2 Kings 25:13-17

25:13 The Babylonians broke the two bronze pillars in the Lord’s temple, as well as the movable stands and the big bronze basin called the “The Sea.” ¹  They took the bronze to Babylon. 25:14 They also took the pots, shovels, ²  trimming shears, ³  pans, and all the bronze utensils used by the priests. ⁴  25:15 The captain of the royal guard took the golden and silver censers ⁵  and basins. 25:16 The bronze of the items that King Solomon made for the Lord’s temple – including the two pillars, the big bronze basin called “The Sea,” the twelve bronze bulls under “The Sea,” ⁶  and the movable stands – was too heavy to be weighed. 25:17 Each of the pillars was about twenty-seven feet ⁷  high. The bronze top of one pillar was about four and a half feet ⁸  high and had bronze latticework and pomegranate shaped ornaments all around it. The second pillar with its latticework was like it.

[25:13]  ¹ sn See the note at 1 Kgs 7:23.

[25:14]  ² sn These shovels were used to clean the altar.

[25:14]  ³ sn These were used to trim the wicks.

[25:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “with which they served [or, ‘fulfilled their duty’].”

[25:15]  ⁵ sn These held the embers used for the incense offerings.

[25:16]  ⁶ tc The MT lacks “the twelve bronze bulls under ‘the Sea,’” but these words have probably been accidentally omitted by homoioarcton. The scribe’s eye may have jumped from the וְהָ (vÿha-) on וְהַבָּקָר (vÿhabbaqar), “and the bulls,” to the וְהָ on וְהַמְּכֹנוֹת (vÿhammÿkhonot), “and the movable stands,” causing him to leave out the intervening words. See the parallel passage in Jer 52:20.

[25:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “eighteen cubits.” The standard cubit in the OT is assumed by most authorities to be about eighteen inches (45 cm) long.

[25:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “three cubits.” The parallel passage in Jer 52:22 has “five.”