Preparations for the Temple
(2 Chronicles 2:1–10)

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 sent to Hiram, saying,

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

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.’

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
(2 Chronicles 2:11–18)

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.” 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 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.”

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

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

15And Solomon had seventy thousand who lift a burden and eighty thousand who hew in the hill country, 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, and they brought large stones, costly stones, to lay the foundation of the temple, and hewn stones. And the builders of Solomon, and the builders of Hiram, and the Gebalites hewed, and they prepared the trees and stones to build the house.

Footnotes:

8 Or pine or juniper or fir; also in verse 10
9 That is, the Mediterranean Sea, also called the Great Sea
11 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).
11 LXX (see also 2 Chronicles 2:10); 20,000 baths is approximately 116,000 gallons or 440,000 liters of olive oil; Hebrew twenty cors of pure oil or twenty cors of pressed oil
12 Or a treaty.
16 Hebrew; some LXX manuscripts 3,600; see 2 Chronicles 2:18.