1 Kings 5
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
5 Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, when he heard that he was anointed king in place of his father, for Hiram always loved David.
2 And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying,
3 You know how David my father could not build a house to the Name of the Lord his God because wars were about him on every side, until the Lord put his foes under his feet.(A)
4 But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil confronting me.
5 And I purpose to build a house to the Name of the Lord my God, as the Lord said to David my father, Your son whom I will set on your throne in your place shall build the house to My Name and Presence.
6 So, Hiram, command them to hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; my servants shall join yours, and I will give you whatever wages you set for your servants. For you know that no one among us can equal the skill of the Sidon men in cutting timber.
7 When Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly and said, Blessed be the Lord this day, Who has given David a wise son to be over this great people.
8 And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things for which you sent to me; I will do all you wish concerning the cedar and cypress timber.
9 My servants shall bring the logs down from Lebanon to the sea, make them into rafts, and float them by sea to the place that you direct. I will have them released there, and you shall take them away. And you shall fulfill my desire by providing food for my household.
10 So Hiram gave Solomon all the cedar and cypress trees he desired,
11 And Solomon gave Hiram 20,000 measures of wheat for food for his household, and 20 measures of pure, beaten oil. He gave these to Hiram yearly.
12 The Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as He promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and they made a treaty.
13 King Solomon raised a levy [of forced labor] out of all Israel; and the levy was 30,000 men.
14 He sent them to Lebanon, 10,000 a month by divisions; one month they were in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was over the levy.
15 And Solomon had 70,000 burden bearers and 80,000 hewers [of stone] in the hill country of Judah,
16 Besides Solomon’s 3,300 overseers in charge of the people doing the work.
17 The king commanded, and they hewed and brought out [a]great, costly stones in order to lay the foundation of the house with dressed stone.
18 Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders and the men of Gebal did the hewing and prepared the timber and stones to build the house.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 5:17 These great foundation stones remain to this day. One of them is almost thirty-nine feet long, one of the most interesting stones of the world. It is the chief cornerstone of the Mosque of Omar’s massive wall, placed in its present position 3,000 years ago. Markings on the stones represent the culture of Phoenicia, the region around Tyre from which Solomon received building materials for the temple.
1 Kings 5
New English Translation
Solomon Gathers Building Materials for the Temple
5 (5:15)[a] King Hiram of Tyre sent messengers[b] to Solomon when he heard that he had been anointed king in his father’s place. (Hiram had always been an ally of David.) 2 Solomon then sent this message to Hiram: 3 “You know that my father David was unable to build a temple to honor the Lord[c] his God, for he was busy fighting battles on all fronts while the Lord subdued his enemies.[d] 4 But now the Lord my God has made me secure on all fronts; there is no adversary or dangerous threat. 5 So I have decided[e] to build a temple to honor the Lord[f] my God, as the Lord instructed my father David, ‘Your son, whom I will put on your throne in your place, is the one who will build a temple to honor me.’[g] 6 So now order some cedars of Lebanon to be cut for me. My servants will work with your servants. I will pay your servants whatever you say is appropriate, for you know that we have no one among us who knows how to cut down trees like the Sidonians.”
7 When Hiram heard Solomon’s message, he was very happy. He said, “The Lord is worthy of praise today because he[h] has given David a wise son to rule over this great nation.” 8 Hiram then sent this message to Solomon: “I received[i] the message you sent to me. I will give you all the cedars and evergreens you need.[j] 9 My servants will bring the timber down from Lebanon to the sea. I will send it by sea in raft-like bundles to the place you designate.[k] There I will separate the logs[l] and you can carry them away. In exchange you will supply the food I need for my royal court.”[m]
10 So Hiram supplied the cedars and evergreens Solomon needed,[n] 11 and Solomon supplied Hiram annually with 20,000 cors [o] of wheat as provision for his royal court,[p] as well as 120,000 gallons[q] of pure[r] olive oil.[s] 12 So the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as he had promised him. And Hiram and Solomon were at peace and made a treaty.[t]
13 King Solomon conscripted[u] work crews[v] from throughout Israel, 30,000 men in all. 14 He sent them to Lebanon in shifts of 10,000 men per month. They worked in Lebanon for one month, and then spent two months at home. Adoniram was supervisor of[w] the work crews. 15 Solomon also had 70,000 common laborers[x] and 80,000 stonecutters[y] in the hills, 16 besides 3,300 officials[z] who supervised the workers.[aa] 17 By royal order[ab] they supplied large valuable stones in order to build the temple’s foundation with chiseled stone. 18 Solomon’s and Hiram’s construction workers,[ac] along with men from Byblos,[ad] did the chiseling and prepared the wood and stones for the building of the temple.[ae]
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 5:1 sn The verse numbers in the English Bible differ from those in the Hebrew text (BHS) here; 5:1-18 in the English Bible corresponds to 5:15-32 in the Hebrew text. See the note at 4:21.
- 1 Kings 5:1 tn Heb “his servants.”
- 1 Kings 5:3 tn Heb “a house for the name of the Lord.” The word “name” sometimes refers to one’s reputation or honor. The “name” of the Lord sometimes designates the Lord himself, being indistinguishable from the proper name.
- 1 Kings 5:3 tn Heb “because of the battles which surrounded him until the Lord placed them under the soles of his feet.”
- 1 Kings 5:5 tn Heb “Look, I am saying.”
- 1 Kings 5:5 tn Heb “a house for the name of the Lord.” The word “name” sometimes refers to one’s reputation or honor. The “name” of the Lord sometimes designates the Lord himself, being indistinguishable from the proper name.
- 1 Kings 5:5 tn Heb “a house for my name.”
- 1 Kings 5:7 tn Or “Blessed be the Lord today, who….”
- 1 Kings 5:8 tn Heb “heard.”
- 1 Kings 5:8 tn Heb “I will satisfy all your desire with respect to cedar wood and with respect to the wood of evergreens.”
- 1 Kings 5:9 tn Heb “I will place them [on? as?] rafts in the sea to the place where you designate to me.” This may mean he would send them by raft, or that he would tie them in raft-like bundles, and have ships tow them down to an Israelite port.
- 1 Kings 5:9 tn Heb “smash them,” i.e., untie the bundles.
- 1 Kings 5:9 tn Heb “as for you, you will satisfy my desire by giving food for my house.”
- 1 Kings 5:10 tn Heb “and Hiram gave to Solomon cedar wood and the wood of evergreens, all his desire.”
- 1 Kings 5:11 sn As a unit of dry measure a cor was roughly equivalent to six bushels.
- 1 Kings 5:11 tn Heb “his house.”
- 1 Kings 5:11 tc The Hebrew text has “twenty cors,” but the ancient Greek version and the parallel text in 2 Chr 2:10 read “20,000 baths.” sn A bath was a liquid measure roughly equivalent to six gallons (about 22 liters), so this was a quantity of about 120,000 gallons (440,000 liters).
- 1 Kings 5:11 tn Or “pressed.”
- 1 Kings 5:11 tn Heb “and Solomon supplied Hiram with 20,000 cors of wheat…pure olive oil. So Solomon would give to Hiram year by year.”
- 1 Kings 5:12 tn Heb “a covenant,” referring to a formal peace treaty or alliance.
- 1 Kings 5:13 tn Heb “raised up.”
- 1 Kings 5:13 sn Work crews. This Hebrew word (מַס, mas) refers to a group of laborers conscripted for royal or public service.
- 1 Kings 5:14 tn Heb “was over.”
- 1 Kings 5:15 tn Heb “carriers of loads.”
- 1 Kings 5:15 tn Heb “cutters” (probably of stones).
- 1 Kings 5:16 tc Some Greek mss of the OT read “3,600”; cf. 2 Chr 2:2, 18 and NLT.
- 1 Kings 5:16 tn Heb “besides thirty-three hundred from the officials of Solomon’s governors who were over the work, the ones ruling over the people, the ones doing the work.”
- 1 Kings 5:17 tn Heb “and the king commanded.”
- 1 Kings 5:18 tn Heb “builders.”
- 1 Kings 5:18 tn Heb “the Gebalites.” The reading is problematic and some emend to a verb form meaning, “set the borders.”
- 1 Kings 5:18 tc The LXX includes the words “for three years.”
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