Solomon sent this message to Hiram[a](A) king of Tyre:

“Send me cedar logs(B) 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(C) for the Name of the Lord my God and to dedicate it to him for burning fragrant incense(D) before him, for setting out the consecrated bread(E) regularly, and for making burnt offerings(F) every morning and evening and on the Sabbaths,(G) at the New Moons(H) 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,(I) because our God is greater than all other gods.(J) But who is able to build a temple for him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain him?(K) Who then am I(L) 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,(M) whom my father David provided.

“Send me also cedar, juniper and algum[b] 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[c] of ground wheat, twenty thousand cors[d] of barley, twenty thousand baths[e] of wine and twenty thousand baths of olive oil.(N)

11 Hiram king of Tyre replied by letter to Solomon:

“Because the Lord loves(O) 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!(P) 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,(Q) a man of great skill, 14 whose mother was from Dan(R) and whose father was from Tyre. He is trained(S) to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, and with purple and blue(T) 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(U) 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.(V) You can then take them up to Jerusalem.”

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Footnotes

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

(A)And Solomon sent word to Hiram the king of Tyre: (B)“As you dealt with David my father and sent him cedar to build himself a house to dwell in, so deal with me. Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of the Lord my God and dedicate it to him for the burning of (C)incense of sweet spices before him, and for (D)the regular arrangement of the showbread, and for (E)burnt offerings morning and evening, (F)on the Sabbaths and the new moons and the appointed feasts of the Lord our God, as ordained forever for Israel. The house that I am to build will be great, (G)for our God is greater than all gods. (H)But who is able to build him a house, since (I)heaven, even highest heaven, cannot contain him? Who am I to build a house for him, except as a place to make offerings before him? So now (J)send me a man skilled to work in gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and in purple, crimson, and blue fabrics, trained also in engraving, to be with the skilled workers who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem, (K)whom David my father provided. Send me also cedar, cypress, and algum timber from Lebanon, for I know that (L)your servants know how to cut timber in Lebanon. And my servants will be with your servants, to prepare timber for me in abundance, for the house I am to build will be great and wonderful. 10 (M)I will give for your servants, the woodsmen who cut timber, 20,000 cors[a] of crushed wheat, 20,000 cors of barley, 20,000 baths[b] of wine, and 20,000 baths of oil.”

11 Then Hiram the king of Tyre answered in a letter that he sent to Solomon, (N)“Because the Lord loves his people, he has made you king over them.” 12 Hiram also said, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, (O)who made heaven and earth, who has given King David a wise son, who has discretion and understanding, (P)who will build a temple for the Lord and a royal palace for himself.

13 “Now I have sent a skilled man, who has understanding, Huram-abi, 14 (Q)the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre. He is (R)trained to work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, and in purple, blue, and crimson fabrics and fine linen, and to do all sorts of engraving and execute any design that may be assigned him, with your craftsmen, the craftsmen of my lord, David your father. 15 Now therefore the wheat and barley, oil and wine, (S)of which my lord has spoken, let him send to his servants. 16 (T)And we will cut whatever timber you need from Lebanon and bring it to you in rafts by sea to (U)Joppa, so that you may take it up to Jerusalem.”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 2:10 A cor was about 6 bushels or 220 liters
  2. 2 Chronicles 2:10 A bath was about 6 gallons or 22 liters

(A)Then Solomon sent word to [a]Huram the king of Tyre, saying, “(B)As you dealt with my father David and sent him cedars to build him a house to live in, do it for me. Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, dedicating it to Him, (C)to burn fragrant incense before Him and to set out (D)the showbread continually, and to offer (E)burnt offerings morning and evening, (F)on Sabbaths, on new moons, and on the appointed feasts of the Lord our God. This is to be done in Israel forever. The house which I am about to build will be great, for our God is (G)greater than all the gods. But (H)who is able to build a house for Him, since the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain Him? And who am I, that I should build a house for Him, except to [b]burn incense before Him? Now (I)send me a skilled man to work in gold, silver, brass, iron, and in purple, crimson, and violet fabrics, one who knows how to make engravings, to work with the skilled workers [c](J)whom I have in Judah and Jerusalem, whom my father David provided. (K)Send me also cedar, juniper, and algum timber from Lebanon, for I know that your servants know how to cut timber of Lebanon; and indeed (L)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, (M)I will give your servants, the woodsmen who cut the timber, [d]twenty thousand kors of crushed wheat, twenty thousand kors of barley, [e]twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.”

Huram to Assist

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

13 “Now then, I am sending Huram-abi, a skilled man, [j]endowed with understanding, 14 (Q)the son of a [k]Danite woman and [l]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 [m]execute any design which is assigned to him, to work with your skilled workers and with [n]those of my lord, your father David. 15 Now then, let my lord send his servants wheat and barley, oil and wine, of (R)which he has spoken. 16 (S)We will cut whatever timber you need from Lebanon and bring it to you as rafts by sea to Joppa, so that you may carry it up to Jerusalem.”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 2:3 In 1 Kin 5:18, Hiram
  2. 2 Chronicles 2:6 Lit offer up in smoke
  3. 2 Chronicles 2:7 Lit who are with me
  4. 2 Chronicles 2:10 About 154,000 cubic feet or 4,360 cubic meters
  5. 2 Chronicles 2:10 About 120,000 gallons or 454,249 liters
  6. 2 Chronicles 2:11 Lit said...and he sent
  7. 2 Chronicles 2:12 Lit said
  8. 2 Chronicles 2:12 Lit knowing discretion
  9. 2 Chronicles 2:12 Lit house for his royalty
  10. 2 Chronicles 2:13 Lit knowing understanding
  11. 2 Chronicles 2:14 Lit a woman of the daughters of Dan
  12. 2 Chronicles 2:14 Lit whose father is a Tyrian man
  13. 2 Chronicles 2:14 Lit devise any device
  14. 2 Chronicles 2:14 Lit skilled men

Solomon sent the following message to King Huram[a] of Tyre:

When my father David was building his palace, you sent him cedar logs. Now as his son[b] I am about to build a temple in the name of the Lord my God. I will dedicate it to him to burn fragrant incense before him, to set out the bread that is regularly displayed, and to offer entirely burned offerings every morning and evening, on the sabbaths, the first of every month, and the festivals of the Lord our God, as Israel has been commanded to do forever. The temple I am about to build must be magnificent, because our God is greater than all other gods. But who is able to build such a temple when even the highest heaven can’t contain God? And who am I that I should build this temple for God, except as a place to burn incense in his presence? So now send me a craftsman skilled in gold, silver, bronze, and iron, as well as in purple, crimson, and violet yarn—someone also experienced as an engraver. He will work with my craftsmen in Judah and Jerusalem who were provided by my father David. Also send me cedar, cypress, and sandalwood logs from Lebanon. I know your servants know how to cut Lebanese timber, so my servants will work with your servants to prepare plenty of timber for me, because the temple that I am about to build will be magnificent and amazing. 10 I will pay the woodcutters twenty thousand kors[c] of crushed wheat, twenty thousand kors of barley, twenty thousand baths[d] of wine, and twenty thousand baths of olive oil.

11 Tyre’s King Huram replied in a letter that he sent to Solomon:

The Lord must love his people Israel because he has made you their king! 12 Bless the Lord, Israel’s God, who made heaven and earth. He gave King David a wise son who possesses the knowledge and understanding to build a temple for the Lord and a royal palace for himself. 13 I’m sending you a skilled and experienced craftsman, Huram-abi, 14 whose mother is from the tribe of Dan and whose father is from Tyre. He’s skilled in working with gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, as well as purple, violet, and crimson yarn, and fine linen. He can do any kind of engraving and make any design given to him with the assistance of your craftsmen and the craftsmen of my master, your father David. 15 So once my master sends the wheat, barley, olive oil, and wine he has promised, 16 we will cut as much timber as you need from Lebanon and bring it by raft on the sea to you at Joppa, where you can take it up to Jerusalem.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 2:3 1 Kings spells the king's name as Hiram.
  2. 2 Chronicles 2:4 LXX; MT lacks his son.
  3. 2 Chronicles 2:10 One kor is equivalent to a homer and is possibly equal to fifty gallons of grain.
  4. 2 Chronicles 2:10 One bath is approximately twenty quarts or five gallons.

Solomon sent the following message to King Hiram of Tyre:

Years ago, when my father David was building his palace, you supplied him with cedar logs. Now will you send me supplies? I am building a temple where the Lord my God will be worshiped. Sweet-smelling incense will be burned there, and sacred bread will be offered to him. Worshipers will offer sacrifices to the Lord every morning and evening, every Sabbath, and on the first day of each month, as well as during all our religious festivals. These things will be done for all time, just as the Lord has commanded.

This will be a great temple, because our God is greater than all other gods. (A) No one can ever build a temple large enough for God—even the heavens are too small a place for him to live in! All I can do is build a place where we can offer sacrifices to him.

Send me a worker who can not only carve, but who can work with gold, silver, bronze, and iron, as well as make brightly colored cloth. The person you send will work here in Judah and Jerusalem with the skilled workers that my father has already hired.

I know that you have workers who are experts at cutting lumber in Lebanon. So would you please send me some cedar, pine, and juniper logs? My workers will be there to help them, because I'll need a lot of lumber to build such a large and glorious temple. 10 I will pay your woodcutters 2,000 tons of wheat, the same amount of barley, 400,000 liters of wine, and that same amount of olive oil.

11 Hiram sent his answer back to Solomon:

I know that the Lord must love his people, because he has chosen you to be their king. 12 Praise the Lord God of Israel who made heaven and earth! He has given David a son who isn't only wise and smart, but who has the knowledge to build a temple for the Lord and a palace for himself.

13 I am sending Huram Abi to you. He is wise and very skillful. 14 His mother was from the Israelite tribe of Dan, and his father was from Tyre. Not only is Huram an expert at working with gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, but he can also make colored cloth and fine linen. And he can carve anything if you give him a pattern to follow. He can help your workers and those hired by your father King David.

15 Go ahead and send the wheat, barley, olive oil, and wine you promised to pay my workers. 16 I will tell them to start cutting down trees in Lebanon. They will cut as many as you need, then tie them together into rafts, and float them down along the coast to Joppa. Your workers can take them to Jerusalem from there.

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