Solomon’s Letter to Hiram

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

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) 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. The temple that I am building will be great, for our God is greater than any of the gods.(J) 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? 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) 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) 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.

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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

Solomon prepares to build the temple

[a] Solomon gave orders to build a temple for the Lord’s name and to build a royal palace for himself. [b] To work in the highlands, Solomon drafted 70,000 laborers, 80,000 stonecutters, and 3,600 supervisors. Solomon sent the following message to King Huram[c] of Tyre:

When my father David was building his palace, you sent him cedar logs. Now as his son[d] I am about to build a temple in the name of the Lord my God. I will dedicate it to him to burn fragrant incense before him, to set out the bread that is regularly displayed, and to offer entirely burned offerings every morning and evening, on the sabbaths, the first of every month, and the festivals of the Lord our God, as Israel has been commanded to do forever. The temple I am about to build must be magnificent, because our God is greater than all other gods. But who is able to build such a temple when even the highest heaven can’t contain God? And who am I that I should build this temple for God, except as a place to burn incense in his presence? So now send me a craftsman skilled in gold, silver, bronze, and iron, as well as in purple, crimson, and violet yarn—someone also experienced as an engraver. He will work with my craftsmen in Judah and Jerusalem who were provided by my father David. Also send me cedar, cypress, and sandalwood logs from Lebanon. I know your servants know how to cut Lebanese timber, so my servants will work with your servants to prepare plenty of timber for me, because the temple that I am about to build will be magnificent and amazing. 10 I will pay the woodcutters twenty thousand kors[e] of crushed wheat, twenty thousand kors of barley, twenty thousand baths[f] of wine, and twenty thousand baths of olive oil.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 2:1 1:18 in Heb
  2. 2 Chronicles 2:2 2:1 in Heb
  3. 2 Chronicles 2:3 1 Kings spells the king's name as Hiram.
  4. 2 Chronicles 2:4 LXX; MT lacks his son.
  5. 2 Chronicles 2:10 One kor is equivalent to a homer and is possibly equal to fifty gallons of grain.
  6. 2 Chronicles 2:10 One bath is approximately twenty quarts or five gallons.