⁷ When Hiram heard Solomon’s message, he was greatly pleased and said, “Praise be to the Lord^(A) today, for he has given David a wise son to rule over this great nation.”

⁸ So Hiram sent word to Solomon:

¹⁰ In this way Hiram kept Solomon supplied with all the cedar and juniper logs he wanted, ¹¹ and Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand cors^[a] of wheat as food^(D) for his household, in addition to twenty thousand baths^[b][c] of pressed olive oil. Solomon continued to do this for Hiram year after year. ¹² The Lord gave Solomon wisdom,^(E) just as he had promised him. There were peaceful relations between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.^(F)

¹³ King Solomon conscripted laborers^(G) from all Israel—thirty thousand men. ¹⁴ He sent them off to Lebanon in shifts of ten thousand a month, so that they spent one month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram^(H) was in charge of the forced labor. ¹⁵ Solomon had seventy thousand carriers and eighty thousand stonecutters in the hills, ¹⁶ as well as thirty-three hundred^[d] foremen^(I) who supervised the project and directed the workers. ¹⁷ At the king’s command they removed from the quarry^(J) large blocks of high-grade stone^(K) to provide a foundation of dressed stone for the temple. ¹⁸ The craftsmen of Solomon and Hiram^(L) and workers from Byblos^(M) cut and prepared the timber and stone for the building of the temple.

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:

¹¹ Hiram king of Tyre replied by letter to Solomon:

¹² And Hiram added:

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.

²⁰ There were still people left from the Amorites, Hittites,^(A) Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites^(B) (these peoples were not Israelites). ²¹ Solomon conscripted the descendants^(C) of all these peoples remaining in the land—whom the Israelites could not exterminate^[a](D)—to serve as slave labor,^(E) as it is to this day. ²² But Solomon did not make slaves^(F) of any of the Israelites; they were his fighting men, his government officials, his officers, his captains, and the commanders of his chariots and charioteers.

¹⁷ Solomon took a census of all the foreigners^(A) residing in Israel, after the census^(B) his father David had taken; and they were found to be 153,600. ¹⁸ He assigned^(C) 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.