Solomon's Letter to Hiram
1 Solomon decided to build a temple for the name of the Lord and a royal palace for himself,
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so he assigned 70,000 men as porters, 80,000 men as stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 as supervisors over them.
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Then Solomon sent [word] to King Hiram of Tyre: [Do for me] what you did for my father David. You sent him cedars to build him a house to live in.
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Now I myself am building a temple for the name of the Lord my God in order to dedicate it to Him for burning sweet incense before Him, for [displaying] the rows [of the bread of the Presence] continuously, and for [sacrificing] burnt offerings for the evening and the morning, the Sabbaths and the New Moons, and the appointed festivals of the Lord our God. This is [ordained] for Israel forever.
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The temple that I am building will be great, for our God is greater than any of the gods.
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But who is able to build a temple for Him, since even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain Him? Who am I then that I should build a house for Him except as a place to burn incense before Him?
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Therefore, send me a craftsman who is skilled in engraving to work with gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and with purple, crimson, and blue yarn. [He will work] with the craftsmen who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem, appointed by my father David.
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Also, send me cedar, cypress, and algum logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants know how to cut the trees of Lebanon. Note that my servants will be with your servants
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to prepare logs for me in abundance because the temple I am building will be great and wonderful.
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I will give your servants, the woodcutters who cut the trees, 100,000 bushels of wheat flour, 100,000 bushels of barley, 110,000 gallons of wine, and 110,000 gallons of oil.