1Hiram, king of Tyre, also sent his servants unto Solomon when he heard that they had anointed him king in the place of his father; for Hiram had always loved David. 2Then Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, 3Thou knowest how David, my father, could not build a house unto the name of the LORD his God, for the wars which were about him on every side, until the LORD put [his enemies] under the soles of his feet. 4Now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side [so that there is] neither adversary nor evil encounter. 5And, therefore, I have determined to build a house unto the name of the LORD my God as the LORD spoke unto David, my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy place, he shall build a house unto my name. 6Command, therefore, now that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon, and my servants shall be with thy servants, and I will give thee for thy servants the hire that thou shalt appoint, for thou knowest that [there is] no one among us with the skill to hew timber like the Sidonians. 7And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly and said, Blessed [be] the LORD this day, who has given unto David a wise son over this great people. 8And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have heard that which thou didst send [to tell] me, [and] I will do all thy desire concerning the timber of cedar and concerning the timber of fir. 9My servants shall bring [them] down from Lebanon unto the sea, and I will convey them by sea in rafts unto the place that thou shalt appoint me and will cause them to be discharged there, and thou shalt receive [them]; and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household. 10So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees [according to] all his desire. 11And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat [for] food to his household and twenty [thousand] measures of pure oil; this gave Solomon to Hiram year by year. 12And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom as he promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two made a covenant together. 13And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel, and the levy was thirty thousand men, 14whom he sent to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses; they were a month in Lebanon [and] two months at home; and Adoniram [was] over the levy. 15And Solomon had seventy thousand that bore burdens and eighty thousand hewers in the mountains; 16besides Solomon's chief officers who [were] over the work, there were three thousand three hundred who ruled over the people that did the work. 17And the king commanded that they bring great stones, costly stones, for the foundation of the house, [and] hewed stones. 18And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders hewed [them], and the stonesquarers; so they prepared timber and stones to build the house.: