1 Chronicles 22
English Standard Version
22 Then David said, (A)“Here shall be the house of the Lord God and here the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”
David Prepares for Temple Building
2 David commanded to gather together the (B)resident aliens who were in the land of Israel, and he (C)set stonecutters to prepare dressed stones for building the house of God. 3 David also provided great quantities of iron for nails for the doors of the gates and for clamps, (D)as well as bronze in quantities beyond weighing, 4 and cedar timbers without number, (E)for the Sidonians and Tyrians brought great quantities of cedar to David. 5 For David said, (F)“Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly magnificent, of fame and glory throughout all lands. I will therefore make preparation for it.” So David provided materials in great quantity before his death.
Solomon Charged to Build the Temple
6 Then he called for Solomon his son and charged him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. 7 David said to Solomon, “My son, (G)I had it in my heart to build a house to the name of the Lord my God. 8 But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (H)‘You have shed much blood and have waged great wars. You shall not build a house to my name, because you have shed so much blood before me on the earth. 9 Behold, a son shall be born to you who shall be a man of rest. (I)I will give him rest from all his surrounding enemies. (J)For his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. 10 (K)He shall build a house for my name. (L)He shall be my son, and I will be his father, and I will establish his royal throne in Israel forever.’
11 “Now, my son, (M)the Lord be with you, so that you may succeed in building the house of the Lord your God, as he has spoken concerning you. 12 (N)Only, may the Lord grant you discretion and understanding, that when he gives you charge over Israel you may keep the law of the Lord your God. 13 (O)Then you will prosper if you are careful to observe the statutes and the rules that the Lord commanded Moses for Israel. (P)Be strong and courageous. Fear not; do not be dismayed. 14 With great pains I have provided for the house of the Lord (Q)100,000 talents[a] of gold, a million talents of silver, and (R)bronze and iron beyond weighing, for there is so much of it; timber and stone, too, I have provided. To these you must add. 15 You have an abundance of workmen: stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and all kinds of craftsmen without number, skilled in working 16 gold, silver, bronze, and iron. Arise and work! (S)The Lord be with you!”
17 David also commanded (T)all the leaders of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, 18 “Is not the Lord your God with you? And (U)has he not given you peace[b] on every side? For he has delivered the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and his people. 19 Now (V)set your mind and heart to seek the Lord your God. Arise and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, (W)so that the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy vessels of God may be brought into a house built (X)for the name of the Lord.”
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 22:14 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms
- 1 Chronicles 22:18 Or rest (see 22:9)
1 Chronicles 22
New American Standard Bible
David Prepares for Temple Building
22 Then David said, “(A)This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”
2 So David [a]gave orders to gather (B)the strangers who were in the land of Israel, and (C)he set stonecutters to cut out stones to build the house of God. 3 And David (D)prepared large quantities of iron [b]to make the nails for the doors of the gates and for the clamps, and more (E)bronze than could be weighed; 4 and timbers of cedar beyond number, for (F)the Sidonians and Tyrians brought large quantities of cedar timber to David. 5 David said, “My son (G)Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the Lord shall be exceedingly magnificent, famous, and glorious throughout the lands. Therefore I now will make preparations for it.” So David made ample preparations before his death.
Solomon Commanded to Build the Temple
6 Then (H)he called for his son Solomon, and commanded him to build a house for the Lord God of Israel. 7 David said to Solomon, “(I)My son, [c]I had intended to build a house for the name of the Lord my God. 8 But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘(J)You have shed much blood and have [d]waged great wars; you shall not build a house to My name, because you have shed so much blood on the earth before Me. 9 Behold, a son will be born to you, who shall be a man of rest, and (K)I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side; for (L)his name will be [e]Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. 10 (M)He shall build a house for My name, and he shall be My son and I will be his Father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’ 11 Now, my son, (N)the Lord be with you that you may be successful, and build the house of the Lord your God just as He has spoken concerning you. 12 (O)Only the Lord give you discretion and understanding, and put you in charge of Israel, so that you may (P)keep the Law of the Lord your God. 13 (Q)Then you will prosper, if you are careful to [f]follow the statutes and the ordinances which the Lord commanded Moses concerning Israel. (R)Be strong and courageous, do not fear nor be dismayed. 14 Now behold, [g]with great pains I have prepared for the house of the Lord (S)a hundred thousand [h]talents of gold and a million talents of silver, and (T)bronze and iron beyond measure, for [i]they are in great quantity; I have also prepared timber and stone, and you may add to that. 15 Moreover there are many workmen with you, stonecutters, masons of stone, and carpenters; and all of them are skillful in every kind of work. 16 Of the gold, silver, bronze, and iron there is no limit. Arise and work, and may (U)the Lord be with you.”
17 (V)David also commanded all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon, saying, 18 “Is the Lord your God not with you? And (W)has He not given you rest on every side? For He has handed over to me the inhabitants of the land, and the land is subdued before the Lord and before His people. 19 Now (X)set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God; then arise, and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, (Y)so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy vessels of God into the house that is to be built (Z)for the name of the Lord.”
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 22:2 Lit said to
- 1 Chronicles 22:3 Lit for
- 1 Chronicles 22:7 Lit as for me, it was with my heart
- 1 Chronicles 22:8 Lit made
- 1 Chronicles 22:9 I.e., peaceful
- 1 Chronicles 22:13 Lit do the
- 1 Chronicles 22:14 Lit in my affliction
- 1 Chronicles 22:14 A talent was about 75 lb. or 34 kg
- 1 Chronicles 22:14 Lit it is
1 Chronicles 22
Good News Translation
22 So David said, “This is where the Temple of the Lord God will be. Here is the altar where the people of Israel are to offer burnt offerings.”
Preparations for Building the Temple
2 King David gave orders for all the foreigners living in the land of Israel to assemble, and he put them to work. Some of them prepared stone blocks for building the Temple. 3 He supplied a large amount of iron for making nails and clamps for the wooden gates, and so much bronze that no one could weigh it. 4 He had the people of Tyre and Sidon bring him a large number of cedar logs. 5 David thought, “The Temple that my son Solomon is to build must be splendid and world-famous. But he is young and inexperienced, so I must make preparations for it.” So David got large amounts of the materials ready before he died.
6 He sent for his son Solomon and commanded him to build a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel. 7 (A)David said to him, “Son, I wanted to build a temple to honor the Lord my God. 8 But the Lord told me that I had killed too many people and fought too many wars. And so, because of all the bloodshed I have caused, he would not let me build a temple for him. 9 He did, however, make me a promise. He said, ‘You will have a son who will rule in peace, because I will give him peace from all his enemies. His name will be Solomon,[a] because during his reign I will give Israel peace and security. 10 He will build a temple for me. He will be my son, and I will be his father. His dynasty will rule Israel forever.’”
11 David continued, “Now, son, may the Lord your God be with you, and may he keep his promise to make you successful in building a temple for him. 12 And may the Lord your God give you insight and wisdom so that you may govern Israel according to his Law. 13 (B)If you obey all the laws which the Lord gave to Moses for Israel, you will be successful. Be determined and confident, and don't let anything make you afraid. 14 As for the Temple, by my efforts I have accumulated almost four thousand tons of gold and nearly forty thousand tons of silver to be used in building it. Besides that, there is an unlimited supply of bronze and iron. I also have wood and stone ready, but you must get more. 15 You have many workers. There are stonecutters to work in the quarries, and there are masons and carpenters, as well as a large number of skilled workers of every sort who can work 16 with gold, silver, bronze, and iron. Now begin the work, and may the Lord be with you.”
17 David commanded all the leaders of Israel to help Solomon. 18 He said, “The Lord your God has been with you and given you peace on all sides. He let me conquer all the people who used to live in this land, and they are now subject to you and to the Lord. 19 Now serve the Lord your God with all your heart and soul. Start building the Temple, so that you can place in it the Covenant Box of the Lord and all the other sacred objects used in worshiping him.”
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 22:9 This name is formed from the Hebrew word “shalom,” which means “peace and security.”
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
