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The People Contribute to the Project

29 King David said to the entire assembly: “My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is just an inexperienced young man,[a] and the task is great, for this palace is not for man, but for the Lord God. So I have made every effort[b] to provide what is needed for the temple of my God, including the gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood,[c] as well as a large amount of onyx, settings of antimony and other stones, all kinds of precious stones, and alabaster. Now, to show my commitment to the temple of my God, I donate my personal treasure of gold and silver to the temple of my God, in addition to all that I have already supplied for this holy temple. This includes 3,000 talents[d] of gold from Ophir and 7,000 talents of refined silver for overlaying the walls of the buildings, for gold and silver items, and for all the work of the craftsmen. Who else wants to contribute to the Lord today?”

The leaders of the families, the leaders of the Israelite tribes, the commanders of units of a thousand and a hundred, and the supervisors of the king’s work contributed willingly. They donated for the service of God’s temple 5,000 talents[e] and 10,000 darics[f] of gold, 10,000 talents of silver, 18,000 talents of bronze, and 100,000 talents of iron. All who possessed precious[g] stones donated them to the treasury of the Lord’s temple, which was under the supervision of Jehiel the Gershonite. The people were delighted with their donations, for they contributed to the Lord with a willing attitude;[h] King David was also very happy.[i]

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 29:1 tn Heb “a young man and tender.”
  2. 1 Chronicles 29:2 tn Heb “and according to all my strength.”
  3. 1 Chronicles 29:2 tn Heb “the gold for the gold, and the silver for the silver, and the bronze for the bronze, the iron for the iron, and the wood for the wood.”
  4. 1 Chronicles 29:4 tn See the note on the word “talents” in 19:6. Using the “light” standard talent of 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg) as the standard for calculation, David had supplied 101 tons (91,800 kg) of gold and 235.5 tons (214,200 kg) of silver.
  5. 1 Chronicles 29:7 tn See the note on the word “talents” in 19:6. Using the “light” standard talent of 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg) as the standard for calculation, the people donated 168.3 tons (153,000 kg) of gold, 336.5 tons (306,000 kg) of silver, 605.7 tons (550,800 kg) of bronze, and 3,365 tons (3,060,000 kg) of iron.
  6. 1 Chronicles 29:7 tn On the “daric” as a unit of measure, see BDB 204 s.v. דַּרְכְּמוֹן. Some have regarded the daric as a minted coin, perhaps even referring to the Greek drachma, but this is less likely.sn The daric was a unit of weight perhaps equal to between 8 and 9 grams (just under one-third of an ounce), so 10,000 darics of gold would weigh between 80 and 90 kilograms (between 176 and 198 pounds).
  7. 1 Chronicles 29:8 tn The word “precious” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
  8. 1 Chronicles 29:9 tn Heb “with a complete heart.”
  9. 1 Chronicles 29:9 tn Heb “And also David the king rejoiced with great joy.”

Offerings for the Temple

29 Then King David said to the entire assembly, “My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, (A)is still young and inexperienced, and the work is great; for (B)the [a]temple is not for mankind, but for the Lord God. Now (C)with all my ability I have provided for the house of my God the gold for the things of gold, the silver for the things of silver, the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, wood for the things of wood, onyx stones and inlaid stones, stones of antimony and stones of various colors, and all kinds of precious stones and alabaster in abundance. In addition, in my delight in the house of my God, the treasure I have of gold and silver, I give to the house of my God, over and above all that I have already provided for the holy [b]temple, namely, (D)three thousand [c]talents of gold, from (E)the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the [d]buildings; gold for the things of gold and silver for the things of silver, that is, for all the work [e]done by the craftsmen. Who then is willing [f]to consecrate himself this day to the Lord?”

Then (F)the rulers of the fathers’ households, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, and the commanders of thousands and hundreds, with (G)the supervisors of the king’s work, offered willingly; and for the service of the house of God they gave five thousand talents and ten thousand [g](H)darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of brass, and a hundred thousand talents of iron. [h]Whoever possessed precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the Lord, [i]in care of (I)Jehiel the Gershonite. Then the people rejoiced because they had offered so willingly, for they made their offering to the Lord (J)wholeheartedly, and King David also rejoiced greatly.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 29:1 Lit palace
  2. 1 Chronicles 29:3 Lit house
  3. 1 Chronicles 29:4 A talent was about 75 lb. or 34 kg
  4. 1 Chronicles 29:4 Lit houses
  5. 1 Chronicles 29:5 Lit by the hand of the craftsmen
  6. 1 Chronicles 29:5 Lit to fill his hand
  7. 1 Chronicles 29:7 A coin weighing about 0.25 oz. or 7 gm
  8. 1 Chronicles 29:8 Lit Those with whom were found
  9. 1 Chronicles 29:8 Lit on the hand of