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¹ Now Shlomo purposed to build a house for the name of the LORD, and a house for his kingdom. ² Shlomo counted out seventy thousand men to bear burdens, and eighty thousand men who were stone cutters in the mountains, and three thousand and six hundred to oversee them. ³ Shlomo sent to Huram the king of Tzor, saying, As you did deal with David my father, and did send him cedars to build him a house to dwell therein, [even so deal with me]. ⁴ Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before him incense of sweet spices, and for the continual show bread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the Shabbatot, and on the new moons, and on the set feasts of the LORD our God. This is [an ordinance] forever to Yisra'el. ⁵ The house which I build is great; for great is our God above all gods. ⁶ But who is able to build him a house, seeing heaven and the heaven of heavens can't contain him? who am I then, that I should build him a house, save only to burn incense before him? ⁷ Now therefore send me a man skillful to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, and who knows how to engrave [all manner of] engravings, [to be] with the skillful men who are with me in Yehudah and in Yerushalayim, whom David my father did provide. ⁸ Send me also cedar trees, fir trees, and algum trees, out of Levanon; for I know that your servants know how to cut timber in Levanon: and, behold, my servants shall be with your servants, ⁹ even to prepare me timber in abundance; for the house which I am about to build shall be great and wonderful. ¹⁰ Behold, I will give to your servants, the cutters who cut timber, twenty thousand measures of beaten wheat, and twenty thousand measures of barley, and twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.

¹¹ Then Huram the king of Tzor answered in writing, which he sent to Shlomo, Because the LORD loves his people, he has made you king over them. ¹² Huram said moreover, Blessed be the LORD, the God of Yisra'el, that made heaven and eretz, who has given to David the king a wise son, endowed with discretion and understanding, that should build a house for the LORD, and a house for his kingdom. ¹³ Now I have sent a skillful man, endowed with understanding, of Huram my father's, ¹⁴ the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan; and his father was a man of Tzor, skillful to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson, also to engrave any manner of engraving, and to devise any device; that there may be [a place] appointed to him with your skillful men, and with the skillful men of my lord David your father. ¹⁵ Now therefore the wheat and the barley, the oil and the wine, which my lord has spoken of, let him send to his servants: ¹⁶ and we will cut wood out of Levanon, as much as you shall need; and we will bring it to you in floats by sea to Yafo; and you shall carry it up to Yerushalayim. ¹⁷ Shlomo numbered all the sojourners who were in Eretz-Yisra'el, after the numbering with which David his father had numbered them; and they were found one hundred fifty-three thousand six hundred. ¹⁸ He set seventy thousand of them to bear burdens, and eighty thousand who were stone cutters in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred overseers to set the people at work.