Chapter 28

The Assembly at Jerusalem. ¹ David assembled at Jerusalem all the commanders of Israel, the tribal commanders, the commanders of the divisions who were in the service of the king, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, those in command of all the king’s estates and possessions, and his sons, together with the courtiers, the warriors, and every person of substance.^{(A) 2 (B)}King David rose to his feet and said: “Hear me, my kinsmen and my people. It was my purpose to build a house of repose myself for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, the footstool for the feet of our God;^[a] and I was preparing to build it. ³ But God said to me, You may not build a house for my name, for you are a man who waged wars and shed blood. ⁴ However, the Lord, the God of Israel, chose me from all my father’s family to be king over Israel forever. For he chose Judah as leader, then one family of Judah, that of my father; and finally, among all the sons of my father, it pleased him to make me king over all Israel.^{(C) 5} And of all my sons—for the Lord has given me many sons—he has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the Lord’s kingship over Israel.^{(D) 6} For he said to me: It is your son Solomon who shall build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him for my son, and I will be a father to him.^{(E) 7} I will establish his kingdom forever, if he perseveres in carrying out my commandments and ordinances as he does now. ⁸ Therefore, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God: keep and carry out all the commandments of the Lord, your God, that you may continue to possess this good land and afterward leave it as an inheritance to your children forever.^(F)

⁹ “As for you, Solomon, my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and a willing soul, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the mind’s thoughts. If you search for him, he will be found; but if you abandon him, he will cast you off forever.^{(G) 10} See, then! The Lord has chosen you to build a house as his sanctuary. Be strong and set to work.”

Temple Plans Given to Solomon. ¹¹ Then David gave to his son Solomon the design of the portico and of the house itself, with its storerooms, its upper rooms and inner chambers, and the shrine containing the cover of the ark.^{(H) 12} He provided also the design for all else that he had in mind by way of courts for the house of the Lord, with the surrounding compartments for the treasuries of the house of God and the treasuries for the votive offerings, ¹³ as well as for the divisions of the priests and Levites, for all the work of the service of the house of the Lord, and for all the liturgical vessels of the house of the Lord. ¹⁴ He specified the weight of gold to be used in the golden vessels for the various services and the weight of silver to be used in the silver vessels for the various services; ¹⁵ likewise for the golden menorahs and their lamps he specified the weight of gold for each menorah and its lamps, and for the silver menorahs he specified the weight of silver for each menorah and its lamps, depending on the use to which each menorah was to be put.^{(I) 16} He specified the weight of gold for each table that was to hold the showbread, and the silver for the silver tables; ¹⁷ the pure gold for the forks, basins, and pitchers; the weight of gold for each golden bowl and the weight of silver for each silver bowl; ¹⁸ the refined gold, and its weight, to be used for the altar of incense; and, finally, gold to fashion the chariot:^[b] the cherubim spreading their wings and covering the ark of the covenant of the Lord.^{(J) 19} All this he wrote down, by the hand of the Lord, to make him understand it—the working out of the whole design.

²⁰ Then David said to his son Solomon: “Be strong and steadfast, and go to work; do not fear or be dismayed, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or abandon you before you have completed all the work for the service of the house of the Lord.^{(K) 21} The divisions of the priests and Levites are ready for all the service of the house of God; they will be with you in all the work with all those who are eager to show their skill in every kind of craftsmanship. Also the commanders and all the people will do everything that you command.”^(L)

Chapter 29

Offerings for the Temple. ¹ King David then said to the whole assembly: “My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, is still young and inexperienced; the work, however, is great, for this palace is not meant for human beings, but for the Lord God.^{(M) 2} For this reason I have stored up for the house of my God, as far as I was able, gold for what will be made of gold, silver for what will be made of silver, bronze for what will be made of bronze, iron for what will be made of iron, wood for what will be made of wood, onyx stones and settings for them, carnelian and mosaic stones, every other kind of precious stone, and great quantities of marble.^{(N) 3} But now, because of the delight I take in the house of my God, in addition to all that I stored up for the holy house, I give to the house of my God my personal fortune in gold and silver: ⁴ three thousand talents of Ophir gold, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, for overlaying the walls of the rooms,^{(O) 5} for the various utensils to be made of gold and silver, and for every work that is to be done by artisans. Now, who else will contribute generously and consecrate themselves this day to the Lord?”^(P)

⁶ Then the heads of the families, the tribal commanders of Israel, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and those who had command of the king’s affairs came forward willingly^{(Q) 7} and contributed for the service 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.^{(R) 8} Those who had precious stones gave them into the keeping of Jehiel the Gershonite for the treasury of the house of the Lord.^{(S) 9} The people rejoiced over these free-will offerings, for they had been contributed to the Lord wholeheartedly. King David also rejoiced greatly.^(T)

David’s Prayer. ¹⁰ Then David blessed the Lord in the sight of the whole assembly. David said:

¹⁴ “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should have the means to contribute so freely? For everything is from you, and what we give is what we have from you. ¹⁵ For before you we are strangers and travelers, like all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without a future.^{(V) 16} Lord our God, all this wealth that we have brought together to build you a house for your holy name comes from you and is entirely yours. ¹⁷ I know, my God, that you put hearts to the test and that you take pleasure in integrity. With a whole heart I have willingly given all these things, and now with joy I have seen your people here present also giving to you generously. ¹⁸ Lord, God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Israel,^(W) keep such thoughts in the hearts and minds of your people forever, and direct their hearts toward you. ¹⁹ Give to my son Solomon a wholehearted desire to keep your commandments, precepts, and statutes, that he may carry out all these plans and build the palace for which I have made preparation.”

²⁰ Then David told the whole assembly, “Now bless the Lord your God!” And the whole assembly blessed the Lord, the God of their ancestors, bowing down in homage before the Lord and before the king. ²¹ On the following day they brought sacrifices and burnt offerings to the Lord, a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, together with their libations and many other sacrifices for all Israel; ²² and on that day they ate and drank in the Lord’s presence with great rejoicing.

Solomon Anointed. Then for a second time^[c] they proclaimed David’s son Solomon king, and they anointed him for the Lord as ruler, and Zadok as priest. ²³ Thereafter Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king succeeding his father David; he prospered, and all Israel obeyed him.^{(X) 24} All the commanders and warriors, and also all the other sons of King David, swore allegiance to King Solomon. ²⁵ And the Lord exalted Solomon greatly in the eyes of all Israel, giving him a glorious reign such as had not been enjoyed by any king over Israel before him.^(Y)

David’s Death. ²⁶ Thus David, the son of Jesse, had reigned over all Israel. ²⁷ He was king over Israel for forty years: he was king seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.^{(Z) 28} He died at a ripe old age, rich in years and wealth and glory, and his son Solomon succeeded him as king.^(AA)

²⁹ Now the deeds of King David, first and last, are recorded in the history of Samuel the seer, the history of Nathan the prophet, and the history of Gad the seer,^{(AB) 30} together with the particulars of his reign and valor, and of the events that affected him and all Israel and all the kingdoms of the earth.

Chapter 4^[a]

Abraham Justified by Faith. ¹ What then can we say that Abraham found, our ancestor according to the flesh?^{(A) 2 [b]}Indeed, if Abraham was justified on the basis of his works, he has reason to boast; but this was not so in the sight of God. ^3 (B)For what does the scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”^{[c] 4} A worker’s wage is credited not as a gift, but as something due.^{(C) 5} But when one does not work, yet believes in the one who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness. ⁶ So also David declares the blessedness of the person to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

⁹ Does this blessedness^[d] apply only to the circumcised, or to the uncircumcised as well? Now we assert that “faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.”^{(E) 10} Under what circumstances was it credited? Was he circumcised or not? He was not circumcised, but uncircumcised. ¹¹ And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal on the righteousness received through faith while he was uncircumcised. Thus he was to be the father of all the uncircumcised who believe, so that to them [also] righteousness might be credited,^{(F) 12} as well as the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but also follow the path of faith that our father Abraham walked while still uncircumcised.

Inheritance Through Faith. ¹³ It was not through the law that the promise was made to Abraham and his descendants that he would inherit the world, but through the righteousness that comes from faith.^{(G) 14} For if those who adhere to the law are the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void.^{(H) 15} For the law produces wrath;^(I) but where there is no law, neither is there violation.^{[e] 16} For this reason, it depends on faith, so that it may be a gift, and the promise may be guaranteed to all his descendants, not to those who only adhere to the law but to those who follow the faith of Abraham, who is the father of all of us,^{(J) 17} as it is written, “I have made you father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into being what does not exist.^{(K) 18} He believed, hoping against hope,^(L) that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “Thus shall your descendants be.” ^19 (M)He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body as [already] dead (for he was almost a hundred years old) and the dead womb of Sarah. ²⁰ He did not doubt God’s promise in unbelief;^[f] rather, he was empowered by faith and gave glory to God ²¹ and was fully convinced that what he had promised he was also able to do.^{(N) 22} That is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”^{(O) 23} But it was not for him alone that it was written that “it was credited to him”; ²⁴ it was also for us, to whom it will be credited, who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,^{(P) 25} who was handed over for our transgressions and was raised for our justification.^(Q)