11. Above the foundation the best stones, chiseled to the right size, were used along with cedar.
12. Around the great courtyard were three rows of chiseled stones and one row of cedar beams, like the inner courtyard of the Lord’s temple and the hall of the palace.
13. King Solomon sent for Hiram of Tyre.
14. He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a craftsman in bronze from Tyre. He had the skill and knowledge to make all kinds of works of bronze. He reported to King Solomon and did all the work he was assigned.
15. He fashioned two bronze pillars; each pillar was 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference.
16. He made two bronze tops for the pillars; each was seven-and-a-half feet high.
17. The latticework on the tops of the pillars was adorned with ornamental wreaths and chains; the top of each pillar had seven groupings of ornaments.
18. When he made the pillars, there were two rows of pomegranate-shaped ornaments around the latticework covering the top of each pillar.
19. The tops of the two pillars in the porch were shaped like lilies and were six feet high.
20. On the top of each pillar, right above the bulge beside the latticework, there were two hundred pomegranate-shaped ornaments arranged in rows all the way around.
21. He set up the pillars on the porch in front of the main hall. He erected one pillar on the right side and called it Jakin; he erected the other pillar on the left side and called it Boaz.
22. The tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. So the construction of the pillars was completed.
23. He also made the large bronze basin called “The Sea.” It measured 15 feet from rim to rim, was circular in shape, and stood seven-and-a-half feet high. Its circumference was 45 feet.
24. Under the rim all the way around it were round ornaments arranged in settings 15 feet long. The ornaments were in two rows and had been cast with “The Sea.”
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.
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.