I Kings 5

¹And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David.

²And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying,

³Thou knowest how that David my father could not build a house for the name of Jehovah his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until Jehovah put them under the soles of his feet.

⁴But now Jehovah my God hath given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary, nor evil occurrence.

⁵And, behold, I purpose to build a house for the name of Jehovah my God, as Jehovah spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build the house for my name.

⁶Now therefore command thou that they cut me cedar-trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants; and I will give thee hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt say: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that knoweth how to cut timber like unto the Sidonians.

⁷And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be Jehovah this day, who hath given unto David a wise son over this great people.

⁸And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have heard the message which thou hast sent unto me: I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir.

⁹My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea; and I will make them into rafts to go by sea unto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be broken up there, and thou shalt receive them; and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household.

¹⁰So Hiram gave Solomon timber of cedar and timber of fir according to all his desire.

¹¹And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year.

¹²And Jehovah gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together.

¹³And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men.

¹⁴And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses; a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home: and Adoniram was over the men subject to taskwork.

¹⁵And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand that were hewers in the mountains;

¹⁶besides Solomon’s chief officers that were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, who bare rule over the people that wrought in the work.

¹⁷And the king commanded, and they hewed out great stones, costly stones, to lay the foundation of the house with wrought stone.

¹⁸And Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders and the Gebalites did fashion them, and prepared the timber and the stones to build the house.

I Kings 5

¹Now when Hiram king of Tyre heard that Solomon had been anointed king in his father’s place, he sent envoys to Solomon; for Hiram had always been a friend of David.

²And Solomon relayed this message to Hiram:

³“As you are well aware, due to the wars waged on all sides against my father David, he could not build a house for the Name of the LORD his God until the LORD had put his enemies under his feet.

⁴But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or crisis.

⁵So behold, I plan to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God, according to what the LORD said to my father David: ‘I will put your son on your throne in your place, and he will build the house for My Name.’

⁶Now therefore, order that cedars of Lebanon be cut down for me. My servants will be with your servants, and I will pay your servants whatever wages you set, for you know that there are none among us as skilled in logging as the Sidonians.”

⁷When Hiram received Solomon’s message, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the LORD this day! He has given David a wise son over this great people!”

⁸Then Hiram sent a reply to Solomon, saying: “I have received your message; I will do all you desire regarding the cedar and cypress timber.

⁹My servants will haul the logs from Lebanon to the Sea, and I will float them as rafts by sea to the place you specify. There I will separate the logs, and you can take them away. And in exchange, you can meet my needs by providing my household with food.”

¹⁰So Hiram provided Solomon with all the cedar and cypress timber he wanted,

¹¹and year after year Solomon would provide Hiram with 20,000 cors of wheat as food for his household, as well as 20,000 baths of pure olive oil.

¹²And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as He had promised him. There was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.

¹³Then King Solomon conscripted a labor force of 30,000 men from all Israel.

¹⁴He sent them to Lebanon in monthly shifts of 10,000 men, so that they would spend one month in Lebanon and two months at home. And Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor.

¹⁵Solomon had 70,000 porters and 80,000 stonecutters in the mountains,

¹⁶not including his 3,300 foremen who supervised the workers.

¹⁷And the king commanded them to quarry large, costly stones to lay the foundation of the temple with dressed stones.

¹⁸So Solomon’s and Hiram’s builders, along with the Gebalites, quarried the stone and prepared the timber and stone for the construction of the temple.