Yahweh’s House Will Be Great

2 ^[a](A)Then Solomon ^[b]decided to build a house for the name of Yahweh and a ^[c]royal palace for himself. ^2 [d]So ^(B)Solomon numbered 70,000 men to carry loads and 80,000 men to hew stone in the mountains and 3,600 to direct them.

^3 (C)Then Solomon sent word to ^[e]Huram the king of Tyre, saying, “^(D)As you dealt with David my father and sent him cedars to build him a house to live in, so do for me. ⁴ Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of Yahweh my God, setting it apart to Him as holy, ^(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 and on new moons and on the appointed feasts of Yahweh our God, this being required forever in Israel. ⁵ Now the house which I am about to build will be great, for ^(I)greater is our God than all the gods. ⁶ But ^(J)who is able to build a house for Him, for the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain Him? So who am I, that I should build a house for Him, except to ^[f]burn incense before Him? ⁷ So now, ^(K)send me a wise man to work in gold, silver, brass, and iron, and in purple, crimson, and blue fabrics, and who knows how to make engravings, to work with the wise men ^[g](L)whom I have in Judah and Jerusalem, whom David my father prepared. ^8 (M)Send me also cedar, cypress and algum timber from Lebanon, for I know that your servants know how to cut timber of Lebanon; and behold, ^(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 And behold, ^(O)I will give to your servants, the woodsmen who cut the timber, ^[h]20,000 kors of crushed wheat and 20,000 kors of barley, and ^[i]20,000 baths of wine and 20,000 baths of oil.”