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Chapter 29

Gifts for the Temple.[a] King David then said to the whole assembly, “My son, Solomon, is the one whom God has chosen. He is young and inexperienced, and the task is great. This is not a palace for a human, but it is for the Lord God.

“I have made preparations for the temple of the Lord, my God, with all my resources: the gold, the golden objects, the silver, the silver objects, the bronze, the bronze objects, the iron, the iron objects, the wood, the wood objects, the stone, the onyx for settings, the glistening stones of various colors, all types of precious stones, and marble, all of them in great quantities.

“Moreover, in my devotion to the temple of my God, I have given gold and silver from my own possessions for the temple of my God in addition to everything that I have prepared for the holy temple. This includes three thousand talents of gold (gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents of refined silver to be used for overlaying the walls of the buildings. It is also for the gold and the gold objects, the silver and the silver objects, and all types of work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing today to consecrate himself to the Lord?”

The leaders of the ancestral clans and the tribes of Israel, the captains of the thousands and the hundreds, and the supervisors of the king’s work gave willingly. They gave five thousand talents and ten thousand darics[b] of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze, and one hundred thousand talents of iron. Any of those who had found precious stones gave them to the treasury of the temple of the Lord through Jehiel the Gershonite. The people rejoiced because they had willingly responded and had given with their whole hearts to the Lord, and King David also rejoiced greatly.

10 [c]David praised the Lord in front of the whole assembly, and David said:

“Blessed are you, O Lord,
    the God of Israel,
    our father forever and ever.
11 “Yours, O Lord, are greatness,
    power, glory, strength, and majesty,
for everything in heaven and on earth is yours.
Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom;
    you are exalted as head over all.
12 Wealth and honor are from you,
    you reign over all.
In your hand are power and might;
    it to is in your hand make great and to give strength to all.
13 Now, our God, we thank you,
    and we praise your glorious name.
14 But who am I, and what are your people,
    that we should be able to do this?
All things belong to you,
    and everything that we have given you is from your hand.
15 We are foreigners and aliens,
    as all our fathers were before us.
Our days are like a shadow upon the earth,
    none of them abide.
16 Lord, our God,
    all of this wealth that we have to build a temple for you
    and for your holy name is from your hand,
    and it all belongs to you.
17 I know, my God,
    that you have tested my heart,
and that you are pleased with
    the integrity of my heart.
I have willingly offered you all these things.
And now I have seen your people who are present here.
They joyfully and willingly make
    this offering to you.
18 Lord, God of our fathers,
    of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
keep this desire in the inner thoughts
    of your people forever,
    and make their hearts loyal to you.
19 Give my son Solomon a pure heart
    so that he might observe your commandments, your ordinances, and your statutes,
and do everything to build the temple
    for which I have made provision.”

20 David then said to the whole assembly, “Praise the Lord, your God!” The whole assembly praised the Lord, the God of their fathers. They bowed down their heads, and they fell prostrate before the Lord and the king.

21 On the next day they made sacrifices to the Lord and offered burnt offerings to the Lord: one thousand bulls, one thousand rams, and one thousand lambs. There were drink offerings and other sacrifices in abundance for all of Israel. 22 They ate and drank before the Lord that day with great joy.[d]

Then they acknowledged Solomon, the son of David, as king a second time, and they anointed him before the Lord to be ruler and Zadok to be priest. 23 Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord in the place of David, his father. He prospered and everyone in Israel obeyed him. 24 All of the leaders and mighty men and all of King David’s sons paid obeisance to King Solomon. 25 The Lord exalted Solomon greatly before all of Israel, and he bestowed upon him majesty and royal dignity as no king in Israel had ever had before him.

26 David, the son of Jesse, reigned over all of Israel. 27 He ruled over Israel for forty years. He reigned for seven years in Hebron, and he reigned for thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 28 He died at a good, old age in the fullness of his years. He had enjoyed wealth and honor. Then Solomon, his son, reigned in his stead.

29 [e]As for the other deeds of King David, from the beginning to the end, they are written in the Book of Samuel the Seer, the Book of Nathan the Prophet, and in the Book of Gad the Seer, 30 along with all of the details of his reign and his might and his own times and those of Israel and of all the kingdoms of the other lands.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 29:1 The numbers seem inflated here, as they were earlier (1 Chr 22:14); they are a way of bringing out the importance and high quality of the gifts.
  2. 1 Chronicles 29:7 Darics: evidently an anachronism, since darics were gold Persian coins.
  3. 1 Chronicles 29:10 The thanksgiving which the king offers in the name of the people is still one of the most beautiful of liturgical prayers.
  4. 1 Chronicles 29:22 Solomon was David’s choice to succeed him (1 Chr 23:1), and this is a public affirmation of his appointment.
  5. 1 Chronicles 29:29 It is of interest to know of the works used by the author, but they are unknown to us.

Offerings for the Temple

29 Then King David addressed the entire assembly: “My son Solomon, the one whom God alone has chosen, is still young and inexperienced, and the task is great, since this structure will be a citadel to the Lord God and not for human beings. To the extent that I have been able to do so, I have provided supplies for the Temple of my God, including gold for what is to be made of gold, silver for what is to be made of silver, bronze for what is to be made of bronze, iron for what is to be made of iron, wood for what is to be made of wood, and great quantities of onyx, precious stones, antimony, colored stones, all types of other semi-precious stones, and plenty of marble.

“In addition to everything that I have supplied for the Temple, it pleases me to provide my own treasure of gold and silver, so because of my love for the Temple of my God I hereby give to the Temple of my God the following: 3,000 gold talents[a] imported from Ophir,[b] 7,000 talents[c] of refined silver for gilding the walls of the Temple and for all the work to be undertaken by skilled artists, gold for what is to be made of gold, and silver for what is to be made of silver. Who then, will be dedicating the productivity[d] of his own work[e] to the Lord today?”

So the leaders of the ancestral households presented their voluntary offerings, as did the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of thousands and hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king’s business. They presented 5,000 gold talents[f] and 10,000 gold darics[g] for the work of the Temple of God, 10,000 silver talents[h], 18,000 bronze talents,[i] and 100,000 iron talents.[j] Whoever owned precious stones gave them to the treasury of the Temple of the Lord, in care of Jehiel the Gershonite. Then the people rejoiced because they had given voluntarily, since with a devoted heart they had freely given to the Lord.

David’s Praise to God

King David also rejoiced greatly. 10 Then David blessed the Lord in the presence of the entire assembly. David said,

How blessed you are, Lord,
    the God of our ancestor Israel,
        from eternity to eternity!
11 To you, Lord, belongs the greatness, and the valor,
    and the splendor, and the endurance, and the majesty
because all that is in heaven
    and on earth is yours.
To you belongs the kingdom, Lord,
    and you are exalted as head over all.
12 Both wealth and honor proceed from you,
    and you are ruling over them all.
You control[k] power—
    you control who is made great,
        and how everyone becomes strong.
13 And so, our God, we are giving you thanks,
    and we are praising your wonderful name!

14 But who am I,
    and who are my people,
        that we make such voluntary offerings as these?
For all things come from you,
    and from your own hand we are giving to you.
15 For we are aliens and vagrants in your presence,
    as were all of our ancestors.
Our days on the earth pass away like shadows,
    and we have no hope.

16 Lord our God, all of this abundance that we have given
    for building a temple for your great name
was provided by you[l]
    and all of it belongs to you.
17 And I know, God,
    that it is you who searches the heart
        and you who finds pleasure in righteousness.
With a righteous heart I have freely given all these things,
    and now I have seen all of these people of yours
        giving freely and joyfully to you!
18 Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our ancestors,
    keep your purposes and thoughts
        constantly in the hearts of your people
and direct their hearts toward you,
19 granting to my son Solomon to keep with a devoted heart
your commands, your decrees, and your statutes,
    carrying out all of them,
and that he may build the Temple
    for which I have made the preparations.

20 Then David told the entire assembly, “Bless the Lord your God, please.” So the entire assembly blessed the Lord God of their ancestors, bowing their heads and falling in the Lord’s presence and before the king. 21 The next day, they offered sacrifices and burnt offerings to the Lord amounting to[m] 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 lambs, along with their libations. Sacrifices were abundant throughout all Israel, 22 and they ate and drank in the Lord’s presence with great joy.

Solomon is Anointed King(A)

They crowned David’s son Solomon king a second time and anointed him to serve[n] as Commander-in-Chief[o] to the Lord and Zadok to serve[p] as priest. 23 So Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king in the place of[q] his father David. He prospered, and all of Israel obeyed[r] him. 24 All of the officials, all of the valiant soldiers, and all of King David’s sons submitted to King Solomon’s control, 25 and the Lord exalted Solomon magnificently in the sight of all Israel, bestowing upon him royal majesty such as had not been given to any king in Israel before him.

Summary of the Reign of King David

26 Jesse’s son David reigned as king over all of Israel, 27 serving as king over Israel for 40 years. He reigned for seven years in Hebron and for 33 in Jerusalem. 28 He died at a good old age, having lived a full life, replete with riches and honor, and with his son Solomon reigning in his place. 29 The activities of David the king are recorded in the History of Samuel the Seer,[s] in the History of Nathan the Prophet,[t] and in the History of Gad the Seer,[u] 30 including details regarding[v] his reign, his power, the circumstances that attended his life, Israel, and all of the kingdoms of the countries that surrounded him.[w]

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 29:4 I.e. about 225,000 pounds; a talent weighed about 75 pounds
  2. 1 Chronicles 29:4 Or from a source of fine gold; cf. 2Chr 8:18
  3. 1 Chronicles 29:4 I.e. about 525,000 pounds; a talent weighed about 75 pounds
  4. 1 Chronicles 29:5 Lit. filling
  5. 1 Chronicles 29:5 Lit. hand
  6. 1 Chronicles 29:7 I.e. about 375,000 pounds; a talent weighed about 75 pounds
  7. 1 Chronicles 29:7 I.e. about 156 pounds; a daric weighed about one quarter of an ounce
  8. 1 Chronicles 29:7 I.e. about 750,000 pounds; a talent weighed about 75 pounds
  9. 1 Chronicles 29:7 I.e. about 1,350,000 pounds; a talent weighed about 75 pounds
  10. 1 Chronicles 29:7 I.e. about 7,500,000 pounds; a talent weighed about 75 pounds
  11. 1 Chronicles 29:12 Lit. You have in your hand
  12. 1 Chronicles 29:16 Lit. by your hand
  13. 1 Chronicles 29:21 The Heb. lacks amounting to
  14. 1 Chronicles 29:22 The Heb. lacks serve
  15. 1 Chronicles 29:22 Or prince; lit. Nagid; i.e. an officer entrusted with dual roles of operational oversight and management authority
  16. 1 Chronicles 29:22 The Heb. lacks serve
  17. 1 Chronicles 29:23 Or king under
  18. 1 Chronicles 29:23 Or listened to
  19. 1 Chronicles 29:29 An ancient chronicle of Israel, apparently now lost
  20. 1 Chronicles 29:29 An ancient chronicle of Israel, apparently now lost
  21. 1 Chronicles 29:29 An ancient chronicle of Israel, apparently now lost
  22. 1 Chronicles 29:30 The Heb. lacks details regarding
  23. 1 Chronicles 29:30 The Heb. lacks that surrounded him

29 Furthermore David the king said unto all the congregation, Solomon my son, whom alone God hath chosen, is yet young and tender, and the work is great: for the palace is not for man, but for the Lord God.

Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for things to be made of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and the brass for things of brass, the iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood; onyx stones, and stones to be set, glistering stones, and of divers colours, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance.

Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, I have of mine own proper good, of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house.

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

The gold for things of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and for all manner of work to be made by the hands of artificers. And who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the Lord?

Then the chief of the fathers and princes of the tribes of Israel and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers of the king's work, offered willingly,

And gave for the service of the house of God of gold five thousand talents and ten thousand drams, and of silver ten thousand talents, and of brass eighteen thousand talents, and one hundred thousand talents of iron.

And they with whom precious stones were found gave them to the treasure of the house of the Lord, by the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite.

Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the Lord: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy.

10 Wherefore David blessed the Lord before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, Lord God of Israel our father, for ever and ever.

11 Thine, O Lord is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all.

12 Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.

13 Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.

14 But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.

15 For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.

16 O Lord our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee an house for thine holy name cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own.

17 I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee.

18 O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee:

19 And give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep thy commandments, thy testimonies, and thy statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for the which I have made provision.

20 And David said to all the congregation, Now bless the Lord your God. And all the congregation blessed the Lord God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshipped the Lord, and the king.

21 And they sacrificed sacrifices unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings unto the Lord, on the morrow after that day, even a thousand bullocks, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel:

22 And did eat and drink before the Lord on that day with great gladness. And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and anointed him unto the Lord to be the chief governor, and Zadok to be priest.

23 Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him.

24 And all the princes, and the mighty men, and all the sons likewise of king David, submitted themselves unto Solomon the king.

25 And the Lord magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed upon him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.

26 Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel.

27 And the time that he reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.

28 And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honour: and Solomon his son reigned in his stead.

29 Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book 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 the kingdoms of the countries.

Offerings for Building the Temple

29 Furthermore King David said to all the assembly: “My son Solomon, whom alone God has (A)chosen, is (B)young and inexperienced; and the work is great, because the [a]temple is not for man but for the Lord God. Now for the house of my God I have prepared with all my might: gold for things to be made of gold, silver for things of silver, bronze for things of bronze, iron for things of iron, wood for things of wood, (C)onyx stones, stones to be set, glistening stones of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and marble slabs in abundance. Moreover, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, my own special treasure of gold and silver: three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of (D)Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses; the gold for things of gold and the silver for things of silver, and for all kinds of work to be done by the hands of craftsmen. Who then is (E)willing to [b]consecrate himself this day to the Lord?”

Then (F)the leaders of the fathers’ houses, leaders of the tribes of Israel, the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with (G)the officers over the king’s work, (H)offered willingly. They gave for the work of the house of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze, and one hundred thousand talents of iron. And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the Lord, into the hand of (I)Jehiel[c] the Gershonite. Then the people rejoiced, for they had offered willingly, because with a loyal heart they had (J)offered willingly to the Lord; and King David also rejoiced greatly.

David’s Praise to God

10 Therefore David blessed the Lord before all the assembly; and David said:

“Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever.
11 (K)Yours, O Lord, is the greatness,
The power and the glory,
The victory and the majesty;
For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours;
Yours is the kingdom, O Lord,
And You are exalted as head over all.
12 (L)Both riches and honor come from You,
And You reign over all.
In Your hand is power and might;
In Your hand it is to make great
And to give strength to all.

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 be able to offer so willingly as this?
For all things come from You,
And [d]of Your own we have given You.
15 For (M)we are [e]aliens and [f]pilgrims before You,
As were all our fathers;
(N)Our days on earth are as a shadow,
And without hope.

16 “O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy name is from Your hand, and is all Your own. 17 I know also, my God, that You (O)test the heart and (P)have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things; and now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here to offer willingly to You. 18 O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the intent of the thoughts of the heart of Your people, and fix their heart toward You. 19 And (Q)give my son Solomon a loyal heart to keep Your commandments and Your testimonies and Your statutes, to do all these things, and to build the [g]temple for which (R)I have made provision.”

20 Then David said to all the assembly, “Now bless the Lord your God.” So all the assembly blessed the Lord God of their fathers, and bowed their heads and prostrated themselves before the Lord and the king.

Solomon Anointed King(S)

21 And they made sacrifices to the Lord and offered burnt offerings to the Lord on the next day: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings, and (T)sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. 22 So they ate and drank before the Lord with great gladness on that day. And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and (U)anointed him before the Lord to be the leader, and Zadok to be priest. 23 Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him. 24 All the leaders and the mighty men, and also all the sons of King David, (V)submitted[h] themselves to King Solomon. 25 So the Lord exalted Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and (W)bestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.

The Close of David’s Reign

26 Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. 27 (X)And the period that he reigned over Israel was forty years; (Y)seven years he reigned in Hebron, and thirty-three years he reigned in Jerusalem. 28 So he (Z)died in a good old age, (AA)full of days and riches and honor; and Solomon his son reigned in his place. 29 Now the acts of King David, first and last, indeed they are written in the [i]book of Samuel the seer, in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer, 30 with all his reign and his might, (AB)and the events that happened to him, to Israel, and to all the kingdoms of the lands.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 29:1 Lit. palace
  2. 1 Chronicles 29:5 Lit. fill his hand
  3. 1 Chronicles 29:8 Possibly the same as Jehieli, 1 Chr. 26:21, 22
  4. 1 Chronicles 29:14 Lit. of Your hand
  5. 1 Chronicles 29:15 sojourners, temporary residents
  6. 1 Chronicles 29:15 transients, temporary residents in an even more temporary sense
  7. 1 Chronicles 29:19 Lit. palace
  8. 1 Chronicles 29:24 Lit. gave the hand
  9. 1 Chronicles 29:29 Lit. words