1 Kings 5
5
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1-4Hiram king of Tyre sent ambassadors to Solomon when he heard that he had been crowned king in David’s place. Hiram had loved David his whole life. Solomon responded, saying, “You know that David my father was not able to build a temple in honor of God because of the wars he had to fight on all sides, until God finally put them down. But now God has provided peace all around—no one against us, nothing at odds with us.
5-6“Now here is what I want to do: Build a temple in honor of God, my God, following the promise that God gave to David my father, namely, ‘Your son whom I will provide to succeed you as king, he will build a house in my honor.’ And here is how you can help: Give orders for cedars to be cut from the Lebanon forest; my loggers will work alongside yours and I’ll pay your men whatever wage you set. We both know that there is no one like you Sidonians for cutting timber.”
7When Hiram got Solomon’s message, he was delighted, exclaiming, “Blessed be God for giving David such a wise son to rule this flourishing people!”
8-9Then he sent this message to Solomon: “I received your request for the cedars and cypresses. It’s as good as done—your wish is my command. My lumberjacks will haul the timbers from the Lebanon forest to the sea, assemble them into log rafts, float them to the place you set, then have them disassembled for you to haul away. All I want from you is that you feed my crew.”
10-12In this way Hiram supplied all the cedar and cypress timber that Solomon wanted. In his turn, Solomon gave Hiram 125,000 bushels of wheat and 115,000 gallons of virgin olive oil. He did this every year. And God, for his part, gave Solomon wisdom, just as he had promised. The healthy peace between Hiram and Solomon was formalized by a treaty.
The Temple Work Begins
13-18King Solomon raised a workforce of thirty thousand men from all over Israel. He sent them in shifts of ten thousand each month to the Lebanon forest; they would work a month in Lebanon and then be at home two months. Adoniram was in charge of the work crew. Solomon also had seventy thousand unskilled workers and another eighty thousand stonecutters up in the hills—plus thirty-three hundred foremen managing the project and supervising the work crews. Following the king’s orders, they quarried huge blocks of the best stone—dressed stone for the foundation of The Temple. Solomon and Hiram’s construction workers, assisted by the men of Gebal, cut and prepared the timber and stone for building The Temple.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.
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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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.