David’s Charge to Israel

28 Then David assembled all the commanders of Israel, the commanders of the tribes and the commanders of working groups who served the king, and the commanders of thousands, the commanders of hundreds, and the commanders over all the property of the king and his sons, with the court officials and mighty warriors, and all the mighty warriors of ability, at Jerusalem. ² And King David rose to his feet and said, “Listen to me, my brothers and my people. I myself wanted^[a] to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of Yahweh and the footstool of our God, and I prepared to build. ³ But God said to me, ‘You may not build a house for my name because you are a man of war, and you have shed blood.’ ⁴ But Yahweh the God of Israel chose me from all of the house of my father to be king over Israel forever, for he chose Judah as leader, and in the house of Judah, the house of my father, and among the sons of my father he took pleasure in me to reign over all Israel. ⁵ And from all my sons—for Yahweh has given many sons to me—he has chosen Solomon my son to sit on the throne of the kingdom of Yahweh over Israel. ⁶ And he said to me, ‘Solomon your son, he himself shall build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him as a son to myself, and I myself will be as a father to him, ⁷ and I will establish his kingdom forever if he firmly performs^[b] my commandments and my judgments as he has to this day.’ ⁸ So now in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of Yahweh, and in the hearing of our God, observe and seek all the commandments of Yahweh your God so that you may take possession of this good land and bestow it as an inheritance to your children after you forever.”