I Kings 5

¹Also Hiram, kyng of Tire, sente hise seruauntis to Salomon; for he herde that thei hadden anoyntide hym kyng for his fadir; for Hiram was frend of Dauid in al time.

²Sotheli also Salomon sente to Hiram,

³and seide, Thou knowist the wille of Dauid, my fadir, and for he miyte not bilde an hows to the name of his God, for batels neiyynge bi cumpas, til the Lord yaf hem vndur the step of hise feet.

⁴Now forsothe my Lord God yaf reste to me bi cumpas, and noon aduersarie is, nethir yuel asailyng;

⁵wherfor Y thenke to buylde a temple to the name of my Lord God, as God spak to Dauid, my fadir, and seide, Thi sone, whom Y schal yyue to thee for thee on thi trone, he schal bilde an hows to my name.

⁶Therfor comaunde thou, that thi seruauntis hewe doun to me cedris of the Liban; and my seruauntis be with thi seruauntis; sotheli Y schal yyue to thee the meede of thi seruauntis, what euere meede thou schalt axe; for thou woost, that in my puple is not a man that kan hewe trees, as Sidonyes kunnen.

⁷Therfor whanne Hiram hadde herde the wordis of Salomon, he was ful glad, and seide, Blessid be the Lord God to dai, that yaf to Dauid a sone moost wijs on this puple ful myche.

⁸And Hiram sente to Salomon, and seide, Y haue herde what euer thingis thou sentist to me; Y schal do al thi wille, in trees of cedres, and of beechis.

⁹My seruauntis schulen putte doun tho trees fro the Liban to the see, and Y schal araye tho trees in schippis in the see, `til to the place which thou schalt signyfie to me; and Y schal dresse tho there, that thou take tho; and thou schalt yyue necessaries to me, that mete be youun to myn hows.

¹⁰Therfor Hiram yaf to Salomon `trees of cedres, and `trees of beechis, bi al his wille;

¹¹forsothe Salomon yaf to Hiram twenti thousynde chorus of wheete, in to meete to his hows, and twenti chorus of pureste oile; Salomon yaf these thingis to Hiram bi alle yeeris.

¹²Also the Lord yaf wisdom to Salomon, as he spak to hym; and pees was bitwixe Hiram and Salomon, and bothe smytiden boond of pees.

¹³And kyng Salomon chees werk men of al Israel; and the summe was thretti thousynde of men.

¹⁴And `Salomon sente hem in to the Liban, ten thousynde bi ech monethe bi whilis, so that in twei monethis bi whilis thei weren in her howsis; and Adonyram was on sich a summe.

¹⁵Therfor seuenti thousynde of hem, that baren burthuns, weren to Salomon, and foure score thousynde of masouns in the hil, with out the souereyns,

¹⁶that weren maistris of alle werkis, bi the noumbre of thre thousynde and thre hundrid, comaundynge to the puple, and to hem that maden werk.

¹⁷And the kyng comaundide, that thei schulden take greete stonys, `and preciouse stonys, in to the foundement of the temple, and that thei schulden make tho square;

¹⁸whiche stoonys the masouns of Salomon, and the masouns of Hyram, hewiden. Forsothe Biblies maden redi trees and stonus, to the hows to be bildid.

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 an house unto the name of the Lord his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet.

⁴But now the Lord my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent.

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

⁶Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants: and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew 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 the Lord this day, which hath given unto David a wise son over this great people.

⁸And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for: and 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 convey them by sea in floats unto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be discharged there, and thou shalt receive them: and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household.

¹⁰So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees 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 the Lord 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 levy.

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

¹⁶Beside the chief of Solomon’s officers which were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, which ruled over the people that wrought in the work.

¹⁷And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house.

¹⁸And Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders did hew them, and the stonesquarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house.