1 Kings 5: Solomon Requests Cedars from King Hiram – Clear & Engaging Audio Bible Reading | The Building of the Temple and Peaceful Relation Between Israel and Tyre

Listen to the captivating events of 1 Kings 5 with this clear and engaging audio recording. Join Solomon as he requests cedars from King Hiram for the building of the temple, witness the skillful work of the Sidonians, and discover the peaceful relationship formed between Israel and Tyre. Perfect for study, reflection, or meditation, immerse yourself in this powerful chapter and let the Scriptures come alive.

1 KINGS 5 (NIV)

1 When Hiram king of Tyre heard that Solomon had been anointed king to succeed
his father David, he sent his envoys to Solomon, because he had always been on
friendly terms with David.

2 Solomon sent back this message to Hiram:

3 “You know that because of the wars waged against my father David from all
sides, he could not build a temple for the Name of the Lord his God until the
Lord put his enemies under his feet.

4 But now the Lord my God has given me
rest on every side, and there is no adversary or disaster.

5 I intend,
therefore, to build a temple for the Name of the Lord my God, as the Lord told
my father David, when he said, ‘Your son whom I will put on the throne in your
place will build the temple for my Name.’

6 “So give orders that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me. My men will work with
yours, and I will pay you for your men whatever wages you set. You know that
we have no one so skilled in felling timber as the Sidonians.”

7 When Hiram heard Solomon’s message, he was greatly pleased and said, “Praise
be to the Lord today, for he has given David a wise son to rule over this
great nation.”

8 So Hiram sent word to Solomon:
“I have received the message you sent me and will do all you want in providing
the cedar and juniper logs.

9 My men will haul them down from Lebanon to the
Mediterranean Sea, and I will float them as rafts by sea to the place you
specify. There I will separate them and you can take them away. And you are to
grant my wish by providing food for my royal household.”

10 In this way Hiram kept Solomon supplied with all the cedar and juniper logs
he wanted,

11 and Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand cors of wheat as food for
his household, in addition to twenty thousand baths of pressed olive oil.
Solomon continued to do this for Hiram year after year.

12 The Lord gave
Solomon wisdom, just as he had promised him. There were peaceful relations
between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.

13 King Solomon conscripted laborers 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 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 foremen who
supervised the project and directed the workers.

17 At the king’s command they
removed from the quarry large blocks of high-grade stone to provide a
foundation of dressed stone for the temple.

18 The craftsmen of Solomon and
Hiram and workers from Byblos cut and prepared the timber and stone for the
building of the temple.