22 大卫说:“耶和华上帝的殿和以色列人献燔祭的坛要在这里。”

大卫筹备建殿

大卫下令召集住在以色列的外族人,派他们采凿建上帝殿用的石头。 大卫预备了大量的铁,用来做门扇的钉子和钩子,又预备了不计其数的铜。 他还预备了无数的香柏木,都是西顿人和泰尔人给他运来的。

大卫说:“为耶和华建造的殿宇必须宏伟辉煌,闻名于世,而我的儿子所罗门年纪还轻、阅历尚浅,所以我要为这殿预备材料。”因此,大卫在去世前为建殿预备了许多材料。

大卫召来儿子所罗门,嘱咐他要为以色列的上帝耶和华建造殿宇。 他对所罗门说:“儿啊,我本想为我的上帝耶和华的名建造一座殿宇。 但耶和华对我说,‘你杀了许多人,打了很多仗,在我眼前使许多人血洒大地,因此你不可为我的名建造殿宇。 你将生一个儿子,我必使他安享太平,不受四围的仇敌侵扰。他的名字要叫所罗门,他执政期间,我必使以色列太平安宁。 10 他将为我的名建造殿宇,他要做我的儿子,我要做他的父亲,我要使他的王朝在以色列永远长存。’

11 “儿啊,愿耶和华与你同在,使你亨通,照你的上帝耶和华的吩咐去建造祂的殿。 12 愿耶和华赐你聪明和智慧,以便你照祂的律法治理以色列。 13 你若谨遵耶和华借摩西吩咐以色列的律例和典章,就必亨通。你要刚强勇敢,不可惊慌害怕。 14 看啊,我历尽艰辛,为耶和华的殿预备了三千四百五十吨金子、三万四千五百吨银子和不计其数的铜和铁。我还预备了木料和石头。你还要多加预备。 15 你有许多工匠,如凿石匠、砌石匠、木匠等各种能工巧匠, 16 还有不计其数的金匠、银匠、铜匠和铁匠。现在动工吧,愿耶和华与你同在。”

17 大卫又吩咐以色列的众首领帮助他儿子所罗门, 18 他说:“你们的上帝耶和华与你们同在,使你们四境平安。祂将这地方的居民交在我手中,使这地方被祂和祂的子民治理。 19 现在,你们要全心全意地寻求你们的上帝耶和华,去建造耶和华上帝的圣所,好将祂的约柜和圣洁器皿都放在里面。”

Chapter 22

Then David said, “This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar for the burnt offerings of Israel.”

Preparations for Building the Temple. David ordered that all of the foreigners who were in the land of Israel be gathered together. He assigned them the task of serving as masons to prepare hewn stone to build the house of God. David prepared quite a bit of iron for the nails to be used in the doors, the gates, and the joints. He also prepared so much bronze that it could not be measured. He also had much cedar wood, for the Sidonians of Tyre had brought much cedar wood to David.

David said, “Solomon, my son, is young and inexperienced, and the house that will be built for the Lord must be tremendously magnificent, famous, and glorious throughout every land. I will therefore make preparations for it now.” So David made many preparations before he died.

He then summoned Solomon, his son, and he charged him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. David said to Solomon, “My son, I wanted to build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, but the word of the Lord came to me saying, ‘Because you have shed so much blood and you have waged many wars, you will not build a house for my name because you have shed too much blood upon the earth before me. Behold, a son will be born to you who will be a man of peace[a] and rest. I will give him a respite from all of his surrounding enemies, for his name will be Solomon. I will give peace and quiet to Israel during his reign. 10 He is the one who will build a house for my name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’

11 “Now, my son, the Lord will be with you. You will prosper, and you will build a house for the Lord, your God, as he has proclaimed. 12 May the Lord give you insight and understanding when he sets you over Israel so that you might observe the law of the Lord, your God. 13 You will prosper if you carefully observe the statutes and the ordinances that the Lord gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and be brave. Do not be afraid nor dismayed. 14 I have put myself to the trouble of preparing the following for the temple of the Lord: one hundred thousand talents of gold, one million talents of silver, so much bronze and iron that it could not even be weighed, and an abundance of wood and stone. You can now add to it.[b] 15 You have many workmen: stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and men who are skilled in every type of craft. 16 You cannot even count those who can work with gold, silver, bronze, and iron. So now be about it, and the Lord will be with you.”

17 Charge to the Leaders. David commanded all of the leaders of Israel to assist Solomon, his son, saying, 18 “Is not the Lord, your God, with you? Has he not given you rest on every side? He has placed the inhabitants of the land in your hand, and the land has been subjected to the Lord and his people. 19 Now dedicate yourselves heart and soul to seeking the Lord, your God. Rise up and build a sanctuary for the Lord, your God. Bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord and the sacred vessels of God into the temple that will be built for the name of the Lord.”

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 22:9 Peace: in Hebrew, shalom, which is here connected with the name “Solomon.”
  2. 1 Chronicles 22:14 The numbers seem fantastic. They can be explained by the idealizing outlook of the Chronicler.

Chapter 22

Thus David said, “This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar for burnt offerings for Israel.”(A) [a]David then ordered that the resident aliens in the land of Israel should be brought together, and he appointed them stonecutters to hew out stone blocks for building the house of God.(B) David also laid up large stores of iron to make nails for the doors of the gates, and clamps, together with so much bronze that it could not be weighed,(C) and cedar trees without number. The Sidonians and Tyrians brought great stores of cedar logs to David.(D) David said: “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced; but the house that is to be built for the Lord must be made so magnificent that it will be renowned and glorious in all lands. Therefore I will make preparations for it.” Thus before his death David laid up materials in abundance.(E)

Charge to Solomon. Then he summoned his son Solomon and commanded him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. (F)David said to Solomon: “My son, it was my purpose to build a house myself for the name of the Lord, my God. But this word of the Lord came to me: You have shed much blood, and you have waged great wars. You may not build a house for my name, because you have shed too much blood upon the earth in my sight. However, a son will be born to you. He will be a peaceful man, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. For Solomon shall be his name, and in his time I will bestow peace[b] and tranquility on Israel.(G) 10 It is he who shall build a house for my name; he shall be a son to me, and I will be a father to him,(H) and I will establish the throne of his kingship over Israel forever.

11 “Now, my son, the Lord be with you, and may you succeed in building the house of the Lord your God, as he has said you shall. 12 But may the Lord give you prudence and discernment when he gives you command over Israel, so that you keep the law of the Lord, your God. 13 Only then shall you succeed, if you are careful to observe the statutes and ordinances which the Lord commanded Moses for Israel. Be strong and steadfast; do not fear or be dismayed.(I) 14 See, with great effort I have laid up for the house of the Lord a hundred thousand talents of gold,[c] a million talents of silver, and bronze and iron in such great quantities that they cannot be weighed. I have also laid up wood and stones, to which you must add.(J) 15 Moreover, you have available workers, stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and experts in every craft, 16 without number, skilled with gold, silver, bronze, and iron. Set to work, therefore, and the Lord be with you!”

Charge to the Officials. 17 David also commanded all of the officials of Israel to help his son Solomon: 18 “Is not the Lord your God with you? Has he not given you rest on every side? Indeed, he has delivered the inhabitants of the land into my power, and the land is subdued before the Lord and his people.(K) 19 Therefore, devote your hearts and souls to seeking the Lord your God. Proceed to build the sanctuary of the Lord God, that the ark of the covenant of the Lord and God’s sacred vessels may be brought into the house built for the name of the Lord.”(L)

Footnotes

  1. 22:2–4 According to 1 Kgs 5:15–32, Solomon himself made the material preparations for building the Temple, even though David had wished to do so (1 Kgs 5:17–19). The Chronicler, however, seeks to enhance David’s role in the building of the Temple.
  2. 22:9 The Hebrew word for peace, shalom, is reflected in the name Solomon, in Hebrew, Shelomo. The Chronicler draws a contrast here between Solomon, the “peaceful man,” and David, who “waged great wars” (v. 8). David was prevented from building the Temple, not only because his time was taken up in waging war (1 Kgs 5:17), but also because he shed much blood (1 Chr 22:8), thereby making himself, in the Chronicler’s view, ritually unfit for the task.
  3. 22:14 A hundred thousand talents of gold: about 3,775 tons of gold. A million talents of silver: about 37,750 tons of silver. These highly exaggerated figures are intended to stress the inestimable value of the Temple as the center of Israelite worship. More modest figures are given in 1 Kgs 9:14, 28; 10:10, 14.

22 Then David said, “The house of the Lord God(A) is to be here, and also the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”

Preparations for the Temple

So David gave orders to assemble the foreigners(B) residing in Israel, and from among them he appointed stonecutters(C) to prepare dressed stone for building the house of God. He provided a large amount of iron to make nails for the doors of the gateways and for the fittings, and more bronze than could be weighed.(D) He also provided more cedar logs(E) than could be counted, for the Sidonians and Tyrians had brought large numbers of them to David.

David said, “My son Solomon is young(F) and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the Lord should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor(G) in the sight of all the nations. Therefore I will make preparations for it.” So David made extensive preparations before his death.

Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him to build(H) a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. David said to Solomon: “My son, I had it in my heart(I) to build(J) a house for the Name(K) of the Lord my God. But this word of the Lord came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and have fought many wars.(L) You are not to build a house for my Name,(M) because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. But you will have a son who will be a man of peace(N) and rest,(O) and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon,[a](P) and I will grant Israel peace and quiet(Q) during his reign. 10 He is the one who will build a house for my Name.(R) He will be my son,(S) and I will be his father. And I will establish(T) the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’(U)

11 “Now, my son, the Lord be with(V) you, and may you have success and build the house of the Lord your God, as he said you would. 12 May the Lord give you discretion and understanding(W) when he puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God. 13 Then you will have success(X) if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws(Y) that the Lord gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous.(Z) Do not be afraid or discouraged.

14 “I have taken great pains to provide for the temple of the Lord a hundred thousand talents[b] of gold, a million talents[c] of silver, quantities of bronze and iron too great to be weighed, and wood and stone. And you may add to them.(AA) 15 You have many workers: stonecutters, masons and carpenters,(AB) as well as those skilled in every kind of work 16 in gold and silver, bronze and iron—craftsmen(AC) beyond number. Now begin the work, and the Lord be with you.”

17 Then David ordered(AD) all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon. 18 He said to them, “Is not the Lord your God with you? And has he not granted you rest(AE) on every side?(AF) For he has given the inhabitants of the land into my hands, and the land is subject to the Lord and to his people. 19 Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the Lord your God.(AG) Begin to build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the sacred articles belonging to God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the Lord.”

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 22:9 Solomon sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for peace.
  2. 1 Chronicles 22:14 That is, about 3,750 tons or about 3,400 metric tons
  3. 1 Chronicles 22:14 That is, about 37,500 tons or about 34,000 metric tons