1 Kings 5
1 And Hiram king of Tyre sends his servants to Solomon, for he heard that they had anointed him for king instead of his father, for Hiram was loving toward David all the days;
Hiram, the king of Tyre [city], had always been a close friend of King David. When he heard that Solomon had been appointed to become the king after his father was no longer king, he sent some messengers to Solomon [to congratulate him].
2 and Solomon sends to Hiram, saying,
Solomon [gave those messengers] this message to take back to Hiram:
3 “You have known my father David, that he has not been able to build a house for the Name of his God YHWH, because of the wars that have been all around him, until YHWH’s putting them under the soles of his feet.
“You know that my father David [led his soldiers to] fight many wars against his enemies in the nearby countries. So he could not [arrange to] build a temple in which we [MTY] could worship Yahweh our God, until after Yahweh enabled [the Israeli army] to defeat [IDM] all his enemies.
4 And now, my God YHWH has given rest to me all around, there is no adversary nor evil occurrence,
But now Yahweh our God has enabled us to have peace with all the surrounding countries. [(There is no danger that/We do not need to worry that)] we will be attacked.
5 and behold, I am saying to build a house for the Name of my God YHWH, as YHWH spoke to my father David, saying, Your son whom I appoint in your stead on your throne, he builds the house for My Name.
Yahweh promised my father David, ‘Your son, whom I will enable to be king after you are no longer king, will build a temple for me [MTY].’ Because of that, I have decided to build a temple in which we can worship [MTY] Yahweh our God.
6 And now, command, and they cut down cedars for me out of Lebanon, and my servants are with your servants, and I give the hire of your servants to you according to all that you say, for you have known that there is not a man among us acquainted with cutting wood, like the Sidonians.”
“So [I am requesting that] you command your workers to cut cedar trees for me. My men will work with them, and I will pay your workers whatever you decide. [But] my men [cannot do the work alone, ] because they do not know how to cut down trees like your workers from Sidon [city] do.”
7 And it comes to pass at Hiram’s hearing the words of Solomon, that he rejoices exceedingly and says, “Blessed [is] YHWH today, who has given to David a wise son over this numerous people.”
When Hiram heard the message from Solomon, he was very happy and said, “I praise Yahweh today for giving David a very wise son to rule that great nation!”
8 And Hiram sends to Solomon, saying, “I have heard that which you have sent to me, I do all your desire concerning cedar-wood and fir-wood;
He sent this message back to Solomon: “I have heard the message that you sent to me, and I am ready to do what you ask. I will provide cedar and cypress logs.
9 my servants bring [them] down from Lebanon to the sea, and I make them floats in the sea to the place that you send to me, and I have spread them out there; and you take [them] up, and you execute my desire, to give the food [for] my house.”
My workers will bring the logs down from [the] Lebanon [mountains] to the [Mediterranean] sea. Then they will [tie them together to] make rafts to float them [in the water] along the coast to the place that you indicate. Then my workers will untie the logs, and your workers will take them from there. What I want you to do is to supply food for the people who work in my palace.”
10 And Hiram is giving cedar-trees and fir-trees to Solomon—all his desire,
So Hiram [arranged for his workers to] supply all the cedar and cypress logs that Solomon wanted.
11 and Solomon has given twenty thousand cors of wheat to Hiram, [the] food for his house, and twenty cors of beaten oil; thus Solomon gives to Hiram year by year.
Each year Solomon gave Hiram 100,000 bushels of wheat and 110,000 gallons of pure [olive] oil to feed the people who worked in his palace.
12 And YHWH has given wisdom to Solomon as He spoke to him, and there is peace between Hiram and Solomon, and both of them make a covenant.
Yahweh enabled Solomon to be wise, just like he had promised. Solomon and Hiram made a treaty/agreement that there would be peace between their [two governments/countries].
13 And King Solomon lifts up a tribute out of all Israel, and the tribute is thirty thousand men,
King Solomon forced 30,000 men from all over Israel to become his workers.
14 and he sends them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month, by changes; they are in Lebanon [for] a month [and] two months in their own house; and Adoniram [is] over the tribute.
Adoniram was their boss. Solomon divided the men into three groups. Each month 10,000 of them went to Lebanon and worked for a month there, and then they came back home for two months.
15 And King Solomon has seventy thousand bearing burdens, and eighty thousand hewing in the mountain,
Solomon also forced 80,000 men to cut stones in the hilly area and 70,000 men to haul the stones [to Jerusalem].
16 apart from the three thousand and three hundred heads of the officers of Solomon who [are] over the work—those ruling over the people who are working in the business.
And he also assigned 3,600 men to supervise their work.
17 And the king commands, and they bring great stones, precious stones, [and] hewn stones, to lay the foundation of the house;
The king also commanded his workers to cut huge blocks of stones from the quarries and to smooth the sides of the stones. Those huge stones were for the foundation of the temple.
18 and the builders of Solomon, and the builders of Hiram, and the Giblites hew [them], and prepare the wood and the stones to build the house.
Solomon’s workers and Hiram’s workers and men from Gebal/Byblos [city] shaped the stones and prepared the timber to build the temple.
