Old/New Testament
22 Then David said, Here shall be the house of the Lord God, and here the altar of the burnt offering for Israel.
2 David commanded to gather together the strangers who were in the land of Israel, and he set stonecutters to hew out stones to build the house of God.
3 David prepared iron in abundance for nails for the doors of the gates and for the couplings, and bronze in abundance without weighing,
4 Also cedar trees without number, for the Sidonians and they of Tyre brought much cedar timber to David.
5 David said, Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly magnificent, of fame and glory throughout all lands. I will therefore make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.
6 Then he called for Solomon his son and charged him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel.
7 David said to Solomon, My son, it was in my heart to build a house to the [a]Name and [for the symbol of] the Presence of the Lord my God.
8 But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, You have shed much blood and have waged great wars; you shall not build a house to My Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in My sight.
9 Behold, a son shall be born to you who shall be a man of peace. I will give him rest from all his enemies round about; for his name shall be Solomon [peaceable], and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days.(A)
10 He shall build a house for My Name and [the symbol of My] Presence. He shall be My son, and I will be his father; and I will establish his royal throne over Israel forever.
11 Now, my son, the Lord be with and prosper you in building the house of the Lord your God, as He has spoken concerning you.
12 Only may the Lord give you wisdom and understanding as you are put in charge of Israel, that you may keep the law of the Lord your God.
13 Then you will prosper if you are careful to keep and fulfill the statutes and ordinances with which the Lord charged Moses concerning Israel. Be strong and of good courage. Dread not and fear not; be not dismayed.
14 In my affliction and trouble I have provided for the house of the Lord 100,000 talents of gold, 1,000,000 talents of silver, and bronze and iron without weighing. I have also provided timber and stone; you must add to them.
15 You have workmen in abundance: hewers, workers of stone and timber, and all kinds of craftsmen without number, skillful in doing every kind of work
16 With gold, silver, bronze, and iron. So arise and be doing, and the Lord be with you!
17 David also commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying,
18 Is not the Lord your God with you? And has He not given you peace on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and His people.
19 Now set your mind and heart to seek (inquire of and require as your vital necessity) the Lord your God. Arise and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy vessels of God may be brought into the house built to the Name and renown of the Lord.
23 When David was old and full of days, he made Solomon his son king over Israel.
2 David assembled all the leaders of Israel, with the priests and Levites.
3 The Levites thirty years old and upward numbered, man by man, 38,000,
4 Of whom [b]24,000 were to oversee the work of the house of the Lord and 6,000 were to be officers and judges.
5 And, said David, 4,000 shall be gatekeepers and 4,000 are to praise the Lord with the instruments which I made for praise.
6 And David organized them in sections according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
7 Of the Gershonites: Ladan (Libni) and Shimei.
8 The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the chief, Zetham, and Joel—three in all.
9 The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran—three in all. These were the heads of the fathers’ houses of Ladan.
10 And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina (Zizah), Jeush, and Beriah. Of these four sons of Shimei,
11 Jahath was chief and Zizah the second, but Jeush and Beriah had not many sons [not enough for a father’s house or clan]; so they were counted together as one father’s house.
12 The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel—four in all.
13 The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron was set apart to sanctify him as most holy and to consecrate the most holy things, that he and his sons forever might burn incense before the Lord, minister to Him, and bless in His name [and the character which that name denotes] forever.
14 But the sons of Moses the man of God were named among the tribe of Levi.
15 The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.
16 The son of Gershom: Shebuel the chief.
17 The son of Eliezer: Rehabiah the chief. Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah’s sons were very many.
18 The sons of Izhar: Shelomith was the chief.
19 The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.
20 The sons of Uzziel: Micah the first and Isshiah the second.
21 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish.
22 Eleazar died and had no sons, but daughters only, and their kinsmen, sons of Kish, took them as wives.
23 The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth—three in all.
24 These were the Levites by their fathers’ houses, the heads of the fathers’ houses of those registered, according to the number of names of the individuals who were the servants of the house of the Lord, from twenty years old and upward.
25 For David said, The Lord, the God of Israel has given peace and rest to His people, and He dwells in Jerusalem forever.
26 So the Levites no more have need to carry the tabernacle and all its vessels for its service.
27 For by the last words and acts of David, these were the number of the Levites from twenty years old and above.
28 But their duty should be to wait on [the priests] the sons of Aaron in the service of the house of the Lord, caring for the courts, the chambers, the cleansing of all holy things, and any work of the service of God’s house,
29 For the showbread also, and for the fine flour for a cereal offering, whether of unleavened wafers or of what is baked on the griddle or soaked [in oil], and for all measuring of amount and size [as the Law of Moses required].
30 They are also to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord, and likewise at evening,
31 And to assist in offering all burnt sacrifices to the Lord on Sabbaths, New Moon festivals, and set feast days by number according to the ordinance concerning them, continually before the Lord.
32 So they shall keep charge of the Tent of Meeting and the Holy Place and shall attend to the sons of Aaron their kinsmen, for the service of the house of the Lord.
24 The courses or divisions of the priests, the sons of Aaron, were these: The sons of Aaron: Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
2 But Nadab and Abihu died before their father and had no children; therefore Eleazar and Ithamar executed the priest’s office.
3 And David, with Zadok of the sons of Eleazar and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, divided and distributed them according to their assigned duties.
4 Since there were more chief men found among the sons of Eleazar [because of the misfortunes of Eli, and Saul’s slaughter of the priests at Nob] than among the sons of Ithamar, they were divided thus: sixteen heads of fathers’ houses of the sons of Eleazar and eight of the sons of Ithamar according to their fathers’ houses.
5 Thus were they divided by lot, one group with the other, for there were chiefs of the sanctuary and chiefs of God [high priests] drawn both from the sons of Eleazar and from the sons of Ithamar.
6 Shemaiah the scribe, son of Nethanel, a Levite, recorded them in the presence of the king, the princes, Zadok the priest, Ahimelech son of Abiathar [the priest who escaped being killed at Nob by Saul and fled to David], and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the priests and Levites—one father’s house being taken alternately for Eleazar and one for Ithamar.
7 The lots fell, the first one to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah,
8 The third to Harim, the fourth to Se-orim,
9 The fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin,
10 The seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah,
11 The ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shecaniah,
12 The eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim,
13 The thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebe-ab,
14 The fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer,
15 The seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez,
16 The nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezkel,
17 The twenty-first to Jachin, the twenty-second to Gamul,
18 The twenty-third to Delaiah, the twenty-fourth to Maaziah.
19 This was their order for coming on duty to serve in the house of the Lord, according to the procedure ordered for them by their [forefather] Aaron, as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded him.
20 As for the rest of the sons of Levi: of the sons of Amram: Shubael; of the sons of Shubael: Jehdeiah.
21 Of Rehabiah: of the sons of Rehabiah: Isshiah the chief.
22 Of the Izharites: Shelomoth; of the sons of Shelomoth: Jahath.
23 The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, Jekameam the fourth.
24 The son of Uzziel: Micah; of the sons of Micah: Shamir.
25 The brother of Micah: Isshiah; of the sons of Isshiah: Zechariah.
26 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The son of Jaaziah: Beno.
27 The sons of Merari: by Jaaziah: Beno, Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri.
28 Of Mahli: Eleazar, who had no sons.
29 Of Kish: the son of Kish: Jerahmeel.
30 The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth. These were the sons of the Levites, according to their fathers’ houses.
31 These likewise cast lots, as did their kinsmen the sons of Aaron, in the presence of David the king, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the priests and Levites—the head of each father’s house and his younger brother alike.
28 So Jesus added, When you have lifted up the Son of Man [on the cross], you will realize (know, understand) that I am He [for Whom you look] and that I do nothing of Myself (of My own accord or on My own authority), but I say [exactly] what My Father has taught Me.
29 And He Who sent Me is ever with Me; My Father has not left Me alone, for I always do what pleases Him.
30 As He said these things, many believed in Him [trusted, relied on, and adhered to Him].
31 So Jesus said to those Jews who had believed in Him, If you abide in My word [hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them], you are truly My disciples.
32 And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.
33 They answered Him, We are Abraham’s offspring (descendants) and have never been in bondage to anybody. What do You mean by saying, You will be set free?
34 Jesus answered them, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, Whoever commits and practices sin is the slave of sin.
35 Now a slave does not remain in a household permanently (forever); the son [of the house] does remain forever.
36 So if the Son liberates you [makes you free men], then you are really and unquestionably free.
37 [Yes] I know that you are Abraham’s offspring; yet you plan to kill Me, because My word has no entrance (makes no progress, does not find any place) in you.
38 I tell the things which I have seen and learned at My Father’s side, and your actions also reflect what you have heard and learned from your father.
39 They retorted, Abraham is our father. Jesus said, If you were [truly] Abraham’s children, then you would do the works of Abraham [follow his example, do as Abraham did].
40 But now [instead] you are wanting and seeking to kill Me, a Man Who has told you the truth which I have heard from God. This is not the way Abraham acted.
41 You are doing the works of your [own] father. They said to Him, We are not illegitimate children and born out of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
42 Jesus said to them, If God were your Father, you would love Me and respect Me and welcome Me gladly, for I proceeded (came forth) from God [out of His very presence]. I did not even come on My own authority or of My own accord (as self-appointed); but He sent Me.
43 Why do you misunderstand what I say? It is because you are unable to hear what I am saying. [You cannot bear to listen to My message; your ears are shut to My teaching.]
44 You are of your father, the devil, and it is your will to practice the lusts and gratify the desires [which are characteristic] of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a falsehood, he speaks what is natural to him, for he is a liar [himself] and the father of lies and of all that is false.
45 But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me [do not trust Me, do not rely on Me, or adhere to Me].
46 Who of you convicts Me of wrongdoing or finds Me guilty of sin? Then if I speak truth, why do you not believe Me [trust Me, rely on, and adhere to Me]?
47 Whoever is of God listens to God. [Those who belong to God hear the words of God.] This is the reason that you do not listen [to those words, to Me]: because you do not belong to God and are not of God or in harmony with Him.
48 The Jews answered Him, Are we not right when we say You are a Samaritan and that You have a demon [that You are under the power of an evil spirit]?
49 Jesus answered, I am not possessed by a demon. On the contrary, I honor and reverence My Father and you dishonor (despise, vilify, and scorn) Me.
50 However, I am not in search of honor for Myself. [I do not seek and am not aiming for My own glory.] There is One Who [looks after that; He] seeks [My glory], and He is the Judge.
51 I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, if anyone observes My teaching [lives in accordance with My message, keeps My word], he will by no means ever see and experience death.
52 The Jews said to Him, Now we know that You are under the power of a demon ([a]insane). Abraham died, and also the prophets, yet You say, If a man keeps My word, he will never taste of death into all eternity.
53 Are You greater than our father Abraham? He died, and all the prophets died! Who do You make Yourself out to be?
54 Jesus answered, If I were to glorify Myself (magnify, praise, and honor Myself), I would have no real glory, for My glory would be nothing and worthless. [My honor must come to Me from My Father.] It is My Father Who glorifies Me [Who extols Me, magnifies, and praises Me], of Whom you say that He is your God.
55 Yet you do not know Him or recognize Him and are not acquainted with Him, but I know Him. If I should say that I do not know Him, I would be a liar like you. But I know Him and keep His word [obey His teachings, am faithful to His message].
56 Your forefather Abraham was extremely happy at the hope and prospect of seeing My day (My incarnation); and he did see it and was delighted.(A)
57 Then the Jews said to Him, You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?
58 Jesus replied, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, before Abraham was born, I Am.(B)
59 So they took up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus, by mixing with the crowd, concealed Himself and went out of the temple [[b]enclosure].
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation