The Last Words of David

23 Now these are the last words of David:

David’s Mighty Men

⁸ These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshe′beth a Tah-che′monite; he was chief of the three;^[e] he wielded his spear^[f] against eight hundred whom he slew at one time.

⁹ And next to him among the three mighty men was Elea′zar the son of Dodo, son of Aho′hi. He was with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel withdrew. ¹⁰ He rose and struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand cleaved to the sword; and the Lord wrought a great victory that day; and the men returned after him only to strip the slain.

¹¹ And next to him was Shammah, the son of Agee the Har′arite. The Philistines gathered together at Lehi, where there was a plot of ground full of lentils; and the men fled from the Philistines. ¹² But he took his stand in the midst of the plot, and defended it, and slew the Philistines; and the Lord wrought a great victory.

¹³ And three of the thirty chief men went down, and came about harvest time to David at the cave of Adul′lam, when a band of Philistines was encamped in the valley of Reph′aim. ¹⁴ David was then in the stronghold; and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. ¹⁵ And David said longingly, “O that some one would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate!” ¹⁶ Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem which was by the gate, and took and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it; he poured it out to the Lord, ¹⁷ and said, “Far be it from me, O Lord, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men.

¹⁸ Now Abi′shai, the brother of Jo′ab, the son of Zeru′iah, was chief of the thirty.^[g] And he wielded his spear against three hundred men and slew them, and won a name beside the three. ¹⁹ He was the most renowned of the thirty,^[h] and became their commander; but he did not attain to the three.

²⁰ And Benai′ah the son of Jehoi′ada was a valiant man^[i] of Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds; he smote two ariels^[j] of Moab. He also went down and slew a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen. ²¹ And he slew an Egyptian, a handsome man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand; but Benai′ah went down to him with a staff, and snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and slew him with his own spear. ²² These things did Benai′ah the son of Jehoi′ada, and won a name beside the three mighty men. ²³ He was renowned among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David set him over his bodyguard.

²⁴ As′ahel the brother of Jo′ab was one of the thirty; Elha′nan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, ²⁵ Shammah of Harod, Eli′ka of Harod, ²⁶ Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh of Teko′a, ²⁷ Abie′zer, of An′athoth, Mebun′nai the Hu′shathite, ²⁸ Zalmon the Aho′hite, Ma′harai of Netoph′ah, ²⁹ Heleb the son of Ba′anah of Netoph′ah, It′tai the son of Ri′bai of Gib′e-ah of the Benjaminites, ³⁰ Benai′ah of Pira′thon, Hid′dai of the brooks of Ga′ash, ³¹ Abi-al′bon the Ar′bathite, Az′maveth of Bahu′rim, ³² Eli′ahba of Sha-al′bon, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan, ³³ Shammah the Har′arite, Ahi′am the son of Sharar the Har′arite, ³⁴ Eliph′elet the son of Ahas′bai of Ma′acah, Eli′am the son of Ahith′ophel of Gilo, ³⁵ Hezro^[k] of Carmel, Pa′arai the Arbite, ³⁶ Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite, ³⁷ Zelek the Ammonite, Na′harai of Be-er′oth, the armor-bearer of Jo′ab the son of Zeru′iah, ³⁸ Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, ³⁹ Uri′ah the Hittite: thirty-seven in all.

Solomon Instructed to Build the Temple

28 David assembled at Jerusalem all the officials of Israel, the officials of the tribes, the officers of the divisions that served the king, the commanders of thousands, the commanders of hundreds, the stewards of all the property and cattle of the king and his sons, together with the palace officials, the mighty men, and all the seasoned warriors. ² Then King David rose to his feet and said: “Hear me, my brethren and my people. I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and for the footstool of our God; and I made preparations for building. ³ But God said to me, ‘You may not build a house for my name, for you are a warrior and have shed blood.’ ⁴ Yet the Lord God of Israel chose me from all my father’s house to be king over Israel for ever; for he chose Judah as leader, and in the house of Judah my father’s house, and among my father’s sons he took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel. ⁵ And of all my sons (for the Lord has given me many sons) he has chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. ⁶ He said to me, ‘It is Solomon your son who shall build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. ⁷ I will establish his kingdom for ever if he continues resolute in keeping my commandments and my ordinances, as he is today.’ ⁸ Now therefore in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God, observe and seek out all the commandments of the Lord your God; that you may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children after you for ever.

⁹ “And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father, and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts, and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will cast you off for ever. ¹⁰ Take heed now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong, and do it.”

¹¹ Then David gave Solomon his son the plan of the vestibule of the temple, and of its houses, its treasuries, its upper rooms, and its inner chambers, and of the room for the mercy seat; ¹² and the plan of all that he had in mind for the courts of the house of the Lord, all the surrounding chambers, the treasuries of the house of God, and the treasuries for dedicated gifts; ¹³ for the divisions of the priests and of the Levites, and all the work of the service in the house of the Lord; for all the vessels for the service in the house of the Lord, ¹⁴ the weight of gold for all golden vessels for each service, the weight of silver vessels for each service, ¹⁵ the weight of the golden lampstands and their lamps, the weight of gold for each lampstand and its lamps, the weight of silver for a lampstand and its lamps, according to the use of each lampstand in the service, ¹⁶ the weight of gold for each table for the showbread, the silver for the silver tables, ¹⁷ and pure gold for the forks, the basins, and the cups; for the golden bowls and the weight of each; for the silver bowls and the weight of each; ¹⁸ for the altar of incense made of refined gold, and its weight; also his plan for the golden chariot of the cherubim that spread their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of the Lord. ¹⁹ All this he made clear by the writing from the hand of the Lord concerning it,^[a] all the work to be done according to the plan.

²⁰ Then David said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and of good courage, and do it. Fear not, be not dismayed; for the Lord God, even my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished. ²¹ And behold the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God; and with you in all the work will be every willing man who has skill for any kind of service; also the officers and all the people will be wholly at your command.”

BOOK II

Longing for God and His Help in Distress

To the choirmaster. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah.