1Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, for he had heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram had been a lover to David all the days.2Solomon sent to Hiram, saying:3You know David my father, that he was not able to build a house for the name of the LORD his God because of the wars that surrounded him, until the LORD placed them under the soles of his feet and of mine.4And now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor harmful chance.5And now I intend to build a house for the name of the LORD my God, just as the LORD spoke to David my father, saying, 'Your son whom I will set in your place on your throne, he will build the house for my name.'6So now command that cedars be cut for me from Lebanon; my servants will be with your servants, and I will give you the wages of your servants according to all that you say, for you know that there is no man among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.7And it happened when Hiram heard the words of Solomon that he rejoiced greatly and said, 'Blessed be the LORD today, who has given to David a wise son over this great people.'8Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, 'I have heard that which you sent to me; I will do all your pleasure in cedar timber and in cypress timber.'9My servants will bring them down from Lebanon to the sea, and I will make them into rafts on the sea to the place that you send to me, and I will break them apart there, and you will take them away; and you will do my pleasure by giving food for my household.10Thus Hiram was giving to Solomon cedar timber and cypress timber according to all his pleasure.11And Solomon gave to Hiram twenty thousand kors of wheat as food for his household and twenty kors of beaten oil; thus Solomon gave to Hiram year by year.12And the LORD gave wisdom to Solomon just as he had spoken to him, and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a covenant.13King Solomon raised a taskworker from all Israel, and the taskworker was thirty thousand men.14And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month in shifts; a month they would be in Lebanon and two months at home, and Adoniram was over the taskworker.15And Solomon had seventy thousand carriers of burdens and eighty thousand hewers in the mountain,16besides the officials of the ones standing over the work who belonged to Solomon, three thousand three hundred who ruled over the people who were doing the work.17And the king commanded, and they quarried large stones, costly stones, to found the house, dressed stones.18Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders and the Gebalites cut and prepared the timber and the stones to build the house.