¹⁵ so I will work hard to make sure you always remember these things after I am gone.

¹⁹ “So write down the words of this song, and teach it to the people of Israel. Help them learn it, so it may serve as a witness for me against them. ²⁰ For I will bring them into the land I swore to give their ancestors—a land flowing with milk and honey. There they will become prosperous, eat all the food they want, and become fat. But they will begin to worship other gods; they will despise me and break my covenant. ²¹ And when great disasters come down on them, this song will stand as evidence against them, for it will never be forgotten by their descendants. I know the intentions of these people, even now before they have entered the land I swore to give them.”

²² So that very day Moses wrote down the words of the song and taught it to the Israelites.

²³ Then the Lord commissioned Joshua son of Nun with these words: “Be strong and courageous, for you must bring the people of Israel into the land I swore to give them. I will be with you.”

²⁴ When Moses had finished writing this entire body of instruction in a book, ²⁵ he gave this command to the Levites who carried the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant: ²⁶ “Take this Book of Instruction and place it beside the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, so it may remain there as a witness against the people of Israel. ²⁷ For I know how rebellious and stubborn you are. Even now, while I am still alive and am here with you, you have rebelled against the Lord. How much more rebellious will you be after my death!

²⁸ “Now summon all the elders and officials of your tribes, so that I can speak to them directly and call heaven and earth to witness against them. ²⁹ I know that after my death you will become utterly corrupt and will turn from the way I have commanded you to follow. In the days to come, disaster will come down on you, for you will do what is evil in the Lord’s sight, making him very angry with your actions.”

Paying Attention to Scripture

¹² Therefore, I will always remind you about these things—even though you already know them and are standing firm in the truth you have been taught.

²⁴ The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God. We will obey him alone.”

²⁵ So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day at Shechem, committing them to follow the decrees and regulations of the Lord. ²⁶ Joshua recorded these things in the Book of God’s Instructions. As a reminder of their agreement, he took a huge stone and rolled it beneath the terebinth tree beside the Tabernacle of the Lord.

²⁷ Joshua said to all the people, “This stone has heard everything the Lord said to us. It will be a witness to testify against you if you go back on your word to God.”

²⁸ Then Joshua sent all the people away to their own homelands.

Leaders Buried in the Promised Land

²⁹ After this, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110.

⁴ And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

⁵ In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, ⁶ and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, ⁷ and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.

⁴ It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. Abel’s offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts. Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith.

² You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.

³¹ They were glorious to see. And they were speaking about his exodus from this world, which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem.

Gifts for Building the Temple

29 Then King David turned to the entire assembly and said, “My son Solomon, whom God has clearly chosen as the next king of Israel, is still young and inexperienced. The work ahead of him is enormous, for the Temple he will build is not for mere mortals—it is for the Lord God himself! ² Using every resource at my command, I have gathered as much as I could for building the Temple of my God. Now there is enough gold, silver, bronze, iron, and wood, as well as great quantities of onyx, other precious stones, costly jewels, and all kinds of fine stone and marble.

³ “And now, because of my devotion to the Temple of my God, I am giving all of my own private treasures of gold and silver to help in the construction. This is in addition to the building materials I have already collected for his holy Temple. ⁴ I am donating more than 112 tons of gold^[a] from Ophir and 262 tons of refined silver^[b] to be used for overlaying the walls of the buildings ⁵ and for the other gold and silver work to be done by the craftsmen. Now then, who will follow my example and give offerings to the Lord today?”

⁶ Then the family leaders, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the generals and captains of the army,^[c] and the king’s administrative officers all gave willingly. ⁷ For the construction of the Temple of God, they gave about 188 tons of gold,^[d] 10,000 gold coins,^[e] 375 tons of silver,^[f] 675 tons of bronze,^[g] and 3,750 tons of iron.^{[h] 8} They also contributed numerous precious stones, which were deposited in the treasury of the house of the Lord under the care of Jehiel, a descendant of Gershon. ⁹ The people rejoiced over the offerings, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord, and King David was filled with joy.

David’s Prayer of Praise

¹⁰ Then David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly:

²⁰ Then David said to the whole assembly, “Give praise to the Lord your God!” And the entire assembly praised the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and they bowed low and knelt before the Lord and the king.