2 Chronicles 2
1 Now Solomon purposed to build a house for the Name of the LORD and a royal palace for himself.
And Solomon ordered to build a house for the name of the Lord, and a house for his royal residence.
2 So he conscripted 70,000 porters, 80,000 stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 supervisors.
And Solomon numbered seventy thousand men to bear burdens, and eighty thousand stonecutters in the mountain, and as superintendents over them three thousand and six hundred.
3 Then Solomon sent word to Hiram king of Tyre: “Do for me as you did for my father David when you sent him cedars to build himself a house to live in.
And Solomon sent to Churam the king of Tyre, saying, As thou hast dealt with David my father, and didst send him cedars to build him a house to dwell therein, [even so deal with me].
4 Behold, I am about to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God to dedicate to Him for burning fragrant incense before Him, for displaying the showbread continuously, and for making burnt offerings every morning and evening as well as on the Sabbaths, New Moons, and appointed feasts of the LORD our God. This is ordained for Israel forever.
Behold, I am building a house to the name of the Lord my God, to sanctify it to him, to burn before him incense of spices, and for the continual rows of show-bread, and for the burnt-offerings at morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the new-moons, and on the stated festivals of the Lord our God: this being for ever obligatory on Israel.
5 The house that I am building will be great, for our God is greater than all gods.
And the house which I am building is great; for greater is our God than all the gods.
6 But who is able to build a house for Him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain Him? Who then am I, that I should build a house for Him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before Him?
But who possesseth the power to build him a house? for the heavens and the heavens of heavens cannot contain him: and who am I then, that I should build him a house, save only to burn incense before him?
7 Send me, therefore, a craftsman skilled in engraving to work with gold and silver, with bronze and iron, and with purple, crimson, and blue yarn. He will work with my craftsmen in Judah and Jerusalem, whom my father David provided.
And now send me a skilful man to work in gold, and in silver and in copper, and in iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, and that understandeth how to engrave with the skilful men that are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem whom David my father hath provided.
8 Send me also cedar, cypress, and algum logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants have skill to cut timber there. And indeed, my servants will work with yours
Send me also cedar-trees, fir-trees, and sandal-wood, from the Lebanon; for I know well that thy servants have the skill to cut the trees of Lebanon: and, behold, my servants shall be with thy servants,
9 to prepare for me timber in abundance, because the temple I am building will be great and wonderful.
Even to prepare for me timber in abundance; for the house which I am building is to be wonderfully great.
10 I will pay your servants, the woodcutters, 20,000 cors of ground wheat, 20,000 cors of barley, 20,000 baths of wine, and 20,000 baths of olive oil.”
And, behold, for the hewers that cut the timber will I give unto thy servants twenty thousand cors of threshed wheat, and twenty thousand cors of barley, and twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.
11 Then Hiram king of Tyre wrote a letter in reply to Solomon: “Because the LORD loves His people, He has set you over them as king.”
Then answered Churam the king of Tyre in writing, and he sent it to Solomon, Out of the love of the Lord for his people hath he set thee as king over them.
12 And Hiram added: “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who made the heavens and the earth! He has given King David a wise son with insight and understanding, who will build a temple for the LORD and a royal palace for himself.
And Churam said, Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, that hath made the heavens and the earth, who hath given to king David a wise son, endowed with intelligence and understanding, who is to build a house unto the Lord, and a house for royal residence.
13 So now I am sending you Huram-abi, a skillful man endowed with creativity.
And now have I sent a skilful man, endowed with understanding, namely, Churam-Abi,
14 He is the son of a woman from the daughters of Dan, and his father is a man of Tyre. He is skilled in work with gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, purple, blue, and crimson yarn, and fine linen. He is experienced in every kind of engraving and can execute any design that is given him. He will work with your craftsmen and with those of my lord, your father David.
The son of a woman from the daughters of Dan, while his father was a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold, and in silver, in copper, in iron, in stone, and in wood, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson; also to execute any manner of engraving, and to devise every kind of work of art which may be given to him, together with thy skilful men, and skilful men of my lord David thy father.
15 Now let my lord send to his servants the wheat, barley, olive oil, and wine he promised.
And now the wheat, and the barley, the oil, and the wine, of which my lord hath spoken, let him send unto his servants:
16 We will cut logs from Lebanon, as many as you need, and we will float them to you as rafts by sea down to Joppa. Then you can take them up to Jerusalem.”
And we will truly cut down trees out of the Lebanon, as much as thou mayest need; and we will bring them to thee in boats by sea to Joppa; and thou shalt carry them up to Jerusalem.
17 Solomon numbered all the foreign men in the land of Israel following the census his father David had conducted, and there were found to be 153,600 in all.
And Solomon numbered all the strange men that were in the land of Israel, after the numbering wherewith David his father had numbered them; and they were found to be one hundred and fifty thousand and three thousand and six hundred.
18 Solomon made 70,000 of them porters, 80,000 stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 supervisors.
And he made of them seventy thousand bearers of burdens, and eighty thousand stonecutters in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred superintendents to set the people to work.
