1 Kings 5
Preparations for Building the Temple
1 ▼▼Ch 5:15 in Hebrew
Now bHiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, cfor Hiram always loved David. 2And Solomon sent word to Hiram, 3 d“You know that David my father could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God ebecause of the warfare with which his enemies surrounded him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. 4 fBut now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side. There is neither adversary nor misfortune. 5And so I intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, gas the Lord said to David my father, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, shall build the house for my name.’ 6Now therefore command that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me. And my servants will join your servants, and I will pay you for your servants such wages as you set, for you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.” 7As soon as Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the Lord this day, who has given to David a wise son to be over this great people.” 8And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, “I have heard the message that you have sent to me. I am ready to do all you desire in the matter of cedar and cypress timber. 9My servants shall bring it down to the sea from Lebanon, and I will make it into rafts to go by sea to the place you direct. And I will have them broken up there, and you shall receive it. And you shall meet my wishes hby providing food for my household.” 10So Hiram supplied Solomon with all the timber of cedar and cypress that he desired, 11while Solomon gave Hiram 20,000 cors ▼▼A cor was about 6 bushels or 220 liters
of wheat as food for his household, and 20,000 ▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew twenty
cors of beaten oil. Solomon gave this to Hiram year by year. 12And the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, kas he promised him. And there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty. 13King Solomon drafted lforced labor out of all Israel, and the draft numbered 30,000 men. 14And he sent them to Lebanon, 10,000 a month in shifts. They would be a month in Lebanon and two months at home. mAdoniram was in charge of the draft. 15Solomon also nhad 70,000 burden-bearers and 80,000 stonecutters in the hill country, 16besides Solomon’s 3,300 ochief officers who were over the work, pwho had charge of the people who carried on the work. 17At the king’s command qthey quarried out great, costly stones in order to lay the foundation of the house with dressed stones. 18So Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders and rthe men of Gebal did the cutting and prepared the timber and the stone to build the house.
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