22 ¹ David then said, “This is the place where the temple of the Lord God will be, along with the altar for burnt sacrifices for Israel.”

David Orders a Temple to Be Built

² David ordered the resident foreigners^[a] in the land of Israel to be called together. He appointed some of them to be stonecutters to chisel stones for the building of God’s temple. ³ David supplied a large amount of iron for the nails of the doors of the gates and for braces, more bronze than could be weighed, ⁴ and more cedar logs than could be counted. (The Sidonians and Tyrians had brought a large amount of cedar logs to David.)

⁵ David said, “My son Solomon is just an inexperienced young man,^[b] and the temple to be built for the Lord must be especially magnificent so it will become famous and be considered splendid by all the nations.^[c] Therefore I will make preparations for its construction.” So David made extensive preparations before he died.

⁶ He summoned his son Solomon and charged him to build a temple for the Lord God of Israel. ⁷ David said to Solomon: “My son, I really wanted^[d] to build a temple to honor^[e] the Lord my God. ⁸ But this was the Lord’s message to me: ‘You have spilled a great deal of blood and fought many battles. You must not build a temple to honor me,^[f] for you have spilled a great deal of blood on the ground before me. ⁹ Look, you will have a son, who will be a peaceful man.^[g] I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side.^[h] Indeed, Solomon^[i] will be his name; I will give Israel peace and quiet during his reign.^{[j] 10} He will build a temple to honor me;^[k] he will become my son, and I will become his father. I will grant to his dynasty permanent rule over Israel.’^[l]

¹¹ “Now, my son, may the Lord be with you! May you succeed and build a temple for the Lord your God, just as he announced you would.^{[m] 12} Only may the Lord give you insight and understanding when he places you in charge of Israel, so you may obey^[n] the law of the Lord your God. ¹³ Then you will succeed, if you carefully obey the rules and regulations which the Lord ordered Moses to give to Israel.^[o] Be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid and don’t panic!^{[p] 14} Now, look, I have made every effort to supply what is needed to build the Lord’s temple.^[q] I have stored up 100,000 talents^[r] of gold, 1,000,000 talents^[s] of silver, and so much bronze and iron it cannot be weighed, as well as wood and stones. Feel free to add more! ¹⁵ You also have available many workers, including stonecutters, masons, carpenters,^[t] and an innumerable array of workers who are skilled ¹⁶ in using gold, silver, bronze, and iron.^[u] Get up and begin the work! May the Lord be with you!”

¹⁷ David ordered all the officials of Israel to support^[v] his son Solomon. ¹⁸ He told them,^[w] “The Lord your God is with you!^[x] He has made you secure on every side,^[y] for he handed over to me the inhabitants of the region^[z] and the region^[aa] is subdued before the Lord and his people. ¹⁹ Now seek the Lord your God wholeheartedly and with your entire being!^[ab] Get up and build the sanctuary of the Lord God! Then you can bring^[ac] the ark of the Lord’s covenant and the holy items dedicated to God’s service^[ad] into the temple that is built to honor the Lord.”^[ae]