Chronological
The Korahite Trustees
26 The guild[a] of trustees[b] included, from the descendants of Korah, Kore’s son Meshelemiah from Asaph’s descendants; 2 Meshelemiah’s sons Zechariah, his firstborn, Jediael his second, Zebadiah his third, Jathniel his fourth, 3 Elam his fifth, Jehohanan his sixth, and Eliehoenai his seventh; 4 Obed-edom’s sons Shemaiah, his firstborn, Jehozabad his second, Joah his third, Sachar his fourth, Nethanel his fifth, 5 Ammiel his sixth, Issachar his seventh, and Peullethai his eighth, since God had blessed him.
6 Furthermore, his son Shemaiah had sons born to him who wielded authority in their ancestral households, since they were mighty men of valor. 7 These sons of Shemaiah included[c] Othni, Rephael, Obed, and Elzabad, whose brothers were valiant, able men, Elihu and Semachiah. 8 All of these sons of Obed-edom, along with their sons and brothers, were valiant men, fully qualified for duty—62 descendants[d] of Obed-edom. 9 Meshelemiah had 18 sons and brothers who were valiant men. 10 Hosah, one of Merari’s sons, had these[e] sons: Shimri their chief (though not the firstborn, his father had appointed him chief), 11 Hilkiah his second, Tebaliah his third, and Zechariah his fourth, with a total of 13 sons and brothers of Hosah.
12 With respect to their leaders, these courses of trustees had responsibilities, along with their relatives, regarding ministry within the Temple of the Lord 13 assigned by lottery according to their ancestral households, whether large or small alike, for their gate assignments. 14 The lot for the eastern gate[f] fell to Shelemiah. They also cast lots for his son Zechariah, who was a wise counselor, and his lot indicated the northern gate.[g] 15 Obed-edom’s lot indicated the south gate,[h] and his sons were also allotted responsibility for the storehouse. 16 For Shuppim and Hosah the lot indicated the west at the gate of Shallecheth on the ascending road.
Each guard corresponding to each guard, 17 on the east six descendants of Levi were assigned[i] for each day, on the north four for each day, on the south four for each day (as well as two pairs of guards assigned[j] to the storehouse), 18 and for the colonnade on the west four were assigned at the road and two at the colonnade. 19 These were the ranks of trustees assigned among the descendants of Korah and the sons of Merari.
Oversight of the Treasuries
20 Now with respect to the descendants of Levi, Ahijah was responsible for the treasuries of the Temple of God, including the treasuries containing dedicated gifts. 21 With respect to the descendants of Ladan, the Gershonite descendants pertaining to Ladan, the heads of families pertaining to Ladan the Gershonite, there was Jehieli. 22 The descendants of Jehieli, Zetham and his brother Joel, were responsible for the treasuries of the Temple of the Lord.
23 From the descendants of Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel were assigned 24 Shebuel, a descendant of Gershom and a descendant of Moses (as chief officer[k] in charge of the treasuries) 25 and his brothers from Eliezer, including his son Rehabiah, his son Jeshaiah, his son Joram, his son Zichri, and his son Shelomoth.
26 Shelomoth and his brothers were responsible for all of the treasuries of dedicated gifts given by King David, by the heads of families, by the officers of groups of thousands and groups of hundreds, and by the leading army officers. 27 They dedicated gifts for the maintenance of the Temple of the Lord from spoils of war. 28 Furthermore, everything that Samuel the seer, Kish’s son Saul, Ner’s son Abner, and Zeruiah’s son Joab had dedicated—all of their dedicated gifts—were under the care of Shelomoth and his brothers.
29 From the descendants of Izhar, Chenaniah and his sons were assigned as officers and judges with responsibilities relating to external duties. 30 From the descendants of Hebron, Hashabiah and his relatives—1,700 outstanding men—were assigned oversight of Israel west of the Jordan regarding all of the Lord’s work and services on behalf of the king.
31 From the descendants of Hebron, Jerijah was assigned chief of the descendants of Hebron. During the fortieth year of David’s administration, a search was made by genealogical record, family by family, to find men of great ability, including those found at Jazer in Gilead. 32 King David appointed Jerijah,[l] his relatives, and 2,700 competent men who were each family heads, to oversee the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh regarding everything pertaining to God as well as matters relating to the king.
Military Divisions
27 The Israelis, according to the number of the leaders of their families, the officers of groups of thousands and groups of hundreds, and their leaders who served the king on behalf of the army divisions of 24,000 soldiers on duty month by month throughout the year, consisted of the following.
2 Zabdiel’s son Jashobeam was responsible[m] for the first division of 24,000 soldiers[n] for the first month. 3 A descendant of Perez, he was chief of all the commanders of the army for the first month.
4 Dodai the Ahohite was responsible for the division of the second month. Mikloth served as chief officer[o] of his division, consisting of 24,000 soldiers.
5 Jehoiada’s son Benaiah the priest was commander of the third division for the third month, consisting of 24,000 soldiers. 6 This was the same Benaiah who was one of the elite men of the Thirty and in command of the Thirty. His son Ammizabad was responsible for his division.
7 Joab’s brother Asahel was fourth for the fourth month, assisted[p] by his son Zebadiah, with 24,000 soldiers in his division.
8 The fifth commander for the fifth month was Shamhuth the Izrahite. His division consisted of 24,000 soldiers.
9 Ikkesh’s son Ira from Tekoa was sixth for the sixth month; there were 24,000 soldiers in his division.
10 Helez the Pelonite, an Ephraimite, was seventh for the seventh month; 24,000 soldiers served in his division.
11 Sibbecai the Hushathite, a Zerahite, was eighth for the eighth month; 24,000 soldiers served in his division.
12 Abiezer from Anathoth, a descendant of Benjamin, was ninth for the ninth month; 24,000 soldiers served in his division.
13 Mahari from Netophah, a Zerahite, was tenth for the tenth month; 24,000 soldiers served in his division.
14 Benaiah from Pirathon, an Ephraimite, was eleventh for the eleventh month; 24,000 soldiers served in his division.
15 Heldai the Netophathite, from Othniel, was twelfth for the twelfth month; 24,000 soldiers served in his division.
Tribal Leaders
16 Wielding the scepters of Israel for the descendants of Reuben, there was[q] Zichri’s son Eliezer as chief officer;[r] for the descendants of Simeon there was Maacah’s son Shephatiah; 17 for Levi there was Kemuel’s son Hashabiah; for Aaron there was Zadok; 18 for Judah there was Elihu, one of David’s brothers; for Issachar there was Michael’s son Omri; 19 for Zebulun there was Obadiah’s son Ishmaiah; for Naphtali, there was Azriel’s son Jerimoth; 20 for the descendants of Ephraim, there was Azaziah’s son Hoshea; for the half-tribe of Manasseh, there was Pedaiah’s son Joel; 21 for the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, there was Zechariah’s son Iddo; for Benjamin, there was Abner’s son Jaasiel; 22 for Dan, there was Jeroham’s son Azarel. These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel.
23 David did not complete a census of those younger than 20 years of age, since the Lord had said he would make Israel as numerous as the stars of heaven. 24 Zeruiah’s son Joab began the census, but never completed it. Nevertheless, God became angry with Israel because of this, so the number was never entered into the official records of the Annals of King David.[s]
Civic Leaders
25 Adiel’s son Azmaveth was responsible for the king’s treasuries. Uzziah’s son Jonathan was in charge of treasuries located in the country, in cities, in villages, and in towers. 26 Chelub’s son Ezri supervised the field workers who tilled the soil. 27 Shimei the Ramathite supervised the vineyards. In charge over the produce of the vineyards for the wine cellars was Zabdi the Shiphmite. 28 Baal-hanan the Gederite supervised the olive and sycamore[t] trees in the Shephelah.[u] Joash supervised the oil reserves. 29 Shitrai the Sharonite supervised the herds that were pastured in Sharon. Adlai’s son Shaphat supervised the herds in the valleys. 30 Obil the Ishmaelite supervised the camels. Jehdeiah the Meronothite supervised the donkeys. Jaziz the Hagrite supervised the flocks. 31 All of these served as stewards over King David’s property.
32 David’s uncle Jonathan was a counselor, since he was a man of understanding and a scribe, and Hachmoni’s son Jehiel was an attendant to the king’s sons. 33 Ahithophel served as an advisor to the king, Hushai the Archite was the king’s trusted associate, 34 and under Ahithophel there was Benaiah’s son Jehoiada and Abiathar. Joab served as commander of the king’s army.
David Addresses Israel
28 David gathered together all of the leaders of Israel, the leaders of the tribes, division officers who reported to the king, the commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, the supervisors of the property and livestock that belonged to the king and to his sons, along with all of the officers of the palace, the elite forces, and all of the soldiers.
2 King David rose to his feet and said, “My fellow citizens,[v] may I have your attention. I intended to build a house of rest for the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, for a footstool of our God, so I began preparations for its construction. 3 But then God told me, ‘You will not build a temple to my name, because you are a man of war, and you have committed bloodshed.’[w] 4 Nevertheless, the Lord God of Israel chose me from my entire ancestral household to be king over Israel forever, since he had chosen Judah as Commander-in-Chief.[x] In my ancestor Judah’s household, from my father’s household, and from among my father’s sons it pleased him to make me king over all of Israel.
5 “Now out of all of my sons (since the Lord has given me many of them), he has selected my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord, ruling[y] over Israel. 6 He told me,
‘I chose your son Solomon to be the one who will construct my Temple and my courts, because I have chosen him to be a son to me, and I will be a father to him. 7 I will establish his kingdom forever, assuming he remains strongly committed to carry out my commandments and ordinances, as he is doing today.’
8 Therefore, in the presence[z] of all of Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and while our God is listening, observe and search through all of the commandments of the Lord your God, so that you may continue to possess this good land, leaving it for an inheritance forever to benefit your descendants who come after you.”
David Addresses Solomon Directly
9 “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,[aa] David transferred to his son Solomon the construction plans for the Hall of Justice,[ab] 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[ac] all of the surrounding vaults and treasuries of the Temple of God intended for storage of[ad] 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[ae] by weight the gold that was to be used to craft the[af] service utensils, the silver that was to be used to craft the[ag] 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[ah] 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.”
Offerings for the Temple
29 Then King David addressed the entire assembly: “My son Solomon, the one whom God alone has chosen, is still young and inexperienced, and the task is great, since this structure will be a citadel to the Lord God and not for human beings. 2 To the extent that I have been able to do so, I have provided supplies for the Temple of my God, including gold for what is to be made of gold, silver for what is to be made of silver, bronze for what is to be made of bronze, iron for what is to be made of iron, wood for what is to be made of wood, and great quantities of onyx, precious stones, antimony, colored stones, all types of other semi-precious stones, and plenty of marble.
3 “In addition to everything that I have supplied for the Temple, it pleases me to provide my own treasure of gold and silver, so because of my love for the Temple of my God I hereby give to the Temple of my God the following: 4 3,000 gold talents[ai] imported from Ophir,[aj] 7,000 talents[ak] of refined silver for gilding the walls of the Temple 5 and for all the work to be undertaken by skilled artists, gold for what is to be made of gold, and silver for what is to be made of silver. Who then, will be dedicating the productivity[al] of his own work[am] to the Lord today?”
6 So the leaders of the ancestral households presented their voluntary offerings, as did the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of thousands and hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king’s business. 7 They presented 5,000 gold talents[an] and 10,000 gold darics[ao] for the work of the Temple of God, 10,000 silver talents[ap], 18,000 bronze talents,[aq] and 100,000 iron talents.[ar] 8 Whoever owned precious stones gave them to the treasury of the Temple of the Lord, in care of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9 Then the people rejoiced because they had given voluntarily, since with a devoted heart they had freely given to the Lord.
David’s Praise to God
King David also rejoiced greatly. 10 Then David blessed the Lord in the presence of the entire assembly. David said,
How blessed you are, Lord,
the God of our ancestor Israel,
from eternity to eternity!
11 To you, Lord, belongs the greatness, and the valor,
and the splendor, and the endurance, and the majesty
because all that is in heaven
and on earth is yours.
To you belongs the kingdom, Lord,
and you are exalted as head over all.
12 Both wealth and honor proceed from you,
and you are ruling over them all.
You control[as] power—
you control who is made great,
and how everyone becomes strong.
13 And so, our God, we are giving you thanks,
and we are praising your wonderful name!
14 But who am I,
and who are my people,
that we make such voluntary offerings as these?
For all things come from you,
and from your own hand we are giving to you.
15 For we are aliens and vagrants in your presence,
as were all of our ancestors.
Our days on the earth pass away like shadows,
and we have no hope.
16 Lord our God, all of this abundance that we have given
for building a temple for your great name
was provided by you[at]
and all of it belongs to you.
17 And I know, God,
that it is you who searches the heart
and you who finds pleasure in righteousness.
With a righteous heart I have freely given all these things,
and now I have seen all of these people of yours
giving freely and joyfully to you!
18 Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our ancestors,
keep your purposes and thoughts
constantly in the hearts of your people
and direct their hearts toward you,
19 granting to my son Solomon to keep with a devoted heart
your commands, your decrees, and your statutes,
carrying out all of them,
and that he may build the Temple
for which I have made the preparations.
20 Then David told the entire assembly, “Bless the Lord your God, please.” So the entire assembly blessed the Lord God of their ancestors, bowing their heads and falling in the Lord’s presence and before the king. 21 The next day, they offered sacrifices and burnt offerings to the Lord amounting to[au] 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 lambs, along with their libations. Sacrifices were abundant throughout all Israel, 22 and they ate and drank in the Lord’s presence with great joy.
Solomon is Anointed King(A)
They crowned David’s son Solomon king a second time and anointed him to serve[av] as Commander-in-Chief[aw] to the Lord and Zadok to serve[ax] as priest. 23 So Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king in the place of[ay] his father David. He prospered, and all of Israel obeyed[az] him. 24 All of the officials, all of the valiant soldiers, and all of King David’s sons submitted to King Solomon’s control, 25 and the Lord exalted Solomon magnificently in the sight of all Israel, bestowing upon him royal majesty such as had not been given to any king in Israel before him.
Summary of the Reign of King David
26 Jesse’s son David reigned as king over all of Israel, 27 serving as king over Israel for 40 years. He reigned for seven years in Hebron and for 33 in Jerusalem. 28 He died at a good old age, having lived a full life, replete with riches and honor, and with his son Solomon reigning in his place. 29 The activities of David the king are recorded in the History of Samuel the Seer,[ba] in the History of Nathan the Prophet,[bb] and in the History of Gad the Seer,[bc] 30 including details regarding[bd] his reign, his power, the circumstances that attended his life, Israel, and all of the kingdoms of the countries that surrounded him.[be]
A Solomonic Song of Ascents
God’s Blessing in the Family
127 Unless the Lord builds the house,
its builders labor uselessly.
Unless the Lord guards the city,
its security forces keep watch uselessly.
2 It is useless to get up early
and to stay up late,[a]
eating the food of exhausting labor—
truly he gives sleep to those he loves.
3 Children[b] are a gift[c] from the Lord;
a productive womb, the Lord’s[d] reward.
4 As arrows in the hand of a warrior,
so also are children[e] born during one’s[f] youth.
5 How blessed[g] is the man whose quiver is full of them!
He[h] will not be ashamed
as they confront their enemies at the city gate.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.