Preparations for Building the Temple

[a] Now (A)Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, (B)for Hiram always loved David. And Solomon sent word to Hiram, (C)“You know that David my father could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God (D)because of the warfare with which his enemies surrounded him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. (E)But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side. There is neither adversary nor misfortune. And so I intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, (F)as the Lord said to David my father, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, shall build the house for my name.’ Now therefore command that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me. And my servants will join your servants, and I will pay you for your servants such wages as you set, for you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”

As soon as Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the Lord this day, who has given to David a wise son to be over this great people.” And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, “I have heard the message that you have sent to me. I am ready to do all you desire in the matter of cedar and cypress timber. My servants shall bring it down to the sea from Lebanon, and I will make it into rafts to go by sea to the place you direct. And I will have them broken up there, and you shall receive it. And you shall meet my wishes (G)by providing food for my household.” 10 So Hiram supplied Solomon with all the timber of cedar and cypress that he desired, 11 while Solomon gave Hiram 20,000 cors[b] of wheat as food for his household, and 20,000[c] cors of beaten oil. Solomon gave this to Hiram year by year. 12 And the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, (H)as he promised him. And there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.

13 King Solomon drafted (I)forced labor out of all Israel, and the draft numbered 30,000 men. 14 And he sent them to Lebanon, 10,000 a month in shifts. They would be a month in Lebanon and two months at home. (J)Adoniram was in charge of the draft. 15 Solomon also (K)had 70,000 burden-bearers and 80,000 stonecutters in the hill country, 16 besides Solomon's 3,300 (L)chief officers who were over the work, (M)who had charge of the people who carried on the work. 17 At the king's command (N)they quarried out great, costly stones in order to lay the foundation of the house with dressed stones. 18 So Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders and (O)the men of Gebal did the cutting and prepared the timber and the stone to build the house.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 5:1 Ch 5:15 in Hebrew
  2. 1 Kings 5:11 A cor was about 6 bushels or 220 liters
  3. 1 Kings 5:11 Septuagint; Hebrew twenty

Preparations for Building the Temple(A)

[a]When Hiram(B) king of Tyre heard that Solomon had been anointed king to succeed his father David, he sent his envoys to Solomon, because he had always been on friendly terms with David. Solomon sent back this message to Hiram:

“You know that because of the wars(C) waged against my father David from all sides, he could not build(D) a temple for the Name of the Lord his God until the Lord put his enemies under his feet.(E) But now the Lord my God has given me rest(F) on every side, and there is no adversary(G) or disaster. I intend, therefore, to build a temple(H) for the Name of the Lord my God, as the Lord told my father David, when he said, ‘Your son whom I will put on the throne in your place will build the temple for my Name.’(I)

“So give orders that cedars(J) of Lebanon be cut for me. My men will work with yours, and I will pay you for your men whatever wages you set. You know that we have no one so skilled in felling timber as the Sidonians.”

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

So Hiram sent word to Solomon:

“I have received the message you sent me and will do all you want in providing the cedar and juniper logs. My men will haul them down from Lebanon to the Mediterranean Sea(L), and I will float them as rafts by sea to the place you specify. There I will separate them and you can take them away. And you are to grant my wish by providing food(M) for my royal household.”

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[b] of wheat as food(N) for his household, in addition to twenty thousand baths[c][d] of pressed olive oil. Solomon continued to do this for Hiram year after year. 12 The Lord gave Solomon wisdom,(O) just as he had promised him. There were peaceful relations between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.(P)

13 King Solomon conscripted laborers(Q) 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(R) 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[e] foremen(S) who supervised the project and directed the workers. 17 At the king’s command they removed from the quarry(T) large blocks of high-grade stone(U) to provide a foundation of dressed stone for the temple. 18 The craftsmen of Solomon and Hiram(V) and workers from Byblos(W) cut and prepared the timber and stone for the building of the temple.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 5:1 In Hebrew texts 5:1-18 is numbered 5:15-32.
  2. 1 Kings 5:11 That is, probably about 3,600 tons or about 3,250 metric tons
  3. 1 Kings 5:11 Septuagint (see also 2 Chron. 2:10); Hebrew twenty cors
  4. 1 Kings 5:11 That is, about 120,000 gallons or about 440,000 liters
  5. 1 Kings 5:16 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 2 Chron. 2:2,18) thirty-six hundred

Hiram rey de Tiro envió también sus esclavos a Salomón, luego que oyó que lo habían ungido por rey en lugar de su padre; porque Hiram había siempre amado a David.

Entonces Salomón envió a decir a Hiram:

Tú sabes como mi padre David no pudo edificar casa al nombre del SEÑOR su Dios, por las guerras que le cercaron, hasta que el SEÑOR puso sus enemigos bajo las plantas de sus pies.

Ahora el SEÑOR mi Dios me ha dado reposo por todas partes; que ni hay adversarios, ni mal encuentro.

Yo por tanto he determinado ahora edificar Casa al nombre del SEÑOR mi Dios, como el SEÑOR lo habló a David mi padre, diciendo: Tu hijo, que yo pondré en lugar tuyo en tu trono, él edificará casa a mi nombre.

Manda pues ahora que me corten cedros del Líbano; y mis esclavos estarán con los tuyos, y yo te daré por tus esclavos el salario que tú dijeres; porque tú sabes bien, que ninguno hay entre nosotros que sepa labrar la madera como los sidonios.

Y cuando Hiram oyó las palabras de Salomón, se alegró en gran manera, y dijo: Bendito sea hoy el SEÑOR, que dio hijo sabio a David sobre este pueblo tan grande.

Y envió Hiram a decir a Salomón: He oído lo que me enviaste a decir; yo haré todo lo que te plazca acerca de la madera de cedro, y la madera de haya.

Mis esclavos la llevarán desde el Líbano al mar; y yo la pondré en balsas por el mar hasta el lugar que tú me señalares, y allí se desatará, y tú la tomarás; y tú también harás mi voluntad, en dar de comer a mi familia.

10 Dio pues Hiram a Salomón madera de cedro, y madera de haya toda la que quiso.

11 Y Salomón daba a Hiram veinte mil coros de trigo para el sustento de su familia, y veinte mil coros de aceite limpio; esto daba Salomón a Hiram cada año.

12 Dio, pues, el SEÑOR a Salomón sabiduría como le había dicho; y hubo paz entre Hiram y Salomón, e hicieron pacto entre ambos.

13 Y el rey Salomón impuso tributo a todo Israel, y el tributo fue de treinta mil hombres;

14 los cuales enviaba al Líbano de diez mil en diez mil, cada mes por su turno, viniendo así a estar un mes en el Líbano, y dos meses en sus casas; y Adoniram estaba sobre aquel tributo.

15 Tenía también Salomón setenta mil que llevaban las cargas, y ochenta mil cortadores en el monte;

16 sin los principales oficiales de Salomón que estaban sobre la obra, eran tres mil trescientos, los cuales tenían a su cargo el pueblo que hacía la obra.

17 Y mandó el rey que trajeran grandes piedras, piedras de precio, para los cimientos de la Casa, y piedras labradas.

18 Y los albañiles de Salomón, y los de Hiram, y los aparejadores, cortaron y aparejaron la madera y la cantería para labrar la casa.