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28 David now summoned all of his officials to Jerusalem—the political leaders, the commanders of the twelve army divisions, the other army officers, those in charge of his property and livestock, and all the other men of authority in his kingdom. 2 He rose and stood before them and addressed them as follows:
“My brothers and my people! It was my desire to build a temple in which the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord could rest—a place for our God to live in.[a] I have now collected everything that is necessary for the building, 3 but God has told me, ‘You are not to build my temple, for you are a warrior and have shed much blood.’
4 “Nevertheless, the Lord God of Israel has chosen me from among all my father’s family to begin a dynasty that will rule Israel forever; he has chosen the tribe of Judah, and from among the families of Judah, my father’s family; and from among his sons, the Lord took pleasure in me and has made me king over all Israel. 5 And from among my sons—the Lord has given me many children—he has chosen Solomon to succeed me on the throne of his kingdom of Israel. 6 He has told me, ‘Your son Solomon shall build my Temple; for I have chosen him as my son and I will be his father. 7 And if he continues to obey my commandments and instructions as he has until now, I will make his kingdom last forever.’”
8 Then David turned to Solomon and said:[b]
“Here before the leaders of Israel, the people of God, and in the sight of our God, I am instructing you to search out every commandment of the Lord so that you may continue to rule this good land and leave it to your children to rule forever. 9 Solomon, my son, get to know the God of your fathers. Worship and serve him with a clean heart and a willing mind, for the Lord sees every heart and understands and knows every thought. If you seek him, you will find him; but if you forsake him, he will permanently throw you aside. 10 So be very careful, for the Lord has chosen you to build his holy Temple. Be strong and do as he commands.”
11 Then David gave Solomon the blueprint of the Temple and its surroundings—the treasuries, the upstairs rooms, the inside rooms, and the sanctuary for the place of mercy. 12 He also gave Solomon his plans for the outer court, the outside rooms, the Temple storage areas, and the treasuries for the gifts dedicated by famous persons. For the Holy Spirit had given David all these plans. 13 The king also passed on to Solomon the instructions concerning the work of the various groups of priests and Levites; and he gave specifications for each item in the Temple which was to be used for worship and sacrifice.
14 David weighed out enough gold and silver to make these various items, 15 as well as the specific amount of gold needed for the lampstands and lamps. He also weighed out enough silver for the silver candlesticks and lamps, each according to its use. 16 He weighed out the gold for the table on which the Bread of the Presence would be placed and for the other gold tables, and he weighed the silver for the silver tables. 17 Then he weighed out the gold for the solid gold hooks used in handling the sacrificial meat and for the basins, cups, and bowls of gold and silver. 18 Finally, he weighed out the refined gold for the altar of incense and for the gold Guardian Angels whose wings were stretched over the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord.
19 “Every part of this blueprint,” David told Solomon, “was given to me in writing from the hand of the Lord.” 20 Then he continued, “Be strong and courageous and get to work. Don’t be frightened by the size of the task, for the Lord my God is with you; he will not forsake you. He will see to it that everything is finished correctly. 21 And these various groups of priests and Levites will serve in the Temple. Others with skills of every kind will volunteer, and the army and the entire nation are at your command.”
29 Then King David turned to the entire assembly and said: “My son Solomon, whom God has chosen to be the next king of Israel, is still young and inexperienced, and the work ahead of him is enormous; for the temple he will build is not just another building—it is for the Lord God himself! 2 Using every resource at my command, I have gathered as much as I could for building it—enough gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and great quantities of onyx, other precious stones, costly jewels, and marble. 3 And now, because of my devotion to the Temple of God, I am giving all of my own private treasures to aid in the construction. This is in addition to the building materials I have already collected. 4-5 These personal contributions consist of millions of dollars of gold from Ophir and huge amounts of silver to be used for overlaying the walls of the buildings. It will also be used for the articles made of gold and silver and for the artistic decorations. Now then, who will follow my example? Who will give himself and all that he has to the Lord?”
6-7 Then the clan leaders, the heads of the tribes, the army officers, and the administrative officers of the king pledged huge sums of gold, silver, and foreign currency, also 675 tons of bronze and 3,750 tons of iron. 8 They also contributed great amounts of jewelry, which were deposited at the Temple treasury with Jehiel (a descendant of Gershom). 9 Everyone was excited and happy for this opportunity of service, and King David was moved with deep joy.
10 While still in the presence of the whole assembly, David expressed his praises to the Lord: “O Lord God of our father Israel, praise your name for ever and ever! 11 Yours is the mighty power and glory and victory and majesty. Everything in the heavens and earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as being in control of everything. 12 Riches and honor come from you alone, and you are the ruler of all mankind; your hand controls power and might, and it is at your discretion that men are made great and given strength. 13 O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name, 14 but who am I and who are my people that we should be permitted to give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we only give you what is yours already! 15 For we are here for but a moment, strangers in the land as our fathers were before us; our days on earth are like a shadow, gone so soon, without a trace. 16 O Lord our God, all of this material that we have gathered to build a temple for your holy name comes from you! It all belongs to you! 17 I know, my God, that you test men to see if they are good; for you enjoy good men. I have done all this with good motives, and I have watched your people offer their gifts willingly and joyously.
18 “O Lord, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Israel! Make your people always want to obey you, and see to it that their love for you never changes. 19 Give my son Solomon a good heart toward God, so that he will want to obey you in the smallest detail and will look forward eagerly to finishing the building of your Temple, for which I have made all of these preparations.”
20 Then David said to all the people, “Give praise to the Lord your God!” And they did, bowing low before the Lord and the king.
21 The next day they brought a thousand young bulls, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs as burnt offerings to the Lord; they also offered drink offerings and many other sacrifices on behalf of all Israel. 22 Then they feasted and drank before the Lord with great joy.
And again[c] they crowned King David’s son Solomon as their king. They anointed him before the Lord as their leader, and they anointed Zadok as their priest. 23 So God appointed Solomon to take the throne of his father David; and he prospered greatly, and all Israel obeyed him. 24 The national leaders, the army officers, and his brothers all pledged their allegiance to King Solomon. 25 And the Lord gave him great popularity with all the people of Israel, and he amassed even greater wealth and honor than his father.
26-27 David was king of the land of Israel for forty years; seven of them during his reign in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. 28 He died at an old age, wealthy and honored; and his son Solomon reigned in his place. 29 Detailed biographies of King David have been written in the history of Samuel the prophet, in the history written by Nathan the prophet, and in the history written by the prophet Gad. 30 These accounts tell of his reign and of his might and all that happened to him and to Israel and to the kings of the nearby nations.
1 King David’s son Solomon was now the undisputed ruler of Israel, for the Lord his God had made him a powerful monarch. 2-3 He summoned all the army officers and judges to Gibeon[a] as well as all the political and religious leaders of Israel. He led them up the hill to the old Tabernacle constructed by Moses, the Lord’s assistant, while he was in the wilderness. 4 (There was a later Tabernacle in Jerusalem, built by King David for the Ark of God when he removed it from Kiriath-jearim.) 5-6 The bronze altar made by Bezalel (son of Uri, son of Hur) still stood in front of the old Tabernacle, and now Solomon and those he had invited assembled themselves before it, as he sacrificed upon it 1,000 burnt offerings to the Lord.
7 That night God appeared to Solomon and told him, “Ask me for anything, and I will give it to you!”
8 Solomon replied, “O God, you have been so kind and good to my father David, and now you have given me the kingdom— 9 this is all I want! For you have fulfilled your promise to David my father and have made me king over a nation as full of people as the earth is full of dust! 10 Now give me wisdom and knowledge to rule them properly, for who is able to govern by himself such a great nation as this one of yours?”
11 God replied, “Because your greatest desire is to help your people, and you haven’t asked for personal wealth and honor, and you haven’t asked me to curse your enemies, and you haven’t asked for a long life, but for wisdom and knowledge to properly guide my people— 12 yes, I am giving you the wisdom and knowledge you asked for! And I am also giving you riches, wealth, and honor such as no other king has ever had before you! And there will never again be so great a king in all the world!”
13 Solomon then left the Tabernacle, returned down the hill, and went back to Jerusalem to rule Israel. 14 He built up a huge force of 1,400 chariots and recruited 12,000 cavalry to guard the cities where the chariots were garaged, though some, of course, were stationed at Jerusalem near the king. 15 During Solomon’s reign, silver and gold were as plentiful in Jerusalem as rocks on the road! And expensive cedar lumber was used like common sycamore! 16 Solomon sent horse traders to Egypt to purchase entire herds at wholesale prices. 17 At that time Egyptian chariots sold for $400 each and horses for $100, delivered at Jerusalem. Many of these were then resold to the kings of the Hittites and Syria.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.