Beginning
Chapter 28
Assembly at Jerusalem.[a] 1 David summoned all the leaders of Israel, the leaders of the tribes, the leaders of the divisions for the service of the king, the captains of the thousands, the captains of the hundreds, the officials in charge of all the goods and possessions of the king and his sons, together with the other officials, the mighty men, and the brave warriors to Jerusalem. 2 King David rose to his feet and said, “Listen to me, my brethren, my people. I had my heart set upon building a house to serve as a resting place for the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, the footstool of our God. I made preparations for building it, 3 but God said to me, ‘You will not build a house for my name for you have been a man of war and have shed blood.’
4 “Yet, the Lord, the God of Israel, has chosen me from my father’s entire household to be the king over Israel forever, and from Judah he chose me as leader, from the house of Judah, the household of my father and the sons of my father. It pleased him to make me king over all of Israel. 5 From my sons, from my many sons whom the Lord has given me, the Lord has chosen Solomon, my son, to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. 6 He said to me, ‘Solomon, your son, will build my temple and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. 7 I will establish his kingdom forever if he carefully observes my commandments and my ordinances, as they are doing today.’
8 “Now therefore, in the sight of all of Israel and the assembly of the Lord and in the hearing of our God, I charge you to carefully observe all of the commandments of the Lord, your God, so that you might possess this good land and it might be an inheritance for your descendants forever.
9 “And you, Solomon, my son, know that God is your father. Serve him with all your heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart, and he understands the ponderings of every thought. If you seek him, you will find him, but if you abandon him, then he will cast you off forever. 10 Take heed, now, that the Lord has chosen you to build a temple as a sanctuary. Be strong and do it.”
11 Temple Plans Given to Solomon. David then gave Solomon, his son, the plans for the porch of the temple, its treasuries, its upper chambers, its inner chambers, and the place of the seat of mercy.[b] 12 The plans included everything that the Spirit had inspired concerning the courtyards of the temple of the Lord, all of the surrounding chambers, the treasury of the temple of the Lord, and the treasury for the dedicated objects.
13 He also told him about the divisions of the priests and Levites, and for all of the work to be done in the service of the temple of the Lord, as well as, for all the vessels used in the service of the temple of the Lord.
14 He gave the weight of the gold and all the golden implements for the various forms of service, and the weight of the silver in the implements for the various forms of service. 15 He also told him the weight for the golden lampstands and their lamps, the weight of the gold for each of the lampstands and their lamps, the weight of the silver for the lampstands and their lamps, according to the use of each of the lampstands. 16 He told him the weight of the gold for each of the tables for the shewbread and likewise the weight of the silver for the silver tables. 17 He told him the weight of the pure gold for the forks, the sprinkling bowls, and the pitchers, the weight of gold for each of the basins, and the weight of the silver for each of the silver dishes. 18 He told him the weight of the refined gold for the altar of incense. He also gave him the pattern for the chariot, that is, the golden cherubim with outstretched wings that covered the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord.
19 David said, “This is all in writing for the hand of the Lord was upon me; he gave me understanding of all of the details of the plan.”
20 David also said to Solomon, his son, “Be strong! Be brave! Do it! Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord, the God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you nor will he abandon you until you have finished all of the work in service of the temple of the Lord. 21 Behold, the divisions for the priests and the Levites for all of their service in the temple of the Lord are completed, and you will have at your disposition every type of workman skillful in every craft. The leaders and the people will obey your every command.”
Chapter 29
Gifts for the Temple.[c] 1 King David then said to the whole assembly, “My son, Solomon, is the one whom God has chosen. He is young and inexperienced, and the task is great. This is not a palace for a human, but it is for the Lord God.
2 “I have made preparations for the temple of the Lord, my God, with all my resources: the gold, the golden objects, the silver, the silver objects, the bronze, the bronze objects, the iron, the iron objects, the wood, the wood objects, the stone, the onyx for settings, the glistening stones of various colors, all types of precious stones, and marble, all of them in great quantities.
3 “Moreover, in my devotion to the temple of my God, I have given gold and silver from my own possessions for the temple of my God in addition to everything that I have prepared for the holy temple. 4 This includes three thousand talents of gold (gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents of refined silver to be used for overlaying the walls of the buildings. 5 It is also for the gold and the gold objects, the silver and the silver objects, and all types of work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing today to consecrate himself to the Lord?”
6 The leaders of the ancestral clans and the tribes of Israel, the captains of the thousands and the hundreds, and the supervisors of the king’s work gave willingly. 7 They gave five thousand talents and ten thousand darics[d] of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze, and one hundred thousand talents of iron. 8 Any of those who had found precious stones gave them to the treasury of the temple of the Lord through Jehiel the Gershonite. 9 The people rejoiced because they had willingly responded and had given with their whole hearts to the Lord, and King David also rejoiced greatly.
10 [e]David praised the Lord in front of the whole assembly, and David said:
“Blessed are you, O Lord,
the God of Israel,
our father forever and ever.
11 “Yours, O Lord, are greatness,
power, glory, strength, and majesty,
for everything in heaven and on earth is yours.
Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom;
you are exalted as head over all.
12 Wealth and honor are from you,
you reign over all.
In your hand are power and might;
it to is in your hand make great and to give strength to all.
13 Now, our God, we thank you,
and we praise your glorious name.
14 But who am I, and what are your people,
that we should be able to do this?
All things belong to you,
and everything that we have given you is from your hand.
15 We are foreigners and aliens,
as all our fathers were before us.
Our days are like a shadow upon the earth,
none of them abide.
16 O Lord, our God,
all of this wealth that we have to build a temple for you
and for your holy name is from your hand,
and it all belongs to you.
17 I know, my God,
that you have tested my heart,
and that you are pleased with
the integrity of my heart.
I have willingly offered you all these things.
And now I have seen your people who are present here.
They joyfully and willingly make
this offering to you.
18 O Lord, God of our fathers,
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
keep this desire in the inner thoughts
of your people forever,
and make their hearts loyal to you.
19 Give my son Solomon a pure heart
so that he might observe your commandments, your ordinances, and your statutes,
and do everything to build the temple
for which I have made provision.”
20 David then said to the whole assembly, “Praise the Lord, your God!” The whole assembly praised the Lord, the God of their fathers. They bowed down their heads, and they fell prostrate before the Lord and the king.
21 On the next day they made sacrifices to the Lord and offered burnt offerings to the Lord: one thousand bulls, one thousand rams, and one thousand lambs. There were drink offerings and other sacrifices in abundance for all of Israel. 22 They ate and drank before the Lord that day with great joy.[f]
Then they acknowledged Solomon, the son of David, as king a second time, and they anointed him before the Lord to be ruler and Zadok to be priest. 23 Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord in the place of David, his father. He prospered and everyone in Israel obeyed him. 24 All of the leaders and mighty men and all of King David’s sons paid obeisance to King Solomon. 25 The Lord exalted Solomon greatly before all of Israel, and he bestowed upon him majesty and royal dignity as no king in Israel had ever had before him.
26 David, the son of Jesse, reigned over all of Israel. 27 He ruled over Israel for forty years. He reigned for seven years in Hebron, and he reigned for thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 28 He died at a good, old age in the fullness of his years. He had enjoyed wealth and honor. Then Solomon, his son, reigned in his stead.
29 [g]As for the other deeds of King David, from the beginning to the end, they are written in the Book of Samuel the Seer, the Book of Nathan the Prophet, and in the Book of Gad the Seer, 30 along with all of the details of his reign and his might and his own times and those of Israel and of all the kingdoms of the other lands.
The Reign of Solomon
Chapter 1
Solomon’s Wisdom.[a] 1 Solomon, the son of David, strengthened his hold on the kingdom, for the Lord his God was with him and made him exceedingly powerful.
2 After summoning all Israel, Solomon addressed the commanders of units of thousands and hundreds, the judges, and all the leaders in Israel, the heads of families. 3 Then, accompanied by the entire assembly, he went to the high place at Gibeon where God’s meeting tent was located, the tent that Moses, the servant of the Lord had made in the wilderness. 4 However, David had brought up the Ark of the Covenant from Kiriath-jearim to the place that David had prepared for it, having pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem.
5 In addition, the bronze altar that Bezalel, the son of Hur, had made was also there in front of the tabernacle of the Lord, and Solomon and the assembly frequently consulted him. 6 Solomon also offered one thousand burnt offerings upon the bronze altar which was at the meeting tent.
7 That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him: “Ask what you wish me to grant you.” 8 Solomon replied to God: “You have shown great and faithful love to my father, and you have granted me the privilege of succeeding him as king. 9 O Lord God, let your promise to my father David now be fulfilled, for you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth. 10 Therefore, now grant me wisdom and knowledge to lead this people, for without your help who can rule this great people of yours?”
11 Then God replied to Solomon: “Since this is your heart’s desire and you have not asked for wealth or possessions or honor, or for the lives of those who are hostile to you, or even for a long life for yourself, but instead have asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself so that you may govern my people over whom I have designated you to be king, 12 wisdom and knowledge will be granted to you. I will also give you riches, possessions, and glory such as no king before you has had and none after you shall be granted.”[b]
13 Solomon’s Wealth.[c] Then Solomon returned to Jerusalem from the meeting tent to the high place at Gibeon, and he reigned as king over Israel. 14 He accumulated vast numbers of chariots and horses, amassing fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses. He stationed some in the chariot cities, and the rest with the king at Jerusalem.
15 In Jerusalem the king made silver and gold as common as stones, and he made cedars as plentiful as the sycamores in the lowlands. 16 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Cilicia, obtained by the king’s traders from Cilicia at the prevailing price. 17 The traders would import chariots from Egypt for six hundred shekels apiece, and horses from Cilicia for one hundred and fifty shekels apiece. They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the Arameans.
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