1 Kings 7

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Solomon's Palace

7 <1> King Solomon also built a palace for himself. It took 13 years to build Solomon's palace. <2> He also built the building called the "Forest of Lebanon." It was 100 cubits[50] long, 50 cubits[51] wide, and 30 cubits[52] high. It had four rows of cedar columns. On top of each column was a cedar capital.[53] <3> There were cedar beams going across the rows of columns. There were 15 beams for each section of columns. There was a total of 45 beams. On top of these beams there were cedar boards for the ceiling. <4> There were three rows of windows across fro m each other on the side walls. <5> There were three doors at each end. All the door openings and frames were square.

<6> Solomon also built the "Porch of Columns." It was 50 cubits long and 30 cubits wide. Along the front of the porch, there was a covering supported by columns.

<7> He also built a throne room where he judged people. He called this the "Judgment Hall." The room was covered with cedar, from floor to ceiling.

<8> Behind the Judgment Hall was a courtyard. The house where Solomon lived was built around that courtyard and looked like the Judgment Hall. He also built the same kind of house for his wife, the daughter of the king of Egypt.

<9> All of these buildings were made with expensive blocks of stone. The stones were cut to the right size with a saw and then smoothed on front and back. These expensive stones went from the foundation all the way up to the top layer of the wall. Even the wall around the yard was made with expensive blocks of stone. <10> The foundations were made with large, expensive stones. Some of the stones were 10 cubits[54] long and the others were 8 cubits[55] long. <11> On top of these stones there were other expensive stones and cedar beams. <12> There were walls around the palace yard, the Temple yard, and the porch of the Temple. The walls were built with three rows of stone and one row of cedar timbers.

<13> King Solomon sent for a man named Huram[56] who lived in Tyre and brought him to Jerusalem. <14> Huram's mother was an Israelite from the tribe of Naphtali. His dead father was from Tyre. Huram made things from bronze.[57] He was a very skilled and experienced builder. So King Solomon asked him to come, and Huram accepted. King Solomon put him in charge of all the bronze work, and Huram did all the work he was given to do.

<15> Huram made two bronze columns for the porch. Each column was 18 cubits[58] tall and 12 cubits[59] around. The columns were hollow and their metal walls were 3 inches[60] thick.[61] <16> He also made two bronze capitals that were 5 cubits[62] tall. He put these capitals on top of the columns. <17> He made two nets of chain to cover the capitals on top of the two columns. <18> Then he made two rows of bronze pomegranates.[63] He put the bronze pomegranates on the nets of each column to cover the capitals at the top of the columns. <19> The capitals on top of the columns were shaped like flowers. <20> The capitals were on top of the columns, above the bowl-shaped net. There were 200 pomegranates in rows all around the capitals. <21> Huram put these two bronze columns at the porch of the Temple. One column was put on the south side of the entrance and one was put on the north side of it. The column on the south was named Jakin. The column on the north was named Boaz. <22> They put the flower-shaped capitals on top of the columns, and the work on the two columns was finished.

<23> Then Huram melted bronze and poured it into a huge mold to make a tank [they called "The Sea"]. The tank was about 30 cubits around. It was 10 cubits across and 5 cubits deep. <24> There was a rim around the outer edge of the tank. Under this rim there were two rows of bronze gourds all around the tank. The bronze gourds were made in one piece as part of the tank. <25> The tank rested on the backs of 12 bronze bulls. All 12 of the bulls were looking out, away from the tank. Three were looking north, three east, three south, and three west. <26> The sides of the tank were 3 inches thick. The rim around the tank was like the rim of a cup or like the petals on a flower. The tank held about 11,000 gallons[64] of water

<27> Then Huram made ten bronze carts. Each cart was 4 cubits[65] long, 4 cubits wide, and 3 cubits[66] high. <28> The carts were made with square panels set in frames. <29> On the panels and frames were bronze bulls, lions, and Cherub angels.[67] There were designs of flowers hammered into the bronze above and below the bulls and lions. <30> Each cart had four bronze wheels with bronze axles. At the corners there were bronze supports for a large bowl. The supports had designs of flowers hammered into the bronze. <31> There was a frame around the top with an opening for the bowl. The frame was 1 cubit[68] tall, and the opening was 1 1/2 cubits[69] in diameter. There were designs carved into the bronze on the frame. The frame was square, not round. <32> There were four wheels under the frame. The wheels were 1 1/2 cubits in diameter. The axles between the wheels were made as one piece with the cart. <33> The wheels were like the wheels on a chariot.[70] Everything on the wheels-the axles, the rims, the spokes, and the hubs were made from bronze.

<34> There were supports at each of the four corners of the carts. They were made as one piece with the cart. <35> There was a strip of bronze around the top of each cart. It was made as one piece with the cart. <36> The sides of the cart and the frames had pictures of Cherub angels, lions, and palm trees carved into the bronze. These pictures were carved all over the carts-wherever there was room. And there were flowers carved on the frame around the cart. <37> Huram made ten carts, and they were all the same. Each cart was made from bronze. The bronze was melted and poured into a mold. So all of the carts were the same size and shape.

<38> Huram also made ten bowls. There was one bowl for each of the ten carts. Each bowl was 4 cubits across and could hold about 230 gallons.[71] <39> He put five carts on the south side of the Temple and five carts on the north side. He put the large tank in the southeast corner of the Temple. <40-45> Huram also made pots, small shovels, and small bowls. He finished making all of the things King Solomon wanted him to make. This is a list of the things that Huram made for the Temple of the Lord:

2 columns;

2 capitals shaped like bowls for the top of the columns;

2 nets to go around the capitals;

400 pomegranates for the two nets (two rows of pomegranates for each net to cover the two bowls for the capitals on top of the columns);

10 carts with a bowl on each cart;

the large tank with 12 bulls under it;

the pots, small shovels, small bowls, and all the dishes for the Lord's Temple.

Huram made everything King Solomon wanted. They were all made from polished bronze. <46-47> Solomon never weighed the bronze that was used to make these things. There was too much to weigh. So the total weight of all the bronze was never known. The king ordered these things to be made near the Jordan River between Succoth and Zarethan. They made them by melting the bronze and pouring it into molds in the ground.

<48-50> Solomon also commanded that all these things be made from gold for the Temple:

the golden altar;

the golden table which held the special bread that was offered to God;

the lampstands of pure gold (five on the south side and five on the north side in front of the Most Holy Place);

the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs;

the pure gold bowls, wick trimmers, small bowls, pans, and dishes for carrying coals;

the gold hinges for the doors to the inner room (the Most Holy Place) and for the doors to the main room of the Temple.

<51> So King Solomon finished all the work he wanted to do for the Lord's Temple. Then he took everything his father David had saved for this special purpose and put them in the Temple. He put the silver and gold in the special storage rooms in the Lord's Temple.