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2 Chronicles Chapter 2

Other Translations

lxxbrent (lxxbrent) - Septuagint (Brenton 1851) eBible USFM

1 And Solomon gathered seventy thousand men that bore burdens, and eighty thousand hewers of stone in the mountain, and [there were] three thousand six hundred superintendents over them.
2 And Solomon sent to Chiram king of Tyre, saying, Whereas thou didst deal [favourably] with David my father, and didst send him cedars to build for himself a house to dwell in,
3 behold, I also his son am building a house to the name of the Lord my God, to consecrate it to him, to burn incense before him, and [to offer] shewbread continually, and to offer up whole-burnt-offerings continually morning and evening, and on the sabbaths, and at the new moons, and at the feasts of the Lord our God: this [is] a perpetual [statute] for Israel.
4 And the house which I am building [is to be] great: for the Lord our God [is] great beyond all gods.
5 And who will be able to build him a house? for the heaven and heaven of heavens do not bear his glory: and who am I, that I should build him a house, save only to burn incense before him?
6 And now send me a man wise and skilled to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and in scarlet, and in blue, and one that knows how to grave together with the craftsmen who are with me in Juda and in Jerusalem, which materials my father David prepared.
7 And send me from Libanus cedar wood, and wood of juniper, and pine; for I know that thy servants are skilled in cutting timber in Libanus: and, behold, thy servants shall go with my servants,
8 to prepare timber for me in abundance: for the house which I am building [must be] great and glorious.
9 And, behold, I have given freely to thy servants that work and cut the wood, corn for food, [even] twenty thousand measures of wheat, and twenty thousand measures of barley, and twenty thousand measures of wine, and twenty thousand measures of oil.
10 And Chiram king of Tyre answered in writing, and sent to Solomon, saying, Because the Lord loved his people, he made thee king over them.
11 And Chiram said, Blessed [be] the Lord God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, who has given to king David a wise son, and one endowed with knowledge and understanding, who shall build a house for the Lord, and a house for his kingdom.
12 And now I have sent thee a wise and understanding man [who belonged] to Chiram my father
13 (his mother [was] of the daughters of Dan, and his father [was] a Tyrian), skilled to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in stones and wood; and to weave with purple, and blue, and fine linen, and scarlet; and to engrave, and to understand every device, whatsoever thou shalt give him [to do] with thy craftsmen, and the craftsmen of my lord David thy father.
14 And now, the wheat, and the barley, and the oil, and the wine which my lord mentioned, let him send to his servants.
15 And we will cut timber out of Libanus according to all thy need, and we will bring it on rafts to the sea of Joppa, and thou shalt bring it to Jerusalem.
16 And Solomon gathered all the foreigners that were in the land of Israel, after the numbering with which David his father numbered them; and there were found a hundred and fifty-three thousand six hundred.
17 And he made of them seventy thousand burden-bearers, and eighty thousand hewers of stone, and three thousand six hundred taskmasters over the people.

web (web) - WorldEnglish.Bible — CC0 modern update of ASV

1 Now Solomon decided to build a house for the LORD’s name, and a house for his kingdom.
2 Solomon counted out seventy thousand men to bear burdens, eighty thousand men who were stone cutters in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred to oversee them.
3 Solomon sent to Huram the king of Tyre, saying, “As you dealt with David my father, and sent him cedars to build him a house in which to dwell, so deal with me.
4 Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it to him, to burn before him incense of sweet spices, for the continual show bread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the Sabbaths, on the new moons, and on the set feasts of the LORD our God. This is an ordinance forever to Israel.
5 “The house which I am building will be great, for our God is greater than all gods.
6 But who is able to build him a house, since heaven and the heaven of heavens can’t contain him? Who am I then, that I should build him a house, except just to burn incense before him?
7 “Now therefore send me a man skillful to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, in iron, and in purple, crimson, and blue, and who knows how to engrave engravings, to be with the skillful men who are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father provided.
8 “Send me also cedar trees, cypress trees, and algum trees out of Lebanon, for I know that your servants know how to cut timber in Lebanon. Behold, my servants will be with your servants,
9 even to prepare me timber in abundance; for the house which I am about to build will be great and wonderful.
10 Behold, I will give to your servants, the cutters who cut timber, twenty thousand cors of beaten wheat, twenty thousand baths of barley, twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.”
11 Then Huram the king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon, “Because the LORD loves his people, he has made you king over them.”
12 Huram continued, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, who has given to David the king a wise son, endowed with discretion and understanding, who would build a house for the LORD and a house for his kingdom.
13 Now I have sent a skillful man, endowed with understanding, Huram-abi,
14 the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan; and his father was a man of Tyre. He is skillful to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, in iron, in stone, in timber, in purple, in blue, in fine linen, and in crimson, also to engrave any kind of engraving and to devise any device, that there may be a place appointed to him with your skillful men, and with the skillful men of my lord David your father.
15 “Now therefore, the wheat, the barley, the oil, and the wine which my lord has spoken of, let him send to his servants;
16 and we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as you need. We will bring it to you in rafts by sea to Joppa; then you shall carry it up to Jerusalem.”
17 Solomon counted all the foreigners who were in the land of Israel, after the census with which David his father had counted them; and they found one hundred fifty-three thousand six hundred.
18 He set seventy thousand of them to bear burdens, eighty thousand who were stone cutters in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred overseers to assign the people their work.

Explanations by Age Level

Explain Like I'm 5

A long, long time ago, there was nothing at all - no earth, no sky, no animals, no people. It was all dark and empty. But God was there! God is so powerful that He can make anything just by speaking. So God said "Let there be light!" and BOOM! There was light everywhere! God saw that the light was beautiful and good. He called the light "day" and the darkness "night." This was the very first day when God started making our wonderful world!

Explain Like I'm 10

Before anything existed - no planets, stars, or life - God decided to create the universe. The earth started out as a dark, empty place covered with water. But God's Spirit was there, ready to bring order and beauty to everything. When God spoke and said "Let there be light," light immediately appeared because God's words have incredible power. God looked at the light and was pleased with what He had made. He organized time by separating light (day) from darkness (night), creating the first 24-hour period. This shows us that God is organized and purposeful in everything He does.

Explain Like I'm 15

Genesis 1:1-5 establishes fundamental theological truths about God and creation. The Hebrew word "bara" (created) indicates creation from nothing (ex nihilo), demonstrating God's absolute sovereignty and power. The phrase "without form and void" (tohu wa-bohu) describes a state of chaos that God transforms into order. The Spirit of God "hovering" or "brooding" over the waters suggests active, caring involvement in creation. The creation of light before the sun (created on day 4) indicates that God Himself is the ultimate source of light and energy. The establishment of day and night creates the framework of time, showing that God operates within orderly patterns while transcending them. This passage refutes both atheistic materialism and pantheism, establishing that God is both transcendent (separate from creation) and immanent (actively involved in it).