³“As you know, my father David had to fight many battles. His enemies attacked him from every side. So he couldn’t build a temple where the Lord his God would put his Name. That wouldn’t be possible until the Lord had put his enemies under his control.

⁴“But now the Lord my God has given me peace and rest on every side. We don’t have any enemies. And we don’t have any other major problems either. ⁵So I’m planning to build a temple. I want to build it for the Name of the Lord my God. That’s what he told my father David he wanted me to do. He said, ‘I will put your son on the throne in your place. He will build a temple. I will put my Name there.’

⁶“So give your men orders to cut down cedar trees in Lebanon for me. My men will work with yours. I’ll pay you for your men’s work. I’ll pay any amount you decide on. As you know, we don’t have anyone who is as skilled in cutting down trees as the men of Sidon are.”

⁷When Hiram heard Solomon’s message, he was very pleased. He said, “May the Lord be praised today. He has given David a wise son to rule over that great nation.”

⁸So Hiram sent a message to Solomon. It said,

“I have received the message you sent me. I’ll do everything you want me to. I’ll provide the cedar and pine logs. ⁹My men will bring them from Lebanon down to the Mediterranean Sea. I’ll make them into rafts. I’ll float them to the place you want me to. When the rafts arrive, I’ll separate the logs from each other. Then you can take them away.

“And here’s what I want in return. Provide food for all of the people in my palace.”

¹⁰So Hiram supplied Solomon with all of the cedar and pine logs he wanted.

¹¹Solomon gave Hiram 125,000 bushels of wheat as food for the people in his palace. He also gave him 115,000 gallons of oil that was made from pressed olives. He did that for Hiram year after year.

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