“As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and (A)serve Him wholeheartedly and with a willing [a]mind; (B)for the Lord searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. (C)If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever. 10 Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; (D)be courageous and act.”

11 Then David gave to his son Solomon (E)the plan of (F)the porch of the temple, its buildings, its storehouses, its upper rooms, its inner rooms, and (G)the room for the [b]atoning cover; 12 and the plan of all that he had in [c]mind, for the courtyards of the house of the Lord, and for all the surrounding rooms, for (H)the storehouses of the house of God and for the storehouses of the dedicated things; 13 also for (I)the divisions of the priests and (J)the Levites and for all the work of the service of the house of the Lord and for all the utensils of service in the house of the Lord; 14 for the golden utensils, by weight of gold for all utensils for every service; for all the silver utensils, by weight of silver for all utensils for every service; 15 and the weight of gold for the (K)golden lampstands and their golden lamps, with the weight of each lampstand and its lamps; and the weight of silver for the silver lampstands, with the weight of each lampstand and its lamps according to the use of each lampstand; 16 and the gold by weight for the tables of the showbread, for each table; and silver for the silver tables; 17 and the forks, the basins, and the pitchers of pure gold; and for the golden bowls with the weight for each bowl; and for the silver bowls with the weight for each bowl; 18 and for (L)the altar of incense, refined gold by weight; and gold for the model of the chariot, and (M)the cherubim that spread out their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of the Lord.

19 “All this,” said David, “the Lord made me understand in writing by His hand upon me, (N)all the [d]details of this pattern.”

20 Then David said to his son Solomon, “(O)Be strong and courageous, and act; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. (P)He will not fail you nor forsake you until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished. 21 Now behold, (Q)there are the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God, and (R)every willing man of any skill will be with you in all the work for all kinds of service. The officials also and all the people will be entirely at your command.”

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 28:9 Lit soul
  2. 1 Chronicles 28:11 Also called mercy seat; i.e., where blood was sprinkled on the Day of Atonement
  3. 1 Chronicles 28:12 Lit the spirit with him
  4. 1 Chronicles 28:19 Lit works

“And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. 10 So take this seriously. The Lord has chosen you to build a Temple as his sanctuary. Be strong, and do the work.”

11 Then David gave Solomon the plans for the Temple and its surroundings, including the entry room, the storerooms, the upstairs rooms, the inner rooms, and the inner sanctuary—which was the place of atonement. 12 David also gave Solomon all the plans he had in mind[a] for the courtyards of the Lord’s Temple, the outside rooms, the treasuries, and the rooms for the gifts dedicated to the Lord. 13 The king also gave Solomon the instructions concerning the work of the various divisions of priests and Levites in the Temple of the Lord. And he gave specifications for the items in the Temple that were to be used for worship.

14 David gave instructions regarding how much gold and silver should be used to make the items needed for service. 15 He told Solomon the amount of gold needed for the gold lampstands and lamps, and the amount of silver for the silver lampstands and lamps, depending on how each would be used. 16 He designated the amount of gold for the table on which the Bread of the Presence would be placed and the amount of silver for other tables.

17 David also designated the amount of gold for the solid gold meat hooks used to handle the sacrificial meat and for the basins, pitchers, and dishes, as well as the amount of silver for every dish. 18 He designated the amount of refined gold for the altar of incense. Finally, he gave him a plan for the Lord’s “chariot”—the gold cherubim[b] whose wings were stretched out over the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant. 19 “Every part of this plan,” David told Solomon, “was given to me in writing from the hand of the Lord.[c]

20 Then David continued, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. He will see to it that all the work related to the Temple of the Lord is finished correctly. 21 The various divisions of priests and Levites will serve in the Temple of God. Others with skills of every kind will volunteer, and the officials and the entire nation are at your command.”

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Footnotes

  1. 28:12 Or the plans of the spirit that was with him.
  2. 28:18 Hebrew for the gold cherub chariot.
  3. 28:19 Or was written under the direction of the Lord.