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¹ Forsothe Salomon bildide his owne hows in thrittene yeer, and brouyte it til to perfeccioun.² He bildide an hows of the forest of Liban, of an hundrid cubitis of lengthe, and of fifti cubitis of breede, and of thretti cubitis of hiythe; and he bildide foure aleis bitwixe the pilers of cedre; for he hadde hewe doun trees of cedres in to pilers.³ And he clothide al the chaumbir with wallis of cedris; which chaumbir was susteyned with fyue and fourti pileris. Sotheli oon ordre hadde fiftene pileris, set ayens hem silf togidere,⁴ and biholdynge hem silf euene ayens, bi euene space bitwixe the pilers;⁵ and on the pilers weren foure square trees, euene in alle thingis.⁶ And he made a porche of pilers of fifti cubitis of lengthe, and of thritti cubitis of breede; and `he made an other porche in the face of the gretter porche; and he made pileris, and pomels on the pileris.<sup>7</sup> Also he maad a porche of the kyngis seete, in which the seete of doom was; and he hilide with trees of cedre, fro the pawment `til to the hiynesse.⁸ And a litil hows, in which he sat to deme, was in the myddil porche, bi lijk werk. Also Salomon made an hows to the douyter of Farao, whom he hadde weddid, bi sich werk, bi what maner werk he made and this porche.⁹ He made alle thingis of preciouse stoonys, that weren sawid at sum reule and mesure, bothe with ynne and with outforth, fro the foundement `til to the hiynesse of wallis, and with ynne and `til to the gretter street, ethir court.¹⁰ Sotheli the foundementis weren of preciouse stoonys, grete stoonys of ten, ethir of eiyte cubitis;¹¹ and preciouse stoonys hewun of euene mesure weren aboue; in lijk maner and of cedre.¹² And the gretter court, `ethir voide space, was round, of thre ordris of hewun stonus, and of oon ordre of hewun cedre; also and in the ynnere large strete of the hows of the Lord, and in the porche of the hows of the Lord.

¹³ Also kyng Salomon sente, and brouyte fro Tire Hiram, the sone of a womman widewe,¹⁴ of the lynage of Neptalym, of the fadir a man of Tyre, Hiram, a crafty man of brasse, and ful of wisdom, and vndirstondynge, and doctryn, to make al werk of bras. And whanne he hadde come to kyng Salomon, he made al hys werk.¹⁵ And he made twey pilers of bras, o piler of eiytene cubitis of hiythe; and a lyne of twelue cubitis cumpasside euer either piler.¹⁶ Also he made twei pomels, yotun of bras, that weren set on the heedis of the pilers; o pomel of fyue cubitis of hiythe, and the tothir pomel of fyue cubitis of heiythe; and bi the maner of a net,¹⁷ and of chaynes knyt to gidere to hem, bi wonderful werk. Euer either pomel of the pilers was yotun; seuen werkis lijk nettis of orders weren in o pomel, and seuen werkis lijk nettis weren in the tother pomel.¹⁸ And he made perfitli the pilers, and twei ordris `bi cumpas of alle werkis lijk nettis, that tho schulden hile the pomels, that weren on the hiynesse of pumgarnadis; in the same maner he dide also to the secounde pomel.<sup>19</sup> Sotheli the pomels, that weren on the heedis of the pilers in the porche, weren maad as bi the werk of lilye, of foure cubitis;<sup>20</sup> and eft othere pomels in the hiynesse of pilers aboue, bi the mesure of the piler, ayens the werkis lijk nettis; forsothe twey hundrid ordris of pumgarnadis weren in the cumpas of the secounde pomel.<sup>21</sup> And he settide the twey pilers in the porche of the temple; and whanne he hadde set the riythalf pilere, he clepide it bi name Jachym; in lijk maner he reiside the secounde pilere, and he clepide the name therof Booz.<sup>22</sup> And he settide on the heedis of the pilers a werk bi the maner of a lilie; and the werk of the pilers was maad perfit.<sup>23</sup> Also he made a yotun see, that is, a waisching vessel for preestis, round in cumpas, of ten cubitis fro brynke til to the brinke; the heiynesse therof was of fyue cubitis; and a corde of thretti cubitis yede aboute it bi cumpas.<sup>24</sup> And grauyng vndir the brynke cumpasside it, and cumpasside the see bi ten cubitis; tweyne ordris of grauyngis conteynynge summe stories weren yotun, and stoden on twelue oxis;<sup>25</sup> of whiche oxis thre bihelden to the north, and thre to the west, and thre to the south, and three to the eest; and the see was aboue on tho oxis, of whiche alle the hyndere thingis weren hid `with ynne.²⁶ Sotheli the thicknesse of the see was of thre ounces, and the brynke therof was as the brynke of a cuppe, and as the leef of a lilie crokid ayen; the see took twei thousynde bathus, thre thousynde metretis.²⁷ And he made ten brasun foundementes, ech foundement of foure cubites of lengthe, and of foure cubitis of brede, and of thre cubitis of hiynes.²⁸ And thilke werk of foundementis was rasid bitwixe; and grauyngis weren bitwixe the ioynturis.²⁹ And bitwixe the litil corouns and serclis weren liouns, oxis, and cherubyns; and in the ioynturis in lijk maner aboue; and vndir the lyouns and oxis weren as reynes of bridels of bras hangynge doun.³⁰ And bi ech foundement weren foure wheelis, and brasun extrees; and bi foure partis weren as litle schuldryngis vndir the waischyng vessel, `the schuldryngis yotun, and biholdynge ayens hemsilf togidere.<sup>31</sup> And the mouth of the waischyng vessel with ynne was in the hiynesse of the heed, and that, that apperide with outforth, was of o cubit, and it was al round, and hadde togidere o cubit and an half; sotheli dyuerse grauyngis weren in the corneris of pilers, and the mydil piler bitwixe was square, not round.<sup>32</sup> And the foure wheelis, that weren bi foure corneris of the foundement, cleuyden togidere to hem silf vndir the foundement; o wheele hadde o cubit and an half of hiythe.<sup>33</sup> Sotheli the wheelis weren siche, whiche maner wheelis ben wont to be maad in a chare; and the extrees, and the `naue stockis, and the spokis, and dowlis of tho wheelis, alle thingis weren yotun.³⁴ For also the foure litle schuldryngis, bi alle the corners of o foundement, weren ioyned to gidere, and yotun of that foundement.³⁵ Sotheli in the hiynesse of the foundement was sum roundenesse, of o cubite and an half, so maad craftili, that the waischyng vessel myyte be set aboue, hauynge his purtreiyngis, and dyuerse grauyngis of it silf.³⁶ Also he grauyde in tho wallis, that weren of bras, and in the corneris, cherubyns, and liouns, and palmes, as bi the licnesse of a man stondynge, that tho semeden not grauun, but put to bi cumpas.³⁷ Bi this maner he made ten foundementis, bi o yetyng and mesure, and lijk grauyng.³⁸ Also he made ten waischyng vessels of bras; o waischyng vessel took fourti bathus, and it was of foure cubitis; and he puttide ech waischyng vessel bi it silf bi ech foundement bi it silf, that is, ten.³⁹ And he made ten foundementis, fyue at the riyt half of the temple, and fyue at the left half; sotheli he settide the see at the riyt half of the temple, ayens the eest, at the south.⁴⁰ Also Hiram made cawdrouns, and pannes, and wyn vessels; and he made perfitli al the werk of kyng Salomon in the temple of the Lord.⁴¹ He made twey pilers, and twei cordis of pomels on the pomels of pilers, and twei werkis lijk nettis, that tho schulden hile twey cordis, that weren on the heedis of pileris.⁴² And `he made pumgarnadis foure hundrid in twey werkis lijk nettis; `he made tweyne ordris of pumgarnadis in ech werk lijk a net, to hile the cordis of the pomels, that weren on the heedis of pilers.⁴³ And he made ten foundementis, and ten waischyng vessels on the foundementis;⁴⁴ and o se, `that is, a waischyng vessel for preestis, and twelue oxis vndur the see;<sup>45</sup> and `he made cawdruns, and pannys, and wyn vessels. Alle vessels, whiche Hiram made to kyng Salomon in the hows of the Lord, weren of latoun.⁴⁶ And the kyng yetide tho vessels in the feeldi cuntrey of Jordan, in cleyi lond, bitwixe Sochot and Sarcham.⁴⁷ And Salomon settide alle the vessels; forsothe for greet multitude no weiyte was of bras, `that is, it passide al comyn weiyte.

⁴⁸ And Salomon made alle vessels in the hows of the Lord; sotheli he made the golden auter, `that is, the auter of encense, that was with ynne the temple, and the goldun boord, on whych the loouys of settynge forth weren set;<sup>49</sup> and he made goldun candilstikis, fyue at the riyt half, and fyue at the left half, ayens Goddis answerynge place, `of purest gold; and he made as the flouris of a lilie, and goldun lanterns aboue, and goldun tongis; and pottis,⁵⁰ and hokis, and violis, and morteris, and censeris of pureste gold; and the herris, ether heengis, of the doris of the ynnere hows of the hooli of hooli thingis, and of the doris of the hows of the temple weren of gold.⁵¹ And Salomon performyde al the werk, which he made in the hows of the Lord; and he brouyte ynne the thingis, whiche Dauid, his fadir, hadde halewid; siluer, and gold, and vessels; and he kepte in the tresours of the hows of the Lord.