1Now Solomon intended to build a house for the name of Yehovah, and a house for his kingdom. 2And Solomon counted out seventy thousand men to bear burdens, and eighty thousand men who were hewers in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred to oversee them. 3And Solomon sent to Huram the king of Tyre, saying, As you dealt with David my father, and sent him cedars to build himself a house to dwell in, even so deal with me. 4Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of Yehovah my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before him incense of sweet spices, and for the continual showbread, and for the burnt-offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the set feasts of Yehovah our God. This is an ordinance for ever to Israel. 5And the house which I build is great; for great is our God above all gods. 6But who is able to build him a house, seeing heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain him? who am I then, that I should build him a house, except only to burn incense before him? 7Now therefore send me a man skillful to work in gold, and in silver, and in bronze, and in iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, and who knows how to engrave all kinds of engravings, to be with the skillful men who are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father provided. 8Send me also cedar-trees, fir-trees, and algum-trees, out of Lebanon; for I know that your servants know how to cut timber in Lebanon. And, behold, my servants shall be with your servants, 9even to prepare timber for me in abundance; for the house which I am about to build shall be great and wonderful. 10And, behold, I will give to your servants, the hewers 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. 11Then Huram the king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon, Because Yehovah loves his people, he has made you king over them. 12Huram said moreover, Blessed be Yehovah, the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, who has given to David the king a wise son, endowed with discretion and understanding, who should build a house for Yehovah, and a house for his kingdom. 13And now I have sent a skillful man, endowed with understanding, Huram my father, 14the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan; and his father was a man of Tyre, skillful to work in gold, and in silver, in bronze, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson, also to engrave any kind 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. 15Now therefore the wheat and the barley, the oil and the wine, which my lord has spoken of, let him send to his servants: 16and we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as you shall need; and we will bring it to you in floats by sea to Joppa; and you shall carry it up to Jerusalem. 17And Solomon numbered all the sojourners who were in the land of Israel, after the numbering with which David his father had numbered them; and they were found a hundred and fifty-three thousand six hundred. 18And he set seventy thousand of them to bear burdens, and eighty thousand who were hewers in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred overseers to set the people at work.