²⁵ Some of the people from Jerusalem were saying, “Isn't this the man they want to kill? ²⁶ Yet here he is, speaking for everyone to hear. And no one is arguing with him. Do you suppose the authorities know he is the Messiah? ²⁷ But how could that be? No one knows where the Messiah will come from, but we know where this man comes from.”

²⁸ As Jesus was teaching in the temple, he shouted, “Do you really think you know me and where I came from? I didn't come on my own! The one who sent me is truthful, and you don't know him. ²⁹ But I know the one who sent me, because I came from him.”

³⁰ Some of the people wanted to arrest Jesus right then. But no one even laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come.^{[a] 31} A lot of people in the crowd put their faith in him and said, “When the Messiah comes, he surely won't perform more miracles^[b] than this man has done!”

Officers Sent To Arrest Jesus

³² When the Pharisees heard the crowd arguing about Jesus, they got together with the chief priests and sent some temple police to arrest him. ³³ But Jesus told them, “I will be with you a little while longer, and then I will return to the one who sent me. ³⁴ You will look for me, but you won't find me. You cannot go where I am going.”

³⁵ The people asked each other, “Where can he go to keep us from finding him? Is he going to some foreign country where our people live? Is he going there to teach the Greeks?^{[c] 36} What did he mean by saying that we will look for him, but won't find him? Why can't we go where he is going?”

Streams of Life-Giving Water

^37 (A) On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and shouted, “If you are thirsty, come to me and drink! ^38 (B) Have faith in me, and you will have life-giving water flowing from deep inside you, just as the Scriptures say.” ³⁹ Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit, who would be given to everyone that had faith in him. The Spirit had not yet been given to anyone, since Jesus had not yet been given his full glory.^[d]

The People Take Sides

⁴⁰ When the crowd heard Jesus say this, some of them said, “He must be the Prophet!”^{[e] 41} Others said, “He is the Messiah!” Others even said, “Can the Messiah come from Galilee? ^42 (C) The Scriptures say that the Messiah will come from the family of King David. Doesn't this mean that he will be born in David's hometown of Bethlehem?” ⁴³ The people started taking sides against each other because of Jesus. ⁴⁴ Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him.

The Leaders Refuse To Have Faith in Jesus

⁴⁵ When the temple police returned to the chief priests and Pharisees, they were asked, “Why didn't you bring Jesus here?”

⁴⁶ They answered, “No one has ever spoken like this man!”

⁴⁷ The Pharisees said to them, “Have you also been fooled? ⁴⁸ Not one of the chief priests or the Pharisees has faith in him. ⁴⁹ And these people who don't know the Law are under God's curse anyway.”

^50 (D) Nicodemus was there at the time. He was a member of the council, and was the same one who had earlier come to see Jesus.^[f] He said, ⁵¹ “Our Law doesn't let us condemn people before we hear what they have to say. We cannot judge them before we know what they have done.”

⁵² Then they said, “Nicodemus, you must be from Galilee! Read the Scriptures, and you will find that no prophet is to come from Galilee.”

Gifts for Building the Temple

29 ^(A) David told the crowd:

God chose my son Solomon to build the temple, but Solomon is young and has no experience. This is not just any building—this is the temple for the Lord God! ² That's why I have done my best to get everything Solomon will need to build it—gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, onyx, turquoise, colored gems, all kinds of precious stones, and marble.

³ Besides doing all that, I have promised to give part of my own gold and silver as a way of showing my love for God's temple. ⁴ More than 100 tons of my finest gold and almost 240 tons of my silver will be used to decorate its walls ⁵ and to make the gold and silver objects. Now, who else will show their dedication to the Lord by giving gifts for building his temple?

⁶ After David finished speaking, the family leaders, the tribal leaders, the army commanders, and the government officials voluntarily gave gifts ⁷ for the temple. These gifts included more than 170 tons of gold, over 340 tons of silver, 620 tons of bronze, and more than 3,400 tons of iron. ⁸ Everyone who owned precious stones also donated them to the temple treasury, where Jehiel from the Levite clan of Gershon guarded them.

⁹ David and the people were very happy that so much had been given to the Lord, and they all celebrated.

David Praises the Lord

¹⁰ Then, in front of everyone, David sang praises to the Lord:

I praise you forever, Lord! You are the God our ancestor Jacob^[a] worshiped. ^11 (B) Your power is great, and your glory is seen everywhere in heaven and on earth. You are king of the entire world, ¹² and you rule with strength and power. You make people rich and powerful and famous. ¹³ We thank you, our God, and praise you.

¹⁴ But why should we be happy that we have given you these gifts? They belong to you, and we have only given back what is already yours. ¹⁵ We are only foreigners living here on earth for a while, just as our ancestors were. And we will soon be gone, like a shadow that suddenly disappears.

¹⁶ Our Lord God, we have brought all these things for building a temple to honor you. They belong to you, and you gave them to us. ¹⁷ But we are happy, because everyone has voluntarily given you these things. You know what is in everyone's heart, and you are pleased when people are honest. ¹⁸ Always make us eager to give, and help us be faithful to you, just as our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob faithfully worshiped you. ¹⁹ And give Solomon the desire to completely obey your laws and teachings, and the desire to build the temple for which I have provided these gifts.

²⁰ David then said to the people, “Now it's your turn to praise the Lord, the God your ancestors worshiped!” So everyone praised the Lord, and they bowed down to honor him and David their king.

Solomon Is Crowned King

²¹ The next day, the Israelites slaughtered 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 lambs, and they offered them as sacrifices to please the Lord,^[b] along with offerings of wine. ²² The people were very happy, and they ate and drank there at the Lord's altar.

That same day, Solomon was again crowned king. The people celebrated and poured olive oil on Solomon's head to show that he would be their next king. They also poured oil on Zadok's head to show that he was their priest.

^23 (C) So Solomon became king after David his father. Solomon was successful, and everyone in Israel obeyed him. ²⁴ Every official and every soldier, as well as all of David's other sons, were loyal to him. ²⁵ The Lord made Solomon a great king, and the whole nation was amazed at how famous he was. In fact, no other king of Israel was as great as Solomon.

David Dies

²⁶ David the son of Jesse was king of Israel ^27 (D) for 40 years. He ruled from Hebron for 7 years and from Jerusalem for 33 years. ²⁸ David was rich and respected and lived to be an old man. Then he died, and his son Solomon became king.

²⁹ Everything David did while he was king is included in the history written by the prophets Samuel, Nathan, and Gad. ³⁰ They wrote about his powerful rule and about the things that happened not only to him, but also to Israel and the other nations.

Getting Rid of Idols and False Prophets

13 In the future there will be a fountain, where David's descendants and the people of Jerusalem can wash away their sin and guilt.

² The Lord All-Powerful says:

When that time comes, I will get rid of every idol in the country, and they will be forgotten forever. I will also do away with their prophets and those evil spirits that control them. ³ If any such prophets ever appear again, their own parents must warn them that they will die for telling lies in my name—the name of the Lord. If those prophets don't stop speaking, their parents must then kill them with a sword.

⁴ Those prophets will be ashamed of their so-called visions, and they won't deceive anyone by dressing like a true prophet. ⁵ Instead, they will say, “I'm no prophet. I've been a farmer all my life.”^[a]

⁶ And if any of them are asked why they are wounded,^[b] they will answer, “It happened at the house of some friends.”

A Wounded Shepherd and Scattered Sheep

^7 (A) The Lord All-Powerful said: