Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Add parallel Print Page Options
Close TLB

1 Kings 5
Living Bible

5 King Hiram of Tyre had always been a great admirer of David, so when he learned that David’s son Solomon was the new king of Israel, he sent ambassadors to extend congratulations and good wishes. 2-3 Solomon replied with a proposal about the Temple of the Lord he wanted to build. His father David, Solomon pointed out to Hiram, had not been able to build it because of the numerous wars going on, and he had been waiting for the Lord to give him peace.

4 “But now,” Solomon said to Hiram, “the Lord my God has given Israel peace on every side; I have no foreign enemies or internal rebellions. 5 So I am planning to build a Temple for the Lord my God, just as he instructed my father that I should do. For the Lord told him, ‘Your son, whom I will place upon your throne, shall build me a Temple.’ 6 Now please assist me with this project. Send your woodsmen to the mountains of Lebanon to cut cedar timber for me, and I will send my men to work beside them, and I will pay your men whatever wages you ask; for as you know, no one in Israel can cut timber like you Sidonians!”

7 Hiram was very pleased with the message from Solomon. “Praise God for giving David a wise son to be king of the great nation of Israel,” he said. 8 Then he sent this reply to Solomon: “I have received your message and I will do as you have asked concerning the timber. I can supply both cedar and cypress. 9 My men will bring the logs from the Lebanon mountains to the Mediterranean Sea and build them into rafts. We will float them along the coast to wherever you need them; then we will break the rafts apart and deliver the timber to you. You can pay me with food for my household.”

10 So Hiram produced for Solomon as much cedar and cypress timber as he desired, 11 and in return Solomon sent him an annual payment of 125,000 bushels of wheat for his household and 96 gallons of pure olive oil. 12 So the Lord gave great wisdom to Solomon just as he had promised. And Hiram and Solomon made a formal alliance of peace.

13 Then Solomon drafted thirty thousand laborers from all over Israel, 14 and rotated them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month, so that each man was a month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was the general superintendent of this labor camp. 15 Solomon also had seventy thousand additional laborers, eighty thousand stonecutters in the hill country, 16 and thirty-three hundred foremen. 17 The stonecutters quarried and shaped huge blocks of stone—a very expensive job—for the foundation of the Temple. 18 Men from Gebal helped Solomon’s and Hiram’s builders in cutting the timber and making the boards, and in preparing the stone for the Temple.

Listen to 1 Kings 5
Close NKJV

1 Kings 5
New King James Version

Solomon Prepares to Build the Temple(A)

5 Now (B)Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, because he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, (C)for Hiram had always loved David. 2 Then (D)Solomon sent to Hiram, saying:

3 (E)You know how my father David could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God (F)because of the wars which were fought against him on every side, until the Lord put [a]his foes under the soles of his feet.

4 But now the Lord my God has given me (G)rest[b] on every side; there is neither adversary nor [c]evil occurrence.

5 (H)And behold, [d]I propose to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, (I)as the Lord spoke to my father David, saying, “Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, he shall build the house for My name.”

6 Now therefore, command that they cut down (J)cedars for me from Lebanon; and my servants will be with your servants, and I will pay you wages for your servants according to whatever you say. For you know there is none among us who has skill to cut timber like the Sidonians.

7 So it was, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly and said,

Blessed be the Lord this day, for He has given David a wise son over this great people!

8 Then Hiram sent to Solomon, saying:

I have considered the message which you sent me, and I will do all you desire concerning the cedar and cypress logs.

9 My servants shall bring them down (K)from Lebanon to the sea; I will float them in rafts by sea to the place you indicate to me, and will have them broken apart there; then you can take them away. And you shall fulfill my desire (L)by giving food for my household.

10 Then Hiram gave Solomon cedar and cypress logs according to all his desire. 11 (M)And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand [e]kors of wheat as food for his household, and [f]twenty kors of pressed oil. Thus Solomon gave to Hiram year by year.

12 So the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, (N)as He had promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty together.

13 Then King Solomon raised up a labor force out of all Israel; and the labor force was thirty thousand men. 14 And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month in shifts: they were one month in Lebanon and two months at home; (O)Adoniram was in charge of the labor force. 15 (P)Solomon had seventy thousand who carried burdens, and eighty thousand who quarried stone in the mountains, 16 besides three thousand [g]three hundred from the (Q)chiefs of Solomon’s deputies, who supervised the people who labored in the work. 17 And the king commanded them to quarry large stones, costly stones, and (R)hewn stones, to lay the foundation of the [h]temple. 18 So Solomon’s builders, Hiram’s builders, and the Gebalites quarried them; and they prepared timber and stones to build the [i]temple.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 5:3 Lit. them
  2. 1 Kings 5:4 peace
  3. 1 Kings 5:4 misfortune
  4. 1 Kings 5:5 Lit. I am saying
  5. 1 Kings 5:11 Each about 5 bushels
  6. 1 Kings 5:11 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX, Syr. twenty thousand kors
  7. 1 Kings 5:16 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX six hundred
  8. 1 Kings 5:17 Lit. house
  9. 1 Kings 5:18 Lit. house
Close LSB

1 Kings 5
Legacy Standard Bible

Covenant with Hiram King of Tyre

5 [a](A)Then Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for (B)Hiram had [b]always been one who loved David. 2 And (C)Solomon sent word to Hiram, saying, 3 “You know that (D)David my father was unable to build a house for the name of Yahweh his God because of the wars which surrounded him, until Yahweh put them under the soles of his feet. 4 But now (E)Yahweh my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor [c]calamity. 5 So behold, (F)I [d]intend to build a house for the name of Yahweh my God, as Yahweh spoke to David my father, saying, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, he will build the house for My name.’ 6 So now, command that they cut for me (G)cedars from Lebanon, and my servants will be with your servants; and I will give you wages for your servants according to all that you say, for you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”

7 Now it happened, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he was very glad and said, “Blessed be Yahweh today, who has given to David a wise son over this great people.” 8 So Hiram sent word to Solomon, saying, “I have heard the message which you have sent me; I will do [e]what you desire concerning the cedar and cypress timber. 9 My servants will bring them down from Lebanon to the sea; and I will make them into rafts to go by sea (H)to the place where you [f]direct me, and I will have them broken up there, and you shall carry them away. Then (I)you shall accomplish my desire by giving food to my household.” 10 So [g]Hiram [h]gave Solomon [i]as much as he desired of the cedar and cypress timber. 11 (J)Solomon then gave Hiram [j]20,000 kors of wheat as food for his household, and [k]20 kors of beaten oil; thus Solomon would give Hiram year by year. 12 (K)Now Yahweh gave wisdom to Solomon, just as He [l]promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them cut a covenant.

13 And (L)King Solomon raised up forced laborers from all Israel; and the forced laborers [m]numbered 30,000 men. 14 And he sent them to Lebanon, 10,000 a month in [n]shifts; they were in Lebanon a month and two months at home. And (M)Adoniram was over the forced laborers. 15 And (N)Solomon had 70,000 [o]who carried loads, and 80,000 hewers of stone in the mountains, 16 (O)besides Solomon’s 3,300 chief deputies who were over the [p]project and who ruled over the people who were doing the work. 17 Then (P)the king commanded, and they quarried great stones, precious stones, to lay the foundation of the house with cut stones. 18 So Solomon’s builders and [q]Hiram’s builders and (Q)the Gebalites [r]carved them out, and prepared the timbers and the stones to build the house.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 5:1 Ch 5:15 in Heb
  2. 1 Kings 5:1 Lit all the day
  3. 1 Kings 5:4 Lit evil occurrence
  4. 1 Kings 5:5 Lit say
  5. 1 Kings 5:8 Lit all your pleasure
  6. 1 Kings 5:9 Lit send
  7. 1 Kings 5:10 Heb Hirom
  8. 1 Kings 5:10 Lit was giving
  9. 1 Kings 5:10 Lit all his desire
  10. 1 Kings 5:11 Approx. 130,000 bu. or 4,600 metric tons
  11. 1 Kings 5:11 Approx. 130 bu. or 4,600 l
  12. 1 Kings 5:12 Lit spoke to
  13. 1 Kings 5:13 Lit was
  14. 1 Kings 5:14 Lit changes
  15. 1 Kings 5:15 Or burden bearers
  16. 1 Kings 5:16 Lit work
  17. 1 Kings 5:18 Heb Hirom’s
  18. 1 Kings 5:18 Or chiseled
Listen to 1 Kings 5
Close NIV

1 Kings 5
New International Version

Preparations for Building the Temple(A)

5 [a]When Hiram(B) king of Tyre heard that Solomon had been anointed king to succeed his father David, he sent his envoys to Solomon, because he had always been on friendly terms with David. 2 Solomon sent back this message to Hiram:

3 “You know that because of the wars(C) waged against my father David from all sides, he could not build(D) a temple for the Name of the Lord his God until the Lord put his enemies under his feet.(E) 4 But now the Lord my God has given me rest(F) on every side, and there is no adversary(G) or disaster. 5 I intend, therefore, to build a temple(H) for the Name of the Lord my God, as the Lord told my father David, when he said, ‘Your son whom I will put on the throne in your place will build the temple for my Name.’(I)

6 “So give orders that cedars(J) of Lebanon be cut for me. My men will work with yours, and I will pay you for your men whatever wages you set. You know that we have no one so skilled in felling timber as the Sidonians.”

7 When Hiram heard Solomon’s message, he was greatly pleased and said, “Praise be to the Lord(K) today, for he has given David a wise son to rule over this great nation.”

8 So Hiram sent word to Solomon:

“I have received the message you sent me and will do all you want in providing the cedar and juniper logs. 9 My men will haul them down from Lebanon to the Mediterranean Sea(L), and I will float them as rafts by sea to the place you specify. There I will separate them and you can take them away. And you are to grant my wish by providing food(M) for my royal household.”

10 In this way Hiram kept Solomon supplied with all the cedar and juniper logs he wanted, 11 and Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand cors[b] of wheat as food(N) for his household, in addition to twenty thousand baths[c][d] of pressed olive oil. Solomon continued to do this for Hiram year after year. 12 The Lord gave Solomon wisdom,(O) just as he had promised him. There were peaceful relations between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.(P)

13 King Solomon conscripted laborers(Q) from all Israel—thirty thousand men. 14 He sent them off to Lebanon in shifts of ten thousand a month, so that they spent one month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram(R) was in charge of the forced labor. 15 Solomon had seventy thousand carriers and eighty thousand stonecutters in the hills, 16 as well as thirty-three hundred[e] foremen(S) who supervised the project and directed the workers. 17 At the king’s command they removed from the quarry(T) large blocks of high-grade stone(U) to provide a foundation of dressed stone for the temple. 18 The craftsmen of Solomon and Hiram(V) and workers from Byblos(W) cut and prepared the timber and stone for the building of the temple.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 5:1 In Hebrew texts 5:1-18 is numbered 5:15-32.
  2. 1 Kings 5:11 That is, probably about 3,600 tons or about 3,250 metric tons
  3. 1 Kings 5:11 Septuagint (see also 2 Chron. 2:10); Hebrew twenty cors
  4. 1 Kings 5:11 That is, about 120,000 gallons or about 440,000 liters
  5. 1 Kings 5:16 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 2 Chron. 2:2,18) thirty-six hundred
Next
1 Kings 4
1 Kings 6
Next
dropdown
Living Bible (TLB)

The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Learn the Bible in 30 days
Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)

Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.

New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.

July Summer Surge

More on the NIV