2 Chronicles 2
1 Solomon ordered that a temple should be built where Yahweh would be worshiped and also that a palace should be built for himself.
And Solomon said that he would build a house to the name of the Lord, and a house for his kingdom.
2 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.
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.
3 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?
And Solomon sent to Chiram king of Tyre, saying, Whereas thou didst deal [favourably] with David my father, and didst send him cedars to build for himself a house to dwell in,
4 “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.
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] shewbread 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 [We want] this temple [to] be a great temple, because our God is greater than all other gods.
And the house which I am building [is to be] great: for the Lord our God [is] great beyond all gods.
6 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.
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 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.
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 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.
And send me from Libanus cedar wood, and wood of juniper, and pine; for I know that thy servants are skilled in cutting timber in Libanus: and, behold, thy servants shall go with my servants,
9 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.
to prepare timber for me in abundance: for the house which I am building [must be] great and glorious.
10 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.”
And, behold, I have given freely to thy 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 [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.”
And Chiram king of Tyre answered in writing, and sent to Solomon, saying, Because the Lord loved his people, he made thee king over them.
12 [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.
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 “I will be sending to you Huram-Abi, a man who is very skilled.
And now I have sent thee a wise and understanding man [who belonged] to Chiram my father
14 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.
(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, whatsoever thou shalt give him [to do] with thy craftsmen, and the craftsmen of my lord David thy father.
15 “Now please send us the wheat and barley and olive oil and wine that you promised to send to us.
And now, the wheat, and the barley, and the oil, and the wine which my lord mentioned, let him send to his servants.
16 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.
And we will cut timber out of Libanus according to all thy need, and we will bring it on rafts to the sea of Joppa, and thou shalt bring it to Jerusalem.
17 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.
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.
18 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.
And he made of them seventy thousand burden-bearers, and eighty thousand hewers of stone, and three thousand six hundred taskmasters over the people.
