1 Kings 5

1¶ Hiram, king of Tyre, also sent his slaves unto Solomon when he heard that they had anointed him king in the place of his father; for Hiram had always loved David.

2Then Solomon sent to Hiram, saying,

3Thou knowest how David, my father, could not build a house unto the name of the Lord his God, for the wars which were about him on every side, until the Lord put his enemies under the soles of his feet.

4Now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side so that there is neither adversary nor evil encounter.

5And, therefore, I have determined to build a house unto the name of the Lord my God as the Lord spoke unto David, my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy place, he shall build a house unto my name.

6Command, therefore, now that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon, and my slaves shall be with thy slaves, and I will give thee for thy slaves the hire that thou shalt appoint, for thou knowest that there is no one among us with the skill to hew timber like the Sidonians.

7And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly and said, Blessed be the Lord this day, who has given unto David a wise son over this great people.

8And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have heard that which thou didst send to tell me, and I will do all thy desire concerning the timber of cedar and concerning the timber of fir.

9My slaves shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea, and I will convey them by sea in rafts unto the place that thou shalt appoint me and will cause them to be discharged there, and thou shalt receive them; and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household.

10¶ So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all his desire.

11And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to his household and twenty thousand measures of pure oil; this gave Solomon to Hiram year by year.

12And the Lord gave Solomon wisdom as he promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two made a covenant together.

13And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel, and the levy was thirty thousand men,

14whom he sent to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses; they were a month in Lebanon and two months at home; and Adoniram was over the levy.

15And Solomon had seventy thousand that bore burdens and eighty thousand hewers in the mountains;

16besides Solomon’s chief officers who were over the work, there were three thousand three hundred who ruled over the people that did the work.

17And the king commanded that they bring great stones, costly stones, for the foundation of the house, and hewed stones.

18And Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders hewed them, and the stonesquarers; so they prepared timber and stones to build the house.

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1 Kings 5: JUB

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1 Kings 5

Preparations for Building the Temple

1 # 5:1 Verses 5:1-18 are numbered 5:15-32 in Hebrew text. King Hiram of Tyre had always been a loyal friend of David. When Hiram learned that David’s son Solomon was the new king of Israel, he sent ambassadors to congratulate him.

2Then Solomon sent this message back to Hiram:

3“You know that my father, David, was not able to build a Temple to honor the name of the Lord his God because of the many wars waged against him by surrounding nations. He could not build until the Lord gave him victory over all his enemies. 4But now the Lord my God has given me peace on every side; I have no enemies, and all is well. 5So I am planning to build a Temple to honor the name of the Lord my God, just as he had instructed my father, David. For the Lord told him, ‘Your son, whom I will place on your throne, will build the Temple to honor my name.’

6“Therefore, please command that cedars from Lebanon be cut for me. Let my men work alongside yours, and I will pay your men whatever wages you ask. As you know, there is no one among us who can cut timber like you Sidonians!”

7When Hiram received Solomon’s message, he was very pleased and said, “Praise the Lord today for giving David a wise son to be king of the great nation of Israel.” 8Then he sent this reply to Solomon:

“I have received your message, and I will supply all the cedar and cypress timber you need. 9My servants will bring the logs from the Lebanon mountains to the Mediterranean Sea#5:9 Hebrew the sea. and make them into rafts and float them along the coast to whatever place you choose. Then we will break the rafts apart so you can carry the logs away. You can pay me by supplying me with food for my household.”

10So Hiram supplied as much cedar and cypress timber as Solomon desired. 11In return, Solomon sent him an annual payment of 100,000 bushels#5:11a Hebrew 20,000 cors [4,400 kiloliters]. of wheat for his household and 110,000 gallons#5:11b As in Greek version, which reads 20,000 baths [420 kiloliters] (see also 2 Chr 2:10); Hebrew reads 20 cors, about 1,000 gallons or 4.4 kiloliters in volume. of pure olive oil. 12So the Lord gave wisdom to Solomon, just as he had promised. And Hiram and Solomon made a formal alliance of peace.

13Then King Solomon conscripted a labor force of 30,000 men from all Israel. 14He sent them to Lebanon in shifts, 10,000 every month, so that each man would be one month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of this labor force. 15Solomon also had 70,000 common laborers, 80,000 quarry workers in the hill country, 16and 3,600#5:16 As in some Greek manuscripts (see also 2 Chr 2:2, 18); Hebrew reads 3,300. foremen to supervise the work. 17At the king’s command, they quarried large blocks of high-quality stone and shaped them to make the foundation of the Temple. 18Men from the city of Gebal helped Solomon’s and Hiram’s builders prepare the timber and stone for the Temple.

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