Kings III

5

1 And thus the officers provided king Solomon: and they execute every one in his month all the orders for the table of the king, they *omit nothing. And they carried the barley and the straw for the horses and the chariots to the place where the king might be, each according to his charge.

2 And these were the requisite supplies for Solomon: in one day thirty measures of fine flour, and sixty measures of fine pounded meal,

3 and ten choice calves, and twenty pastured oxen, and a hundred sheep, besides stags, and choice fatted does.

4 For he had dominion on this side the river, and he was at peace on all sides round about.

9 And the Lord gave understanding to Solomon, and very much wisdom, and enlargement of heart, as the sand on the seashore.

10 And Solomon abounded greatly beyond the wisdom of all the ancients, and beyond all the wise men of Egypt.

11 And he was wiser than all other men: and he was wiser than Gæthan the Zarite, and than Ænan, and than Chalcad and Darala the sons of Mal.

12 And Solomon spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were five thousand.

13 And he spoke of trees, from the cedar in Libanus even to the hyssop which comes out through the wall: he spoke also of cattle, and of birds, and of reptiles, and of fishes.

14 And all the nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and ambassadors from all the kings of the earth, as many as heard of his wisdom.

14a †And Solomon took to himself the daughter of Pharao to wife, and brought her into the city of David until he had finished the house of the Lord, and his own house, and the wall of Jerusalem.

14b Then went up Pharao the king of Egypt, and took Gazer, and burnt it and the Chananite dwelling in Mergab; and Pharao gave them as a dowry to his daughter the wife of Solomon: and Solomon rebuilt Gazer.

15 And Chiram king of Tyre sent his servants to anoint Solomon in the room of David his father, because Chiram always loved David.

16 And Solomon sent to Chiram, saying,

17 Thou knewest ‡my father David, that he could not build a house to the name of the Lord my God §because of the wars that compassed him about, until the Lord put them under the **soles of his feet.

18 And now the Lord my God has given me rest round about; there is no one plotting against me, and there is no ††evil trespass against me.

19 And, behold, I intend to build a house to the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord God spoke to my father David, saying, Thy son whom I will set on thy throne in thy place, he shall build a house to my name.

20 And now command, and let men cut wood for me out of Libanus: and, behold, my servants shall be with thy servants, and I will give thee the wages of thy service, according to all that thou shalt say, because thou knowest that we have no one skilled in cutting timber like the Sidonians.

21 And it came to pass, as soon as Chiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be God to-day, who has given to David a wise son over this numerous people.

22 And he sent to Solomon, saying, I have listened concerning all that thou hast sent to me for: I will do all thy will: as for timber of cedar and fir,

23 my servants shall bring them down from Libanus to the sea: I will form them into rafts, and bring them to the place which thou shalt send to me about; and I will ‡‡land them there, and thou shalt take them up: and thou shalt do my will, in giving bread to my household.

24 So Chiram gave to Solomon cedars, and fir trees, and all his desire.

25 And Solomon gave to Chiram twenty thousand measures of wheat §§as food for his house, and twenty thousand baths of beaten oil thus Solomon gave to Chiram yearly.

26 And the Lord gave wisdom to Solomon as he ***promised him; and there was peace between Chiram and Solomon, and they made a covenant between them.

27 And the king raised †††a levy out of all Israel, and the levy was thirty thousand men.

28 And he sent them to Libanus, ten thousand taking turn every month: they were a month in Libanus and two months at home: and Adoniram was over the levy.

29 And Solomon had seventy thousand bearers of burdens, and eighty thousand hewers of stone in the mountain;

30 besides the rulers that were appointed over the works of Solomon, there were three thousand ‡‡‡six hundred §§§masters who wrought in the works.

32 And they prepared the stones and the timber during three years.