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2 Chronicles 2
Legacy Standard Bible

Yahweh’s House Will Be Great

2 [a](A)Then Solomon [b]decided to build a house for the name of Yahweh and a [c]royal palace for himself. 2 [d]So (B)Solomon numbered 70,000 men to carry loads and 80,000 men to hew stone in the mountains and 3,600 to direct them.

3 (C)Then Solomon sent word to [e]Huram the king of Tyre, saying, “(D)As you dealt with David my father and sent him cedars to build him a house to live in, so do for me. 4 Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of Yahweh my God, setting it apart to Him as holy, (E)to burn fragrant incense before Him and to set out (F)the showbread continually, and to offer (G)burnt offerings morning and evening, (H)on sabbaths and on new moons and on the appointed feasts of Yahweh our God, this being required forever in Israel. 5 Now the house which I am about to build will be great, for (I)greater is our God than all the gods. 6 But (J)who is able to build a house for Him, for the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain Him? So who am I, that I should build a house for Him, except to [f]burn incense before Him? 7 So now, (K)send me a wise man to work in gold, silver, brass, and iron, and in purple, crimson, and blue fabrics, and who knows how to make engravings, to work with the wise men [g](L)whom I have in Judah and Jerusalem, whom David my father prepared. 8 (M)Send me also cedar, cypress and algum timber from Lebanon, for I know that your servants know how to cut timber of Lebanon; and behold, (N)my servants will work with your servants, 9 to prepare timber in abundance for me, for the house which I am about to build will be great and wonderful. 10 And behold, (O)I will give to your servants, the woodsmen who cut the timber, [h]20,000 kors of crushed wheat and 20,000 kors of barley, and [i]20,000 baths of wine and 20,000 baths of oil.”

Covenant with Huram King of Tyre

11 Then Huram king of Tyre said in a letter [j]sent to Solomon: “(P)Because Yahweh loves His people, He has given you to be king over them.” 12 Then Huram said, “Blessed be (Q)Yahweh, the God of Israel, who has made heaven and earth, who has given King David a wise son, knowledgeable in insight and understanding, (R)who will build a house for Yahweh and a [k]royal palace for himself.

13 “So now, I am sending Huram-abi, a wise man, who is knowledgeable in understanding, 14 (S)the son of a [l]Danite woman and [m]a Tyrian father, who knows how to work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, and in purple, blue, linen, and crimson fabrics, and who knows how to make all kinds of engravings and to devise any design which may be given to him, to work with your wise men and with the wise men of my lord David your father. 15 So now, let my lord send to his servants wheat and barley, oil and wine, of (T)which he has spoken. 16 (U)And we will cut whatever timber you need from Lebanon and bring it to you on rafts by sea to Joppa, so that you may carry it up to Jerusalem.”

17 Then Solomon numbered all the sojourners who were in the land of Israel, (V)following the [n]census which his father David had [o]taken; and 153,600 were found. 18 (W)And he made 70,000 of them to carry loads and 80,000 as hewers of stone in the mountains and 3,600 directors to make the people work.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 2:1 Ch 1:18 in Heb
  2. 2 Chronicles 2:1 Lit said
  3. 2 Chronicles 2:1 Lit house for his royalty
  4. 2 Chronicles 2:2 Ch 2:1 in Heb
  5. 2 Chronicles 2:3 In 1 Kin 5:18, Hiram
  6. 2 Chronicles 2:6 Lit offer up in smoke
  7. 2 Chronicles 2:7 Lit who are with me
  8. 2 Chronicles 2:10 Approx. 130,000 bu. or 4,600 metric tons, a kor was approx. 6.5 bu. or 230 l
  9. 2 Chronicles 2:10 Approx. 120,000 gal. or 454,249 l, a bath was approx. 6 gal. or 23 l
  10. 2 Chronicles 2:11 Lit and sent
  11. 2 Chronicles 2:12 Lit house for his royalty
  12. 2 Chronicles 2:14 Lit a woman of the daughters of Dan
  13. 2 Chronicles 2:14 Lit whose father is a Tyrian man
  14. 2 Chronicles 2:17 Lit numbering
  15. 2 Chronicles 2:17 Lit numbered of them
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2 Chronicles 2
The Message

The Temple Construction Begins

2 Solomon gave orders to begin construction on the house of worship in honor of God and a palace for himself.

2 Solomon assigned seventy thousand common laborers, eighty thousand to work the quarries in the mountains, and thirty-six hundred foremen to manage the workforce.

3-4 Then Solomon sent this message to King Hiram of Tyre: “Send me cedar logs, the same kind you sent David my father for building his palace. I’m about to build a house of worship in honor of God, a holy place for burning perfumed incense, for setting out holy bread, for making Whole-Burnt-Offerings at morning and evening worship, and for Sabbath, New Moon, and Holy Day services of worship—the acts of worship required of Israel.

5-10 “The house I am building has to be the best, for our God is the best, far better than competing gods. But who is capable of building such a structure? Why, the skies—the entire cosmos!—can’t begin to contain him. And me, who am I to think I can build a house adequate for God—burning incense to him is about all I’m good for! I need your help: Send me a master artisan in gold, silver, bronze, iron, textiles of purple, crimson, and violet, and who knows the craft of engraving; he will supervise the trained craftsmen in Judah and Jerusalem that my father provided. Also send cedar, cypress, and algum logs from Lebanon; I know you have lumberjacks experienced in the Lebanon forests. I’ll send workers to join your crews to cut plenty of timber—I’m going to need a lot, for this house I’m building is going to be absolutely stunning—a showcase temple! I’ll provide all the food necessary for your crew of lumberjacks and loggers: 130,000 bushels of wheat, 120,000 gallons of wine, and 120,000 gallons of olive oil.”

11 Hiram king of Tyre wrote Solomon in reply: “It’s plain that God loves his people—he made you king over them!”

12-14 He wrote on, “Blessed be the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, and who gave King David a son so wise, so knowledgeable and shrewd, to build a temple for God and a palace for himself. I’ve sent you Huram-Abi—he’s already on his way—he knows the construction business inside and out. His mother is from Dan and his father from Tyre. He knows how to work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, in purple, violet, linen, and crimson textiles; he is also an expert engraver and competent to work out designs with your artists and architects, and those of my master David, your father.

15-16 “Go ahead and send the wheat, barley, olive oil, and wine you promised for my work crews. We’ll log the trees you need from the Lebanon forests and raft them down to Joppa. You’ll have to get the timber up to Jerusalem yourself.”

17-18 Solomon then took a census of all the foreigners living in Israel, using the same census-taking method employed by his father. They numbered 153,600. He assigned 70,000 of them as common laborers, 80,000 to work the quarries in the mountains, and 3,600 as foremen to manage the work crews.

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2 Chronicles 1
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