1 Kings 5
1 Also Hiram, kyng of Tire, sente hise seruauntis to Salomon; for he herde that thei hadden anoyntide hym kyng for his fadir; for Hiram was frend of Dauid in al time.
Now when Hiram king of Tyre heard that Solomon had been anointed king in his father’s place, he sent envoys to Solomon; for Hiram had always been a friend of David.
2 Sotheli also Salomon sente to Hiram,
And Solomon relayed this message to Hiram:
3 and seide, Thou knowist the wille of Dauid, my fadir, and for he miyte not bilde an hows to the name of his God, for batels neiyynge bi cumpas, til the Lord yaf hem vndur the step of hise feet.
“As you are well aware, due to the wars waged on all sides against my father David, he could not build a house for the Name of the LORD his God until the LORD had put his enemies under his feet.
4 Now forsothe my Lord God yaf reste to me bi cumpas, and noon aduersarie is, nethir yuel asailyng;
But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or crisis.
5 wherfor Y thenke to buylde a temple to the name of my Lord God, as God spak to Dauid, my fadir, and seide, Thi sone, whom Y schal yyue to thee for thee on thi trone, he schal bilde an hows to my name.
So behold, I plan to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God, according to what the LORD said to my father David: ‘I will put your son on your throne in your place, and he will build the house for My Name.’
6 Therfor comaunde thou, that thi seruauntis hewe doun to me cedris of the Liban; and my seruauntis be with thi seruauntis; sotheli Y schal yyue to thee the meede of thi seruauntis, what euere meede thou schalt axe; for thou woost, that in my puple is not a man that kan hewe trees, as Sidonyes kunnen.
Now therefore, order that cedars of Lebanon be cut down for me. My servants will be with your servants, and I will pay your servants whatever wages you set, for you know that there are none among us as skilled in logging as the Sidonians.”
7 Therfor whanne Hiram hadde herde the wordis of Salomon, he was ful glad, and seide, Blessid be the Lord God to dai, that yaf to Dauid a sone moost wijs on this puple ful myche.
When Hiram received Solomon’s message, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the LORD this day! He has given David a wise son over this great people!”
8 And Hiram sente to Salomon, and seide, Y haue herde what euer thingis thou sentist to me; Y schal do al thi wille, in trees of cedres, and of beechis.
Then Hiram sent a reply to Solomon, saying: “I have received your message; I will do all you desire regarding the cedar and cypress timber.
9 My seruauntis schulen putte doun tho trees fro the Liban to the see, and Y schal araye tho trees in schippis in the see, `til to the place which thou schalt signyfie to me; and Y schal dresse tho there, that thou take tho; and thou schalt yyue necessaries to me, that mete be youun to myn hows.
My servants will haul the logs from Lebanon to the Sea, and I will float them as rafts by sea to the place you specify. There I will separate the logs, and you can take them away. And in exchange, you can meet my needs by providing my household with food.”
10 Therfor Hiram yaf to Salomon `trees of cedres, and `trees of beechis, bi al his wille;
So Hiram provided Solomon with all the cedar and cypress timber he wanted,
11 forsothe Salomon yaf to Hiram twenti thousynde chorus of wheete, in to meete to his hows, and twenti chorus of pureste oile; Salomon yaf these thingis to Hiram bi alle yeeris.
and year after year Solomon would provide Hiram with 20,000 cors of wheat as food for his household, as well as 20,000 baths of pure olive oil.
12 Also the Lord yaf wisdom to Salomon, as he spak to hym; and pees was bitwixe Hiram and Salomon, and bothe smytiden boond of pees.
And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as He had promised him. There was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.
13 And kyng Salomon chees werk men of al Israel; and the summe was thretti thousynde of men.
Then King Solomon conscripted a labor force of 30,000 men from all Israel.
14 And `Salomon sente hem in to the Liban, ten thousynde bi ech monethe bi whilis, so that in twei monethis bi whilis thei weren in her howsis; and Adonyram was on sich a summe.
He sent them to Lebanon in monthly shifts of 10,000 men, so that they would spend one month in Lebanon and two months at home. And Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor.
15 Therfor seuenti thousynde of hem, that baren burthuns, weren to Salomon, and foure score thousynde of masouns in the hil, with out the souereyns,
Solomon had 70,000 porters and 80,000 stonecutters in the mountains,
16 that weren maistris of alle werkis, bi the noumbre of thre thousynde and thre hundrid, comaundynge to the puple, and to hem that maden werk.
not including his 3,300 foremen who supervised the workers.
17 And the kyng comaundide, that thei schulden take greete stonys, `and preciouse stonys, in to the foundement of the temple, and that thei schulden make tho square;
And the king commanded them to quarry large, costly stones to lay the foundation of the temple with dressed stones.
18 whiche stoonys the masouns of Salomon, and the masouns of Hyram, hewiden. Forsothe Biblies maden redi trees and stonus, to the hows to be bildid.
So Solomon’s and Hiram’s builders, along with the Gebalites, quarried the stone and prepared the timber and stone for the construction of the temple.
