2 Chronicles 2

¹ Therfor sende thou to me a lernd man, that can worche in gold, and siluer, bras, and yrun, purpur, rede silke, and iacynct; and that can graue in grauyng with these crafti men, which Y haue with me in Judee and Jerusalem, whiche Dauid, my fadir, made redi. ² But also sende thou to me cedre trees, and pyne trees, and thyne trees of the Liban; for Y woot, that thi seruauntis kunnen kitte trees of the Liban; and my seruauntis schulen be with thi seruauntis, ³ that ful many trees be maad redi to me; for the hows which Y coueyte to bilde is ful greet and noble. ⁴ Ferthermore to thi seruauntis, werk men that schulen kitte trees, Y schal yyue in to meetis twenti thousynde chorus of whete, and so many chorus of barli, and twenti thousynde mesuris of oile, that ben clepid sata. ⁵ Forsothe Iram, king of Tire, seide bi lettris whiche he sente to Salomon, For the Lord louyde his puple, therfor he made thee to regne on it. ⁶ And he addide, seiynge, Blessid be the Lord God of Israel, that made heuene and erthe, which yaf to Dauid the kyng a wijs sone, and lernd, and witti, and prudent, that he schulde bilde an hows to the Lord, and a paleis to hym silf. 7 Therfor Y sente to thee a prudent man and moost kunnynge, Iram, 8 my fadir, the sone of a womman of the lynage of Dan, whos fadir was a man of Tire; whiche Iram can worche in gold, and siluer, bras, and irun, and marble, and trees, also in purpur, and iacynct, and bijs, and rede silke; and which Iram can graue al grauyng, and fynde prudentli, what euer thing is nedeful in werk with thi crafti men, and with the crafti men of my lord Dauid, thi fadir. 9 Therfor, my lord, sende thou to thi seruauntis the whete, and barli, and oyle, and wyn, whiche thou bihiytist. 10 Sotheli we schulen kitte trees of the Liban, how many euere thou hast nedeful; and we schulen brynge tho in schippis bi the see in to Joppe; forsothe it schal be thin to lede tho ouer in to Jerusalem. 11 Therfor Salomon noumbride alle men conuertid fro hethenesse, that weren in the lond of Israel, aftir the noumbryng which Dauid, his fadir, noumbride; and an hundrid thousynde and thre and fifti thousynde and sixe hundrid weren foundun. 12 And he made of hem seuenti thousynde, that schulden bere birthuns in schuldris, and foure score thousynde, that schulden kitte stonys in hillis; sotheli he made thre thousynde and sixe hundrid souereyns of werkis of the puple. ¹⁴ And Salomon bigan to bilde the hows of the Lord in Jerusalem, in the hil of Moria, that was schewid to Dauid, his fadir, in the place which Dauid hadde maad redi in the corn floor of Ornam Jebusei. ¹⁵ Forsothe he bigan to bilde in the secounde monethe, in the fourthe yeer of his rewme. ¹⁶ And these weren the foundementis, whiche Salomon settide, that he schulde bilde the hous of God; sixti cubitis of lengthe in the firste mesure, twenti cubitis of breede. ¹⁷ Forsothe he bildide a porche bifor the frount, that was stretchid forth along bisidis the mesure of the breede of the hows, of twenti cubitis, sotheli the hiynesse was of an hundrid and twenti cubitis; and he ouergilde it with inne with clennest gold. ¹⁸ Also he hilide the gretter hows with tablis of beech, and he fastnede platis of gold of beste colour al aboute; and he grauyde therynne palmtrees, and as smale chaynes biclipynge hem silf togidere.