2 Chronicles 2
1 Solomon ordered the building of a Temple to honor the Lord and a royal palace for himself.
Now Solomon decided to build a house for the LORD’s name, and a house for his kingdom.
2 He allocated 70,000 men as laborers, 80,000 as stone cutters in the mountains, and 3,600 as foremen.
Solomon counted out seventy thousand men to bear burdens, eighty thousand men who were stone cutters in the mountains, and three thousand and six hundred to oversee them.
3 Solomon sent a message to Hiram, king of Tyre, telling him,
Solomon sent to Huram the king of Tyre, saying, “As you dealt with David my father, and sent him cedars to build him a house in which to dwell, so deal with me.
4 “Please do as you did with my father David when you sent him cedar timber for him to build a palace to live in. I'm about to start building a Temple to honor the Lord my God, dedicated to him, where he will be offered sweet-smelling incense, where the showbread will be always set out in rows, and where burnt offerings will be made every morning and evening, on the Sabbaths, at new moon festivals, and at the feasts of the Lord our God—this to be done forever in Israel.
Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it to him, to burn before him incense of sweet spices, for the continual show bread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the Sabbaths, on the new moons, and on the set feasts of the LORD our God. This is an ordinance forever to Israel.
5 This Temple I am about to build must be impressive, because our God is greater than all gods.
“The house which I am building will be great, for our God is greater than all gods.
6 But who can build a Temple for him to live in, for the heavens, even highest heaven, cannot contain him, and who am I that I should dare to build him a house, except to burn incense to him?
But who is able to build him a house, since heaven and the heaven of heavens can’t contain him? Who am I then, that I should build him a house, except just to burn incense before him?
7 So please send me a master craftsman who is skilled in working with gold, silver, bronze, and iron; and in purple, scarlet, and blue fabrics. He must also know how to engrave, working together with my expert craftsmen from Judea and Jerusalem provided by my father David.
“Now therefore send me a man skilful to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, in iron, and in purple, 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 Also send me cedar, cypress, and algum timber from Lebanon, for I know that your workers are skillful in cutting down the trees of Lebanon. I will send men to help your workers
“Send me also cedar trees, cypress trees, and algum trees out of Lebanon, for I know that your servants know how to cut timber in Lebanon. Behold, my servants will be with your servants,
9 to produce a large quantity of timber because the Temple I'm building will be really large and very impressive.
even to prepare me timber in abundance; for the house which I am about to build will be great and wonderful.
10 I will pay your workers, the wood-cutters, 20,000 cors of crushed wheat, 20,000 cors of barley, 20,000 baths of wine, and 20,000 baths of olive oil.”
Behold, I will give to your servants, the cutters who cut timber, twenty thousand cors of beaten wheat, twenty thousand baths of barley, twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.”
11 King Hiram of Tyre responded to Solomon by letter: “It's because the Lord loves his people that he has made you their king.”
Then Huram the king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon, “Because the LORD loves his people, he has made you king over them.”
12 Hiram went on, “Praise 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 is going to build a Temple for the Lord and a royal palace for himself.
Huram continued, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, who has given to David the king a wise son, endowed with discretion and understanding, who would build a house for the LORD and a house for his kingdom.
13 I'm sending you Hiram-Abi, a master craftsman who knows and understands what he's doing.
Now I have sent a skilful man, endowed with understanding, Huram-abi,
14 His mother is from the tribe of Dan and his father is from Tyre. He's an expert in working with gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, purple, blue, and crimson fabric, and fine linen. He can do all kinds of engraving and can make any design he's given. He'll work with your craftsmen and with the craftsmen of my lord, your father David.
the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan; and his father was a man of Tyre. He is skilful to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, in iron, in stone, in timber, in purple, in blue, in fine linen, and in crimson, also to engrave any kind of engraving and to devise any device, that there may be a place appointed to him with your skilful men, and with the skilful men of my lord David your father.
15 Now my lord, please send to us his servants the wheat, barley, olive oil, and wine he spoke about.
“Now therefore, the wheat, the barley, the oil, and the wine which my lord has spoken of, let him send to his servants;
16 We will cut all timber you need from Lebanon and take it to you by sea in rafts to Joppa. From there you can transport it to Jerusalem.”
and we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as you need. We will bring it to you in rafts by sea to Joppa; then you shall carry it up to Jerusalem.”
17 Solomon had a census taken of all the foreigners in the land of Israel, like the census his father David had conducted, and found there were 153,600.
Solomon counted all the foreigners who were in the land of Israel, after the census with which David his father had counted them; and they found one hundred and fifty-three thousand and six hundred.
18 He allocated 70,000 as laborers, 80,000 as stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 as foremen.
He set seventy thousand of them to bear burdens, eighty thousand who were stone cutters in the mountains, and three thousand and six hundred overseers to assign the people their work.
