Solomon’s Palace Complex

¹Solomon, however, took thirteen years to complete the construction of his entire palace.

²He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon a hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high,with four rows of cedar pillars supporting the cedar beams.

³The house was roofed with cedar above the beams that rested on the pillars—forty-five beams, fifteen per row.

⁴There were three rows of high windows facing one another in three tiers.

⁵All the doorwayshad rectangular frames, with the openings facing one another in three tiers.

⁶Solomon made his colonnade fifty cubits long and thirty cubits wide,with a portico in front of it and a canopy with pillars in front of the portico.

⁷In addition, he built a hall for the throne, the Hall of Justice, where he was to judge. It was paneled with cedar from floor to ceiling.

⁸And the palace where Solomon would live, set further back, was of similar construction. He also made a palace like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had married.

⁹All these buildings were constructed with costly stones, cut to size and trimmed with saws inside and out from the foundation to the eaves, and from the outside to the great courtyard.

¹⁰The foundations were laid with large, costly stones, some ten cubits longand some eight cubits long.

¹¹Above these were costly stones, cut to size, and cedar beams.

¹²The great courtyard was surrounded by three rows of dressed stone and a row of trimmed cedar beams, as were the inner courtyard and portico of the house of the LORD.

The Pillars and Capitals

¹³Now King Solomon sent to bring Huramfrom Tyre.

¹⁴He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a craftsman in bronze. Huram had great skill, understanding, and knowledge for every kind of bronze work. So he came to King Solomon and carried out all his work.

¹⁵He cast two pillars of bronze, each eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference.

¹⁶He also made two capitals of cast bronze to set on top of the pillars, each capital five cubits high.

¹⁷For the capitals on top of the pillars he made a network of lattice, with wreaths of chainwork, seven for each capital.

¹⁸Likewise, he made the pillars with two rows of pomegranates around each grating to cover each capital atop the pillars.

¹⁹And the capitals atop the pillars in the portico were shaped like lilies, four cubits high.

²⁰On the capitals of both pillars, just above the rounded projection next to the network, were the two hundred pomegranates in rows encircling each capital.

²¹Thus he set up the pillars at the portico of the temple. The pillar to the south he named Jachin,and the pillar to the north he named Boaz.

²²And the tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. So the work of the pillars was completed.

The Molten Sea

²³He also made the Sea of cast metal. It was circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim, five cubits in height, and thirty cubits in circumference.

²⁴Below the rim, ornamental buds encircled it, ten per cubit all the way around the Sea, cast in two rows as a part of the Sea.

²⁵The Sea stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The Sea rested on them, with all their hindquarters toward the center.

²⁶It was a handbreadth thick,and its rim was fashioned like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It could hold two thousand baths.

The Ten Bronze Stands

²⁷In addition, he made ten movable stands of bronze, each four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high.

²⁸This was the design of the stands: They had side panels attached to uprights,

²⁹and on the panels between the uprights were lions, oxen, and cherubim. On the uprights was a pedestal above, and below the lions and oxen were wreaths of beveled work.

³⁰Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles and a basin resting on four supports, with wreaths at each side.

³¹The opening to each stand inside the crown at the top was one cubit deep,with a round opening like the design of a pedestal, a cubit and a half wide.And around its opening were engravings, but the panels of the stands were square, not round.

³²There were four wheels under the panels, and the axles of the wheels were attached to the stand; each wheel was a cubit and a half in diameter.

³³The wheels were made like chariot wheels; their axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were all of cast metal.

³⁴Each stand had four handles, one for each corner, projecting from the stand.

³⁵At the top of each stand was a circular band half a cubit high.The supports and panels were cast as a unit with the top of the stand.

³⁶He engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees on the surfaces of the supports and panels, wherever each had space, with wreaths all around.

³⁷In this way he made the ten stands, each with the same casting, dimensions, and shape.

The Ten Bronze Basins

³⁸He also made ten bronze basins, each holding forty bathsand measuring four cubits across, one basin for each of the ten stands.

³⁹He set five stands on the south side of the temple and five on the north, and he put the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner of the temple.

Completion of the Bronze Works

⁴⁰Additionally, Huram made the pots,shovels, and sprinkling bowls.So Huram finished all the work that he had undertaken for King Solomon in the house of the LORD:

⁴¹the two pillars;the two bowl-shaped capitals atop the pillars;the two sets of network covering both bowls of the capitals atop the pillars;

⁴²the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network covering both the bowl-shaped capitals atop the pillars);

⁴³the ten stands;the ten basins on the stands;

⁴⁴the Sea;the twelve oxen underneath the Sea;

⁴⁵and the pots, shovels, and sprinkling bowls.All the articles that Huram made for King Solomon in the house of the LORD were made of burnished bronze.

⁴⁶The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Succoth and Zarethan.

⁴⁷Solomon left all these articles unweighed, because there were so many. The weight of the bronze could not be determined.

Completion of the Gold Furnishings

⁴⁸Solomon also made all the furnishings for the house of the LORD:the golden altar;the golden table on which was placed the Bread of the Presence;

⁴⁹the lampstands of pure gold in front of the inner sanctuary, five on the right side and five on the left;the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs;

⁵⁰the pure gold basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, ladles, and censers;and the gold hinges for the doors of the inner temple (that is, the Most Holy Place) as well as for the doors of the main hall of the temple.

⁵¹So all the work that King Solomon had performed for the house of the LORD was completed.Then Solomon brought in the items his father David had dedicated—the silver, the gold, and the furnishings—and he placed them in the treasuries of the house of the LORD.

The Bronze Altar and Molten Sea

¹He made a bronze altar twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and ten cubits high.

²He also made the Sea of cast metal. It was circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim, five cubits in height, and thirty cubits in circumference.

³Below the rim, figures of oxen encircled it, ten per cubit all the way around the Sea, cast in two rows as a part of the Sea.

⁴The Sea stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The Sea rested on them, with all their hindquarters toward the center.

⁵It was a handbreadth thick,and its rim was fashioned like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It could hold three thousand baths.

The Ten Basins, Lampstands, and Tables

⁶He also made ten basins for washing and placed five on the south side and five on the north. The parts of the burnt offering were rinsed in them, but the priests used the Sea for washing.

⁷He made ten gold lampstands according to their specifications and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north.

⁸Additionally, he made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. He also made a hundred gold bowls.

The Courts

⁹He made the courtyard of the priests and the large court with its doors, and he overlaid the doors with bronze.

¹⁰He put the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner.

Completion of the Bronze Works

¹¹Additionally, Huram made the pots, shovels, and sprinkling bowls.So Huram finished the work that he had undertaken for King Solomon in the house of God:

¹²the two pillars;the two bowl-shaped capitals atop the pillars;the two sets of network covering both bowls of the capitals atop the pillars;

¹³the four hundred pomegranates for the two sets of network (two rows of pomegranates for each network covering both the bowl-shaped capitals atop the pillars);

¹⁴the stands;the basins on the stands;

¹⁵the Sea;the twelve oxen underneath the Sea;

¹⁶and the pots, shovels, meat forks, and all the other articles.All these objects that Huram-abi made for King Solomon for the house of the LORD were of polished bronze.

¹⁷The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Succoth and Zeredah.

¹⁸Solomon made all these articles in such great abundance that the weight of the bronze could not be determined.

Completion of the Gold Furnishings

¹⁹Solomon also made all the furnishings for the house of God:the golden altar;the tables on which was placed the Bread of the Presence;

²⁰the lampstands of pure gold and their lamps, to burn in front of the inner sanctuary as prescribed;

²¹the flowers, lamps, and tongs of gold—of purest gold;

²²the wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, ladles, and censers of pure gold;and the gold doors of the temple: the inner doors to the Most Holy Placeas well as the doors of the main hall.

Ezra Arrives in Jerusalem

¹Many years later,during the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,

²the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub,

³the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth,

⁴the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki,

⁵the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest—

⁶this Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses, which the LORD, the God of Israel, had given.The king had granted Ezra all his requests, for the hand of the LORD his God was upon him.

⁷So in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, he went up to Jerusalem with some of the Israelites, including priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants.

⁸Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king.

⁹He had begun the journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, for the gracious hand of his God was upon him.

¹⁰For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, to practice it, and to teach its statutes and ordinances in Israel.

Artaxerxes’ Letter for Ezra

¹¹This is the text of the letter King Artaxerxes had given to Ezra the priest and scribe, an expert in the commandments and statutes of the LORD to Israel:

¹²Artaxerxes, king of kings.To Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven:Greetings.

¹³I hereby decree that any volunteers among the Israelites in my kingdom, including the priests and Levites, may go up with you to Jerusalem.

¹⁴You are sent by the king and his seven counselors to evaluate Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of your God, which is in your hand.

¹⁵Moreover, you are to take with you the silver and gold that the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem,

¹⁶together with all the silver and gold you may find in all the province of Babylon, as well as the freewill offerings of the people and priests to the house of their God in Jerusalem.

¹⁷With this money, therefore, you are to buy as many bulls, rams, and lambs as needed, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings, and offer them on the altar at the house of your God in Jerusalem.

¹⁸You and your brothers may do whatever seems best with the rest of the silver and gold, according to the will of your God.

¹⁹You must deliver to the God of Jerusalem all the articles given to you for the service of the house of your God.

²⁰And if anything else is needed for the house of your God that you may have occasion to supply, you may pay for it from the royal treasury.

²¹I, King Artaxerxes, decree to all the treasurers west of the Euphrates:Whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, it must be provided promptly,

²²up to a hundred talents of silver,a hundred cors of wheat,a hundred baths of wine,a hundred baths of olive oil,and salt without limit.

²³Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven must be done diligently for His house. For why should wrath fall on the realm of the king and his sons?

²⁴And be advised that you have no authority to impose tribute, duty, or toll on any of the priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, temple servants, or other servants of this house of God.

²⁵And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God, which you possess, are to appoint magistrates and judges to judge all the people west of the Euphrates—all who know the laws of your God. And you are to teach these laws to anyone who does not know them.

²⁶If anyone does not keep the law of your God and the law of the king, let a strict judgment be executed against him, whether death, banishment, confiscation of property, or imprisonment.

Ezra Blesses God

²⁷Blessed be the LORD, the God of our fathers, who has put into the heart of the king to so honor the house of the LORD in Jerusalem,

²⁸and who has shown me favor before the king, his counselors, and all his powerful officials.And because the hand of the LORD my God was upon me, I took courage and gathered the leaders of Israel to return with me.

Make a Joyful Noise

¹Make a joyful noise to God,all the earth!

²Sing the glory of His name;make His praise glorious.

³Say to God, “How awesome are Your deeds!So great is Your powerthat Your enemies cower before You.

⁴All the earth bows down to You;they sing praise to You;they sing praise to Your name.”Selah

⁵Come and see the works of God;how awesome are His deeds toward mankind.

⁶He turned the sea into dry land;they passed through the waters on foot;there we rejoiced in Him.

⁷He rules forever by His power;His eyes watch the nations.Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves.Selah

⁸Bless our God, O peoples;let the sound of His praise be heard.

⁹He preserves our livesand keeps our feet from slipping.

¹⁰For You, O God, have tested us;You have refined us like silver.

¹¹You led us into the net;You laid burdens on our backs.

¹²You let men ride over our heads;we went through fire and water,but You brought us into abundance.

¹³I will enter Your house with burnt offerings;I will fulfill my vows to You—

¹⁴the vows that my lips promisedand my mouth spoke in my distress.

¹⁵I will offer You fatlings as burnt offerings,with the fragrant smoke of rams;I will offer bulls and goats.Selah

¹⁶Come and listen, all you who fear God,and I will declare what He has done for me.

¹⁷I cried out to Him with my mouthand praised Him with my tongue.

¹⁸If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,the Lord would not have listened.

¹⁹But God has surely heard;He has attended to the sound of my prayer.

²⁰Blessed be God, who has not rejected my prayeror withheld from me His loving devotion!