2 Chronicles 2

1 Forsothe Salomon demyde to bilde an hows to the name of the Lord, and a paleis to hym silf.

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

2 And he noumbride seuenti thousynde of men berynge in schuldris, and fourescore thousynde that schulden kitte stoonys in hillis; and the souereyns of hem thre thousynde and sixe hundrid.

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 he sente to Iram, kyng of Tire, and seide, As thou didist with my fadir Dauid, and sentist to hym trees of cedre, that he schulde bilde to hym an hows, in which also he dwellide;

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 so do thou with me, that Y bilde an hows to the name of `my Lord God, and that Y halewe it, to brenne encense bifor hym, and to make odour of swete smellynge spiceries, and to euerlastynge settynge forth of looues, and to brent sacrifices in the morewtid and euentid, and in sabatis, and neomenyes, and solempnytees of `oure Lord God in to with outen ende, that ben comaundid to 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 For the hows which Y coueyte to bilde is greet; for `oure Lord God is greet ouer alle goddis.

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

6 Who therfor may haue myyt to bilde a worthi hows to hym? For if heuene and the heuenes of heuenes moun not take hym, hou greet am Y, that Y may bilde `an hows to hym, but to this thing oonli, that encense be brent bifor hym?

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 Therfor sende thou to me a lernd man, that can worche in gold, and siluer, bras, and yrun, purpur, rede silke, and iacynct; and that can graue in grauyng with these crafti men, which Y haue with me in Judee and Jerusalem, whiche Dauid, my fadir, made redi.

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 But also sende thou to me cedre trees, and pyne trees, and thyne trees of the Liban; for Y woot, that thi seruauntis kunnen kitte trees of the Liban; and my seruauntis schulen be with thi seruauntis,

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 that ful many trees be maad redi to me; for the hows which Y coueyte to bilde is ful greet and noble.

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

10 Ferthermore to thi seruauntis, werk men that schulen kitte trees, Y schal yyue in to meetis twenti thousynde chorus of whete, and so many chorus of barli, and twenti thousynde mesuris of oile, that ben clepid sata.

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 Forsothe Iram, king of Tire, seide bi lettris whiche he sente to Salomon, For the Lord louyde his puple, therfor he made thee to regne on it.

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 he addide, seiynge, Blessid be the Lord God of Israel, that made heuene and erthe, which yaf to `Dauid the kyng a wijs sone, and lernd, and witti, and prudent, that he schulde bilde an hows to the Lord, and a paleis to hym silf.

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 Therfor Y sente to thee a prudent man and moost kunnynge, Iram,

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

14 my fadir, the sone of a womman of the lynage of Dan, whos fadir was a man of Tire; whiche Iram can worche in gold, and siluer, bras, and irun, and marble, and trees, also in purpur, and iacynct, and bijs, and rede silke; and which Iram can graue al grauyng, and fynde prudentli, what euer thing is nedeful in werk with thi crafti men, and with the crafti men of my lord Dauid, thi fadir.

(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 Therfor, my lord, sende thou to thi seruauntis the whete, and barli, and oyle, and wyn, whiche thou bihiytist.

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

16 Sotheli we schulen kitte trees of the Liban, how many euere thou hast nedeful; and we schulen brynge tho in schippis bi the see in to Joppe; forsothe it schal be thin to lede tho ouer in 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 Therfor Salomon noumbride alle men conuertid fro hethenesse, that weren in the lond of Israel, aftir the noumbryng which Dauid, his fadir, noumbride; and an hundrid thousynde and thre and fifti thousynde and sixe hundrid weren foundun.

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 of hem seuenti thousynde, that schulden bere birthuns in schuldris, and `foure score thousynde, that schulden kitte stonys in hillis; sotheli he made thre thousynde and sixe hundrid souereyns of werkis of the puple.

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.