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1 Solomon also made a bronze altar 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 15 feet high.
2 Then he cast a great round basin, 15 feet across from rim to rim, called the Sea. It was 7-1/2 feet deep and about 45 feet in circumference.
3 It was encircled just below its rim by two rows of figures that resembled oxen. There were about six oxen per foot all the way around, and they were cast as part of the basin.
4 The Sea was placed on a base of twelve bronze oxen, all facing outward. Three faced north, three faced west, three faced south, and three faced east, and the Sea rested on them.
5 The walls of the Sea were about three inches thick, and its rim flared out like a cup and resembled a water lily blossom. It could hold about 16,500 gallons of water.
6 He also made ten smaller basins for washing the utensils for the burnt offerings. He set five on the south side and five on the north. But the priests washed themselves in the Sea.
7 He then cast ten gold lampstands according to the specifications that had been given, and he put them in the Temple. Five were placed against the south wall, and five were placed against the north wall.
8 He also built ten tables and placed them in the Temple, five along the south wall and five along the north wall. Then he molded 100 gold basins.
9 He then built a courtyard for the priests, and also the large outer courtyard. He made doors for the courtyard entrances and overlaid them with bronze.
10 The great bronze basin called the Sea was placed near the southeast corner of the Temple.
11 Huram-abi also made the necessary washbasins, shovels, and bowls.So at last Huram-abi completed everything King Solomon had assigned him to make for the Temple of God:
12 the two pillars; the two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the pillars; the two networks of interwoven chains that decorated the capitals;
13 the 400 pomegranates that hung from the chains on the capitals (two rows of pomegranates for each of the chain networks that decorated the capitals on top of the pillars);
14 the water carts holding the basins;
15 the Sea and the twelve oxen under it;
16 the ash buckets, the shovels, the meat hooks, and all the related articles. Huram-abi made all these things of burnished bronze for the Temple of the LORD, just as King Solomon had directed.
17 The king had them cast in clay molds in the Jordan Valley between Succoth and Zarethan.
18 Solomon used such great quantities of bronze that its weight could not be determined.
19 Solomon also made all the furnishings for the Temple of God: the gold altar; the tables for the Bread of the Presence;
20 the lampstands and their lamps of solid gold, to burn in front of the Most Holy Place as prescribed;
21 the flower decorations, lamps, and tongs-- all of the purest gold;
22 the lamp snuffers, bowls, dishes, and incense burners-- all of solid gold; the doors for the entrances to the Most Holy Place and the main room of the Temple, overlaid with gold.
The New Living Translation (NLT)
The New Living Translation (NLT) is a modern English translation of the Bible that aims to make the Scriptures accessible and engaging for contemporary readers. First published in 1996 by Tyndale House Publishers, the NLT was conceived as an effort to create a translation that combines both accuracy and readability. Unlike many other translations that focus on a word-for-word rendering of the original texts, the NLT employs a thought-for-thought translation philosophy, also known as dynamic equivalence. This approach prioritizes conveying the meaning and message of the original texts in a way that is natural and understandable in modern English.
One of the defining features of the NLT is its commitment to clarity and simplicity. The translators, a team of over 90 evangelical scholars, aimed to create a text that would be approachable for a wide audience, including those who may find traditional translations challenging to read. The NLT’s language is contemporary and conversational, making it particularly effective for public reading, teaching, and personal study. This emphasis on readability helps ensure that the profound messages of the Bible are easily grasped and retained by readers from various backgrounds and levels of biblical knowledge.
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