“As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind,(A) for the Lord searches every heart and understands the intention of every thought.(B) If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.(C) 10 Realize now that the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary. Be strong, and do it.”(D)

11 Then David gave his son Solomon the plans(E) for the portico(F) of the temple and its buildings, treasuries, upper rooms, inner rooms, and a room for the mercy seat.(G) 12 The plans contained everything he had in mind[a](H) for the courts of the Lord’s house, all the surrounding chambers, the treasuries(I) of God’s house, and the treasuries for what is dedicated. 13 Also included were plans for the divisions of the priests and the Levites; all the work of service in the Lord’s house; all the articles of service of the Lord’s house; 14 the weight of gold for all the articles for every kind of service; the weight of all the silver articles for every kind of service; 15 the weight of the gold lampstands(J) and their gold lamps, including the weight of each lampstand and its lamps; the weight of each silver lampstand and its lamps, according to the service of each lampstand; 16 the weight of gold for each table for the rows of the bread of the Presence and the silver for the silver tables; 17 the pure gold for the forks, sprinkling basins, and pitchers; the weight of each gold dish; the weight of each silver bowl; 18 the weight of refined gold for the altar of incense;(K) and the plans for the chariot of[b](L) the gold cherubim that spread out their wings and cover the ark of the Lord’s covenant.(M)

19 David concluded, “By the Lord’s hand on me, He enabled me to understand everything in writing, all the details of the plan.”[c]

20 Then David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and courageous,(N) and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He won’t leave you or forsake you(O) until all the work for the service of the Lord’s house is finished. 21 Here are the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of God’s house.(P) Every willing man of any skill(Q) will be at your disposal for the work, and the leaders and all the people are at your every command.”

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 28:12 Or he received from the Spirit
  2. 1 Chronicles 28:18 Or chariot, that is; Ps 18:10; Ezk 1:5,15
  3. 1 Chronicles 28:19 Hb obscure

David Addresses Solomon Directly

“Now as for you, my son Solomon, get to know the God of your father. Serve him with a sound heart and a devoted soul, because the Lord is searching every heart, every plan and thought. He will be found by you, assuming you are seeking him, but if you abandon him, he will abandon you forever. 10 So keep watching, because the Lord has chosen you to build the Temple of his sanctuary. So be strong, and get to work!”

David Transfers Plans and Materials to Solomon

11 At this point in his address,[a] David transferred to his son Solomon the construction plans for the Hall of Justice,[b] its buildings, its treasure vaults, its upper rooms, its inner chambers, the housing for the Mercy Seat, 12 and the plans for everything else that he had in mind for the courtyards of the Temple of the Lord. Included were plans for[c] all of the surrounding vaults and treasuries of the Temple of God intended for storage of[d] dedicated gifts, 13 for use by the ranks of priests and descendants of Levi, for all the work of service responsibilities in the Temple of the Lord, and for all of the utensils used in the work of the Temple of the Lord. 14 David also transferred to him[e] by weight the gold that was to be used to craft the[f] service utensils, the silver that was to be used to craft the[g] service utensils, 15 the gold for the golden lamp stands and their lamps, the silver for a lamp stand and its lamps (each according to its intended use in the service), 16 the gold by weight for each table of the rows of bread, the silver for the silver tables, 17 pure gold for the forks, the basins, the cups, the golden bowls (along with enough gold by weight for each one), enough weight for each of the silver bowls, 18 refined gold for the altar of incense, by weight, along with his plans for crafting[h] the golden chariot for the cherubim that spread out their wings to cover the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord.

David Continues His Address

19 “All of these things the Lord made clear to me in writing at his direction—the construction plans for all of the building.”

20 David continued with these words for his son Solomon: “Be strong and courageous, and get to work. Never be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you nor will he abandon you right up to your completion of the work for the service of the Temple of the Lord. 21 Now look! Here are the ranks of the priests and the descendants of Levi for the entire service of the Temple of God, and in all of the work there will be all types of volunteers who have skills for anything needed for the services. Furthermore, the officers and all of the people will be at your complete command.”

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 28:11 The Heb. lacks At this point in his address
  2. 1 Chronicles 28:11 Or Temple vestibule
  3. 1 Chronicles 28:12 The Heb. lacks were plans for
  4. 1 Chronicles 28:12 The Heb. lacks intended for storage of
  5. 1 Chronicles 28:14 The Heb. lacks David also transferred to him
  6. 1 Chronicles 28:14 The Heb. lacks that was to be used to craft the
  7. 1 Chronicles 28:14 The Heb. lacks that was to be used to craft the
  8. 1 Chronicles 28:18 The Heb. lacks for crafting