Now Solomon gave orders to build a house for the name of Yahweh and a house for his kingdom.
Solomon counted out 70,000 men to carry burdens and 80,000 men who were stone cutters in the mountains, and 3,600 supervisors.
Solomon sent to Huram the king of Tyre, saying, “You once dealt with David my father and sent him cedars to build himself a house to live in.
Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of Yahweh my God, to dedicate it to him and to burn fragrant incense before him, and for the regular arrangement of the Bread of the Presence, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the Sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the set feasts of Yahweh our God. This is an ordinance for Israel forever.
The house that I am building is great, for our God is greater than all gods.
But who is able to build him a house, since heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain him? Who am I then, that I should build him a house, except just to burn incense before him?
So now send me a man who is skillful to work in gold, and in silver, and in bronze, and in iron, and in purple and crimson and blue dye, and who knows how to engrave engravings, so he can be with the skillful men who are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem whom David my father provided.
Send me also cedar trees, cypress, and algum trees from Lebanon, for I know that your servants know how to cut timber in Lebanon, and behold, my servants will be with your servants,
to prepare timber in abundance for me, because the house that I am about to build will be great and wonderful.
Behold, I will give for your servants, the cutters who cut timber, 20,000 cors of beaten wheat, and 20,000 cors of barley, and 20,000 baths of wine, and 20,000 baths of oil.”
Then Huram the king of Tyre answered in writing, and he sent it to Solomon, “Because of Yahweh’s love for his people, he has made you king over them.”
Huram continued, “Blessed be Yahweh the God of Israel that made heaven and earth, who has given to David the king a wise son who has discretion and understanding, who will build a house for Yahweh and a house for his kingdom.
Now I have sent a skillful man, one who has understanding, Huram-abi,
the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre, skillful to work in gold and in silver, in bronze, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue and in fine linen and in crimson, also to engrave any kind of engraving and to execute any design that he is assigned with your skillful men and with the skillful men of my lord David your father.
So now the wheat and the barley, the oil and the wine that my lord has spoken of, let him send it to his servants:
and we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as you need, and we will bring it to you as rafts by sea to Joppa, and you can carry it up to Jerusalem.”
Solomon counted all the foreigners who were in the land of Israel according to the counting with which David his father had counted them, and they were found to be 153,600.
He set 70,000 of them to carry burdens and 80,000 who were stone cutters in the mountains, and 3,600 supervisors to make the people work.