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)

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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

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