:25; Le 24:5; 2Ch 4:8)

Ex 25:30Ex 37:10Ex 37:25Le 24:52Ch 4:8

49 the lampstands of pure gold, five on the south side and five on the north, before the inner sanctuary; the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of gold; (Ex 25:31; 2Ch 4:7) 50 the cups, snuffers, basins, dishes for incense, and fire pans, of pure gold; and the sockets of gold, for the doors of the innermost part of the house, the Most Holy Place, and for the doors of the nave of the temple. (Ex 27:3; 1Ki 6:16) 51 Thus all the work that King Solomon did on the house of the Lord was finished. And Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated, the silver, the gold, and the vessels, and stored them in the treasuries of the house of the Lord. (2Sa 8:11)