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1 Kings 5
1599 Geneva Bible
1 Kings 5
1599 Geneva Bible
5 1 Hiram sendeth to Solomon, and Solomon to him, purposing to build the house of God. 6 He prepareth the stuff for the building. 13 The number of the workmen.
1 And Hiram king of [a]Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon, (for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father) because Hiram had ever loved David.
2 (A)And Solomon sent him to Hiram, saying,
3 Thou knowest that David my father could not build an house unto the name of the Lord his God, for the wars which were about him on every side, until the Lord had put [b]them under the soles of his feet.
4 But now the Lord my God hath given me [c]rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary, nor evil to resist.
5 And behold, I purpose to build an house unto the Name of the Lord my God, (B)as the Lord spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne for thee, he shall build an house unto my Name.
6 Now therefore command, that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon, and my servants shall be with thy servants, and unto thee will I give the [d]hire for thy servants, according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there are none among us, that can hew timber like unto the Sidonians.
7 ¶ And when [e]Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be the Lord this day, which hath given unto David a wise son over this mighty people.
8 And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things, for the which thou sentest unto me, and will accomplish all thy desire, concerning the cedar trees and fir trees.
9 My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon to the sea: and I will convey them by sea [f]in rafts unto the place that thou shalt show me, and will cause them to be discharged there, and thou shalt receive them: now thou shalt do me a pleasure to minister food for [g]my family.
10 So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees, even his full desire.
11 And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand [h]measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures of [i]beaten oil. Thus much gave Solomon to Hiram year by year.
12 ¶ And the Lord gave Solomon wisdom as he (C)promised him. And there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and they [j]two made a covenant.
13 ¶ And King Solomon raised a sum out of all Israel, and the sum was thirty thousand men:
14 Whom he sent to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by course: they were a month in Lebanon, and two months at home. And (D)Adoniram was over the sum.
15 And Solomon had seventy thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand masons in the mountain,
16 Besides the [k]princes, whom Solomon appointed over the work, even three thousand and three hundred, which ruled the people that wrought in the work.
17 And the King commanded them, and they brought great stones and costly stones to make the foundations of the house, even hewed stones.
18 And Solomon’s workmen, and the workmen of Hiram, and the [l]masons hewed and prepared timber and stones for the building of the house.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 5:1 Or, Zor.
- 1 Kings 5:3 Or, his enemies.
- 1 Kings 5:4 He declareth that he was bound to set forth God’s glory, forasmuch as the Lord had sent him rest and peace.
- 1 Kings 5:6 This was his equity, that he would not receive a benefit without some recompense.
- 1 Kings 5:7 In Hiram is prefigured the vocation of the Gentiles, who should help to build the Spiritual Temple.
- 1 Kings 5:9 Or, floats.
- 1 Kings 5:9 While my servants are occupied about thy business.
- 1 Kings 5:11 Hebrew, Kors.
- 1 Kings 5:11 Or, pure.
- 1 Kings 5:12 As touching the furniture of wood and vittles.
- 1 Kings 5:16 Or, masters of the work.
- 1 Kings 5:18 The Hebrew word is Giblim, which some say were excellent masons.
1 Kings 5
New International Version
1 Kings 5
New International Version
Preparations for Building the Temple(A)
5 [a]When Hiram(B) king of Tyre heard that Solomon had been anointed king to succeed his father David, he sent his envoys to Solomon, because he had always been on friendly terms with David. 2 Solomon sent back this message to Hiram:
3 “You know that because of the wars(C) waged against my father David from all sides, he could not build(D) a temple for the Name of the Lord his God until the Lord put his enemies under his feet.(E) 4 But now the Lord my God has given me rest(F) on every side, and there is no adversary(G) or disaster. 5 I intend, therefore, to build a temple(H) for the Name of the Lord my God, as the Lord told my father David, when he said, ‘Your son whom I will put on the throne in your place will build the temple for my Name.’(I)
6 “So give orders that cedars(J) of Lebanon be cut for me. My men will work with yours, and I will pay you for your men whatever wages you set. You know that we have no one so skilled in felling timber as the Sidonians.”
7 When Hiram heard Solomon’s message, he was greatly pleased and said, “Praise be to the Lord(K) today, for he has given David a wise son to rule over this great nation.”
8 So Hiram sent word to Solomon:
“I have received the message you sent me and will do all you want in providing the cedar and juniper logs. 9 My men will haul them down from Lebanon to the Mediterranean Sea(L), and I will float them as rafts by sea to the place you specify. There I will separate them and you can take them away. And you are to grant my wish by providing food(M) for my royal household.”
10 In this way Hiram kept Solomon supplied with all the cedar and juniper logs he wanted, 11 and Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand cors[b] of wheat as food(N) for his household, in addition to twenty thousand baths[c][d] of pressed olive oil. Solomon continued to do this for Hiram year after year. 12 The Lord gave Solomon wisdom,(O) just as he had promised him. There were peaceful relations between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.(P)
13 King Solomon conscripted laborers(Q) from all Israel—thirty thousand men. 14 He sent them off to Lebanon in shifts of ten thousand a month, so that they spent one month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram(R) was in charge of the forced labor. 15 Solomon had seventy thousand carriers and eighty thousand stonecutters in the hills, 16 as well as thirty-three hundred[e] foremen(S) who supervised the project and directed the workers. 17 At the king’s command they removed from the quarry(T) large blocks of high-grade stone(U) to provide a foundation of dressed stone for the temple. 18 The craftsmen of Solomon and Hiram(V) and workers from Byblos(W) cut and prepared the timber and stone for the building of the temple.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 5:1 In Hebrew texts 5:1-18 is numbered 5:15-32.
- 1 Kings 5:11 That is, probably about 3,600 tons or about 3,250 metric tons
- 1 Kings 5:11 Septuagint (see also 2 Chron. 2:10); Hebrew twenty cors
- 1 Kings 5:11 That is, about 120,000 gallons or about 440,000 liters
- 1 Kings 5:16 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 2 Chron. 2:2,18) thirty-six hundred
1599 Geneva Bible (GNV) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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