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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I Kings 5
5
Solomon Prepares to Build the Temple
1Now #1 Kin. 5:10, 18; 2 Chr. 2:3Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, because he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, #2 Sam. 5:11; 1 Chr. 14:1for Hiram had always loved David. 2Then #2 Chr. 2:3Solomon sent to Hiram, saying:
3#1 Chr. 28:2, 3You know how my father David could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God #1 Chr. 22:8; 28:3because of the wars which were fought against him on every side, until the Lord put his foes under the soles of his feet.
4But now the Lord my God has given me #1 Kin. 4:24; 1 Chr. 22:9rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor evil occurrence.
5#2 Chr. 2:4And behold, I propose to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, #2 Sam. 7:12, 13; 1 Kin. 6:38; 1 Chr. 17:12; 22:10; 28:6; 2 Chr. 6:2as the Lord spoke to my father David, saying, “Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, he shall build the house for My name.”
6Now therefore, command that they cut down #2 Chr. 2:8, 10cedars for me from Lebanon; and my servants will be with your servants, and I will pay you wages for your servants according to whatever you say. For you know there is none among us who has skill to cut timber like the Sidonians.
7So it was, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly and said,
Blessed be the Lord this day, for He has given David a wise son over this great people!
8Then Hiram sent to Solomon, saying:
I have considered the message which you sent me, and I will do all you desire concerning the cedar and cypress logs.
9My servants shall bring them down #Ezra 3:7from Lebanon to the sea; I will float them in rafts by sea to the place you indicate to me, and will have them broken apart there; then you can take them away. And you shall fulfill my desire #Ezek. 27:17; Acts 12:20by giving food for my household.
10Then Hiram gave Solomon cedar and cypress logs according to all his desire. 11#2 Chr. 2:10And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand kors of wheat as food for his household, and twenty kors of pressed oil. Thus Solomon gave to Hiram year by year.
12So the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, #1 Kin. 3:12as He had promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty together.
13Then King Solomon raised up a labor force out of all Israel; and the labor force was thirty thousand men. 14And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month in shifts: they were one month in Lebanon and two months at home; #1 Kin. 12:18Adoniram was in charge of the labor force. 15#1 Kin. 9:20–22; 2 Chr. 2:17, 18Solomon had seventy thousand who carried burdens, and eighty thousand who quarried stone in the mountains, 16besides three thousand three hundred from the #1 Kin. 9:23chiefs of Solomon’s deputies, who supervised the people who labored in the work. 17And the king commanded them to quarry large stones, costly stones, and #1 Kin. 6:7; 1 Chr. 22:2hewn stones, to lay the foundation of the temple. 18So Solomon’s builders, Hiram’s builders, and the Gebalites quarried them; and they prepared timber and stones to build the temple.
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