Bible Strands
2 Chronicles 4:21
the flowers, lamps, and tongs of gold—of purest gold;
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator catalogs the completed golden accessories for Solomon’s temple, specifically the fittings attached to the lampstands before the inner sanctuary.
The words — מִכְל֥וֹת (mikh.Lot) means "perfection" or finest quality, modifying the gold used for the flowers, lamps, and tongs. זָהָ֑ב (za.Hav) appears twice to mark the material as pure gold.
The thread — The golden lampstand and floral details echo the construction instructions in Exodus 25:31 and Exodus 37:20, while the carved blossom motifs align with the temple interior described in 1 Kings 6:18.
Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to note the exact materials and precise craftsmanship mandated for sacred objects, leaving no ambiguity about the standard of execution.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs, made he of gold, and that perfect gold;
Cross-references
- Exodus 25:31 Then you are to make a lampstand of pure, hammered gold. It shall be made of one piece, including its base and shaft, its cups, and its buds and petals.
- Exodus 37:20 And on the lampstand were four cups shaped like almond blossoms with buds and petals.
- 1 Kings 6:18 The cedar paneling inside the temple was carved with gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; not a stone could be seen.
- 1 Kings 6:29 Then he carved the walls all around the temple, in both the inner and outer sanctuaries, with carved engravings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers.
- 1 Kings 6:35 He carved into them cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and he overlaid them with gold hammered evenly over the carvings.
- 2 Chronicles 4:5 It was a handbreadth thick, and its rim was fashioned like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It could hold three thousand baths.