9
An immense amount of timber will be needed, for the Temple I am going to build will be very large and magnificent.
10
In payment for your woodcutters, I will send 100,000 bushels of crushed wheat, 100,000 bushels of barley, 110,000 gallons of wine, and 110,000 gallons of olive oil. ”
11
King Hiram sent this letter of reply to Solomon: “It is because the LORD loves his people that he has made you their king!
12
Praise the LORD, the God of Israel, who made the heavens and the earth! He has given King David a wise son, gifted with skill and understanding, who will build a Temple for the LORD and a royal palace for himself.
13
“I am sending you a master craftsman named Huram-abi, who is extremely talented.
14
His mother is from the tribe of Dan in Israel, and his father is from Tyre. He is skillful at making things from gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and he also works with stone and wood. He can work with purple, blue, and scarlet cloth and fine linen. He is also an engraver and can follow any design given to him. He will work with your craftsmen and those appointed by my lord David, your father.
15
“Send along the wheat, barley, olive oil, and wine that my lord has mentioned.
16
We will cut whatever timber you need from the Lebanon mountains and will float the logs in rafts down the coast of the Mediterranean Sea to Joppa. From there you can transport the logs up to Jerusalem.”
17
Solomon took a census of all foreigners in the land of Israel, like the census his father had taken, and he counted 153,600.
18
He assigned 70,000 of them as common laborers, 80,000 as quarry workers in the hill country, and 3,600 as foremen.