1 Kings 5

Modern

Literal

Preparations for the Temple

¹Now when Hiram king of Tyre heard that Solomon had been anointed king in his father’s place, he sent envoys to Solomon; for Hiram had always been a friend of David.

¹And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, because he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram was loving of David all the days.

²And Solomon relayed this message to Hiram:

²And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying,

³“As you are well aware, due to the wars waged on all sides against my father David, he could not build a house for the Name of the LORD his God until the LORD had put his enemies under his feet.

³“You know David my father, how he could not build a house for the name of YHWH his God because of the wars that surrounded him, until YHWH put them under the soles of his feet.

⁴But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or crisis.

⁴And YHWH my God has given rest to me on every side; there is no adversary and no evil occurrence.

⁵So behold, I plan to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God, according to what the LORD said to my father David: ‘I will put your son on your throne in your place, and he will build the house for My Name.’

⁵And behold, I propose to build a house for the name of YHWH my God, as YHWH spoke to David my father, saying, ‘Your son, whom I will set in your place on your throne, he will build the house for My Name.’

⁶Now therefore, order that cedars of Lebanon be cut down for me. My servants will be with your servants, and I will pay your servants whatever wages you set, for you know that there are none among us as skilled in logging as the Sidonians.”

⁶And now command that they cut down for me cedars from Lebanon. And my servants will be with your servants, and for your servants I will pay wages to you according to whatever you say, for you know that there is none among us who has skill to cut trees like the Sidonians.”

Hiram’s Reply to Solomon

⁷When Hiram received Solomon’s message, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the LORD this day! He has given David a wise son over this great people!”

⁷And it came to pass that Hiram heard the words of Solomon, and he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be YHWH this day, for He has given to David a wise son over this great people.”

⁸Then Hiram sent a reply to Solomon, saying:

“I have received your message; I will do all you desire regarding the cedar and cypress^a timber.

⁸And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, “I have considered that which you have sent to me, and I will do all you desire with the trees of cedar and with the trees of cypress.

⁹My servants will haul the logs from Lebanon to the Sea,^a and I will float them as rafts by sea to the place you specify. There I will separate the logs, and you can take them away. And in exchange, you can meet my needs by providing my household with food.”

⁹My servants will bring them down from Lebanon to the Sea, and I will float them in rafts by the sea to the place that you indicate to me, and I will break them up there. And you shall lift them and you shall fulfill my desire by giving food for my house.”

¹⁰So Hiram provided Solomon with all the cedar and cypress timber he wanted,

¹⁰And Hiram gave to Solomon trees of cedar and trees of cypress, all of his desire.

¹¹and year after year Solomon would provide Hiram with 20,000 cors of wheat^a as food for his household, as well as 20,000 baths of pure olive oil.^b

¹¹And Solomon gave to Hiram twenty thousand cors of wheat as food for his house, and twenty thousand baths of pressed oil. Thus Solomon gave to Hiram year by year.

¹²And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as He had promised him. There was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.^a

¹²And YHWH gave wisdom to Solomon as He had promised to him, and there was peace between Hiram and between Solomon, and the two of them cut a covenant.

Solomon’s Labor Force

¹³Then King Solomon conscripted a labor force of 30,000 men from all Israel.

¹³And King Solomon raised up a forced labor out of all Israel, and the forced labor was thirty thousand men.

¹⁴He sent them to Lebanon in monthly shifts of 10,000 men, so that they would spend one month in Lebanon and two months at home. And Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor.

¹⁴And he sent them to Lebanon ten thousand by the month in shifts. One month they were in Lebanon, and two months in his house. And Adoniram was over the forced labor.

¹⁵Solomon had 70,000 porters and 80,000 stonecutters in the mountains,

¹⁵And Solomon had seventy thousand who lift a burden and eighty thousand who hew in the hill country,

¹⁶not including his 3,300 foremen^a who supervised the workers.

¹⁶besides the chiefs of the deputies of Solomon that are over the work, three thousand and three hundred were those ruling over the people who were doing the work.

¹⁷And the king commanded them to quarry large, costly stones to lay the foundation of the temple with dressed stones.

¹⁷And the king commanded them, and they brought large stones, costly stones, to lay the foundation of the temple, and hewn stones.

¹⁸So Solomon’s and Hiram’s builders, along with the Gebalites, quarried the stone and prepared the timber and stone for the construction of the temple.

¹⁸And the builders of Solomon, and the builders of Hiram, and the Gebalites hewed, and they prepared the trees and stones to build the house.