Solomon Will Build a Temple and Palace

[a](A)Now Solomon [b]decided to build a house for the name of the Lord and a [c]royal palace for himself. [d]So (B)Solomon [e]assigned 70,000 men to carry loads and 80,000 men to quarry stone in the mountains and 3,600 to supervise them.

(C)Then Solomon sent word to [f]Huram the king of Tyre, saying, “(D)As you dealt with David my father and sent him cedars to build him a house to dwell in, so do for me. Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, dedicating it to Him, (E)to burn fragrant incense before Him and to set out (F)the showbread continually, and to offer (G)burnt offerings morning and evening, (H)on sabbaths and on new moons and on the appointed feasts of the Lord our God, this being required forever in Israel. The house which I am about to build will be great, for (I)greater is our God than all the gods. But (J)who is able to build a house for Him, for the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain Him? So who am I, that I should build a house for Him, except to [g]burn incense before Him? Now (K)send me a skilled man to work in gold, silver, brass and iron, and in purple, crimson and violet fabrics, and who knows how to make engravings, to work with the skilled men [h](L)whom I have in Judah and Jerusalem, whom David my father provided. (M)Send me also cedar, cypress and algum timber from Lebanon, for I know that your servants know how to cut timber of Lebanon; and indeed (N)my servants will work with your servants, to prepare timber in abundance for me, for the house which I am about to build will be great and wonderful. 10 Now behold, (O)I will give to your servants, the woodsmen who cut the timber, 20,000 [i]kors of crushed wheat and 20,000 [j]kors of barley, and 20,000 baths of wine and 20,000 baths of oil.”

Huram to Assist

11 Then Huram, king of Tyre, [k]answered in a letter sent to Solomon: “(P)Because the Lord loves His people, He has made you king over them.” 12 Then Huram [l]continued, “Blessed be (Q)the Lord, the God of Israel, who has made heaven and earth, who has given King David a wise son, [m]endowed with discretion and understanding, (R)who will build a house for the Lord and a [n]royal palace for himself.

13 “Now I am sending Huram-abi, a skilled man, [o]endowed with understanding, 14 (S)the son of a [p]Danite woman and [q]a Tyrian father, who knows how to work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone and wood, and in purple, violet, linen and crimson fabrics, and who knows how to make all kinds of engravings and to [r]execute any design which may be assigned to him, to work with your skilled men and with [s]those of my lord David your father. 15 Now then, let my lord send to his servants wheat and barley, oil and wine, of (T)which he has spoken. 16 (U)We will cut whatever timber you need from Lebanon and bring it to you on rafts by sea to Joppa, so that you may carry it up to Jerusalem.”

17 Solomon numbered all the aliens who were in the land of Israel, (V)following the [t]census which his father David had [u]taken; and 153,600 were found. 18 (W)He appointed 70,000 of them to carry loads and 80,000 to quarry stones in the mountains and 3,600 supervisors to make the people work.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 2:1 Ch 1:18 in Heb
  2. 2 Chronicles 2:1 Lit said
  3. 2 Chronicles 2:1 Lit house for his royalty
  4. 2 Chronicles 2:2 Ch 2:1 in Heb
  5. 2 Chronicles 2:2 Lit numbered
  6. 2 Chronicles 2:3 In 1 Kin 5:18, Hiram
  7. 2 Chronicles 2:6 Lit offer up in smoke
  8. 2 Chronicles 2:7 Lit who are with me
  9. 2 Chronicles 2:10 I.e. One kor equals approx 10 bu
  10. 2 Chronicles 2:10 I.e. One kor equals approx 10 bu
  11. 2 Chronicles 2:11 Lit said...and he sent
  12. 2 Chronicles 2:12 Lit said
  13. 2 Chronicles 2:12 Lit knowing discretion
  14. 2 Chronicles 2:12 Lit house for his royalty
  15. 2 Chronicles 2:13 Lit knowing understanding
  16. 2 Chronicles 2:14 Lit a woman of the daughters of Dan
  17. 2 Chronicles 2:14 Lit whose father is a Tyrian man
  18. 2 Chronicles 2:14 Lit devise any device
  19. 2 Chronicles 2:14 Lit skilled men
  20. 2 Chronicles 2:17 Lit numbering
  21. 2 Chronicles 2:17 Lit numbered of them

Preparations for Building the Temple(A)

[a]Solomon gave orders to build a temple(B) for the Name of the Lord and a royal palace for himself.(C) He conscripted 70,000 men as carriers and 80,000 as stonecutters in the hills and 3,600 as foremen over them.(D)

Solomon sent this message to Hiram[b](E) king of Tyre:

“Send me cedar logs(F) as you did for my father David when you sent him cedar to build a palace to live in. Now I am about to build a temple(G) for the Name of the Lord my God and to dedicate it to him for burning fragrant incense(H) before him, for setting out the consecrated bread(I) regularly, and for making burnt offerings(J) every morning and evening and on the Sabbaths,(K) at the New Moons(L) and at the appointed festivals of the Lord our God. This is a lasting ordinance for Israel.

“The temple I am going to build will be great,(M) because our God is greater than all other gods.(N) But who is able to build a temple for him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain him?(O) Who then am I(P) to build a temple for him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before him?

“Send me, therefore, a man skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, and in purple, crimson and blue yarn, and experienced in the art of engraving, to work in Judah and Jerusalem with my skilled workers,(Q) whom my father David provided.

“Send me also cedar, juniper and algum[c] logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants are skilled in cutting timber there. My servants will work with yours to provide me with plenty of lumber, because the temple I build must be large and magnificent. 10 I will give your servants, the woodsmen who cut the timber, twenty thousand cors[d] of ground wheat, twenty thousand cors[e] of barley, twenty thousand baths[f] of wine and twenty thousand baths of olive oil.(R)

11 Hiram king of Tyre replied by letter to Solomon:

“Because the Lord loves(S) his people, he has made you their king.”

12 And Hiram added:

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth!(T) He has given King David a wise son, endowed with intelligence and discernment, who will build a temple for the Lord and a palace for himself.

13 “I am sending you Huram-Abi,(U) a man of great skill, 14 whose mother was from Dan(V) and whose father was from Tyre. He is trained(W) to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, and with purple and blue(X) and crimson yarn and fine linen. He is experienced in all kinds of engraving and can execute any design given to him. He will work with your skilled workers and with those of my lord, David your father.

15 “Now let my lord send his servants the wheat and barley and the olive oil(Y) and wine he promised, 16 and we will cut all the logs from Lebanon that you need and will float them as rafts by sea down to Joppa.(Z) You can then take them up to Jerusalem.”

17 Solomon took a census of all the foreigners(AA) residing in Israel, after the census(AB) his father David had taken; and they were found to be 153,600. 18 He assigned(AC) 70,000 of them to be carriers and 80,000 to be stonecutters in the hills, with 3,600 foremen over them to keep the people working.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 2:1 In Hebrew texts 2:1 is numbered 1:18, and 2:2-18 is numbered 2:1-17.
  2. 2 Chronicles 2:3 Hebrew Huram, a variant of Hiram; also in verses 11 and 12
  3. 2 Chronicles 2:8 Probably a variant of almug
  4. 2 Chronicles 2:10 That is, probably about 3,600 tons or about 3,200 metric tons of wheat
  5. 2 Chronicles 2:10 That is, probably about 3,000 tons or about 2,700 metric tons of barley
  6. 2 Chronicles 2:10 That is, about 120,000 gallons or about 440,000 liters