1 Kings 7:15-22

Contemporary English Version

¹⁵Hiram made two bronze columns eight meters tall and almost two meters across. ¹⁶For the top of each column, he also made a bronze cap just over two meters high. ¹⁷The caps were decorated with seven rows of designs that looked like chains,^[a] ¹⁸with two rows of designs that looked like pomegranates.^[b]

¹⁹The caps for the columns of the porch were almost two meters high and were shaped like lilies.^[c]

²⁰The chain designs on the caps were right above the rounded tops of the two columns, and there were 200 pomegranates in rows around each cap. ²¹Hiram placed the two columns on each side of the main door of the temple. The column on the south side was called Jachin,^[d] and the one on the north was called Boaz.^[e]

²²The lily-shaped caps were on top of the columns.

This completed the work on the columns.

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Footnotes

7.17 seven rows … chains: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
7.18 pomegranates: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 18. A pomegranate is a bright red fruit that looks like an apple. In ancient times, it was a symbol of life.
7.19 lilies: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 19.
7.21 Jachin: Or “He makes secure.”
7.21 Boaz: Or “He is strong.”