Chronicles II 2

1 And Solomon said that he would build a house to the name of the Lord, and a house for his kingdom.

And Solomon resolved to build a house to the name of the Lord, and a palace for himself.

2 And Solomon gathered seventy thousand men that bore burdens, and eighty thousand hewers of stone in the mountain, and [there were] three thousand six hundred superintendents over them.

And he numbered seventy thousand men to carry upon shoulders, and eighty thousand who were hewing stones in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred as their overseers.

3 And Solomon sent to Chiram king of Tyre, saying, Whereas you did deal [favourably] with David my father, and did send him cedars to build for himself a house to dwell in,

Also, he sent to Hiram, the king of Tyre, saying: “Just as you did for my father David, when you sent him cedar wood, so that he might build a house for himself, in which he then lived,

4 behold, I also his son am building a house to the name of the Lord my God, to consecrate it to him, to burn incense before him, and [to offer] show bread continually, and to offer up whole burnt offerings continually morning and evening, and on the sabbaths, and at the new moons, and at the feasts of the Lord our God: this [is] a perpetual [statute] for Israel.

do so also for me, so that I may build a house to the name of the Lord my God, so that I may consecrate it for the burning of incense before him, and for the smoke of aromatics, and for the perpetual bread of the presence, and for the holocausts, in morning and in evening, as well as on the Sabbaths and new moons and solemnities of the Lord our God forever, which have been commanded to Israel.

5 And the house which I am building [is to be] great: for the Lord our God [is] great beyond all gods.

For the house that I desire to build is great. For our God is great, above all gods.

6 And who will be able to build him a house? for the heaven and heaven of heavens do not bear his glory: and who am I, that I should build him a house, save only to burn incense before him?

So then, who will be able prevail, so that he may build a worthy house for him? If heaven and the heavens of heavens cannot contain him, what am I that I would be able to build a house to him? But let it be for this only, so that incense may be burned before him.

7 And now send me a man wise and skilled to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and in scarlet, and in blue, and one that knows how to grave together with the craftsmen who are with me in Juda and in Jerusalem, which materials my father David prepared.

Therefore, send to me a learned man, who knows how to work with gold and silver, with brass and iron, with purple, scarlet, and hyacinth, and who knows how to carve engravings, along with these artisans that I have with me in Judea and Jerusalem, whom my father David has prepared.

8 And send me from Libanus cedar wood, and wood of juniper, and pine; for I know that your servants are skilled in cutting timber in Libanus: and, behold, your servants shall go with my servants,

Then too, send to me cedar wood, and juniper, and pine from Lebanon. For I know that your servants know how to cut timber from Lebanon, and my servants will be with your servants,

9 to prepare timber for me in abundance: for the house which I am building [must be] great and glorious.

so that very much wood may be prepared for me. For the house that I desire to build is exceedingly great and glorious.

10 And, behold, I have given freely to your servants that work and cut the wood, corn for food, [even] twenty thousand measures of wheat, and twenty thousand measures of barley, and twenty thousand measures of wine, and twenty thousand measures of oil.

In addition, I will give to your servants, the workers who will cut down the trees, for provisions: twenty thousand cor of wheat, and the same number of cor of barley, and twenty thousand measures of wine, as well as twenty thousand good measures of oil.”

11 And Chiram king of Tyre answered in writing, and sent to Solomon, saying, Because the Lord loved his people, he made you king over them.

Then Hiram, the king of Tyre, said, by a letter that had been sent to Solomon: “Because the Lord loved his people, for this reason he appointed you to reign over them.”

12 And Chiram said, Blessed [be] the Lord God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, who has given to king David a wise son, and one endowed with knowledge and understanding, who shall build a house for the Lord, and a house for his kingdom.

And he added, saying: “Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, who gave to king David a son who is wise, and learned, and intelligent as well as prudent, so that he may build a house to the Lord, and a palace for himself.

13 And now I have sent you a wise and understanding man [who belonged] to Chiram my father

Therefore, I have sent my father Hiram to you; he is a prudent and very knowledgeable man,

14 (his mother [was] of the daughters of Dan, and his father [was] a Tyrian), skilled to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in stones and wood; and to weave with purple, and blue, and fine linen, and scarlet; and to engrave, and to understand every device, whatever you shall give him [to do] with your craftsmen, and the craftsmen of my lord David your father.

the son of a woman from the daughters of Dan, whose father was a Tyrian, who knows how to work with gold and silver, with brass and iron, and with marble and timber, as well as with purple, and hyacinth, and fine linen, and scarlet. And he knows how to carve every kind of engraving, and how to devise prudently whatever may be necessary to the work, with your artisans and with the artisans of my lord David, your father.

15 And now, the wheat, and the barley, and the oil, and the wine which my lord mentioned, let him send to his servants.

Therefore, send the wheat and barley and oil and wine, which you, my lord, have promised, to your own servants.

16 And we will cut timber out of Libanus according to all your need, and we will bring it on rafts to the sea of Joppa, and you shall bring it to Jerusalem.

Then we will cut down as much wood from Lebanon as you will need, and we will convey them as rafts by sea to Joppa. Then it will be for you to transfer them to Jerusalem.”

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

And so Solomon numbered all the new converts who were in the land of Israel, after the numbering that David his father had done, and they were found to be one hundred fifty thousand and three thousand six hundred.

18 And he made of them seventy thousand burden-bearers, and eighty thousand hewers of stone, and three thousand six hundred taskmasters over the people.

And he appointed seventy thousand of them, who would carry burdens on shoulders, and eighty thousand who would hew stones in the mountains, then three thousand and six hundred as overseers of the work of the people.