²⁷ Put your work in order outside, and make it ready in the field; and after that, see to the building of your house.

¹⁷ By the king's orders great stones, stones of high price, were cut out, so that the base of the house might be made of squared stone.

¹⁸ Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did the work of cutting them, and put edges on them, and got the wood and the stone ready for the building of the house.

⁷ (And the stones used in the building of the house were squared at the place where they were cut out; there was no sound of hammer or axe or any iron instrument while they were building the house.)

²⁸ For which of you, desiring to put up a tower, does not first give much thought to the price, if he will have enough to make it complete?

²⁹ For fear that if he makes a start and is not able to go on with it to the end, all who see it will be laughing at him,

³⁰ And saying, This man made a start at building and is not able to make it complete.