The sentence beginning toward the end of the previous verse is continued here with the naming of two further categories of workers who would be involved in the repair of the Temple and who would receive the money. Masons were people who built walls with stones. The Hebrew word rendered masons is related to the verb meaning “to make a wall.” The rendering “bricklayers” (New Century Version) is also possible here since bricks were also used for building at this time, but less frequently than stones were. Since the next group of workers are called literally “cutters of stone,” some scholars suggest that the word masons should be changed to read “cutters.” This is, in fact, the recommendation of Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia; and the rendering “lumbermen” in New American Bible is based on this suggested correction of the Hebrew text. But the Masoretic Text makes sense, and there is no need to correct it.

As noted above, stonecutters is literally “cutters of stone.” Instead of using stones in their natural shape, the material was cut into regular shapes, usually rectangular. The people who did this work constituted one category of workers who were paid for their involvement in the repair of the Temple.

Timber: Many languages will use the same term here as the Hebrew, which literally says “trees.” In some cases it will be better to specify that these were “trees that had been cut down.”

Quarried stone: The Hebrew word translated quarried has the same root as “cutters” earlier in this verse. The whole expression refers to “stones that had been cut” into manageable-sized pieces to be used in the repair of the Temple. Some languages will say simply “cut stones” or “stones that had been hewn out.”

For any outlay means “for any other expenses” (New American Bible) since the items already mentioned were clearly expenses for the repair work. This comprehensive expression is intended as an all-inclusive phrase that will cover all the items already cited and any others that may arise.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .