See the marginal references. The acts recorded here, were probably not mere wanton acts of mutilation, but steps in the conversion of these sacred objects to other uses, as to the ornamentation of a palace or of an idol temple. The bases, the oxen, and the sea were not destroyed - they remained at Jerusalem until its final capture Jeremiah 52:17, Jeremiah 52:20. Probably they were restored to their original uses by Hezekiah 2 Chronicles 29:19.
A pavement of stones - Probably a pavement made expressly, for the stones of the court seem to have been covered with a planking of cedar 1Ki 6:36; 1 Kings 7:12.