1 Kings 5

1 And the appointed officers supplied King Solomon in this way, and everything that was called for at the king’s table, each man in his own month; they never let anything fall short. And the barley and the straw for the horses and for the chariot teams they carried to whatever place the king was, each according to his assignment. [a] 2 And this is what was needed for Solomon in a single day: about a hundred and eighty bushels of fine flour and about three hundred and sixty bushels of ground meal, [b] 3 and ten choice calves and twenty oxen from the pastures and a hundred sheep, besides deer and gazelles and choice birds, all of them fattened. 4 For he was ruler over the land beyond the River, and he had peace on every side around him. [c]

9 And the Lord gave Solomon discernment and very great wisdom, and a breadth of heart like the sand beside the sea. 10 And Solomon’s discernment grew far beyond the discernment of all the people of ancient times, and beyond every discerning man in Egypt. 11 He was wiser than all people. He was wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Calcol, and Darda the sons of Mahol. [d]

12 And Solomon spoke three thousand sayings, and his songs were five thousand. [e] 13 And he spoke about the trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that comes out through the wall; and he spoke about the cattle, and about the birds, and about the creeping things, and about the fish. † 14 And all the peoples came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and he took gifts from all the kings of the earth, as many as had heard of his wisdom. And Solomon took Pharaoh’s daughter for himself as a wife, and brought her into the city of David, until he had finished building the house of the Lord, and his own house, and the wall of Jerusalem. [f]

15 Then Pharaoh king of Egypt went up and took Gezer and burned it with fire, and the Canaanite living in Mergab with it; and Pharaoh gave them as a parting gift to his daughter, Solomon’s wife, and Solomon rebuilt Gezer. And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to anoint Solomon in place of David his father, because Hiram had loved David all his days. [g] 16 And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, 17 “You know about David my father, that he could not build a house for the name of the Lord my God because of the wars that surrounded him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. 18 And now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side. There is no one plotting against me, and nothing evil meets me on the way. 19 And now I intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, just as the Lord God said to David my father: ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place — he will build the house for my name.’ 20 So now give the order, and let them cut timber for me out of Lebanon. My slaves will be with your slaves, and I will pay you the wages for your slaves’ labor, whatever you say; for you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber the way the Sidonians do.” [h]

21 And when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be God today, who has given David an understanding son over this great people.” 22 And he sent to Solomon, saying, “I have heard about everything you sent to me for. I will do all that you want — timber of cedar and timber of pine. 23 My slaves will bring it down from Lebanon to the sea, and I will make it into rafts as far as the place you send me word about, and I will have them landed there, and you will take them up. And you will do what I want, in giving food for my household.”

24 And Hiram kept giving Solomon cedars, and everything he wanted. [i] 25 And Solomon gave Hiram about a hundred and twenty thousand bushels of wheat as food for his household, and about a hundred and twenty thousand gallons of oil from beaten olives. This is what Solomon gave Hiram year by year. [j] 26 And the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, just as he had said to him. And there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a covenant between themselves.

27 And the king raised a tribute out of all Israel, and the tribute was thirty thousand men. 28 And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month, taking turns: they were a month in Lebanon and two months at home. And Adoniram was over the tribute. [k] 29 And Solomon had seventy thousand men carrying loads, and eighty thousand stonecutters in the hill country, 30 besides the leaders appointed over Solomon’s works — three thousand six hundred taskmasters, the men who carried out the work. [l] 32 And they made the stones and the timber ready for three years. [m]