1st Kings 列王纪上05

 
5When Hiram king of Tyre heard that Solomon had been anointed king to succeed his father David, he sent his envoys¹ to Solomon, because he had always been on friendly terms with David.
2Solomon sent back this message to Hiram:
3"You know that because of the wars waged against my father David from all sides, he could not build a temple for the Name of the Lord his God until the Lord put his enemies under his feet.
4But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary² or disaster.
5I intend, therefore, to build a temple for the Name of the Lord my God, as the Lord told my father David, when he said, 'Your son whom I will put on the throne in your place will build the temple for my Name.'
6"So give orders that cedars⁴ of Lebanon be cut for me. My men will work with yours, and I will pay you for your men whatever wages you set. You know that we have no one so skilled in felling timber as the Sidonians."
7When Hiram heard Solomon's message, he was greatly pleased and said, "Praise be to the Lord today, for he has given David a wise son to rule over this great nation."
8So Hiram sent word to Solomon: "I have received the message you sent me and will do all you want in providing the cedar³ and pine logs.
9My men will haul them down from Lebanon to the sea, and I will float them in rafts by sea to the place you specify⁵. There I will separate them and you can take them away. And you are to grant my wish by providing food for my royal household."
10In this way Hiram kept Solomon supplied with all the cedar and pine logs he wanted,
11and Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand cors of wheat as food for his household, in addition to twenty thousand baths , of pressed olive oil. Solomon continued to do this for Hiram year after year.
12The Lord gave Solomon wisdom, just as he had promised him. There were peaceful relations between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.
13King Solomon conscripted laborers⁷ from all Israel-thirty thousand men.
14He sent them off to Lebanon in shifts of ten thousand a month, so that they spent one month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor⁶.
15Solomon had seventy thousand carriers and eighty thousand stonecutters in the hills,
16as well as thirty-three hundred foremen who supervised the project and directed the workmen.
17At the king's command they removed from the quarry⁸ large blocks of quality stone to provide a foundation of dressed stone for the temple.
18The craftsmen⁹ of Solomon and Hiram and the men of Gebal cut and prepared the timber and stone for the building of the temple.

1 envoys   

使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份

参考例句：

• the routine tit for tat when countries expel each other's envoys 国家相互驱逐对方使节这种惯常的报复行动
• Marco Polo's travelogue mentions that Kublai Khan sent envoys to Malgache. 马可波罗游记中提到忽必烈曾派使节到马尔加什。

2 adversary   

adj.敌手，对手

参考例句：

• He saw her as his main adversary within the company.他将她视为公司中主要的对手。
• They will do anything to undermine their adversary's reputation.他们会不择手段地去损害对手的名誉。

3 cedar   

n.雪松，香柏(木)

参考例句：

• The cedar was about five feet high and very shapely.那棵雪松约有五尺高,风姿优美。
• She struck the snow from the branches of an old cedar with gray lichen.她把长有灰色地衣的老雪松树枝上的雪打了下来。

4 cedars   

雪松，西洋杉( cedar的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The old cedars were badly damaged in the storm. 风暴严重损害了古老的雪松。
• Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars. 1黎巴嫩哪，开开你的门，任火烧灭你的香柏树。

5 specify   

vt.指定，详细说明

参考例句：

• We should specify a time and a place for the meeting.我们应指定会议的时间和地点。
• Please specify what you will do.请你详述一下你将做什么。

6 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

7 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

8 quarry   

n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找

参考例句：

• Michelangelo obtained his marble from a quarry.米开朗基罗从采石场获得他的大理石。
• This mountain was the site for a quarry.这座山曾经有一个采石场。

9 craftsmen   

n. 技工

参考例句：

• rugs handmade by local craftsmen 由当地工艺师手工制作的小地毯
• The craftsmen have ensured faithful reproduction of the original painting. 工匠保证要复制一幅最接近原作的画。