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You, Solomon my son, know the God of your father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind; for Yahweh searches all hearts, and understands all the imaginations of the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever. 10 Take heed 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 plans for the porch of the temple, for its houses, for its treasuries, for its upper rooms, for its inner rooms, for the place of the mercy seat; 12 and the plans of all that he had by the Spirit, for the courts of Yahweh’s house, for all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of God’s house, and for the treasuries of the dedicated things; 13 also for the divisions of the priests and the Levites, for all the work of the service of Yahweh’s house, and for all the vessels of service in Yahweh’s house; 14 of gold by weight for the gold, for all vessels of every kind of service; for all the vessels of silver by weight, for all vessels of every kind of service; 15 by weight also for the lamp stands of gold, and for its lamps, of gold, by weight for every lamp stand and for its lamps; and for the lamp stands of silver, by weight for every lamp stand and for its lamps, according to the use of every lamp stand; 16 and the gold by weight for the tables of show bread, for every table; and silver for the tables of silver; 17 and the forks, the basins, and the cups, of pure gold; and for the golden bowls by weight for every bowl; and for the silver bowls by weight for every bowl; 18 and for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the plans for the chariot, and the cherubim that spread out and cover the ark of Yahweh’s covenant. 19 “All this”, David said, “I have been made to understand in writing from Yahweh’s hand, even all the works of this pattern.”

20 David said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do it. Don’t be afraid, nor be dismayed; for Yahweh God, even my God, is with you. He will not fail you, nor forsake you, until all the work for the service of Yahweh’s house is finished. 21 Behold, there are the divisions of the priests and the Levites, for all the service of God’s house. Every willing man who has skill, for any kind of service, shall be with you in all kinds of work. Also the captains and all the people will be entirely at your command.”

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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