^7:23He also made the large bronze basin called “The Sea.”⁴³ It measured 15 feet⁴⁴ from rim to rim, was circular in shape, and stood seven-and-a-half feet⁴⁵ high. Its circumference was 45 feet.⁴⁶^7:24Under the rim all the way around it⁴⁷ were round ornaments⁴⁸ arranged in settings 15 feet long.⁴⁹ The ornaments were in two rows and had been cast with “The Sea.”⁵⁰^7:25“The Sea” stood on top of twelve bulls. Three faced northward, three westward, three southward, and three eastward. “The Sea” was placed on top of them, and they all faced outward.⁵¹^7:26It was four fingers thick and its rim was like that of a cup shaped like a lily blossom. It could hold about 12,000 gallons.⁵²

^7:27He also made ten bronze movable stands. Each stand was six feet⁵³ long, six feet⁵⁴ wide, and four-and-a-half feet⁵⁵ high. ^7:28The stands were constructed with frames between the joints. ^7:29On these frames and joints were ornamental lions, bulls, and cherubs. Under the lions and bulls were decorative wreaths.⁵⁶^7:30Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles and four supports. Under the basin the supports were fashioned on each side with wreaths.⁵⁷^7:31Inside the stand was a round opening that was a foot-and-a-half deep; it had a support that was two and one-quarter feet long.⁵⁸ On the edge of the opening were carvings in square frames.⁵⁹^7:32The four wheels were under the frames and the crossbars of the axles were connected to the stand. Each wheel was two and one-quarter feet⁶⁰ high. ^7:33The wheels were constructed like chariot wheels; their crossbars, rims, spokes, and hubs were made of cast metal. ^7:34Each stand had four supports, one per side projecting out from the stand.⁶¹^7:35On top of each stand was a round opening three-quarters of a foot deep;⁶² there were also supports and frames on top of the stands. ^7:36He engraved ornamental cherubs, lions, and palm trees on the plates of the supports and frames wherever there was room,⁶³ with wreaths⁶⁴ all around. ^7:37He made the ten stands in this way. All of them were cast in one mold and were identical in measurements and shape.

^7:38He also made ten bronze basins, each of which could hold about 240 gallons.⁶⁵ Each basin was six feet in diameter;⁶⁶ there was one basin for each stand. ^7:39He put five basins on the south side of the temple and five on the north side. He put “The Sea” on the south side, in the southeast corner.

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Footnotes

43 Heb “He made the sea, cast.” This large basin that was mounted on twelve bronze bulls and contained water for the priests to bathe themselves (2 Chr 4:6; cf. Exod 30:17–21).
44 Heb “ten cubits.”
45 Heb “five cubits.”
46 Heb “and a measuring line went around it thirty cubits all around.”
47 Heb “The Sea.” The proper noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“it”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
48 Or “gourd-shaped ornaments.”
49 Heb “ten cubits surrounding the sea all around.” The precise meaning of this description is uncertain.
50 Heb “the gourd-shaped ornaments were in two rows, cast in its casting.”
51 Heb “all their hindquarters were toward the inside.”
52 Heb “two thousand baths” (a bath was a liquid measure roughly equivalent to six gallons).
53 Heb “four cubits.”
54 Heb “four cubits.”
55 Heb “three cubits.”
56 The precise meaning of these final words is uncertain. A possible literal translation would be, “wreaths, the work of descent.”
57 The precise meaning of this last word, translated “wreaths,” is uncertain.
58 Heb “And its opening from the inside to the top and upwards [was] a cubit, and its opening was round, the work of a stand, a cubit-and-a-half.” The precise meaning of this description is uncertain.
59 Heb “also over its opening were carvings and their frames [were] squared, not round.”
60 Heb “a cubit-and-a-half” (a cubit was a unit of measure roughly equivalent to 18 inches or 45 cm).
61 Heb “four shoulders to the four sides of each stand, from the stand its shoulders.” The precise meaning of the description is uncertain.
62 Heb “and on top of the stand, a half cubit [in] height, round all around” (the meaning of this description is uncertain).
63 Heb “according to the space of each.”
64 The precise meaning of this last word, translated “wreaths,” is uncertain.
65 Heb “forty baths” (a bath was a liquid measure roughly equivalent to six gallons).
66 Heb “four cubits, each basin.” It is unclear which dimension is being measured.