The Complete Jewish Bible CJB
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 Hiram king of Tzor sent his servants to Shlomo, because he had heard that they had anointed him king in his father's place, and Hiram had always loved David.
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Now Hiram, king of Tyre, hearing that Solomon had been made king in place of his father, sent his servants to him; for Hiram had ever been a friend to David.
2 Shlomo returned this message to Hiram:
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And Solomon sent back word to Hiram, saying,
3 "You know that David my father wasn't able to build a house for the name of ADONAI his God, because of the wars that beset him from every side, until ADONAI put his enemies under the soles of my feet.
3
You have knowledge that David my father was not able to make a house for the name of the Lord his God, because of the wars which were round him on every side, till the Lord put all those who were against him under his feet.
4 But now ADONAI my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor calamity.
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But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side; no one is making trouble, and no evil is taking place.
5 So now I intend to build a house for the name of ADONAI my God, in keeping with what ADONAI said to David my father, 'Your son, whom I will put on your throne in your place, will be the one to build the house for my name.'
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And so it is my purpose to make a house for the name of the Lord my God, as he said to David my father, Your son, whom I will make king in your place, will be the builder of a house for my name.
6 Therefore, order your people to cut down cedar trees from the L'vanon for me. My servants will be with your servants. I will pay your servants according to everything you say; for you know that we have no one among us as skilled in felling trees as the Tzidonim."
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So now, will you have cedar-trees from Lebanon cut down for me, and my servants will be with your servants; and I will give you payment for your servants at whatever rate you say; for it is common knowledge that we have no such wood-cutters among us as the men of Zidon.
7 When Hiram heard Shlomo's message, he was very happy and said, "Blessed be ADONAI today, who has given David a wise son to rule this great people."
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And these words of Solomon made Hiram glad, and he said, Now may the Lord be praised who has given to David a wise son to be king over this great people.
8 Then Hiram sent Shlomo this message: "I have heard the message you sent me, and I will do everything you want concerning cedar logs and cypress logs.
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Then Hiram sent to Solomon, saying; The words you sent have been given to me: I will do all your desire in the question of cedar-wood and cypress-wood.
9 My servants will bring them down from the L'vanon to the sea. I will make them into rafts to go by sea to whatever place you tell me and will have them broken up there, and you will receive them. You will compensate me by providing food for my household."
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My men will take them down from Lebanon to the sea, where I will have them corded together to go by sea to whatever place you say, and I will have them cut up there so that you may take them away; as for payment, it will be enough if you give me food for my people.
10 So Hiram gave Shlomo all the cedar logs and cypress logs he wanted;
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So Hiram gave Solomon all the cedar-wood and cypress-wood he had need of;
11 and Shlomo gave Hiram 100,000 bushels of wheat as food for his household and a thousand gallons of oil from pressed olives - this is what Shlomo gave Hiram each year.
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And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of grain, as food for his people, and twenty measures of clear oil; this he did every year.
12 ADONAI gave Shlomo wisdom, as he had promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Shlomo - the two of them formed an alliance together.
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Now the Lord had given Solomon wisdom, as he had said to him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and they made an agreement together.
13 King Shlomo conscripted 30,000 men from all Isra'el for forced labor.
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Then King Solomon got together men for the forced work through all Israel, thirty thousand men in number;
14 He sent them to the L'vanon in monthly relays of 10,000; they would stay a month in the L'vanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor.
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And sent them to Lebanon in bands of ten thousand every month: for a month they were working in Lebanon and for two months in their country, and Adoniram was in control of them.
15 Shlomo had 70,000 men to carry loads and another 80,000 stonecutters in the hills,
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Then he had seventy thousand for the work of transport, and eighty thousand stone-cutters in the mountains;
16 besides Shlomo's 3,300 supervisors who were in charge of the people doing the work.
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In addition to the chiefs of the responsible men put by Solomon to oversee the work, three thousand and three hundred in authority over the workmen.
17 The king gave orders; and they quarried large stones, expensive stones, to lay the foundation of the house with cut stone.
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By the king's orders great stones, stones of high price, were cut out, so that the base of the house might be made of squared stone.
18 Shlomo's and Hiram's builders, along with the men from G'val, worked the stones and prepared the timber and stones for building the house.
18
Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did the work of cutting them, and put edges on them, and got the wood and the stone ready for the building of the house.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.