1 Kings 5

And the appointed officers supplied King Salomon thus, and all that was assigned for the king's table, each one in his month; they did not vary a word. And the barley and the straw for the horses and for the chariots they brought to the place where the king might be, each according to his allotted charge.

And these were the requirements for Salomon in one day: thirty kors of fine flour and sixty kors of pounded meal,

and ten choice calves and twenty pasture-fed oxen and a hundred sheep, besides deer and gazelles and choice fatted fowl.

For he was ruler beyond the River, and he had peace on every side round about.

And the Lord gave Salomon understanding and very great wisdom and breadth of heart like the sand that is by the sea.

And Salomon increased exceedingly beyond the understanding of all the people of old and beyond all the shrewd men of Egypt.

And he was wiser than all men, and wiser than Gaithan the Ezrahite and Aiman and Chalkal and Darda, the sons of Mal.

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

And he spoke about trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that comes out through the wall; and he spoke about the beasts and about the birds and about the creeping things and about the fishes.

And all the peoples came to hear the wisdom of Salomon, and he received gifts from all the kings of the earth, as many as heard of his wisdom. And Salomon took Pharaoh's daughter for himself as 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. Then Pharaoh king of Egypt went up and seized Gazer beforehand and burned it with fire, and the Chananite who dwelt in Mergab; and Pharaoh gave them as a parting gift to his daughter, Salomon's wife; and Salomon built Gazer.

And Chiram king of Tyre sent his servants to anoint Salomon in place of David his father, for Chiram had been a lover of David all the days.

And Salomon sent to Chiram, saying,

"You know David my father, that he was not able to 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.

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

And behold, I say that I will build a house for the name of the Lord my God, just as the Lord God spoke to David my father, saying, 'Your son, whom I will set in your place upon your throne, he shall build the house for my name.'

And now give command that they cut timber for me from Lebanon; and behold, my servants will be with your servants, and I will give you the wages of your service according to all that you say; for you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber as the Sidonians do."

And it came about, when Chiram heard the words of Salomon, that he rejoiced greatly and said, "Blessed be God today, who has given David a shrewd son over this numerous people."

And he sent to Salomon, saying, "I have heard concerning all that you sent to me; I will do all your desire, cedar timber and pine timber.

My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon to the sea; I will make them into rafts as far as the place that you send word to me, and I will break them apart there, and you shall take them up; and you shall do my desire, to give food for my household."

And Chiram kept giving Salomon cedars and all his desire.

And Salomon gave Chiram twenty thousand kors of wheat and machir for his household, and twenty thousand beth of beaten oil; thus Salomon gave to Chiram year by year.

And the Lord gave wisdom to Salomon, just as he had spoken to him; and there was peace between Chiram and Salomon, and they made a covenant between themselves.

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

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

And Salomon had seventy thousand who bore burdens and eighty thousand stonecutters in the mountain,

besides the chiefs appointed over Salomon's works, three thousand six hundred overseers over those who did the works.

And they prepared the stones and the timber for three years.