Who's House Are You Building

‭‭Diḇre haYamim Bĕt (2 Chronicles)‬ ‭2:1‭-‬18‬ ‭

[1] And Shelomoh gave word to build a House for the Name of יהוה, and a house for his reign. [2] Then Shelomoh enrolled seventy thousand men to bear burdens, eighty thousand hewing stone in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred to oversee them. [3] And Shelomoh sent to Ḥuram sovereign of Tsor, saying, “As you did for my father Dawiḏ, and sent him cedars to build himself a house to dwell in –

[4] see, I am building a House for the Name of יהוה my Elohim, to set it apart to Him, to burn before Him sweet incense, and for the continual showbread, and for the ascending offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the appointed times of יהוה our Elohim. This is for Yisra’ĕl forever. [5] “And the House which I build is great, for our Elohim is greater than all mighty ones. [6] “But who is able to build Him a House, since the heavens and the heavens of the heavens are unable to contain Him? Who am I then, that I should build Him a House, except to offer before Him? [7] “And now, send me at once a man who knows to work in gold, and in silver, and in bronze, and in iron, and in purple and crimson and blue, and knowing to engrave with the skilled men who are with me in Yehuḏah and Yerushalayim, whom Dawiḏ my father has prepared.

[8] “And send me cedar, cypress and algum logs from Leḇanon, for I know that your servants know to cut timber in Leḇanon. And see, my servants are with your servants, [9] even to prepare plenty of timber for me, for the House that I am building is great and marvellous. [10] “And see, I have given servants to you, the hewers who cut timber, twenty thousand kors of ground wheat, and twenty thousand kors of barley, and twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.” [11] Then Ḥuram the sovereign of Tsor answered in writing, which he sent to Shelomoh, “Because יהוה loves His people, He has made you sovereign over them.” [12] And Ḥuram said, “Blessed be יהוה Elohim of Yisra’ĕl, who made the heavens and earth, for He has given Sovereign Dawiḏ a wise son, knowing wisdom and understanding, to build a House for יהוה and a house for his reign! [13] “And now I have sent a skilled man having understanding, Ḥuram-aḇi, [14] the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tsor, who knows to work in gold, and in silver, in bronze, in iron, in stone, and in wood, purple and blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson, and to make any engraving and to accomplish any plan that is given to him, with your skilled men and with the skilled men of my master Dawiḏ your father. [15] “And now, the wheat and the barley, the oil and the wine which my master has spoken of, let him send to his servants. [16] “And let us cut wood from Leḇanon, as much as you need, and bring it to you in rafts by sea to Yapho, and you take it up to Yerushalayim.”

[17] And Shelomoh numbered all the men, the strangers who were in the land of Yisra’ĕl, according to the census in which Dawiḏ his father had numbered them, and they were found to be one hundred and fifty-three thousand six hundred. [18] And he made seventy thousand of them to bear burdens, and eighty thousand hewers of stone in the mountain, and three thousand six hundred overseers to make the people work.