1 Kings 7:13-8:21

New King James Version

Hiram the Craftsman

¹³ Now King Solomon sent and brought ^[a]Huram from Tyre. ^14 (A)He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and ^(B)his father was a man of Tyre, a bronze worker; ^(C)he was filled with wisdom and understanding and skill in working with all kinds of bronze work. So he came to King Solomon and did all his work.

The Bronze Pillars for the Temple^(D)

¹⁵ And he ^[b]cast ^(E)two pillars of bronze, each one eighteen cubits high, and a line of twelve cubits measured the circumference of each. ¹⁶ Then he made two capitals of cast bronze, to set on the tops of the pillars. The height of one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits. ¹⁷ He made a lattice network, with wreaths of chainwork, for the capitals which were on top of the pillars: seven chains for one capital and seven for the other capital. ¹⁸ So he made the pillars, and two rows of pomegranates above the network all around to cover the capitals that were on top; and thus he did for the other capital.

¹⁹ The capitals which were on top of the pillars in the hall were in the shape of lilies, four cubits. ²⁰ The capitals on the two pillars also had pomegranates above, by the convex surface which was next to the network; and there were ^(F)two hundred such pomegranates in rows on each of the capitals all around.

^21 (G)Then he set up the pillars by the vestibule of the temple; he set up the pillar on the right and called its name ^[c]Jachin, and he set up the pillar on the left and called its name ^[d]Boaz. ²² The tops of the pillars were in the shape of lilies. So the work of the pillars was finished.

The Sea and the Oxen

²³ And he made ^(H)the Sea of cast bronze, ten cubits from one brim to the other; it was completely round. Its height was five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference.

²⁴ Below its brim were ornamental buds encircling it all around, ten to a cubit, ^(I)all the way around the Sea. The ornamental buds were cast in two rows when it was cast. ²⁵ It stood on ^(J)twelve oxen: three looking toward the north, three looking toward the west, three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east; the Sea was set upon them, and all their back parts pointed inward. ²⁶ It was a handbreadth thick; and its brim was shaped like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It contained ^[e]two thousand baths.

The Carts and the Lavers

²⁷ He also made ten ^[f]carts of bronze; four cubits was the length of each cart, four cubits its width, and three cubits its height. ²⁸ And this was the design of the carts: They had panels, and the panels were between frames; ²⁹ on the panels that were between the frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim. And on the frames was a pedestal on top. Below the lions and oxen were wreaths of plaited work. ³⁰ Every cart had four bronze wheels and axles of bronze, and its four feet had supports. Under the laver were supports of cast bronze beside each wreath. ³¹ Its opening inside the crown at the top was one cubit in diameter; and the opening was round, shaped like a pedestal, one and a half cubits in outside diameter; and also on the opening were engravings, but the panels were square, not round. ³² Under the panels were the four wheels, and the axles of the wheels were joined to the cart. The height of a wheel was one and a half cubits. ³³ The workmanship of the wheels was like the workmanship of a chariot wheel; their axle pins, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all of cast bronze. ³⁴ And there were four supports at the four corners of each cart; its supports were part of the cart itself. ³⁵ On the top of the cart, at the height of half a cubit, it was perfectly round. And on the top of the cart, its flanges and its panels were of the same casting. ³⁶ On the plates of its flanges and on its panels he engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees, wherever there was a clear space on each, with wreaths all around. ³⁷ Thus he made the ten carts. All of them were of ^[g]the same mold, one measure, and one shape.

³⁸ Then ^(K)he made ten lavers of bronze; each laver contained ^[h]forty baths, and each laver was four cubits. On each of the ten carts was a laver. ³⁹ And he put five carts on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house. He set the Sea on the right side of the house, toward the southeast.

Furnishings of the Temple^(L)

^40 (M)Huram^[i] made the lavers and the shovels and the bowls. So Huram finished doing all the work that he was to do for King Solomon for the house of the Lord: ⁴¹ the two pillars, the two bowl-shaped capitals that were on top of the two pillars; the two ^(N)networks covering the two bowl-shaped capitals which were on top of the pillars; ^42 (O)four hundred pomegranates for the two networks (two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowl-shaped capitals that were on top of the pillars); ⁴³ the ten carts, and ten lavers on the carts; ⁴⁴ one Sea, and twelve oxen under the Sea; ^45 (P)the pots, the shovels, and the bowls.

All these articles which ^[j]Huram made for King Solomon for the house of the Lord were of burnished bronze. ^46 (Q)In the plain of Jordan the king had them cast in clay molds, between ^(R)Succoth and ^(S)Zaretan. ⁴⁷ And Solomon did not weigh all the articles, because there were so many; the weight of the bronze was not ^(T)determined.

⁴⁸ Thus Solomon had all the furnishings made for the house of the Lord: ^(U)the altar of gold, and ^(V)the table of gold on which was ^(W)the showbread; ⁴⁹ the lampstands of pure gold, five on the right side and five on the left in front of the inner sanctuary, with the flowers and the lamps and the wick-trimmers of gold; ⁵⁰ the basins, the trimmers, the bowls, the ladles, and the ^[k]censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, both for the doors of the inner room (the Most Holy Place) and for the doors of the main hall of the temple.

⁵¹ So all the work that King Solomon had done for the house of the Lord was finished; and Solomon brought in the things ^(X)which his father David had dedicated: the silver and the gold and the furnishings. He put them in the treasuries of the house of the Lord.

The Ark Brought into the Temple^(Y)

8 Now ^(Z)Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, ^(AA)that they might bring ^(AB)up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the City of David, which is Zion. ² Therefore all the men of Israel assembled with King Solomon at the ^(AC)feast in the month of ^[l]Ethanim, which is the seventh month. ³ So all the elders of Israel came, ^(AD)and the priests took up the ark. ⁴ Then they brought up the ark of the Lord, ^(AE)the ^[m]tabernacle of meeting, and all the holy furnishings that were in the tabernacle. The priests and the Levites brought them up. ⁵ Also King Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled with him, were with him before the ark, ^(AF)sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be counted or numbered for multitude. ⁶ Then the priests ^(AG)brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord to ^(AH)its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the Most Holy Place, ^(AI)under the wings of the cherubim. ⁷ For the cherubim spread their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles. ⁸ The poles ^(AJ)extended so that the ^[n]ends of the poles could be seen from the holy place, in front of the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day. ^9 (AK)Nothing was in the ark ^(AL)except the two tablets of stone which Moses ^(AM)put there at Horeb, ^(AN)when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁰ And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud ^(AO)filled the house of the Lord, ¹¹ so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the ^(AP)glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

^12 (AQ)Then Solomon spoke:

Solomon’s Speech at Completion of the Work^(AU)

¹⁴ Then the king turned around and ^(AV)blessed the whole assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing. ¹⁵ And he said: ^(AW)“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who ^(AX)spoke with His mouth to my father David, and with His hand has fulfilled it, saying, ¹⁶ ‘Since the day that I brought My people Israel out of Egypt, I have chosen no city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house, that ^(AY)My name might be there; but I chose ^(AZ)David to be over My people Israel.’ ¹⁷ Now ^(BA)it was in the heart of my father David to build a ^[o]temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel. ^18 (BB)But the Lord said to my father David, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a temple for My name, you did well that it was in your heart. ¹⁹ Nevertheless ^(BC)you shall not build the temple, but your son who will come from your body, he shall build the temple for My name.’ ²⁰ So the Lord has fulfilled His word which He spoke; and I have ^[p]filled the position of my father David, and sit on the throne of Israel, ^(BD)as the Lord promised; and I have built a temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel. ²¹ And there I have made a place for the ark, in which is ^(BE)the covenant of the Lord which He made with our fathers, when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.”