2 Chronicles 2

1 And Solomon ordered to build a house for the name of the Lord, and a house for his royal residence.

2 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 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 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 And the house which I am building is great; for greater is our God than all the gods.

6 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 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-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 Even to prepare for me timber in abundance; for the house which I am building is to be wonderfully great.

10 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 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 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 And now have I sent a skilful man, endowed with understanding, namely, Churam-Abi,

14 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 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 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 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 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.