1 Kings 5
Names of God Bible
Preparations for Building the Temple(A)
5 [a]King Hiram of Tyre sent his officials to Solomon when he heard that Solomon had been anointed king to succeed his father. Hiram had always been David’s friend.
2 Solomon sent word to Hiram, by saying, 3 “You know that my father David was surrounded by war. He couldn’t build a temple for the name of Yahweh our Elohim until Yahweh let him defeat his enemies. 4 But Yahweh my Elohim has surrounded me with peace. I have no rival and no trouble. 5 Now I’m thinking of building a temple for the name of Yahweh my Elohim as Yahweh spoke to my father David: ‘Your son, whom I will put on your throne to succeed you, will build a temple for my name.’ 6 So order men to cut down cedars from Lebanon for me. My workers will work with your workers. I will pay you whatever wages you ask for your workers. You know we don’t have any skilled lumberjacks like those from Sidon.”
7 Hiram was very glad to hear what Solomon had said. Hiram responded, “May Yahweh be praised today. He has given David a wise son to rule this great nation.”
8 Hiram sent men to Solomon to say, “I’ve received the message you sent me. I will do everything you want in regard to the cedar and cypress logs. 9 My workers will bring logs from Lebanon to the sea, and I will have them make them into rafts to go by sea to any place you specify. There I will have them taken apart, and you can use them. You can pay me by providing food for my palace.” 10 So Hiram gave Solomon all the cedar and cypress wood he wanted. 11 Solomon gave Hiram 120,000 bushels of wheat and 120,000 gallons of pure olive oil. Solomon paid Hiram this much every year.
12 Yahweh gave Solomon wisdom as he had promised. There was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and they made a treaty with one another.
13 King Solomon forced 30,000 men from all over Israel to work for him. 14 He sent a shift of 10,000 men to Lebanon for a month. They would spend one month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of forced labor.
15 Solomon had 70,000 men who carried heavy loads, 70,000 who quarried stone in the mountains, 16 and 3,300 foremen who were in charge of the workers. 17 The king commanded them to quarry large, expensive blocks of stone in order to provide a foundation of cut stone for the temple. 18 Solomon’s workmen, Hiram’s workmen, and men from Gebal quarried the stone and prepared the logs and stone to build the temple.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 5:1 1 Kings 5:1–18 in English Bibles is 1 Kings 5:15–32 in the Hebrew Bible.
1 Kings 5
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Hiram’s Building Materials
5 [a]Hiram king of Tyre(A) sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that he had been anointed king in his father’s place,(B) for Hiram had always been friends with David.(C)
2 Solomon sent this message to Hiram: 3 “You know my father David was not able to build a temple for the name of Yahweh his God. This was because of the warfare all around him until the Lord put his enemies under his feet.(D) 4 The Lord my God has now given me rest all around; there is no enemy or crisis.(E) 5 So I plan to build a temple for the name of Yahweh my God,(F) according to what the Lord promised my father David: ‘I will put your son on your throne in your place, and he will build the temple for My name.’(G)
6 “Therefore, command that cedars from Lebanon be cut down for me. My servants will be with your servants, and I will pay your servants’ wages according to whatever you say, for you know that not a man among us knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”(H)
7 When Hiram heard Solomon’s words, he greatly rejoiced and said, “May the Lord be praised today!(I) He has given David a wise son to be over this great people!” 8 Then Hiram sent a reply to Solomon, saying, “I have heard your message; I will do everything you want regarding the cedar and cypress timber. 9 My servants will bring the logs down from Lebanon to the sea, and I will make them into rafts to go by sea to the place you indicate. I will break them apart there, and you can take them away. You then can meet my needs by providing my household with food.”(J)
10 So Hiram provided Solomon with all the cedar and cypress timber he wanted, 11 and Solomon provided Hiram with 100,000 bushels[b] of wheat as food for his household and 110,000 gallons[c] of oil from crushed olives.(K) Solomon did this for Hiram year after year.
12 The Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as He had promised him.(L) There was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.(M)
Solomon’s Work Force
13 Then King Solomon drafted forced laborers from all Israel;(N) the labor force numbered 30,000 men. 14 He sent 10,000 to Lebanon each month in shifts; one month they were in Lebanon, two months they were at home. Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor. 15 Solomon had 70,000 porters and 80,000 stonecutters in the mountains,(O) 16 not including his 3,300[d] deputies(P) in charge of the work. They ruled over the people doing the work. 17 The king commanded them to quarry large, costly stones to lay the foundation of the temple with dressed stones.(Q) 18 So Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders,(R) along with the Gebalites,(S) quarried the stone and prepared the timber and stone for the temple’s construction.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 5:1 1Kg 5:15 in Hb
- 1 Kings 5:11 Lit 20,000 cors
- 1 Kings 5:11 LXX reads 20,000 baths; MT reads 20 cors
- 1 Kings 5:16 Some LXX mss read 3,600; 2Ch 2:2,18
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.
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