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Today's Bible Reading :: 1 Kings 6 - 7 (ESV)

1 Kings 6Listen to the passage

1 Kings 7Listen to the passage

1 Kings 6

Solomon Builds the Temple

(2Ch 3:1–14 )

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:1

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:1 - In the four hundred and eightieth year after the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, he began to build the house of the LORD.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:2

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:2 - The house that King Solomon built for the LORD was sixty cubits[fn] long, twenty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:3

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:3 - The vestibule in front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits long, equal to the width of the house, and ten cubits deep in front of the house.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:4

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:4 - And he made for the house windows with recessed frames.[fn]

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:5

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:5 - He also built a structure[fn] against the wall of the house, running around the walls of the house, both the nave and the inner sanctuary. And he made side chambers all around.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:6

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:6 - The lowest story[fn] was five cubits broad, the middle one was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad. For around the outside of the house he made offsets on the wall in order that the supporting beams should not be inserted into the walls of the house.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:7

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:7 - When the house was built, it was with stone prepared at the quarry, so that neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was being built.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:8

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:8 - The entrance for the lowest[fn] story was on the south side of the house, and one went up by stairs to the middle story, and from the middle story to the third.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:9

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:9 - So he built the house and finished it, and he made the ceiling of the house of beams and planks of cedar.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:10

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:10 - He built the structure against the whole house, five cubits high, and it was joined to the house with timbers of cedar.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:11

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:11 - Now the word of the LORD came to Solomon,

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:12

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:12 - “Concerning this house that you are building, if you will walk in my statutes and obey my rules and keep all my commandments and walk in them, then I will establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:13

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:13 - And I will dwell among the children of Israel and will not forsake my people Israel.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:14

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:14 - So Solomon built the house and finished it.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:15

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:15 - He lined the walls of the house on the inside with boards of cedar. From the floor of the house to the walls of the ceiling, he covered them on the inside with wood, and he covered the floor of the house with boards of cypress.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:16

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:16 - He built twenty cubits of the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the walls, and he built this within as an inner sanctuary, as the Most Holy Place.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:17

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:17 - The house, that is, the nave in front of the inner sanctuary, was forty cubits long.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:18

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:18 - The cedar within the house was carved in the form of gourds and open flowers. All was cedar; no stone was seen.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:19

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:19 - The inner sanctuary he prepared in the innermost part of the house, to set there the ark of the covenant of the LORD.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:20

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:20 - The inner sanctuary[fn] was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high, and he overlaid it with pure gold. He also overlaid[fn] an altar of cedar.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:21

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:21 - And Solomon overlaid the inside of the house with pure gold, and he drew chains of gold across, in front of the inner sanctuary, and overlaid it with gold.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:22

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:22 - And he overlaid the whole house with gold, until all the house was finished. Also the whole altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:23

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:23 - In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olivewood, each ten cubits high.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:24

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:24 - Five cubits was the length of one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the length of the other wing of the cherub; it was ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:25

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:25 - The other cherub also measured ten cubits; both cherubim had the same measure and the same form.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:26

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:26 - The height of one cherub was ten cubits, and so was that of the other cherub.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:27

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:27 - He put the cherubim in the innermost part of the house. And the wings of the cherubim were spread out so that a wing of one touched the one wall, and a wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; their other wings touched each other in the middle of the house.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:28

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:28 - And he overlaid the cherubim with gold.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:29

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:29 - Around all the walls of the house he carved engraved figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, in the inner and outer rooms.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:30

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:30 - The floor of the house he overlaid with gold in the inner and outer rooms.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:31

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:31 - For the entrance to the inner sanctuary he made doors of olivewood; the lintel and the doorposts were five-sided.[fn]

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:32

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:32 - He covered the two doors of olivewood with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. He overlaid them with gold and spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:33

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:33 - So also he made for the entrance to the nave doorposts of olivewood, in the form of a square,

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:34

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:34 - and two doors of cypress wood. The two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:35

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:35 - On them he carved cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, and he overlaid them with gold evenly applied on the carved work.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:36

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:36 - He built the inner court with three courses of cut stone and one course of cedar beams.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:37

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:37 - In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid, in the month of Ziv.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 6:38

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 6:38 - And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its parts, and according to all its specifications. He was seven years in building it.
ESV Footnotes
A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
Or blocked lattice windows
Or platform; also verse 10
Septuagint; Hebrew structure, or platform
Septuagint, Targum; Hebrew middle
Vulgate; Hebrew And before the inner sanctuary
Septuagint made
The meaning of the Hebrew phrase is uncertain

1 Kings 7

Solomon Builds His Palace

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:1

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:1 - Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished his entire house.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:2

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:2 - He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon. Its length was a hundred cubits[fn] and its breadth fifty cubits and its height thirty cubits, and it was built on four[fn] rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams on the pillars.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:3

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:3 - And it was covered with cedar above the chambers that were on the forty-five pillars, fifteen in each row.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:4

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:4 - There were window frames in three rows, and window opposite window in three tiers.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:5

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:5 - All the doorways and windows[fn] had square frames, and window was opposite window in three tiers.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:6

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:6 - And he made the Hall of Pillars; its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth thirty cubits. There was a porch in front with pillars, and a canopy in front of them.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:7

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:7 - And he made the Hall of the Throne where he was to pronounce judgment, even the Hall of Judgment. It was finished with cedar from floor to rafters.[fn]

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:8

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:8 - His own house where he was to dwell, in the other court at the back of the hall, was of like workmanship. Solomon also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter whom he had taken in marriage.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:9

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:9 - All these were made of costly stones, cut according to measure, sawed with saws, back and front, even from the foundation to the coping, and from the outside to the great court.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:10

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:10 - The foundation was of costly stones, huge stones, stones of eight and ten cubits.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:11

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:11 - And above were costly stones, cut according to measurement, and cedar.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:12

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:12 - The great court had three courses of cut stone all around, and a course of cedar beams; so had the inner court of the house of the LORD and the vestibule of the house.

The Temple Furnishings

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:13

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:13 - And King Solomon sent and brought Hiram from Tyre.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:14

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:14 - He was the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze. And he was full of wisdom, understanding, and skill for making any work in bronze. He came to King Solomon and did all his work.
(2Ch 3:15–17 )

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:15

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:15 - He cast two pillars of bronze. Eighteen cubits was the height of one pillar, and a line of twelve cubits measured its circumference. It was hollow, and its thickness was four fingers. The second pillar was the same.[fn]

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:16

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:16 - He also made two capitals of cast bronze to set on the tops of the pillars. The height of the one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:17

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:17 - There were lattices of checker work with wreaths of chain work for the capitals on the tops of the pillars, a lattice[fn] for the one capital and a lattice for the other capital.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:18

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:18 - Likewise he made pomegranates[fn] in two rows around the one latticework to cover the capital that was on the top of the pillar, and he did the same with the other capital.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:19

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:19 - Now the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars in the vestibule were of lily-work, four cubits.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:20

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:20 - The capitals were on the two pillars and also above the rounded projection which was beside the latticework. There were two hundred pomegranates in two rows all around, and so with the other capital.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:21

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:21 - He set up the pillars at the vestibule of the temple. He set up the pillar on the south and called its name Jachin, and he set up the pillar on the north and called its name Boaz.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:22

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:22 - And on the tops of the pillars was lily-work. Thus the work of the pillars was finished.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:23

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:23 - Then he made the sea of cast metal. It was round, ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits high, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:24

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:24 - Under its brim were gourds, for ten cubits, compassing the sea all around. The gourds were in two rows, cast with it when it was cast.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:25

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:25 - It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The sea was set on them, and all their rear parts were inward.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:26

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:26 - Its thickness was a handbreadth,[fn] and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily. It held two thousand baths.[fn]

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:27

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:27 - He also made the ten stands of bronze. Each stand was four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:28

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:28 - This was the construction of the stands: they had panels, and the panels were set in the frames,

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:29

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:29 - and on the panels that were set in the frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim. On the frames, both above and below the lions and oxen, there were wreaths of beveled work.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:30

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:30 - Moreover, each stand had four bronze wheels and axles of bronze, and at the four corners were supports for a basin. The supports were cast with wreaths at the side of each.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:31

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:31 - Its opening was within a crown that projected upward one cubit. Its opening was round, as a pedestal is made, a cubit and a half deep. At its opening there were carvings, and its panels were square, not round.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:32

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:32 - And the four wheels were underneath the panels. The axles of the wheels were of one piece with the stands, and the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:33

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:33 - The wheels were made like a chariot wheel; their axles, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all cast.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:34

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:34 - There were four supports at the four corners of each stand. The supports were of one piece with the stands.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:35

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:35 - And on the top of the stand there was a round band half a cubit high; and on the top of the stand its stays and its panels were of one piece with it.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:36

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:36 - And on the surfaces of its stays and on its panels, he carved cherubim, lions, and palm trees, according to the space of each, with wreaths all around.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:37

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:37 - After this manner he made the ten stands. All of them were cast alike, of the same measure and the same form.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:38

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:38 - And he made ten basins of bronze. Each basin held forty baths, each basin measured four cubits, and there was a basin for each of the ten stands.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:39

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:39 - And he set the stands, five on the south side of the house, and five on the north side of the house. And he set the sea at the southeast corner of the house.
(2Ch 4:11–18 )

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:40

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:40 - Hiram also made the pots, the shovels, and the basins. So Hiram finished all the work that he did for King Solomon on the house of the LORD:

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:41

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:41 - the two pillars, the two bowls of the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars, and the two latticeworks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the tops of the pillars;

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:42

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:42 - and the four hundred pomegranates for the two latticeworks, two rows of pomegranates for each latticework, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the pillars;

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:43

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:43 - the ten stands, and the ten basins on the stands;

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:44

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:44 - and the one sea, and the twelve oxen underneath the sea.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:45

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:45 - Now the pots, the shovels, and the basins, all these vessels in the house of the LORD, which Hiram made for King Solomon, were of burnished bronze.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:46

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:46 - In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:47

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:47 - And Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because there were so many of them; the weight of the bronze was not ascertained.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:48

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:48 - So Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of the LORD: the golden altar, the golden table for the bread of the Presence,

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:49

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:49 - the lampstands of pure gold, five on the south side and five on the north, before the inner sanctuary; the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of gold;

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:50

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:50 - the cups, snuffers, basins, dishes for incense, and fire pans, of pure gold; and the sockets of gold, for the doors of the innermost part of the house, the Most Holy Place, and for the doors of the nave of the temple.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Ki 7:51

Unchecked Copy Box1Ki 7:51 - Thus all the work that King Solomon did on the house of the LORD was finished. And Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated, the silver, the gold, and the vessels, and stored them in the treasuries of the house of the LORD.
See the ESV Preface
ESV Footnotes
A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
Septuagint three
Septuagint; Hebrew posts
Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew floor
Targum, Syriac (compare Septuagint and Jeremiah 52:21); Hebrew and a line of twelve cubits measured the circumference of the second pillar
Septuagint; Hebrew seven; twice in this verse
Two manuscripts (compare Septuagint); Hebrew pillars
A handbreadth was about 3 inches or 7.5 centimeters
A bath was about 6 gallons or 22 liters
ESV

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016, 2025 by Crossway Books and Bibles, a Publishing Ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

See detailed copyright information.

For more information on this translation, see the ESV Preface.

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