Solomon Instructed to Build the Temple

28 Now David assembled at Jerusalem all (A)the leaders of Israel: the officers of the tribes and (B)the captains of the divisions who served the king, the captains over thousands and captains over hundreds, and (C)the stewards over all the substance and [a]possessions of the king and of his sons, with the officials, the valiant men, and all (D)the mighty men of valor.

Then King David rose to his feet and said, “Hear me, my brethren and my people: (E)I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and for (F)the footstool of our God, and had made preparations to build it. But God said to me, (G)‘You shall not build a house for My name, because you have been a man of war and have shed (H)blood.’ However the Lord God of Israel (I)chose me above all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever, for He has chosen (J)Judah to be the ruler. And of the house of Judah, (K)the house of my father, and (L)among the sons of my father, He was pleased with me to make me king over all Israel. (M)And of all my sons (for the Lord has given me many sons) (N)He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. Now He said to me, ‘It is (O)your son Solomon who shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his Father. Moreover I will establish his kingdom forever, (P)if he is steadfast to observe My commandments and My judgments, as it is this day.’ Now therefore, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God, be careful to seek out all the commandments of the Lord your God, that you may possess this good land, and leave it as an inheritance for your children after you forever.

“As for you, my son Solomon, (Q)know the God of your father, and serve Him (R)with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for (S)the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. (T)If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will (U)cast you off forever. 10 Consider now, (V)for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong, and do it.”

11 Then David gave his son Solomon (W)the plans for the vestibule, its houses, its treasuries, its upper chambers, its inner chambers, and the place of the mercy seat; 12 and the (X)plans for all that he had by the Spirit, of the courts of the house of the Lord, of all the chambers all around, (Y)of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries for the dedicated things; 13 also for the division of the priests and the (Z)Levites, for all the work of the service of the house of the Lord, and for all the articles of service in the house of the Lord. 14 He gave gold by weight for things of gold, for all articles used in every kind of service; also silver for all articles of silver by weight, for all articles used in every kind of service; 15 the weight for the (AA)lampstands of gold, and their lamps of gold, by weight for each lampstand and its lamps; for the lampstands of silver by weight, for the lampstand and its lamps, according to the use of each lampstand. 16 And by weight he gave gold for the tables of the showbread, for each (AB)table, and silver for the tables of silver; 17 also pure gold for the forks, the basins, the pitchers of pure gold, and the golden bowls—he gave gold by weight for every bowl; and for the silver bowls, silver by weight for every bowl; 18 and refined gold by weight for the (AC)altar of incense, and for the construction of the chariot, that is, the gold (AD)cherubim that spread their wings and overshadowed the ark of the covenant of the Lord. 19 “All this,said David, (AE)“the Lord made me understand in writing, by His hand upon me, all the [b]works of these plans.”

20 And David said to his son Solomon, (AF)“Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God—my God—will be with you. (AG)He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord. 21 Here are (AH)the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God; and (AI)every willing craftsman will be with you for all manner of workmanship, for every kind of service; also the leaders and all the people will be completely at your command.”

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 28:1 Or livestock
  2. 1 Chronicles 28:19 details

David Commissions Solomon to Build the Temple

28 David assembled all the leaders of Israel in Jerusalem:(A) the leaders of the tribes, the leaders of the divisions in the king’s service, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of all the property and cattle of the king and his sons, along with the court officials, the fighting men,(B) and all the best soldiers. Then King David rose to his feet and said, “Listen to me, my brothers and my people. It was in my heart to build a house as a resting place for the ark of the Lord’s covenant(C) and as a footstool(D) for our God. I had made preparations to build, but God said to me, ‘You are not to build a house for my name because you are a man of war and have shed blood.’(E)

“Yet the Lord God of Israel chose me out of all my father’s family(F) to be king over Israel forever.(G) For he chose Judah as leader,(H) and from the house of Judah, my father’s family, and from my father’s sons,(I) he was pleased to make me king over all Israel. And out of all my sons(J)—for the Lord has given me many sons—he has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the Lord’s kingdom over Israel.(K) He said to me,(L) ‘Your son Solomon is the one who is to build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. I will establish his kingdom forever if he perseveres in keeping my commands and my ordinances as he is doing today.’(M)

“So now in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God, observe and follow all the commands of the Lord your God so that you may possess this good land and leave it as an inheritance to your descendants forever.

“As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father, and serve him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind,(N) for the Lord searches every heart and understands the intention of every thought.(O) If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you abandon him, he will reject you forever.(P) 10 Realize now that the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary. Be strong, and do it.”(Q)

11 Then David gave his son Solomon the plans(R) for the portico(S) of the temple and its buildings, treasuries, upstairs rooms, inner rooms, and a room for the mercy seat.(T) 12 The plans contained everything he had in mind[a](U) for the courts of the Lord’s house, all the surrounding chambers, the treasuries(V) of God’s house, and the treasuries for what is dedicated. 13 Also included were plans for the divisions of the priests and the Levites; all the work of service in the Lord’s house; all the articles of service of the Lord’s house; 14 the weight of gold for all the articles for every kind of service; the weight of all the silver articles for every kind of service; 15 the weight of the gold lampstands(W) and their gold lamps, including the weight of each lampstand and its lamps; the weight of each silver lampstand and its lamps, according to the service of each lampstand; 16 the weight of gold for each table for the rows of the Bread of the Presence and the silver for the silver tables; 17 the pure gold for the forks, sprinkling basins, and pitchers; the weight of each gold dish; the weight of each silver bowl; 18 the weight of refined gold for the altar of incense;(X) and the plans for the chariot of[b](Y) the gold cherubim that spread out their wings and cover the ark of the Lord’s covenant.(Z)

19 David concluded, “By the Lord’s hand on me, he enabled me to understand everything in writing, all the details of the plan.”[c]

20 Then David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and courageous,(AA) and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He won’t leave you or abandon you(AB) until all the work for the service of the Lord’s house is finished. 21 Here are the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of God’s house.(AC) Every willing person of any skill(AD) will be at your disposal for the work, and the leaders and all the people are at your every command.”

Footnotes

  1. 28:12 Or he received from the Spirit
  2. 28:18 Or chariot, that is; Ps 18:10; Ezk 1:5,15
  3. 28:19 Hb obscure

大衛對所羅門的囑咐

28 大衛召以色列的眾首領到耶路撒冷。於是,各支派的首領、各班將領、千夫長、百夫長、負責王和王子的財產及牲畜的官員、宮廷侍臣、顯貴和勇士都來了, 大衛王站起來說:「我的弟兄,我的人民啊,請聽我說。我本想建造一座殿宇安放耶和華的約櫃,作我們上帝的腳凳,我已準備好建造的材料。 但上帝對我說,『你不可為我的名建造殿宇,因為你是個戰士,曾流過人的血。』 以色列的上帝耶和華從我父親家中揀選我做以色列的王,直到永遠。因為祂揀選了猶大支派做首領;在猶大支派中,祂揀選了我父親家;在我父親的眾子中,祂喜悅我,立我做以色列的王。 耶和華賜給我許多兒子,祂在我眾子中揀選了所羅門,讓他坐以色列的王位,治理耶和華的國。 耶和華對我說,『你兒子所羅門必建造我的殿宇和庭院,因為我揀選他做我的兒子,我也必做他的父親。 倘若他像今天一樣繼續堅守我的誡命和典章,我必使他的國度永遠穩固。』 現在,當著耶和華的會眾——全體以色列人的面,趁著我們的上帝在垂聽,你們要謹遵你們的上帝耶和華的一切誡命,以便你們可以擁有這片佳美之地,並且把它傳給你們的子孫作永遠的產業。

「我兒所羅門啊,你要認識你父親的上帝耶和華,誠心樂意地事奉祂,因為祂洞察人心,知道人一切的心思意念。倘若你尋求祂,祂必讓你尋見;倘若你背棄祂,祂必永遠丟棄你。 10 現在你要謹慎,因為耶和華揀選你來建造殿宇作聖所。你要堅定不移地去做。」

11 大衛將殿的走廊、房舍、庫房、樓房、內室和安放施恩座的聖所的圖樣都交給所羅門, 12 又將心裡構想的耶和華殿的院子、四周的房屋、殿的庫房和聖物庫房的圖樣都交給他。 13 大衛還讓他知道祭司和利未人的班次、耶和華殿裡各樣的工作及一切所需的器皿, 14 製造各種金器銀器所需金銀的分量—— 15 金燈臺和金燈的分量,銀燈臺和銀燈的分量——按每座燈臺的用途酌定金銀的分量, 16 放供餅的金桌子的分量,銀桌子的分量, 17 純金的叉子、碗、瓶的分量,每個金碗和銀碗的分量, 18 純金香壇的分量,以及在施恩座上展開翅膀遮蓋耶和華約櫃的基路伯天使的樣式。 19 大衛說:「以上這一切都是耶和華親手指示我的,讓我明白工作的細節。」

20 大衛又對兒子所羅門說:「你要堅定勇敢地去做!不要懼怕,也不要驚慌,因為我的上帝耶和華必不撇下你,也不丟棄你,祂必與你同在,直到聖殿的一切工作完畢。 21 你看,在上帝殿裡司職的各班祭司和利未人已準備就緒,又有各種能工巧匠樂意在各種工作上幫你,眾首領和百姓都聽你調遣。」