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2 C H RO N I C L ES 4
and decorated it with carvings of palm trees and
chains. 6 He decorated the walls of the Temple
with beautiful jewels and with gold from the
land of Parvaim. 7 He overlaid the beams,
thresholds, walls, and doors throughout the
Temple with gold, and he carved figures of
cherubim on the walls.
8 He made the Most Holy Place 30 feet wide,
corresponding to the width of the Temple,
and 30 feet deep. He overlaid its interior with
23 tons* of fine gold. 9 The gold nails that were
used weighed 20 ounces* each. He also overlaid
the walls of the upper rooms with gold.
10 He made two figures shaped like cherubim,
overlaid them with gold, and placed them in the
Most Holy Place. 11 The total wingspan of the two
cherubim standing side by side was 30 feet. One
wing of the first figure was 71⁄2 feet* long, and it
touched the Temple wall. The other wing, also
71⁄2 feet long, touched one of the wings of the
second figure. 12 In the same way, the second
figure had one wing 71⁄2 feet long that touched
the opposite wall. The other wing, also 71⁄2 feet
long, touched the wing of the first figure. 13 So
the wingspan of the two cherubim side by side
was 30 feet. They stood on their feet and faced
out toward the main room of the Temple.
14 Across the entrance of the Most Holy Place
he hung a curtain made of fine linen, decorated
with blue, purple, and scarlet thread and embroidered with figures of cherubim.
15 For the front of the Temple, he made two
pillars that were 27 feet* tall, each topped by
a capital extending upward another 71⁄2 feet.
16 He made a network of interwoven chains* and
used them to decorate the tops of the pillars.
He also made 100 decorative pomegranates and
attached them to the chains. 17 Then he set up
the two pillars at the entrance of the Temple,
one to the south of the entrance and the other to
the north. He named the one on the south Jakin,
and the one on the north Boaz.*
Furnishings for the Temple
Solomon* also made a bronze altar 30 feet
long, 30 feet wide, and 15 feet high.* 2 Then
he cast a great round basin, 15 feet across from
rim to rim, called the Sea. It was 71⁄2 feet deep
and about 45 feet in circumference.* 3 It was encircled just below its rim by two rows of figures
that resembled oxen. There were about six oxen
per foot* all the way around, and they were cast
as part of the basin.
4 The Sea was placed on a base of twelve
bronze oxen, all facing outward. Three faced
north, three faced west, three faced south, and
three faced east, and the Sea rested on them.
5 The walls of the Sea were about three inches*
thick, and its rim flared out like a cup and
resembled a water lily blossom. It could hold
about 16,500 gallons* of water.
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6 He also made ten smaller basins for washing
the utensils for the burnt offerings. He set five
on the south side and five on the north. But the
priests washed themselves in the Sea.
7 He then cast ten gold lampstands according
to the specifications that had been given, and he
put them in the Temple. Five were placed against
the south wall, and five were placed against the
north wall.
8 He also built ten tables and placed them in the
Temple, five along the south wall and five along
the north wall. Then he molded 100 gold basins.
9 He then built a courtyard for the priests, and
also the large outer courtyard. He made doors
for the courtyard entrances and overlaid them
with bronze. 10 The great bronze basin called the
Sea was placed near the southeast corner of the
Temple.
11 Huram-abi also made the necessary washbasins, shovels, and bowls.
So at last Huram-abi completed everything
King Solomon had assigned him to make for
the Temple of God:
12
13
14
15
16
the two pillars;
the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the
pillars;
the two networks of interwoven chains that
decorated the capitals;
the 400 pomegranates that hung from
the chains on the capitals (two rows
of pomegranates for each of the chain
networks that decorated the capitals
on top of the pillars);
the water carts holding the basins;
the Sea and the twelve oxen under it;
the ash buckets, the shovels, the meat
hooks, and all the related articles.
Huram-abi made all these things of burnished
bronze for the Temple of the Lord, just as King
Solomon had directed. 17 The king had them cast
in clay molds in the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zarethan.* 18 Solomon used such great
quantities of bronze that its weight could not
be determined.
19 Solomon also made all the furnishings for
the Temple of God:
the gold altar;
the tables for the Bread of the Presence;
3:8 Hebrew 600 talents [20.4 metric tons]. 3:9 Hebrew
50 shekels [570 grams]. 3:11 Hebrew 5 cubits [2.3 meters];
also in 3:11b, 12, 15. 3:15 As in Syriac version (see also 1 Kgs
7:15; 2 Kgs 25:17; Jer 52:21), which reads 18 cubits [8.3 meters];
Hebrew reads 35 cubits, which is 52.5 feet or 16.5 meters.
3:16 Hebrew He made chains in the inner sanctuary. The
meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. 3:17 Jakin probably
means “he establishes”; Boaz probably means “in him
is strength.” 4:1a Or Huram-abi; Hebrew reads He.
4:1b Hebrew 20 cubits [9.2 meters] long, 20 cubits wide, and
10 cubits [4.6 meters] high. 4:2 Hebrew 10 cubits [4.6 meters]
across . . . 5 cubits [2.3 meters] deep and 30 cubits [13.8 meters]
in circumference. 4:3 Or 20 oxen per meter; Hebrew reads
10 per cubit. 4:5a Hebrew a handbreadth [8 centimeters].
4:5b Hebrew 3,000 baths [63 kiloliters]. 4:17 As in parallel
text at 1 Kgs 7:46; Hebrew reads Zeredah.