28 And David assembled all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes, and the captains of the companies that ministered to the king by course, and the captains over the thousands, and captains over the hundreds, and the stewards over all the substance and possession of the king, and of his sons, with the officers, and with the mighty men, and with all the valiant men, unto Jerusalem.

² Then David the king stood up upon his feet, and said, Hear me, my brethren, and my people: As for me, I had in mine heart to build an house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and for the footstool of our God, and had made ready for the building:

³ But God said unto me, Thou shalt not build an house for my name, because thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood.

⁴ Howbeit the Lord God of Israel chose me before all the house of my father to be king over Israel for ever: for he hath chosen Judah to be the ruler; and of the house of Judah, the house of my father; and among the sons of my father he liked me to make me king over all Israel:

⁵ And of all my sons, (for the Lord hath given me many sons,) he hath chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel.

⁶ And he said unto me, Solomon thy son, he shall build my house and my courts: for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father.

⁷ Moreover I will establish his kingdom for ever, if he be constant to do my commandments and my judgments, as at this day.

⁸ Now therefore in the sight of all Israel the congregation of the Lord, and in the audience of our God, keep and seek for all the commandments of the Lord your God: that ye may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you for ever.

⁹ And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.

¹⁰ Take heed now; for the Lord hath chosen thee to build an house for the sanctuary: be strong, and do it.

¹¹ Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlours thereof, and of the place of the mercy seat,

¹² And the pattern of all that he had by the spirit, of the courts of the house of the Lord, and of all the chambers round about, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the dedicated things:

¹³ Also for the courses of the priests and the Levites, and for all the work of the service of the house of the Lord, and for all the vessels of service in the house of the Lord.

¹⁴ He gave of gold by weight for things of gold, for all instruments of all manner of service; silver also for all instruments of silver by weight, for all instruments of every kind of service:

¹⁵ Even the weight for the candlesticks of gold, and for their lamps of gold, by weight for every candlestick, and for the lamps thereof: and for the candlesticks of silver by weight, both for the candlestick, and also for the lamps thereof, according to the use of every candlestick.

¹⁶ And by weight he gave gold for the tables of shewbread, for every table; and likewise silver for the tables of silver:

¹⁷ Also pure gold for the fleshhooks, and the bowls, and the cups: and for the golden basons he gave gold by weight for every bason; and likewise silver by weight for every bason of silver:

¹⁸ And for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the pattern of the chariot of the cherubims, that spread out their wings, and covered the ark of the covenant of the Lord.

¹⁹ All this, said David, the Lord made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern.

²⁰ And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the Lord God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord.

²¹ And, behold, the courses of the priests and the Levites, even they shall be with thee for all the service of the house of God: and there shall be with thee for all manner of workmanship every willing skilful man, for any manner of service: also the princes and all the people will be wholly at thy commandment.

29 Furthermore David the king said unto all the congregation, Solomon my son, whom alone God hath chosen, is yet young and tender, and the work is great: for the palace is not for man, but for the Lord God.

² Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for things to be made of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and the brass for things of brass, the iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood; onyx stones, and stones to be set, glistering stones, and of divers colours, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance.

³ Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, I have of mine own proper good, of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house.

⁴ Even three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses withal:

⁵ The gold for things of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and for all manner of work to be made by the hands of artificers. And who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the Lord?

⁶ Then the chief of the fathers and princes of the tribes of Israel and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers of the king's work, offered willingly,

⁷ And gave for the service of the house of God of gold five thousand talents and ten thousand drams, and of silver ten thousand talents, and of brass eighteen thousand talents, and one hundred thousand talents of iron.

⁸ And they with whom precious stones were found gave them to the treasure of the house of the Lord, by the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite.

⁹ Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the Lord: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy.

¹⁰ Wherefore David blessed the Lord before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, Lord God of Israel our father, for ever and ever.

¹¹ Thine, O Lord is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all.

¹² Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.

¹³ Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.

¹⁴ But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.

¹⁵ For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.

¹⁶ O Lord our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee an house for thine holy name cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own.

¹⁷ I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee.

¹⁸ O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee:

¹⁹ And give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep thy commandments, thy testimonies, and thy statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for the which I have made provision.

²⁰ And David said to all the congregation, Now bless the Lord your God. And all the congregation blessed the Lord God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshipped the Lord, and the king.

²¹ And they sacrificed sacrifices unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings unto the Lord, on the morrow after that day, even a thousand bullocks, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel:

²² And did eat and drink before the Lord on that day with great gladness. And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and anointed him unto the Lord to be the chief governor, 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 And all the princes, and the mighty men, and all the sons likewise of king David, submitted themselves unto Solomon the king.

²⁵ And the Lord magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed upon him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.

²⁶ Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel.

²⁷ And the time that he reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.

²⁸ And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honour: and Solomon his son reigned in his stead.

²⁹ Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer,

³⁰ With all his reign and his might, and the times that went over him, and over Israel, and over all the kingdoms of the countries.

133 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

² It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;

³ As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

134 Behold, bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord, which by night stand in the house of the Lord.

² Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord.

³ The Lord that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion.

14 Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.

² He that walketh in his uprightness feareth the Lord: but he that is perverse in his ways despiseth him.

³ In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride: but the lips of the wise shall preserve them.

⁴ Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox.

⁵ A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.

⁶ A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not: but knowledge is easy unto him that understandeth.

⁷ Go from the presence of a foolish man, when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge.

⁸ The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit.

⁹ Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour.

¹⁰ The heart knoweth his own bitterness; and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy.

¹¹ The house of the wicked shall be overthrown: but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish.

¹² There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

¹³ Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness.

¹⁴ The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself.

¹⁵ The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.

¹⁶ A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident.

¹⁷ He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly: and a man of wicked devices is hated.

¹⁸ The simple inherit folly: but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.

¹⁹ The evil bow before the good; and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.

²⁰ The poor is hated even of his own neighbour: but the rich hath many friends.

²¹ He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he.

²² Do they not err that devise evil? but mercy and truth shall be to them that devise good.

²³ In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.

²⁴ The crown of the wise is their riches: but the foolishness of fools is folly.

²⁵ A true witness delivereth souls: but a deceitful witness speaketh lies.

²⁶ In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.

²⁷ The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.

²⁸ In the multitude of people is the king's honour: but in the want of people is the destruction of the prince.

²⁹ He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly.

³⁰ A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.

³¹ He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.

³² The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death.

³³ Wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding: but that which is in the midst of fools is made known.

³⁴ Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.

³⁵ The king's favour is toward a wise servant: but his wrath is against him that causeth shame.

2 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;

² So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;

³ Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;

⁴ If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;

⁵ Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.

⁶ For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

⁷ He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.

⁸ He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.

⁹ Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.

¹⁰ When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;

¹¹ Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:

¹² To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;

¹³ Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;

¹⁴ Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;

¹⁵ Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:

¹⁶ To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;

¹⁷ Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.

¹⁸ For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.

¹⁹ None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.

²⁰ That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.

²¹ For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.

²² But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.

¹ The elder unto the wellbeloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.

² Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

³ For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth.

⁴ I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

⁵ Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers;

⁶ Which have borne witness of thy charity before the church: whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well:

⁷ Because that for his name's sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles.

⁸ We therefore ought to receive such, that we might be fellowhelpers to the truth.

⁹ I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.

¹⁰ Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.

¹¹ Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.

¹² Demetrius hath good report of all men, and of the truth itself: yea, and we also bear record; and ye know that our record is true.

¹³ I had many things to write, but I will not with ink and pen write unto thee:

¹⁴ But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name.