2 Chronicles 2
The Voice
2 Having amassed his wealth, Solomon fulfilled God’s prediction that David’s son would build His house. Solomon decided to build a house honoring the reputation of the Eternal, a temple, and a house for himself, a palace. 2 First Solomon procured the stone: 80,000 men would quarry it in the mountains, 70,000 men would carry it, and 3,600 men would supervise them. 3 Then Solomon wrote to Huram, king of Tyre, asking for cedar.
Solomon: I come to ask for your fine cedarwood, just as my father David did so he could build his royal palace. Please do the same for me.
4 I am preparing to build a temple honoring the reputation of the Eternal One my God. It will be dedicated to Him and will be the site of our religious practices. There we will perform all the duties He perpetually requires of Israel: burning fragrant incense before Him, preparing the unleavened bread continually, and giving burnt offerings each morning and evening, on Sabbaths, new moons, and appointed feasts of the Eternal One our God. 5 This temple must be great because our True God is more powerful than all the other gods. 6 Though no one can build a house for Him because He inhabits the heavens and beyond, I am humbly building a place where we can encounter Him and burn incense before Him.
This temple on the elevated area overlooking the city of Jerusalem is truly remarkable. Moving from the outer court area, one observes a massive 15 by 30 foot altar to ritually sacrifice clean land animals and a huge “sea” or wash container 7½ by 15 feet to ceremonially wash the priests before they enter the next two areas: the holy place and the most holy place.
Moving into the actual temple structure is similar to being transported into the heavens. One passes between two larger-than-life tree-like columns and then into a brilliant golden room decorated with trees, pomegranates, winged creatures, and jewels. Upon entering the holy place during the eastern sunrise, one would be blinded as though looking into the sun. Then as the worshiper ascends the stairs, the most holy place has two enormous winged creatures flanking the Eternal’s temple footstool, the covenant chest. This room images the very heavenly throne room. To visualize and enter Solomon’s temple is to visualize and enter the heavens.
7 To this end, send me a man who can work gold, silver, brass, and iron; sew with purple, crimson, and violet fabrics; and engrave. Your servant will aid the skilled men whom David, my father, provided for me in Judah and Jerusalem. 8 Send me cedar, cypress, and algum timber from Lebanon, for I know your servants can skillfully cut timber from Lebanon; My servants will work with your servants 9 to prepare an abundance of timber for me to use in the temple, which will be great and wonderful. 10 I will pay your servants, the carpenters, 125,000 bushels of crushed wheat, 125,000 bushels of barley, 116,000 gallons of wine, and 116,000 gallons of oil.
Huram (in a letter answering Solomon): 11 Because the Eternal loves His people, He has made you their king. 12 The Eternal One, the God of Israel, creator of heaven and earth, is to be praised for giving King David such a wise son, endowed with discretion and understanding, who will build houses for both the Eternal and for himself.
13-14 I am sending Huram-abi, a discerning man skilled in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood; in purple, violet, and crimson linen and other fabrics; in engravings; and in executing any design. He is the son of an Israelite woman (from the tribe of Dan) and a Tyrian father, so he will work well with your skilled men and with those of my lord David, your father. 15-16 In addition to sending workers, we will cut the timber you need from Lebanon and float it down the coast to Joppa, so that you then may transport it up to Jerusalem. When the men and supplies arrive at Joppa, please send your servants, my countrymen, the wheat, barley, oil, and wine you have promised them.
17 In preparation for the building projects, Solomon ordered a census to count only the foreigners residing in Israel. This census differed from his father’s census, which counted everyone in the nation. There were 153,600 foreigners living in Israel: 18 80,000 men would quarry stone in the mountains, 70,000 men would carry it, and 3,600[a] men would supervise their work.
Footnotes
- 2:18 1 Kings 5:16 “3,300”
2 Chronicles 2
Tree of Life Version
2 Solomon recruited 70,000 men as carriers, 80,000 as stonecutters in the mountains and 3,600 supervisors over them.
2 Then Solomon sent word to Huram the king of Tyre saying, “Deal with me as you did with my father David when you sent him cedars to build a house to dwell in. 3 Behold, I am about to build a House for the Name of Adonai my God and to dedicate it to Him for burning fragrant incense before Him, for regular arrangement of the Bread of the Presence and for burnt offerings every morning and evening as well as on Shabbatot, New Moons and moadim of Adonai Eloheinu. Upon Israel this is forever.
4 “The House that I am about to build will be great, because our God is greater than all the gods. 5 But who is able to build Him a House, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain Him? Who then am I that I should build Him a House—except to burn incense before Him?
6 “So now, send me a man skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, and in purple, crimson and blue yarn, and experienced in engraving, to work in Judah and Jerusalem with the skilled men who are with me, whom my father David provided. 7 Send me also cedar, evergreen and algum logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants are skilled in cutting timber in Lebanon. Indeed my servants will work with yours 8 to prepare an abundance of timber for me, because the House that I am about to build will be large and magnificent. 9 Now, behold, I will give to your servants, the woodsmen who cut the timber, 20,000 measures[a] of ground wheat, 20,000 measures of barley, 20,000 vats of wine and 20,000 vats[b] of oil.”
10 Then King Huram of Tyre, replied in a letter that he sent to Solomon, “Because Adonai loves His people, He has made you king over them.” 11 Then Huram continued, “Blessed be Adonai, the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth. He gave King David a wise son, endowed with insight and understanding, who will build a House for Adonai and a royal house for himself. 12 So now I am sending Huram-abi—a skilled man endowed with understanding 13 who is the son of a woman from the daughters of Dan and whose father was a man from Tyre—a man skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, in purple and blue, fine linen and crimson, and to engrave all kinds of engraving, and who can execute any design given to him. He will work with your skilled men and with the skilled men of my lord David your father. 14 Now let my lord send to his servants the wheat and barley, the oil and wine he has promised 15 and we will cut as many logs from Lebanon as much as you need, and float them in rafts by sea to Jaffa. You can then take them up to Jerusalem.”
16 Solomon counted all the foreign men in the land of Israel, like the census that his father David had taken, and 153,600 were found. 17 He appointed 70,000 of them to carry loads, 80,000 to quarry stones in the mountains, and 3,600 overseers to supervise the people working.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 2:9 A kor was about 10 bushels.
- 2 Chronicles 2:9 A vat was a little over 5 gallons.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.