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.
O palácio de Salomão
1Depois Salomão mandou edificar o seu próprio palácio que levou 13 anos a construir.
2Uma das salas do palácio chamava-se Salão da Floresta do Líbano. Era uma sala enorme que media 50 metros de comprimento por 25 metros de largura e 15 metros de altura. 3Enormes vigas de cedro saíam do teto e repousavam sobre quarenta e cinco colunas também de cedro, distribuídas em três séries de quinze cada uma. 4Tinha três ordens de janelas que ficavam umas em frente das outras. 5As portas da sala estavam emolduradas em retângulos, ficando umas em frente das outras, em três filas.
6O Salão dos Pilares media 25 metros de comprimento e 15 metros de largura, com um pórtico à entrada e uma abóbada suportada por pilares.
7Havia também a Sala do Trono ou Sala de Julgamento, onde o rei se sentava para ouvir os processos jurídicos, que era revestida de cedro do chão até ao teto. 8Os seus aposentos pessoais eram igualmente em cedro e dispunham-se em volta de um pátio, na retaguarda desta última sala. Reservou, aliás, apartamentos idênticos, com as mesmas medidas, no palácio que mandou construir para a filha do Faraó, uma das suas mulheres.
9Todas estas construções foram feitas com enormes blocos de pedra cortados à medida. O custo de cada um desses blocos ficou, por isso, muito elevado. 10As pedras para os alicerces tinham 5 e 4 metros de largura. 11Os grandes blocos das paredes, cortados à medida exata da largura, juntavam-se no alto com as vigas de cedro. 12O Grande Pátio tinha três correntezas de pedras lavradas, intercaladas com vigas de cedro, como acontecia no templo e no pórtico do palácio.
Mobiliário do templo
(2 Cr 3.15-17; 2 Cr 4.2-5; 4.11–5.1)
13O rei Salomão pediu a um homem de Tiro, chamado Hurão, 14que viesse fazer aquelas obras, porque era um artista inteligente e hábil a trabalhar em bronze. Ele era meio judeu, sendo filho de uma viúva de Naftali, e o seu pai fora operário de fundição em Tiro. Esse homem veio trabalhar para o rei Salomão.
15Fez então duas grandes colunas de bronze, cada uma com 9 metros de altura e 6 metros de perímetro. 16No topo desses pilares fez dois capitéis em forma de lírios, em bronze fundido, cada um com 2,5 metros de altura. 17Cada capitel era decorado com sete conjuntos de rosáceas. 18-22Cada capitel tinha também duas filas com duzentas romãs em bronze, esculpidas em cadeia. Hurão mandou colocar esses pilares à entrada do templo. Ao do lado sul deu o nome de Jaquim, ao outro, a norte, deu o nome de Boaz.7.18-22 Em hebraico, Jaquim significa ele estabelecerá e Boaz significa nele está a força.
23Depois mandou forjar um enorme tanque redondo, também chamado mar de fundição, com um diâmetro de 5 metros. A borda dessa grande bacia ficava 2,5 metros do chão; a sua circunferência media 15 metros. 24Por baixo da borda, do lado de fora, havia duas filas de ornamentos, separadas por alguns centímetros e fundidos juntamente com o tanque.
25Este assentava sobre doze bois de metal com as partes traseiras viradas para o interior; três voltados para o norte, três para o sul, três para o este e três para o oeste. 26As paredes do tanque mediam 8 centímetros de espessura. O seu rebordo era como o de uma taça em forma de lírio. Tinha capacidade para 44 000 litros.
27Depois fez dez bases de bronze, com quatro rodas. Cada base era quadrada com 2 metros de lado e 1,5 metros de altura. 28Estavam montadas sobre um suporte rodado feito de peças cruzadas. 29Tinham como decoração leões incrustados, bois e querubins; acima e abaixo dos leões e dos bois pendiam grinaldas. 30Cada uma destas bases tinha quatro rodas de bronze e eixos também em bronze; em cada canto das bases havia postes de bronze decorados com figuras em espiral nos lados. 31A parte de cima destas bases consistia numa peça redonda de 50 centímetros de altura. O seu centro era côncavo, com 75 centímetros de fundo, decorado no exterior com espirais. As paredes do revestimento eram quadradas, não redondas. 32Estas bases andavam sobre quatro rodas ligadas a eixos fundidos com as próprias bases. As rodas tinham 75 centímetros de altura. 33Eram semelhantes às rodas de um carro. Todas as partes das bases eram feitas de bronze fundido, incluindo os eixos, os raios, os arcos e o centro.
34Havia suportes em cada um dos quatro cantos das bases, também eles fundidos com as bases. 35Estas tinham uma cercadura com 25 centímetros, na parte superior, de que saíam umas pegas; tudo fundido numa só peça com a base. 36Nos espaços que podiam ser decorados, viam-se querubins, leões e palmeiras rodeadas por figuras em espiral. 37As dez bases eram todas do mesmo tamanho e tinham as mesmas decorações, visto terem sido feitas no mesmo molde.
38Depois mandou fazer dez tinas de bronze e colocou-as sobre as bases. Eram quadradas, com 2 metros de lado, e tinham a capacidade para 900 litros de água. 39Cinco destas tinas foram postas num dos lados do templo e as outras cinco no outro. O tanque ficava no canto sul, no lado direito. 40Hurão fez também o resto dos utensílios necessários: bacias, pás e tinas. Por fim, Hurão terminou toda a obra para o templo do Senhor, que Salomão lhe encomendara.
Esta é a lista dos trabalhos feitos:
41dois pilares;
um capitel para o cimo de cada pilar;
rosáceas para cobrir as bases dos capitéis de cada pilar;
42quatrocentas romãs, em duas filas, no trabalho das rosáceas, para cobrir as bases dos dois capitéis;
43dez bases para dez pias;
44um grande tanque e doze bois para o suportar;
45recipientes; pás; bacias.
Todos estes utensílios foram feitos por este hábil artífice, Hurão, para o rei Salomão, usando bronze polido. 46Tudo foi feito em bronze fundido e preparado nas planícies do Jordão, num sítio entre Sucote e Zaretã. 47Foram usadas grandes quantidades de bronze, cujo peso era tal, que Salomão nem sequer registou o seu valor.
48No entanto, Salomão recomendou que todos os utensílios e o mobiliário da casa do Senhor fossem feitos de ouro puro. Isto incluía o altar, a mesa onde se encontrava exposto o pão da Presença de Deus; 49o candelabro, com cinco luzes à direita e cinco à esquerda, em frente do lugar santíssimo, as decorações florais, as lâmpadas e os espevitadores; 50as taças, os apagadores, as bacias, os perfumadores, os braseiros; tudo foi feito em ouro puro; também as dobradiças das portas do lugar santíssimo e as da entrada principal do templo. Todos estes objetos eram feitos de ouro puro.
51Quando o templo acabou de ser construído, Salomão colocou no tesouro do templo a prata, o ouro e todos os recipientes consagrados por seu pai, David.
