Old/New Testament
28 At the end of his life, David assembled in Jerusalem all the officials of Israel to instruct them in how to run both the state and the religion after his death. These officials included the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of the divisions that served the king, the commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, the managers of all the royal property and livestock, the officials, the warriors, and all the valiant men.
David (rising to his feet): 2 Listen to me, my brothers and my people. As you know, I had intended to build a permanent home for the covenant chest of the Eternal and for the footstool of our God just as He prepared my kingdom and my palace for me. So I had prepared to build it, collecting fine materials from all over the region. 3 But God did not want me to build His temple. He told me, “You have shed much blood and waged great wars, My wars. But because of your conquests and the amount of blood you spilled on My behalf, you will not build a house honoring My reputation. The blood on your hands makes you ritually impure.”
4 The Eternal One, God of Israel, decided the tribe of Judah would lead His nation. Then He chose and was pleased with me, from among all of my brothers in my father’s house, to be the king over Israel and establish an eternal monarchy. 5 From among all my sons (for the Eternal has blessed me with many sons), He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Eternal One over Israel.
Like David, Solomon is a younger son, who traditionally should not inherit the birthright of his father. But God sees more in David and Solomon than just birth order.
6 He said to me, “Your son Solomon, though younger, is the one who will execute your plans to build My house and My courts; for I shall be his Father and he will be My son. 7 I shall settle him and his descendants as My representatives in My temple and in My kingdom forever if he follows your lead and resolutely performs My commandments and My ordinances.”
God has a tendency to choose younger sons to lead His people. This is remarkable! Everyone else in the ancient world is led by the oldest sons; it’s tradition. But God chose Isaac over Ishmael, Jacob over Esau, David over his six older brothers, and now Solomon over his many older brothers.
This tendency to choose the unexpected demonstrates that Israel is God’s nation, not the nation of any monarch. God is not bound by human traditions, no matter how old those traditions may be. As the Jews face seemingly impossible situations, their ancestors’ lives remind them that God can and will do anything to accomplish His goals. He often supports those with a hopeless cause. Why else would He rescue His people, the Jews, from the great Persian Empire and choose them to rebuild His nation?
David: 8 To you, my officials, follow the laws of the Eternal One your God as a witness to your neighbors (all Israel who are the assembly of the Eternal) and in the sight of our God so that you will retain this land and be able to pass it to your descendants forever.
9 To you, my son Solomon, maintain a relationship with the God of your father and serve Him with a complete heart in all your thoughts and actions. The Eternal searches all hearts for their desires and understands the intentions of every thought. If you search for Him as He searches you, then He will let you find Him. But if you abandon Him, then He will reject you forever. 10 Realize that the Eternal has chosen you to build a temple as a sanctuary. You must be resolute and do it!
11 After instructing Solomon, David gave him blueprints of the temple porch, its buildings, its storehouses, its upper rooms, its inner rooms, and the holy of holies for the covenant chest. 12 And David also gave Solomon the plans he had in mind for the courts of the temple of the Eternal, all the surrounding rooms, the storehouses of the temple of God, and the storehouses of the dedicated gifts. 13 David also provided lists of the divisions of the priests and Levites and the work of the service they would perform in the temple of the Eternal. David also described how the priests and Levites would treat all the utensils of service in the house of the Eternal: 14 the ideal weight of gold for all the golden utensils for every kind of service, the ideal weight of silver for all the silver utensils for every kind of service, 15 the ideal weight of gold for each of the golden lampstands and their golden lamps, the ideal weight of silver for each of the silver lampstands and their silver lamps, 16 the ideal weight of gold for each of the tables of unleavened bread, and the silver for the silver tables, 17 the ideal weight of pure gold for the forks, the basins, and the pitchers, the ideal weight of gold for each of the golden bowls, the ideal weight for each of the silver bowls, 18 the ideal weight of refined gold for the altar of incense, for the model of the chariot, and for the winged guardian whose wings covered the covenant chest of the Eternal.
David (to the assembly): 19 All of these instructions and details were written for me by the Eternal, who was guiding me.
(to Solomon) 20 Be strong, courageous, and effective. Do not fear or be dismayed. I know that the Eternal God, who is my God, is with you. He will not abandon you or forsake you until you have finished all the work for the temple of the Eternal. 21 You will be helped in finishing this service by the divisions of the priests and the Levites and by every willing man of any skill. The officials and all the people will be at your disposal for the completion of the temple.
Now that the Jews are rebuilding Jerusalem in the postexilic period, they should take David’s words to Solomon as their own charge. They, too, must make their relationships with God of primary importance. He will guide them as they rebuild His temple and His nation, if they continue to follow His purpose. The Jews must not be daunted by the size of the project before them. God will use great leaders like Ezra and Nehemiah to guide them through every step of rebuilding His temple and rebuilding His nation.
29 David (to the entire assembly): Although my son Solomon was chosen by God and has the ability to build a beautiful temple, he is still young and inexperienced for such a great work. This work is not for men—it is for the Eternal God. 2 I have tried to help him as much as I can by providing gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stones (the onyx, inlaid stones, antimony, stones of various colors, precious stones, and alabaster) in abundance to use in my God’s temple. 3 Furthermore I will give my own gold and silver treasures (in addition to the materials I have provided for the construction) to the temple because of my delight in the house of my God. 4 These gifts include 110 tons of the finest gold, 260 tons of refined silver (to cover the walls of the buildings), 5 more gold and more silver as needed. All of this work will be done by the skilled workers, so who then is willing give of himself this day to the Eternal?
6 Then family leaders, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and the managers over the king’s work, offered willingly. 7 For the service of the temple of God they gave 190 tons and 185 pounds of gold, 375 tons of silver, 675 tons of bronze, and 3,750 tons of iron. 8 Anyone who owned precious stones gave them willingly to the treasury of the temple of the Eternal, where they were managed by Jehiel the Gershonite. 9 Then all the people rejoiced because the officers had given to the Eternal so willingly and wholeheartedly. King David also rejoiced greatly, and 10 he blessed the Eternal in a prayer before the assembly.
David: You are blessed, O Eternal One,
God of Israel, our father, forever and ever.
11 All that is great and powerful and glorious and victorious and majestic
is Yours, O Eternal One.
Indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth belongs to You.
The kingdom belongs to You, O Eternal One, and You are the head of it all.
12 Wealth and glory come from You,
and You rule over them all.
In Your hand is power and strength,
and You use them to make great and strengthen everyone.
13 Because of your greatness, our God,
we testify about Your greatness and praise Your glorious name.
14 But who am I and who are my people
that we can offer up anything to You so willingly?
All our offerings come from You,
so we can give You nothing that isn’t already Yours.
15 For we are strangers before You, sojourners, as all our fathers were.
Our days on the earth are dark and temporary.
16 O Eternal One our God, we realize that all this abundance,
all that will build Your temple for Your holy name,
Is from Your hand already.
Everything is Yours.
17 O my God, You test the heart and delight when it is proven faithful,
so I, with an honest heart, have willingly offered all these things.
And now I have joyfully witnessed Your people, who are present here,
make their offerings willingly and joyously to You.
18 O Eternal One, the God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Israel,
sustain this purpose and thought
In the hearts of Your people forever
and guide their hearts to You.
19 Especially give to my son Solomon a perfect heart,
one that keeps Your commandments, Your testimonies, and Your laws,
One that will do them all, and one that will build the temple,
for which I have made provisions.
20 (to the assembly) Now bless the Eternal One your God.
Right then, the assembly obeyed David, blessing the Eternal, the God of their fathers, and bowed low in worship before the Eternal One and the king. 21 On the next day, they made sacrifices and burnt offerings to Him: 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 lambs. They also gave abundant drink offerings and sacrifices for all Israel. 22 Then they ate and drank before the Eternal with great gladness, and they coronated Solomon (son of David) a second time, anointing him as ruler and Zadok as priest for the Eternal. 23 Then, for the first time, Solomon sat on the throne of the Eternal as king instead of his father David. Solomon prospered, and all Israel recognized him as their king. 24 All the officials, the warriors, and the other sons of King David pledged their allegiance to King Solomon. 25 The Eternal exalted Solomon as a great ruler before all Israel and gave him royal majesty greater than any king before him in Israel.
26 David the son of Jesse was the first king to reign over all Israel. 27 His rule over Israel lasted 40 years: 7 years in Hebron and 33 years in Jerusalem. 28 Then he died peacefully of old age, after a long life, riches, and honor. And after he joined with his ancestors in death, his son Solomon reigned over Israel in his place.
29 The actions of King David, from his birth until his death, are recorded in the chronicles of Samuel the seer, Nathan the prophet, and Gad the visionary. 30 These chronicles include the activities during his reign, descriptions of his power, and the experiences of him, Israel, and all the kingdoms of the nations.
24 and the Pharisees called on him a second time.
Pharisees: Give God the credit. He’s the One who healed you. All glory belongs to God. We are persuaded this man you speak of is a sinner who defies God.
Formerly Blind Man: 25 If this man is a sinner, I don’t know. I am not qualified to say. I only know one thing: I was blind, and now I see.
Pharisees: 26 What did He do to you? How did He give you sight?
Formerly Blind Man: 27 Listen, I’ve already answered all these questions, and you don’t like my answers. Do you really need me to say it all over again? Are you thinking about joining up with Him and becoming His followers?
Pharisees (berating him): 28 You’re one of His followers, but we follow Moses. 29 We have confidence that God spoke to Moses, but this man you speak of is a mystery; we don’t even know where He comes from.
Formerly Blind Man: 30 Isn’t it ironic that you, our religious leaders, don’t even know where He comes from; yet He gave me sight! 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but He does respond and work through those who worship Him and do His will. 32 No one has ever heard of someone opening the eyes of any person blind from birth. 33 This man must come from God; otherwise, this miracle would not be possible. Only God can do such things.
Pharisees: 34 You were born under a cloud of sin. How can you, of all people, lecture us?
The religious leaders banished him from their presence. 35 Jesus heard what had happened and sought out the man.
Jesus: Do you believe in the Son of Man?
Formerly Blind Man: 36 I want to believe, Lord. Who is He?
Jesus: 37 You have seen His face with your new eyes, and you are talking to Him now.
Formerly Blind Man: 38 Lord, I do believe.
The man bowed low to worship Jesus.
Jesus: 39 I have entered this world to announce a verdict that changes everything. Now those without sight may begin to see, and those who see may become blind.
Some Pharisees (who overheard Jesus): 40 Surely we are not blind, are we?
Jesus: 41 If you were blind, you would be without sin. But because you claim you can see, your sin is ever present.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.