大衛對所羅門的囑咐

28 大衛召以色列的眾首領到耶路撒冷。於是,各支派的首領、各班將領、千夫長、百夫長、負責王和王子的財產及牲畜的官員、宮廷侍臣、顯貴和勇士都來了, 大衛王站起來說:「我的弟兄,我的人民啊,請聽我說。我本想建造一座殿宇安放耶和華的約櫃,作我們上帝的腳凳,我已準備好建造的材料。 但上帝對我說,『你不可為我的名建造殿宇,因為你是個戰士,曾流過人的血。』 以色列的上帝耶和華從我父親家中揀選我做以色列的王,直到永遠。因為祂揀選了猶大支派做首領;在猶大支派中,祂揀選了我父親家;在我父親的眾子中,祂喜悅我,立我做以色列的王。 耶和華賜給我許多兒子,祂在我眾子中揀選了所羅門,讓他坐以色列的王位,治理耶和華的國。 耶和華對我說,『你兒子所羅門必建造我的殿宇和庭院,因為我揀選他做我的兒子,我也必做他的父親。 倘若他像今天一樣繼續堅守我的誡命和典章,我必使他的國度永遠穩固。』 現在,當著耶和華的會眾——全體以色列人的面,趁著我們的上帝在垂聽,你們要謹遵你們的上帝耶和華的一切誡命,以便你們可以擁有這片佳美之地,並且把它傳給你們的子孫作永遠的產業。

「我兒所羅門啊,你要認識你父親的上帝耶和華,誠心樂意地事奉祂,因為祂洞察人心,知道人一切的心思意念。倘若你尋求祂,祂必讓你尋見;倘若你背棄祂,祂必永遠丟棄你。 10 現在你要謹慎,因為耶和華揀選你來建造殿宇作聖所。你要堅定不移地去做。」

11 大衛將殿的走廊、房舍、庫房、樓房、內室和安放施恩座的聖所的圖樣都交給所羅門, 12 又將心裡構想的耶和華殿的院子、四周的房屋、殿的庫房和聖物庫房的圖樣都交給他。 13 大衛還讓他知道祭司和利未人的班次、耶和華殿裡各樣的工作及一切所需的器皿, 14 製造各種金器銀器所需金銀的分量—— 15 金燈臺和金燈的分量,銀燈臺和銀燈的分量——按每座燈臺的用途酌定金銀的分量, 16 放供餅的金桌子的分量,銀桌子的分量, 17 純金的叉子、碗、瓶的分量,每個金碗和銀碗的分量, 18 純金香壇的分量,以及在施恩座上展開翅膀遮蓋耶和華約櫃的基路伯天使的樣式。 19 大衛說:「以上這一切都是耶和華親手指示我的,讓我明白工作的細節。」

20 大衛又對兒子所羅門說:「你要堅定勇敢地去做!不要懼怕,也不要驚慌,因為我的上帝耶和華必不撇下你,也不丟棄你,祂必與你同在,直到聖殿的一切工作完畢。 21 你看,在上帝殿裡司職的各班祭司和利未人已準備就緒,又有各種能工巧匠樂意在各種工作上幫你,眾首領和百姓都聽你調遣。」

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

David addresses Israel’s leaders

28 David assembled all of Israel’s leaders in Jerusalem, the leaders of the tribes, the leaders of the divisions that served the king, the commanders of units of a thousand and a hundred, the officials in charge of all the property and livestock of the king and his sons, as well as the officers, warriors, and all the valiant men. Then King David stood up and said:

Listen to me, my relatives and my people. I wanted to build a temple as the permanent home for the chest containing the Lord’s covenant, our God’s footrest. But when I prepared to build it, God said to me, You must not build a temple for my name, because you are a military man and you’ve shed blood. The Lord, the God of Israel, chose me from my whole household to become king over Israel forever. He chose Judah as leader, and within Judah’s family, my household, and among my father’s family he was pleased with me, making me king over all Israel. And from all the many sons the Lord has given me, he has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the Lord’s kingdom over Israel. He said to me: Your son Solomon will build my temple and my courtyards, for I’ve chosen him to become my son even as I myself will become his father. I’ll establish his kingdom forever if he remains committed to keeping my commands and case laws as he does now.

So now, in the presence of all the Lord’s assembly[a] and with God as our witness, carefully observe all the commands of the Lord your God, so that you may hold on to this good land and pass it on to your children forever. As for you, Solomon, my son, acknowledge your father’s God and serve him with enthusiastic devotion, because the Lord searches every mind and understands the motive behind every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you abandon him, he will reject you forever. 10 Now then, since the Lord has chosen you to build a temple for him[b] as the sanctuary, work hard.

11 Then David gave his son Solomon the plan for the entrance hall, its buildings, treasuries, upper and inner rooms, and the room for the cover.[c] 12 He provided all of the plans he had in mind: for the courtyards of the Lord’s temple, and for all its surrounding rooms where the treasures of God’s temple and the dedicated gifts would be stored; 13 for the divisions of the priests and Levites, for all their responsibilities within the Lord’s temple, and for all the equipment used in its service; 14 for the weight of all the gold equipment used for every kind of service, and the weight of all the silver equipment used for every kind of service; 15 for the weight of the gold lampstands and their gold lamps—the weight of gold for each lampstand with its lamps—and for the weight of each silver lampstand and its lamps depending on how each would be used; 16 for the weight of gold for each table with the stacks of bread, and the silver for the silver tables; 17 for the forks, bowls, and cups of pure gold; for the weight of each gold dish and the weight of each silver dish; 18 for the weight of the incense altar made of refined gold; and for the construction of the chariot—with the gold winged creatures spreading their wings and covering the chest containing the Lord’s covenant. 19 All of this the Lord made clear to David[d] directly in a document, including the plan for all of the work.

20 “Be strong and courageous,” David said to his son Solomon. “Get to work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, because the Lord God, my God, is with you. He’ll neither let you down nor leave you before all the work for the service of the Lord’s temple is done. 21 Here are the divisions of the priests and the Levites who will perform all the service of God’s temple. For all this work you will have willing and able workers with you to do it. The officials and all the people are ready to follow your instructions.”

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 28:8 LXX; MT all Israel, the assembly of the Lord
  2. 1 Chronicles 28:10 LXX; MT lacks for him.
  3. 1 Chronicles 28:11 Or mercy seat or perhaps reconciliation cover (Heb kapporet)
  4. 1 Chronicles 28:19 LXX; MT to me