2 Chronicles 2
1 Then Salomon determined to builde an house for the Name of the Lord, and an house for his kingdome.
Solomon ordered that a temple should be built where Yahweh would be worshiped and also that a palace should be built for himself.
2 And Salomon tolde out seuentie thousand that bare burdens, and fourescore thousande men to hewe stones in the mountaine, and three thousand and sixe hundreth to ouersee them.
He selected 70,000 men to carry the building supplies and 80,000 men to cut stones [(from quarries/walls of rock) in] the hills. He also chose 3,600 men to supervise them.
3 And Salomon sent to Huram the king of Tyrus, saying, As thou hast done to Dauid my father, and didst sende him cedar trees to buylde him an house to dwell in, so do to me.
Solomon sent this message to King Hiram of Tyre [city]: “[Many years ago] when my father David was building his palace, you sent to him cedar logs. Will you send me cedar logs, too?
4 Behold, I buylde an house vnto the Name of the Lord my God, to sanctifie it vnto him, and to burne sweete incense before him, and for the continuall shewbread, and for the burnt offrings of the morning and euening, on the Sabbath dayes, and in the new moneths, and in the solemne feastes of the Lord our God: this is a perpetuall thing for Israel.
“We are about to build a temple where we will worship Yahweh our God. We want to dedicate it to be a place where we will burn fragrant incense to [honor] him, and a place to put loaves of sacred bread, and for making sacrifices every morning and every evening and every Sabbath day, and to celebrate on the day of every new moon and at other special religious festivals to [honor] Yahweh our God. We want to do those things forever, like Yahweh has commanded.
5 And the house which I buylde, is great: for great is our God aboue all gods.
[We want] this temple [to] be a great temple, because our God is greater than all other gods.
6 Who is he then that can be able to buylde him an house, when the heauen, and the heauen of heauens can not conteine him? who am I then that I should buylde him an house? but I do it to burne incense before him.
But no one can really build a temple that would be big enough for God [to live in], because even the highest heavens are not big enough for him. And I am worthy only to build a place where we can burn sacrifices to him.
7 Sende me nowe therefore a cunning man that can worke in golde, in siluer, and in brasse, and in yron, and in purple, and crimosin and blue silke, and that can graue in grauen worke with the cunning men that are with me in Iudah and in Ierusalem, whom Dauid my father hath prepared.
Therefore, please send me a man who knows well how to make things from gold and silver and bronze and iron, and to make things from purple and red and blue cloth. He should also know well how to engrave designs. I want him to work in Jerusalem and in other places in Judah with my skilled craftsmen, the ones whom my father David appointed.
8 Sende mee also cedar trees, firre trees and Algummim trees from Lebanon: for I knowe that thy seruants can skill to hewe timber in Lebanon: and beholde, my seruantes shalbe with thine,
I know that your workers are skilled in cutting timber, so also please send me cedar logs, pine logs, and juniper logs from the Lebanon mountains. My workers will work with your workers.
9 That they may prepare me timber in abundance: for the house which I doe buylde, is great and wonderfull.
In that way, those workers will provide me with plenty of lumber. [We will need plenty, ] because I want the temple that we will build to be large and beautiful.
10 And behold, I will giue to thy seruants the cutters and the hewers of timber twentie thousand measures of beaten wheate, and twentie thousand measures of barley, and twentie thousand baths of wine, and twentie thousand baths of oyle.
I will pay your workers, the men who cut the logs, 100,000 bushels of ground wheat, 100,000 bushels of barley, 110,000 gallons of wine, and 110,000 gallons of olive oil.”
11 Then Huram King of Tyrus answered in writing which he sent to Salomon, Because the Lord hath loued his people, he hath made thee King ouer them.
[When] Hiram [received that message, he] replied by sending this message to Solomon: “Because Yahweh loves his people, he has appointed you to be their king.”
12 Huram sayd moreouer, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which made the heauen and the earth, and that hath giuen vnto Dauid the King a wise sonne, that hath discretion, prudence and vnderstanding to buylde an house for the Lord, and a palace for his kingdome.
[And Hiram added, ] “Praise Yahweh, the God to whom the Israeli people belong, the one who created the sky and the earth! He has given King David a wise son, one who is very smart/intelligent and who has good skill and understanding. He wants to build a temple for Yahweh and a palace for himself.
13 Now therefore I haue sent a wise man, and of vnderstanding of my father Hurams,
“I will be sending to you Huram-Abi, a man who is very skilled.
14 The sonne of a woman of the daughters of Dan: and his father was a man of Tyrus, and he can skill to worke in golde, in siluer, in brasse, in yron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue silke, and in fine linen, and in crimosin, and can graue in all grauen workes, and broyder in all broydered worke that shalbe giuen him, with thy cunning men, and with the cunning men of my lord Dauid thy father.
His mother was from the tribe of Dan, and his father was from [here in] Tyre. He is very able to make things from gold and silver and bronze and iron and stone and wood, but he also makes nice things from purple and blue and red cloth, and he does all kinds of engraving. He can make things using any design/pattern that you give to him. He will work with your craftsmen, and the craftsmen who did work for your father, King David.
15 Now therefore the wheate and the barley, the oyle and the wine, which my lorde hath spoken of, let him send vnto his seruants.
“Now please send us the wheat and barley and olive oil and wine that you promised to send to us.
16 And we wil cut wood in Lebanon as much as thou shalt neede, and will bring it to thee in raftes by the sea to Iapho, so thou mayest cary them to Ierusalem.
When you do that, my workers will cut from trees in the Lebanon mountains all the logs that you need [and bring them down to the sea]. Then we will [tie the logs together to] form rafts with them, and float them in the sea to Joppa [city]. From there, you [can arrange for] them [to be] taken up to Jerusalem.
17 And Salomon nombred al the strangers that were in the land of Israel, after the nombring that his father Dauid had nombred them: and they were found an hundreth and three and fiftie thousand, and sixe hundreth.
Solomon told his workers to count all the people from other countries who were living in Israel, similar to what his father David had done. There were 153,600 of them.
18 And he set seuentie thousande of them to the burden, and fourescore thousande to hewe stones in the mountaine, and three thousande and sixe hundreth ouerseers to cause the people to worke.
Solomon assigned 70,000 of them to carry materials, and 80,000 to cut stone [from quarries in] the hills, and 3,600 of them to supervise the others and be sure that they worked steadily.
