Solomon Builds His Own House

1Now Solomon built his own house thirteen years, and he completed all his house. 2And he built the house of the forest of Lebanon; its length was [†]100 cubits and its width 50 cubits and its height 30 cubits, on four rows of cedar pillars with cedar beams on the pillars. 3And it was paneled with cedar above the side chambers which were on the 45 pillars, 15 in each row. 4Now there were artistic window frames in three rows, and window was opposite window in three ranks. 5And all the doorways and doorposts had squared artistic frames, and window was opposite window in three ranks.

6Then he made the hall of pillars; its length was 50 cubits and its width 30 cubits, and a porch was in front of them and pillars and a threshold in front of them.

7And he made the hall of the throne where he was to judge, the hall of judgment, and it was paneled with cedar from floor to floor.

8Now his house where he was to live, the other court inward from the hall, was of the same workmanship. He also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom Solomon had married.

9All these were of precious stones, of stone cut according to measure, sawed with saws, inside and outside; even from the foundation to the coping, and so on the outside to the great court.

10And the foundation was of precious stones, even large stones, stones of ten cubits and stones of eight cubits. 11And above were precious stones, stone cut according to measure, and cedar. 12So the great court all around had three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams even as the inner court of the house of Yahweh, and the porch of the house.

Hiram’s Work in the House of Yahweh

13Then King Solomon sent and brought Hiram from Tyre. 14He was a widow’s son from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze; and he was filled with wisdom and discernment and knowledge to do any work in bronze. So he came to King Solomon and did all his work.

15And he fashioned the two pillars of bronze; eighteen cubits was the height of one pillar, and a line of twelve cubits [†]measured the circumference of both. 16He also made two capitals of molten 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. 17There were nets of network and twisted threads of chainwork for the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; seven for the one capital and seven for the other capital. 18So he made the pillars, and two rows around on the one network to cover the capitals which were on the top of the pomegranates; and so he did for the other capital. 19Now the capitals which were on the top of the pillars in the porch were of lily design, four cubits. 20And there were capitals on the two pillars, even right above the [†]rounded projection which was on the one side of the network; and the pomegranates numbered two hundred in rows around [†]both capitals. 21Thus he set up the pillars at the porch of the nave; and he set up the right pillar and named it [†]Jachin, and he set up the left pillar and named it [†]Boaz. 22And on the top of the pillars was lily design. So the work of the pillars was finished.

23And he made the sea of cast metal ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in form, and its height was five cubits, and [†]thirty cubits in its circumference. 24Now under its brim gourds went around encircling it ten to a cubit, entirely encircling the sea; the gourds were in two rows, cast with the Sea when it was cast. 25It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east; and the sea was set on top of them, and all their rear parts turned inward. 26And it was a [†]handbreadth thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, as a lily blossom; it could hold [†]two thousand baths.

27Then he made the ten stands of bronze; the length of each stand was four cubits and its width four cubits and its height three cubits. 28Now this was the workmanship of the stands: they had borders, even borders between the [†]frames, 29and on the borders which were between the [†]frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim; and on the [†]frames there was a pedestal above, and beneath the lions and oxen were wreaths of hanging work. 30Now each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles, and its four feet had supports; beneath the laver were cast supports with wreaths at each side. 31And its opening inside the capital at the top was a cubit, and its opening was round like the workmanship of a pedestal, a cubit and a half; and also on its opening there were engravings, and their borders were square, not round. 32And the four wheels were underneath the borders, and the axles of the wheels were on the stand. And the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half. 33Now the workmanship of the wheels was like the workmanship of a chariot wheel. Their axles, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all cast. 34Now there were four supports at the four corners of each stand; its supports were part of the stand itself. 35And on the top of the stand there was a circular form half a [†]cubit high, and on the top of the stand its [†]stays and its borders were part of it. 36And he engraved on the plates of its stays and on its borders, cherubim, lions, and palm trees, according to the clear space on each, with wreaths all around. 37He made the ten stands like this: all of them had one casting, one measure and one form.

38He also made ten lavers of bronze, one laver held forty baths; each laver was four cubits, and on each of the ten stands was one laver. 39Then he set the stands, five on the right side of the house and five on the left side of the house; and he set the sea of cast metal on the right side of the house eastward toward the south.

40And Hiram made the lavers and the shovels and the bowls. So Hiram completed doing all the work that he did for King Solomon in the house of Yahweh: 41the two pillars and the two bowls of the capitals which were on the top of the two pillars, and the two networks to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the top of the pillars, 42and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, two rows of pomegranates for each network to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the tops of the pillars; 43and the ten stands with the ten lavers on the stands; 44and the one sea and the twelve oxen under the sea; 45and the pots and the shovels and the bowls; and all these utensils which Hiram made for King Solomon in the house of Yahweh were of polished bronze. 46On the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan. 47And Solomon left all the utensils unweighed, because they were too many; the weight of the bronze could not be found out.

48Solomon also made all the furniture which was in the house of Yahweh: the golden altar and the golden table on which was the bread of the Presence; 49and the lampstands, five on the right side and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary, of pure gold; and the flowers and the lamps and the tongs, of gold; 50and the cups and the snuffers and the bowls and the spoons and the firepans, of pure gold; and the hinges both for the doors of the inner house, the Holy of Holies, and for the doors of the house, that is, of the nave, of gold.

51Thus all the work that King Solomon did in the house of Yahweh was finished. And Solomon brought in the things set apart as holy by his father David, the silver and the gold and the utensils, and he put them in the treasuries of the house of Yahweh.