The Altar on Mount Ebal

27 Now Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, “Keep the whole commandment that I command you today. ² And on the day ^(A)you cross over the Jordan to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall set up large stones and plaster them with plaster. ^3 (B)And you shall write on them all the words of this law, when you cross over to enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you, ^(C)a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you. ⁴ And when you have crossed over the Jordan, you shall set up these stones, concerning which I command you today, ^(D)on Mount Ebal, and you shall plaster them with plaster. ⁵ And there you shall build an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones. ^(E)You shall wield no iron tool on them; ⁶ you shall build an altar to the Lord your God of uncut^[a] stones. And you shall offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God, ⁷ and you shall sacrifice peace offerings and ^(F)shall eat there, and you ^(G)shall rejoice before the Lord your God. ⁸ And ^(H)you shall write on the stones all the words of this law very plainly.”

Curses from Mount Ebal

⁹ Then Moses and the Levitical priests said to all Israel, “Keep silence and hear, O Israel: ^(I)this day you have become the people of the Lord your God. ¹⁰ You shall therefore obey the voice of the Lord your God, keeping his commandments and his statutes, which I command you today.”

¹¹ That day Moses charged the people, saying, ¹² “When you have crossed over the Jordan, ^(J)these shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. ¹³ And these shall stand on Mount Ebal for the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. ¹⁴ And ^(K)the Levites shall declare to all the men of Israel in a loud voice:

^15 (L)“‘Cursed be the man who makes a carved or cast metal image, an abomination to the Lord, a thing made by the hands of a craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ ^(M)And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen.’

^16 (N)“‘Cursed be anyone who dishonors his father or his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

^17 (O)“‘Cursed be anyone who moves his neighbor's landmark.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

^18 (P)“‘Cursed be anyone who misleads a blind man on the road.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

^19 (Q)“‘Cursed be anyone who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

^20 (R)“‘Cursed be anyone who lies with his father's wife, because he has ^(S)uncovered his father's nakedness.’^[b] And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

^21 (T)“‘Cursed be anyone who lies with any kind of animal.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

^22 (U)“‘Cursed be anyone who lies with his sister, whether the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

^23 (V)“‘Cursed be anyone who lies with his mother-in-law.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

^24 (W)“‘Cursed be anyone who strikes down his neighbor in secret.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

^25 (X)“‘Cursed be anyone who takes a bribe to shed innocent blood.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

^26 (Y)“‘Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

Joy Comes with the Morning

A Psalm of David. A song at the dedication of ^(A)the temple.

Offerings for the Temple

29 And David the king said to all the assembly, “Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is ^(A)young and inexperienced, and the work is great, for ^(B)the palace will not be for man but for the Lord God. ² So I have provided for the house of my God, so far as I was able, the gold for the things of gold, the silver for the things of silver, and the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, besides great quantities of ^(C)onyx and stones for setting, antimony, colored stones, all sorts of precious stones and marble. ³ Moreover, in addition to all that I have provided for the holy house, I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, and because of my devotion to the house of my God I give it to the house of my God: ^4 (D)3,000 talents^[a] of gold, of the gold of ^(E)Ophir, and 7,000 talents of refined silver, for overlaying the walls of the house,^{[b] 5} and for all the work to be done by craftsmen, gold for the things of gold and silver for the things of silver. Who then will offer willingly, consecrating himself^[c] today to the Lord?”

⁶ Then ^(F)the leaders of fathers' houses made their freewill offerings, as did also the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and ^(G)the officers over the king's work. ⁷ They gave for the service of the house of God 5,000 talents and 10,000 ^(H)darics^[d] of gold, 10,000 talents of silver, 18,000 talents of bronze and 100,000 talents of iron. ⁸ And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the Lord, in the care of ^(I)Jehiel the Gershonite. ⁹ Then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a ^(J)whole heart they had offered freely to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly.

David Prays in the Assembly

¹⁰ Therefore David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: ^(K)“Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. ^11 (L)Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. ^12 (M)Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. ^(N)In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. ¹³ And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.

¹⁴ “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. ^15 (O)For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are ^(P)like a shadow, and there is no abiding.^{[e] 16} O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own. ¹⁷ I know, my God, ^(Q)that you test the heart and ^(R)have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you. ¹⁸ O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you. ^19 (S)Grant to Solomon my son a whole heart that he may keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, performing all, and that he may ^(T)build the palace ^(U)for which I have made provision.”

²⁰ Then David said to all the assembly, ^(V)“Bless the Lord your God.” And all the assembly blessed the Lord, the God of their fathers, ^(W)and bowed their heads and paid homage to the Lord and to the king. ²¹ And they offered sacrifices to the Lord, and on the next day offered burnt offerings to the Lord, 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 lambs, with their ^(X)drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. ²² And they ate and drank before the Lord on that day with great gladness.

Solomon Anointed King

And they made Solomon the son of David king ^(Y)the second time, and they ^(Z)anointed him as prince for the Lord, and ^(AA)Zadok as priest.

^23 (AB)Then Solomon sat on the ^(AC)throne of the Lord as king in place of David his father. And he prospered, and all Israel obeyed him. ²⁴ All the leaders and the mighty men, and also all the sons of King David, pledged their allegiance to King Solomon. ²⁵ And the Lord made Solomon very ^(AD)great in the sight of all Israel and ^(AE)bestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.

The Death of David

²⁶ Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. ²⁷ The ^(AF)time that he reigned over Israel was forty years. He reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. ²⁸ Then he died ^(AG)at a good age, ^(AH)full of days, riches, and honor. And Solomon his son reigned in his place. ²⁹ Now the acts of King David, from first to last, are written in the Chronicles ^(AI)of Samuel the seer, and in the Chronicles of ^(AJ)Nathan the prophet, and in the Chronicles of ^(AK)Gad the seer, ³⁰ with accounts of all his rule and his might and of the circumstances ^(AL)that came upon him and upon Israel and upon all the kingdoms of the countries.