1 Chronicles 28 - 2 Chronicles 1

Easy-to-Read Version

David’s Plans for the Temple

28 David gathered all the leaders of the Israelites and commanded them to come to Jerusalem. David called all the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of the army groups serving the king, the captains, the generals, the officials taking care of the property and animals that belonged to the king and his sons, the king’s important officials, the powerful heroes, and all the brave soldiers.

² King David stood up and said, “Listen to me, my brothers and my people. In my heart I wanted to build a place to keep the Box of the Lord’s Agreement. I wanted to build a place that would be God’s footstool.^[a] And I made the plans for building that house for God. ³ But God said to me, ‘No David, you must not build a house for my name. You must not do that because you are a soldier, and you have killed many men.’

⁴ “The Lord, the God of Israel, chose the tribe of Judah to lead the twelve tribes of Israel. Then from that tribe he chose my father’s family. And from that family he chose me to be the king of Israel forever. Yes, God wanted to make me king of Israel. ⁵ The Lord has given me many sons. And from all those sons, he chose Solomon to be the new king of Israel. But really, Israel is the Lord’s kingdom. ⁶ He said to me, ‘David, your son Solomon will build my Temple and the area around it, because I have chosen Solomon to be my son, and I will be his father.^{[b] 7} Solomon is obeying my laws and commands now. If he continues to obey my laws, I will make Solomon’s kingdom strong forever.’”

⁸ David said, “Now, in front of all Israel, the Lord’s people, and before God, I tell you these things: Be careful to obey all the commands of the Lord your God. Then you can keep this good land and pass it on to your descendants forever.

⁹ “And you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father. Serve God with a pure heart. Be happy to serve him, because the Lord knows what is in everyone’s heart. He knows what you are thinking. 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 that the Lord has chosen you to build his holy place—the Temple. Be strong and finish the job.”

¹¹ Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for building the Temple. They included plans for the porch around the Temple, its buildings, its storerooms, its upper rooms, its inside rooms, and the room for the mercy-cover. ¹² David had made plans for all parts of the Temple. He gave them to Solomon. David gave him all the plans for the courtyard around the Lord’s Temple and for all the rooms around it. He gave him the plans for the Temple storerooms and for the storerooms where they kept the holy things used in the Temple. ¹³ David told Solomon about the groups of the priests and Levites. He told Solomon about all the work of serving in the Lord’s Temple and about all the things to be used in the Temple service. ¹⁴ David told Solomon how much gold and silver should be used to make all the things to be used in the Temple. ¹⁵ There were plans for gold lamps and lampstands, and there were plans for silver lamps and lampstands. David told Solomon how much gold or silver to use for each lampstand and its lamps. The different lampstands were to be used where needed. ¹⁶ David told him how much gold should be used for each table for the holy bread and how much silver should be used for the silver tables. ¹⁷ He told Solomon how much pure gold should be used to make the forks, sprinkling bowls, and pitchers. He told him how much gold should be used to make each gold dish and how much silver should be used to make each silver dish. ¹⁸ He told him how much pure gold should be used for the altar of incense. David also gave Solomon the plans for God’s chariot—the mercy-cover with the Cherub angels spreading their wings over the Box of the Lord’s Agreement. The Cherub angels were made of gold.

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 finish this work. Don’t be afraid, because the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will help you until all the work is finished. He will not leave you. You will build the Lord’s Temple. ²¹ The groups of the priests and Levites are ready for all the work on God’s Temple. Every skilled worker is ready to help you with all the work. The officials and all the people will obey every command you give.”

Gifts for Building the Temple

29 King David said to all the Israelites who were gathered together, “God chose my son Solomon. Solomon is young and does not know all that he needs to do this work. But the work is very important. This house is not for people; this house is for the Lord God. ² I have done my best to provide what is needed for the building of my God’s Temple. I have given gold for the things made of gold. I have given silver for the things made of silver. I have given bronze for the things made of bronze. I have given iron for the things made of iron. I have given wood for the things made of wood. I have also given onyx stones for the settings,^[c] mosaic tiles,^[d] all kinds of valuable stones in many different colors, and white marble stones. ³ I am making a special gift of gold and silver things for my God’s Temple. I am doing this because I really want the Temple of my God to be built. I am giving all these things to build this holy Temple. ⁴ I have given 110 tons^[e] of pure gold from Ophir. I have given 263 tons^[f] of pure silver. The silver is for covering the walls of the buildings in the Temple. ⁵ I have given gold and silver for all the things made of gold and silver. I have given gold and silver so that skilled men can make all different kinds of things for the Temple. Now, how many of you Israelites are ready to give yourselves to the Lord today?”

⁶ The family leaders, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the generals, the captains, and the officials responsible for the king’s work, were all ready and gave their valuable things. ⁷ These are the things they gave for God’s house: 190 tons^[g] of gold; 375 tons^[h] of silver; 675 tons^[i] of bronze; and 3750 tons^[j] of iron. ⁸ People who had valuable stones gave them to the Lord’s Temple. Jehiel took care of the valuable stones. He was from the Gershon family. ⁹ The people were very happy because their leaders were willing to give so much. The leaders had given freely to the Lord from good hearts. King David was also very happy.

David’s Beautiful Prayer

¹⁰ Then David praised the Lord in front of all the people who were gathered together. David said,

²⁰ Then David said to all the group of people gathered together, “Now give praise to the Lord your God.” So all the people gave praise to the Lord God, the God their ancestors worshiped. They bowed to the ground to give honor to the Lord and to the king.

Solomon Becomes King

²¹ The next day the people offered sacrifices and burnt offerings to the Lord—1000 bulls, 1000 rams, 1000 lambs, and the drink offerings that go with them. They offered these and many other sacrifices to the Lord for all the Israelites. ²² That day the people were very happy as they ate and drank there together with the Lord.

And they made David’s son Solomon king the second time.^[k] They anointed Solomon to be king, and they anointed Zadok to be priest. They did this in the place where the Lord was.

²³ Then Solomon sat on the Lord’s throne as king. Solomon took his father’s place. He was very successful. All the Israelites obeyed him. ²⁴ All the leaders, soldiers, and all of King David’s sons accepted Solomon as king and obeyed him. ²⁵ The Lord made Solomon very great. All the Israelites knew that the Lord was making him great. He gave Solomon the honor that a king should have. No king in Israel before Solomon had such honor.

David’s Death

^26-27 David son of Jesse was king over all Israel for 40 years. He was king in the city of Hebron for seven years. Then he was king in the city of Jerusalem for 33 years. ²⁸ David died when he was old. He had lived a good, long life and had many riches and honors. His son Solomon became the new king after him.

²⁹ The things that King David did, from beginning to end, are in the books written by Samuel the seer, Nathan the prophet, and Gad the seer. ³⁰ Those writings tell all about what David did as king of Israel. They tell about David’s power and what happened to him and to Israel and to all the kingdoms around them.

Solomon Asks for Wisdom

1 Solomon, the son of David, became a very strong king, because the Lord his God was with him and made him very great.

^2-3 The people of Israel and the captains, generals, judges, leaders, and heads of the families were all gathered together. Solomon spoke to them, and then they all went to the high place at Gibeon. They went there because God’s Meeting Tent was there. The Lord’s servant Moses made this tent when he and the Israelites were in the desert. ⁴ David had carried God’s Box of the Agreement from Kiriath Jearim to Jerusalem where he had set up another tent for it. ⁵ But the bronze altar that Bezalel son of Uri, who was the son of Hur, had made was in front of the Holy Tent at Gibeon. So Solomon and the people went there to ask the Lord for advice. ⁶ Solomon went up to the bronze altar before the Lord at the Meeting Tent and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.

⁷ That night God came to Solomon and said, “Ask me for whatever you want me to give you.”

⁸ Solomon said to God, “You were very kind to my father David when you allowed me to rule on his throne after him. ⁹ Now, Lord God, continue to keep your promise to my father David. You made me king over so many people that they are like the dust of the earth. ¹⁰ Now give me wisdom and knowledge so that I can lead these people in the right way. No one could rule this great nation without your help.”

¹¹ God said to Solomon, “You have the right attitude. You did not ask for long life and riches for yourself. You did not ask for the death of your enemies. You asked for the wisdom and knowledge so that you can make the right decisions. ¹² So I will give you wisdom and knowledge, but I will also give you wealth, riches, and honor. No king who lived before you has ever had so much wealth and honor, and no king in the future will have as much wealth and honor.”

¹³ Solomon left the Meeting Tent that was at the high place in Gibeon and went back to Jerusalem to rule as the king of Israel.

Solomon Strengthens His Army

¹⁴ Solomon started gathering horses and chariots for his army. He had 1400 chariots and 12,000 horse soldiers. He kept them in the chariot cities^[l] and in Jerusalem where he lived. ¹⁵ In Jerusalem Solomon gathered so much gold and silver that it was as common as rocks. He gathered so much cedar wood that it was as common as sycamore trees in the western hill country. ¹⁶ Solomon imported horses from Egypt and Kue.^[m] His merchants bought the horses in Kue for a set price. ¹⁷ They also bought chariots from Egypt for 600 shekels^[n] of silver each and horses for 150 shekels^[o] of silver each. They then sold the horses and chariots to the kings of the Hittites and Arameans.