Contributions for Building the Temple

29 Then King David said to all the assembly, “My son Solomon—God has chosen him alone—is young and inexperienced. The task is great(A) because the temple will not be for man but for the Lord God.(B) So to the best of my ability I’ve made provision for the house of my God:(C) gold for the gold articles, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron, and wood for the wood, as well as onyx, stones for mounting,[a] antimony,[b](D) stones of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and a great quantity of marble. Moreover, because of my delight in the house of my God, I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the house of my God over and above all that I’ve provided for the holy house: 100 tons[c](E) of gold (gold of Ophir(F)) and 250 tons[d] of refined silver for overlaying the walls of the buildings, the gold for the gold work and the silver for the silver, for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now who will volunteer to consecrate himself to the Lord today?”

Then the leaders of the households, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds,(G) and the officials in charge of the king’s work(H) gave willingly. For the service of God’s house they gave 185 tons[e] of gold and 10,000 gold coins,[f](I) 375 tons[g] of silver, 675 tons[h] of bronze, and 4,000 tons[i] of iron. Whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the Lord’s house under the care of Jehiel(J) the Gershonite. Then the people rejoiced because of their leaders’ willingness to give, for they had given to the Lord with a whole heart.(K) King David also rejoiced greatly.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 29:2 Or mosaic
  2. 1 Chronicles 29:2 In Hb, the word antimony is similar to “turquoise”; Ex 28:18.
  3. 1 Chronicles 29:4 Lit 3,000 talents
  4. 1 Chronicles 29:4 Lit 7,000 talents
  5. 1 Chronicles 29:7 Lit 5,000 talents
  6. 1 Chronicles 29:7 Or drachmas, or darics
  7. 1 Chronicles 29:7 Lit 10,000 talents
  8. 1 Chronicles 29:7 Lit 18,000 talents
  9. 1 Chronicles 29:7 Lit 100,000 talents

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.

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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