7:23 He also made the large bronze basin called “The Sea.” 1 It measured 15 feet 2 from rim to rim, was circular in shape, and stood seven-and-a-half feet 3 high. Its circumference was 45 feet. 4 7:24 Under the rim all the way around it 5 were round ornaments 6 arranged in settings 15 feet long. 7 The ornaments were in two rows and had been cast with “The Sea.” 8 7:25 “The Sea” stood on top of twelve bulls. Three faced northward, three westward, three southward, and three eastward. “The Sea” was placed on top of them, and they all faced outward. 9 7:26 It was four fingers thick and its rim was like that of a cup shaped like a lily blossom. It could hold about 12,000 gallons. 10
7:27 He also made ten bronze movable stands. Each stand was six feet 11 long, six feet 12 wide, and four-and-a-half feet 13 high. 7:28 The stands were constructed with frames between the joints. 7:29 On these frames and joints were ornamental lions, bulls, and cherubs. Under the lions and bulls were decorative wreaths. 14 7:30 Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles and four supports. Under the basin the supports were fashioned on each side with wreaths. 15 7:31 Inside the stand was a round opening that was a foot-and-a-half deep; it had a support that was two and one-quarter feet long. 16 On the edge of the opening were carvings in square frames. 17 7:32 The four wheels were under the frames and the crossbars of the axles were connected to the stand. Each wheel was two and one-quarter feet 18 high. 7:33 The wheels were constructed like chariot wheels; their crossbars, rims, spokes, and hubs were made of cast metal. 7:34 Each stand had four supports, one per side projecting out from the stand. 19 7:35 On top of each stand was a round opening three-quarters of a foot deep; 20 there were also supports and frames on top of the stands. 7:36 He engraved ornamental cherubs, lions, and palm trees on the plates of the supports and frames wherever there was room, 21 with wreaths 22 all around. 7:37 He made the ten stands in this way. All of them were cast in one mold and were identical in measurements and shape.
1 tn Heb “He made the sea, cast.”
sn This large basin that was mounted on twelve bronze bulls and contained water for the priests to bathe themselves (2 Chr 4:6; cf. Exod 30:17-21).
2 tn Heb “ten cubits.”
3 tn Heb “five cubits.”
4 tn Heb “and a measuring line went around it thirty cubits all around.”
5 tn Heb “The Sea.” The proper noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“it”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
6 tn Or “gourd-shaped ornaments.”
7 tn Heb “ten cubits surrounding the sea all around.” The precise meaning of this description is uncertain.
8 tn Heb “the gourd-shaped ornaments were in two rows, cast in its casting.”
9 tn Heb “all their hindquarters were toward the inside.”
10 tn Heb “two thousand baths” (a bath was a liquid measure roughly equivalent to six gallons).
11 tn Heb “four cubits.”
12 tn Heb “four cubits.”
13 tn Heb “three cubits.”
14 tn The precise meaning of these final words is uncertain. A possible literal translation would be, “wreaths, the work of descent.”
15 tn The precise meaning of this last word, translated “wreaths,” is uncertain.
16 tn Heb “And its opening from the inside to the top and upwards [was] a cubit, and its opening was round, the work of a stand, a cubit-and-a-half.” The precise meaning of this description is uncertain.
17 tn Heb “also over its opening were carvings and their frames [were] squared, not round.”
18 tn Heb “a cubit-and-a-half” (a cubit was a unit of measure roughly equivalent to 18 inches or 45 cm).
19 tn Heb “four shoulders to the four sides of each stand, from the stand its shoulders.” The precise meaning of the description is uncertain.
20 tn Heb “and on top of the stand, a half cubit [in] height, round all around” (the meaning of this description is uncertain).
21 tn Heb “according to the space of each.”
22 tn The precise meaning of this last word, translated “wreaths,” is uncertain.