2 Chronicles 2

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

Solomon ordered the building of a Temple to honor the Lord and a royal palace for himself.

2 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.

He allocated 70,000 men as laborers, 80,000 as stone cutters in the mountains, and 3,600 as foremen.

3 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.

Solomon sent a message to Hiram, king of Tyre, telling him,

4 Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of Yahweh 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 Yahweh our God. This is an ordinance forever to Israel.

“Please do as you did with my father David when you sent him cedar timber for him to build a palace to live in. I'm about to start building a Temple to honor the Lord my God, dedicated to him, where he will be offered sweet-smelling incense, where the showbread will be always set out in rows, and where burnt offerings will be made every morning and evening, on the Sabbaths, at new moon festivals, and at the feasts of the Lord our God—this to be done forever in Israel.

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

This Temple I am about to build must be impressive, because our God is greater than all gods.

6 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?

But who can build a Temple for him to live in, for the heavens, even highest heaven, cannot contain him, and who am I that I should dare to build him a house, except to burn incense to him?

7 “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.

So please send me a master craftsman who is skilled in working with gold, silver, bronze, and iron; and in purple, scarlet, and blue fabrics. He must also know how to engrave, working together with my expert craftsmen from Judea and Jerusalem provided by my father David.

8 “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,

Also send me cedar, cypress, and algum timber from Lebanon, for I know that your workers are skillful in cutting down the trees of Lebanon. I will send men to help your workers

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

to produce a large quantity of timber because the Temple I'm building will be really large and very impressive.

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

I will pay your workers, the wood-cutters, 20,000 cors of crushed wheat, 20,000 cors of barley, 20,000 baths of wine, and 20,000 baths of olive oil.”

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

King Hiram of Tyre responded to Solomon by letter: “It's because the Lord loves his people that he has made you their king.”

12 Huram continued, “Blessed be Yahweh, 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 Yahweh and a house for his kingdom.

Hiram went on, “Praise 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 is going to build a Temple for the Lord and a royal palace for himself.

13 Now I have sent a skillful man, endowed with understanding, Huram-abi,

I'm sending you Hiram-Abi, a master craftsman who knows and understands what he's doing.

14 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.

His mother is from the tribe of Dan and his father is from Tyre. He's an expert in working with gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, purple, blue, and crimson fabric, and fine linen. He can do all kinds of engraving and can make any design he's given. He'll work with your craftsmen and with the craftsmen of my lord, your father David.

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

Now my lord, please send to us his servants the wheat, barley, olive oil, and wine he spoke about.

16 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.”

We will cut all timber you need from Lebanon and take it to you by sea in rafts to Joppa. From there you can transport it to Jerusalem.”

17 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.

Solomon had a census taken of all the foreigners in the land of Israel, like the census his father David had conducted, and found there were 153,600.

18 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.

He allocated 70,000 as laborers, 80,000 as stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 as foremen.