⁷ Hiram was very happy when he received Solomon's message. He said, ‘Praise the Lord today, because he gave David a wise son to rule over the great nation, Israel.’ ⁸ Then Hiram sent this message to Solomon:

‘I have received the message that you sent to me. I will give you the wood that you have asked for. I will send you cedar wood and pine wood, as much as you need. ⁹ My men will take the trees from the hills of Lebanon down to the sea. Then we will tie several trees together like a boat. We will take them on the sea to the place where you want them. There we will undo the ropes so that your men can carry the trees away. You will pay me with enough food to feed the people of my palace.’