1 Kings 7:23-45

7:23 He also made the large bronze basin called “The Sea.” ¹  It measured 15 feet ²  from rim to rim, was circular in shape, and stood seven-and-a-half feet ³  high. Its circumference was 45 feet. ⁴  7:24 Under the rim all the way around it ⁵  were round ornaments ⁶  arranged in settings 15 feet long. ⁷  The ornaments were in two rows and had been cast with “The Sea.” ⁸  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. ⁹  7:26 It 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. ¹⁰ 

7:27 He also made ten bronze movable stands. Each stand was six feet ¹¹  long, six feet ¹²  wide, and four-and-a-half feet ¹³  high. 7:28 The stands were constructed with frames between the joints. 7:29 On these frames and joints were ornamental lions, bulls, and cherubs. Under the lions and bulls were decorative wreaths. ¹⁴  7:30 Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles and four supports. Under the basin the supports were fashioned on each side with wreaths. ¹⁵  7:31 Inside 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. ¹⁶  On the edge of the opening were carvings in square frames. ¹⁷  7:32 The four wheels were under the frames and the crossbars of the axles were connected to the stand. Each wheel was two and one-quarter feet ¹⁸  high. 7:33 The wheels were constructed like chariot wheels; their crossbars, rims, spokes, and hubs were made of cast metal. 7:34 Each stand had four supports, one per side projecting out from the stand. ¹⁹  7:35 On top of each stand was a round opening three-quarters of a foot deep; ²⁰  there were also supports and frames on top of the stands. 7:36 He engraved ornamental cherubs, lions, and palm trees on the plates of the supports and frames wherever there was room, ²¹  with wreaths ²²  all around. 7:37 He made the ten stands in this way. All of them were cast in one mold and were identical in measurements and shape.

7:38 He also made ten bronze basins, each of which could hold about 240 gallons. ²³  Each basin was six feet in diameter; ²⁴  there was one basin for each stand. 7:39 He 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.

7:40 Hiram also made basins, shovels, and bowls. He ²⁵  finished all the work on the Lord’s temple he had been assigned by King Solomon. ²⁶  7:41 He made ²⁷  the two pillars, the two bowl-shaped tops of the pillars, the latticework for the bowl-shaped tops of the two pillars, 7:42 the four hundred pomegranate-shaped ornaments for the latticework of the two pillars (each latticework had two rows of these ornaments at the bowl-shaped top of the pillar), 7:43 the ten movable stands with their ten basins, 7:44 the big bronze basin called “The Sea” with its twelve bulls underneath, ²⁸  7:45 and the pots, shovels, and bowls. All these items King Solomon assigned Hiram to make for the Lord’s temple ²⁹  were made from polished bronze.

1 Kings 7:2

7:2 He named ³⁰  it “The Palace of the Lebanon Forest”; ³¹  it was 150 feet ³²  long, 75 feet ³³  wide, and 45 feet ³⁴  high. It had four rows of cedar pillars and cedar beams above the pillars.

1 Kings 4:2-6

4:2 These were his officials:

Azariah son of Zadok was the priest.

4:3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, wrote down what happened. ³⁵ 

Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was in charge of the records.

4:4 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was commander of ³⁶  the army.

Zadok and Abiathar were priests.

4:5 Azariah son of Nathan was supervisor of ³⁷  the district governors.

Zabud son of Nathan was a priest and adviser to ³⁸  the king.

4:6 Ahishar was supervisor of the palace. ³⁹ 

Adoniram son of Abda was supervisor of ⁴⁰  the work crews. ⁴¹ 

1 Kings 4:14-16

4:14 Ahinadab son of Iddo was in charge of Mahanaim.

4:15 Ahimaaz was in charge of Naphtali. (He married Solomon’s daughter Basemath.)

4:16 Baana son of Hushai was in charge of Asher and Aloth.

[7:23]  ¹ tn Heb “He made the sea, cast.”

[7:23]  ² tn Heb “ten cubits.”

[7:23]  ³ tn Heb “five cubits.”

[7:23]  ⁴ tn Heb “and a measuring line went around it thirty cubits all around.”

[7:24]  ⁵ tn Heb “The Sea.” The proper noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“it”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:24]  ⁶ tn Or “gourd-shaped ornaments.”

[7:24]  ⁷ tn Heb “ten cubits surrounding the sea all around.” The precise meaning of this description is uncertain.

[7:24]  ⁸ tn Heb “the gourd-shaped ornaments were in two rows, cast in its casting.”

[7:25]  ⁹ tn Heb “all their hindquarters were toward the inside.”

[7:26]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “two thousand baths” (a bath was a liquid measure roughly equivalent to six gallons).

[7:27]  ¹¹ tn Heb “four cubits.”

[7:27]  ¹² tn Heb “four cubits.”

[7:27]  ¹³ tn Heb “three cubits.”

[7:29]  ¹⁴ tn The precise meaning of these final words is uncertain. A possible literal translation would be, “wreaths, the work of descent.”

[7:30]  ¹⁵ tn The precise meaning of this last word, translated “wreaths,” is uncertain.

[7:31]  ¹⁶ tn 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.

[7:31]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “also over its opening were carvings and their frames [were] squared, not round.”

[7:32]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “a cubit-and-a-half” (a cubit was a unit of measure roughly equivalent to 18 inches or 45 cm).

[7:34]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “four shoulders to the four sides of each stand, from the stand its shoulders.” The precise meaning of the description is uncertain.

[7:35]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and on top of the stand, a half cubit [in] height, round all around” (the meaning of this description is uncertain).

[7:36]  ²¹ tn Heb “according to the space of each.”

[7:36]  ²² tn The precise meaning of this last word, translated “wreaths,” is uncertain.

[7:38]  ²³ tn Heb “forty baths” (a bath was a liquid measure roughly equivalent to six gallons).

[7:38]  ²⁴ tn Heb “four cubits, each basin.” It is unclear which dimension is being measured.

[7:40]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Hiram.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:40]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Hiram finished doing all the work which he did for King Solomon [on] the house of the Lord.”

[7:41]  ²⁷ tn The words “he made” are added for stylistic reasons.

[7:44]  ²⁸ tn Heb “underneath ‘The Sea.’”

[7:45]  ²⁹ tn Heb “which Hiram made for King Solomon [for] the house of the Lord.”

[7:2]  ³⁰ tn Heb “he built.”

[7:2]  ³¹ sn The Palace of the Lebanon Forest. This name was appropriate because of the large amount of cedar, undoubtedly brought from Lebanon, used in its construction. The cedar pillars in the palace must have given it the appearance of a forest.

[7:2]  ³² tn Heb “one hundred cubits.”

[7:2]  ³³ tn Heb “fifty cubits.”

[7:2]  ³⁴ tn Heb “thirty cubits.”

[4:3]  ³⁵ tn Heb “were scribes”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “secretaries”; TEV, NLT “court secretaries.”

[4:4]  ³⁶ tn Heb “was over.”

[4:5]  ³⁷ tn Heb “was over.”

[4:5]  ³⁸ tn Heb “close associate of”; KJV, ASV, NASB “the king’s friend” (a title for an adviser, not just an acquaintance).

[4:6]  ³⁹ tn Heb “over the house.”

[4:6]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “was over.”

[4:6]  ⁴¹ sn The work crews. This Hebrew word (מַס, mas) refers to a group of laborers conscripted for royal or public service.