1 Chronicles 28
New King James Version
Solomon Instructed to Build the Temple
28 Now David assembled at Jerusalem all (A)the leaders of Israel: the officers of the tribes and (B)the captains of the divisions who served the king, the captains over thousands and captains over hundreds, and (C)the stewards over all the substance and [a]possessions of the king and of his sons, with the officials, the valiant men, and all (D)the mighty men of valor.
2 Then King David rose to his feet and said, “Hear me, my brethren and my people: (E)I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and for (F)the footstool of our God, and had made preparations to build it. 3 But God said to me, (G)‘You shall not build a house for My name, because you have been a man of war and have shed (H)blood.’ 4 However the Lord God of Israel (I)chose me above all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever, for He has chosen (J)Judah to be the ruler. And of the house of Judah, (K)the house of my father, and (L)among the sons of my father, He was pleased with me to make me king over all Israel. 5 (M)And of all my sons (for the Lord has given me many sons) (N)He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. 6 Now He said to me, ‘It is (O)your son Solomon who 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 forever, (P)if he is steadfast to observe My commandments and My judgments, as it is this day.’ 8 Now therefore, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God, be careful to seek out all the commandments of the Lord your God, that you may possess this good land, and leave it as an inheritance for your children after you forever.
9 “As for you, my son Solomon, (Q)know the God of your father, and serve Him (R)with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for (S)the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. (T)If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will (U)cast you off forever. 10 Consider now, (V)for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong, and do it.”
11 Then David gave his son Solomon (W)the plans for the vestibule, its houses, its treasuries, its upper chambers, its inner chambers, and the place of the mercy seat; 12 and the (X)plans for all that he had by the Spirit, of the courts of the house of the Lord, of all the chambers all around, (Y)of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries for the dedicated things; 13 also for the division of the priests and the (Z)Levites, for all the work of the service of the house of the Lord, and for all the articles of service in the house of the Lord. 14 He gave gold by weight for things of gold, for all articles used in every kind of service; also silver for all articles of silver by weight, for all articles used in every kind of service; 15 the weight for the (AA)lampstands of gold, and their lamps of gold, by weight for each lampstand and its lamps; for the lampstands of silver by weight, for the lampstand and its lamps, according to the use of each lampstand. 16 And by weight he gave gold for the tables of the showbread, for each (AB)table, and silver for the tables of silver; 17 also pure gold for the forks, the basins, the pitchers of pure gold, and the golden bowls—he gave gold by weight for every bowl; and for the silver bowls, silver by weight for every bowl; 18 and refined gold by weight for the (AC)altar of incense, and for the construction of the chariot, that is, the gold (AD)cherubim that spread their wings and overshadowed the ark of the covenant of the Lord. 19 “All this,” said David, (AE)“the Lord made me understand in writing, by His hand upon me, all the [b]works of these plans.”
20 And David said to his son Solomon, (AF)“Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God—my God—will be with you. (AG)He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord. 21 Here are (AH)the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God; and (AI)every willing craftsman will be with you for all manner of workmanship, for every kind of service; also the leaders and all the people will be completely at your command.”
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 28:1 Or livestock
- 1 Chronicles 28:19 details
1 Chronicles 28
Complete Jewish Bible
28 David assembled in Yerushalayim all the leaders of Isra’el — the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of the divisions serving the king, the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and the supervisors over the property and livestock of the king, along with his sons, the officials, the warrior-heroes, and anyone else who was a leader. 2 Then David the king rose to his feet and said: “My kinsmen and my people! Listen to me! I set my heart on building a house where the ark for the covenant of Adonai could remain at rest. It would have been God’s footstool, and I prepared to build it. 3 But God said to me, ‘You are not to build a house for my name, because you are a man of war, you have shed blood.’ 4 However, Adonai the God of Isra’el chose me out of my father’s whole family to be king over Isra’el forever; for he chose Y’hudah to be the leader; and in the house of Y’hudah, in the house of my father, and among the sons of my father, it was his pleasure to make me king over all Isra’el; 5 and of all my sons — for Adonai has given me many sons — he has chosen Shlomo my son to sit on the throne of the kingdom of Adonai over Isra’el.
6 “Moreover, he said to me, ‘Shlomo your son will build my house and courtyards, for I have chosen him to be a son to me, and I will be a father to him. 7 I will establish his kingdom forever, if he uses his strength to obey my mitzvot and abide by my rulings, as [he is doing] currently.’ 8 Now therefore, in the sight of all Isra’el, the community of Adonai, and in the hearing of our God, observe and seek out all the mitzvot of Adonai your God, so that you may continue to possess this good land and leave it as an inheritance to your descendants after you forever.
9 “As for you, Shlomo my son, know the God of your father. Serve him wholeheartedly and with desire in your being; for Adonai searches all hearts and understands all the inclinations of people’s thoughts. If you seek him, he will let himself be found by you; but if you abandon him, he will reject you forever. 10 See now that Adonai has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; so be strong, and do it!”
11 Then David gave Shlomo his son the designs for the hall [of the temple], its buildings, its supply areas, its upper rooms, its inside rooms, and the place for the ark-cover; 12 also the designs for everything he had been given by the Spirit — for the courtyards of the house of Adonai, for all the rooms surrounding it, for the storehouses in the house of God, for the storehouses for the holy articles, 13 and for the areas set aside for the cohanim and the L’vi’im; [arrangements] for the work involved in the service of the house of Adonai and for all the articles needed for the service of the house of Adonai; 14 [lists] of the weights of gold needed for the gold items to be used for various purposes, and the weights of silver needed for the silver items to be used for various purposes — 15 the weight of the gold needed for the gold menorahs, the weight needed for each menorah and for its lamps; and for the menorahs of silver, the weight of silver needed for each menorah and for its lamps, according to the way each menorah was to be used; 16 also the gold by weight for the tables for the showbread, for each table; and silver for the tables made of silver; 17 the gold for the pure gold forks, basins and jars, and for the gold bowls by weight for each bowl; also for the silver bowls by weight for each bowl; 18 and for the incense altar, refined gold by weight; and gold for the design of the chariot and the k’ruvim with their wings spread out to cover the ark for the covenant of Adonai. 19 “All this is in writing, as Adonai, with his hand on me, has given me good sense in working out these detailed plans.”
20 Then David said to Shlomo his son, “Be strong, be bold, and do it! Don’t be afraid or become discouraged! For Adonai, God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or abandon you until all the work for the service in the house of Adonai has been finished. 21 See, there are the divisions of the cohanim and L’vi’im for all the service in the house of God. For every kind of work, you will have with you every man who is willing and skilled, for every kind of service. Also the captains and all the people will be completely at your disposal.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.