David Prepares to Build the Temple

22 Then David said, ^(A)“This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.” ² So David commanded to gather the ^(B)aliens who were in the land of Israel; and he appointed masons to ^(C)cut hewn stones to build the house of God. ³ And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails of the doors of the gates and for the joints, and bronze in abundance ^(D)beyond measure, ⁴ and cedar trees in abundance; for the ^(E)Sidonians and those from Tyre brought much cedar wood to David.

⁵ Now David said, ^(F)“Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly magnificent, famous and glorious throughout all countries. I will now make preparation for it.” So David made abundant preparations before his death.

⁶ Then he called for his son Solomon, and ^[a]charged him to build a house for the Lord God of Israel. ⁷ And David said to Solomon: “My son, as for me, ^(G)it was in my mind to build a house ^(H)to the name of the Lord my God; ⁸ but the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ^(I)‘You have shed much blood and have made great wars; you shall not build a house for My name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in My sight. ^9 (J)Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him ^(K)rest from all his enemies all around. His name shall be ^[b]Solomon, for I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days. ^10 (L)He shall build a house for My name, and ^(M)he shall be My son, and I will be his Father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’ ¹¹ Now, my son, may ^(N)the Lord be with you; and may you prosper, and build the house of the Lord your God, as He has said to you. ¹² Only may the Lord ^(O)give you wisdom and understanding, and give you charge concerning Israel, that you may keep the law of the Lord your God. ^13 (P)Then you will prosper, if you take care to fulfill the statutes and judgments with which the Lord ^[c]charged Moses concerning Israel. ^(Q)Be strong and of good courage; do not fear nor be dismayed. ¹⁴ Indeed I have taken much trouble to prepare for the house of the Lord one hundred thousand talents of gold and one million talents of silver, and bronze and iron ^(R)beyond measure, for it is so abundant. I have prepared timber and stone also, and you may add to them. ¹⁵ Moreover there are workmen with you in abundance: woodsmen and stonecutters, and all types of skillful men for every kind of work. ¹⁶ Of gold and silver and bronze and iron there is no limit. Arise and begin working, and ^(S)the Lord be with you.”

¹⁷ David also commanded all the ^(T)leaders of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, ¹⁸ “Is not the Lord your God with you? ^(U)And has He not given you rest on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and before His people. ¹⁹ Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God. Therefore arise and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, to ^(V)bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy articles of God into the house that is to be built ^(W)for the name of the Lord.”

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. ² 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. ³ 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: ⁴ 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; ⁵ 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?”

⁶ 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. ⁷ 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. ⁸ 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. ⁹ 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.