Offerings for Building the Temple

29 Furthermore King David said to all the assembly: “My son Solomon, whom alone God has (A)chosen, is (B)young and inexperienced; and the work is great, because the [a]temple is not for man but for the Lord God. Now for the house of my God I have prepared with all my might: gold for things to be made of gold, silver for things of silver, bronze for things of bronze, iron for things of iron, wood for things of wood, (C)onyx stones, stones to be set, glistening stones of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and marble slabs in abundance. Moreover, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, my own special treasure of gold and silver: three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of (D)Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses; the gold for things of gold and the silver for things of silver, and for all kinds of work to be done by the hands of craftsmen. Who then is (E)willing to [b]consecrate himself this day to the Lord?”

Then (F)the leaders of the fathers’ houses, leaders of the tribes of Israel, the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with (G)the officers over the king’s work, (H)offered willingly. They gave for the work of the house of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze, and one hundred thousand talents of iron. And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the Lord, into the hand of (I)Jehiel[c] the Gershonite. Then the people rejoiced, for they had offered willingly, because with a loyal heart they had (J)offered willingly to the Lord; and King David also rejoiced greatly.

David’s Praise to God

10 Therefore David blessed the Lord before all the assembly; and David said:

“Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever.
11 (K)Yours, O Lord, is the greatness,
The power and the glory,
The victory and the majesty;
For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours;
Yours is the kingdom, O Lord,
And You are exalted as head over all.
12 (L)Both riches and honor come from You,
And You reign over all.
In Your hand is power and might;
In Your hand it is to make great
And to give strength to all.

13 “Now therefore, our God,
We thank You
And praise Your glorious name.
14 But who am I, and who are my people,
That we should be able to offer so willingly as this?
For all things come from You,
And [d]of Your own we have given You.
15 For (M)we are [e]aliens and [f]pilgrims before You,
As were all our fathers;
(N)Our days on earth are as a shadow,
And without hope.

16 “O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy name is from Your hand, and is all Your own. 17 I know also, my God, that You (O)test the heart and (P)have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things; and now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here to offer willingly to You. 18 O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the intent of the thoughts of the heart of Your people, and fix their heart toward You. 19 And (Q)give my son Solomon a loyal heart to keep Your commandments and Your testimonies and Your statutes, to do all these things, and to build the [g]temple for which (R)I have made provision.”

20 Then David said to all the assembly, “Now bless the Lord your God.” So all the assembly blessed the Lord God of their fathers, and bowed their heads and prostrated themselves before the Lord and the king.

Solomon Anointed King(S)

21 And they made sacrifices to the Lord and offered burnt offerings to the Lord on the next day: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings, and (T)sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. 22 So they ate and drank before the Lord with great gladness on that day. And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and (U)anointed him before the Lord to be the leader, and Zadok to be priest. 23 Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him. 24 All the leaders and the mighty men, and also all the sons of King David, (V)submitted[h] themselves to King Solomon. 25 So the Lord exalted Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and (W)bestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.

The Close of David’s Reign

26 Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. 27 (X)And the period that he reigned over Israel was forty years; (Y)seven years he reigned in Hebron, and thirty-three years he reigned in Jerusalem. 28 So he (Z)died in a good old age, (AA)full of days and riches and honor; and Solomon his son reigned in his place. 29 Now the acts of King David, first and last, indeed they are written in the [i]book of Samuel the seer, in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer, 30 with all his reign and his might, (AB)and the events that happened to him, to Israel, and to all the kingdoms of the lands.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 29:1 Lit. palace
  2. 1 Chronicles 29:5 Lit. fill his hand
  3. 1 Chronicles 29:8 Possibly the same as Jehieli, 1 Chr. 26:21, 22
  4. 1 Chronicles 29:14 Lit. of Your hand
  5. 1 Chronicles 29:15 sojourners, temporary residents
  6. 1 Chronicles 29:15 transients, temporary residents in an even more temporary sense
  7. 1 Chronicles 29:19 Lit. palace
  8. 1 Chronicles 29:24 Lit. gave the hand
  9. 1 Chronicles 29:29 Lit. words

Offerings for building the temple

29 Then King David said to the whole assembly:

My son Solomon, the one whom God chose, is too inexperienced for this great task, since this temple won’t be for humans but for the Lord God. Using every resource at my disposal, I’ve provided everything for my God’s temple: gold for gold objects, silver for silver objects, bronze for bronze objects, iron for iron objects, lumber for wooden objects, carnelian stones for settings, antimony, colorful stones, every kind of precious stone, and a large amount of marble. What’s more, because of my delight in my God’s temple, I have dedicated my own private treasure of gold and silver to my God’s temple, in addition to all that I’ve provided for the holy temple: three thousand kikkars of gold from the gold of Ophir, seven thousand kikkars of refined silver for covering the walls of the rooms,[a] gold for gold objects, and silver for silver objects, to be used for everything the skilled workers will make. Who else, then, will volunteer, dedicating themselves to the Lord today?

Then the leaders of the households, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, and the commanders of the units of a thousand and a hundred, and the supervisors of the king’s work volunteered to give five thousand kikkars and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand kikkars of silver, eighteen thousand kikkars of bronze, and one hundred thousand kikkars of iron for the work on God’s temple. Anyone who had precious stones donated them to the treasury of the Lord’s temple under the care of Jehiel the Gershonite. The people rejoiced at this response, because they had presented their offerings to the Lord so willingly and wholeheartedly. King David also rejoiced greatly.

10 Then David blessed the Lord before the whole assembly:

Blessed are you, Lord,
    God of our ancestor Israel,
        forever and always.
11 To you, Lord, belong greatness and power,
    honor, splendor, and majesty,
        because everything in heaven and on earth belongs to you.
Yours, Lord, is the kingship,
    and you are honored as head of all.
12 You are the source of wealth and honor,
    and you rule over all.
In your hand are strength and might,
    and it is in your power to magnify and strengthen all.
13 And now, our God, we thank you
    and praise your glorious name.
14 Who am I,
    and who are my people,
    that we should be able to offer so willingly?
Since everything comes from you,
    we have given you that which comes from your own hand.
15 To be sure, we are like all our ancestors,
    immigrants without permanent homes.
Our days are like a shadow on the ground,
    and there’s no hope.

16 Lord, our God, all this abundance that we have provided to build you a temple for your holy name comes from your hand and belongs to you. 17 Since I know, my God, that you examine the mind and take delight in honesty, I have freely given all these things with the highest of motives. And now I’ve been delighted to see your people here offering so willingly to you.

18 Lord, God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, keep these thoughts in the mind of your people forever, and direct their hearts toward you.

19 As for Solomon my son, give him the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, laws, and regulations—observing all of them—and to build the temple that I have prepared.

20 Then David said to the whole assembly, “Bless the Lord your God,” and the whole assembly blessed the Lord, the God of their ancestors, bowed down, and worshipped before the Lord and the king. 21 On the very next day they offered sacrifices and entirely burned offerings to the Lord—a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, along with their drink offerings—and many other sacrifices for all Israel’s sake. 22 They ate and drank with great joy before the Lord that day and made David’s son Solomon the king.[b] They anointed him[c] in the Lord’s presence as prince, and Zadok as priest. 23 Thus Solomon sat on the Lord’s throne as king, succeeding his father David, and he prospered. All Israel obeyed him, 24 and all the commanders and warriors, as well as all of King David’s sons, submitted to King Solomon’s authority. 25 Moreover, the Lord magnified Solomon before all Israel, giving him such royal majesty as no king before him[d] had enjoyed.

Summary of David’s reign

26 David, Jesse’s son, was king over all Israel. 27 He reigned over Israel for forty years: seven years in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. 28 He died at a good old age, having enjoyed a full life, wealth, and honor; and his son Solomon followed him as king. 29 The account of King David from beginning to end is written in the records of Samuel the seer, Nathan the prophet, and Gad the visionary, 30 including everything concerning his powerful rule, and what happened to him, to Israel, and to all the kingdoms in other lands.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 29:4 Or houses
  2. 1 Chronicles 29:22 LXX, Syr; MT adds for the second time.
  3. 1 Chronicles 29:22 LXX; MT lacks him.
  4. 1 Chronicles 29:25 LXX; MT adds in Israel.