Solomon Plans to Build the Father's House
2 1 Solomon resolved to build a house for the name of our Father, and a royal palace for himself. 2 Solomon assigned seventy thousand men to carry loads and eighty thousand to quarry stone in the mountains, with thirty-six hundred to supervise them.
3 Then Solomon sent word to Huram king of Tyre: "Do for me as you did for my father David, when you sent him cedar to build himself a house to live in. 4 Now I am about to build a house for the name of my Father, to dedicate it to him — to burn fragrant incense before him, to set out the bread of the Presence continually, and to offer burnt offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, the new moons, and the appointed feasts of our Father. This is required of Israel forever. a a v4 Bread of the Presence: ceremonial loaves kept on permanent display before God in the inner sanctuary.
5 The house I am building will be great, for our Father is greater than all gods. 6 But who is able to build him a house, when heaven and the highest heavens cannot contain him? And who am I to build him a house, except to burn sacrifices before him?
7 So now send me a craftsman skilled in working with gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and in purple, crimson, and blue yarn, who is also trained in engraving, to join the skilled workers I have here in Judah and Jerusalem, whom my father David provided.
8 Send me also cedar, cypress, and red sandalwood timber from Lebanon, for I know your servants are skilled at cutting Lebanon's timber. My own servants will work alongside yours 9 to prepare timber for me in abundance, for the house I am building will be great and wonderful. 10 And I will give your servants who cut the timber about one hundred and twenty-five thousand bushels of crushed wheat, about one hundred and twenty-five thousand bushels of barley, about one hundred and fifteen thousand gallons of wine, and about one hundred and fifteen thousand gallons of oil."
11 Huram king of Tyre answered in a letter that he sent to Solomon: "Because the LORD loves his people, he has made you king over them." 12 And Huram added: "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth! He has given King David a wise son, gifted with insight and understanding, who will build a house for the LORD and a royal palace for himself.
13 Now I am sending you a skilled craftsman, gifted with understanding, Huram-abi, 14 the son of a woman from the daughters of Dan, his father a man of Tyre. He is skilled in working with gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, and in purple, blue, and crimson yarn and fine linen. He can do all kinds of engraving and carry out any design assigned to him, working with your craftsmen and those of my lord, your father David.
15 Now then, let my lord send to his servants the wheat and barley, the oil and wine that he has promised, 16 and we will cut all the timber from Lebanon that you need and float it to you as rafts by sea to Joppa, so that you can haul it up to Jerusalem."
17 Solomon took a census of all the foreigners residing in the land of Israel, like the census his father David had taken, and they numbered 153,600. 18 He assigned seventy thousand of them as load-bearers, eighty thousand as stonecutters in the mountains, and thirty-six hundred as overseers to keep the people working.