David's Charge to Solomon

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

11 Then David gave Solomon his son the (E)plan of the (F)vestibule of the temple,[a] and of its houses, its treasuries, its upper rooms, and its inner chambers, and of the room for the (G)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, (H)the treasuries of the house of God, and the treasuries for dedicated gifts; 13 for the (I)divisions of the priests and of the (J)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 (K)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 (L)altar of incense made of refined gold, and its weight; also his plan for the golden chariot of the (M)cherubim that spread their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of the Lord. 19 “All this he made clear to me in writing from the hand of the Lord, (N)all the work to be done according to the plan.”

20 Then David said to Solomon his son, (O)“Be strong and courageous and do it. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the Lord God, even my God, is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished. 21 And behold the (P)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 (Q)every willing man who has skill for any kind of service; also the officers and all the people will be wholly at your command.”

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 28:11 Hebrew lacks of the temple

As for you, Solomon, my son, acknowledge your father’s God and serve him with enthusiastic devotion, because the Lord searches every mind and understands the motive behind every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you abandon him, he will reject you forever. 10 Now then, since the Lord has chosen you to build a temple for him[a] as the sanctuary, work hard.

11 Then David gave his son Solomon the plan for the entrance hall, its buildings, treasuries, upper and inner rooms, and the room for the cover.[b] 12 He provided all of the plans he had in mind: for the courtyards of the Lord’s temple, and for all its surrounding rooms where the treasures of God’s temple and the dedicated gifts would be stored; 13 for the divisions of the priests and Levites, for all their responsibilities within the Lord’s temple, and for all the equipment used in its service; 14 for the weight of all the gold equipment used for every kind of service, and the weight of all the silver equipment used for every kind of service; 15 for the weight of the gold lampstands and their gold lamps—the weight of gold for each lampstand with its lamps—and for the weight of each silver lampstand and its lamps depending on how each would be used; 16 for the weight of gold for each table with the stacks of bread, and the silver for the silver tables; 17 for the forks, bowls, and cups of pure gold; for the weight of each gold dish and the weight of each silver dish; 18 for the weight of the incense altar made of refined gold; and for the construction of the chariot—with the gold winged creatures spreading their wings and covering the chest containing the Lord’s covenant. 19 All of this the Lord made clear to David[c] directly in a document, including the plan for all of the work.

20 “Be strong and courageous,” David said to his son Solomon. “Get to work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, because the Lord God, my God, is with you. He’ll neither let you down nor leave you before all the work for the service of the Lord’s temple is done. 21 Here are the divisions of the priests and the Levites who will perform all the service of God’s temple. For all this work you will have willing and able workers with you to do it. The officials and all the people are ready to follow your instructions.”

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 28:10 LXX; MT lacks for him.
  2. 1 Chronicles 28:11 Or mercy seat or perhaps reconciliation cover (Heb kapporet)
  3. 1 Chronicles 28:19 LXX; MT to me