2 Chronicles, 2

1. And Solomon determined to build an house for the name of the LORD, and an house for his kingdom.

1. He put 70,000 men to work transporting materials, 80,000 to quarry in the hill country, and 3,600 supervisors in charge of them.

2. And Solomon told out threescore and ten thousand men to bear burdens, and fourscore thousand to hew in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred to oversee them.

2. Solomon then sent this message to Huram king of Tyre, "Deal with me as you dealt with my father David when you sent him cedars to build a house to live in.

3. And Solomon sent to Huram the king of Tyre, saying, As thou didst deal with David my father, and didst send him cedars to build him an house to dwell therein, [even so deal with me].

3. I am now building a house to honor Yahweh, my God, to acknowledge his holiness by burning incense of scented spices in his presence, by the loaves that are perpetually set out, by offerings morning and evening, on the sabbath, New Moon, and the solemn festivals of Yahweh our God - and this forever in Israel.

4. Behold, I build an house to the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate [it] to him, [and] to burn before him sweet incense, and for the continual shewbread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts of the LORD our God. This [is an ordinance] for ever to Israel.

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

5. And the house which I build [is] great: for great [is] our God above all gods.

5. Yet no one can really build a temple for God because the heavens and the heaven cannot contain him. And I cannot build him a house for anything more than to burn incense in his presence.

6. But who is able to build him an house, seeing the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain him? who [am] I then, that I should build him an house, save only to burn sacrifice before him?

6. So send me a man skilled in working with gold, silver, bronze, iron, scarlet, crimson, violet, and the art of engraving too; he is to work with the skilled men whom my father David provided here in Judah and Jerusalem.

7. Send me now therefore a man cunning to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, and that can skill to grave with the cunning men that [are] with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father did provide.

7. From Lebanon send me cedar wood, juniper and algummim, since I know your servants are experts in felling the trees of Lebanon. My servants will work with yours.

8. Send me also cedar trees, fir trees, and algum trees, out of Lebanon: for I know that thy servants can skill to cut timber in Lebanon; and, behold, my servants [shall be] with thy servants,

8. They will prepare wood in bulk for me, since the house I wish to build is to be of astounding size.

9. Even to prepare me timber in abundance: for the house which I am about to build [shall be] wonderful great.

9. For the woodmen who are to fell the trees I assign twenty thousand kors of grain, twenty thousand kors of barley, twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil - this is for the maintenance of your servants."

10. And, behold, I will give to thy servants, the hewers that cut timber, twenty thousand measures of beaten wheat, and twenty thousand measures of barley, and twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.

10. In a letter sent to King Solomon, Huram king of Tyre replied, "Because Yahweh loves his people he has made you king.

11. Then Huram the king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon, Because the LORD hath loved his people, he hath made thee king over them.

11. Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who has made the heavens and the earth, and given King David a wise son, full of understanding and skill, who is going to build a house for Yahweh and a palace for himself and his court.

12. Huram said moreover, Blessed [be] the LORD God of Israel, that made heaven and earth, who hath given to David the king a wise son, endued with prudence and understanding, that might build an house for the LORD, and an house for his kingdom.

12. And I am also sending you a skilled craftsman, Huram-abi,

13. And now I have sent a cunning man, endued with understanding, of Huram my father's,

13. the son of a Danite woman by a Tyrian father. He is skilled in the use of gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, wood, scarlet, violet, fine linen, crimson, in engraving of all kinds, and in the execution of any design suggested to him. Let him be put to work with your craftsmen and those of my lord David, your father.

14. The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father [was] a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson; also to grave any manner of graving, and to find out every device which shall be put to him, with thy cunning men, and with the cunning men of my lord David thy father.

14. So now let my lord send his servants the wheat, barley, oil and wine, as already suggested.

15. Now therefore the wheat, and the barley, the oil, and the wine, which my lord hath spoken of, let him send unto his servants:

15. For our part, we will cut down all the cedar trees you need from Lebanon, and bring them to you in rafts by sea to Joppa, and you will transport them to Jerusalem."

16. And we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as thou shalt need: and we will bring it to thee in floats by sea to Joppa; and thou shalt carry it up to Jerusalem.

16. Solomon took a count of all the foreigners living in the land of Israel, following the census that David his father had taken; it was found there were a hundred and fifty-three thousand six hundred.

17. And Solomon numbered all the strangers that [were] in the land of Israel, after the numbering wherewith David his father had numbered them; and they were found an hundred and fifty thousand and three thousand and six hundred.

17. He impressed seventy thousand of these for carrying loads, eighty thousand for quarrying in the hill country, and three thousand six hundred as overseers to make sure the people worked.

18. And he set threescore and ten thousand of them [to be] bearers of burdens, and fourscore thousand [to be] hewers in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred overseers to set the people a work.

18.