2 Chronicles 2

1 Now Solomon purposed to build a house for the name of Jehovah, and a house for his kingdom.

2 And Solomon counted out seventy thousand men to bear burdens, and eighty thousand men who were hewers in the mountains, and three thousand and six hundred to oversee them.

3 And Solomon sent to Huram the king of Tyre, saying, As thou dealt with David my father, and sent him cedars to build for him a house to dwell therein, so with me.

4 Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of Jehovah my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before him incense of sweet spices, and for the continual showbread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the set feasts of Jehovah our God. This is an ordinance forever to Israel.

5 And the house which I build is great. For our God is great above all gods.

6 But who is able to build for him a house, seeing heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain him? Who am I then, that I should build for him a house, except only to burn incense before him?

7 Now therefore send me a man skilful to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, and who knows how to engrave engravings, to be with the skilful men who are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father provided.

8 Send to me also cedar trees, fir trees, and algum trees, out of Lebanon. For I know that thy servants know how to cut timber in Lebanon. And, behold, my servants shall be with thy servants,

9 even to prepare for me timber in abundance. For the house which I am about to build shall be great and wonderful.

10 And, behold, I will give to thy servants, the hewers who cut timber, twenty thousand measures of beaten wheat, and twenty thousand measures of barley, and twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.

11 Then Huram the king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon, Because Jehovah loves his people, he has made thee king over them.

12 Huram said moreover, Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, that made heaven and earth, who has given to David the king a wise son, endued with discretion and understanding, that should build a house for Jehovah, and a house for his kingdom.

13 And now I have sent a skilful man, endued with understanding, of Huram my father's,

14 the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan. And his father was a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson, also to engrave any manner of engraving, and to devise any device, that there may be a place appointed to him with thy skilful men, and with the skilful men of my lord David thy father.

15 Now therefore the wheat and the barley, the oil and the wine, which my lord has spoken of, let him send to his servants.

16 And we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as thou shall need. And we will bring it to thee in floats by sea to Joppa, and thou shall carry it up to Jerusalem.

17 And Solomon numbered all the aliens that were in the land of Israel, after the numbering with which David his father had numbered them. And they were found a hundred and fifty-three thousand and six hundred.

18 And he set seventy thousand of them to bear burdens, and eighty thousand who were hewers in the mountains, and three thousand and six hundred overseers to set the people to work.