1 Chronicles 29
New Living Translation
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! 2 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.
3 “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. 4 I am donating more than 112 tons of gold[a] from Ophir and 262 tons of refined silver[b] to be used for overlaying the walls of the buildings 5 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?”
6 Then the family leaders, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the generals and captains of the army,[c] and the king’s administrative officers all gave willingly. 7 For the construction of the Temple of God, they gave about 188 tons of gold,[d] 10,000 gold coins,[e] 375 tons of silver,[f] 675 tons of bronze,[g] and 3,750 tons of iron.[h] 8 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. 9 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,[i] 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
- 29:4a Hebrew 3,000 talents [102 metric tons] of gold.
- 29:4b Hebrew 7,000 talents [238 metric tons] of silver.
- 29:6 Hebrew the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds.
- 29:7a Hebrew 5,000 talents [170 metric tons] of gold.
- 29:7b Hebrew 10,000 darics [a Persian coin] of gold, about 185 pounds or 84 kilograms in weight.
- 29:7c Hebrew 10,000 talents [340 metric tons] of silver.
- 29:7d Hebrew 18,000 talents [612 metric tons] of bronze.
- 29:7e Hebrew 100,000 talents [3,400 metric tons] of iron.
- 29:10 Israel is the name that God gave to Jacob.
1 Chronicles 29
Common English Bible
Offerings for building the temple
29 Then King David said to the whole assembly:
My son Solomon, the one whom God chose, is too inexperienced for this great task, since this temple won’t be for humans but for the Lord God. 2 Using every resource at my disposal, I’ve provided everything for my God’s temple: gold for gold objects, silver for silver objects, bronze for bronze objects, iron for iron objects, lumber for wooden objects, carnelian stones for settings, antimony, colorful stones, every kind of precious stone, and a large amount of marble. 3 What’s more, because of my delight in my God’s temple, I have dedicated my own private treasure of gold and silver to my God’s temple, in addition to all that I’ve provided for the holy temple: 4 three thousand kikkars of gold from the gold of Ophir, seven thousand kikkars of refined silver for covering the walls of the rooms,[a] 5 gold for gold objects, and silver for silver objects, to be used for everything the skilled workers will make. Who else, then, will volunteer, dedicating themselves to the Lord today?
6 Then the leaders of the households, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, and the commanders of the units of a thousand and a hundred, and the supervisors of the king’s work volunteered 7 to give five thousand kikkars and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand kikkars of silver, eighteen thousand kikkars of bronze, and one hundred thousand kikkars of iron for the work on God’s temple. 8 Anyone who had precious stones donated them to the treasury of the Lord’s temple under the care of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9 The people rejoiced at this response, because they had presented their offerings to the Lord so willingly and wholeheartedly. King David also rejoiced greatly.
10 Then David blessed the Lord before the whole assembly:
Blessed are you, Lord,
God of our ancestor Israel,
forever and always.
11 To you, Lord, belong greatness and power,
honor, splendor, and majesty,
because everything in heaven and on earth belongs to you.
Yours, Lord, is the kingship,
and you are honored as head of all.
12 You are the source of wealth and honor,
and you rule over all.
In your hand are strength and might,
and it is in your power to magnify and strengthen all.
13 And now, our God, we thank you
and praise your glorious name.
14 Who am I,
and who are my people,
that we should be able to offer so willingly?
Since everything comes from you,
we have given you that which comes from your own hand.
15 To be sure, we are like all our ancestors,
immigrants without permanent homes.
Our days are like a shadow on the ground,
and there’s no hope.
16 Lord, our God, all this abundance that we have provided to build you a temple for your holy name comes from your hand and belongs to you. 17 Since I know, my God, that you examine the mind and take delight in honesty, I have freely given all these things with the highest of motives. And now I’ve been delighted to see your people here offering so willingly to you.
18 Lord, God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, keep these thoughts in the mind of your people forever, and direct their hearts toward you.
19 As for Solomon my son, give him the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, laws, and regulations—observing all of them—and to build the temple that I have prepared.
20 Then David said to the whole assembly, “Bless the Lord your God,” and the whole assembly blessed the Lord, the God of their ancestors, bowed down, and worshipped before the Lord and the king. 21 On the very next day they offered sacrifices and entirely burned offerings to the Lord—a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, along with their drink offerings—and many other sacrifices for all Israel’s sake. 22 They ate and drank with great joy before the Lord that day and made David’s son Solomon the king.[b] They anointed him[c] in the Lord’s presence as prince, and Zadok as priest. 23 Thus Solomon sat on the Lord’s throne as king, succeeding his father David, and he prospered. All Israel obeyed him, 24 and all the commanders and warriors, as well as all of King David’s sons, submitted to King Solomon’s authority. 25 Moreover, the Lord magnified Solomon before all Israel, giving him such royal majesty as no king before him[d] had enjoyed.
Summary of David’s reign
26 David, Jesse’s son, was king over all Israel. 27 He reigned over Israel for forty years: seven years in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. 28 He died at a good old age, having enjoyed a full life, wealth, and honor; and his son Solomon followed him as king. 29 The account of King David from beginning to end is written in the records of Samuel the seer, Nathan the prophet, and Gad the visionary, 30 including everything concerning his powerful rule, and what happened to him, to Israel, and to all the kingdoms in other lands.
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 29:4 Or houses
- 1 Chronicles 29:22 LXX, Syr; MT adds for the second time.
- 1 Chronicles 29:22 LXX; MT lacks him.
- 1 Chronicles 29:25 LXX; MT adds in Israel.
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Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible