The Bronze Altar and the Great Sea
The furnishings of our Father's house are made: a bronze altar, the great cast Sea resting on twelve oxen, ten basins for rinsing and ten lampstands, tables, and countless gold utensils. So much bronze is used that its weight is never determined, and every piece serves the altar.
4 1He made a bronze altar thirty feet long, thirty feet wide, and fifteen feet high. 2He made the cast-metal Sea, round: fifteen feet across, seven and a half high, forty-five around. 3Below the rim, figures of oxen encircled it, about seven to every foot around the Sea, cast in two rows as one piece with it. 4The Sea stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three west, three south, three east, resting on them, their hindquarters all inward. 5About three inches thick, its rim like a cup's, like a lily's flower, holding about 17,000 gallons.
6He made ten washing basins, five south, five north, to rinse what was used for the burnt offerings; the Sea was for the priests to wash in.
7He made ten gold lampstands as specified, five for the temple's south side, five for the north. 8He made ten tables, placed them in the temple—five south, five north—and one hundred gold basins.
9He made the priests' court, the great court, its doors, and plated their doors with bronze. 10He placed the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner.
11Huram made the pots, shovels, and basins. So Huram finished the work he did for King Solomon in the house of our Father:
12the two pillars; the two bowl-shaped capitals atop the pillars; the two networks covering those capitals; 13400 pomegranates for the two networks, two rows each, covering the two capital bowls on the pillars; 14the stands and the basins on the stands; 15the one Sea and the twelve oxen beneath it; 16Pots, shovels, meat forks, and all their utensils — Huram-abi made these for King Solomon, for our Father's house, of polished bronze. 17The king had them cast in clay molds in the Jordan plain between Succoth and Zeredah. 18Solomon made all these items in such quantity that the bronze weight could not be determined.
19Solomon made all the furnishings for our Father's house: the golden altar and tables with the bread of the Presence. 20the pure gold lampstands with their lamps, to burn before the inner sanctuary as prescribed; 21the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs (these were of the purest gold); 22Pure gold: the wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes, censers, and the temple's doorways—inner doors to the Most Holy Place, and the main hall's doors.
