1 Chronicles 28
New American Standard Bible
David’s Address about the Temple
28 Now (A)David assembled at Jerusalem all the officials of Israel, the leaders of the tribes, and the commanders of the divisions that served the king, the commanders of thousands, and the commanders of hundreds, and the overseers of all the property and livestock belonging to the king and his sons, with the officials and (B)the mighty men, all the valiant warriors. 2 Then King David rose to his feet and said, “Listen to me, my brothers and my people; [a]I (C)had intended to build a [b]permanent home for the ark of the covenant of the Lord and for (D)the footstool of our God. So I had made preparations to build it. 3 But God said to me, ‘(E)You shall not build a house for My name, because you are a man of war and have shed blood.’ 4 Yet, the Lord, the God of Israel, (F)chose me from all the household of my father to be king over Israel (G)forever. For (H)He has chosen Judah to be a leader; and (I)in the house of Judah, my father’s house, and among the sons of my father He took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel. 5 (J)Of all my sons (for the Lord has given me many sons), (K)He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. 6 He said to me, ‘Your son (L)Solomon is the one who shall build My house and My courtyards; for I have chosen him to be a son to Me, and I will be a Father to him. 7 I will establish his kingdom forever (M)if he resolutely performs My commandments and My ordinances, as [c]is done now.’ 8 So now, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the [d]presence of our God, keep and seek after all the commandments of the Lord your God so that you may possess the good land and leave it as an inheritance to your sons after you forever.
9 “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and (N)serve Him wholeheartedly and with a willing [e]mind; (O)for the Lord searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. (P)If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever. 10 Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; (Q)be courageous and act.”
11 Then David gave to his son Solomon (R)the plan of (S)the porch of the temple, its buildings, its storehouses, its upper rooms, its inner rooms, and (T)the room for the [f]atoning cover; 12 and the plan of all that he had in [g]mind, for the courtyards of the house of the Lord, and for all the surrounding rooms, for (U)the storehouses of the house of God and for the storehouses of the dedicated things; 13 also for (V)the divisions of the priests and (W)the Levites and for all the work of the service of the house of the Lord and for all the utensils of service in the house of the Lord; 14 for the golden utensils, by weight of gold for all utensils for every service; for all the silver utensils, by weight of silver for all utensils for every service; 15 and the weight of gold for the (X)golden lampstands and their golden lamps, with the weight of each lampstand and its lamps; and the weight of silver for the silver lampstands, with the weight of each lampstand and its lamps according to the use of each lampstand; 16 and the gold by weight for the tables of the showbread, for each table; and silver for the silver tables; 17 and the forks, the basins, and the pitchers of pure gold; and for the golden bowls with the weight for each bowl; and for the silver bowls with the weight for each bowl; 18 and for (Y)the altar of incense, refined gold by weight; and gold for the model of the chariot, and (Z)the cherubim that spread out their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of the Lord.
19 “All this,” said David, “the Lord made me understand in writing by His hand upon me, (AA)all the [h]details of this pattern.”
20 Then David said to his son Solomon, “(AB)Be strong and courageous, and act; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. (AC)He will not fail you nor forsake you until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished. 21 Now behold, (AD)there are the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God, and (AE)every willing man of any skill will be with you in all the work for all kinds of service. The officials also and all the people will be entirely at your command.”
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 28:2 Lit as for me, it was with my heart
- 1 Chronicles 28:2 Lit house of rest
- 1 Chronicles 28:7 Lit this day
- 1 Chronicles 28:8 Lit ears of
- 1 Chronicles 28:9 Lit soul
- 1 Chronicles 28:11 Also called mercy seat; i.e., where blood was sprinkled on the Day of Atonement
- 1 Chronicles 28:12 Lit the spirit with him
- 1 Chronicles 28:19 Lit works
1 Chronicles 28
New Century Version
David’s Plans for the Temple
28 David commanded all the leaders of Israel to come to Jerusalem. There were the leaders of the tribes, commanders of the divisions serving the king, commanders of a thousand men and of a hundred men, leaders who took care of the property and animals that belonged to the king and his sons, men over the palace, the powerful men, and all the brave warriors.
2 King David stood up and said, “Listen to me, my relatives and my people. I wanted to build a place to keep the Ark of the Agreement with the Lord. I wanted it to be God’s footstool. So I made plans to build a temple. 3 But God said to me, ‘You must not build a temple for worshiping me, because you are a soldier and have killed many people.’
4 “But the Lord, the God of Israel, chose me from my whole family to be king of Israel forever. He chose the tribe of Judah to lead, and from the people of Judah, he chose my father’s family. From that family God was pleased to make me king of Israel. 5 The Lord has given me many sons, and from those sons he has chosen Solomon to be the new king of Israel. Israel is the Lord’s kingdom. 6 The Lord said to me, ‘Your son Solomon will build my Temple and its courtyards. I have chosen Solomon to be my son, and I will be his father. 7 He is obeying my laws and commands now. If he continues to obey them, I will make his kingdom strong forever.’”
8 David said, “Now, in front of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of God, I tell you these things: Be careful to obey all the commands of the Lord your God. Then you will keep this good land and pass it on to your descendants forever.
9 “And you, my son Solomon, accept the God of your father. Serve him completely and willingly, because the Lord knows what is in everyone’s mind. He understands everything you think. If you go to him for help, you will get an answer. But if you turn away from him, he will leave you forever. 10 Solomon, you must understand this. The Lord has chosen you to build the Temple as his holy place. Be strong and finish the job.”
11 Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for building the Temple and the courtyard around the Temple. They included its buildings, its storerooms, its upper rooms, its inside rooms, and the place where the people’s sins were removed. 12 David gave him plans for everything he had in mind: the courtyards around the Lord’s Temple and all the rooms around it, the Temple treasuries, and the treasuries of the holy items used in the Temple. 13 David gave Solomon directions for the groups of the priests and Levites. David told him about all the work of serving in the Temple of the Lord and about the items to be used in the Temple service 14 that were made of gold or silver. David told Solomon how much gold or silver should be used to make each thing. 15 David told him how much gold to use for each gold lampstand and its lamps and how much silver to use for each silver lampstand and its lamps. The different lampstands were to be used where needed. 16 David told how much gold should be used for each table that held the holy bread and how much silver should be used for the silver tables. 17 He told how much pure gold should be used to make the forks, bowls, and pitchers and how much gold should be used to make each gold dish. He told how much silver should be used to make each silver dish 18 and how much pure gold should be used for the altar of incense. He also gave Solomon the plans for the chariot of the golden creatures that spread their wings over the Ark of the Agreement with the Lord.
19 David said, “All these plans were written with the Lord guiding me. He helped me understand everything in the plans.”
20 David also said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and brave, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, because the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or leave you until all the work for the Temple of the Lord is finished. 21 The groups of the priests and Levites are ready for all the work on the Temple of God. Every skilled worker is ready to help you with all the work. The leaders and all the people will obey every command you give.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
