And he put five bases on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house: and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward over against the south.
Parallel translations
- WEB He set the bases, five on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house. He set the sea on the right side of the house eastward and toward the south.
- BSB He set five stands on the south side of the temple and five on the north, and he put the Sea on the south side, at the southeast corner of the temple.
- NKJV And he put five carts on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house. He set the Sea on the right side of the house, toward the southeast.
- NASB Then he placed the stands, five on the right side of the house and five on the left side of the house; and he set the Sea of cast metal on the right side of the house eastward toward the south.
- NLT He set five water carts on the south side of the Temple and five on the north side. The great bronze basin called the Sea was placed near the southeast corner of the Temple.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Five stands were placed on the south side and five on the north, with the great sea on the southeast. The furnishings were arranged in orderly fashion.
Overview
The balanced placement of the stands and the positioning of the molten sea reflect the careful arrangement of the temple courts. Everything had its appointed place in the ordered worship of God. This orderliness mirrors the truth that God is not a God of confusion, and that approaching Him rightly follows the pattern He establishes.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- 2 Chr 4:10And he set the sea on the right side of the east end, over against the south.
- 2 Chr 4:6He made also ten lavers, and put five on the right hand, and five on the left, to wash in them: such things as they offered for the burnt offering they washed in them; but the sea was for the priests to wash in.
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Christ at the center
Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.
How 1 Kings 7:39 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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