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2 Chronicles 2
Christian Standard Bible

Solomon’s Letter to Hiram

2 Solomon decided to build a temple for the name of the Lord and a royal palace for himself,(A) 2 so he assigned 70,000 men as porters, 80,000 men as stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 as supervisors over them.(B)

3 Then Solomon sent word to King Hiram[a](C) of Tyre:(D)

Do for me what you did for my father David. You sent him cedars to build him a house to live in.(E) 4 Now I am building a temple for the name of the Lord my God in order to dedicate it to him for burning fragrant incense before him,(F) for displaying the rows of the Bread of the Presence continuously,(G) and for sacrificing burnt offerings for the morning and the evening,(H) the Sabbaths(I) and the New Moons, and the appointed festivals of the Lord our God. This is ordained for Israel permanently. 5 The temple that I am building will be great, for our God is greater than any of the gods.(J) 6 But who is able to build a temple for him, since even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain him?(K) Who am I then that I should build a temple for him except as a place to burn incense before him? 7 Therefore, send me an artisan who is skilled in engraving to work with gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and with purple, crimson, and blue yarn. He will work with the artisans who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem,(L) appointed by my father David.(M) 8 Also, send me cedar, cypress, and algum[b](N) logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants know how to cut the trees of Lebanon. Note that my servants will be with your servants(O) 9 to prepare logs for me in abundance because the temple I am building will be great and wondrous. 10 I will give your servants, the woodcutters who cut the trees, one hundred twenty thousand bushels[c] of wheat flour, one hundred twenty thousand bushels of barley, one hundred twenty thousand gallons[d] of wine, and one hundred twenty thousand gallons of oil.

Hiram’s Reply

11 Then King Hiram of Tyre wrote a letter[e] and sent it to Solomon:

Because the Lord loves his people, he set you over them as king.(P)

12 Hiram also said:

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who made the heavens and the earth!(Q) He gave King David a wise son with insight and understanding,(R) who will build a temple for the Lord and a royal palace for himself.(S) 13 I have now sent Huram-abi,[f] a skillful man who has understanding.(T) 14 He is the son of a woman from the daughters of Dan. His father is a man of Tyre. He knows how to work with gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, with purple, blue, crimson yarn, and fine linen. He knows how to do all kinds of engraving and to execute any design that may be given him. I have sent him to be with your artisans and the artisans of my lord, your father David. 15 Now, let my lord send the wheat, barley, oil, and wine to his servants as promised.(U) 16 We will cut logs from Lebanon, as many as you need, and bring them to you as rafts by sea to Joppa. You can then take them up to Jerusalem.(V)

Solomon’s Workforce

17 Solomon took a census of all the resident alien men in the land of Israel, after the census that his father David had conducted,(W) and the total was 153,600. 18 Solomon made 70,000 of them porters, 80,000 stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 supervisors to make the people work.(X)

Footnotes

  1. 2:3 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr, Vg; other Hb mss read Huram; 2Sm 5:11; 1Kg 5:1–2
  2. 2:8 = almug in 1Kg 10:11–12
  3. 2:10 Lit 20,000 cors
  4. 2:10 Lit 20,000 baths
  5. 2:11 Lit Tyre said in writing
  6. 2:13 Lit Huram my father
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2 Chronicles 2
New American Standard Bible

Solomon Will Build a Temple and a Palace

2 [a](A)Now Solomon [b]decided to build a house for the name of the Lord, and a [c]royal palace for himself. 2 [d]So (B)Solomon [e]assigned seventy thousand men to carry loads, eighty thousand men to quarry stone in the mountains, and 3,600 to supervise them.

3 (C)Then Solomon sent word to [f]Huram the king of Tyre, saying, “(D)As you dealt with my father David and sent him cedars to build him a house to live in, do it for me. 4 Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, dedicating it to Him, (E)to burn fragrant incense before Him and to set out (F)the showbread continually, and to offer (G)burnt offerings morning and evening, (H)on Sabbaths, on new moons, and on the appointed feasts of the Lord our God. This is to be done in Israel forever. 5 The house which I am about to build will be great, for our God is (I)greater than all the gods. 6 But (J)who is able to build a house for Him, since the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain Him? And who am I, that I should build a house for Him, except to [g]burn incense before Him? 7 Now (K)send me a skilled man to work in gold, silver, brass, iron, and in purple, crimson, and violet fabrics, one who knows how to make engravings, to work with the skilled workers [h](L)whom I have in Judah and Jerusalem, whom my father David provided. 8 (M)Send me also cedar, juniper, and algum timber from Lebanon, for I know that your servants know how to cut timber of Lebanon; and indeed (N)my servants will work with your servants, 9 to prepare timber in abundance for me, for the house which I am about to build will be great and wonderful. 10 Now behold, (O)I will give your servants, the woodsmen who cut the timber, [i]twenty thousand kors of crushed wheat, twenty thousand kors of barley, [j]twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.”

Huram to Assist

11 Then Huram, king of Tyre, [k]answered in a letter sent to Solomon: “(P)Because the Lord loves His people, He has made you king over them.” 12 Then Huram [l]continued, “Blessed be (Q)the Lord, the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, who has given King David a wise son, [m]endowed with discretion and understanding, (R)who will build a house for the Lord and a [n]royal palace for himself.

13 “Now then, I am sending Huram-abi, a skilled man, [o]endowed with understanding, 14 (S)the son of a [p]Danite woman and [q]a Tyrian father, who knows how to work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, and in purple, violet, linen, and crimson fabrics, and who knows how to make all kinds of engravings and to [r]execute any design which is assigned to him, to work with your skilled workers and with [s]those of my lord, your father David. 15 Now then, let my lord send his servants wheat and barley, oil and wine, of (T)which he has spoken. 16 (U)We will cut whatever timber you need from Lebanon and bring it to you as rafts by sea to Joppa, so that you may carry it up to Jerusalem.”

17 Solomon counted all the foreigners who were in the land of Israel, (V)following the [t]census which his father David had [u]taken; and 153,600 were found. 18 (W)He appointed seventy thousand of them to carry loads and eighty thousand to quarry stones in the mountains, and 3,600 supervisors to make the people work.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 2:1 Ch 1:18 in Heb
  2. 2 Chronicles 2:1 Lit said
  3. 2 Chronicles 2:1 Lit house for his royalty
  4. 2 Chronicles 2:2 Ch 2:1 in Heb
  5. 2 Chronicles 2:2 Lit counted
  6. 2 Chronicles 2:3 In 1 Kin 5:18, Hiram
  7. 2 Chronicles 2:6 Lit offer up in smoke
  8. 2 Chronicles 2:7 Lit who are with me
  9. 2 Chronicles 2:10 About 154,000 cubic feet or 4,360 cubic meters
  10. 2 Chronicles 2:10 About 120,000 gallons or 454,249 liters
  11. 2 Chronicles 2:11 Lit said...and he sent
  12. 2 Chronicles 2:12 Lit said
  13. 2 Chronicles 2:12 Lit knowing discretion
  14. 2 Chronicles 2:12 Lit house for his royalty
  15. 2 Chronicles 2:13 Lit knowing understanding
  16. 2 Chronicles 2:14 Lit a woman of the daughters of Dan
  17. 2 Chronicles 2:14 Lit whose father is a Tyrian man
  18. 2 Chronicles 2:14 Lit devise any device
  19. 2 Chronicles 2:14 Lit skilled men
  20. 2 Chronicles 2:17 Lit numbering
  21. 2 Chronicles 2:17 Lit numbered of them
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