Preparations for the Temple
(2 Chronicles 2:1-10)
1And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David. 2And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, 3Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto the name of the LORD his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet. 4But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent. 5And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build an house unto my name. 6Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants: and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians.
7And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be the LORD this day, which hath given unto David a wise son over this great people. 8And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for: and I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir. 9My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea: and I will convey them by sea in floats unto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be discharged there, and thou shalt receive them: and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household. 10So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all his desire. 11And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year. 12And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him: and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together.
Solomon's Workmen and Laborers
13And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men. 14And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses: a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home: and Adoniram was over the levy. 15And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand hewers in the mountains; 16Beside the chief of Solomon's officers which were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, which ruled over the people that wrought in the work. 17And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house. 18And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did hew them, and the stonesquarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
Preparations for the Temple
(2 Chronicles 2:1–10)
1 Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the place of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David. 2 Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, 3 “You know how that David my father could not build a house for the name of Yahweh his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until Yahweh put them under the soles of his feet. 4 But now Yahweh my God has given me rest on every side. There is neither adversary, nor evil occurrence. 5 Behold, I purpose to build a house for the name of Yahweh my God, as Yahweh spoke to David my father, saying, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, he shall build the house for my name.’ 6 Now therefore command that they cut me cedar trees out of Lebanon. My servants shall be with your servants; and I will give you wages for your servants according to all that you shall say. For you know that there is not among us any who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”
Hiram’s Reply to Solomon
(2 Chronicles 2:11–18)
7 It happened, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, “Blessed is Yahweh this day, who has given to David a wise son over this great people.” 8 Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, “I have heard the message which you have sent to me. I will do all your desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir. 9 My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon to the sea. I will make them into rafts to go by sea to the place that you shall appoint me, and will cause them to be broken up there, and you shall receive them. You shall accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household.” 10 So Hiram gave Solomon timber of cedar and timber of fir according to all his desire. 11 Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil. Solomon gave this to Hiram year by year. 12 Yahweh gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a treaty together.
Solomon’s Labor Force
13 King Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men. 14 He sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses; a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home; and Adoniram was over the men subject to forced labor. 15 Solomon had seventy thousand who bore burdens, and eighty thousand who were stone cutters in the mountains; 16 besides Solomon’s chief officers who were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, who bore rule over the people who labored in the work. 17 The king commanded, and they cut out great stones, costly stones, to lay the foundation of the house with worked stone. 18 Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders and the Gebalites cut them, and prepared the timber and the stones to build the house.
Preparations for the Temple
(2 Chronicles 2:1–10)
1 Now when Hiram king of Tyre heard that Solomon had been anointed king in his father’s place, he sent envoys to Solomon; for Hiram had always been a friend of David.
2 And Solomon relayed this message to Hiram:
3 “As you are well aware, due to the wars waged on all sides against my father David, he could not build a house for the Name of the LORD his God until the LORD had put his enemies under his feet. 4 But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or crisis.
5 So behold, I plan to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God, according to what the LORD said to my father David: ‘I will put your son on your throne in your place, and he will build the house for My Name.’
6 Now therefore, order that cedars of Lebanon be cut down for me. My servants will be with your servants, and I will pay your servants whatever wages you set, for you know that there are none among us as skilled in logging as the Sidonians.”
Hiram’s Reply to Solomon
(2 Chronicles 2:11–18)
7 When Hiram received Solomon’s message, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the LORD this day! He has given David a wise son over this great people!” 8 Then Hiram sent a reply to Solomon, saying:
“I have received your message; I will do all you desire regarding the cedar and cypress a timber. 9 My servants will haul the logs from Lebanon to the Sea, b and I will float them as rafts by sea to the place you specify. There I will separate the logs, and you can take them away. And in exchange, you can meet my needs by providing my household with food.”
10 So Hiram provided Solomon with all the cedar and cypress timber he wanted, 11 and year after year Solomon would provide Hiram with 20,000 cors of wheat c as food for his household, as well as 20,000 baths of pure olive oil. d
12 And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as He had promised him. There was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty. e
Solomon’s Labor Force
13 Then King Solomon conscripted a labor force of 30,000 men from all Israel. 14 He sent them to Lebanon in monthly shifts of 10,000 men, so that they would spend one month in Lebanon and two months at home. And Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor.
15 Solomon had 70,000 porters and 80,000 stonecutters in the mountains, 16 not including his 3,300 f foremen who supervised the workers.
17 And the king commanded them to quarry large, costly stones to lay the foundation of the temple with dressed stones. 18 So Solomon’s and Hiram’s builders, along with the Gebalites, quarried the stone and prepared the timber and stone for the construction of the temple.
Footnotes:
8 a Or pine or juniper or fir ; also in verse 10
9 b That is, the Mediterranean Sea, also called the Great Sea
11 c 20,000 cors is approximately 124,800 bushels or 4.4 million liters (probably about 3,800 tons or 3,400 metric tons of wheat).
11 d LXX (see also 2 Chronicles 2:10); 20,000 baths is approximately 116,000 gallons or 440,000 liters of olive oil; Hebrew twenty cors of pure oil or twenty cors of pressed oil
12 e Forms of the Hebrew berit are translated in most passages as covenant .
16 f Hebrew; some LXX manuscripts 3,600 ; see 2 Chronicles 2:18.
Preparations for the Temple
(2 Chronicles 2:1-10)
1And Hiram king of Tyre sendeth his servants unto Solomon, for he heard that they had anointed him for king instead of his father, for Hiram was a lover of David all the days; 2and Solomon sendeth unto Hiram, saying, 3'Thou hast known David my father, that he hath not been able to build a house to the name of Jehovah his God, because of the wars that have been round about him, till Jehovah's putting them under the soles of his feet. 4'And now, Jehovah my God hath given rest to me round about, there is no adversary nor evil occurrence, 5and lo, I am saying to build a house to the name of Jehovah my God, as Jehovah spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son whom I appoint in thy stead on thy throne, he doth build the house for My name. 6'And now, command, and they cut down for me cedars out of Lebanon, and my servants are with thy servants, and the hire of thy servants I give to thee according to all that thou sayest, for thou hast known that there is not among us a man acquainted with cutting wood, like the Sidonians.'
7And it cometh to pass at Hiram's hearing the words of Solomon, that he rejoiceth exceedingly, and saith, 'Blessed is Jehovah to-day, who hath given to David a wise son over this numerous people.' 8And Hiram sendeth unto Solomon, saying, I have heard that which thou hast sent unto me, I do all thy desire concerning cedar-wood, and fir-wood, 9my servants bring down from Lebanon to the sea, and I make them floats in the sea unto the place that thou sendest unto me, and I have spread them out there; and thou dost take them up, and thou dost execute my desire, to give the food of my house.' 10And Hiram is giving to Solomon cedar-trees, and fir-trees, all his desire, 11and Solomon hath given to Hiram twenty thousand cors of wheat, food for his house, and twenty cors of beaten oil; thus doth Solomon give to Hiram year by year. 12And Jehovah hath given wisdom to Solomon as He spake to him, and there is peace between Hiram and Solomon, and they make a covenant both of them.
Solomon's Workmen and Laborers
13And king Solomon lifteth up a tribute out of all Israel, and the tribute is thirty thousand men, 14and he sendeth them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month, by changes, a month they are in Lebanon, two months in their own house; and Adoniram is over the tribute. 15And king Solomon hath seventy thousand bearing burdens, and eighty thousand hewing in the mountain, 16apart from the heads of the officers of Solomon, who are over the work, three thousand and three hundred, those ruling over the people who are working in the business. 17And the king commandeth, and they bring great stones, precious stone, to lay the foundation of the house, hewn stones; 18and the builders of Solomon, and the builders of Hiram, and the Giblites hew, and prepare the wood and the stones to build the house.
