Hiram’s Reply to Solomon

(1 Kings 5:7–12)

11 Then Hiram king of Tyre wrote a letter in reply to Solomon:

“Because the LORD loves His people, He has set you over them as king.”

12 And Hiram added:

“Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who made the heavens and the earth! He has given King David a wise son with insight and understanding, who will build a temple for the LORD and a royal palace for himself.

13 So now I am sending you Huram-abi, a skillful man endowed with creativity.[fn] 14 He is the son of a woman from the daughters of Dan, and his father is a man of Tyre. He is skilled in work with gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, purple, blue, and crimson yarn, and fine linen. He is experienced in every kind of engraving and can execute any design that is given him. He will work with your craftsmen and with those of my lord, your father David.

15 Now let my lord send to his servants the wheat, barley, olive oil, and wine he promised. 16 We will cut logs from Lebanon, as many as you need, and we will float them to you as rafts by sea down to Joppa. Then you can take them up to Jerusalem.”

17 Solomon numbered all the foreign men in the land of Israel following the census his father David had conducted, and there were found to be 153,600 in all. 18 Solomon made 70,000 of them porters, 80,000 stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 supervisors.