David brings all his officers together^[a]

28 David told all Israel's officers to come and meet with him in Jerusalem. They included:

² King David stood up and he said, ‘Listen to me, my people. I wanted to build a house where we could put the Lord's Covenant Box. It would be like a place for our God to rest his feet. I prepared the things that I would need to build a temple. ³ But God said to me, “You are a fighter and you have killed many people in war. So you must not build a house to give honour to my name.” 

⁴ But it was the Lord, Israel's God, who chose me to become Israel's king. He chose my family to rule Israel for all time. First, he chose the tribe of Judah to be the leader of Israel's people. Then he chose my father's family from among the clans of Judah. Finally, he chose me from among my father's sons. He made me king to rule over all Israel. ⁵ The Lord has given me many sons. Now he has chosen my son Solomon from among them to rule over his kingdom, Israel. ⁶ The Lord said to me, “Your son Solomon will build my temple and the yards around it. I have chosen him to become my son. And I will become his father. ⁷ He must always continue to obey my commands and my laws, as he now does. If he is careful to do that, I will make his kingdom strong for all time.”

⁸ I am telling you this now, while we meet together as the Lord's people. All Israel's people, as well as our God, know what I have said. You must be careful to obey all the commands of the Lord your God. Then this good land will continue to be your home. And after you die it will belong to your descendants for ever.

⁹ As for you, Solomon, my son, keep near to your father's God. Be happy to serve him faithfully in every way. The Lord knows what you are thinking. He understands all your thoughts. If you turn to him, you will find him. But if you turn away from him, he will leave you alone for ever. ¹⁰ You must realize that the Lord has chosen you to build a temple to be his special home. Now you must be strong! Do this work.’

Solomon learns how to build the temple

¹¹ Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the temple buildings. That included the entrance room, the rooms to store things, the upstairs rooms and the inside rooms. And it included the Most Holy Place where the Covenant Box would be. ¹² David showed Solomon the ideas that God had put in his mind. He gave him the plans for the yards around the Lord's temple and the rooms around the yards. There were also plans of the rooms to store the valuable things and the gifts that people had offered to God.

¹³ David gave Solomon the rules for the work of the priests and Levites. He gave him a list of the different kinds of work that each group must do in the Lord's temple. He also gave him a list of the special things that were used to serve the Lord in the temple.

¹⁴ He told Solomon the weight of gold and the weight of silver that he must use to make some of those special things. ¹⁵ That included the weight of gold for the lampstands and for their lamps. It also included the weight of silver for the silver lampstands and for their lamps. Each lampstand was different because they would use it for a different purpose. ¹⁶ It included the weight of gold to make the special table where the priests would put the special bread. And it included the weight of silver to make the silver tables. ¹⁷ It also included the weight of pure gold to make the forks, dishes, cups and small bowls. Each gold bowl had its own weight. There was also the weight of silver for each of the silver bowls. ¹⁸ And there was the weight of pure gold for the altar to burn incense.

David also gave Solomon the plan for the gold images of cherubs for the Lord's Covenant Box. They would have wings that touched each other above the lid of the Covenant Box. They would be like a chariot for the Lord.

¹⁹ David said, ‘I have written down everything about these things, as the Lord told me to do. He helped me to understand how these plans would work.’

²⁰ David said to his son Solomon, ‘Be strong and brave to do this work. The Lord God, my God, is with you to help you. He will not leave you alone. So do not be afraid. He will stay with you until you have finished all the work to build his temple.

²¹ Look! Here are the groups of priests and Levites who are ready to serve the Lord in the temple. The men with special skills are ready to help you with the work. The officers and all the people are ready to do what you tell them to do.’