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Furnishing the Temple(A)

Solomon[a] also constructed a bronze[b] altar 20 cubits[c] long, 20 cubits[d] wide, and ten cubits[e] high. He crafted a circular sea of cast metal 10 cubits[f] from rim to rim and five cubits[g] tall. A line 30 cubits[h] long surrounded it. Underneath, figurines resembling oxen[i] encircled the circular sea[j] beneath it, ten oxen[k] every cubit,[l] and encircling the sea completely. The oxen were in two rows, cast all at the same time. The sea stood on top of twelve oxen, three of which faced to the north, three of which faced to the west, three of which faced to the south, and three of which faced toward the east. The sea was placed on top of the oxen, with all of their hindquarters turned inwards. It was a handbreadth[m] thick, with its brim fashioned like the brim of a cup. Similar in shape to a lily blossom, it could hold 3,000 baths.[n] Solomon[o] also made ten wash basins, placing five on the right side and five on the left. The basins were intended for use to rinse burnt offerings, and the sea was intended for use by the priests to wash in.

Solomon[p] made ten gold lamp stands as he had been directed and set them in the Temple, five on the south side and five on the north side. He also made ten tables and placed them in the Temple, five on the right side and five on the left side. He also constructed 100 gold basins. He made the court of the priests, the great court, and doors for the court, overlaying their doors with bronze. 10 He set the sea at the southeast corner of the Temple.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 4:1 Lit. Then he
  2. 2 Chronicles 4:1 Or brass
  3. 2 Chronicles 4:1 I.e. about 30 feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
  4. 2 Chronicles 4:1 I.e. about 30 feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
  5. 2 Chronicles 4:1 I.e. about 15 feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
  6. 2 Chronicles 4:2 I.e. about 15 feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
  7. 2 Chronicles 4:2 I.e. about seven and a half feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
  8. 2 Chronicles 4:2 I.e. about 45 feet, perhaps its external circumference; a cubit was about eighteen inches
  9. 2 Chronicles 4:3 Or cattle; and so throughout the chapter
  10. 2 Chronicles 4:3 Lit. encircled it
  11. 2 Chronicles 4:3 The Heb. lacks oxen
  12. 2 Chronicles 4:3 Lit. each cubit
  13. 2 Chronicles 4:5 I.e. about three inches; a handbreadth was about one sixth of a cubit
  14. 2 Chronicles 4:5 I.e. about 18,000 gallons; Cf. 1King 7:26, where the volume is given at 2,000 baths
  15. 2 Chronicles 4:6 Lit. He
  16. 2 Chronicles 4:7 Lit. He

The Temple’s Furnishings(A)

He made a bronze altar(B) twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide and ten cubits high.[a] He made the Sea(C) of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits[b] high. It took a line of thirty cubits[c] to measure around it. Below the rim, figures of bulls encircled it—ten to a cubit.[d] The bulls were cast in two rows in one piece with the Sea.

The Sea stood on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east.(D) The Sea rested on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center. It was a handbreadth[e] in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held three thousand baths.[f]

He then made ten basins(E) for washing and placed five on the south side and five on the north. In them the things to be used for the burnt offerings(F) were rinsed, but the Sea was to be used by the priests for washing.

He made ten gold lampstands(G) according to the specifications(H) for them and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north.

He made ten tables(I) and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. He also made a hundred gold sprinkling bowls.(J)

He made the courtyard(K) of the priests, and the large court and the doors for the court, and overlaid the doors with bronze. 10 He placed the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 4:1 That is, about 30 feet long and wide and 15 feet high or about 9 meters long and wide and 4.5 meters high
  2. 2 Chronicles 4:2 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters
  3. 2 Chronicles 4:2 That is, about 45 feet or about 14 meters
  4. 2 Chronicles 4:3 That is, about 18 inches or about 45 centimeters
  5. 2 Chronicles 4:5 That is, about 3 inches or about 7.5 centimeters
  6. 2 Chronicles 4:5 That is, about 18,000 gallons or about 66,000 liters

19 Solomon also made these items for God’s Temple: the golden altar, the tables for the Bread of the Presence, 20 the lamp stands and their lamps made of pure gold to burn in front[a] of the inner sanctuary, as required, 21 the pure gold ornaments in the shape of flowers, the lamps, and the tongs (all made of the purest gold), 22 the gold trimming instruments, basins, pans, censers, and the gold door sockets for the inner sanctuary (that is, the Most Holy Place), and for the doors to the main hall of the Temple.

The Ark is Placed in the Temple(A)

As soon as Solomon had completed the Lord’s Temple, he installed the holy items that had belonged to his father David, including the silver, gold, and all the other items in the treasure rooms of God’s Temple.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 4:20 Or burn at the entrance

19 Solomon also made all the furnishings that were in God’s temple:

the golden altar;

the tables(A) on which was the bread of the Presence;

20 the lampstands(B) of pure gold with their lamps, to burn in front of the inner sanctuary as prescribed;

21 the gold floral work and lamps and tongs (they were solid gold);

22 the pure gold wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes(C) and censers;(D) and the gold doors of the temple: the inner doors to the Most Holy Place and the doors of the main hall.

When all the work Solomon had done for the temple of the Lord was finished,(E) he brought in the things his father David had dedicated(F)—the silver and gold and all the furnishings—and he placed them in the treasuries of God’s temple.