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David’s Charge to Solomon

“And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and a willing mind, for Yahweh searches all hearts and understands every plan and all thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you abandon him, he will reject you forever. 10 Look now, for Yahweh has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong and do it!”

11 Then David gave to Solomon his son the plan of the vestibule and of its houses, its treasuries, its upper rooms, its inner chambers, and of the house of the lid of the ark, 12 and the plan of all that he had in mind[a] for the courtyards of the house of Yahweh and for all the surrounding storage rooms, the treasuries of the house of God, and the treasuries for sanctified objects, 13 and for the working groups of the priests and the Levites, and for all the work of the service of the house of Yahweh, and for all the vessels for the service of the house of Yahweh, 14 and for the gold, according to the weight of the gold for all the vessels of the service, and the service of all the vessels of silver according to the weight of all the vessels for every kind of service.[b] 15 And the weight of the golden lampstands and the golden lamps, the weight of each lampstand and each lamp,[c] and the silver according to the weight of a lampstand and its lamp, according to the use of each lampstand,[d] 16 and the weight of gold for the tables of the arranged bread, each table,[e] and silver for the tables of silver, 17 and pure gold for the three-pronged meat forks, and the bowls and the pitchers, and for the golden bowls, by weight for each bowl,[f] and for the silver bowls, by weight for each bowl,[g] 18 and for the altar of incense made of refined gold, by weight, and gold for the plan for the chariot—the cherubim with outspread and covering wings over the ark of the covenant of Yahweh. 19 “All this I give you in writing; from the hand of Yahweh he instructed me about all the workings of this plan.”

20 Then David said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do this! Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for Yahweh God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you and will not forsake you until all the work of the service of the house of Yahweh is finished. 21 And behold, the working groups of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God; and with you in all the work for all those willing with the skill for every service, and the commanders and all the people for all your commands.”

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 28:12 Literally “that was in the spirit with him”
  2. 1 Chronicles 28:14 Literally “service and service”
  3. 1 Chronicles 28:15 Literally “by weight of lampstand and lampstand, with its lamp and to the lamps”
  4. 1 Chronicles 28:15 Literally “lampstand and lampstand”
  5. 1 Chronicles 28:16 Literally “to table and table”
  6. 1 Chronicles 28:17 Literally “for bowl and bowl”
  7. 1 Chronicles 28:17 Literally “for bowl and bowl”

David Addresses Solomon Directly

“Now as for you, my son Solomon, get to know the God of your father. Serve him with a sound heart and a devoted soul, because the Lord is searching every heart, every plan and thought. He will be found by you, assuming you are seeking him, but if you abandon him, he will abandon you forever. 10 So keep watching, because the Lord has chosen you to build the Temple of his sanctuary. So be strong, and get to work!”

David Transfers Plans and Materials to Solomon

11 At this point in his address,[a] David transferred to his son Solomon the construction plans for the Hall of Justice,[b] its buildings, its treasure vaults, its upper rooms, its inner chambers, the housing for the Mercy Seat, 12 and the plans for everything else that he had in mind for the courtyards of the Temple of the Lord. Included were plans for[c] all of the surrounding vaults and treasuries of the Temple of God intended for storage of[d] dedicated gifts, 13 for use by the ranks of priests and descendants of Levi, for all the work of service responsibilities in the Temple of the Lord, and for all of the utensils used in the work of the Temple of the Lord. 14 David also transferred to him[e] by weight the gold that was to be used to craft the[f] service utensils, the silver that was to be used to craft the[g] service utensils, 15 the gold for the golden lamp stands and their lamps, the silver for a lamp stand and its lamps (each according to its intended use in the service), 16 the gold by weight for each table of the rows of bread, the silver for the silver tables, 17 pure gold for the forks, the basins, the cups, the golden bowls (along with enough gold by weight for each one), enough weight for each of the silver bowls, 18 refined gold for the altar of incense, by weight, along with his plans for crafting[h] the golden chariot for the cherubim that spread out their wings to cover the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord.

David Continues His Address

19 “All of these things the Lord made clear to me in writing at his direction—the construction plans for all of the building.”

20 David continued with these words for his son Solomon: “Be strong and courageous, and get to work. Never be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you nor will he abandon you right up to your completion of the work for the service of the Temple of the Lord. 21 Now look! Here are the ranks of the priests and the descendants of Levi for the entire service of the Temple of God, and in all of the work there will be all types of volunteers who have skills for anything needed for the services. Furthermore, the officers and all of the people will be at your complete command.”

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 28:11 The Heb. lacks At this point in his address
  2. 1 Chronicles 28:11 Or Temple vestibule
  3. 1 Chronicles 28:12 The Heb. lacks were plans for
  4. 1 Chronicles 28:12 The Heb. lacks intended for storage of
  5. 1 Chronicles 28:14 The Heb. lacks David also transferred to him
  6. 1 Chronicles 28:14 The Heb. lacks that was to be used to craft the
  7. 1 Chronicles 28:14 The Heb. lacks that was to be used to craft the
  8. 1 Chronicles 28:18 The Heb. lacks for crafting