1And Hiram the king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father; for Hiram had all the time been a lover of David. 2And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, 3Thou well knowest of David my father, that he was not able to build a house unto the name of the Lord his God, on account of the war wherewith his enemies encompassed him, until the Lord had put them under the soles of his feet. 4But now hath the Lord my God given me rest on every side, there is neither adversary nor evil hinderance. 5And, behold, I purpose to build a house unto the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord hath spoken unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will place in thy room upon thy throne, he it is that shall build the house unto my name. 6And now command thou that they hew me cedar–trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants; and the wages of thy servants will I give unto thee in accordance with all that thou wilt say; for thou well knowest that there is not among us a man that hath the skill to hew timber like unto the Zidonians. 7And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly; and he said, Blessed be the Lord this day, who hath given unto David a wise son over this numerous people. 8And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have heard what thou hast sent to me for: I will gladly execute all thy desire in respect of timber of cedar, and in respect of timber of fir. 9My servants shall bring them down from the Lebanon unto the sea: and I will convey them by sea in floats unto the place of which thou wilt send me word, and I will cause them to be taken apart there, and thou shalt take them away; and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving the food for my household. 10So Hiram gave Solomon cedar–trees and fir–trees, all his desire. 11And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand kors of wheat as provision for his household, and twenty kors of beaten oil: thus did Solomon give to Hiram year by year. 12And the Lord gave wisdom unto Solomon, as he had spoken to him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they made a covenant with each other. 13And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men. 14And he sent them into the Lebanon, ten thousand in each month by turns; one month they used to be in the Lebanon, two months at home: and Adoniram was over the levy. 15And there belonged to Solomon seventy thousand bearers of burdens, and eighty thousand stone–cutters in the mountains; 16Besides the chiefs who were appointed by Solomon over the work, three thousand and three hundred, who ruled over the people that wrought on the work. 17And when the king commanded, they quarried out great stones, heavy stones, to lay the foundation of the house, and hewn stones. 18And the builders of Solomon, and the builders of Hiram, and the Giblites hewed them; and so they prepared the wood and the stones to build the house.