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Historical Books · WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE

2 Chronicles 4

Judah's kings and temple life are traced from Solomon to exile and return.

Old Testament

2 Chronicles 4

1Then he made an altar of bronze, twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and ten cubits high.

2Also he made the molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim. It was round, five cubits high, and thirty cubits in circumference.

3Under it was the likeness of oxen, which encircled it, for ten cubits, encircling the sea. The oxen were in two rows, cast when it was cast.

4It stood on twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, three looking toward the west, three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east; and the sea was set on them above, and all their hindquarters were inward.

5It was a handbreadth thick. Its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily. It received and held three thousand baths.

6He also made ten basins, and put five on the right hand and five on the left, to wash in them. The things that belonged to the burnt offering were washed in them, but the sea was for the priests to wash in.

7He made the ten lamp stands of gold according to the ordinance concerning them; and he set them in the temple, five on the right hand and five on the left.

8He made also ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right side and five on the left. He made one hundred basins of gold.

9Furthermore he made the court of the priests, the great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid their doors with bronze.

10He set the sea on the right side of the house eastward, toward the south.

11Huram made the pots, the shovels, and the basins. So Huram finished doing the work that he did for King Solomon in God’s house:

12the two pillars, the bowls, the two capitals which were on the top of the pillars, the two networks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars,

13and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks—two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the pillars.

14He also made the bases, and he made the basins on the bases—

15one sea, and the twelve oxen under it.

16Huram-abi also made the pots, the shovels, the forks, and all its vessels for King Solomon, for the LORD’s house, of bright bronze.

17The king cast them in the plain of the Jordan, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah.

18Thus Solomon made all these vessels in great abundance, so that the weight of the bronze could not be determined.

19Solomon made all the vessels that were in God’s house: the golden altar, the tables with the show bread on them,

20and the lamp stands with their lamps to burn according to the ordinance before the inner sanctuary, of pure gold;

21and the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs of gold that was purest gold;

22and the snuffers, the basins, the spoons, and the fire pans of pure gold. As for the entry of the house, its inner doors for the most holy place and the doors of the main hall of the temple were of gold.

READ IN CONTEXT

Before applying this chapter

Judah's kings and temple life are traced from Solomon to exile and return. Read 2 Chronicles 4 within the complete 2 Chronicles overview, and use the contextual Bible reading guide before forming a personal application. Chapter divisions aid navigation, but the literary unit may begin earlier or continue into the next chapter.

Observe first

Mark repeated words, changes of speaker, commands, promises, contrasts, questions, and the relationship between paragraphs.

Apply responsibly

Distinguish description from command and immediate audience from later readers before forming a personal application.

TEXT-DERIVED READING NOTES

What to notice in 2 Chronicles 4

2 Chronicles 4 contains 22 verses and about 539 words in this translation. These observations come from the chapter itself; they are prompts for close reading, not claims about its only possible meaning.

The opening movement

Verse 1 begins: “Then he made an altar of bronze, twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and ten cubits high.” Ask what situation, voice, image, or argument this opening establishes for everything that follows.

The closing movement

Verse 22 closes: “and the snuffers, the basins, the spoons, and the fire pans of pure gold. As for the entry of the house, its inner doors for the most holy place and the doors of the…” Compare the ending with the opening and note what changed, resolved, intensified, or remained open.

Vocabulary worth tracing

Recurring or prominent content words include cubits, five, gold, three, toward, basins. Follow where each word appears and whether its meaning shifts with the speaker or setting.

COMMON QUESTIONS

About 2 Chronicles 4

Which Bible translation is shown here?+

This page reproduces the World English Bible Protestant edition (WEBP), a modern-English translation dedicated to the public domain.

How should I cite a specific verse?+

Use the book, chapter, and verse—for example, 2 Chronicles 4:1—and name the World English Bible if the wording matters. Each verse number above is a direct anchor link.

Does the chapter number define the complete literary unit?+

Not always. Chapter and verse numbers were added for navigation. Check the paragraphs, scenes, poetic stanzas, or argument before and after this chapter.

A SMALL NEXT STEP

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Begin with one honest question, one passage read carefully, and one faithful next step.

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