5. This will be a great temple, because our God is greater than all other gods.
6. No one can ever build a temple large enough for God—even the heavens are too small a place for him to live in! All I can do is build a place where we can offer sacrifices to him.
7. Send me a worker who can not only carve, but who can work with gold, silver, bronze, and iron, as well as make brightly-coloured cloth. The person you send will work here in Judah and Jerusalem with the skilled workers that my father has already hired.
8. I know that you have workers who are experts at cutting timber in Lebanon. So would you please send me some cedar, pine, and juniper logs? My workers will be there to help them,
9. because I'll need a lot of timber to build such a large and glorious temple.
10. I will pay your woodcutters two thousand tonnes of wheat, the same amount of barley, four hundred thousand litres of wine, and that same amount of olive oil.
11. Hiram sent his answer back to Solomon:I know that the Lord must love his people, because he has chosen you to be their king.
12. Praise the Lord God of Israel who made heaven and earth! He has given David a son who is not only wise and clever, but who has the knowledge to build a temple for the Lord and a palace for himself.