1 Kings 5
New American Standard Bible
Alliance with King Hiram
5 [a](A)Now 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 a friend of David. 2 Then (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 the Lord his God because of the wars which surrounded him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. 4 But now (E)the Lord my God has secured me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor [c]misfortune. 5 So behold, (F)I [d]intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, just as the Lord spoke to David my father, saying, ‘Your son, whom I will put on your throne in your place, he will build the house for My name.’ 6 Now then, issue orders that they cut (G)cedars from Lebanon for me, and my servants will be with your servants; and I will give you wages for your servants in accordance with all that you say, for you yourself know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”
7 When Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he greatly rejoiced; and he said, “Blessed be the Lord 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 sent me; I will do everything you wish concerning the cedar and juniper timber. 9 My servants will bring the timbers down from Lebanon to the sea; and I will have them made into rafts to go by sea (H)to the place where you [e]direct me, and I will have them broken up there, and you will carry them away. Then (I)you shall do what I wish, by giving food to my household.” 10 So [f]Hiram [g]gave Solomon all that he wished of the cedar and juniper timber. 11 (J)Solomon then gave [h]Hiram [i]twenty thousand kors of wheat as food for his household, and [j]twenty kors of pure oil; this is what Solomon would give Hiram year by year. 12 And (K)the Lord gave wisdom to Solomon, just as He [k]promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a covenant.
Conscription of Laborers
13 Now (L)King Solomon [l]conscripted forced laborers from all Israel; and the forced laborers numbered thirty thousand men. 14 Then he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month in shifts; they were in Lebanon for a month, and two months at home. And (M)Adoniram was in charge of the forced laborers. 15 Now (N)Solomon had seventy thousand porters, and eighty thousand stonemasons in the mountains, 16 (O)besides Solomon’s 3,300 chief deputies who were in charge of the [m]project and ruled over the people who were doing the work. 17 Then (P)the king issued orders, and they quarried large stones, valuable stones, to lay the foundation of the house with cut stones. 18 So Solomon’s builders and [n]Hiram’s builders and (Q)the Gebalites [o]cut the stones, and they prepared the timbers and the stones to build the house.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 5:1 Ch 5:15 in Heb
- 1 Kings 5:1 Lit all the days
- 1 Kings 5:4 Lit evil occurrence
- 1 Kings 5:5 Lit say
- 1 Kings 5:9 Lit send to me
- 1 Kings 5:10 Heb Hirom
- 1 Kings 5:10 Lit was giving
- 1 Kings 5:11 In 2 Chr 2:3, Huram
- 1 Kings 5:11 About 154,000 cubic feet or 4,360 cubic meters
- 1 Kings 5:11 About 154 cubic feet or 4.4 cubic meters
- 1 Kings 5:12 Lit spoke to
- 1 Kings 5:13 Lit raised up
- 1 Kings 5:16 Lit work
- 1 Kings 5:18 Heb Hirom’s
- 1 Kings 5:18 Or chiseled
1 Kings 5
New Living Translation
Preparations for Building the Temple
5 [a]King Hiram of Tyre had always been a loyal friend of David. When Hiram learned that David’s son Solomon was the new king of Israel, he sent ambassadors to congratulate him.
2 Then Solomon sent this message back to Hiram:
3 “You know that my father, David, was not able to build a Temple to honor the name of the Lord his God because of the many wars waged against him by surrounding nations. He could not build until the Lord gave him victory over all his enemies. 4 But now the Lord my God has given me peace on every side; I have no enemies, and all is well. 5 So I am planning to build a Temple to honor the name of the Lord my God, just as he had instructed my father, David. For the Lord told him, ‘Your son, whom I will place on your throne, will build the Temple to honor my name.’
6 “Therefore, please command that cedars from Lebanon be cut for me. Let my men work alongside yours, and I will pay your men whatever wages you ask. As you know, there is no one among us who can cut timber like you Sidonians!”
7 When Hiram received Solomon’s message, he was very pleased and said, “Praise the Lord today for giving David a wise son to be king of the great nation of Israel.” 8 Then he sent this reply to Solomon:
“I have received your message, and I will supply all the cedar and cypress timber you need. 9 My servants will bring the logs from the Lebanon mountains to the Mediterranean Sea[b] and make them into rafts and float them along the coast to whatever place you choose. Then we will break the rafts apart so you can carry the logs away. You can pay me by supplying me with food for my household.”
10 So Hiram supplied as much cedar and cypress timber as Solomon desired. 11 In return, Solomon sent him an annual payment of 100,000 bushels[c] of wheat for his household and 110,000 gallons[d] of pure olive oil. 12 So the Lord gave wisdom to Solomon, just as he had promised. And Hiram and Solomon made a formal alliance of peace.
13 Then King Solomon conscripted a labor force of 30,000 men from all Israel. 14 He sent them to Lebanon in shifts, 10,000 every month, so that each man would be one month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of this labor force. 15 Solomon also had 70,000 common laborers, 80,000 quarry workers in the hill country, 16 and 3,600[e] foremen to supervise the work. 17 At the king’s command, they quarried large blocks of high-quality stone and shaped them to make the foundation of the Temple. 18 Men from the city of Gebal helped Solomon’s and Hiram’s builders prepare the timber and stone for the Temple.
Footnotes
- 5:1 Verses 5:1-18 are numbered 5:15-32 in Hebrew text.
- 5:9 Hebrew the sea.
- 5:11a Hebrew 20,000 cors [4,400 kiloliters].
- 5:11b As in Greek version, which reads 20,000 baths [420 kiloliters] (see also 2 Chr 2:10); Hebrew reads 20 cors, about 1,000 gallons or 4.4 kiloliters in volume.
- 5:16 As in some Greek manuscripts (see also 2 Chr 2:2, 18); Hebrew reads 3,300.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
