1 Kings 5
5
Solomon Prepares to Build the Temple
1Hiram was the king of Tyre. He heard that Solomon had been anointed as king. He heard that Solomon had become the next king after his father David. Hiram had always been David’s friend. So Hiram sent his messengers to Solomon. 2Then Solomon sent a message back to Hiram. Solomon said,
3“As you know, my father David had to fight many battles. His enemies attacked him from every side. So he couldn’t build a temple where the Lord his God would put his Name. That wouldn’t be possible until the Lord had put his enemies under his control. 4But now the Lord my God has given me peace and rest on every side. We don’t have any enemies. And we don’t have any other major problems either. 5So I’m planning to build a temple. I want to build it for the Name of the Lord my God. That’s what he told my father David he wanted me to do. He said, ‘I will put your son on the throne in your place. He will build a temple. I will put my Name there.’
6“So give your men orders to cut down cedar trees in Lebanon for me. My men will work with yours. I’ll pay you for your men’s work. I’ll pay any amount you decide on. As you know, we don’t have anyone as skilled in cutting down trees as the men of Sidon are.”
7When Hiram heard Solomon’s message, he was very pleased. He said, “May the Lord be praised today. He has given David a wise son to rule over that great nation.”
8So Hiram sent a message to Solomon. Hiram said,
“I have received the message you sent me. I’ll do everything you want me to. I’ll provide the cedar and juniper logs. 9My men will bring them from Lebanon down to the Mediterranean Sea. I’ll make them into rafts. I’ll float them to the place you want me to. When the rafts arrive, I’ll separate the logs from each other. Then you can take them away. And here’s what I want in return. Provide food for all the people in my palace.”
10So Hiram supplied Solomon with all the cedar and juniper logs he wanted. 11Solomon gave Hiram 3,600 tons of wheat as food for the people in his palace. He also gave him 120,000 gallons of oil made from pressed olives. He did that for Hiram year after year. 12The Lord made Solomon wise, just as he had promised him. There was peace between Hiram and Solomon. The two of them made a peace treaty.
13King Solomon forced men from all over Israel to work hard for him. There were 30,000 of them. 14He sent them off to Lebanon in groups of 10,000 each month. They spent one month in Lebanon. Then they spent two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of the people who were forced to work. 15Solomon had 70,000 people who carried things. He had 80,000 who cut stones in the hills. 16He had 3,300 men in charge of the project. They also directed the workers. 17The people did what the king commanded. They removed large blocks of the best quality stone from a rock pit. They used them to provide a foundation for the temple. 18The skilled workers of Solomon and Hiram cut and prepared the logs and stones. They would later be used in building the temple. Workers from Byblos also helped.
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1 Kings 5: NIrV
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1 Kings 5
5
Hiram’s Building Materials
1King Hiram of Tyre#2Ch 2:3 sent his emissaries to Solomon when he heard that he had been anointed king in his father’s place,#1Kg 1:34,39 for Hiram had always been friends with David.#2Sm 5:11; 1Ch 14:1
2Solomon sent this message to Hiram: 3“You know my father David was not able to build a temple for the name of the Lord his God. This was because of the warfare all around him until the Lord put his enemies under his feet.#1Ch 28:2–3 4The Lord my God has now given me rest on every side; there is no enemy or misfortune.#1Kg 4:24–25 5So I plan to build a temple for the name of the Lord my God,#2Ch 2:4 according to what the Lord promised my father David: ‘I will put your son on your throne in your place, and he will build the temple for my name.’#2Sm 7:12–13
6“Therefore, command that cedars from Lebanon be cut down for me. My servants will be with your servants, and I will pay your servants’ wages according to whatever you say, for you know that not a man among us knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”#2Ch 2:8
7When Hiram heard Solomon’s words, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the Lord today!#1Kg 10:9 He has given David a wise son to be over this great people!” 8Then Hiram sent a reply to Solomon, saying, “I have heard your message; I will do everything you want regarding the cedar and cypress timber. 9My servants will bring the logs down from Lebanon to the sea, and I will make them into rafts to go by sea to the place you indicate. I will break them apart there, and you can take them away. You then can meet my needs by providing my household with food.”#2Ch 2:16; Ezr 3:7
10So Hiram provided Solomon with all the cedar and cypress timber he wanted, 11and Solomon provided Hiram with one hundred twenty thousand bushels#5:11 Lit 20,000 cors of wheat as food for his household and one hundred twenty thousand gallons#5:11 LXX reads 20,000 baths; MT reads 20 cors of oil from crushed olives.#2Ch 2:10 Solomon did this for Hiram year after year.
12The Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as he had promised him.#1Kg 3:12 There was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.#1Kg 15:19
Solomon’s Workforce
13Then King Solomon drafted forced laborers from all Israel;#1Kg 4:6; 9:15 the labor force numbered thirty thousand men. 14He sent ten thousand to Lebanon each month in shifts; one month they were in Lebanon, two months they were at home. Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor. 15Solomon had seventy thousand porters and eighty thousand stonecutters in the mountains,#2Ch 2:17–18 16not including his thirty-three hundred#5:16 Some LXX mss read 3,600; 2Ch 2:2,18 deputies#1Kg 9:23 in charge of the work. They supervised the people doing the work. 17The king commanded them to quarry large, costly stones to lay the foundation of the temple with dressed stones.#1Kg 6:7; 1Ch 22:2 18So Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders,#1Kg 5:6,9 along with the Gebalites,#Jos 13:5 quarried the stone and prepared the timber and stone for the temple’s construction.
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