1.Könige 7 | 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.

Nuova Riveduta 2006

Costruzione del palazzo di Salomone

1 Poi Salomone costruì il suo palazzo, e lo terminò interamente in tredici anni. 2 Costruì la casa detta «Foresta del Libano»; era di cento cubiti di lunghezza, di cinquanta di larghezza e di trenta d’altezza. Era basata su quattro ordini di colonne di cedro sulle quali poggiava una travatura di cedro. 3 Un soffitto di cedro copriva le camere che poggiavano sulle quarantacinque colonne, quindici per fila. 4 C’erano tre file di camere, le cui finestre si trovavano le une di fronte alle altre lungo tutte e tre le file. 5 Tutte le porte con i loro stipiti e architravi erano quadrangolari. Le finestre delle tre file di camere si trovavano le une di fronte alle altre, in tutti e tre gli ordini. 6 Fece pure il portico a colonne, che aveva cinquanta cubiti di lunghezza e trenta di larghezza, con un vestibolo davanti, delle colonne e una scalinata sul davanti. 7 Poi fece il portico del trono dove amministrava la giustizia, che fu chiamato «Portico del giudizio»; lo ricoprì di legno di cedro dal pavimento al soffitto. 8 La sua casa, dove abitava, fu costruita nello stesso modo, in un altro cortile, dietro il portico. Fece una casa dello stesso stile di questo portico per la figlia del faraone, che egli aveva sposata. 9 Tutte queste costruzioni erano di pietre scelte, tagliate a misura, segate, internamente ed esternamente, dalle fondamenta ai cornicioni, e al di fuori sino al cortile maggiore. 10 Anche le fondamenta erano di pietre scelte, grandi: pietre di dieci cubiti e pietre di otto cubiti. 11 Sopra di esse c’erano delle pietre scelte, tagliate a misura, e del legname di cedro. 12 Il gran cortile aveva tutto intorno tre ordini di pietre lavorate e un ordine di travi di cedro, come il cortile interno della casa del Signore e come il portico della casa.

Le due colonne di bronzo

13 Il re Salomone fece venire da Tiro Chiram, 14 figlio di una vedova della tribù di Neftali; suo padre era di Tiro. Egli lavorava il bronzo, era pieno di saggezza, d’intelletto e di abilità per eseguire qualunque lavoro in bronzo. Egli si recò dal re Salomone ed eseguì tutti i lavori da lui ordinati. 15 Fece le due colonne di bronzo. La prima aveva diciotto cubiti d’altezza, e una corda di dodici cubiti misurava la circonferenza della seconda. 16 Fuse due capitelli di bronzo, per metterli in cima alle colonne; l’uno aveva cinque cubiti d’altezza e l’altro cinque cubiti d’altezza. 17 Fece un reticolato, un lavoro d’intreccio, dei festoni a forma di catenelle, per i capitelli che erano in cima alle colonne: sette per il primo capitello e sette per il secondo. 18 Fece due ordini di melagrane attorno all’uno di quei reticolati, per coprire il capitello che era in cima a una delle colonne; e lo stesso fece per l’altro capitello. 19 I capitelli, che erano in cima alle colonne nel portico, erano fatti a forma di giglio, ed erano di quattro cubiti. 20 I capitelli posti sulle due colonne erano circondati da duecento melagrane, in alto, vicino alla sporgenza che era al di là del reticolato; c’erano duecento melagrane disposte attorno al primo, e duecento intorno al secondo capitello. 21 Egli rizzò le colonne nel portico del tempio; rizzò la colonna a destra, e la chiamò Iachim; poi rizzò la colonna a sinistra, e la chiamò Boaz. 22 In cima alle colonne c’era un lavoro fatto a forma di giglio. Così fu compiuto il lavoro delle colonne.

Il Mare di bronzo

23 Poi fece il Mare* di metallo fuso, che aveva dieci cubiti da un orlo all’altro; era di forma perfettamente rotonda, aveva cinque cubiti d’altezza, e una corda di trenta cubiti ne misurava la circonferenza. 24 Sotto l’orlo lo circondavano dei frutti di colloquintide, dieci per cubito, facendo tutto il giro del Mare; i frutti di colloquintide, disposti in due ordini, erano stati fusi insieme con il Mare. 25 Questo poggiava su dodici buoi, dei quali tre guardavano a settentrione, tre a occidente, tre a meridione e tre a oriente; il Mare stava su di essi e le parti posteriori dei buoi erano volte verso il centro. 26 Esso aveva lo spessore di un palmo; il suo orlo, fatto come l’orlo di una coppa, aveva la forma di un fiore di giglio. Il Mare conteneva duemila bati.

Le basi di bronzo

27 Fece pure le dieci basi di bronzo; ciascuna aveva quattro cubiti di lunghezza, quattro cubiti di larghezza e tre cubiti d’altezza. 28 Il lavoro delle basi consisteva in questo. Erano formate da riquadri, tenuti assieme per mezzo di sostegni. 29 Sopra i riquadri, fra i sostegni, c’erano dei leoni, dei buoi e dei cherubini; lo stesso sui sostegni superiori; ma sui sostegni inferiori, sotto i leoni e i buoi, c’erano delle ghirlande a festoni. 30 Ogni base aveva quattro ruote di bronzo con gli assi di bronzo; ai quattro angoli c’erano delle mensole, sotto il bacino; queste mensole erano di metallo fuso; di fronte a ciascuna stavano delle ghirlande. 31 Al coronamento della base, nell’interno, c’era un’apertura in cui si adattava il bacino; essa aveva un cubito d’altezza, era rotonda, della forma di una base di colonna, e aveva un cubito e mezzo di diametro; anche lì c’erano delle sculture. I riquadri erano quadrati e non circolari. 32 Le quattro ruote erano sotto i riquadri, gli assi delle ruote erano fissati alla base, e l’altezza di ogni ruota era di un cubito e mezzo. 33 Le ruote erano fatte come quelle di un carro. I loro assi, i loro quarti, i loro raggi, i loro mòzzi erano di metallo fuso. 34 Ai quattro angoli di ogni base c’erano quattro mensole d’un medesimo pezzo con la base. 35 La parte superiore della base terminava con un cerchio di mezzo cubito d’altezza, e aveva i suoi sostegni e i suoi riquadri tutti d’un pezzo con la base. 36 Sulla parte liscia dei sostegni e sui riquadri Chiram scolpì dei cherubini, dei leoni e delle palme, secondo gli spazi liberi, e delle ghirlande tutto intorno. 37 Così fece le dieci basi; la fusione, la misura e la forma erano le stesse per tutte. 38 Poi fece le dieci conche di bronzo, ciascuna delle quali conteneva quaranta bati ed era di quattro cubiti; ogni conca posava sopra una delle dieci basi. 39 Egli collocò le basi così: cinque al lato destro della casa e cinque al lato sinistro. Mise il Mare al lato destro della casa, verso sud-est. 40 Chiram fece pure i vasi per le ceneri, le palette e le bacinelle. 41 Così Chiram compì tutta l’opera richiesta dal re Salomone per la casa del Signore: le due colonne, le volute dei capitelli in cima alle colonne, i due reticolati per coprire le due volute dei capitelli in cima alle colonne, 42 le quattrocento melagrane per i due reticolati, a due ordini di melagrane per ogni reticolato, che coprivano le due volute dei capitelli in cima alle colonne, 43 le dieci basi, le dieci conche sulle basi, 44 il Mare, che era unico, e i dodici buoi sotto il Mare, 45 i vasi per le ceneri, le palette e le bacinelle. Tutti questi utensili, che Chiram fece a Salomone per la casa del Signore, erano di bronzo lucido. 46 Il re li fece fondere nella pianura del Giordano, in un suolo argilloso, tra Succot e Sartan. 47 Salomone lasciò tutti questi utensili senza verificare il peso del bronzo, perché erano in grandissima quantità. 48 Salomone fece fabbricare tutti gli arredi della casa del Signore: l’altare d’oro, la tavola d’oro sulla quale si mettevano i pani della presentazione; 49 i candelabri d’oro puro, cinque a destra e cinque a sinistra, davanti al santuario, con i fiori, le lampade e gli smoccolatoi, d’oro; 50 le coppe, i coltelli, le bacinelle, i cucchiai e i bracieri, d’oro fino; e i cardini d’oro per la porta interna della casa all’ingresso del luogo santissimo e per la porta della casa all’ingresso del tempio. 51 Così fu compiuta tutta l’opera che il re Salomone fece eseguire per la casa del Signore. Poi Salomone fece portare l’argento, l’oro e gli utensili che Davide suo padre aveva consacrati, e li mise nei tesori della casa del Signore.

1.Könige 7 | New International Reader’s Version Nuova Riveduta 2006