And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David.

And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying,

Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto the name of the Lord his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet.

But now the Lord my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent.

And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build an house unto my name.

Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants: and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians.

And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be the Lord this day, which hath given unto David a wise son over this great people.

And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for: and I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir.

My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea: and I will convey them by sea in floats unto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be discharged there, and thou shalt receive them: and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household.

10 So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all his desire.

11 And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year.

12 And the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him: and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together.

13 And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men.

14 And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses: a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home: and Adoniram was over the levy.

15 And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand hewers in the mountains;

16 Beside the chief of Solomon's officers which were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, which ruled over the people that wrought in the work.

17 And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house.

18 And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did hew them, and the stonesquarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house.

Pacto de Salomón con Jirán(A)

Cuando el rey Jirán de Tiro supo que Salomón había sido consagrado como rey en lugar de su padre David, envió a sus embajadores a visitarlo, pues Jirán siempre había estimado a David. A su vez, Salomón mandó a decir a Jirán:

«Tú sabes que, por culpa de las guerras en que mi padre, David, se vio envuelto, no pudo construir un templo para honrar el nombre del Señor su Dios, hasta que con la ayuda del Señor logró vencer a sus enemigos. Pero ahora que el Señor mi Dios me ha dado paz por todos lados y no tengo enemigos, ni nada que temer, he decidido construir un templo para honrar el nombre del Señor mi Dios y para que se cumpla la promesa que el Señor le hizo a mi padre, cuando dijo: “Tu hijo, a quien yo pondré en el trono en lugar tuyo, será quien edifique el templo donde se honrará mi nombre.”(B) Para poder hacerlo, ordena por favor a tus hombres que corten cedros del Líbano. Mis hombres pueden ayudar, y yo les pagaré a tus siervos lo que tú me digas, pues reconozco que no hay entre nosotros nadie que trabaje la madera tan bien como los sidonios.»

Cuando Jirán oyó lo que Salomón había dicho, se llenó de alegría y dijo: «¡Bendito sea el Señor, que le dio a David un hijo tan sabio para gobernar a este gran pueblo!» Entonces le respondió a Salomón la siguiente respuesta:

«He recibido tu mensaje, y en cuanto a la madera de cedro y de ciprés voy a hacer lo que me pides. Mis hombres llevarán la madera desde el Líbano hasta el mar, y allí la pondrán en balsas y te la llevarán hasta donde tú me digas; allí la desatarán para que tú la tomes. Mi pago será que me proveas de alimento para mi familia.»

10 Fue así como Jirán proveyó a Salomón con toda la madera de cedro y de ciprés que quiso. 11 A cambio de ella, cada año Salomón le enviaba a Jirán veinte mil coros de trigo y veinte coros de aceite puro para el sustento de su palacio. 12 El Señor dotó a Salomón de mucha sabiduría, tal y como se lo había prometido, y los reinos de Jirán y de Salomón hicieron un pacto y hubo paz entre ellos.

13 Después Salomón decretó leva en todo el pueblo de Israel y reunió a treinta mil hombres. 14 Cada mes enviaba al Líbano diez mil hombres, los cuales trabajaban allí en turnos de un mes, y luego se quedaban en sus casas. Adonirán estaba a cargo de la leva. 15 Además, Salomón contaba con setenta mil hombres que cargaban los materiales, y ochenta mil que cortaban la madera en el monte, 16 sin contar a los tres mil trescientos maestros oficiales que Salomón puso al frente del pueblo que realizaba la obra. 17 También ordenó que llevaran grandes piedras labradas de cantera, de buena calidad, para los cimientos del templo. 18 Y entre los albañiles de Salomón y la gente de Jirán y de Gebal cortaron la madera y labraron la cantería para construir el templo.

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