1 Kings 5
5
Alliance with King Hiram
1Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram had always been a friend of David. 2Then Solomon sent word to Hiram, saying, 3“You know that David my father was unable to build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the wars which surrounded him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. 4But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor misfortune. 5Behold, I intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spoke to David my father, saying, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, he will build the house for My name.’ 6Now therefore, command that they cut for me cedars from Lebanon, and my servants will be with your servants; and I will give you wages for your servants according to all that you say, for you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”
7When Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the Lord today, who has given to David a wise son over this great people.” 8So Hiram sent word to Solomon, saying, “I have heard the message which you have sent me; I will do what you desire concerning the cedar and cypress timber. 9My servants will bring them down from Lebanon to the sea; and I will make them into rafts to go by sea to the place where you direct me, and I will have them broken up there, and you shall carry them away. Then you shall accomplish my desire by giving food to my household.” 10So Hiram gave Solomon as much as he desired of the cedar and cypress timber. 11Solomon then gave Hiram 20,000 kors of wheat as food for his household, and twenty kors of beaten oil; thus Solomon would give Hiram year by year. 12The Lord gave wisdom to Solomon, just as He promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a covenant.
Conscription of Laborers
13Now King Solomon levied forced laborers from all Israel; and the forced laborers numbered 30,000 men. 14He sent them to Lebanon, 10,000 a month in relays; they were in Lebanon a month and two months at home. And Adoniram was over the forced laborers. 15Now Solomon had 70,000 transporters, and 80,000 hewers of stone in the mountains, 16besides Solomon’s 3,300 chief deputies who were over the project and who ruled over the people who were doing the work. 17Then the king commanded, and they quarried great stones, costly stones, to lay the foundation of the house with cut stones. 18So Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders and the Gebalites cut them, and prepared the timbers and the stones to build the house.
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1 Kings 5: NASB1995
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1 Kings 5
5
Solomon and Hiram
1Hiram was the king of Tyre. He had always been David’s friend. So when Hiram heard that Solomon had become the new king after David, he sent his servants to Solomon. 2This is what Solomon said to King Hiram:
3“You remember that my father, King David, had to fight many wars all around him. So he was never able to build a temple to honor the Lord his God. King David was waiting until the Lord allowed him to defeat all his enemies. 4But now the Lord my God has given me peace along all the borders of my country. I have no enemies, and my people are in no danger.
5“The Lord made a promise to my father David. He said, ‘I will make your son king after you, and he will build a temple to honor me.’ Now, I plan to build that temple to honor the Lord my God. 6And so I ask you to help me. Send your men to Lebanon to cut down cedar trees for me. My servants will work with yours. I will pay you any price that you decide as your servants’ wages, but I need your help. Our carpenters#5:6 carpenters People who work with wood. In ancient times, this also meant that they cut the trees. are not as good as the carpenters of Sidon.”
7Hiram was very happy when he heard what Solomon asked. He said, “I praise the Lord today for giving David a wise son to rule this great nation!” 8Then Hiram sent this message to Solomon:
“I heard what you asked for. I will give you all the cedar trees and the fir trees you want. 9My servants will bring them down from Lebanon to the sea. Then I will tie them together and float them down the shore to the place you choose. There I will separate the logs, and you can take them from there. As payment for this, you will give food to all those who live in my palace.”
10So Hiram gave Solomon all the cedar and fir logs that he wanted.
11Solomon gave Hiram about 120,000 bushels#5:11 120,000 bushels Literally, “20,000 cors” (4,400,000 l). of wheat and about 120,000 gallons#5:11 120,000 gallons Literally, “20,000 baths” (440,000 l). of pure olive oil every year for his family.
12The Lord made Solomon wise as he had promised. Hiram and Solomon made a treaty between themselves and were at peace with one another.
13King Solomon forced 30,000 men of Israel to help in this work. 14He chose a man named Adoniram to be in charge of them. Solomon divided the men into three groups with 10,000 men in each group. Each group worked one month in Lebanon and then went home for two months. 15Solomon also forced 80,000 men to work in the hill country cutting stone. There were also 70,000 men to carry the stones. 16There were 3300 men to supervise the workers. 17King Solomon commanded them to cut large, expensive stones for the foundation of the Temple. 18Then Solomon and Hiram’s builders and the men from Byblos#5:18 Byblos Literally, “Gebal.” carved the stones and prepared them and the logs for use in building the Temple.
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