1 Chronicles 29:1-9

International Children’s Bible

Gifts for Building the Temple

29 King David spoke to all the Israelites who were gathered. He said, “God chose my son Solomon. Solomon is young and hasn’t yet learned what he needs to know. But the work is important. This palace is not for people. It is for the Lord God. ² I have done my best to prepare for building the Temple of God. 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 given onyx for the settings and turquoise. I have given gems of many different colors. I have given valuable stones and white marble. I have given much of all these things. ³ I have already given this for the Temple. But now I am also giving my own treasures of gold and silver. I am doing this because I really want the Temple of my God to be built. ⁴ I have given about 220,000 pounds of pure gold from Ophir. And I have given about 520,000 pounds of pure silver. They will be used to cover the walls of the buildings. ⁵ They will also be used for all the gold and silver work. Skilled men may use the gold and silver to make things for the Temple. Now, who is ready to give himself to the service of the Lord today?”

⁶ The family leaders and the leaders of the tribes of Israel gave their valuable things. The commanders of 1,000 men and of 100 men gave their valuable things. And the leaders responsible for the king’s work gave their valuable things. ⁷ These are the things they gave for the Temple of God: about 380,000 pounds of gold, about 750,000 pounds of silver, about 1,350,000 pounds of bronze and about 7,500,000 pounds of iron. ⁸ People who had valuable gems gave them to the treasury of the Temple of the Lord. Jehiel, from the Gershon family, took care of the valuable gems. ⁹ The leaders gave freely and completely to the Lord. The people were happy to see their leaders give so gladly. King David was also very happy.