The Second Book of the Chronicles

⭑ Berean Study Bible :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 2 -

(1 Kings 5:1–6)

Now Solomon purposed to build a house for the Name of the LORD and a royal palace for himself.

So he conscripted 70,000 porters, 80,000 stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 supervisors.

Then Solomon sent word to Hiram (a) king of Tyre: “Do for me as you did for my father David when you sent him cedars to build himself a house to live in.

Behold, I am about to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God to dedicate to Him for burning fragrant incense before Him, for displaying the showbread continuously, and for making burnt offerings every morning and evening as well as on the Sabbaths, New Moons, and appointed feasts of the LORD our God. This is ordained for Israel forever.

The house that I am building will be great, for our God is greater than all gods.

But who is able to build a house for Him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain Him? Who then am I, that I should build a house for Him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before Him?

Send me, therefore, a craftsman skilled in engraving to work with gold and silver, with bronze and iron, and with purple, crimson, and blue yarn. He will work with my craftsmen in Judah and Jerusalem, whom my father David provided.

Send me also cedar, cypress,(b) and algum (c) logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants have skill to cut timber there. And indeed, my servants will work with yours

to prepare for me timber in abundance, because the temple I am building will be great and wonderful.

I will pay your servants, the woodcutters, 20,000 cors of ground wheat,(d) 20,000 cors of barley,(e) 20,000 baths of wine,(f) and 20,000 baths of olive oil.(g)”

Hiram’s Reply to Solomon

(1 Kings 5:7–12)

Then Hiram king of Tyre wrote a letter in reply to Solomon: “Because the LORD loves His people, He has set you over them as king.”

And Hiram added: “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who made the heavens and the earth! He has given King David a wise son with insight and understanding, who will build a temple for the LORD and a royal palace for himself.

So now I am sending you Huram-abi, a skillful man endowed with creativity.(h)

He is the son of a woman from the daughters of Dan, and his father is a man of Tyre. He is skilled in work with gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, purple, blue, and crimson yarn, and fine linen. He is experienced in every kind of engraving and can execute any design that is given him. He will work with your craftsmen and with those of my lord, your father David.

Now let my lord send to his servants the wheat, barley, olive oil, and wine he promised.

We will cut logs from Lebanon, as many as you need, and we will float them to you as rafts by sea down to Joppa. Then you can take them up to Jerusalem.”

Solomon numbered all the foreign men in the land of Israel following the census his father David had conducted, and there were found to be 153,600 in all.

Solomon made 70,000 of them porters, 80,000 stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 supervisors.

Footnotes

(a)2:3 Hebrew Huram, a variant of Hiram; also in verses 11 and 12

(b)2:8 Or pine or juniper or fir

(d)2:10 20,000 cors is approximately 124,800 bushels or 4.4 million liters (probably about 3,800 tons or 3,400 metric tons of wheat).

(e)2:10 20,000 cors is approximately 124,800 bushels or 4.4 million liters (probably about 2,910 tons or 2,700 metric tons of barley).

(f)2:10 20,000 baths is approximately 116,000 gallons or 440,000 liters of wine.

(g)2:10 Or 20,000 baths of oil; that is, approximately 116,000 gallons or 440,000 liters

(h)2:13 Or understanding

(1 Kings 5:1–6)

Now Solomon decided to build a house for the LORD’s name, and a house for his kingdom.

Solomon counted out seventy thousand men to bear burdens, eighty thousand men who were stone cutters in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred to oversee them.

Solomon sent to Huram the king of Tyre, saying, “As you dealt with David my father, and sent him cedars to build him a house in which to dwell, so deal with me.

Behold,(a) I am about to build a house for the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it to him, to burn before him incense of sweet spices, for the continual show bread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the Sabbaths, on the new moons, and on the set feasts of the LORD our God. This is an ordinance forever to Israel.

“The house which I am building will be great, for our God is greater than all gods.

But who is able to build him a house, since heaven and the heaven of heavens can’t contain him? Who am I then, that I should build him a house, except just to burn incense before him?

“Now therefore send me a man skillful to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, in iron, and in purple, crimson, and blue, and who knows how to engrave engravings, to be with the skillful men who are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father provided.

“Send me also cedar trees, cypress trees, and algum trees out of Lebanon, for I know that your servants know how to cut timber in Lebanon. Behold, my servants will be with your servants,

even to prepare me timber in abundance; for the house which I am about to build will be great and wonderful.

Behold, I will give to your servants, the cutters who cut timber, twenty thousand cors(b) of beaten wheat, twenty thousand baths(c) of barley, twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.”

Hiram’s Reply to Solomon

(1 Kings 5:7–12)

Then Huram the king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon, “Because the LORD loves his people, he has made you king over them.”

Huram continued, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, who has given to David the king a wise son, endowed with discretion and understanding, who would build a house for the LORD and a house for his kingdom.

Now I have sent a skillful man, endowed with understanding, Huram-abi,(d)

the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan; and his father was a man of Tyre. He is skillful to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, in iron, in stone, in timber, in purple, in blue, in fine linen, and in crimson, also to engrave any kind of engraving and to devise any device, that there may be a place appointed to him with your skillful men, and with the skillful men of my lord David your father.

“Now therefore, the wheat, the barley, the oil, and the wine which my lord has spoken of, let him send to his servants;

and we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as you need. We will bring it to you in rafts by sea to Joppa; then you shall carry it up to Jerusalem.”

Solomon counted all the foreigners who were in the land of Israel, after the census with which David his father had counted them; and they found one hundred fifty-three thousand six hundred.

He set seventy thousand of them to bear burdens, eighty thousand who were stone cutters in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred overseers to assign the people their work.

Footnotes

(a)2:4 “Behold”, from “הִנֵּה”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection.

(b)2:10 1 cor is the same as a homer, or about 55.9 U. S. gallons (liquid) or 211 liters or 6 bushels, so 20,000 cors of wheat would weigh about 545 metric tons

(c)2:10 1 bath is one tenth of a cor, or about 5.6 U. S. gallons or 21 liters or 2.4 pecks. 20,000 baths of barley would weigh about 262 metric tons.

(d)2:13 or, Huram, my father