So Hiram supplied the cedars and evergreens Solomon needed,

He arranged the wood, cut up the bull, and placed it on the wood.

In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubs of olive wood; each stood 15 feet high.

He made doors of olive wood at the entrance to the inner sanctuary; the pillar on each doorpost was five-sided.

In the same way he made doorposts of olive wood for the entrance to the main hall, only with four-sided pillars.

Hiram then sent this message to Solomon: “I received the message you sent to me. I will give you all the cedars and evergreens you need.

King Solomon gave King Hiram of Tyre twenty cities in the region of Galilee, because Hiram had supplied Solomon with cedars, evergreens, and all the gold he wanted.

With the timber the king made supports for the Lord’s temple and for the royal palace and stringed instruments for the musicians. No one has seen so much of this fine timber to this very day.)

Let them bring us two bulls. Let them choose one of the bulls for themselves, cut it up into pieces, and place it on the wood. But they must not set it on fire. I will do the same to the other bull and place it on the wood. But I will not set it on fire.

Solomon’s and Hiram’s construction workers, along with men from Byblos, did the chiseling and prepared the wood and stones for the building of the temple.

He built an extension all around the temple; it was seven and a half feet high and it was attached to the temple by cedar beams.

He also made two doors out of wood from evergreens; each door had two folding leaves.

(Hiram’s fleet, which carried gold from Ophir, also brought from Ophir a very large quantity of fine timber and precious gems.

They even built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree.

Then fire from the Lord fell from the sky. It consumed the offering, the wood, the stones, and the dirt, and licked up the water in the trench.

He produced manuals on botany, describing every kind of plant, from the cedars of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows on walls. He also produced manuals on biology, describing animals, birds, insects, and fish.

So now order some cedars of Lebanon to be cut for me. My servants will work with your servants. I will pay your servants whatever you say is appropriate, for you know that we have no one among us who knows how to cut down trees like the Sidonians.”

He constructed the walls inside the temple with cedar planks; he paneled the inside with wood from the floor of the temple to the rafters of the ceiling. He covered the temple floor with boards made from the wood of evergreens.

On the two doors made of olive wood he carved cherubs, palm trees, and flowers in bloom, and he plated them with gold. He plated the cherubs and the palm trees with hammered gold.

King Asa ordered all the men of Judah (no exemptions were granted) to carry away the stones and wood that Baasha had used to build Ramah. King Asa used the materials to build up Geba (in Benjamin) and Mizpah.