David’s Address about the Temple

28 Now (A)David assembled at Jerusalem all the officials of Israel, the princes of the tribes, and the commanders of the divisions that served the king, and 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, even all the valiant men. Then King David rose to his feet and said, “Listen to me, my brethren and my people; I (C)had [a]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. 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.’ Yet, the Lord, the God of Israel, (F)chose me from all the house 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. (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. He said to me, ‘Your son (L)Solomon is the one who shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be a son to Me, and I will be a father to him. I will establish his kingdom forever (M)if he resolutely performs My commandments and My ordinances, as [c]is done now.’ So now, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God, observe and seek after all the commandments of the Lord your God so that you may possess the good land and bequeath it to your sons after you forever.

“As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and (N)serve Him with [d]a whole heart and 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 mercy seat; 12 and the plan of all that he had in [f]mind, for the courts 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, the weight of gold for all utensils for every kind of service; for the silver utensils, the weight of silver for all utensils for every kind of 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 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, even (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 [g]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.”

Offerings for the Temple

29 Then King David said to the entire assembly, “My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, (AF)is still young and inexperienced and the work is great; for (AG)the [h]temple is not for man, but for the Lord God. Now (AH)with all my ability I have provided for the house of my God the gold for the things of gold, and the silver for the things of silver, and the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, onyx stones and inlaid stones, stones of antimony and stones of various colors, and all kinds of precious stones and alabaster in abundance. Moreover, in my delight in the house of my God, the treasure I have of gold and silver, I give to the house of my God, over and above all that I have already provided for the holy [i]temple, namely, (AI)3,000 talents of gold, of (AJ)the gold of Ophir, and 7,000 talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the [j]buildings; of gold for the things of gold and of silver for the things of silver, that is, for all the work [k]done by the craftsmen. Who then is willing [l]to consecrate himself this day to the Lord?”

Then (AK)the rulers of the fathers’ households, and the princes of the tribes of Israel, and the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, with (AL)the overseers over the king’s work, offered willingly; and for the service for the house of God they gave 5,000 talents and 10,000 (AM)darics of gold, and 10,000 talents of silver, and 18,000 talents of brass, and 100,000 talents of iron. [m]Whoever possessed precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the Lord, [n]in care of (AN)Jehiel the Gershonite. Then the people rejoiced because they had offered so willingly, for they made their offering to the Lord (AO)with a whole heart, and King David also rejoiced greatly.

David’s Prayer

10 So David blessed the Lord in the sight of all the assembly; and David said, “Blessed are You, O Lord God of Israel our father, forever and ever. 11 (AP)Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. 12 (AQ)Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and (AR)in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone. 13 Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name.

14 “But who am I and who are my people that we should [o]be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your hand we have given You. 15 For (AS)we are sojourners before You, and tenants, as all our fathers were; (AT)our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope. 16 O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided to build You a house for Your holy name, it is from Your hand, and all is Yours. 17 Since I know, O my God, that (AU)You try the heart and (AV)delight in uprightness, I, in the integrity of my heart, have willingly offered all these things; so now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here, make their offerings willingly to You. 18 O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, our fathers, preserve this forever in the [p]intentions of the heart of Your people, and direct their heart to You; 19 and (AW)give to my son Solomon a perfect heart to keep Your commandments, Your testimonies and Your statutes, and to do them all, and (AX)to build the [q]temple, for which I have made provision.”

20 Then David said to all the assembly, “Now bless the Lord your God.” And (AY)all the assembly blessed the Lord, the God of their fathers, and (AZ)bowed low and did homage to the Lord and to the king.

Sacrifices

21 On the next day (BA)they [r]made sacrifices to the Lord and offered burnt offerings to the Lord, 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams and 1,000 lambs, with their drink offerings and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. 22 So they ate and drank that day before the Lord with great gladness.

Solomon Again Made King

And they made Solomon the son of David king (BB)a second time, and they (BC)anointed him as ruler for the Lord and Zadok as priest. 23 Then (BD)Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of David his father; and he prospered, and all Israel obeyed him. 24 All the officials, the mighty men, and also all the sons of King David [s]pledged allegiance to King Solomon. 25 (BE)The Lord highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel, and (BF)bestowed on him royal majesty which had not been on any king before him in Israel.

26 Now (BG)David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. 27 (BH)The period which he reigned over Israel was forty years; he reigned in Hebron seven years and [t]in Jerusalem thirty-three years.

Death of David

28 Then he died in (BI)a [u]ripe old age, (BJ)full of days, riches and honor; and his son Solomon reigned in his place. 29 Now the acts of King David, from first to last, are written in the chronicles of (BK)Samuel the seer, in the chronicles of (BL)Nathan the prophet and in the chronicles of (BM)Gad the seer, 30 with all his reign, his power, and the circumstances which came on him, on Israel, and on all the kingdoms of the lands.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 28:2 Lit in my heart
  2. 1 Chronicles 28:2 Lit house of rest
  3. 1 Chronicles 28:7 Lit at this day
  4. 1 Chronicles 28:9 Or the same
  5. 1 Chronicles 28:9 Lit soul
  6. 1 Chronicles 28:12 Lit the spirit with him
  7. 1 Chronicles 28:19 Lit works
  8. 1 Chronicles 29:1 Lit palace
  9. 1 Chronicles 29:3 Lit house
  10. 1 Chronicles 29:4 Lit houses
  11. 1 Chronicles 29:5 Lit by the hand of the craftsmen
  12. 1 Chronicles 29:5 Lit to fill his hand
  13. 1 Chronicles 29:8 Lit Those with whom were found
  14. 1 Chronicles 29:8 Lit under the hand of
  15. 1 Chronicles 29:14 Lit retain strength
  16. 1 Chronicles 29:18 Lit intent of the thoughts of the heart
  17. 1 Chronicles 29:19 Lit palace
  18. 1 Chronicles 29:21 Lit sacrificed
  19. 1 Chronicles 29:24 Lit put a hand under Solomon
  20. 1 Chronicles 29:27 Lit he reigned in
  21. 1 Chronicles 29:28 Lit good

28 And David assembleth all the heads of Israel, heads of the tribes, and heads of the courses who are serving the king, and heads of the thousands, and heads of the hundreds, and heads of all the substance and possessions of the king, and of his sons, with the officers and the mighty ones, even to every mighty one of valour -- unto Jerusalem.

And David the king riseth on his feet, and saith, `Hear me, my brethren and my people, I -- with my heart -- to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and for the footstool of our God, and I prepared to build,

and God hath said to me, Thou dost not build a house to My name, for a man of wars thou [art], and blood thou hast shed.

`And Jehovah, God of Israel, doth fix on me out of all the house of my father to be for king over Israel to the age, for on Judah He hath fixed for a leader, and in the house of Judah, the house of my father, and among the sons of my father, on me, [me] He hath been pleased to make king over all Israel;

and out of all my sons -- for many sons hath Jehovah given to me -- He also fixeth on Solomon my son, to sit on the throne of the kingdom of Jehovah over Israel,

and saith to me, Solomon thy son, he doth build My house, and My courts, for I have fixed on him to Me for a son, and I -- I am to him for a father,

and I have established his kingdom to the age, if he is strong to do My commands, and My judgments, as at this day.

`And now, before the eyes of all Israel, the assembly of Jehovah, and in the ears of our God, keep and seek all the commands of Jehovah your God, so that ye possess this good land, and have caused your sons to inherit after you unto the age.

`And thou, Solomon, my son, know the God of thy father, and serve Him with a perfect heart, and with a willing mind, for all hearts is Jehovah seeking, and every imagination of the thoughts He is understanding; if thou dost seek Him, He is found of thee, and if thou dost forsake Him, He casteth thee off for ever.

10 See, now, for Jehovah hath fixed on thee to build a house for a sanctuary; be strong, and do.'

11 And David giveth to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of its houses, and of its treasures, and of its upper chambers, and of its innermost chambers, and of the house of the atonement;

12 and the pattern of all that hath been by the Spirit with him, for the courts of the house of Jehovah, and for all the chambers round about, for the treasures of the house of God, and for the treasures of the things sacrificed;

13 and for the courses of the priests and of the Levites, and for all the work of the service of the house of Jehovah, and for all vessels of service of the house of Jehovah,

14 even gold by weight, for [things of] gold, for all instruments of service and service; for all instruments of silver by weight, for all instruments of service and service;

15 and [by] weight for the candlesticks of gold, and their lamps of gold, by weight [for] candlestick and candlestick, and its lamps; and for the candlesticks of silver, by weight for a candlestick and its lamps, according to the service of candlestick and candlestick;

16 and the gold [by] weight for tables of the arrangement, for table and table, and silver for the tables of silver;

17 and the forks, and the bowls, and the cups of pure gold, and for the basins of gold, by weight for basin and basin, and for the basins of silver, by weight for basin and basin,

18 and for the altar of perfume refined gold by weight, and for the pattern of the chariot of the cherubs of gold -- spreading and covering over the ark of the covenant of Jehovah.

19 The whole [is] in writing from the hand of Jehovah, `He caused me to understand all the work of the pattern,' [said David.]

20 And David saith to Solomon his son, `Be strong, and courageous, and do; do not fear nor be affrighted, for Jehovah God, my God, [is] with thee; He doth not fail thee, nor forsake thee, unto the completion of all the work of the service of the house of Jehovah.

21 `And lo, courses of the priests and of the Levites [are] for all the service of the house of God; and with thee in all work [is] every willing one with wisdom, for every service; and the heads and all the people [are] according to all thy words.'

29 And David the king saith to all the assembly, `Solomon my son -- the one on whom God hath fixed -- [is] young and tender, and the work [is] great, for not for man is the palace, but for Jehovah God;

and with all my power I have prepared for the house of my God, the gold for [things of] gold, and the silver for [those of] silver, and the brass for [those of] brass, the iron for [those of] iron, and the wood for [those of] wood, shoham stones, and settings, and stones of painting and of diverse colours, and all [kinds of] precious stone, and stones of white marble, in abundance.

`And again, because of my delighting in the house of my God, the substance I have -- a peculiar treasure of gold and silver -- I have given for the house of my God, even over and above all I have prepared for the house of the sanctuary:

three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses,

even gold for [things of] gold, and silver for [those of] silver, and for all the work by the hand of artificers; and who [is] he that is offering willingly to consecrate his hand to-day to Jehovah?'

And the heads of the fathers, and the heads of the tribes of Israel, and the heads of the thousands, and of the hundreds, even to the heads of the work of the king, offer willingly.

And they give for the service of the house of God, of gold -- talents five thousand, and drams a myriad; and of silver -- talents ten thousand, and of brass -- a myriad and eight thousand talents; and of iron -- a hundred thousand talents;

and he with whom stones are found hath given to the treasury of the house of Jehovah, by the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite.

And the people rejoice because of their offering willingly, for with a perfect heart they have offered willingly to Jehovah; and also David the king hath rejoiced -- great joy.

10 And David blesseth Jehovah before the eyes of all the assembly, and David saith, `Blessed [art] Thou, Jehovah, God of Israel our father, from age even unto age.

11 To Thee, O Jehovah, [is] the greatness, and the might, and the beauty, and the victory, and the honour, because of all in the heavens and in the earth; to Thee, O Jehovah, [is] the kingdom, and he who is lifting up himself over all for head;

12 and the riches, and the honour [are] from before Thee, and Thou art ruling over all, and in Thy hand [is] power and might, and in Thy hand, to make great, and to give strength to all.

13 `And now, our God, we are giving thanks to Thee, and giving praise to Thy beauteous name;

14 yea, because, who [am] I, and who [are] my people, that we retain power to offer thus willingly? but of Thee [is] the whole, and out of Thy hand we have given to Thee;

15 for sojourners we [are] before Thee, and settlers, like all our fathers; as a shadow [are] our days on the land, and there is none abiding.

16 `O Jehovah our God, all this store that we have prepared to build to Thee a house, for Thy holy name, [is] out of Thy hand, and of Thee [is] the whole.

17 `And I have known, my God, that Thou art trying the heart, and uprightness dost desire; I, in the uprightness of my heart, have willingly offered all these: and now, Thy people who are found here I have seen with joy to offer willingly to Thee.

18 `O Jehovah, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep this to the age for the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of Thy people, and prepare their heart unto Thee;

19 and to Solomon my son give a perfect heart, to keep Thy commands, Thy testimonies, and Thy statutes, and to do the whole, even to build the palace [for] which I have prepared.'

20 And David saith to all the assembly, `Bless, I pray you, Jehovah your God;' and all the assembly bless Jehovah, God of their fathers, and bow and do obeisance to Jehovah, and to the king.

21 And they sacrifice to Jehovah sacrifices, and cause to ascend burnt-offerings to Jehovah on the morrow of that day, bullocks a thousand, rams a thousand, lambs a thousand, and their oblations, even sacrifices in abundance, for all Israel.

22 And they eat and drink before Jehovah on that day with great joy, and cause Solomon son of David to reign a second time, and anoint [him] before Jehovah for leader, and Zadok for priest.

23 And Solomon sitteth on the throne of Jehovah for king instead of David his father, and prospereth, and all Israel hearken unto him,

24 and all the heads, and the mighty men, and also all the sons of king David have given a hand under Solomon the king;

25 and Jehovah maketh Solomon exceedingly great before the eyes of all Israel, and putteth upon him the honour of the kingdom that hath not been on any king over Israel before him.

26 And David son of Jesse hath reigned over all Israel,

27 and the days that he hath reigned over Israel [are] forty years; in Hebron he reigned seven years, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three;

28 and he dieth in a good old age, satisfied with days, riches, and honour, and reign doth Solomon his son in his stead.

29 And the matters of David the king, the first and the last, lo, they are written beside the matters of Samuel the seer, and beside the matters of Nathan the prophet, and beside the matters of Gad the seer,

30 with all his reign, and his might, and the times that went over him, and over Israel, and over all kingdoms of the lands.