1 Kings 7:23–39

The Sea and the Oxen

²³And he made ^lthe 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.

²⁴Below its brim were ornamental buds encircling it all around, ten to a cubit, ^mall the way around the Sea. The ornamental buds were cast in two rows when it was cast. ²⁵It stood on ⁿtwelve 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. ²⁶It was a handbreadth thick; and its brim was shaped like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It contained ⁸two thousand baths.

The Carts and the Lavers

²⁷He also made ten ⁹carts of bronze; four cubits was the length of each cart, four cubits its width, and three cubits its height. ²⁸And this was the design of the carts: They had panels, and the panels were between frames; ²⁹on 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. ³⁰Every 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. ³¹Its 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. ³²Under 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. ³³The 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. ³⁴And there were four supports at the four corners of each cart; its supports were part of the cart itself. ³⁵On 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. ³⁶On 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. ³⁷Thus he made the ten carts. All of them were of ¹the same mold, one measure, and one shape.

³⁸Then ^ohe made ten lavers of bronze; each laver contained ²forty baths, and each laver was four cubits. On each of the ten carts was a laver. ³⁹And 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.