1 Kings 7 - Easy To Read Version

¹ King Solomon also built a palace [56] for himself. It took 13 years to finish building Solomon’s palace.

² He also built the building called “the Forest of Lebanon.” It was 100 cubits [57] long, 50 cubits [58] wide, and 30 cubits [59] high. It had four rows of cedar columns. On top of each column was a cedar capital. [60]

³ There were cedar beams going across the rows of columns. They put cedar boards on top of these beams for the ceiling. There were 15 beams for each section of columns. There was a total of 45 beams.

⁴ There were three rows of windows {on each of the side walls}. The windows were across from each other.

⁵ There were three doors at each end. All the door openings and frames were square.

⁶ Solomon also built the “Porch of Columns.” It was 50 cubits [61] long and 30 cubits [62] wide. Along the front of the porch, there was a covering supported by columns.

⁷ Solomon also built a throne room where he judged people. He called this the “Hall of Judging.” The room was covered with cedar from the floor to the ceiling.

⁸ The house where Solomon lived was inside of the Hall of Judging. This house was built the same as the Hall of Judging. He also built the same kind of house for his wife, the daughter of the king of Egypt.

⁹ All of these buildings were made with expensive blocks of stone. These stones were cut to the right size with a saw. They were cut in the front and in the back. These expensive stones went from the foundation up to the top layer of the wall. Even the wall around the yard was made with expensive blocks of stone.

¹⁰ The foundations were made with large, expensive stones. Some of the stones were 10 cubits [63] long and others were 8 cubits [64] long.

¹¹ On top of those stones there were other expensive stones and cedar beams.

¹² There were walls around the palace yard, the temple yard, and the porch of the temple. Those walls were built with three rows of stone and one row of cedar timbers.

¹³ King Solomon sent a message to a man named Huram [65] in Tyre. Solomon brought Huram {to Jerusalem}.

¹⁴ Huram’s mother was an Israelite from the family group of Naphtali. His dead father was from Tyre. Huram made things from bronze. [66] He was a very skilled and experienced worker. So King Solomon asked him to come, and Huram accepted. So King Solomon put Huram in charge of all the bronze work. Huram built all the things made from bronze.

¹⁵ Huram [67] made two bronze [68] columns. Each column was 18 cubits [69] tall and 12 cubits [70] around. The columns were hollow and the metal was 3 inches [71] thick.

¹⁶ Huram also made two bronze capitals [72] that were 5 cubits [73] tall. Huram put these capitals on top of the columns.

¹⁷ Then he made two nets of chains to cover the capitals on top of the two columns.

¹⁸ Then he made two rows of bronze [74] that looked like pomegranates. [75] They put these bronze pomegranates on the nets of each column in order to cover the capitals at the top of the columns.

¹⁹ The capitals on top of the 5 cubits [76] tall columns were shaped like flowers.

²⁰ The capitals were on top of the columns. They were above the bowl-shaped net. At that place, there were 20 pomegranates in rows all around the capitals.

²¹ Huram put these two bronze columns at the porch of the temple. One column was put on the south side and one was put on the north side {of the entrance}. The column on the south was named Jakin. The column on the north was named Boaz.

²² They put the flower-shaped capitals on top of the columns. So the work on the two columns was finished.

²³ Then Huram [77] made a round tank from bronze. [78] {They called this tank “The Sea.”} The tank was about 30 cubits [79] around. It was 10 cubits [80] across and 5 cubits [81] deep.

²⁴ There was a rim around the outer edge of the tank. Under this rim there were two rows of bronze gourds [82] surrounding the tank. The bronze gourds were made in one piece as part of the tank.

²⁵ The tank rested on the backs of 12 bronze bulls. All 12 of these bulls were looking out, away from the tank. Three were looking north, three east, three south, and three west.

²⁶ The sides of the tank were 3 inches [83] thick. The rim around the tank was like the rim of a cup or like the petals on a flower. The tank held about 11,000 gallons. [84]

²⁷ Then Huram [85] made ten bronze [86] carts. Each one was 4 cubits [87] long, 4 cubits [88] wide, and 3 cubits [89] high.

²⁸ The carts were made from square panels set in frames.

²⁹ On the panels and frames were bronze lions, bulls, and Cherub angels. [90] Above and below the lions and bulls there were designs of flowers hammered into the bronze.

³⁰ Each cart had four bronze wheels with bronze axles. At the corners there were bronze supports for a large bowl. The supports had designs of flowers hammered into the bronze.

³¹ There was a frame on top for the bowl. It was 1 cubit [91] tall above the bowls. The opening for the bowl was round, 1 1/2 cubits [92] in diameter. There were designs carved into the bronze on the frame. The frame was square, not round.

³² There were four wheels under the frame. The wheels were 1 1/2 cubits in diameter. The axles between the wheels were made as one piece with the cart.

³³ The wheels were like the wheels on a chariot. [93] Everything on the wheels—the axles, the rims, the spokes, and the hubs were made from bronze.

³⁴ The four supports were on the four corners of each cart. They were made as one piece with the cart.

³⁵ There was a strip of bronze around the top of each cart. It was made as one piece with the cart.

³⁶ The sides of the cart and the frames had pictures of Cherub angels, [94] lions, and palm trees carved into the bronze. These pictures were carved all over the carts—wherever there was room. And there were flowers carved on the frame around the cart.

³⁷ Huram [95] made ten carts. And they were all the same. Each cart was made from bronze. The bronze was melted and poured into a mold. So all of the carts were the same size and shape.

³⁸ Huram [96] also made ten bowls. There was one bowl for each of the ten carts. Each bowl was 4 cubits [97] across. And each bowl could hold about 230 gallons. [98]

^39-50 Huram put five of the carts on the south side of the temple and the other five carts on the north side. He put the large tank in the southeast corner of the temple.

⁵¹ So King Solomon finished the work he wanted to do for the Lord’s temple. Then King Solomon got all the things that his father David had saved for this special purpose. He brought these things into the temple. He put the silver and gold in the treasuries in the Lord’s Temple.