Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Add parallel Print Page Options
Close ERV-ZH
'歷 代 志 下 2 ' not found for the version: Chinese New Testament: Easy-to-Read Version.
Close NET

2 Chronicles 2
New English Translation

Solomon Gathers Building Materials for the Temple

2 (1:18)[a] Solomon ordered a temple to be built to honor the Lord, as well as a royal palace for himself.[b] 2 (2:1) Solomon had[c] 70,000 common laborers[d] and 80,000 stonecutters[e] in the hills, in addition to 3,600 supervisors.[f]

3 Solomon sent a message to King Huram[g] of Tyre: “Help me[h] as you did my father David, when you sent him cedar logs[i] for the construction of his palace.[j] 4 Look, I am ready to build a temple to honor[k] the Lord my God and to dedicate it to him in order to burn fragrant incense before him, to set out the bread that is regularly displayed,[l] and to offer burnt sacrifices each morning and evening, and on Sabbaths, new moon festivals, and at other times appointed by the Lord our God. This is something Israel must do on a permanent basis.[m] 5 I will build a great temple, for our God is greater than all gods. 6 Of course, who can really build a temple for him, since the sky[n] and the highest heavens cannot contain him? Who am I that I should build him a temple! It will really be only a place to offer sacrifices before him.[o]

7 “Now send me a man who is skilled in working with gold, silver, bronze, and iron, as well as purple-, crimson-, and blue-colored fabrics, and who knows how to engrave. He will work with my skilled craftsmen here in Jerusalem and Judah, whom my father David provided. 8 Send me cedars, evergreens, and algum[p] trees from Lebanon, for I know your servants are adept[q] at cutting down trees in Lebanon. My servants will work with your servants 9 to supply me with large quantities of timber, for I am building a great, magnificent temple. 10 Look, I will pay your servants who cut the timber 20,000 cors[r] of ground wheat, 20,000 cors of barley, 120,000 gallons[s] of wine, and 120,000 gallons of olive oil.”

11 King Huram[t] of Tyre sent this letter to Solomon: “Because the Lord loves his people, he has made you their king.” 12 Huram also said, “Worthy of praise is the Lord God of Israel, who made the sky and the earth! He has given King David a wise son who has discernment and insight and will build a temple for the Lord, as well as a royal palace for himself.[u] 13 Now I am sending you Huram Abi,[v] a skilled and capable man, 14 whose mother is a Danite and whose father is a Tyrian.[w] He knows how to work with gold, silver, bronze, iron, stones, and wood, as well as purple, blue, white, and crimson fabrics. He knows how to do all kinds of engraving and understands any design given to him. He will work with your skilled craftsmen and the skilled craftsmen of my lord David your father. 15 Now let my lord send to his servants the wheat, barley, olive oil, and wine he has promised; 16 we will get all the timber you need from Lebanon[x] and bring it[y] in raft-like bundles[z] by sea to Joppa. You can then haul it on up to Jerusalem.”

17 Solomon took a census of[aa] all the male resident foreigners[ab] in the land of Israel, after the census his father David had taken. There were 153,600 in all. 18 He designated[ac] 70,000 as common laborers,[ad] 80,000 as stonecutters[ae] in the hills, and 3,600 as supervisors to make sure the people completed the work.[af]

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 2:1 sn Beginning with 2:1, the verse numbers through 2:18 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 2:1 ET = 1:18 HT, 2:2 ET = 2:1 HT, 2:3 ET = 2:2 HT, etc., through 2:18 ET = 2:17 HT. Beginning with 3:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
  2. 2 Chronicles 2:1 tn Heb “and Solomon said to build a house for the name of the Lord and house for his kingship.”
  3. 2 Chronicles 2:2 tn Heb “counted,” perhaps “conscripted” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).
  4. 2 Chronicles 2:2 tn Heb “men, carriers of loads.”
  5. 2 Chronicles 2:2 tn Or “quarry workers”; Heb “cutters” (probably referring to stonecutters).
  6. 2 Chronicles 2:2 tc The parallel text of MT in 1 Kgs 5:16 has “thirty-three hundred,” but some Greek mss there read “thirty-six hundred” in agreement with 2 Chr 2:2, 18.tn Heb “and 3,600 supervisors over them.”
  7. 2 Chronicles 2:3 tn Heb “Huram.” Some medieval Hebrew mss, along with the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate spell the name “Hiram,” agreeing with 1 Chr 14:1. “Huram” is a variant spelling referring to the same individual.
  8. 2 Chronicles 2:3 tn The words “help me” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic reasons.
  9. 2 Chronicles 2:3 tn Heb “cedars.” The word “logs” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  10. 2 Chronicles 2:3 tn Heb “to build for him a house to live in it.”
  11. 2 Chronicles 2:4 tn Heb “for the name of.”
  12. 2 Chronicles 2:4 tn Heb “and the regular display.”
  13. 2 Chronicles 2:4 tn Heb “permanently [is] this upon Israel.”
  14. 2 Chronicles 2:6 tn Or “heavens” (also in v. 12). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
  15. 2 Chronicles 2:6 tn Heb “Who retains strength to build for him a house, for the heavens and the heavens of heavens do not contain him? And who am I that I should build for him a house, except to sacrifice before him?”
  16. 2 Chronicles 2:8 tn This is probably a variant name for almug trees; see 9:10-11 and the parallel passage in 1 Kgs 10:11-12; cf. NLT. One or the other probably arose through metathesis of letters.
  17. 2 Chronicles 2:8 tn Heb “know.”
  18. 2 Chronicles 2:10 sn As a unit of dry measure a cor was roughly equivalent to six bushels (about 220 liters).
  19. 2 Chronicles 2:10 tn Heb “20,000 baths” (also a second time later in this verse). A bath was a liquid measure roughly equivalent to six gallons (about 22 liters), so this was a quantity of about 120,000 gallons (440,000 liters).
  20. 2 Chronicles 2:11 tn Heb “Huram” (also in v. 12). Some medieval Hebrew mss, along with the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate spell the name “Hiram,” agreeing with 1 Chr 14:1. “Huram” is a variant spelling referring to the same individual.
  21. 2 Chronicles 2:12 tn Heb “who has given to King David a wise son knowing discernment and insight, who will build a house for the Lord and house for his kingship.”
  22. 2 Chronicles 2:13 sn The name Huram Abi means “Huram [is] my father.”
  23. 2 Chronicles 2:14 tn Heb “a son of a woman from the daughters of Dan, and his father a man of Tyre.”
  24. 2 Chronicles 2:16 tn Heb “and we will cut down trees from Lebanon according to all your need.”
  25. 2 Chronicles 2:16 tn Heb “to you,” but this phrase has not been translated for stylistic reasons—it is somewhat redundant.
  26. 2 Chronicles 2:16 tn Or “on rafts.” See the note at 1 Kgs 5:9.
  27. 2 Chronicles 2:17 tn Heb “Solomon counted.”
  28. 2 Chronicles 2:17 sn The term גֵּר (ger) refers to a foreign resident, but with different social implications in different settings. In Mosaic Law the resident foreigner was essentially a naturalized citizen and convert to worshiping the God of Israel (see Exod 12:19, 48; Deut 29:10-13).
  29. 2 Chronicles 2:18 tn Heb “appointed from them.”
  30. 2 Chronicles 2:18 tn Heb “carriers of loads.”
  31. 2 Chronicles 2:18 tn Or “quarry workers”; Heb “cutters” (probably referring to stonecutters).
  32. 2 Chronicles 2:18 tn Heb “and thirty-six hundred [as] supervisors to compel the people to work.”
Listen to 2 Chronicles 2
Close NIV

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
Close NIRV

2 Chronicles 2
New International Reader's Version

Solomon Prepares to Build the Temple

2 Solomon gave orders to build a temple. That’s where the Lord would put his Name. Solomon also gave orders to build a royal palace for himself. 2 He chose 70,000 men to carry things. He chose 80,000 to cut stones in the hills. He put 3,600 men in charge of them.

3 Solomon sent a message to Hiram. Hiram was king of Tyre. Solomon said,

“Send me cedar logs, just as you did for my father David. You sent him cedar to build a palace to live in. 4 Now I’m about to build a temple. The Name of the Lord my God will be there. I’ll set the temple apart for him. Sweet-smelling incense will be burned in front of him there. The holy bread will be set out at regular times. Burnt offerings will be sacrificed there every morning and evening. They will be sacrificed every Sabbath day. They will be sacrificed at every New Moon feast. And they will be sacrificed at every yearly appointed feast of the Lord our God. That’s a law for Israel that will last for all time to come.

5 “The temple I’m going to build will be beautiful. That’s because our God is greater than all other gods. 6 So who is able to build a temple for him? After all, the heavens can’t hold him. In fact, not even the highest heavens can hold him. So who am I to build a temple for him? It will only be a place to burn sacrifices in front of him.

7 “Send me a man skilled at working with gold, silver, bronze and iron. He must also be able to work with purple, blue and bright red yarn. He must be skilled in the art of carving. Send him to work in Judah and Jerusalem with my skilled workers. My father David provided them to help me.

8 “Also send me cedar, juniper and algum logs from Lebanon. I know that your servants are skilled in cutting wood there. My servants will work with yours. 9 They’ll provide me with plenty of lumber. That’s because the temple I’m building must be large and beautiful. 10 I’ll pay your servants. They will cut the wood. I’ll pay them 3,600 tons of wheat that has been ground up. I’ll pay them 3,000 tons of barley. I’ll also pay them 120,000 gallons of wine and 120,000 gallons of olive oil.”

11 King Hiram of Tyre replied to Solomon. He wrote a letter to him. In it Hiram said,

“The Lord loves his people. That’s why he has made you their king.”

12 Hiram continued,

“I praise the Lord. He is the God of Israel. He made heaven and earth. He has given King David a wise son. You have good sense. You understand what is right. You will build a temple for the Lord. You will also build a palace for yourself.

13 “I’m sending Huram-Abi to you. He is very skillful. 14 His mother was from Dan. His father was from Tyre. He is trained to work with gold, silver, bronze and iron. He knows how to work with stone and wood. He can also work with purple, blue and bright red yarn and fine linen. He’s skilled in all kinds of carving. He can follow any pattern you give him. He’ll work with your skilled workers. He’ll also work with those of your father David. David was my master.

15 “Now please send us what you promised. Send us the wheat, barley, olive oil and wine. 16 And we’ll cut all the logs from Lebanon that you need. We’ll make rafts out of them. We’ll float them by sea down to Joppa. Then you can take them up to Jerusalem.”

17 Solomon counted all the outsiders who were living in Israel. He did it after his father David had counted them. There were 153,600 of them. 18 He chose 70,000 to carry things. He chose 80,000 to cut stones in the hills. He put 3,600 men in charge of the people to keep them working.

Next
2 Chronicles 1
2 Chronicles 3
Next
dropdown
Chinese New Testament: Easy-to-Read Version (ERV-ZH)

Copyright © 2004 by World Bible Translation Center

New English Translation (NET)

NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

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

New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

$100,000 challenge