1 Kings 5
5
Preparations and Materials for the Temple
1 # 5.1 Ch 5.15 in Heb Now King Hiram 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 to David. 2Solomon sent word to Hiram, saying, 3“You know that my father David could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the warfare with which his enemies surrounded him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet.#5.3 Gk Tg Vg: Heb my feet or his feet 4But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor misfortune. 5So I intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord said to my father David, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, shall build the house for my name.’ 6Therefore command that cedars from the Lebanon be cut for me. My servants will join your servants, and I will give you whatever wages you set for your servants; 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 to be over this great people.” 8Hiram sent word to Solomon, “I have heard the message that you have sent to me; I will fulfill all your needs in the matter of cedar and cypress timber. 9My servants shall bring it down to the sea from the Lebanon; I will make it into rafts to go by sea to the place you indicate. I will have them broken up there for you to take away. And you shall meet my needs by providing food for my household.” 10So Hiram supplied Solomon's every need for timber of cedar and cypress. 11Solomon in turn gave Hiram twenty thousand cors of wheat as food for his household, and twenty cors of fine oil. Solomon gave this to Hiram year by year. 12So the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him. There was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and the two of them made a treaty.
13King Solomon conscripted forced labor out of all Israel; the levy numbered thirty thousand men. 14He sent them to the Lebanon, ten thousand a month in shifts; they would be a month in the Lebanon and two months at home; Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor. 15Solomon also had seventy thousand laborers and eighty thousand stonecutters in the hill country, 16besides Solomon's three thousand three hundred supervisors who were over the work, having charge of the people who did the work. 17At the king's command, they quarried out great, costly stones in order to lay the foundation of the house with dressed stones. 18So Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders and the Gebalites did the stonecutting and prepared the timber and the stone to build the house.
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New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
1 Kings 5
5
Solomon Asks Hiram To Help Build the Temple
(2 Chronicles 2.1-16)
1King Hiram of Tyre#5.1 Tyre: The most important city in Phoenicia. It was located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea north of Israel, in what is today southern Lebanon. had always been friends with Solomon's father David. When Hiram learned that Solomon was king, he sent some of his officials to meet with Solomon.
2Solomon sent a message back to Hiram:
3Remember how my father David wanted to build a temple where the Lord his God could be worshiped? But enemies kept attacking my father's kingdom, and he never had the chance. 4Now, thanks to the Lord God, there is peace in my kingdom and no trouble or threat of war anywhere.
5 #
2 S 7.12,13; 1 Ch 17.11,12. The Lord God promised my father that when his son became king, he would build a temple for worshiping the Lord. So I've decided to do that.
6I'd like you to send your workers to cut down cedar trees in Lebanon for me. I will pay them whatever you say and will even have my workers help them. We both know that your workers are more experienced than anyone else at cutting lumber.
7Hiram was so happy when he heard Solomon's request that he said, “I am grateful that the Lord gave David such a wise son to be king of that great nation!” 8Then he sent back his answer:
I received your message and will give you all the cedar and pine logs you need. 9My workers will carry them down from Lebanon to the Mediterranean Sea. They will tie the logs together and float them along the coast to wherever you want them. Then they will untie the logs, and your workers can take them from there.
To pay for the logs, you can provide the grain I need for my household.
10Hiram gave Solomon all the cedar and pine logs he needed. 11In return, Solomon gave Hiram over 2,000 tons of wheat and almost 4,000 liters of pure olive oil each year.
12The Lord kept his promise and made Solomon wise. Hiram and Solomon signed a treaty and never went to war against each other.
Solomon's Workers
13Solomon ordered 30,000 people from all over Israel to cut logs for the temple, 14#1 K 12.15-19. and he put Adoniram in charge of these workers. Solomon divided them into three groups of 10,000. Each group worked one month in Lebanon and had two months off at home.
15He also had 80,000 workers to cut stone in the hill country of Israel, 70,000 workers to carry the stones, 16and over 3,000 assistants to keep track of the work and to supervise the workers. 17He ordered the workers to cut and shape large blocks of good stone for the foundation of the temple.
18Solomon's and Hiram's men worked with men from the city of Gebal,#5.18 Gebal: Later known as Byblos. and together they got the stones and logs ready for the temple.
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© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.