2 Chronicles 2

1 Then Solomon gave word to build a house for the Name of Yahweh, and a house for his kingdom.

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

2 And Solomon numbered seventy thousand men to bear burdens, and eighty thousand men to hew in the mountain, —and, to oversee them, three thousand six hundred.

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

3 And Solomon sent unto Huram king of Tyre, saying, —As thou didst deal with David my father, and didst send him cedars to build him a house to dwell in,

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,

4 lo! I, am about to build a house for the Name of Yahweh my God, to hallow unto him—to burn before him sweet incense, and for a continual setting in array, and to offer ascending-sacrifices morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the appointed feasts of Yahweh our God, -age-abiding, is this [law] for Israel.

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.

5 And, the house which I am about to build, [must be] great, —for great is our God, above all gods.

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

6 But who is able to build unto him a house? for, the heavens, even the heaven of heavens, cannot contain him, —who then am, I, that I should build unto him a house, though only to burn incense before him?

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?

7 Now, therefore, send me a wise man, to work in gold and in silver and in bronze and in iron, and in purple and crimson and blue, and skilful to execute gravings, —with the wise men who are with me, in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom my father David did provide.

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.

8 And send me—timbers of cedar, cypress and sandal-wood, out of the Lebanon, for, I, know that, thy servants, are skilful, to cut the timbers of Lebanon, —and lo! my servants shall be with thy servants:

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,

9 yea to prepare me timbers in abundance, —for, the house which I am about to build, [must be] great and most wonderful.

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

10 And lo! for the hewers that cut the timbers, have I given wheat as food for thy servants, twenty thousand measures, and barley, twenty thousand measures, and wine, twenty thousand baths, and oil, twenty thousand baths.

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.

11 Then answered Huram king of Tyre, in writing, which he sent unto Solomon, —Because Yahweh hath loved his people, hath he set thee over them as king.

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.

12 And Huram said, Blessed be Yahweh, God of Israel, who made the heavens and the earth, —who hath given, unto David the king, a wise son, skilled in prudence and understanding, who will build a house for Yahweh, and a house for his kingdom.

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.

13 Now, therefore, have I sent a wise man, skilled in understanding, pertaining to Huram my father:

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

14 son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, whose father was a man of Tyre, skilled to work in gold and in silver, in bronze, in iron, in stones and in timber, in purple, in blue and in fine white linen, and in crimson, and to grave any manner of graving, and to devise any manner of device that may be given to him, with thy wise men, and the wise men of my lord David thy father.

(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.

15 Now, therefore, the wheat and the barley, the oil and the wine, whereof my lord hath spoken, let him send unto his servants;

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

16 and, we, will cut down timbers out of the Lebanon, according to all thy need, and will bring them unto thee in floats, upon the sea to Joppa, —and, thou, shalt fetch them up to Jerusalem.

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.

17 So Solomon numbered all the men that were sojourners, who were in the land of Israel, after the numbering, wherewith David his father had numbered them, —and they were found to be—a hundred and fifty-three thousand and six hundred.

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 and six hundred.

18 And he made up from among them—seventy thousand, to bear burdens, and eighty thousand to hew in the mountain, —and three thousand and six hundred, as overseers, to keep the people at work.

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