1 Chronicles 29 - 2 Chronicles 2

English Standard Version

Offerings for the Temple

29 And David the king said to all the assembly, “Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is ^(A)young and inexperienced, and the work is great, for ^(B)the palace will not be for man but for the Lord God. ² So I have provided for the house of my God, so far as I was able, the gold for the things of gold, the silver for the things of silver, and the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, besides great quantities of ^(C)onyx and stones for setting, antimony, colored stones, all sorts of precious stones and marble. ³ Moreover, in addition to all that I have provided for the holy house, I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, and because of my devotion to the house of my God I give it to the house of my God: ^4 (D)3,000 talents^[a] of gold, of the gold of ^(E)Ophir, and 7,000 talents of refined silver, for overlaying the walls of the house,^{[b] 5} and for all the work to be done by craftsmen, gold for the things of gold and silver for the things of silver. Who then will offer willingly, consecrating himself^[c] today to the Lord?”

⁶ Then ^(F)the leaders of fathers' houses made their freewill offerings, as did also the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and ^(G)the officers over the king's work. ⁷ They gave for the service of the house of God 5,000 talents and 10,000 ^(H)darics^[d] of gold, 10,000 talents of silver, 18,000 talents of bronze and 100,000 talents of iron. ⁸ And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the Lord, in the care of ^(I)Jehiel the Gershonite. ⁹ Then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a ^(J)whole heart they had offered freely to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly.

David Prays in the Assembly

¹⁰ Therefore David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: ^(K)“Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. ^11 (L)Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. ^12 (M)Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. ^(N)In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. ¹³ And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.

¹⁴ “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. ^15 (O)For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are ^(P)like a shadow, and there is no abiding.^{[e] 16} O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own. ¹⁷ I know, my God, ^(Q)that you test the heart and ^(R)have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you. ¹⁸ O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you. ^19 (S)Grant to Solomon my son a whole heart that he may keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, performing all, and that he may ^(T)build the palace ^(U)for which I have made provision.”

²⁰ Then David said to all the assembly, ^(V)“Bless the Lord your God.” And all the assembly blessed the Lord, the God of their fathers, ^(W)and bowed their heads and paid homage to the Lord and to the king. ²¹ And they offered sacrifices to the Lord, and on the next day offered burnt offerings to the Lord, 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 lambs, with their ^(X)drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. ²² And they ate and drank before the Lord on that day with great gladness.

Solomon Anointed King

And they made Solomon the son of David king ^(Y)the second time, and they ^(Z)anointed him as prince for the Lord, and ^(AA)Zadok as priest.

^23 (AB)Then Solomon sat on the ^(AC)throne of the Lord as king in place of David his father. And he prospered, and all Israel obeyed him. ²⁴ All the leaders and the mighty men, and also all the sons of King David, pledged their allegiance to King Solomon. ²⁵ And the Lord made Solomon very ^(AD)great in the sight of all Israel and ^(AE)bestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.

The Death of David

²⁶ Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. ²⁷ The ^(AF)time that he reigned over Israel was forty years. He reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. ²⁸ Then he died ^(AG)at a good age, ^(AH)full of days, riches, and honor. And Solomon his son reigned in his place. ²⁹ Now the acts of King David, from first to last, are written in the Chronicles ^(AI)of Samuel the seer, and in the Chronicles of ^(AJ)Nathan the prophet, and in the Chronicles of ^(AK)Gad the seer, ³⁰ with accounts of all his rule and his might and of the circumstances ^(AL)that came upon him and upon Israel and upon all the kingdoms of the countries.

Solomon Worships at Gibeon

1 ^(AM)Solomon the son of David established himself in his kingdom, ^(AN)and the Lord his God was with him and made him exceedingly great.

² Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the ^(AO)commanders of thousands and of hundreds, to the judges, and to all the leaders in all Israel, the heads of fathers' houses. ³ And Solomon, and all the assembly with him, went to ^(AP)the high place that was at Gibeon, ^(AQ)for ^(AR)the tent of meeting of God, which Moses the servant of the Lord had made in the wilderness, was there. ^4 (AS)(But David had brought up the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim to the place that David had prepared for it, for he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem.) ⁵ Moreover, ^(AT)the bronze altar that ^(AU)Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, had made, was there before the tabernacle of the Lord. And Solomon and the assembly ^(AV)sought it^[f] out. ⁶ And Solomon went up there to the bronze altar before the Lord, which was at the tent of meeting, ^(AW)and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.

Solomon Prays for Wisdom

^7 (AX)In that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, “Ask what I shall give you.” ⁸ And Solomon said to God, “You have shown great and steadfast love to David my father, ^(AY)and have made me king in his place. ⁹ O Lord God, ^(AZ)let your word to David my father be now fulfilled, for you have made me king over a people as numerous ^(BA)as the dust of the earth. ¹⁰ Give me now wisdom and knowledge to ^(BB)go out and come in before this people, for who can govern this people of yours, which is so great?” ¹¹ God answered Solomon, “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked for ^(BC)possessions, wealth, honor, or the life of those who hate you, and have not even asked for long life, but have asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself that you may govern my people over whom I have made you king, ¹² wisdom and knowledge are granted to you. I will also give you ^(BD)riches, possessions, and honor, ^(BE)such as none of the kings had who were before you, and none after you shall have the like.” ¹³ So Solomon came from^[g] the ^(BF)high place at Gibeon, from before ^(BG)the tent of meeting, to Jerusalem. And he reigned over Israel.

Solomon Given Wealth

^14 (BH)Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen. ^(BI)He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, whom he stationed ^(BJ)in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. ¹⁵ And the king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the Shephelah. ¹⁶ And Solomon's import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king's traders would buy them from Kue for a price. ¹⁷ They imported a chariot from Egypt for 600 shekels^[h] of silver, and a horse for 150. Likewise through them these were exported to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.

Preparing to Build the Temple

2 ^{[i] (BK)}Now Solomon purposed to build a temple for the name of the Lord, and a royal palace for himself. ^{2 [j] (BL)}And Solomon assigned 70,000 men to bear burdens and 80,000 to quarry in the hill country, and ^(BM)3,600 to oversee them. ^3 (BN)And Solomon sent word to Hiram the king of Tyre: ^(BO)“As you dealt with David my father and sent him cedar to build himself a house to dwell in, so deal with me. ⁴ Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of the Lord my God and dedicate it to him for the burning of ^(BP)incense of sweet spices before him, and for ^(BQ)the regular arrangement of the showbread, and for ^(BR)burnt offerings morning and evening, ^(BS)on the Sabbaths and the new moons and the appointed feasts of the Lord our God, as ordained forever for Israel. ⁵ The house that I am to build will be great, ^(BT)for our God is greater than all gods. ^6 (BU)But who is able to build him a house, since ^(BV)heaven, even highest heaven, cannot contain him? Who am I to build a house for him, except as a place to make offerings before him? ⁷ So now ^(BW)send me a man skilled to work in gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and in purple, crimson, and blue fabrics, trained also in engraving, to be with the skilled workers who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem, ^(BX)whom David my father provided. ⁸ Send me also cedar, cypress, and algum timber from Lebanon, for I know that ^(BY)your servants know how to cut timber in Lebanon. And my servants will be with your servants, ⁹ to prepare timber for me in abundance, for the house I am to build will be great and wonderful. ^10 (BZ)I will give for your servants, the woodsmen who cut timber, 20,000 cors^[k] of crushed wheat, 20,000 cors of barley, 20,000 baths^[l] of wine, and 20,000 baths of oil.”

¹¹ Then Hiram the king of Tyre answered in a letter that he sent to Solomon, ^(CA)“Because the Lord loves his people, he has made you king over them.” ¹² Hiram also said, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, ^(CB)who made heaven and earth, who has given King David a wise son, who has discretion and understanding, ^(CC)who will build a temple for the Lord and a royal palace for himself.

¹³ “Now I have sent a skilled man, who has understanding, Huram-abi, ^14 (CD)the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre. He is ^(CE)trained to work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, and in purple, blue, and crimson fabrics and fine linen, and to do all sorts of engraving and execute any design that may be assigned him, with your craftsmen, the craftsmen of my lord, David your father. ¹⁵ Now therefore the wheat and barley, oil and wine, ^(CF)of which my lord has spoken, let him send to his servants. ^16 (CG)And we will cut whatever timber you need from Lebanon and bring it to you in rafts by sea to ^(CH)Joppa, so that you may take it up to Jerusalem.”

¹⁷ Then Solomon counted all the resident aliens who were in the land of Israel, ^(CI)after the census of them that David his father had taken, and there were found 153,600. ^18 (CJ)Seventy thousand of them he assigned to bear burdens, 80,000 to quarry in the hill country, and 3,600 as overseers to make the people work.