1 Kings 5
Christian Standard Bible
Hiram’s Building Materials
5 King Hiram of Tyre(A) sent his emissaries 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 the Lord 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 on every side; there is no enemy or misfortune.(E) 5 So I plan to build a temple for the name of the Lord 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 rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the Lord 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 one hundred twenty thousand bushels[a] of wheat as food for his household and one hundred twenty thousand gallons[b] 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 Workforce
13 Then King Solomon drafted forced laborers from all Israel;(N) the labor force numbered thirty thousand men. 14 He sent ten thousand 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 seventy thousand porters and eighty thousand stonecutters in the mountains,(O) 16 not including his thirty-three hundred[c] deputies(P) in charge of the work. They supervised 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.
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1 Kings 5
International Standard Version
Preparations to Build the Temple(A)
5 [a]King Hiram of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he learned that Solomon[b] had been anointed king to replace his father, because Hiram had been David’s lifelong friend.[c] 2 Solomon sent this message to Hiram:
3 “You know that my father David was unable to build a temple dedicated to[d] the Lord his God because he was busy fighting wars all around him until the Lord defeated his enemies. 4 But now the Lord has given me rest all around, since I have neither foreign adversaries nor domestic crises. 5 So now I’m planning to build a temple dedicated to[e] the Lord my God, just as the Lord told my father when he said, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne to replace you, will build the Temple dedicated to me.’[f] 6 Now therefore please order that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me. My servants will work with your servants, and I will pay your servants whatever wages you set, because you know there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians do.”
7 As soon as Hiram received the message from Solomon, he became so ecstatic that he exclaimed, “Blessed be the Lord today, who has given David a wise son to rule this great people!” Then he sent this message to Solomon:
8 “I have read the letter that you sent me. I’ll do what you’ve asked about the cedar and cypress timber. 9 My servants will transport them from Lebanon to the sea, where we’ll make them into rafts and float them by sea to the port that you tell me to send them. We’ll have them prepared for transport there and then you can carry them from there. You can meet my needs by providing provisions for my household.”
10 That’s how Hiram came to provide Solomon as much cedar and cypress timber as he needed. 11 In return, Solomon paid Hiram 20,000 kors of wheat as food for his household, and 20 kors of beaten oil. Solomon provided this amount every year during the construction.[g]
12 The Lord continued giving Solomon wisdom, just as he had promised, and Hiram and Solomon entered into a peace treaty between themselves.
Conscripted Labor for the Building Program
13 King Solomon conscripted laborers from throughout Israel. The work force numbered 30,000 men. 14 He sent 10,000 men to Lebanon in shifts lasting one month. They worked one month in Lebanon for every two months they worked at home. Adoniram was placed in charge of the conscripted labor. 15 Solomon also employed 70,000 heavy-lift workers and 80,000 stonecutters in the hill country. 16 Solomon also employed 3,300 officials to supervise the work and to manage the people employed in the construction. 17 The king specified that large, expensive stones be quarried so the foundation of the Temple could be laid with cut stones. 18 As a result, Solomon’s builders worked with Hiram’s builders, accompanied by the Gebalites, to quarry the stone and to prepare the timber and other[h] stone for the Temple’s construction.
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- 1 Kings 5:1 This v. is 4:15 in MT, 5:2 is 4:16, and so on through 5:18, which is 4:32 in MT
- 1 Kings 5:1 Lit. he
- 1 Kings 5:1 Lit. David’s friend all his days
- 1 Kings 5:3 Lit. temple to the name of
- 1 Kings 5:5 Lit. temple to the name of
- 1 Kings 5:5 Lit. to my name
- 1 Kings 5:11 The Heb. lacks during the construction
- 1 Kings 5:18 The Heb. lacks other
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