Solomon’s Workforce

13 Then King Solomon drafted forced laborers from all Israel;(A) the labor force numbered thirty thousand men. 14 He sent ten thousand to Lebanon each month in shifts; one month they were in Lebanon, two months they were at home. Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor. 15 Solomon had seventy thousand porters and eighty thousand stonecutters in the mountains,(B) 16 not including his thirty-three hundred[a] deputies(C) in charge of the work. They supervised the people doing the work.

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Footnotes

  1. 5:16 Some LXX mss read 3,600; 2Ch 2:2,18

13 King Solomon conscripted laborers(A) from all Israel—thirty thousand men. 14 He sent them off to Lebanon in shifts of ten thousand a month, so that they spent one month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram(B) was in charge of the forced labor. 15 Solomon had seventy thousand carriers and eighty thousand stonecutters in the hills, 16 as well as thirty-three hundred[a] foremen(C) who supervised the project and directed the workers.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 5:16 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 2 Chron. 2:2,18) thirty-six hundred

13 And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men.

14 And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses: a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home: and Adoniram was over the levy.

15 And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand hewers in the mountains;

16 Beside the chief of Solomon's officers which were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, which ruled over the people that wrought in the work.

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38 In his eleventh year in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month,[a] the temple was completed in every detail and according to every specification.(A) So he built it in seven years.(B)

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Footnotes

  1. 6:38 = October–November

38 In the eleventh year in the month of Bul, the eighth month, the temple was finished in all its details(A) according to its specifications.(B) He had spent seven years building it.

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38 And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.

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Contributions for Building the Temple

29 Then King David said to all the assembly, “My son Solomon—God has chosen him alone—is young and inexperienced. The task is great(A) because the building will not be built for a human but for the Lord God.(B) So to the best of my ability I’ve made provision for the house of my God:(C) gold for the gold articles, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron, and wood for the wood, as well as onyx, stones for mounting,[a] antimony,[b](D) stones of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and a great quantity of marble. Moreover, because of my delight in the house of my God, I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the house of my God over and above all that I’ve provided for the holy house: 100 tons[c](E) of gold (gold of Ophir(F)) and 250 tons[d] of refined silver for overlaying the walls of the buildings, the gold for the gold work and the silver for the silver, for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now who will volunteer to consecrate himself to the Lord today?”

Then the leaders of the households, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds,(G) and the officials in charge of the king’s work(H) gave willingly. For the service of God’s house they gave 185 tons[e] of gold and 10,000 gold coins,[f](I) 375 tons[g] of silver, 675 tons[h] of bronze, and 4,000 tons[i] of iron. Whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the Lord’s house under the care of Jehiel(J) the Gershonite.

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Footnotes

  1. 29:2 Or mosaic
  2. 29:2 In Hb, the word antimony is similar to “turquoise”; Ex 28:18.
  3. 29:4 Lit 3,000 talents
  4. 29:4 Lit 7,000 talents
  5. 29:7 Lit 5,000 talents
  6. 29:7 Or drachmas, or darics
  7. 29:7 Lit 10,000 talents
  8. 29:7 Lit 18,000 talents
  9. 29:7 Lit 100,000 talents

Gifts for Building the Temple

29 Then King David said to the whole assembly: “My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced.(A) The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the Lord God. With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God—gold(B) for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise,[a](C) stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble—all of these in large quantities.(D) Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided(E) for this holy temple: three thousand talents[b] of gold (gold of Ophir)(F) and seven thousand talents[c] of refined silver,(G) for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings, for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to consecrate themselves to the Lord today?”

Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials(H) in charge of the king’s work gave willingly.(I) They(J) gave toward the work on the temple of God five thousand talents[d] and ten thousand darics[e] of gold, ten thousand talents[f] of silver, eighteen thousand talents[g] of bronze and a hundred thousand talents[h] of iron. Anyone who had precious stones(K) gave them to the treasury of the temple of the Lord in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite.(L)

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 29:2 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  2. 1 Chronicles 29:4 That is, about 110 tons or about 100 metric tons
  3. 1 Chronicles 29:4 That is, about 260 tons or about 235 metric tons
  4. 1 Chronicles 29:7 That is, about 190 tons or about 170 metric tons
  5. 1 Chronicles 29:7 That is, about 185 pounds or about 84 kilograms
  6. 1 Chronicles 29:7 That is, about 380 tons or about 340 metric tons
  7. 1 Chronicles 29:7 That is, about 675 tons or about 610 metric tons
  8. 1 Chronicles 29:7 That is, about 3,800 tons or about 3,400 metric tons

29 Furthermore David the king said unto all the congregation, Solomon my son, whom alone God hath chosen, is yet young and tender, and the work is great: for the palace is not for man, but for the Lord God.

Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for things to be made of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and the brass for things of brass, the iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood; onyx stones, and stones to be set, glistering stones, and of divers colours, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance.

Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, I have of mine own proper good, of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house.

Even three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses withal:

The gold for things of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and for all manner of work to be made by the hands of artificers. And who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the Lord?

Then the chief of the fathers and princes of the tribes of Israel and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers of the king's work, offered willingly,

And gave for the service of the house of God of gold five thousand talents and ten thousand drams, and of silver ten thousand talents, and of brass eighteen thousand talents, and one hundred thousand talents of iron.

And they with whom precious stones were found gave them to the treasure of the house of the Lord, by the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite.

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Temple Foundation Completed

10 When the builders had laid the foundation of the Lord’s temple, the priests, dressed in their robes and holding trumpets, and the Levites descended from Asaph,(A) holding cymbals, took their positions to praise the Lord, as King David of Israel had instructed.(B) 11 They sang with praise and thanksgiving to the Lord: “For he is good; his faithful love to Israel endures forever.”(C) Then all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord because the foundation of the Lord’s house had been laid.(D)

12 But many of the older priests, Levites, and family heads, who had seen the first temple, wept loudly when they saw the foundation of this temple,(E) but many others shouted joyfully. 13 The people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shouting from that of the[a] weeping,(F) because the people were shouting so loudly. And the sound was heard far away.

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Footnotes

  1. 3:13 Lit the people

10 When the builders laid(A) the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets,(B) and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise(C) the Lord, as prescribed by David(D) king of Israel.(E) 11 With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord:

“He is good;
    his love toward Israel endures forever.”(F)

And all the people gave a great shout(G) of praise to the Lord, because the foundation(H) of the house of the Lord was laid. 12 But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple,(I) wept(J) aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. 13 No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy(K) from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.

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10 And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the Lord, after the ordinance of David king of Israel.

11 And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.

12 But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy:

13 So that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.

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10 For who despises the day of small things?(A) These seven eyes of the Lord, which scan throughout the whole earth, will rejoice when they see the ceremonial stone[a] in Zerubbabel’s hand.”(B)

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Footnotes

  1. 4:10 Lit the tin stone

10 “Who dares despise the day(A) of small things,(B) since the seven eyes(C) of the Lord that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone[a] in the hand of Zerubbabel?”(D)

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Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 4:10 Or the plumb line

10 For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth.

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