David Established at Jerusalem

14 King Hiram of Tyre sent messengers to David, along with cedar logs and masons and carpenters to build a house for him.^(A)

⁷ So they gave money to the masons and the carpenters, and food, drink, and oil to the Sidonians and the Tyrians to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the grant that they had from King Cyrus of Persia.^(A)

Alliance with Huram of Tyre

³ Solomon sent word to King Huram of Tyre, “Once you dealt with my father David and sent him cedar to build himself a house to live in.^(A)

¹¹ King Hiram of Tyre sent messengers to David, along with cedar trees and carpenters and masons who built David a house.^{(A) 12} David then perceived that the Lord had established him king over Israel and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.

¹³ In Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron, David took more concubines and wives, and more sons and daughters were born to David.^{(B) 14} These are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon,^{(C) 15} Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, ¹⁶ Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet.

⁸ Send me also cedar, cypress, and algum timber from Lebanon, for I know that your servants are skilled in cutting Lebanon timber. My servants will work with your servants^{(A) 9} to prepare timber for me in abundance, for the house I am about to build will be great and wonderful. ¹⁰ I will provide for your servants, those who cut the timber, twenty thousand cors of crushed wheat, twenty thousand cors of barley, twenty thousand baths^[a] of wine, and twenty thousand baths^[b] of oil.”^(B)

¹¹ Then King Huram of Tyre answered in a letter that he sent to Solomon, “Because the Lord loves his people, he has made you king over them.”^{(C) 12} Huram also said, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, who has given King David a wise son endowed with discretion and understanding who will build a temple for the Lord and a royal palace for himself.^(D)

David Prepares to Build the Temple

² David gave orders to gather together the aliens who were residing in the land of Israel, and he set stonecutters to prepare dressed stones for building the house of God.^(A)

God’s Covenant with David

17 Now when David settled in his house, David said to the prophet Nathan, “I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under a tent.”^(A)

Solomon’s Palace and Other Buildings

7 Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished his entire house.^(A)

² He built the House of the Forest of the Lebanon one hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high, built on four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams on the pillars.^{(B) 3} It was roofed with cedar on the forty-five rafters, fifteen in each row, which were on the pillars. ⁴ There were window frames in the three rows, facing each other in the three rows. ⁵ All the doorways and doorposts had four-sided frames, opposite, facing each other in the three rows.

⁶ He made the Hall of Pillars fifty cubits long and thirty cubits wide. There was a porch in front with pillars and a canopy in front of them.

⁷ He made the Hall of the Throne where he was to pronounce judgment, the Hall of Justice, covered with cedar from the floor to the rafters.^[a](C)

⁸ His own house where he would reside, in the other court back of the hall, was of the same construction. Solomon also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had taken in marriage.^(D)

⁹ All these were made of costly stones, cut according to measure, sawed with saws, back and front, from the foundation to the coping and from outside to the great court. ¹⁰ The foundation was of costly stones, huge stones, stones of eight and ten cubits. ¹¹ There were costly stones above, cut to measure, and cedarwood. ¹² The great court had three courses of dressed stone to one layer of cedar beams all around; so had the inner court of the house of the Lord and the vestibule of the house.^(E)