Kings III 5
1 And Chiram king of Tyre sent his servants to anoint Solomon in the room of David his father, because Chiram always loved David.
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 sent to Chiram, saying,
And Solomon relayed this message to Hiram:
3 You knew my father David, that he could not build a house to the name of the Lord my God because of the wars that compassed him about, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet.
“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 And now the Lord my God has given me rest round about; there is no one plotting against [me], and there is no evil trespass [against me].
But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or crisis.
5 And, behold, I intend to build a house to the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord God spoke to my father David, saying, Your son whom I will set on your throne in your place, he shall build a house to my name.
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 And now command, and let [men] cut wood for me out of Libanus: and, behold, my servants [shall be] with your servants, and I will give you the wages of your service, according to all that you shall say, because you know that we have no one skilled in cutting timber like the Sidonians.
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.”
7 And it came to pass, as soon as Chiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed [be] God today, who has given to David a wise son over this numerous people.
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 And he sent to Solomon, saying, I have listened concerning all that you have sent to me for: I will do all your will: [as for] timber of cedar and fir,
Then Hiram sent a reply to Solomon, saying: “I have received your message; I will do all you desire regarding the cedar and cypress timber.
9 my servants shall bring them down from Libanus to the sea: I will form them [into] rafts, [and bring them] to the place which you shall send to me [about]; and I will land them there, and you shall take [them] up: and you shall do my will, in giving bread to my household.
My servants will haul the logs from Lebanon to the Sea, 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 Chiram gave to Solomon cedars, and fir trees, and all his desire.
So Hiram provided Solomon with all the cedar and cypress timber he wanted,
11 And Solomon gave to Chiram twenty thousand measures of wheat as food for his house, and twenty thousand baths of beaten oil thus Solomon gave to Chiram yearly.
and year after year Solomon would provide Hiram with 20,000 cors of wheat as food for his household, as well as 20,000 baths of pure olive oil.
12 And the Lord gave wisdom to Solomon as he promised him; and there was peace between Chiram and Solomon, and they made a covenant between them.
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.
13 And the king raised a levy out of all Israel, and the levy was thirty thousand men.
Then King Solomon conscripted a labor force of 30,000 men from all Israel.
14 And he sent them to Libanus, ten thousand taking turn every month: they were a month in Libanus and two months at home: and Adoniram [was] over the levy.
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 And Solomon had seventy thousand bearers of burdens, and eighty thousand hewers of stone in the mountain;
Solomon had 70,000 porters and 80,000 stonecutters in the mountains,
16 besides the rulers that were appointed over the works of Solomon, [there were] three thousand six hundred masters who wrought in the works.
not including his 3,300 foremen who supervised the workers.
17 [And the king commanded and they ] [brought great stones, precious stones for the foundation of the house, and unhewn stones. ]
And the king commanded them to quarry large, costly stones to lay the foundation of the temple with dressed stones.
18 And they prepared the stones and the timber [during] three years.
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.
