1 Kings

1 Kings 7:23–37

²³He also made the Sea of cast metal. It was circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim, five cubits in height, and thirty cubits in circumference.ⁿ ²⁴Below the rim, ornamental buds encircled it, ten per cubit all the way around the Sea, cast in two rows as a part of the Sea.

²⁵The Sea stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The Sea rested on them, with all their hindquarters toward the center. ²⁶It was a handbreadth thick,^o and its rim was fashioned like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It could hold two thousand baths.^p

²⁷In addition, he made ten movable stands of bronze, each four cubits long, four cubits wide, and three cubits high.^q

²⁸This was the design of the stands: They had side panels attached to uprights, ²⁹and on the panels between the uprights were lions, oxen, and cherubim. On the uprights was a pedestal above, and below the lions and oxen were wreaths of beveled work.

³⁰Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles and a basin resting on four supports, with wreaths at each side. ³¹The opening to each stand inside the crown at the top was one cubit deep,^r with a round opening like the design of a pedestal, a cubit and a half wide.^s And around its opening were engravings, but the panels of the stands were square, not round.

³²There were four wheels under the panels, and the axles of the wheels were attached to the stand; each wheel was a cubit and a half in diameter. ³³The wheels were made like chariot wheels; their axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were all of cast metal.

³⁴Each stand had four handles, one for each corner, projecting from the stand. ³⁵At the top of each stand was a circular band half a cubit high.^t The supports and panels were cast as a unit with the top of the stand.

³⁶He engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees on the surfaces of the supports and panels, wherever each had space, with wreaths all around. ³⁷In this way he made the ten stands, each with the same casting, dimensions, and shape.

Footnotes

n 7:23 The Sea was approximately 15 feet from rim to rim, 7.5 feet in height, and 45 feet in circumference (4.6 meters from rim to rim, 2.3 meters in height, and 13.7 meters in circumference).
o 7:26 A handbreadth is approximately 2.9 inches or 7.4 centimeters.
p 7:26 2,000 baths is approximately 11,600 gallons or 44,000 liters; LXX does not include this sentence.
q 7:27 The stands were approximately 6 feet in length and width, and 4.5 feet high (1.8 meters in length and width, and 1.4 meters high).
r 7:31 One cubit is approximately 18 inches or 45.7 centimeters.
s 7:31 A cubit and a half is approximately 2.25 feet or 68.6 centimeters wide; similarly in verse 32.
t 7:35 Half a cubit is approximately 9 inches or 22.9 centimeters high.