1 Chronicles 22-23

English Standard Version

22 Then David said, ^(A)“Here shall be the house of the Lord God and here the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”

David Prepares for Temple Building

² David commanded to gather together the ^(B)resident aliens who were in the land of Israel, and he ^(C)set stonecutters to prepare dressed stones for building the house of God. ³ David also provided great quantities of iron for nails for the doors of the gates and for clamps, ^(D)as well as bronze in quantities beyond weighing, ⁴ and cedar timbers without number, ^(E)for the Sidonians and Tyrians brought great quantities of cedar to David. ⁵ For David said, ^(F)“Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly magnificent, of fame and glory throughout all lands. I will therefore make preparation for it.” So David provided materials in great quantity before his death.

Solomon Charged to Build the Temple

⁶ Then he called for Solomon his son and charged him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. ⁷ David said to Solomon, “My son, ^(G)I had it in my heart to build a house to the name of the Lord my God. ⁸ But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ^(H)‘You have shed much blood and have waged great wars. You shall not build a house to my name, because you have shed so much blood before me on the earth. ⁹ Behold, a son shall be born to you who shall be a man of rest. ^(I)I will give him rest from all his surrounding enemies. ^(J)For his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. ^10 (K)He shall build a house for my name. ^(L)He shall be my son, and I will be his father, and I will establish his royal throne in Israel forever.’

¹¹ “Now, my son, ^(M)the Lord be with you, so that you may succeed in building the house of the Lord your God, as he has spoken concerning you. ^12 (N)Only, may the Lord grant you discretion and understanding, that when he gives you charge over Israel you may keep the law of the Lord your God. ^13 (O)Then you will prosper if you are careful to observe the statutes and the rules that the Lord commanded Moses for Israel. ^(P)Be strong and courageous. Fear not; do not be dismayed. ¹⁴ With great pains I have provided for the house of the Lord ^(Q)100,000 talents^[a] of gold, a million talents of silver, and ^(R)bronze and iron beyond weighing, for there is so much of it; timber and stone, too, I have provided. To these you must add. ¹⁵ You have an abundance of workmen: stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and all kinds of craftsmen without number, skilled in working ¹⁶ gold, silver, bronze, and iron. Arise and work! ^(S)The Lord be with you!”

¹⁷ David also commanded ^(T)all the leaders of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, ¹⁸ “Is not the Lord your God with you? And ^(U)has he not given you peace^[b] on every side? For he has delivered the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and his people. ¹⁹ Now ^(V)set your mind and heart to seek the Lord your God. Arise and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, ^(W)so that the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy vessels of God may be brought into a house built ^(X)for the name of the Lord.”

David Organizes the Levites

23 ^(Y)When David was old and full of days, ^(Z)he made Solomon his son king over Israel.

² David^[c] assembled all the leaders of Israel and the priests and the Levites. ³ The Levites, ^(AA)thirty years old and upward, were numbered, and ^(AB)the total was ^(AC)38,000 men. ⁴ “Twenty-four thousand of these,” David said,^{[d] (AD)}“shall have charge of the work in the house of the Lord, 6,000 shall be ^(AE)officers and judges, ⁵ 4,000 gatekeepers, and 4,000 shall offer praises to the Lord with the instruments ^(AF)that I have made for praise.” ^6 (AG)And David organized them in divisions ^(AH)corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

^7 (AI)The sons of Gershon^[e] were Ladan and Shimei. ⁸ The sons of Ladan: ^(AJ)Jehiel the chief, and Zetham, and Joel, three. ⁹ The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the heads of the fathers' houses of Ladan. ¹⁰ And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, and Jeush and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei. ¹¹ Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second; but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, therefore they became counted as a single father's house.

^12 (AK)The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four. ^13 (AL)The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. ^(AM)Aaron was set apart to dedicate the most holy things, that he and his sons forever should ^(AN)make offerings before the Lord and ^(AO)minister to him and ^(AP)pronounce blessings in his name forever. ¹⁴ But the sons of Moses the ^(AQ)man of God were named among the ^(AR)tribe of Levi. ¹⁵ The ^(AS)sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. ¹⁶ The sons of Gershom: ^(AT)Shebuel the chief. ¹⁷ The sons of Eliezer: Rehabiah the chief. Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. ¹⁸ The sons of Izhar: Shelomith the chief. ¹⁹ The ^(AU)sons of Hebron: Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. ^20 (AV)The sons of Uzziel: Micah the chief and Isshiah the second.

^21 (AW)The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and ^(AX)Kish. ²² Eleazar died ^(AY)having no sons, but only daughters; their ^(AZ)kinsmen, the sons of Kish, married them. ^23 (BA)The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth, three.

^24 (BB)These were the sons of Levi by their fathers' houses, the heads of fathers' houses ^(BC)as they were listed according to the number of the names of the individuals from ^(BD)twenty years old and upward who were to do the work for the service of the house of the Lord. ²⁵ For David said, “The Lord, the God of Israel, ^(BE)has given rest to his people, and he dwells in Jerusalem forever. ²⁶ And so the Levites no longer need ^(BF)to carry the tabernacle or any of the things for its service.” ²⁷ For by the last words of David the sons of Levi were numbered from ^(BG)twenty years old and upward. ²⁸ For their duty was to assist the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the Lord, having the care of the courts and the chambers, the cleansing of all that is holy, and any work for the service of the house of God. ²⁹ Their duty was also to assist with the ^(BH)showbread, the ^(BI)flour for the grain offering, the wafers of unleavened bread, the ^(BJ)baked offering, the ^(BK)offering mixed with oil, and all ^(BL)measures of quantity or size. ³⁰ And they were to stand every morning, thanking and praising the Lord, and likewise at evening, ³¹ and whenever burnt offerings were offered to the Lord ^(BM)on Sabbaths, ^(BN)new moons, and feast days, ^(BO)according to the number required of them, regularly before the Lord. ³² Thus ^(BP)they were to keep charge of the tent of meeting and the sanctuary, and to attend the sons of Aaron, their brothers, for the ^(BQ)service of the house of the Lord.