Solomon Builds His Palace

7 But it took Solomon 13 years to finish constructing his palace and the other buildings that were related to it.

2He built the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. It was 150 feet long. It was 75 feet wide. And it was 45 feet high. It had four rows of cedar columns. They held up beautiful cedar beams. 3Above the beams was a roof that was made out of cedar boards. It rested on the columns. There were three rows of beams with 15 in each row. The total number of beams was 45. 4The windows of the palace were placed high up in the walls. They were in groups of three. And they faced each other. 5All of the doorways had frames that were shaped like rectangles. They were in front. They were in groups of three. And they faced each other.

6Solomon made a covered area. It was 75 feet long. And it was 45 feet wide. Its roof was held up by columns. In front of it was a porch. In front of that were pillars and a roof that went out beyond them.

7Solomon built the throne hall. It was called the Hall of Justice. That’s where he would serve as judge. He covered the hall with cedar boards from floor to ceiling.

8The palace where he would live was set farther back. Its plan was something like the plan for the hall. Solomon had gotten married to Pharaoh’s daughter. He made a palace for her. It was like the hall.

9All of those buildings were made out of blocks of very fine stone. They were cut to the right size. They were shaped with a saw on the back and front sides. Those stones were used for the outside of each building and for the large courtyard. They were also used from the foundations up to the roofs. 10Large blocks of very fine stone were used for the foundations. Some were 15 feet long. Others were 12 feet long. 11The walls that were above them were made out of very fine stones. The stones were cut to the right size. On top of them was a layer of cedar beams.

12The large courtyard had a wall around it. The first three layers of the wall were made out of blocks of stone. The top layer was made out of beautiful cedar wood. The same thing was done with the inside courtyard of the Lord’s temple and its porch.

More Facts About the Temple

13King Solomon sent messengers to Tyre. He wanted them to bring Huram back with them. 14Huram’s mother was a widow. She was from the tribe of Naphtali. Huram’s father was from Tyre. He was skilled in working with bronze. Huram also was very skilled. He had done all kinds of work with bronze. He came to King Solomon and did all of the work he was asked to do.

15Huram made two bronze pillars. Each of them was 27 feet high. And each was 18 feet around. 16Each pillar had a decorated top that was made out of bronze. Each top was seven and a half feet high.

17Chains that were linked together hung down from the tops of the pillars. There were seven chains for each top. 18Huram made two rows of pomegranates. They circled the chains. The pomegranates decorated the tops of the pillars. Huram did the same thing for each pillar. 19The tops on the pillars of the porch were shaped like lilies. The lilies were 6 feet high. 20On the tops of both pillars were 200 pomegranates. They were in rows all around the tops. They were above the part that was shaped like a bowl. And they were next to the chains.

21Huram set the pillars up at the temple porch. The pillar on the south he named Jakin. The one on the north he named Boaz. 22The tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. So the work on the pillars was finished.

23Huram made a huge metal bowl for washing. Its shape was round. It measured 15 feet from rim to rim. It was seven and a half feet high. And it was 45 feet around. 24Below the rim there was a circle of gourds around the bowl. In every 18 inches around the bowl there were ten gourds. The gourds were arranged in two rows. They were made as part of the bowl itself.

25The huge bowl stood on 12 bulls. Three of them faced north. Three faced west. Three faced south. And three faced east. The bowl rested on top of them. Their rear ends were toward the center. 26The bowl was three inches thick. Its rim was like the rim of a cup. The rim was shaped like the bloom of a lily. The bowl held 11,500 gallons of water.

27Huram also made ten stands out of bronze. They could be moved around. Each stand was six feet long. It was six feet wide. And it was four and a half feet high. 28Here is how the stands were made. They had sides that were joined to posts. 29On the sides between the posts were lions, bulls and cherubim. They were also on all of the posts. Above and below the lions and bulls were wreaths that were made out of hammered metal.

30Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles. Each one had a bowl that rested on four supports. They had wreaths on each side.

31There was a round opening on the inside of each stand. The opening had a frame that was 18 inches deep. The sides were 27 inches high from the top of the opening to the bottom of the base. There was carving around the opening. The sides of the stands were square, not round.

32The four wheels were under the sides. The axles of the wheels were connected to the stand. Each wheel was 27 inches across. 33The wheels were made like chariot wheels. All of the axles, rims, spokes and hubs were made out of metal.

34Each stand had four handles on it. There was one on each corner. They came out from the stand. 35At the top of the stand there was a round band. It was nine inches deep. The sides and supports were connected to the top of the stand.

36Huram carved cherubim, lions and palm trees on the sides of the stands. He also carved them on the surfaces of the supports. His carving covered every open space. He had also carved wreaths all around.

37That’s how he made the ten stands. All of them were made in the same molds. And they had the same size and shape.

38Then Huram made ten bronze bowls. Each one held 230 gallons. The bowls measured six feet across. There was one bowl for each of the ten stands. 39He placed five of the stands on the south side of the temple. He placed the other five on the north side. He put the huge bowl on the south side. It was at the southeast corner of the temple. 40He also made the bowls, shovels and sprinkling bowls.

So Huram finished all of the work he had started for King Solomon. Here’s what he made for the Lord’s temple.

41 He made the two pillars.

He made the two tops for the pillars. The tops were shaped like bowls.

He made the two sets of chains that were linked together. They decorated the two bowl-shaped tops of the pillars.

42 He made the 400 pomegranates for the two sets of chains. There were two rows of pomegranates for each chain. They decorated the bowl-shaped tops of the pillars.

43 He made the ten stands with their ten bowls.

44 He made the huge bowl. He made the 12 bulls that were under it.

45 He made the pots, shovels and sprinkling bowls.

Huram made all of those objects for King Solomon for the Lord’s temple. He made them out of bronze. Then he shined them up. 46The king had made them in clay molds. It was done on the flatlands of the Jordan River between Succoth and Zarethan.

47Solomon didn’t weigh any of those things. There were too many of them to weigh. No one even tried to weigh the bronze they were made out of.

48Solomon also made all of the articles that were in the Lord’s temple.

He made the golden altar.

He made the golden table for the holy bread.

49 He made the pure gold lampstands. There were five on the right and five on the left. They were in front of the Most Holy Room.

He made the gold flowers. He made the gold lamps and tongs.

50 He made the bowls, wick cutters, sprinkling bowls, dishes, and shallow cups for burning incense. All of them were made out of pure gold.

He made the gold bases for the doors of the inside room. That’s the Most Holy Room. He also made gold bases for the doors of the main hall of the temple.

51King Solomon finished all of the work for the Lord’s temple. Then he brought in the things his father David had set apart for the Lord. They included the silver and gold and all of the articles for the Lord’s temple. Solomon placed them with the other treasures that were there.