1 Kings 7:23-45
Expanded Bible
23 Then ·Huram [L he] made from bronze a large round bowl, which was called the Sea [C symbol of chaos subdued]. It was ·forty-five feet [L thirty cubits] around, ·fifteen feet [L ten cubits] across, and ·seven and one-half feet [L five cubits] deep. 24 Around the outer edge of the bowl was a rim. Under this rim were two rows of ·bronze plants [gourds] which surrounded the ·bowl [Sea]. There were ten ·plants [gourds] every ·eighteen inches [L cubit], and these ·plants [gourds] were made in one piece with the bowl. 25 The ·bowl [Sea] rested on the backs of twelve ·bronze bulls [oxen] that faced outward from the center of the bowl. Three bulls faced north, three faced west, three faced south, and three faced east. 26 The sides of the bowl were ·four inches [L a hand’s breadth] thick, and it held ·about eleven thousand gallons [L two thousand baths]. The rim of the bowl was like the rim of a cup or like a lily blossom.
27 Then ·Huram [L he] made ten bronze ·stands [water carts], each one ·six feet [L four cubits] long, ·six feet [L four cubits] wide, and ·four and one-half feet [L three cubits] high. 28 The ·stands [water carts] were made from ·square sides, which were put on frames [or side panels braced with crossbars/uprights]. 29 On the sides were bronze lions, ·bulls [oxen], and ·creatures with wings [L cherubim]. On the ·frames [panels] above and below the lions and ·bulls [oxen] were ·designs of flowers [wreaths] hammered into the bronze. 30 Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles. At the corners there were bronze supports for a ·large bowl [basin], and the supports had ·designs of flowers [wreaths]. 31 There was a frame on top of the bowls, ·eighteen inches [L one cubit] high above the bowls. The opening of the bowl was round, ·twenty-seven inches [L one and one-half cubits] deep. ·Designs [Engravings] were carved into the bronze on the frame, which was square, not round. 32 The four wheels, placed under the frame, were ·twenty-seven inches [L one and one-half cubits] high. The axles between the wheels were ·made as one piece with [within; attached to] the stand. 33 The wheels were like a chariot’s wheels. Everything on the wheels—the axles, rims, spokes, and hubs—were ·made [cast] of bronze.
34 The four supports were on the four corners of each stand. They were made as one piece with the stand. 35 A ·strip of bronze [rim; band] around the top of each stand was ·nine inches [L one-half cubit] deep. ·It was [The corner supports were] also made as one piece with the stand. 36 ·Wherever there was room [L According to the space of each], the sides of the stand and the frames were ·covered with carvings of [engraved with] ·creatures with wings [cherubim; 6:23], as well as lions, palm trees, and ·flowers [wreaths]. 37 This is the way ·Huram [L he; v. 13] made the ten ·stands [water carts]. ·The bronze for each stand [L Each] was melted and poured into a mold, ·so all the stands were [L all] the same size and shape.
38 ·Huram [L He] also made ten bronze ·bowls [basins], one ·bowl [basin] for each of the ten ·stands [water carts]. Each bowl was ·six feet [L four cubits] across and could hold ·about two hundred thirty gallons [L forty baths]. 39 ·Huram [Hiram] put five stands on the ·south [right] side of the ·Temple [L house] and five on the ·north [left] side. He put the ·large bowl [Sea on the right] in the southeast corner of the ·Temple [L house]. 40 ·Huram [Hiram] also made ·bowls [washbasins; pots], shovels, and small bowls.
So ·Huram [L Hiram; v. 13] finished all his work for King Solomon on the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord:
41 two pillars;
two ·large bowls for the [bowl-shaped] capitals on top of the pillars;
two ·nets [sets of latticework/filigree] to cover the two large bowls for the capitals on top of the pillars;
42 four hundred pomegranates for the two ·nets [sets of latticework/filigree] (there were two rows of pomegranates for each ·net [set of latticework/filigree] covering the bowls for the capitals on top of the pillars);
43 ten ·stands [water carts] with a ·bowl [basin] on each ·stand [one];
44 the ·large bowl [Sea] with twelve ·bulls [oxen] under it;
45 the ·pots [pails; ash buckets], shovels, small bowls, and all the utensils for the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord.
·Huram [L Hiram] made everything King Solomon wanted from ·polished [burnished] bronze.
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