David’s Address about the Temple

28 Now (A)David assembled at Jerusalem all the officials of Israel, the leaders of the tribes, and the commanders of the divisions that served the king, the commanders of thousands, and the commanders of hundreds, and the overseers of all the property and livestock belonging to the king and his sons, with the officials and (B)the mighty men, all the valiant warriors. Then King David rose to his feet and said, “Listen to me, my brothers and my people; [a]I (C)had intended to build a [b]permanent home for the ark of the covenant of the Lord and for (D)the footstool of our God. So I had made preparations to build it. But God said to me, ‘(E)You shall not build a house for My name, because you are a man of war and have shed blood.’ Yet, the Lord, the God of Israel, (F)chose me from all the household of my father to be king over Israel (G)forever. For (H)He has chosen Judah to be a leader; and (I)in the house of Judah, my father’s house, and among the sons of my father He took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel. (J)Of all my sons (for the Lord has given me many sons), (K)He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. He said to me, ‘Your son (L)Solomon is the one who shall build My house and My courtyards; for I have chosen him to be a son to Me, and I will be a Father to him. I will establish his kingdom forever (M)if he resolutely performs My commandments and My ordinances, as [c]is done now.’ So now, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the [d]presence of our God, keep and seek after all the commandments of the Lord your God so that you may possess the good land and leave it as an inheritance to your sons after you forever.

“As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and (N)serve Him wholeheartedly and with a willing [e]mind; (O)for the Lord searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. (P)If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever. 10 Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; (Q)be courageous and act.”

11 Then David gave to his son Solomon (R)the plan of (S)the porch of the temple, its buildings, its storehouses, its upper rooms, its inner rooms, and (T)the room for the [f]atoning cover; 12 and the plan of all that he had in [g]mind, for the courtyards of the house of the Lord, and for all the surrounding rooms, for (U)the storehouses of the house of God and for the storehouses of the dedicated things; 13 also for (V)the divisions of the priests and (W)the Levites and for all the work of the service of the house of the Lord and for all the utensils of service in the house of the Lord; 14 for the golden utensils, by weight of gold for all utensils for every service; for all the silver utensils, by weight of silver for all utensils for every service; 15 and the weight of gold for the (X)golden lampstands and their golden lamps, with the weight of each lampstand and its lamps; and the weight of silver for the silver lampstands, with the weight of each lampstand and its lamps according to the use of each lampstand; 16 and the gold by weight for the tables of the showbread, for each table; and silver for the silver tables; 17 and the forks, the basins, and the pitchers of pure gold; and for the golden bowls with the weight for each bowl; and for the silver bowls with the weight for each bowl; 18 and for (Y)the altar of incense, refined gold by weight; and gold for the model of the chariot, and (Z)the cherubim 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, (AA)all the [h]details of this pattern.”

20 Then David said to his son Solomon, “(AB)Be strong and courageous, and act; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. (AC)He will not fail you nor forsake you until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished. 21 Now behold, (AD)there are the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God, and (AE)every willing man of any skill will be with you in all the work for all kinds of service. The officials also and all the people will be entirely at your command.”

Offerings for the Temple

29 Then King David said to the entire assembly, “My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, (AF)is still young and inexperienced, and the work is great; for (AG)the [i]temple is not for mankind, but for the Lord God. Now (AH)with all my ability I have provided for the house of my God the gold for the things of gold, the silver for the things of silver, the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, wood for the things of wood, onyx stones and inlaid stones, stones of antimony and stones of various colors, and all kinds of precious stones and alabaster in abundance. In addition, in my delight in the house of my God, the treasure I have of gold and silver, I give to the house of my God, over and above all that I have already provided for the holy [j]temple, namely, (AI)three thousand [k]talents of gold, from (AJ)the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the [l]buildings; gold for the things of gold and silver for the things of silver, that is, for all the work [m]done by the craftsmen. Who then is willing [n]to consecrate himself this day to the Lord?”

Then (AK)the rulers of the fathers’ households, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, and the commanders of thousands and hundreds, with (AL)the supervisors of the king’s work, offered willingly; and for the service of the house of God they gave five thousand talents and ten thousand [o](AM)darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of brass, and a hundred thousand talents of iron. [p]Whoever possessed precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the Lord, [q]in care of (AN)Jehiel the Gershonite. Then the people rejoiced because they had offered so willingly, for they made their offering to the Lord (AO)wholeheartedly, and King David also rejoiced greatly.

David’s Prayer

10 So David blessed the Lord in the sight of all the assembly; and David said, “Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel our father, forever and ever. 11 (AP)Yours, Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and on the earth; Yours is the dominion, Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. 12 (AQ)Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and (AR)in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone. 13 Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name.

14 “But who am I and who are my people that we should [r]be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your hand we have given to You. 15 For (AS)we are strangers before You, and temporary residents, as all our fathers were; (AT)our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope. 16 Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided to build You a house for Your holy name, it is from Your hand, and everything is Yours. 17 Since I know, my God, that (AU)You put the heart to the test and (AV)delight in uprightness, I, in the integrity of my heart, have willingly offered all these things; so now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here, make their offerings willingly to You. 18 Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the [s]intentions of the hearts of Your people, and direct their hearts to You; 19 and (AW)give my son Solomon a perfect heart to keep Your commandments, Your testimonies, and Your statutes, and to do them all, and (AX)to build the [t]temple for which I have made provision.”

20 Then David said to all the assembly, “Now bless the Lord your God.” And (AY)all the assembly blessed the Lord, the God of their fathers, and (AZ)bowed down and paid [u]homage to the Lord and the king.

Sacrifices

21 On the next day (BA)they [v]made sacrifices to the Lord and offered burnt offerings to the Lord, a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. 22 So they ate and drank that day before the Lord with great gladness.

Solomon Again Made King

And they made Solomon the son of David king (BB)a second time, and they (BC)anointed him as ruler for the Lord and Zadok as priest. 23 Then (BD)Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of his father David; and he prospered, and all Israel obeyed him. 24 And all the officials, the mighty men, and also all the sons of King David [w]pledged allegiance to King Solomon. 25 (BE)The Lord highly honored Solomon in the sight of all Israel, and (BF)bestowed on him royal majesty which had not been bestowed on any king before him in Israel.

26 Now (BG)David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. 27 (BH)The period which he reigned over Israel was forty years; he reigned in Hebron seven years and [x]in Jerusalem thirty-three years.

Death of David

28 Then he died at (BI)a good old age, (BJ)full of days, riches, and honor; and his son Solomon reigned in his place. 29 Now the acts of King David, from the first to the last, are written in the chronicles of (BK)Samuel the seer, in the chronicles of (BL)Nathan the prophet, and in the chronicles of (BM)Gad the seer, 30 with all of his reign, his power, and the circumstances which came upon him, Israel, and all the kingdoms of the lands.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 28:2 Lit as for me, it was with my heart
  2. 1 Chronicles 28:2 Lit house of rest
  3. 1 Chronicles 28:7 Lit this day
  4. 1 Chronicles 28:8 Lit ears of
  5. 1 Chronicles 28:9 Lit soul
  6. 1 Chronicles 28:11 Also called mercy seat; i.e., where blood was sprinkled on the Day of Atonement
  7. 1 Chronicles 28:12 Lit the spirit with him
  8. 1 Chronicles 28:19 Lit works
  9. 1 Chronicles 29:1 Lit palace
  10. 1 Chronicles 29:3 Lit house
  11. 1 Chronicles 29:4 A talent was about 75 lb. or 34 kg
  12. 1 Chronicles 29:4 Lit houses
  13. 1 Chronicles 29:5 Lit by the hand of the craftsmen
  14. 1 Chronicles 29:5 Lit to fill his hand
  15. 1 Chronicles 29:7 A coin weighing about 0.25 oz. or 7 gm
  16. 1 Chronicles 29:8 Lit Those with whom were found
  17. 1 Chronicles 29:8 Lit on the hand of
  18. 1 Chronicles 29:14 Lit keep strength
  19. 1 Chronicles 29:18 Lit intent of the thoughts of
  20. 1 Chronicles 29:19 Lit palace
  21. 1 Chronicles 29:20 I.e., great respect and honor to a superior
  22. 1 Chronicles 29:21 Lit sacrificed
  23. 1 Chronicles 29:24 Lit put a hand under Solomon
  24. 1 Chronicles 29:27 Lit he reigned in

David’s Instructions to Solomon

28 David summoned all the officials of Israel to Jerusalem—the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of the army divisions, the other generals and captains,[a] the overseers of the royal property and livestock, the palace officials, the mighty men, and all the other brave warriors in the kingdom. David rose to his feet and said: “My brothers and my people! It was my desire to build a Temple where the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant, God’s footstool, could rest permanently. I made the necessary preparations for building it, but God said to me, ‘You must not build a Temple to honor my name, for you are a warrior and have shed much blood.’

“Yet the Lord, the God of Israel, has chosen me from among all my father’s family to be king over Israel forever. For he has chosen the tribe of Judah to rule, and from among the families of Judah he chose my father’s family. And from among my father’s sons the Lord was pleased to make me king over all Israel. And from among my sons—for the Lord has given me many—he chose Solomon to succeed me on the throne of Israel and to rule over the Lord’s kingdom. He said to me, ‘Your son Solomon will build my Temple and its courtyards, for I have chosen him as my son, and I will be his father. And if he continues to obey my commands and regulations as he does now, I will make his kingdom last forever.’

“So now, with God as our witness, and in the sight of all Israel—the Lord’s assembly—I give you this charge. Be careful to obey all the commands of the Lord your God, so that you may continue to possess this good land and leave it to your children as a permanent inheritance.

“And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. 10 So take this seriously. The Lord has chosen you to build a Temple as his sanctuary. Be strong, and do the work.”

11 Then David gave Solomon the plans for the Temple and its surroundings, including the entry room, the storerooms, the upstairs rooms, the inner rooms, and the inner sanctuary—which was the place of atonement. 12 David also gave Solomon all the plans he had in mind[b] for the courtyards of the Lord’s Temple, the outside rooms, the treasuries, and the rooms for the gifts dedicated to the Lord. 13 The king also gave Solomon the instructions concerning the work of the various divisions of priests and Levites in the Temple of the Lord. And he gave specifications for the items in the Temple that were to be used for worship.

14 David gave instructions regarding how much gold and silver should be used to make the items needed for service. 15 He told Solomon the amount of gold needed for the gold lampstands and lamps, and the amount of silver for the silver lampstands and lamps, depending on how each would be used. 16 He designated the amount of gold for the table on which the Bread of the Presence would be placed and the amount of silver for other tables.

17 David also designated the amount of gold for the solid gold meat hooks used to handle the sacrificial meat and for the basins, pitchers, and dishes, as well as the amount of silver for every dish. 18 He designated the amount of refined gold for the altar of incense. Finally, he gave him a plan for the Lord’s “chariot”—the gold cherubim[c] whose wings were stretched out over the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant. 19 “Every part of this plan,” David told Solomon, “was given to me in writing from the hand of the Lord.[d]

20 Then David continued, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. He will see to it that all the work related to the Temple of the Lord is finished correctly. 21 The various divisions of priests and Levites will serve in the Temple of God. Others with skills of every kind will volunteer, and the officials and the entire nation are at your command.”

Gifts for Building the Temple

29 Then King David turned to the entire assembly and said, “My son Solomon, whom God has clearly chosen as the next king of Israel, is still young and inexperienced. The work ahead of him is enormous, for the Temple he will build is not for mere mortals—it is for the Lord God himself! Using every resource at my command, I have gathered as much as I could for building the Temple of my God. Now there is enough gold, silver, bronze, iron, and wood, as well as great quantities of onyx, other precious stones, costly jewels, and all kinds of fine stone and marble.

“And now, because of my devotion to the Temple of my God, I am giving all of my own private treasures of gold and silver to help in the construction. This is in addition to the building materials I have already collected for his holy Temple. I am donating more than 112 tons of gold[e] from Ophir and 262 tons of refined silver[f] to be used for overlaying the walls of the buildings and for the other gold and silver work to be done by the craftsmen. Now then, who will follow my example and give offerings to the Lord today?”

Then the family leaders, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the generals and captains of the army,[g] and the king’s administrative officers all gave willingly. For the construction of the Temple of God, they gave about 188 tons of gold,[h] 10,000 gold coins,[i] 375 tons of silver,[j] 675 tons of bronze,[k] and 3,750 tons of iron.[l] They also contributed numerous precious stones, which were deposited in the treasury of the house of the Lord under the care of Jehiel, a descendant of Gershon. The people rejoiced over the offerings, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord, and King David was filled with joy.

David’s Prayer of Praise

10 Then David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly:

“O Lord, the God of our ancestor Israel,[m] may you be praised forever and ever! 11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. 12 Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength.

13 “O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name! 14 But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us! 15 We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a passing shadow, gone so soon without a trace.

16 “O Lord our God, even this material we have gathered to build a Temple to honor your holy name comes from you! It all belongs to you! 17 I know, my God, that you examine our hearts and rejoice when you find integrity there. You know I have done all this with good motives, and I have watched your people offer their gifts willingly and joyously.

18 “O Lord, the God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, make your people always want to obey you. See to it that their love for you never changes. 19 Give my son Solomon the wholehearted desire to obey all your commands, laws, and decrees, and to do everything necessary to build this Temple, for which I have made these preparations.”

20 Then David said to the whole assembly, “Give praise to the Lord your God!” And the entire assembly praised the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and they bowed low and knelt before the Lord and the king.

Solomon Named as King

21 The next day they brought 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 male lambs as burnt offerings to the Lord. They also brought liquid offerings and many other sacrifices on behalf of all Israel. 22 They feasted and drank in the Lord’s presence with great joy that day.

And again they crowned David’s son Solomon as their new king. They anointed him before the Lord as their leader, and they anointed Zadok as priest. 23 So Solomon took the throne of the Lord in place of his father, David, and he succeeded in everything, and all Israel obeyed him. 24 All the officials, the warriors, and the sons of King David pledged their loyalty to King Solomon. 25 And the Lord exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel, and he gave Solomon greater royal splendor than any king in Israel before him.

Summary of David’s Reign

26 So David son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. 27 He reigned over Israel for forty years, seven of them in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. 28 He died at a ripe old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth, and honor. Then his son Solomon ruled in his place.

29 All the events of King David’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in The Record of Samuel the Seer, The Record of Nathan the Prophet, and The Record of Gad the Seer. 30 These accounts include the mighty deeds of his reign and everything that happened to him and to Israel and to all the surrounding kingdoms.

Footnotes

  1. 28:1 Hebrew the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds.
  2. 28:12 Or the plans of the spirit that was with him.
  3. 28:18 Hebrew for the gold cherub chariot.
  4. 28:19 Or was written under the direction of the Lord.
  5. 29:4a Hebrew 3,000 talents [102 metric tons] of gold.
  6. 29:4b Hebrew 7,000 talents [238 metric tons] of silver.
  7. 29:6 Hebrew the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds.
  8. 29:7a Hebrew 5,000 talents [170 metric tons] of gold.
  9. 29:7b Hebrew 10,000 darics [a Persian coin] of gold, about 185 pounds or 84 kilograms in weight.
  10. 29:7c Hebrew 10,000 talents [340 metric tons] of silver.
  11. 29:7d Hebrew 18,000 talents [612 metric tons] of bronze.
  12. 29:7e Hebrew 100,000 talents [3,400 metric tons] of iron.
  13. 29:10 Israel is the name that God gave to Jacob.