2 Chronicles 2:6-18

2:6 Of course, who can really build a temple for him, since the sky ¹  and the highest heavens cannot contain him? Who am I that I should build him a temple! It will really be only a place to offer sacrifices before him. ² 

2:7 “Now send me a man who is skilled in working with gold, silver, bronze, and iron, as well as purple, crimson, and violet colored fabrics, and who knows how to engrave. He will work with my skilled craftsmen here in Jerusalem ³  and Judah, whom my father David provided. 2:8 Send me cedars, evergreens, and algum ⁴  trees from Lebanon, for I know your servants are adept ⁵  at cutting down trees in Lebanon. My servants will work with your servants 2:9 to supply me with large quantities of timber, for I am building a great, magnificent temple. 2:10 Look, I will pay your servants who cut the timber 20,000 kors ⁶  of ground wheat, 20,000 kors of barley, 120,000 gallons ⁷  of wine, and 120,000 gallons of olive oil.”

2:11 King Huram ⁸  of Tyre sent this letter to Solomon: “Because the Lord loves his people, he has made you their king.” 2:12 Huram also said, “Worthy of praise is the Lord God of Israel, who made the sky and the earth! He has given David a wise son who has discernment and insight and will build a temple for the Lord, as well as a royal palace for himself. ⁹  2:13 Now I am sending you Huram Abi, ¹⁰  a skilled and capable man, 2:14 whose mother is a Danite and whose father is a Tyrian. ¹¹  He knows how to work with gold, silver, bronze, iron, stones, and wood, as well as purple, violet, white, and crimson fabrics. He knows how to do all kinds of engraving and understands any design given to him. He will work with your skilled craftsmen and the skilled craftsmen of my lord David your father. 2:15 Now let my lord send to his servants the wheat, barley, olive oil, and wine he has promised; 2:16 we will get all the timber you need from Lebanon ¹²  and bring it ¹³  in raft-like bundles ¹⁴  by sea to Joppa. You can then haul it on up to Jerusalem.”

2:17 Solomon took a census ¹⁵  of all the male resident foreigners in the land of Israel, after the census his father David had taken. There were 153,600 in all. 2:18 He designated ¹⁶  70,000 as common laborers, ¹⁷  80,000 as stonecutters ¹⁸  in the hills, and 3,600 as supervisors to make sure the people completed the work. ¹⁹ 

[2:6]  ¹ tn Or “heavens” (also in v. 12). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[2:6]  ² tn Heb “Who retains strength to build for him a house, for the heavens and the heavens of heavens do not contain him? And who am I that I should build for him a house, except to sacrifice before him?”

[2:7]  ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:8]  ⁴ tn This is probably a variant name for almug trees; see 9:10-11 and the parallel passage in 1 Kgs 10:11-12; cf. NLT. One or the other probably arose through metathesis of letters.

[2:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “know.”

[2:10]  ⁶ sn As a unit of dry measure a kor was roughly equivalent to six bushels (about 220 liters).

[2:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “20,000 baths” (also a second time later in this verse). A bath was a liquid measure roughly equivalent to six gallons (about 22 liters), so this was a quantity of about 120,000 gallons (440,000 liters).

[2:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “Huram” (also in v. 12). Some medieval Hebrew mss, along with the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate spell the name “Hiram,” agreeing with 1 Chr 14:1. “Huram” is a variant spelling referring to the same individual.

[2:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “who has given to David a wise son [who] knows discernment and insight, who will build a house for the Lord and house for his kingship.”

[2:13]  ¹⁰ sn The name Huram Abi means “Huram [is] my father.”

[2:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a son of a woman from the daughters of Dan, and his father a man of Tyre.”

[2:16]  ¹² tn Heb “and we will cut down trees from Lebanon according to all your need.”

[2:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “to you,” but this phrase has not been translated for stylistic reasons – it is somewhat redundant.

[2:16]  ¹⁴ tn Or “on rafts.” See the note at 1 Kgs 5:9.

[2:17]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “counted.”

[2:18]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “made.”

[2:18]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “carriers of loads.”

[2:18]  ¹⁸ tn Or “quarry workers”; Heb “cutters” (probably referring to stonecutters).

[2:18]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and thirty-six hundred [as] supervisors to compel the people to work.”