1 Chronicles 28
1599 Geneva Bible
28 3 Because David was forbidden to build the Temple, he willeth Solomon and the people to perform it. 8 Exhorting him to fear the Lord.
1 Now David assembled all the princes of Israel: the princes of the tribes, and the captains of the bands that served the King, and the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds, and the rulers of all the substance and possession of the king, and of his sons, with the [a]eunuchs, and the mighty, and all the men of power, unto Jerusalem.
2 And King David stood up upon his feet, and said, Hear ye me, my brethren and my people: I purposed to have built an house of [b]rest for the Ark of the covenant of the Lord, and for a (A)footstool of our God, and have made ready for the building,
3 But God said unto me, (B)Thou shalt not build an house for my Name, because thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood.
4 Yet as the Lord God of Israel chose me before all the house of my father, to be King over Israel forever (for in Judah would he choose a prince, and of the house of [c]Judah is the house of my father, and among the sons of my father he delighted in me to make me king over all Israel)
5 So of all my sons (for the Lord hath given me many sons) he hath even chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel.
6 And he said unto me, Solomon thy son, he shall build mine house and my courts: for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father.
7 I will establish therefore his kingdom forever, if he endeavor himself to do my commandments, and my judgments, as [d]this day.
8 Now therefore in the sight of all Israel the congregation of the Lord, and in the audience of our God, keep and seek for all the commandments of the Lord your God, that ye may possess this [e]good land, and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you [f]forever.
9 And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart, and with a willing mind: (C)For the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee, but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off forever.
10 Take heed now, for the Lord hath chosen thee to build [g]the house of the Sanctuary: be strong therefore and [h]do it.
11 ¶ Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch and of the houses thereof, and of the closets thereof, and of the galleries thereof, and of the chambers thereof that are within, and of the house of the mercy seat,
12 And the pattern of all that [i]he had in his mind for the courts of the house of the Lord, and for all the chambers round about, for the treasures of the house of God, and for the treasures of the dedicate things,
13 And for the courses of the Priests, and of the Levites, and for all the work for the service of the house of the Lord, and for all the vessels of the ministry of the house of the Lord.
14 He gave of gold by weight, for the vessels of gold, for all the vessels of all manner of service, and all the vessels of silver by weight, for all manner vessels of all manner of service.
15 The weight also of gold for the [j]candlesticks, and gold for their lamps, with the weight for every candlestick, and for the lamps thereof, and for the candlesticks of silver by the weight of the candlestick, and the lamps thereof according to the use of every candlestick,
16 And the weight of the gold for the tables of showbread, for every table, and silver for the tables of silver,
17 And pure gold for the fleshhooks, and the bowls, and [k]plates, and for basins, gold in weight for every basin, and for silver basins, by weight for every basin,
18 And for the altar of incense, pure gold by weight, and gold for the pattern of [l]the chariot of the Cherubs that spread themselves, and covered the Ark of the covenant of the Lord:
19 All, said he, by writing sent to me [m]by the hand of the Lord, which made me understand all the workmanship of the pattern.
20 And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of a valiant courage, and do it: fear not, nor be afraid: for the Lord God, even my God is with thee: he will not leave thee, nor forsake thee, till thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord.
21 Behold also, the companies of the Priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God, even they shall be with thee for the whole work, [n]with every free heart that is skillful in any manner of service. The princes also and all the people will be [o]wholly at thy commandment.
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 28:1 Or, chief servants, Gen. 37:36.
- 1 Chronicles 28:2 Where the Ark should remain, and remove no more to and fro.
- 1 Chronicles 28:4 According to the prophecy of Jacob, Gen. 49:8.
- 1 Chronicles 28:7 If he continue to keep my law and depart not therefrom, as he doeth hitherto.
- 1 Chronicles 28:8 To wit, of Canaan.
- 1 Chronicles 28:8 He declareth that nothing can separate them from the commodity of this land, both for themselves and their posterity, but their sins and iniquity.
- 1 Chronicles 28:10 Meaning, for his Ark.
- 1 Chronicles 28:10 Put it in execution.
- 1 Chronicles 28:12 Hebrew, that were in his spirit with him.
- 1 Chronicles 28:15 That is, the ten candlesticks, 1 Kings 7:49.
- 1 Chronicles 28:17 Or, coverings.
- 1 Chronicles 28:18 Meaning, of the mercy seat which covered the Ark, which was called the chariot, because the Lord declared himself there.
- 1 Chronicles 28:19 For all this was left in writing in the book of the Law, Exod. 25:40, which book the king was bound to put in execution, Deut. 17:19.
- 1 Chronicles 28:21 That is, everyone will be ready to help thee with those gifts that God hath given him.
- 1 Chronicles 28:21 Hebrew, at all thy words.
1 Chronicles 28
The Message
David’s Valedictory Address
28 David called together all the leaders of Israel—tribal administrators, heads of various governmental operations, military commanders and captains, stewards in charge of the property and livestock belonging to the king and his sons—everyone who held responsible positions in the kingdom.
2-7 King David stood tall and spoke: “Listen to me, my people: I fully intended to build a permanent structure for the Chest of the Covenant of God, God’s footstool. But when I got ready to build it, God said to me, ‘You may not build a house to honor me—you’ve done too much fighting—killed too many people.’ God chose me out of my family to be king over Israel forever. First he chose Judah as the lead tribe, then he narrowed it down to my family, and finally he picked me from my father’s sons, pleased to make me the king over all Israel. And then from all my sons—and God gave me many!—he chose my son Solomon to sit on the throne of God’s rule over Israel. He went on to say, ‘Your son Solomon will build my house and my courts: I have chosen him to be my royal adopted son; and I will be to him a father. I will guarantee that his kingdom will last if he continues to be as strong-minded in doing what I command and carrying out my decisions as he is doing now.’
8 “And now, in this public place, all Israel looking on and God listening in, as God’s people, obey and study every last one of the commandments of your God so that you can make the most of living in this good land and pass it on intact to your children, insuring a good future.
9-10 “And you, Solomon my son, get to know well your father’s God; serve him with a whole heart and eager mind, for God examines every heart and sees through every motive. If you seek him, he’ll make sure you find him, but if you abandon him, he’ll leave you for good. Look sharp now! God has chosen you to build his holy house. Be brave, determined! And do it!”
11-19 Then David presented his son Solomon with the plans for The Temple complex: porch, storerooms, meeting rooms, and the place for atoning sacrifice. He turned over the plans for everything that God’s Spirit had brought to his mind: the design of the courtyards, the arrangements of rooms, and the closets for storing all the holy things. He gave him his plan for organizing the Levites and priests in their work of leading and ordering worship in the house of God, and for caring for the liturgical furnishings. He provided exact specifications for how much gold and silver was needed for each article used in the services of worship: the gold and silver Lampstands and lamps, the gold tables for consecrated bread, the silver tables, the gold forks, the bowls and the jars, and the Incense Altar. And he gave him the plan for sculpting the cherubs with their wings outstretched over the Chest of the Covenant of God—the cherubim throne. “Here are the blueprints for the whole project as God gave me to understand it,” David said.
20-21 David continued to address Solomon: “Take charge! Take heart! Don’t be anxious or get discouraged. God, my God, is with you in this; he won’t walk off and leave you in the lurch. He’s at your side until every last detail is completed for conducting the worship of God. You have all the priests and Levites standing ready to pitch in, and skillful craftsmen and artisans of every kind ready to go to work. Both leaders and people are ready. Just say the word.”
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson