1 Kings 5 · Verse 6

1 Kings 5:6

Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants: and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians.
1 Kings 5:6, King James Version

1 Kings 5:6 in other translations

BSBNow therefore, order that cedars of Lebanon be cut down for me. My servants will be with your servants, and I will pay your servants whatever wages you set, for you know that there are none among us as skilled in logging as the Sidonians.”
WEBNow therefore command that cedar trees be cut for me out of Lebanon. My servants will be with your servants; and I will give you wages for your servants according to all that you say. For you know that there is nobody among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”
ASVNow therefore command thou that they cut me cedar-trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants; and I will give thee hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt say: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that knoweth how to cut timber like unto the Sidonians.
YLT‘And now, command, and they cut down for me cedars out of Lebanon, and my servants are with thy servants, and the hire of thy servants I give to thee according to all that thou sayest, for thou hast known that there is not among us a man acquainted with cutting wood, like the Sidonians.'
DARBYAnd now command that they hew me cedar-trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants; and I will give thee hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt say; for thou knowest that there is not among us any that are experienced in cutting timber like to the Zidonians.
BBESo now, will you have cedar-trees from Lebanon cut down for me, and my servants will be with your servants; and I will give you payment for your servants at whatever rate you say; for it is common knowledge that we have no such wood-cutters among us as the men of Zidon.
WebsterNow therefore command thou, that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants: and to thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that is skilled in hewing timber like the Sidonians.

What does 1 Kings 5:6 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
6. command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon--Nowhere else could Solomon have procured materials for the woodwork of his contemplated building. The forests of Lebanon, adjoining the seas in Solomon's time, belonged to the Phoenicians, and the timber being a lucrative branch of their exports, immense numbers of workmen were constantly employed in the felling of trees as well as the transportation and preparation of the wood. Hiram stipulated to furnish Solomon with as large a quantity of cedars and cypresses as he might require and it was a great additional obligation that he engaged to render the important service of having it brought down, probably by the Dog river, to the seaside, and conveyed along the coast in floats; that is, the logs being bound together, to the harbor of Joppa (2Ch 2:16), whence they could easily find the means of transport to Jerusalem. my servants shall be with thy servants--The operations were to be on so extensive a scale that the Tyrians alone would be insufficient. A division of labor was necessary, and while the former would do the work that required skilful artisans, Solomon engaged to supply the laborers. 1Ki 5:7-12. Furnishes Timber to Build the Temple.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 6 Any that can skill to hew timber - An obsolete and barbarous expression for any that know how to cut timber. They had neither sawyers, carpenters, joiners, nor builders among them, equal to the Sidonians. Sidon was a part of the territories of Hiram, and its inhabitants appear to have been the most expert workmen. It requires more skill to fell and prepare timber than is generally supposed. Vitruvius gives some rules relative to this, lib. ii., cap. 9, the sum of which is this: 1. Trees should be felled in autumn, or in the winter, and in the wane of the moon; for in this season the trees recover their vigor and solidity, which was dispersed among their leaves, and exhausted by their fruit, in spring and summer; they will then be free from a certain moisture, very apt to engender worms and rot them, which in autumn and winter is consumed and dried up. 2. Trees should not be cut down at once; they should be cut carefully round towards the pith, that the sap may drop down and distil away, and thus left till thoroughly dry, and then cut down entirely. 3. When fully dried, a tree should not be exposed to the south sun, high winds, and rain; and should be smeared over with cow-dung to prevent its splitting. 4. It should never be drawn through the dew, but be removed in the afternoon. 5. It is not fit for floors, doors, or windows, till it has been felled three years. Perhaps these directions attended to, would prevent the dry rot. And we see from them that there is considerable skill required to hew timber, and in this the Sidonians excelled. We do every thing in a hurry, and our building is good for nothing.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Kings 5:1-9

Here is Solomon's design to build a temple. There is no adversary, no Satan, so the word is; no instrument of Satan to oppose it, or to divert from it. Satan does all he can, to hinder temple work. When there is no evil abroad, then let us be ready and active in that which is good, and get forward. Let God's promises quicken our endeavours. And all outward skill and advantages should be made serviceable to the…

Read the full comment on 1 Kings 5:1-9 →

1 Kings 5:6 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְעַתָּ֡הve.'a.Tahand thereforeH6258
צַוֵּה֩tza.VehcommandH6680
וְיִכְרְתוּ\־ve.yikh.re.tu-so they may cutH3772
לִ֨יlifor <the> me
אֲרָזִ֜ים'a.ra.ZimcedarsH730
מִן\־min-fromH4480
הַלְּבָנ֗וֹןha.le.va.Non<the> LebanonH3844
וַֽעֲבָדַי֙va.'a.va.Daiand servants myH5650
יִהְי֣וּyih.Yuthey will beH1961
עִם\־'im-withH5973
עֲבָדֶ֔יךָ'a.va.Dei.khaservants yourH5650
וּשְׂכַ֤רu.se.Kharand [the] wage[s] ofH7939
עֲבָדֶ֙יךָ֙'a.va.Dei.khaservants yourH5650
אֶתֵּ֣ן'e.TenI will giveH5414
לְךָ֔le.Khato <the> you
כְּכֹ֖לke.Kholaccording to allH3605
אֲשֶׁ֣ר'a.SherthatH834
תֹּאמֵ֑רto.Meryou will sayH559
כִּ֣י\׀kiforH3588
אַתָּ֣ה'a.TahyouH859
יָדַ֗עְתָּya.Da'.tayou knowH3045
כִּ֣יkithatH3588
אֵ֥ין'einthere notH369
בָּ֛נוּBa.nuamong <the> us
אִ֛ישׁ'ish[is] anyoneH376
יֹדֵ֥עַyo.De.a'[who] knowsH3045
לִכְרָת\־likh.rot-to cutH3772
עֵצִ֖ים'e.Tzimwood<s>H6086
כַּצִּדֹנִֽים\׃ka.tzi.do.Nimlike the SidoniansH6722

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 1 Kings 5:6

  • 2 Chronicles 2:8

    Send me also cedar trees, fir trees, and algum trees, out of Lebanon: for I know that thy servants can skill to cut timber in Lebanon; and, behold, my servants shall be with thy servants,

  • Romans 12:17

    Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.

  • 1 Kings 6:20

    And the oracle in the forepart was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof: and he overlaid it with pure gold; and so covered the altar which was of cedar.

  • Philippians 4:8

    Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

  • Ezra 3:7

    They gave money also unto the masons, and to the carpenters; and meat, and drink, and oil, unto them of Zidon, and to them of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia.

  • Psalms 29:5

    The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars; yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.

  • 2 Chronicles 2:10

    And, behold, I will give to thy servants, the hewers that cut timber, twenty thousand measures of beaten wheat, and twenty thousand measures of barley, and twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.

  • 1 Kings 6:16

    And he built twenty cubits on the sides of the house, both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar: he even built them for it within, even for the oracle, even for the most holy place.

  • 1 Kings 6:9-10

    So he built the house, and finished it; and covered the house with beams and boards of cedar. And then he built chambers against all the house, five cubits high: and they rested on the house with timber of cedar.

  • Genesis 10:15

    And Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn, and Heth,

  • Ephesians 4:7

    But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

  • 1 Corinthians 12:14-21

    For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? …

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
cedar trees.
6:9,10,16,20; 2Ch 2:8,10; Ps 29:5
will I give hire.
Ro 12:17; Php 4:8
appoint. Heb. say. that there is not.
1Co 12:14-21; Eph 4:7
Sidonians.
Ge 10:15; Ezr 3:7

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 1 Kings 5:5

    And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build an house unto my name.

  • 1 Kings 5:6

    Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants: and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians.

  • 1 Kings 5:7

    And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be the Lord this day, which hath given unto David a wise son over this great people.

Read all of 1 Kings 5

1 Kings 5:6 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Manda pues ahora que me corten cedros del Líbano; y mis siervos estarán con los tuyos, y yo te daré por tus siervos el salario que tú dijeres: porque tú sabes bien que ninguno hay entre nosotros que sepa labrar la madera como los Sidonios.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Salomon avait 40 000 stalles pour les chevaux de ses chars, et 12 000 cavaliers.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und nun gebiete, daß man mir Cedern vom Libanon haue; und meine Knechte sollen mit deinen Knechten sein; und den Lohn deiner Knechte will ich dir geben nach allem, was du sagen wirst; denn du weißt ja, daß niemand unter uns ist, der Holz zu hauen versteht wie die Zidonier.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Præcipe igitur ut præcidant mihi servi tui cedros de Libano, et servi mei sint cum servis tuis: mercedem autem servorum tuorum dabo tibi quamcumque petieris: scis enim quomodo non est in populo meo vir qui noverit ligna cædere sicut Sidonii.