David's Charge to Israel

28 (A)David assembled at Jerusalem all the officials of Israel, the (B)officials of the tribes, the officers of the divisions that served the king, the (C)commanders of thousands, the commanders of hundreds, the (D)stewards of all the property and livestock of the king and his sons, together with the palace officials, the (E)mighty men and all the seasoned warriors. Then King David rose to his feet and said: “Hear me, my brothers and my people. (F)I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord and for the (G)footstool of our God, and I made preparations for building. But God said to me, (H)‘You may not build a house for my name, for you are a man of war and have shed blood.’ Yet the Lord God of Israel (I)chose me from all my father's house to be king over Israel (J)forever. (K)For he chose Judah as leader, and in the house of Judah my father's (L)house, and among my father's sons he took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel. And of (M)all my sons (for the Lord has given me many sons) he (N)has chosen Solomon my son to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. He said to me, ‘It is (O)Solomon your son who shall build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. I will establish his kingdom (P)forever (Q)if he continues strong in keeping my commandments and my rules, as he is today.’ Now therefore in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God, observe and seek out all the commandments of the Lord your God, that you may possess this good land and leave it for an inheritance to your children after you forever.

David's Charge to Solomon

“And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a (R)whole heart and with a willing mind, (S)for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. (T)If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever. 10 Be careful now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; (U)be strong and do it.”

11 Then David gave Solomon his son the (V)plan of the (W)vestibule of the temple,[a] and of its houses, its treasuries, its upper rooms, and its inner chambers, and of the room for the (X)mercy seat; 12 and the plan of all that he had in mind for the courts of the house of the Lord, all the surrounding chambers, (Y)the treasuries of the house of God, and the treasuries for dedicated gifts; 13 for the (Z)divisions of the priests and of the (AA)Levites, and all the work of the service in the house of the Lord; for all the vessels for the service in the house of the Lord, 14 the weight of gold for all golden vessels for each service, the weight of silver vessels for each service, 15 the weight of the golden (AB)lampstands and their lamps, the weight of gold for each lampstand and its lamps, the weight of silver for a lampstand and its lamps, according to the use of each lampstand in the service, 16 the weight of gold for each table for the showbread, the silver for the silver tables, 17 and pure gold for the forks, the basins and the cups; for the golden bowls and the weight of each; for the silver bowls and the weight of each; 18 for the (AC)altar of incense made of refined gold, and its weight; also his plan for the golden chariot of the (AD)cherubim that spread their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of the Lord. 19 “All this he made clear to me in writing from the hand of the Lord, (AE)all the work to be done according to the plan.”

20 Then David said to Solomon his son, (AF)“Be strong and courageous and do it. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the Lord God, even my God, is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished. 21 And behold the (AG)divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God; and with you in all the work will be (AH)every willing man who has skill for any kind of service; also the officers and all the people will be wholly at your command.”

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 28:11 Hebrew lacks of the temple

The Siege of Jerusalem

29 Ah, Ariel, Ariel,
    the city (A)where David encamped!
Add year to year;
    let the feasts run their round.
Yet I will distress Ariel,
    and there shall be moaning and lamentation,
    and she shall be to me like an Ariel.[a]
(B)And I will encamp against you all around,
    and will besiege you (C)with towers
    and I will raise siegeworks against you.
(D)And you will be brought low; from the earth you shall speak,
    and from the dust your speech will be bowed down;
your voice shall come from the ground like (E)the voice of a ghost,
    and from the dust your speech shall whisper.

But the multitude of your foreign foes shall be like (F)small dust,
    and the multitude of the ruthless like passing chaff.
(G)And in an instant, suddenly,
    (H)you will be visited by the Lord of hosts
with thunder and with earthquake and great noise,
    with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire.
And (I)the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel,
    all that fight against her and her stronghold and distress her,
    shall be (J)like a dream, a vision of the night.
(K)As when a hungry man dreams, and behold, he is eating,
    and awakes with his hunger not satisfied,
or as when a thirsty man dreams, and behold, he is drinking,
    and awakes faint, with his thirst not quenched,
so shall the multitude of all the nations be
    that fight against Mount Zion.

Astonish yourselves[b] and be astonished;
    blind yourselves and be blind!
Be drunk,[c] but not with wine;
    (L)stagger,[d] but not with strong drink!
10 (M)For the Lord has poured out upon you
    a spirit of deep sleep,
and has closed your eyes (the prophets),
    and covered your heads (the seers).

11 And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is (N)sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” 12 And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot read.”

13 And the Lord said:
“Because (O)this people (P)draw near with their mouth
    and honor me with their lips,
    while their hearts are far from me,
and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,
14 therefore, behold, (Q)I will again
    do wonderful things with this people,
    with wonder upon wonder;
and (R)the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
    and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.”

15 Ah, (S)you who hide deep from the Lord your counsel,
    whose deeds are (T)in the dark,
    and who say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?”
16 (U)You turn things upside down!
Shall the potter be regarded as the clay,
that the thing made should say of its maker,
    “He did not make me”;
or the thing formed say of him who formed it,
    “He has no understanding”?

17 Is it not yet a very little while
    (V)until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field,
    and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest?
18 In that day (W)the deaf shall hear
    (X)the words of a book,
and out of their gloom and darkness
    (Y)the eyes of the blind shall see.
19 (Z)The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord,
    and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.
20 For the ruthless shall come to nothing
    and (AA)the scoffer cease,
    and all who watch to do evil shall be cut off,
21 who by a word make a man out to be an offender,
    and (AB)lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate,
    and with an empty plea (AC)turn aside him who is in the right.

22 Therefore thus says the Lord, (AD)who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:

“Jacob shall no more be ashamed,
    no more shall his face grow pale.
23 For when he sees his children,
    (AE)the work of my hands, in his midst,
    they will sanctify my name;
(AF)they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob
    and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
24 And those (AG)who go astray in spirit will come to understanding,
    and those who murmur will accept instruction.”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 29:2 Ariel could mean lion of God, or hero (2 Samuel 23:20), or altar hearth (Ezekiel 43:15–16)
  2. Isaiah 29:9 Or Linger awhile
  3. Isaiah 29:9 Or They are drunk
  4. Isaiah 29:9 Or they stagger

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