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David Praises the Lord

10 David praised the Lord before the entire assembly:[a]

“O Lord God of our father Israel, you deserve praise forevermore! 11 O Lord, you are great, mighty, majestic, magnificent, glorious, and sovereign[b] over all the sky and earth! You, Lord, have dominion and exalt yourself as the ruler[c] of all. 12 You are the source of wealth and honor;[d] you rule over all. You possess strength and might to magnify and give strength to all.[e] 13 Now, our God, we give thanks to you and praise your majestic name!

14 “But who am I and who are my people, that we should be in a position to contribute this much?[f] Indeed, everything comes from you, and we have simply given back to you what is yours.[g] 15 For we are resident foreigners and temporary settlers[h] in your presence, as all our ancestors were;[i] our days are like a shadow on the earth, without security.[j] 16 O Lord our God, all this wealth, which we have collected to build a temple for you to honor your holy name, comes from you; it all belongs to you. 17 I know, my God, that you examine thoughts[k] and are pleased with integrity. With pure motives[l] I contribute all this; and now I look with joy as your people who have gathered here contribute to you. 18 O Lord God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, always maintain these motives of your people and keep them devoted to you.[m] 19 Make my son Solomon willing to obey your commands, rules, and regulations, and to complete building the palace for which I have made preparations.”[n]

20 David told the entire assembly: “Praise the Lord your God!” So the entire assembly praised the Lord God of their ancestors; they bowed down and stretched out flat on the ground before the Lord and the king.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 29:10 tn Heb “assembly, and David said.” The words “and David said” are redundant according to contemporary English style and have not been included in the translation.
  2. 1 Chronicles 29:11 tn The words “and sovereign” are added in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
  3. 1 Chronicles 29:11 tn Heb “head.”
  4. 1 Chronicles 29:12 tn Heb “wealth and honor [are] from before you.”
  5. 1 Chronicles 29:12 tn Heb “and in your hand [is] strength and might, and [it is] in your hand to magnify and to give strength to all.”
  6. 1 Chronicles 29:14 tn Heb “that we should retain strength to contribute like this.”
  7. 1 Chronicles 29:14 tn Heb “and from you we have given to you.”
  8. 1 Chronicles 29:15 tn The Hebrew terms ger (גֵּר; “resident foreigner”) and toshav (תּוֹשָׁב; “resident/dweller”) have similar meanings. They are not used here with the technical distinctions of most references in Mosaic Law. 1 Chron 29:15 takes up this language from Lev 25:23 where the terms emphasize that Israel would be a guest on God’s land. This is a privileged but dependent position; they did not own the land. Cf. also Ps 39:12 and Gen 23:4.
  9. 1 Chronicles 29:15 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 18, 20).
  10. 1 Chronicles 29:15 tn Or perhaps “hope.”
  11. 1 Chronicles 29:17 tn Heb “a heart.”
  12. 1 Chronicles 29:17 tn Heb “with integrity of heart.”
  13. 1 Chronicles 29:18 tn Heb “keep this permanently with respect to the motive of the thoughts of the heart of your people, and make firm their heart to you.”
  14. 1 Chronicles 29:19 tn Heb “and to Solomon my son give a complete heart to keep your commands, your rules and your regulations, and to do everything, and to build the palace [for] which I have prepared.”