1 Kings 5

1And Solomon was ruling over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines and as far as the border of Egypt. They were bringing tribute and serving Solomon all the days of his life.

2Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty cors of fine flour and sixty cors of meal,

3ten fattened cattle, and twenty pasture-fed cattle, and a hundred sheep, besides deer and gazelles and roebucks and fattened fowl.

4For he was ruling over all the region beyond the River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kings beyond the River; and he had peace on all sides around him.

5And Judah and Israel lived in safety, each man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan to Beer-sheba, all the days of Solomon.

6And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.

7These deputies provided for King Solomon and for all who came near the table of King Solomon, each in his month; they lacked nothing.

8And the barley and the straw for the horses and the steeds were brought to the place where each man was, according to his duty.

9And God gave Solomon wisdom and very great understanding, and breadth of heart like the sand that is on the seashore.

10And Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt.

11He was wiser than every man—than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Kalkol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol—and his name was in all the surrounding nations.

12He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were one thousand and five.

13He spoke about the trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall; he also spoke about the animals and the birds and the creeping things and the fish.

14And people from all the peoples came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.

15Then Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, because he had heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram had always loved David.

16Then Solomon sent to Hiram, saying,

17You know that David my father could not build a house for the name of Yahweh his God because of the warfare that surrounded him, until Yahweh put them under the soles of his feet.

18But now Yahweh my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor evil occurrence.

19And behold, I intend to build a house for the name of Yahweh my God, just as Yahweh 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.’

20Now command that cedars from Lebanon be cut for me, and let my servants be with your servants, and I will give you the wages of your servants according to all that you say; for you know that among us there is no man who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.

21And when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the LORD today, who has given David a wise son over this great people.”

22Then Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, “I have heard what you sent to me. I will do all your desire concerning cedar timber and cypress timber.”

23My servants will bring them down from Lebanon to the sea, and I will make them into rafts on the sea to the place that you direct me, and I will break them apart there, and you will carry them away. And you shall do what I desire by giving food for my household.

24And Hiram was giving Solomon cedar timber and cypress timber, according to all his desire.

25And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand cors of wheat as food for his household, and twenty cors of beaten oil. Thus Solomon would give to Hiram year by year.

26And Yahweh gave wisdom to Solomon, just as he had spoken to him. And there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a covenant.

27King Solomon conscripted forced labor from all Israel, and the forced labor was thirty thousand men.

28He sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month in shifts; they would be in Lebanon one month and two months at home, and Adoniram was over the forced labor.

29And Solomon had seventy thousand burden-bearers, and eighty thousand stonecutters in the mountains.

30besides Solomon’s chief deputies who were over the work, three thousand three hundred, who ruled over the people doing the work.

31Then the king commanded, and they quarried great stones, costly stones, cut stones, to lay the foundation of the house.

32So Solomon’s builders, Hiram’s builders, and the men of Gebal cut and prepared the timber and the stones to build the house.