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2 Chronicles 2
New King James Version

Solomon Prepares to Build the Temple(A)

2 Then Solomon (B)determined to build a temple for the name of the Lord, and a royal house for himself. 2 (C)Solomon selected seventy thousand men to bear burdens, eighty thousand to quarry stone in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred to oversee them.

3 Then Solomon sent to [a]Hiram king of Tyre, saying:

(D)As you have dealt with David my father, and sent him cedars to build himself a house to dwell in, so deal with me. 4 Behold, (E)I am building a temple for the name of the Lord my God, to dedicate it to Him, (F)to burn before Him [b]sweet incense, for (G)the continual showbread, for (H)the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the (I)Sabbaths, on the New Moons, and on the [c]set feasts of the Lord our God. This is an ordinance forever to Israel.

5 And the temple which I build will be great, for (J)our God is greater than all gods. 6 (K)But who is able to build Him a temple, since heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him? Who am I then, that I should build Him a temple, except to burn sacrifice before Him?

7 Therefore send me at once a man skillful to work in gold and silver, in bronze and iron, in purple and crimson and blue, who has skill to engrave with the skillful men who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem, (L)whom David my father provided. 8 (M)Also send me cedar and cypress and algum logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants have skill to cut timber in Lebanon; and indeed my servants will be with your servants, 9 to prepare timber for me in abundance, for the [d]temple which I am about to build shall be great and wonderful.

10 (N)And indeed I will give to your servants, the woodsmen who cut timber, twenty thousand kors of ground wheat, twenty thousand kors of barley, twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.

11 Then Hiram king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon:

(O)Because the Lord loves His people, He has made you king over them.

12 [e]Hiram also said:

(P)Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, (Q)who made heaven and earth, for He has given King David a wise son, endowed with prudence and understanding, who will build a temple for the Lord and a royal house for himself!

13 And now I have sent a skillful man, endowed with understanding, [f]Huram my [g]master craftsman 14 (R)(the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre), skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, purple and blue, fine linen and crimson, and to make any engraving and to accomplish any plan which may be given to him, with your skillful men and with the skillful men of my lord David your father.

15 Now therefore, the wheat, the barley, the oil, and the wine which (S)my lord has spoken of, let him send to his servants. 16 (T)And we will cut wood from Lebanon, as much as you need; we will bring it to you in rafts by sea to [h]Joppa, and you will carry it up to Jerusalem.

17 (U)Then Solomon numbered all the aliens who were in the land of Israel, after the census in which (V)David his father had numbered them; and there were found to be one hundred and fifty-three thousand six hundred. 18 And he made (W)seventy thousand of them bearers of burdens, eighty thousand stonecutters in the mountain, and three thousand six hundred overseers to make the people work.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 2:3 Heb. Huram; cf. 1 Kin. 5:1
  2. 2 Chronicles 2:4 Lit. incense of spices
  3. 2 Chronicles 2:4 appointed
  4. 2 Chronicles 2:9 Lit. house
  5. 2 Chronicles 2:12 Heb. Huram; cf. 1 Kin. 5:1
  6. 2 Chronicles 2:13 Hiram, 1 Kin. 7:13
  7. 2 Chronicles 2:13 Lit. father, 1 Kin. 7:13, 14
  8. 2 Chronicles 2:16 Heb. Japho
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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
New International Version

Preparations for Building the Temple(A)

2 [a]Solomon gave orders to build a temple(B) for the Name of the Lord and a royal palace for himself.(C) 2 He conscripted 70,000 men as carriers and 80,000 as stonecutters in the hills and 3,600 as foremen over them.(D)

3 Solomon sent this message to Hiram[b](E) king of Tyre:

“Send me cedar logs(F) as you did for my father David when you sent him cedar to build a palace to live in. 4 Now I am about to build a temple(G) for the Name of the Lord my God and to dedicate it to him for burning fragrant incense(H) before him, for setting out the consecrated bread(I) regularly, and for making burnt offerings(J) every morning and evening and on the Sabbaths,(K) at the New Moons(L) and at the appointed festivals of the Lord our God. This is a lasting ordinance for Israel.

5 “The temple I am going to build will be great,(M) because our God is greater than all other gods.(N) 6 But who is able to build a temple for him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain him?(O) Who then am I(P) to build a temple for him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before him?

7 “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,(Q) whom my father David provided.

8 “Send me also cedar, juniper and algum[c] logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants are skilled in cutting timber there. My servants will work with yours 9 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[d] of ground wheat, twenty thousand cors[e] of barley, twenty thousand baths[f] of wine and twenty thousand baths of olive oil.(R)”

11 Hiram king of Tyre replied by letter to Solomon:

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

17 Solomon took a census of all the foreigners(AA) residing in Israel, after the census(AB) his father David had taken; and they were found to be 153,600. 18 He assigned(AC) 70,000 of them to be carriers and 80,000 to be stonecutters in the hills, with 3,600 foremen over them to keep the people working.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 2:1 In Hebrew texts 2:1 is numbered 1:18, and 2:2-18 is numbered 2:1-17.
  2. 2 Chronicles 2:3 Hebrew Huram, a variant of Hiram; also in verses 11 and 12
  3. 2 Chronicles 2:8 Probably a variant of almug
  4. 2 Chronicles 2:10 That is, probably about 3,600 tons or about 3,200 metric tons of wheat
  5. 2 Chronicles 2:10 That is, probably about 3,000 tons or about 2,700 metric tons of barley
  6. 2 Chronicles 2:10 That is, about 120,000 gallons or about 440,000 liters
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