1
Solomon also built a palace for himself, and it took him thirteen years.
2
The Hall of the Forest of Lebanon was 150 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. It had three rows of cedar pillars, 15 in each row, with cedar beams resting on them. The ceiling was of cedar, extending over storerooms, which were supported by the pillars.
4
On each of the two side walls there were three rows of windows.
5
The doorways and the windows had rectangular frames, and the three rows of windows in each wall faced the opposite rows.
6
The Hall of Columns was 75 feet long and 45 feet wide. It had a covered porch, supported by columns.
7
The Throne Room, also called the Hall of Judgment, where Solomon decided cases, had cedar panels from the floor to the rafters.
8
Solomon's own quarters, in another court behind the Hall of Judgment, were made like the other buildings. He also built the same kind of house for his wife, the daughter of the king of Egypt.
9
All these buildings and the great court were made of fine stones from the foundations to the eaves. The stones were prepared at the quarry and cut to measure, with their inner and outer sides trimmed with saws.
10
The foundations were made of large stones prepared at the quarry, some of them twelve feet long and others fifteen feet long.
11
On top of them were other stones, cut to measure, and cedar beams.
12
The palace court, the inner court of the Temple, and the entrance room of the Temple had walls with one layer of cedar beams for every three layers of cut stones.
13
King Solomon sent for a man named Huram, a craftsman living in the city of Tyre, who was skilled in bronze work.
14
His father, who was no longer living, was from Tyre, and had also been a skilled bronze craftsman; his mother was from the tribe of Naphtali. Huram was an intelligent and experienced craftsman. He accepted King Solomon's invitation to be in charge of all the bronze work.
15
Huram cast two bronze columns, each one 27 feet tall and 18 feet in circumference, and placed them at the entrance of the Temple.
16
He also made two bronze capitals, each one 7 1/2 feet tall, to be placed on top of the columns.
17
The top of each column was decorated with a design of interwoven chains
18
and two rows of bronze pomegranates.
19
The capitals were shaped like lilies, 6 feet tall,
20
and were placed on a rounded section which was above the chain design. There were 200 pomegranates in two rows around each capital.
21
Huram placed these two bronze columns in front of the entrance of the Temple: the one on the south side was named Jachin and the one on the north was named Boaz.
22
The lily-shaped bronze capitals were on top of the columns. And so the work on the columns was completed.
23
Huram made a round tank of bronze, 7 1/2 feet deep, 15 feet in diameter, and 45 feet in circumference.
24
All around the outer edge of the rim of the tank were two rows of bronze gourds, which had been cast all in one piece with the rest of the tank.
25
The tank rested on the backs of twelve bronze bulls that faced outward, three facing in each direction.
26
The sides of the tank were 3 inches thick. Its rim was like the rim of a cup, curving outward like the petals of a lily. The tank held about 10,000 gallons.
27
Huram also made ten bronze carts; each was 6 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 4 1/2 feet high.
28
They were made of square panels which were set in frames,
29
with the figures of lions, bulls, and winged creatures on the panels; and on the frames, above and underneath the lions and bulls, there were spiral figures in relief.
30
Each cart had four bronze wheels with bronze axles. At the four corners were bronze supports for a basin; the supports were decorated with spiral figures in relief.
31
There was a circular frame on top for the basin. It projected upward 18 inches from the top of the cart and 7 inches down into it. It had carvings around it.
32
The wheels were 25 inches high; they were under the panels, and the axles were of one piece with the carts.
33
The wheels were like chariot wheels; their axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were all of bronze.
34
There were four supports at the bottom corners of each cart, which were of one piece with the cart.
35
There was a 9-inch band around the top of each cart; its supports and the panels were of one piece with the cart.
36
The supports and panels were decorated with figures of winged creatures, lions, and palm trees, wherever there was space for them, with spiral figures all around.
37
This, then, is how the carts were made; they were all alike, having the same size and shape.
38
Huram also made ten basins, one for each cart. Each basin was 6 feet in diameter and held 200 gallons.
39
He placed five of the carts on the south side of the Temple, and the other five on the north side; the tank he placed at the southeast corner.
40
Huram also made pots, shovels, and bowls. He completed all his work for King Solomon for the LORD's Temple. This is what he made: The two columns The two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the columns The design of interwoven chains on each capital The 400 bronze pomegranates, in two rows of 100 each around the design on each capital The ten carts The ten basins The tank The twelve bulls supporting the tank The pots, shovels, and bowls All this equipment for the Temple, which Huram made for King Solomon, was of polished bronze.
46
The king had it all made in the foundry between Sukkoth and Zarethan, in the Jordan Valley.
47
Solomon did not have these bronze objects weighed, because there were too many of them, and so their weight was never determined.
48
Solomon also had gold furnishings made for the Temple: the altar, the table for the bread offered to God,
49
the ten lampstands that stood in front of the Most Holy Place, five on the south side and five on the north; the flowers, lamps, and tongs;
50
the cups, lamp snuffers, bowls, dishes for incense, and the pans used for carrying live coals; and the hinges for the doors of the Most Holy Place and of the outer doors of the Temple. All these furnishings were made of gold.
51
When King Solomon finished all the work on the Temple, he placed in the Temple storerooms all the things that his father David had dedicated to the LORD ---the silver, gold, and other articles.
1
King Solomon had a bronze altar made, which was 30 feet square and 15 feet high.
2
He also made a round tank of bronze, 7 1/2 feet deep, 15 feet in diameter, and 45 feet in circumference.
3
All around the outer edge of the rim of the tank were two rows of decorations, one above the other. The decorations were in the shape of bulls, which had been cast all in one piece with the rest of the tank.
4
The tank rested on the backs of twelve bronze bulls that faced outward, three facing in each direction.
5
The sides of the tank were 3 inches thick. Its rim was like the rim of a cup, curving outward like the petals of a flower. The tank held about 15,000 gallons.
6
They also made ten basins, five to be placed on the south side of the Temple and five on the north side. They were to be used to rinse the parts of the animals that were burned as sacrifices. The water in the large tank was for the priests to use for washing.
7
They made ten gold lampstands according to the usual pattern, and ten tables, and placed them in the main room of the Temple, five lampstands and five tables on each side. They also made a hundred gold bowls.
9
They made an inner courtyard for the priests, and also an outer courtyard. The doors in the gates between the courtyards were covered with bronze.
10
The tank was placed near the southeast corner of the Temple.
11
Huram also made pots, shovels, and bowls. He completed all the objects that he had promised King Solomon he would make for the Temple: The two columns The two bowl-shaped capitals on top of the columns The design of interwoven chains on each capital The 400 bronze pomegranates arranged in two rows around the design of each capital The ten carts The ten basins The tank The twelve bulls supporting the tank The pots, shovels, and forks Huram the master metalworker made all these objects out of polished bronze, as King Solomon had commanded, for use in the Temple of the LORD.
17
The king had them all made in the foundry between Sukkoth and Zeredah in the Jordan Valley.
18
So many objects were made that no one determined the total weight of the bronze used.
19
King Solomon also had gold furnishings made for the Temple: the altar and the tables for the bread offered to God;
20
the lampstands and the lamps of fine gold that were to burn in front of the Most Holy Place, according to plan;
21
the flower decorations, the lamps, and the tongs;
22
the lamp snuffers, the bowls, the dishes for incense, and the pans used for carrying live coals. All these objects were made of pure gold. The outer doors of the Temple and the doors to the Most Holy Place were overlaid with gold.
1
Do you, my friend, pass judgment on others? You have no excuse at all, whoever you are. For when you judge others and then do the same things which they do, you condemn yourself.
2
We know that God is right when he judges the people who do such things as these.
3
But you, my friend, do those very things for which you pass judgment on others! Do you think you will escape God's judgment?
4
Or perhaps you despise his great kindness, tolerance, and patience. Surely you know that God is kind, because he is trying to lead you to repent.
5
But you have a hard and stubborn heart, and so you are making your own punishment even greater on the Day when God's anger and righteous judgments will be revealed.
6
For God will reward each of us according to what we have done.
7
Some people keep on doing good, and seek glory, honor, and immortal life; to them God will give eternal life.
8
Other people are selfish and reject what is right, in order to follow what is wrong; on them God will pour out his anger and fury.
9
There will be suffering and pain for all those who do what is evil, for the Jews first and also for the Gentiles.
10
But God will give glory, honor, and peace to all who do what is good, to the Jews first and also to the Gentiles.
11
For God judges everyone by the same standard.
12
The Gentiles do not have the Law of Moses; they sin and are lost apart from the Law. The Jews have the Law; they sin and are judged by the Law.
13
For it is not by hearing the Law that people are put right with God, but by doing what the Law commands.
14
The Gentiles do not have the Law; but whenever they do by instinct what the Law commands, they are their own law, even though they do not have the Law.
15
Their conduct shows that what the Law commands is written in their hearts. Their consciences also show that this is true, since their thoughts sometimes accuse them and sometimes defend them.
16
And so, according to the Good News I preach, this is how it will be on that Day when God through Jesus Christ will judge the secret thoughts of all.
17
What about you? You call yourself a Jew; you depend on the Law and boast about God;
18
you know what God wants you to do, and you have learned from the Law to choose what is right;
19
you are sure that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in darkness,
20
an instructor for the foolish, and a teacher for the ignorant. You are certain that in the Law you have the full content of knowledge and of truth.
21
You teach others---why don't you teach yourself ? You preach, "Do not steal"---but do you yourself steal?
22
You say, "Do not commit adultery"---but do you commit adultery? You detest idols---but do you rob temples?
23
You boast about having God's law---but do you bring shame on God by breaking his law?
24
The scripture says, "Because of you Jews, the Gentiles speak evil of God."
25
If you obey the Law, your circumcision is of value; but if you disobey the Law, you might as well never have been circumcised.
26
If the Gentile, who is not circumcised, obeys the commands of the Law, will not God regard him as though he were circumcised?
27
And so you Jews will be condemned by the Gentiles because you break the Law, even though you have it written down and are circumcised; but they obey the Law, even though they are not physically circumcised.
28
After all, who is a real Jew, truly circumcised? It is not the man who is a Jew on the outside, whose circumcision is a physical thing.
29
Rather, the real Jew is the person who is a Jew on the inside, that is, whose heart has been circumcised, and this is the work of God's Spirit, not of the written Law. Such a person receives praise from God, not from human beings.
