Solomon’s Letter to Hiram

[a]Solomon decided to build a temple for the name of Yahweh and a royal palace for himself,(A) [b]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[c](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 Yahweh 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 forever. 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 a craftsman 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 craftsmen who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem,(L) appointed by my father David.(M) Also, send me cedar, cypress, and algum[d](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 wonderful. 10 I will give your servants, the woodcutters who cut the trees, 100,000 bushels[e] of wheat flour, 100,000 bushels[f] of barley, 110,000 gallons[g] of wine, and 110,000 gallons[h] of oil.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 2:1 2Ch 1:18 in Hb
  2. 2 Chronicles 2:2 2Ch 2:1 in Hb
  3. 2 Chronicles 2:3 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr, Vg; other Hb mss read Huram; 2Sm 5:11; 1Kg 5:1-2
  4. 2 Chronicles 2:8 = almug in 1Kg 10:11-12
  5. 2 Chronicles 2:10 Lit 20,000 cors
  6. 2 Chronicles 2:10 Lit 20,000 cors
  7. 2 Chronicles 2:10 Lit 20,000 baths
  8. 2 Chronicles 2:10 Lit 20,000 baths

Solomon Petitions the King of Tyre

[a] And Solomon planned to build a house for the name of Yahweh and a royal palace for himself.[b] And Solomon assigned seventy thousand men to bear burdens[c] and eighty thousand quarriers[d] in the hill country, and three thousand six hundred men to supervise them. And Solomon sent word to Huram[e] king of Tyre, saying, “As you have dealt with David my father and sent cedar to him to build for himself a house in which to live, please deal with me. Look, I am building a house for the name of Yahweh my God to dedicate to him, to offer sweet spices of incense before him, and for the regular rows of bread, and burnt offerings for mornings, evenings, Sabbaths, and new moon festivals, and for appointed feasts of Yahweh our God which are everlasting for Israel. And the house that I am building will be great, for our God is greater than all gods. Now who indeed has adequate strength to build a house for him? For the heavens and the highest heavens[f] are not able to contain him. Now who am I that I would build a house for him, except to burn incense before him? So then, send to me skilled men to work with gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and with purple, crimson, and blue fabric, knowledgeable in engraving, with the skilled men who are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father has established. Send me trees of cedar, cypress, and algum from Lebanon, for I myself know that your servants are knowledgeable in cutting the trees of Lebanon. Now see, my servants will be with your servants to prepare trees in abundance for me, for the house that I am building will be great and wonderful. 10 Now see, I will provide twenty thousand dry measures of crushed wheat, twenty thousand dry measures of barley, twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil to the woodcarvers and those who cut timber.”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 2:1 2 Chronicles 2:1–18 in the English Bible is 1:18–2:17 in the Hebrew Bible
  2. 2 Chronicles 2:1 Literally “house for his kingdom”
  3. 2 Chronicles 2:2 Literally “carriers”
  4. 2 Chronicles 2:2 Literally “stone craftsmen”
  5. 2 Chronicles 2:3 This is the spelling in Hebrew, though many translations have “Hiram”
  6. 2 Chronicles 2:6 Literally “the heavens of the heavens”