¹¹ King Huram^[a] of Tyre sent this letter to Solomon: “Because the Lord loves his people, he has made you their king.” ¹² Huram also said, “Worthy of praise is the Lord God of Israel, who made the sky and the earth! He has given King David a wise son who has discernment and insight and will build a temple for the Lord, as well as a royal palace for himself.^{[b] 13} Now I am sending you Huram Abi,^[c] a skilled and capable man, ¹⁴ whose mother is a Danite and whose father is a Tyrian.^[d] He knows how to work with gold, silver, bronze, iron, stones, and wood, as well as purple, blue, white, and crimson fabrics. He knows how to do all kinds of engraving and understands any design given to him. He will work with your skilled craftsmen and the skilled craftsmen of my lord David your father. ¹⁵ Now let my lord send to his servants the wheat, barley, olive oil, and wine he has promised; ¹⁶ we will get all the timber you need from Lebanon^[e] and bring it^[f] in raft-like bundles^[g] by sea to Joppa. You can then haul it on up to Jerusalem.”

¹⁷ Solomon took a census of^[h] all the male resident foreigners^[i] in the land of Israel, after the census his father David had taken. There were 153,600 in all. ¹⁸ He designated^[j] 70,000 as common laborers,^[k] 80,000 as stonecutters^[l] in the hills, and 3,600 as supervisors to make sure the people completed the work.^[m]