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29 David the king said to all the assembly, “Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is yet young and tender, and the work is great; for the palace is not for man, but for Yahweh God. Now I have prepared with all my might 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, iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood; also onyx stones, stones to be set, stones for inlaid work, of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance. In addition, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, since I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, I give it to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, even three thousand talents of gold,[a] of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents[b] of refined silver, with which to overlay the walls of the houses; of gold for the things of gold, and of silver for the things of silver, and for all kinds of work to be made by the hands of artisans. Who then offers willingly to consecrate himself today to Yahweh?”

Then the princes of the fathers’ households, and the princes of the tribes of Israel, and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers over the king’s work, offered willingly; and they gave for the service of God’s house of gold five thousand talents[c] and ten thousand darics,[d] of silver ten thousand talents, of bronze eighteen thousand talents, and of iron one hundred thousand talents. People with whom precious stones were found gave them to the treasure of Yahweh’s house, under the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite. Then the people rejoiced, because they offered willingly, because with a perfect heart they offered willingly to Yahweh; and David the king also rejoiced with great joy. 10 Therefore David blessed Yahweh before all the assembly; and David said, “You are blessed, Yahweh, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. 11 Yours, Yahweh, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty! For all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, Yahweh, and you are exalted as head above all. 12 Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all! In your hand is power and might! It is in your hand to make great, and to give strength to all! 13 Now therefore, our God, we thank you, and praise your glorious name. 14 But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from you, and we have given you of your own. 15 For we are strangers before you, and foreigners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is no remaining. 16 Yahweh our God, all this store that we have prepared to build you a house for your holy name comes from your hand, and is all your own. 17 I know also, my God, that you try the heart, and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things. Now I have seen with joy your people, who are present here, offer willingly to you. 18 Yahweh, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this desire forever in the thoughts of the heart of your people, and prepare their heart for you; 19 and give to Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for which I have made provision.”

20 Then David said to all the assembly, “Now bless Yahweh your God!”

All the assembly blessed Yahweh, the God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads and prostrated themselves before Yahweh and the king. 21 They sacrificed sacrifices to Yahweh, and offered burnt offerings to Yahweh, on the next day after that day, even one thousand bulls, one thousand rams, and one thousand lambs, with their drink offerings and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel, 22 and ate and drank before Yahweh on that day with great gladness. They made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and anointed him before Yahweh to be prince, and Zadok to be priest.

23 Then Solomon sat on the throne of Yahweh as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him. 24 All the princes, the mighty men, and also all of the sons of king David submitted themselves to Solomon the king. 25 Yahweh magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and gave to him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel. 26 Now David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. 27 The time that he reigned over Israel was forty years; he reigned seven years in Hebron, and he reigned thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 28 He died at a good old age, full of days, riches, and honor; and Solomon his son reigned in his place. 29 Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the history of Samuel the seer, and in the history of Nathan the prophet, and in the history of Gad the seer, 30 with all his reign and his might, and the times that went over him, and over Israel, and over all the kingdoms of the countries.

Footnotes

  1. 29:4 A talent is about 30 kilograms or 66 pounds or 965 Troy ounces, so 3000 talents is about 90 metric tons
  2. 29:4 about 210 metric tons
  3. 29:7 A talent is about 30 kilograms or 66 pounds or 965 Troy ounces, so 5000 talents is about 150 metric tons
  4. 29:7 a daric was a gold coin issued by a Persian king, weighing about 8.4 grams or about 0.27 troy ounces each.

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[a] from Ophir and 262 tons of refined silver[b] 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,[c] and the king’s administrative officers all gave willingly. 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] 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,[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

  1. 29:4a Hebrew 3,000 talents [102 metric tons] of gold.
  2. 29:4b Hebrew 7,000 talents [238 metric tons] of silver.
  3. 29:6 Hebrew the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds.
  4. 29:7a Hebrew 5,000 talents [170 metric tons] of gold.
  5. 29:7b Hebrew 10,000 darics [a Persian coin] of gold, about 185 pounds or 84 kilograms in weight.
  6. 29:7c Hebrew 10,000 talents [340 metric tons] of silver.
  7. 29:7d Hebrew 18,000 talents [612 metric tons] of bronze.
  8. 29:7e Hebrew 100,000 talents [3,400 metric tons] of iron.
  9. 29:10 Israel is the name that God gave to Jacob.