1 Solomon gave the word to build a house for the LORD's name and a palace for his own kingship.
2 He assigned seventy thousand men as porters, eighty thousand to cut stone in the hills, and three thousand six hundred to oversee them.
3 Solomon sent this message to Hiram king of Tyre: "Do for me what you did for my father David when you sent him cedar to build himself a house to live in.
4 See, I am building a house for the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it to him, to burn fragrant incense in his presence, for the regular arrangement of bread, and for burnt offerings morning and evening, on Sabbaths, new moons, and the appointed feasts of the LORD our God, as Israel must do forever.
5 The house I am building will be great, because our God is greater than all the gods.
6 But who has the strength to build a house for him, when the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot hold him? And who am I to build him a house, except to burn sacrifices before him?
7 So send me now a man skilled in working gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and purple, crimson, and violet material, and expert in engraving, to work alongside the skilled workers I have in Judah and Jerusalem, whom my father David provided.
8 Also send me cedar, cypress, and algum logs from Lebanon, because I know that your servants are skilled at cutting the trees of Lebanon. My servants will work together with yours
9 to get plenty of timber ready for me, for the house I am going to build will be great and astonishing.
10 For your servants who cut the timber I will provide twenty thousand cors of crushed wheat, twenty thousand cors of barley, twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil."
11 Hiram king of Tyre replied in writing and sent it to Solomon: "It is because the LORD loves his people that he has made you their king."
12 And Hiram went on: "Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, maker of heaven and earth, who has given King David a wise son with good sense and understanding to build a house for the LORD and a palace for his kingship.
13 So now I am sending you a skilled man gifted with understanding, Huram-abi,
14 whose mother is from the daughters of Dan and whose father is a Tyrian. He is expert at working in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, in purple, violet, and crimson material and fine linen; he can engrave any kind of engraving and devise any design given to him, together with your skilled workers and those of my lord David your father.
15 So now let my lord send his servants the wheat, barley, oil, and wine he has spoken of,
16 and we will cut whatever logs you need from Lebanon and float them to you by sea to Joppa; then you can bring them up to Jerusalem."
17 Solomon took a census of all the foreign men living in the land of Israel, after the census his father David had taken; there were a hundred and fifty-three thousand six hundred.
18 He assigned seventy thousand of them to carry loads, eighty thousand to cut stone in the hills, and three thousand six hundred as overseers to keep the people at work.