1 Kings 7:1-22 ▼

1 Solomon completed his entire palace complex after thirteen years of construction.

2 He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon. It was one hundred fifty feet long, seventy-five feet wide, and forty-five feet high on four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams on top of the pillars.

3 It was paneled above with cedar at the top of the chambers that rested on forty-five pillars, fifteen per row.

4 There were three rows of window frames, facing each other in three tiers.

5 All the doors and doorposts had rectangular frames, the openings facing each other in three tiers.

6 He made the hall of pillars seventy-five feet long and forty-five feet wide. A portico was in front of the pillars, and a canopy with pillars was in front of them.

7 He made the Hall of the Throne where he would judge —the Hall of Judgment. It was paneled with cedar from the floor to the rafters.

8 Solomon’s own palace where he would live, in the other courtyard behind the hall, was of similar construction. And he made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, his wife.

9 All of these buildings were of costly stones, cut to size and sawed with saws on the inner and outer surfaces, from foundation to coping and from the outside to the great courtyard.

10 The foundation was made of large, costly stones twelve and fifteen feet long.

11 Above were also costly stones, cut to size, as well as cedar wood.

12 Around the great courtyard, as well as the inner courtyard of the LORD’s temple and the portico of the temple, were three rows of dressed stone and a row of trimmed cedar beams.

13 King Solomon had Hiram brought from Tyre.

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

15 He cast two bronze pillars, each 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference.

16 He also made two capitals of cast bronze to set on top of the pillars; 7 1 /2 feet was the height of the first capital, and 7 1 /2 feet was also the height of the second capital.

17 The capitals on top of the pillars had gratings of latticework, wreaths made of chainwork—seven for the first capital and seven for the second.

18 He made the pillars with two encircling rows of pomegranates on the one grating to cover the capital on top; he did the same for the second capital.

19 And the capitals on top of the pillars in the portico were shaped like lilies, six feet high.

20 The capitals on the two pillars were also immediately above the rounded surface next to the grating, and two hundred pomegranates were in rows encircling each capital.

21 He set up the pillars at the portico of the sanctuary: he set up the right pillar and named it Jachin; then he set up the left pillar and named it Boaz.

22 The tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. Then the work of the pillars was completed.