1 Kings 5
New King James Version
Solomon Prepares to Build the Temple(A)
5 Now (B)Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, because he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, (C)for Hiram had always loved David. 2 Then (D)Solomon sent to Hiram, saying:
3 (E)You know how my father David could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God (F)because of the wars which were fought against him on every side, until the Lord put [a]his foes under the soles of his feet.
4 But now the Lord my God has given me (G)rest[b] on every side; there is neither adversary nor [c]evil occurrence.
5 (H)And behold, [d]I propose to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, (I)as the Lord spoke to my father David, saying, “Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, he shall build the house for My name.”
6 Now therefore, command that they cut down (J)cedars for me from Lebanon; and my servants will be with your servants, and I will pay you wages for your servants according to whatever you say. For you know there is none among us who has skill to cut timber like the Sidonians.
7 So it was, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly and said,
Blessed be the Lord this day, for He has given David a wise son over this great people!
8 Then Hiram sent to Solomon, saying:
I have considered the message which you sent me, and I will do all you desire concerning the cedar and cypress logs.
9 My servants shall bring them down (K)from Lebanon to the sea; I will float them in rafts by sea to the place you indicate to me, and will have them broken apart there; then you can take them away. And you shall fulfill my desire (L)by giving food for my household.
10 Then Hiram gave Solomon cedar and cypress logs according to all his desire. 11 (M)And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand [e]kors of wheat as food for his household, and [f]twenty kors of pressed oil. Thus Solomon gave to Hiram year by year.
12 So the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, (N)as He had promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty together.
13 Then King Solomon raised up a labor force out of all Israel; and the labor force was thirty thousand men. 14 And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month in shifts: they were one month in Lebanon and two months at home; (O)Adoniram was in charge of the labor force. 15 (P)Solomon had seventy thousand who carried burdens, and eighty thousand who quarried stone in the mountains, 16 besides three thousand [g]three hundred from the (Q)chiefs of Solomon’s deputies, who supervised the people who labored in the work. 17 And the king commanded them to quarry large stones, costly stones, and (R)hewn stones, to lay the foundation of the [h]temple. 18 So Solomon’s builders, Hiram’s builders, and the Gebalites quarried them; and they prepared timber and stones to build the [i]temple.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 5:3 Lit. them
- 1 Kings 5:4 peace
- 1 Kings 5:4 misfortune
- 1 Kings 5:5 Lit. I am saying
- 1 Kings 5:11 Each about 5 bushels
- 1 Kings 5:11 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX, Syr. twenty thousand kors
- 1 Kings 5:16 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX six hundred
- 1 Kings 5:17 Lit. house
- 1 Kings 5:18 Lit. house
1 Kings 5
Expanded Bible
Preparing to Build the Temple(A)
5 Hiram, the king of Tyre, had always been David’s friend. When Hiram heard that Solomon had been ·made [L anointed] king in ·David’s [L his father’s] place, he sent his ·messengers [ambassadors; servants] to Solomon. 2 Solomon sent this message back to King Hiram: 3 “You ·remember [L know] my father David had to fight many wars with ·the countries around [enemies surrounding] him, so he was never able to build a ·temple for worshiping [L house for the name of] the Lord his God. David was waiting until the Lord ·allowed him to defeat all his enemies [L put them under the soles of his feet]. 4 But now the Lord my God has given me ·peace [rest] on all sides of my country. I have no enemies now, and no ·danger threatens my people [adversity; calamity; misfortune].
5 “The Lord ·promised [L told] my father David, ‘I will ·make your son king after you [L put your son on the throne in your place], and he will build ·a temple for worshiping me [L the house/temple for my name].’ Now, I plan to build ·that temple for worshiping [L a house for the name of] the Lord my God. 6 So ·send your men [command them] to cut down cedar trees for me from Lebanon. My servants will work with yours, and I will pay them whatever wages you decide. We don’t have anyone who can cut down ·trees [timber] as well as the people of Sidon.”
7 When Hiram heard what Solomon asked, he ·was very happy [rejoiced greatly]. He said, “·Praise [Blessed be] the Lord today! He has given David a wise son to rule over this great ·nation [people]!” 8 Then Hiram sent back this message to Solomon: “I ·received [heard] the message you sent, and I will ·give you [supply] all the cedar and ·pine trees [cypress; juniper] you ·want [need]. 9 My servants will bring them down from Lebanon to the sea. There I will ·tie them together [L make them into rafts] and ·float them along the shore [go by sea] to the place you choose. Then I will separate the logs there, and you can take them away. ·In return it is my wish that you give [And you shall meet my needs/desire by providing] food to ·all those who live with me [L my household].” 10 So Hiram gave Solomon as much cedar and ·pine [cypress; juniper] as he wanted. 11 And Solomon gave Hiram about ·one hundred twenty-five thousand bushels [L twenty thousand cors] of wheat each year ·to feed the people who lived with him [L for his household]. Solomon also gave him ·about one hundred fifteen thousand gallons [L twenty cors] of pure olive oil every year.
12 The Lord gave Solomon wisdom as he had promised. And there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; these two kings made a ·treaty between themselves [covenant; alliance].
13 King Solomon ·forced [conscripted] thirty thousand men of Israel to help in this work. 14 He sent ·a group [shifts; relays] of ten thousand men each month to Lebanon. Each group worked in Lebanon one month, then went home for two months. A man named Adoniram was in ·charge [charge of the forced labor/or this labor force]. 15 Solomon ·forced [had] eighty thousand men to work in the hill country, cutting stone, and he had seventy thousand ·men to carry the stones [common laborers]. 16 There were also thirty-three hundred ·men who directed the workers [foremen; overseers]. 17 King Solomon commanded them to cut large blocks of ·fine [costly; high-quality] stone to ·be used for the foundation of the Temple [lay the foundation of the house with dressed/cut stone]. 18 Solomon’s and Hiram’s builders and the ·men from Byblos [L Gebalites; C Gebal was a Phoenician city the Greeks called Byblos] carved the stones and prepared the stones and the ·logs [timber] for building the ·Temple [L house].
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.