2 Chronicles 2:11-18

Expanded Bible

¹¹ Then ·Hiram [or Huram; v. 3] king of Tyre answered Solomon with this letter: “Solomon, because the Lord loves his people, he ·chose [made] you to be their king.” ¹² ·Hiram [or Huram; v. 3] also said: “·Praise [Blessed be] the Lord, the God of Israel, who made ·heaven [the sky] and earth! He has given King David a wise son, ·one [endowed; gifted] with ·wisdom [discernment; intelligence; discretion] and ·understanding [insight], who will build a ·temple [^Lhouse] for the Lord and a ·palace [^Lhouse] for himself.

¹³ “I will send you a skilled and ·wise [talented; capable] man named Huram-Abi. ¹⁴ His mother was from the people of Dan, and his father was from Tyre. Huram-Abi is ·skilled [trained; knowledgeable] in working with gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, and with purple, ·blue [violet], and ·red thread [crimson cloth/yarn], and ·expensive [fine] linen. He is skilled in making engravings and can ·make [execute] any design ·you show [given to] him. He will help your ·craftsmen [artisans] and the craftsmen of your father David.

¹⁵ “Now my lord send ·my [^Lto his] servants the wheat, barley, oil, and wine you ·promised [spoke of]. ¹⁶ We will cut as much wood from Lebanon as you need and will bring it on rafts by sea to Joppa. Then you may ·carry [haul; transport] it to Jerusalem.”

¹⁷ Solomon ·counted [numbered; took a census of] all the foreigners living in Israel. (This was after the time his father David had counted the people [2 Sam. 24; 1 Chr. 21].) There were one hundred fifty-three thousand six hundred foreigners. ¹⁸ Solomon ·chose [assigned; conscripted] seventy thousand of them ·to carry loads [as common laborers], eighty thousand of them to ·cut [quarry] stone in the mountains, and thirty-six hundred of them to ·direct [supervise; oversee] the workers and to keep the people working.