Solomon Builds His Palace
1But it took Solomon 13 years to finish constructing his palace and the other buildings related to it. 2He built the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. It was 150 feet long. It was 75 feet wide. And it was 45 feet high. It had four rows of cedar columns. They held up beautiful cedar beams. 3Above the beams was a roof made out of cedar boards. It rested on the columns. There were three rows of beams with 15 in each row. The total number of beams was 45. 4The windows of the palace were placed high up in the walls. They were in groups of three. And they faced each other. 5All the doorways had frames shaped like rectangles. They were in front. They were in groups of three. And they faced each other.
6Solomon made a covered area. It was 75 feet long. And it was 45 feet wide. Its roof was held up by columns. In front of it was a porch. In front of that were pillars and a roof that went out beyond them.
7Solomon built the throne hall. It was called the Hall of Justice. That’s where he would serve as judge. He covered the hall with cedar boards from floor to ceiling. 8The palace where he would live was set farther back. Its plan was something like the plan for the hall. Solomon had married Pharaoh’s daughter. He made a palace for her. It was like the hall.
9All those buildings were made out of blocks of good quality stone. They were cut to the right size. They were made smooth on their back and front sides. Those stones were used for the outside of each building and for the large courtyard. They were also used from the foundations up to the roofs. 10Large blocks of good quality stone were used for the foundations. Some were 15 feet long. Others were 12 feet long. 11The walls above them were made out of good quality stones. The stones were cut to the right size. On top of them was a layer of cedar beams. 12The large courtyard had a wall around it. The first three layers of the wall were made out of blocks of stone. The top layer was made out of beautiful cedar wood. The same thing was done with the inside courtyard of the Lord’s temple and its porch.
More Facts About the Temple
13King Solomon sent messengers to Tyre. He wanted them to bring Huram back with them. 14Huram’s mother was a widow. She was from the tribe of Naphtali. Huram’s father was from Tyre. He was skilled in working with bronze. Huram also had great skill, knowledge and understanding in working with bronze. He came to King Solomon and did all the work he was asked to do.
15Huram made two bronze pillars. Each of them was 27 feet high. And each was 18 feet around. 16Each pillar had a decorated top made out of bronze. Each top was seven and a half feet high. 17Chains that were linked together hung down from the tops of the pillars. There were seven chains for each top. 18Huram made two rows of pomegranates. They circled the chains. The pomegranates decorated the tops of the pillars. Huram did the same thing for each pillar. 19The tops on the pillars of the porch were shaped like lilies. The lilies were 6 feet high. 20On the tops of both pillars were 200 pomegranates. They were in rows all around the tops. They were above the part that was shaped like a bowl. And they were next to the chains. 21Huram set the pillars up at the temple porch. The pillar on the south he named Jakin. The one on the north he named Boaz. 22The tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. So the work on the pillars was finished.
23Huram made a huge metal bowl for washing. Its shape was round. It measured 15 feet from rim to rim. It was seven and a half feet high. And it was 45 feet around. 24Below the rim there was a circle of gourds around the bowl. In every 18 inches around the bowl there were ten gourds. The gourds were arranged in two rows. They were made as part of the bowl itself.
25The huge bowl stood on 12 bulls. Three of them faced north. Three faced west. Three faced south. And three faced east. The bowl rested on top of the bulls. Their rear ends were toward the center. 26The bowl was three inches thick. Its rim was like the rim of a cup. The rim was shaped like the bloom of a lily. The bowl held 12,000 gallons of water.
27Huram also made ten stands out of bronze. They could be moved around. Each stand was six feet long. It was six feet wide. And it was four and a half feet high. 28Here is how the stands were made. They had sides that were joined to posts. 29On the sides between the posts were lions, bulls and cherubim. They were also on all of the posts. Above and below the lions and bulls were wreaths made out of hammered metal. 30Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles. Each stand had a bowl that rested on four supports. The stand had wreaths on each side. 31There was a round opening on the inside of each stand. The opening had a frame 18 inches deep. The sides were 27 inches high from the top of the opening to the bottom of the base. There was carving around the opening. The sides of the stands were square, not round. 32The four wheels were under the sides. The axles of the wheels were connected to the stand. Each wheel was 27 inches across. 33The wheels were made like chariot wheels. All the axles, rims, spokes and hubs were made out of metal.
34Each stand had four handles on it. There was one on each corner. They came out from the stand. 35At the top of the stand there was a round band. It was nine inches deep. The sides and supports were connected to the top of the stand. 36Huram carved cherubim, lions and palm trees on the sides of the stands. He also carved them on the surfaces of the supports. His carving covered every open space. He had also carved wreaths all around. 37That’s how he made the ten stands. All of them were made in the same molds. And they had the same size and shape.
38Then Huram made ten bronze bowls. Each one held 240 gallons. The bowls measured six feet across. There was one bowl for each of the ten stands. 39He placed five of the stands on the south side of the temple. He placed the other five on the north side. He put the huge bowl on the south side. It was at the southeast corner of the temple. 40He also made the pots, shovels and sprinkling bowls.
So Huram finished all the work he had started for King Solomon. Here’s what he made for the Lord’s temple.
41He made the two pillars.
He made the two tops for the pillars. The tops were shaped like bowls.
He made the two sets of chains that were linked together. They decorated the two bowl-shaped tops of the pillars.
42He made the 400 pomegranates for the two sets of chains. There were two rows of pomegranates for each chain. They decorated the bowl-shaped tops of the pillars.
43He made the ten stands with their ten bowls.
44He made the huge bowl. He made the 12 bulls that were under it.
45He made the pots, shovels and sprinkling bowls.
Huram made all those objects for King Solomon for the Lord’s temple. He made them out of bronze. Then he shined them up. 46The king had made them in clay molds. It was done on the plain of the Jordan River between Sukkoth and Zarethan. 47Solomon didn’t weigh any of those things. There were too many of them to weigh. No one even tried to weigh the bronze they were made out of.
48Solomon also made everything in the Lord’s temple.
He made the golden altar.
He made the golden table for the holy bread.
49He made the pure gold lampstands. There were five on the right and five on the left. They were in front of the Most Holy Room.
He made the gold flowers. He made the gold lamps and tongs.
50He made the bowls, wick cutters, sprinkling bowls, dishes, and shallow cups for burning incense. All of them were made out of pure gold.
He made the gold bases for the doors of the inside room. That’s the Most Holy Room. He also made gold bases for the doors of the main hall of the temple.
51King Solomon finished all the work for the Lord’s temple. Then he brought in the things his father David had set apart for the Lord. They included the silver and gold and all the other things for the Lord’s temple. Solomon placed them with the other treasures that were there.
Het paleis van Salomo
1Toen bouwde Salomo zijn eigen paleis, waar hij dertien jaar over deed. 2Het paleis kreeg de naam ‘Woud van Libanon.’ Het was 45 meter lang, 22,5 meter breed en 13,5 meter hoog. De grote cederhouten dakbalken rustten op vier rijen van cederhouten pilaren. 3-4 Het paleis telde vijfenveertig kamers die in drie verdiepingen van vijftien kamers op de pilaren waren gebouwd. Elke kamer had een raam en recht boven het raam van de kamers op de laagste verdieping waren die van de kamers op de tweede en derde verdieping. 5Bovendien lagen de ramen van deze kamers aan de ene kant van de zaal recht tegenover die van de kamers aan de andere kant, ook in drie verdiepingen. 6Een ander deel van het paleis werd de ‘Zaal van de pilaren’ genoemd. Het was 22,5 meter lang en 13,5 meter breed. Aan de voorkant was een portaal met daarboven een door pilaren ondersteunde luifel. 7Er was eveneens een troonzaal of rechtzaal, waar Salomo rechtsprak. De vloer van deze zaal was geheel betimmerd met cederhout. 8Aan de rechtzaal vast en vergelijkbaar in bouw lagen de persoonlijke vertrekken van Salomo. Hij ontwierp soortgelijke verblijven van dezelfde afmetingen in het paleis dat hij bouwde voor de dochter van de farao, met wie hij getrouwd was.
9Al deze gebouwen waren van fundament tot dak, van binnen en buiten en van voren naar achteren, helemaal opgetrokken uit grote en kostbare stenen die op maat waren gehouwen. 10De stenen van de fundering varieerden in grootte van ruim drie tot ruim vier meter. 11Ook de reusachtige stenen van de muren waren op maat gehouwen, met cederhouten balken er bovenop. 12De grote binnenhof had ook muren, gebouwd uit drie lagen gehouwen steen, bedekt met cederhouten balken net als de binnenste voorhof van de tempel en het toegangsportaal van het paleis.
13-14 Koning Salomo liet daarna een zekere Hiram uit Tyrus komen. Deze had een Joodse moeder uit de stam van Naftali en was zoon van een zeer bekwame koperslager uit Tyrus. Zo kwam hij voor koning Salomo werken 15en maakte twee koperen holle pilaren, die 8,1 meter hoog waren en een omtrek hadden van 5,4 meter. 16-22Bovenop de pilaren bevestigde hij twee lelievormige, gegoten koperen kapitelen. Elk kapiteel was 2,25 meter hoog en 2 meter lang en werd versierd met zeven gevlochten slingers van koper, met daarop twee rijen van in totaal vierhonderd granaatappels. Hiram plaatste deze pilaren bij de ingang van de grote hal van de tempel. De zuidelijke werd de pilaar van Jachin en de noordelijke de pilaar van Boaz genoemd. 23Daarna maakte hij een groot koperen bassin van 2,25 meter hoog en 4,5 meter van rand tot rand, met een omtrek van 13,5 meter. 24Onder de rand zaten twee rijen versieringen, ongeveer 4,5 centimeter van elkaar, die één geheel vormden met het bassin. 25Het bassin rustte op twaalf koperen runderen, die met de staarten naar elkaar toe stonden. Drie keken naar het noorden, drie naar het westen, drie naar het zuiden en drie naar het oosten. 26De wanden van het bassin waren ongeveer acht centimeter dik, de rand leek op die van een beker of lelie en de inhoud van het vat bedroeg vierenveertigduizend liter.
27-30Daarna maakte hij tien koperen onderstellen met vier wielen, elk 1,8 meter in het vierkant en 1,35 meter hoog. Deze onderstellen waren gekoppeld aan vierkante dwarsplaten. De dwarsplaten waren versierd met figuren van leeuwen, ossen en engelen. Boven en onder de leeuwen en ossen bevonden zich versieringen in de vorm van kransen. Elk van de verplaatsbare onderstellen had vier koperen wielen en koperen assen en op elke hoek van de onderstellen waren koperen handvatten bevestigd, die ook weer met kransmotieven waren versierd. 31De bovenkant van elk onderstel bestond uit een ronde plaat van 45 centimeter hoog. Het midden van het onderstel was schaalvormig en 67,5 centimeter diep, aan de buitenkant weer versierd met kransmotieven. De sluitplaten waren vierkant, niet rond. 32De onderstellen reden op vier wielen, verbonden met assen die een geheel vormden met de onderstellen. De wielen waren 67,5 centimeter hoog 33en leken veel op de wielen van een strijdwagen. Alle delen van de onderstellen waren gemaakt van gegoten koper, ook de assen, spaken, velgen en naven. 34Aan alle vier de hoeken van de onderstellen zaten handvatten die ook één geheel vormden met het onderstel. 35De bovenkant van elk onderstel werd omgeven door een rand van 22,5 centimeter hoog, waaraan handvatten zaten. 36Op de handvatten waren overal waar maar enige ruimte was engelen, leeuwen en palmbomen gegraveerd, omringd door slingers. 37Alle tien onderstellen waren even groot en leken precies op elkaar, want zij bestonden uit hetzelfde gietsel.
38Daarna maakte hij tien koperen wasvaten en zette die op de onderstellen. Zij hadden een doorsnee van 1,8 meter en konden achthonderdtachtig liter water bevatten. 39Vijf van deze wasvaten werden aan de rechterkant van het vertrek geplaatst. De andere vijf stonden aan de linkerkant. Het grote koperen vat stond in de zuidoostelijke hoek, aan de rechterkant van het vertrek.
40Hiram maakte ook de potten, scheppen en offerschalen en beëindigde zo het werk in de tempel van de Here, dat koning Salomo hem had opgedragen.
41-46Hier volgt een lijst van de voorwerpen die hij maakte: twee pilaren, kapitelen voor op de pilaren, het vlechtwerk dat de kapitelen van elke pilaar bedekte, vierhonderd granaatappels in twee rijen op het vlechtwerk, dat de onderkant van de kapitelen moest bedekken, tien verplaatsbare onderstellen met daarop tien wasvaten, een groot vat en twaalf ossen die dat vat ondersteunden, potten, scheppen en offerschalen. Al deze voorwerpen waren gemaakt van gepolijst koper en werden gegoten op de vlakten bij de Jordaan, tussen Sukkot en Zarathan. 47Het totale gewicht van al deze voorwerpen was niet bekend, omdat ze eenvoudig te zwaar waren om te kunnen wegen!
48Alle gebruiksvoorwerpen voor de tempel waren gemaakt van puur goud. Dat gold ook voor het altaar, de tafel waarop de toonbroden lagen, 49de armen van de kandelaren, waarvan er vijf links en vijf rechts voor het Heilige der Heiligen stonden, de bloemen, lampen, snuiters, 50koppen, offerschalen, lepels, vuurpannen, wierookvaten, de scharnieren van de toegangsdeuren van het Heilige der Heiligen en de deuren van de hoofdingang van de tempel. Elk van deze voorwerpen was gemaakt van puur goud.
51Toen de tempel ten slotte klaar was, vulde Salomo de schatkamer van de tempel met het zilver, goud en alle andere voorwerpen die zijn vader David daarvoor had bestemd.
