1 Chronicles 28:1-8

Common English Bible

David addresses Israel’s leaders

28 David assembled all of Israel’s leaders in Jerusalem, the leaders of the tribes, the leaders of the divisions that served the king, the commanders of units of a thousand and a hundred, the officials in charge of all the property and livestock of the king and his sons, as well as the officers, warriors, and all the valiant men. ²Then King David stood up and said:

Listen to me, my relatives and my people. I wanted to build a temple as the permanent home for the chest containing the Lord’s covenant, our God’s footrest. But when I prepared to build it, ³God said to me, You must not build a temple for my name, because you are a military man and you’ve shed blood. ⁴The Lord, the God of Israel, chose me from my whole household to become king over Israel forever. He chose Judah as leader, and within Judah’s family, my household, and among my father’s family he was pleased with me, making me king over all Israel. ⁵And from all the many sons the Lord has given me, he has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the Lord’s kingdom over Israel. ⁶He said to me: Your son Solomon will build my temple and my courtyards, for I’ve chosen him to become my son even as I myself will become his father. ⁷I’ll establish his kingdom forever if he remains committed to keeping my commands and case laws as he does now.

⁸So now, in the presence of all the Lord’s assembly^[a] and with God as our witness, carefully observe all the commands of the Lord your God, so that you may hold on to this good land and pass it on to your children forever.

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