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
International Standard Version
Offerings for the Temple
29 Then King David addressed the entire assembly: “My son Solomon, the one whom God alone has chosen, is still young and inexperienced, and the task is great, since this structure will be a citadel to the Lord God and not for human beings. 2 To the extent that I have been able to do so, I have provided supplies for the Temple of my God, including gold for what is to be made of gold, silver for what is to be made of silver, bronze for what is to be made of bronze, iron for what is to be made of iron, wood for what is to be made of wood, and great quantities of onyx, precious stones, antimony, colored stones, all types of other semi-precious stones, and plenty of marble.
3 “In addition to everything that I have supplied for the Temple, it pleases me to provide my own treasure of gold and silver, so because of my love for the Temple of my God I hereby give to the Temple of my God the following: 4 3,000 gold talents[a] imported from Ophir,[b] 7,000 talents[c] of refined silver for gilding the walls of the Temple 5 and for all the work to be undertaken by skilled artists, gold for what is to be made of gold, and silver for what is to be made of silver. Who then, will be dedicating the productivity[d] of his own work[e] to the Lord today?”
6 So the leaders of the ancestral households presented their voluntary offerings, as did the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of thousands and hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king’s business. 7 They presented 5,000 gold talents[f] and 10,000 gold darics[g] for the work of the Temple of God, 10,000 silver talents[h], 18,000 bronze talents,[i] and 100,000 iron talents.[j] 8 Whoever owned precious stones gave them to the treasury of the Temple of the Lord, in care of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9 Then the people rejoiced because they had given voluntarily, since with a devoted heart they had freely given to the Lord.
David’s Praise to God
King David also rejoiced greatly. 10 Then David blessed the Lord in the presence of the entire assembly. David said,
How blessed you are, Lord,
the God of our ancestor Israel,
from eternity to eternity!
11 To you, Lord, belongs the greatness, and the valor,
and the splendor, and the endurance, and the majesty
because all that is in heaven
and on earth is yours.
To you belongs the kingdom, Lord,
and you are exalted as head over all.
12 Both wealth and honor proceed from you,
and you are ruling over them all.
You control[k] power—
you control who is made great,
and how everyone becomes strong.
13 And so, our God, we are giving you thanks,
and we are praising your wonderful name!
14 But who am I,
and who are my people,
that we make such voluntary offerings as these?
For all things come from you,
and from your own hand we are giving to you.
15 For we are aliens and vagrants in your presence,
as were all of our ancestors.
Our days on the earth pass away like shadows,
and we have no hope.
16 Lord our God, all of this abundance that we have given
for building a temple for your great name
was provided by you[l]
and all of it belongs to you.
17 And I know, God,
that it is you who searches the heart
and you who finds pleasure in righteousness.
With a righteous heart I have freely given all these things,
and now I have seen all of these people of yours
giving freely and joyfully to you!
18 Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our ancestors,
keep your purposes and thoughts
constantly in the hearts of your people
and direct their hearts toward you,
19 granting to my son Solomon to keep with a devoted heart
your commands, your decrees, and your statutes,
carrying out all of them,
and that he may build the Temple
for which I have made the preparations.
20 Then David told the entire assembly, “Bless the Lord your God, please.” So the entire assembly blessed the Lord God of their ancestors, bowing their heads and falling in the Lord’s presence and before the king. 21 The next day, they offered sacrifices and burnt offerings to the Lord amounting to[m] 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 lambs, along with their libations. Sacrifices were abundant throughout all Israel, 22 and they ate and drank in the Lord’s presence with great joy.
Solomon is Anointed King(A)
They crowned David’s son Solomon king a second time and anointed him to serve[n] as Commander-in-Chief[o] to the Lord and Zadok to serve[p] as priest. 23 So Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king in the place of[q] his father David. He prospered, and all of Israel obeyed[r] him. 24 All of the officials, all of the valiant soldiers, and all of King David’s sons submitted to King Solomon’s control, 25 and the Lord exalted Solomon magnificently in the sight of all Israel, bestowing upon him royal majesty such as had not been given to any king in Israel before him.
Summary of the Reign of King David
26 Jesse’s son David reigned as king over all of Israel, 27 serving as king over Israel for 40 years. He reigned for seven years in Hebron and for 33 in Jerusalem. 28 He died at a good old age, having lived a full life, replete with riches and honor, and with his son Solomon reigning in his place. 29 The activities of David the king are recorded in the History of Samuel the Seer,[s] in the History of Nathan the Prophet,[t] and in the History of Gad the Seer,[u] 30 including details regarding[v] his reign, his power, the circumstances that attended his life, Israel, and all of the kingdoms of the countries that surrounded him.[w]
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 29:4 I.e. about 225,000 pounds; a talent weighed about 75 pounds
- 1 Chronicles 29:4 Or from a source of fine gold; cf. 2Chr 8:18
- 1 Chronicles 29:4 I.e. about 525,000 pounds; a talent weighed about 75 pounds
- 1 Chronicles 29:5 Lit. filling
- 1 Chronicles 29:5 Lit. hand
- 1 Chronicles 29:7 I.e. about 375,000 pounds; a talent weighed about 75 pounds
- 1 Chronicles 29:7 I.e. about 156 pounds; a daric weighed about one quarter of an ounce
- 1 Chronicles 29:7 I.e. about 750,000 pounds; a talent weighed about 75 pounds
- 1 Chronicles 29:7 I.e. about 1,350,000 pounds; a talent weighed about 75 pounds
- 1 Chronicles 29:7 I.e. about 7,500,000 pounds; a talent weighed about 75 pounds
- 1 Chronicles 29:12 Lit. You have in your hand
- 1 Chronicles 29:16 Lit. by your hand
- 1 Chronicles 29:21 The Heb. lacks amounting to
- 1 Chronicles 29:22 The Heb. lacks serve
- 1 Chronicles 29:22 Or prince; lit. Nagid; i.e. an officer entrusted with dual roles of operational oversight and management authority
- 1 Chronicles 29:22 The Heb. lacks serve
- 1 Chronicles 29:23 Or king under
- 1 Chronicles 29:23 Or listened to
- 1 Chronicles 29:29 An ancient chronicle of Israel, apparently now lost
- 1 Chronicles 29:29 An ancient chronicle of Israel, apparently now lost
- 1 Chronicles 29:29 An ancient chronicle of Israel, apparently now lost
- 1 Chronicles 29:30 The Heb. lacks details regarding
- 1 Chronicles 29:30 The Heb. lacks that surrounded him
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