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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Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
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1 Kings 5
5
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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The Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) by Ransom Press International